Expect Good News This Year – God

And all of the glory goes to the Almighty God above the beautiful heavens. Thank You, my Holy Father, for bringing this beautiful passion of mine back to life. What you just read isn’t merely an anniversary reflection—it’s a living testimony from me. This wasn’t just some random story that happened. It was a beautiful promise given to me by my Almighty God, foretelling good news that would come into my life, and in the end, it did happen—exactly as He said it would. Every single paragraph, every action, every turning point, every moment of heartbreak and rebirth… all credit, all praise, and all glory belong to Him alone—the Almighty God of Glory! Amen! – Kurai

On December 20, 2015, in the 87th minute of a Serie A match between Inter Milan and Lazio at the San Siro, Felipe Melo conceded a penalty with a reckless challenge on a cold late-autumn afternoon. Antonio Candreva stepped up and calmly converted the spot-kick, restoring Lazio’s lead. In the end, Lazio claimed the three points they desperately needed, leaving the San Siro stunned.Among those stunned was me—a passionate, 18-year-old Inter supporter watching from across the Atlantic in the Sunshine State. It was a typical gray, cold, cloudy day in the suburbs of Orlando. In a surge of rage, disappointment, and sheer exhaustion from years of constant Nerazzurri heartbreak, I hurled my slipper to the ground.

That moment crystallized something for me: the Nerazzurri were going to disappoint their faithful once again. After years of mediocrity—and with more to come—Inter had a well-earned reputation for spectacular collapses after crucial defeats like this one. Sure enough, the team imploded. They fell from 1st place to 4th by January, were out of the title race by March, and had dropped out of the Champions League qualification spots by May. It was a collapse so predictable it almost felt scripted.After that Lazio loss, I finally realized: enough is enough. I was tired of getting so worked up and heartbroken over something that, deep down, wasn’t even a true passion of mine anymore. I was tired of the stress, the anger, and the emotional rollercoaster over something that ultimately had very little real significance in my life. Most of all, I was tired of wasting time on a hobby that no longer brought me joy—time I could be spending on something I truly loved and wanted to build a future around.When those feelings finally surfaced, only one thing came to mind: anime, manga, and the otaku life I had once embraced so fully.After years of drought, with that passion lying dormant, something awakened inside me. I told myself: Kurai, it’s time to change course. Enough is enough. Stop wasting your energy on a team of billionaires living their dreams on the pitch, and start chasing your own. A few days later, on December 25, 2015, I began watching Attack on Titan. I finished the season on December 30.That week marked the moment I finally turned the page.

The question you’re probably asking is: what the heck does this have to do with anime, manga, and my otaku life? Well, please sit back, buckle up, and get ready—because this is the story of one of the most important turning points in my life. It’s exactly how my passion for anime and manga came roaring back.I first became an otaku in 2011, but between 2012 and 2015, I went through a long, slow drought. My enthusiasm faded, and I found myself feeling more miserable, depressed, and completely unable to take my otaku passion to new heights—the way you see me doing today, and the way I did for years after my revival began in 2016.In this piece, I’m going to tell you the full tale of how it all happened: how one small, unexpected moment brought me, as an otaku, back to life and led me to where I am today.

In the year 2015—four years after my otaku life began—every year since 2011 had felt like a disappointment. In 2012, my passion for anime and manga drained away like a battery losing its charge. In fact, I’d argue that 2012 was my absolute lowest point in terms of otaku atmosphere. Although I watched some anime that year, it all felt weak and half-hearted. By the end of 2012, I was shocked at just how far downhill everything had gone.

Then came 2013, which, despite being the worst year overall for me, was surprisingly less bad than I remembered. Things still sucked, but slowly—very slowly—the atmosphere began to recover. By mid to late 2013, my bubble started to stabilize a bit. This recovery was especially noticeable in late 2013 when I purged everything non-anime and non-manga related from my life.

In 2014, my actual anime and manga count hit an all-time low, but despite that, the atmosphere was tremendously recovering. By summer and into the fall, it almost felt like things had returned to normal. Even without high viewing or reading numbers, the vibe felt alive again. Talking to fellow otakus, having anime playing on TV or streaming online—it all made me feel like life was beginning to return to normal for me. Games like Pokémon, Minecraft, Mario Kart, and Super Smash Bros, helped me tremendously during this time.

