Hello, it's Shrike from the days of the old Animelyrics.com

[Shimozakura]

Hello everybody, I posted an introductory message in, well, introductions, but somehow I feel more at home posting here, plus I think somebody here might know me =) For those who don't, I'm a Finnish guy who used to be something of a regular in the old Animelyrics.com under the name Shrike (I gather there already is a Shrike roarming the forums, so had to get a different nick), mostly seen around the lyrics threads nagging at people for their translations. I dropped out for several years after the previous site died, but well, here I am and it's good to be back.

Ps. Dear moderators: I know this message doesn't belong here, and it could be considered spam by some people. I don't intend to clog up the forums, I only posted it here to get in touch with the right people. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience, I'll only do it this once.

[Soulshift]

Hi and welcome back! It's always good to have more al'ers around :)

[AzureDark]

Nah it's alright. I was the one who brought you here in the first place.

Yea, welcome back, it does feel a bit weird to have my ol' lyric sensei around again, but some more expertise wouldn't hurt - perhaps even needed!

[suzumi]

Yay!! Welcome back!! It's always nice to have more friends from the old AL over. ^^

[Datenshi]

I'm sorry to gush but OMG Shrike-san I never thought I'd ever see you again. Animelyrics just didn't feel right without people like you around.

I'm not sure you remember me, but I sure remember you. Welcome back.

[bluepenguin]

Hey, welcome back!

[Shimozakura]

Thanks everybody, it's good to be back =) っていうか、これからもよろしくお願いします。

Azuredark: I thought there might be other modarators on this board as well so I put down a disclaimer to hold them off until you could rampage in to the rescue :) There seemd to be no need for that though.

Datenshi: Oh, of course I remember you. It's nice to know I've been missed.

[LavaBug]

It worked for the 'other' moderator ^^

ようこそ

[Shimozakura]

あ、どうも　*bow*

[Shinobi Chirlind-Byouko]

Welcome back!
Glad to see some seniors from the old AL forums.
I've always been an infrequent observer there, rather than be a participant though. あらためてよろしくお願いします！

[animejpop]

Hey, Shrike :D
Hey, Azu-chan :D
Hey, all XD (I think I remember Datenshi too :D -- You're in 池袋 o_o)

Likewise, I'm posting in the wrong thread, just to say "Hi" :D

I was 'chrono' back in the day... Ah how the site has changed.

ちょっとだけ日本語で話して見ようかな～
どうだろう、５年ぶりかな？ o_o
この長い間、別に上達してないきがするんですけどね orz
これからも、よろしくお願いします～

I guess 2 questions pop into my head (feel free to kick me in the nuts, if I shouldn't be asking them here XD):

1) I noticed 'chrono' was already taken. Is there any way to reclaim that username, or is it that it's a new site, and someone simply nabbed the name? :D

2) Do you guys still do the translate-o-marathon anymore? I think ishmael-hakase was the man behind that... And alas, haven't seen him since... Otakon a few years back >_<

God, I miss the old Animelyrics Forum threading... Still, to this day, I haven't seen another forum handle threading in quite a way that makes that much sense ;_;

Well, it's good to be back... I can't promise I'll be a regular, but I'll try to check in :D

じゃね～

[LavaBug]

If the name is taken by a member who has been inactive for a while,
you can claim it afaik... there's a thread here :
http://www.animeforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=93

If the user is active, sorry you're stuck with the name you chose now ^^°

[animejpop]

Thank you!

[Shimozakura]

Hey, Chrono-san. Nice to see you.

By the way, there seem to be many of us old timers around, but it's been a while and I'm sure we've all changed somewhat over the years, so I was wondering what you guys are up to nowadays.

Take me for example, back in the days when I started out I was in our equivalent of high school, learning Japanese by watching anime and translating songs, dreaming about entering a technical university.

Well, it's been a couple years and during them, I managed to get into the Tech University, got fed up in maybe half a year and passed the entrance exam to another university to start my major in Japanese (I very nearly didn't get in, our entrance exam had nothing to do with Japanese language or cultural proficency and all about linguistics and culture anthropology :D). Now I'm into my fourth year, (last year being spent in Yamagata, a cold place in the middle of the mountains in Northern Honshuu) and I'm minoring in philosophy, translation studies and apparently Korean as well (I must say I never saw that coming). I don't watch anime or listen to the music I used to translate here as much as I used to, but I have my favourites and anyway, I'm in too deep to ever really quit anyway =) How about you guys?

Ps. Lavabug, I must confess that every time I see your nick I'm reminded of this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdyC1BrQd6g

[LavaBug]

well....if I ever needed a reason to believe that India is a pretty strange country, that certainly be it... :P

[AzureDark]

Been taking strides with my Japanese but may still not pass even JLPT 2kyu... Graduated last year, but it's a bad time to be unemployed, what with the current situation.

