What I want for my B-Day

Dante's birthday is coming up. By the end of next month, he will be 43.

Now my relatives who know my taste might do well to think of the upcoming Tyrone Power: Matinee Idol set due out at the end of the month, or of the recently released Masters of Horror: Season Two.

But what I'd really like is a 19 year old or two :)

While I've already spoken about my crush on Sarah; today I saw another cute Anime/Manga fangirl of my acquaintance.

Unlike Sarah, I don't know her name yet. But again, she comes into my workplace and seeks me out to chat with when I'm there. How shall I describe her. Let me call her Emily. While she doesn't look at all like Emma Watson except around the eyes she has other aspects of Ms. Watson. She has long straight light blonde hair. ( I told y'all that I'm beginning to add blondes to my repertoire.) But like Emma's portrayal of Hermione, this girl is outgoing, confident and friendly. While I quite like Sarah's shyness, I like Emily's directness.

When she was in High School Emily hung out with the Anime/Manga geek crowd. But by and large this clique has split into those who cling to the group identity and those who have pursued their interests out into the world at large. Sarah has gone on to be a Math major at college out of town. And Emily just got back from Japan.

While its hard to deny the energy and beauty of these two 19 year olds; I realize that part of my friendship with them is regardless of their age and has everything to do with shared outlooks and interests.

There are distinct generational thresholds for the adoption and acceptance of certain cultural conventions. If I were a computer geek circa 1974; its pretty much a truism that my fellow geeks would be male. Girls were few and far between. This changed over the decades.

For those of us who care about the Ninth Art; there were a few female early adopters who bucked trends against females in fandom. Among those in their early 40s, there are a handfull who sought out the sporadic translations. The first generation that truly had regular access are Beatrice's generation in their early 30s. The generation for whom Anime/Manga was omnipresent and required reading are in their early 20s.

While I'd like to think I'm a lot more than merely a J-Pop-culture geek. If I continue to wax enthusiastically about the best aspects of global culture, those who like films by Bresson and Kobayashi will probably be in their 30s to 60s. But those who wax rhapsodic over Adachi, Tezuka or Sfarr are more prevalent among the 19 year olds than among Beatrice's peers.

Anyhow if the Powers That Be want to send Sarah or Emily my way in time for my 43rd Birthday, I'd write a very polite thank you note :)

Dante