Then came 2015…That year, I finally began to notice light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks to my older brother, we started watching a lot more anime together, and I kicked off the year by finishing Golden Time with him. It hit me with a powerful emotional reaction—one that stirred something deep in my heart. Although the spark was short-lived, it left a lasting good impression and brought back a feeling I hadn’t experienced in years. (I’d felt something similar with Kokoro Connect in the summer of 2013, but Golden Time struck even deeper.)

Life went on, and my old hobbies—soccer and cars—continued strong. Both had a phenomenal year, and I genuinely enjoyed them. But deep down, my heart was telling me something else needed to be addressed. I just didn’t know what to do about it yet, so I kept going with my life. Interestingly, that same year I returned to MyAnimeList (MAL), started tracking my anime again, and kept talking to other people who loved anime and manga. Little did I know how huge a role that would play in my life later on.

Remember when I mentioned cars? Well, that’s when the real turning point happened. I’d argue this was the moment the slow revival truly began for me. But first, here’s what went down.In February 2015, my older brother and I started watching an anime together: Kobato (2009), a series that would go on to become one of my all-time favorite anime. We obviously didn’t binge it in a few days—it actually took us until October to finish—but every moment was worth it. Kobato has this incredibly emotional song that hit us both hard with the strongest blues. After the song finished and we’d watched the first few episodes, I remember us heading to the kitchen to grab some water. In a classic oopsie-daisy moment, my brother accidentally spat out the water he was drinking because it tasted awful. The second it happened, we both burst out laughing—so hard we couldn’t breathe. It was such a pure, joyful moment. It had been ages since we’d felt that kind of lightness together, that mix of deep emotion from the anime and ridiculous, uncontrollable laughter over something so silly. Little did we know that great and amazing things were waiting for us later that same year…So, what happened next?

Then came what I’d like to call the anime of the year for both of us.That same month, my older brother and I developed yet another intense car-enthusiast craze—one that had flared up before in years like 2010, 2012, and so on. It was actually triggered by watching non-anime movies like The Fast and the Furious, which reignited our interest in cars once again. But in that very same month, I introduced my brother to Initial D. Little did I know that this one simple action—something I’d done ten years earlier—would become one of the most positively consequential moments of my entire life.

Little Caesars, Domino’s, you name it—we had the TV, the HDMI cable, and Initial D ready to go. Episode after episode, it became too gripping to stop. Initial D entering our lives wasn’t some random coincidence; it was perfect timing that exceeded every expectation we could have imagined.The show’s run in 2015 perfectly coincided with the car-enthusiast revival happening that year. Similar to Kobato, we didn’t finish Initial D in a few days—it was more of a constant marathon—but we watched it far more frequently and wrapped it up much sooner than Kobato. In August, we finally completed the series.Of course, before the finish line, here’s what else happened.

Initial D started out modestly and didn’t reach full swing until March, when we bought Gran Turismo 6 and Grand Theft Auto V for the PlayStation 3. Both games featured heavy car content, so Initial D was constantly on repeat in the background. Not to mention, the series is purely centered around Japanese cars—something my brother and I have always loved (and still do, despite the massive decline in interest over time). All three stages—First, Second, and Third—were critically acclaimed and left an astounding impact on both of us. Especially Third Stage’s conclusion, with its heartbreaking relationship failure and the dramatic change of course for what one truly desires in their dream. Then came Fourth Stage; while it didn’t receive quite the same universal praise as the first three, it still delivered an incredible thrill, showcasing the epic nature of touge racing and the sheer awesomeness of Japanese sports cars. Finally, Fifth Stage (and the Final Stage) arrived near the end of August. While most arcs of Initial D took months to finish, these last two were dramatically binge-watched in just a few short days because they were that good. After the epic and deeply emotional conclusion of Final Stage, it left a powerful, long-lasting mark on both of us. We felt emotional, sad, and the classic post-anime depression hit us both like a ton of bricks.

Throughout the entire time we were watching Initial D, its greatness intertwined perfectly with the car-enthusiast revival happening in real time. Even after the series ended, I stayed heavily into cars, and that passion carried strong through the remaining months of 2015. Eventually, though, signs of the car craze began to slowly dwindle around October. By late November, it was officially over—the car-enthusiast ride had faded away.