Some people I've invited back don't seem to be keen on it because they don't watch anime anymore and so wouldn't be bothered with their old lyrics. I'm quite thankful people like you and Chirlind took it the right way.

[animejpop]

Well, Shrike, I've actually taken a somewhat similar direction... Perhaps not so fortunate (since it seems you've spent quite some time in Japan :D).

But I've been doing a decent amount of translation, which has definitely helped me at least retain a certain level of Japanese from when I took classes several years ago.

I took the JLPT (同じく、２級) in December, so now I'm anxiously awaiting the result.

I'm also looking forward to going to Japan later this year... Just a visit, but I must make sure to look at job opportunities this time around XD

Hrm, I'm also finally taking Japanese this semester, which is a lot of fun ^^

And, of course, crazy about jpop, as always... Kalafina has been fun to follow. Stephanie :D... And Maaya Sakamoto just had a new album out! Hrm... Saeka Uura! I digress :3

[Datenshi]

By the way, there seem to be many of us old timers around, but it's been a while and I'm sure we've all changed somewhat over the years, so I was wondering what you guys are up to nowadays.

Well, when I first joined AL I had just moved up to high school. I graduated around the same time al.tv died (as did suzumi-san, I think, since we are almost exactly the same age).

I passed the exams for Keio University (Faculty of Law) but I had trouble adjusting and spent most of my time alone in the dormitories reading and playing games (this was around the time I discovered my obsession with eroge, starting with TYPEMOON and Nitro+). This went on for half a year before I quit and returned to live with my parents in Miyagi-ken. Right now I'm studying politics and economics at another private university in Tokyo. What a mess, eh?

What else, let's see: my friends and I are sort of off-handedly planning to create a site that introduces 2-channel threads to English audiences and then translate the feedback into Japanese in turn.

[Shimozakura]

Heh, we sure were young back then... =)

Azuredark: Ouch, graduation, bad move :P I'm planning to stay in the warm nest of the university while the economic winter rages outside, and be sure not to poke my nose out until spring =) But then again, you never know what's gonna happen, whether there's a crisis or not.

Chrono: Translation... いいな. I haven't had that much experience on that front as of yet. I mean, I've done school stuff but no real assignments as of yet.
Btw, I just downloaded the new Maaya Sakamoto album. Haven't listened to it yet but I'm looking forward to see what she's up to this time =)

Datenshi: Hey, I didn't know you're originally from Miyagi-ken. I've actually been there, well Sendai anyway. It's only an hour and a half drive away from Yamagata =D
As for your university adventures, it's a big thing for a person to be sure, but I also think it's pretty common. I mean, maybe about half of the people I know in my faculty alone have changed majors or universities, some have even completed their bachelors before starting anew. In my experience people fresh out of high school usually have no bloody clue what they're gonna to do next, and even if they do it's not like they really know if it's the right thing for them. That's why people here usually don't get it right on the first try, so it's pretty usual to change your major or university at least once. I do have the impression that it's less normal in Japan though.

[animejpop]

:) It's the first album she's put out since Shounen Alice which involves Yoko Kanno ^_^

[bluepenguin]

I'm in my second-to-last year of university now, majoring in English but studying various other languages (Japanese, of course, and Spanish, German, Italian... I almost picked up Arabic this term but couldn't fit it into my schedule). I also took the JLPT 2 in December, though I probably failed. I'll be taking it again next year in that case, since I want to become a professional translator and having a JLPT certificate is very useful (necessary, even) for that. I suppose I've got AL.com to thank for helping me figure out what I really want to do in life (though I still have no idea what I want to do as a day job, unfortunately). I may go to graduate school for translation after this; I know there's a college in my state that offers that.

I don't watch much anime anymore, I don't really read manga (as I no longer have the disposable income for it) and I listen to... well, less Japanese music than I used to, though I'd be lying if I said it didn't still make up more than half of my music library. I do still translate (obviously, that's why I'm here). I'm also going to study in Japan this summer; it's going to cost me a fortune, but at least it will look good on a resume and hopefully be fun.

[suzumi]

ケンくんは私より三か月ぐらい年上ですよ。　＾＾

AL.tv died on the 23rd of October in 2007 (if I recall correctly). And I think I was already in uni then.

I'm currently studying English in nearby all-girls university, and trying to find a part time job (as I quit my old one). I don't watch that much anime anymore, cause I don't really have the time. And I can't seem to wake up in the middle of the night to watch the shows that I want to watch anymore. (歳かな・・・=P). But do I remain loyal to my manga reading habits.

I still translate lyrics when I have the time, as I really enjoy doing it. But for the time being, I want to get a job to save up money. And once I have enough, I want to travel a bit.

Ken, we really should meet up sometime. ^^