One of the stark differences I’ve noticed between my brother’s reaction to Initial D and mine was almost the complete opposite.For him, it was all about admiring the beauty and brilliance of Japanese car culture, the cars themselves, touge racing, and the overarching themes of dreams and achievement. Those positives kept fueling his love for cars as a whole. For me, I admired Initial D simply for being an anime and manga that not only rivaled real-life cinema like The Fast and the Furious, but also elevated the concepts of cars, street racing, character development, storytelling, the sports genre, and animation quality to an entirely new level. Those positives were what ultimately pulled me back into my otaku life and showed me the incredible greatness of Japanese anime and manga. That was the key difference I noticed—and it was the one that eventually led me back to anime, manga, and the otaku world in general.

As I mentioned before, once the car-enthusiast run ended in November, the first thing my otaku bubble whispered was: “Down goes one hobby… next is the other.” So, who was “the other”? Before I get to that, let me tell you about something else that happened.

My older brother stumbled across a deeply romantic and emotional anime called Mashiro-iro Symphony. It’s a romance anime from 2011, and we both watched it together four years later, in the late spring of 2015. Mashiro-iro Symphony wasn’t just an amazing anime—it left us both with a lasting impact and an emotional rollercoaster neither of us had experienced in ages. We became so immersed in the feelings that we both ended up with a powerful post-anime depression syndrome. A few sad tears even slipped out from both of us. It was such a sensational, overwhelming feeling that I honestly felt a spark of excitement. Deep down, I kind of anticipated that a revolution was on the horizon—not just for me, but for both of us.Mashiro-iro Symphony was an incredible anime and became one of the top highlights of 2015. When we finished watching it together, I was powerfully reminded of how beautiful and moving romance anime can be. It also brought back the realization that romance anime had always been the pioneer of the biggest revolutions in my life. I mean, Kanon is my all-time favorite anime—what else could I possibly say? Eventually, the dream sparked by Mashiro came true. It became such a beloved favorite for both of us that even into 2016 and beyond, we still talk about it and cherish it. It’s a memory I’ll never forget.

The otaku bubble wanted to eliminate one more thing, and that “someone else” was none other than soccer.The game of soccer had become like a global empire that had taken over nearly every part of my life. Even the temporary hiatuses I tried during those years ultimately failed—24/7. Serie A, La Liga, and the Premier League were my go-to leagues. I didn’t care much about Ligue 1 or the Bundesliga. I just loved soccer so much that every day I would try to catch matches, watch highlights, read or watch transfer rumors, and tune into networks like Fox Soccer, ESPN Deportes, and beIN Sports as if my life depended on it. I’d scroll through memes online, get into intense debates, and even play soccer outside whenever I could.Soccer was so deeply ingrained in my life that if people were to predict my future career back then, some would have guessed I’d become a soccer journalist. Champions League, Copa América, Euros, World Cup—you name it, I was all in. If the otaku bubble thought cars were in the way, then soccer was an even bigger thorn in its side—a true pain in the backside. Of course, soccer’s unexpected defeat would arrive in the most unforeseen way imaginable. Not even I could have predicted it…

Unlike cars, which had an arsenal of strong “soft power” on their side—courtesy of Initial D, Gran Turismo 6, and Grand Theft Auto V—soccer didn’t have anything quite like that. Sure, it had FIFA and PES, but those games were never the ultimate source of fun that soccer truly relied on for me. I also watched and finished Giant Killing that same year, but it was no Initial D—it only had one season and didn’t leave the same lasting impact. For soccer, the real importance came from the game itself. In 2015, I was (and still am as of 2025) a die-hard Inter Milan fan. (It still hurts thinking about that 5-0 loss to PSG…) Throughout the 2010s, the Nerazzurri endured what fans called the “banter era”—a long period of decline that left the club a shadow of the incredible team they’d been in the mid-to-late 2000s, especially after their legendary treble in 2010. After years of constant mediocrity, it finally felt like the Nerazzurri were ready to mean business. The 2015 summer transfer window was massively hyped: Inter signed more players than any other team in Serie A—even surpassing Juventus. The Copa América 2015 was a huge success, the sustained momentum from the 2014-15 season was impossible to ignore, and the afterglow of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil (plus the 2013-14 season) still lingered. TV was wide open for me—whether in the living room or my bedroom—and soccer was advertised everywhere in Florida. It felt unstoppable. When August rolled around and the new season kicked off, it was the best feeling imaginable. The climate even entered an intense crunch that left me constantly on edge—in the best way possible.Soccer was so powerful in my life that when cable went out and the internet disappeared, I literally shrank into an abyss. I was down, depressed, and dying to know what was happening with the beautiful game. Eventually, everything came back online in late September, and slowly—very slowly—things began to calm down. The enjoyment continued…However…

Between September and December, Inter Milan constantly held the number-one spot in the Serie A table and delivered intense, thrilling face-offs against other top teams. Inter even beat Milan on my birthday, which felt incredibly special, and they held strong against every other challenge in the league. During those months, I truly believed the Nerazzurri were finally back on top. I thought I was witnessing the long-awaited downfall of our arch-nemesis, Juventus—the Bianconeri. Soccer was pure fun across the world in those days: Messi and Ronaldo duking it out as always for the title of the best in the world, Barcelona and Real Madrid clashing in their eternal rivalry, and exciting storylines unfolding in other leagues. The Premier League, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1 were all buzzing. Leicester City was making history, Zlatan was being Zlatan, and Lewandowski scored five goals in nine minutes. Sigh… those really were the days.I was also deep into PES 2016, which made soccer feel even more unstoppable, with no signs of it slowing down anytime soon. Looking back on those memories now, soccer truly meant everything to me. It’s hard to believe how irrelevant it has become in my life today…That period was a golden age for me. By November, with cars fading away, soccer reached the absolute height of its untouchable power. However, in that very same month, something else was quietly happening…

I began talking more with fellow otakus on websites like MyAnimeList and AniSpace. Sometimes I’d browse their profiles and see people with 500+ to 1,000+ completed anime and manga entries, casually moving on as if it meant nothing. This left me in a state of extreme envy and confusion. Even during my drought years, I had always considered myself a hardcore otaku—someone who put anime and manga above everything else and followed the otaku code of Akihabara, which I still passionately live by to this day. Yet despite all that, my existence felt like a walking contradiction. Despite the bold words I’d always used, I never truly demonstrated the otaku vibe I claimed to embody. I kept prioritizing a real-life sport over something I repeatedly insisted I loved more than anything. Eventually, toward the end of November, my future sister-in-law showed my brother and me a true masterpiece: Wolf Children. It was such an amazing film that it left both of us overwhelmed with emotion and happiness. It remains a genuine masterpiece to this day—whenever I think back on Wolf Children, I still smile inside. The emotion, characters, drama, themes of motherhood, and the stigma from society created a deep, unforgettable thrill that no one could ignore.The fact that the three of us watched it together on Skype, taking in every single scene, made the final stretch of 2015 truly special. Wolf Children reminded me of the pure magic of anime and manga—something so beautiful that had been lost to me for years, but where hope still lingered. Indeed it did. After Wolf Children’s overwhelming success, little did I know that this was a powerful “psy-op” orchestrated by the otaku bubble—one designed to flood me with emotion and set the stage for the revolution that would soon transform my entire life.

During that same month, I kept watching anime opening compilations from the 2000s and 2010s over and over again—especially from years like 2006, 2011, and 2015. I also went back to older eras: the years between 2000–2004, 2005–2009, and the whole stretch of 2010–2014. Those amazing openings left me lost in thought, stirring up so many feelings…Not only that, but I started playing anime OSTs again—tracks from Samurai Champloo, for example—or Japanese video game soundtracks like “Times Are Changing” by Makoto from Gran Turismo 5, and T-Square music throughout the year. Toward the end, I was constantly checking for new anime and manga updates from the industry. I’d browse titles that looked interesting, dipping back into otaku stuff I hadn’t done in ages.I remember meeting other fellow anime and manga fans on Skype—they were fully immersed, jacked-in otakus living the life. At that moment, I’ll never forget it: I was in my garage, playing Battlefield 3 on my PS3, staring emotionally at the television screen, and I turned to my older brother and said, “I just want to become more otaku…”He looked confused. He thought I already was one. But the truth is, I had never truly demonstrated my otaku brilliance. I had talked the talk for years, but I hadn’t walked the walk. Little did I know that this exact moment marked the official downfall of… soccer.

By the time December rolled around, the atmosphere just kept getting better and better. The otaku bubble was growing bigger by the day, but soccer still felt untouchable—it remained firmly number one for pretty much the rest of the month… until the very end. So, if soccer was king, how exactly did the otaku bubble manage to assassinate it? Here’s the full story of what really happened—and I can’t wait to hear your reaction, because by the time you finish reading this, you’ll probably be saying, “This guy owes Lazio a favor LOL!” Well… I’m not so sure about that one, lol.

It was December, and Inter Milan were riding high. I was over the moon seeing how well the Nerazzurri were performing. I had sky-high hopes and genuinely believed they would finally deliver the Scudetto after six long years without it and secure Champions League qualification after missing out since 2012. At long last, I thought, Juventus would be dethroned, and we’d put our rivals Milan firmly in their place without even breaking a sweat. Before the match against Lazio, Inter looked stable—sometimes even unstoppable. Despite the loss to Napoli in November, the team bounced back immediately and stayed unbeaten throughout December… right up until the day they faced Lazio at home. Little did I know this game would change my life… forever. When the match kicked off, the Nerazzurri got off to a horrible start. Antonio Candreva scored a stunning goal for Lazio early on. I was annoyed, sure, but I fully believed Inter would bounce back and win comfortably. By the time the second half began, though, something felt off. Inter weren’t playing like themselves at all. In fact, they were playing poorly—and that bad form would linger for the rest of the season. Eventually, Inter’s talisman Mauro Icardi pulled one back with a brilliant assist, leveling the score at 1-1. Still, the team showed little sign of turning the game around and actually winning. By the 85th minute, I started accepting that a draw might be the best we could hope for. But then, in the 87th minute, Felipe Melo decided to pull off the most hilarious, epic fail imaginable: a full-on kung-fu kick that earned him an automatic red card and handed Lazio a penalty. Antonio Candreva stepped up again and calmly converted it. A few minutes later, the final whistle blew. Inter Milan had lost a crucial match to Lazio.My reaction…?

I was shocked, horrified, disappointed, and filled with so much rage. I’ll never forget it: I shot up from my bed, grabbed my slipper, and hurled it to the ground. I was absolutely fuming. Then I stormed outside to the backyard and unleashed a full-blown tantrum over the Nerazzurri’s defeat. To make matters worse, Juventus were already catching up. They won a crucial match against Fiorentina earlier that day. It wasn’t just disappointment—it was a complete meltdown, one that so many of my fellow Interisti felt right along with me. When Inter lost to Lazio, it triggered a massive chain reaction in my emotions. At that exact moment, something deep inside me awakened. And that feeling… was two things…

One: I realized that Inter Milan were going to collapse after this defeat.
I could already see the demoralization spreading through the team. Juventus were on fire, Napoli remained brutally consistent, and it hit me hard—the Nerazzurri’s title race was coming to a swift end.This realization washed over me like a wave… and left me feeling tired.
Deeply, profoundly tired.It made me see, with painful clarity, how much time I had poured into a hobby that never delivered what I truly wanted in life: to be a happy, passionate otaku who lives and breathes his love for anime and manga every single day. It made me understand that, at the end of the day, no matter how many times I screamed, raged, or got worked up over an Inter Milan game, nothing changed. They couldn’t hear me anyway. I was supporting a group of guys living out their dreams on the pitch while I sat there, watching them chase glory—and not chasing my own. I realized this hobby had overstayed its welcome. It shouldn’t have been the thing I was most invested in. Because beyond the entertainment and the temporary highs, I wasn’t doing anything else with soccer. There was no career aspiration, no future plan tied to it. It was just a therapy distraction—a way to fill time and escape.The realization was cold… but strangely, it also felt liberating.
It left me excited—genuinely looking forward to whatever came next.

Secondly, I became utterly tired of constantly pouring my energy and interest into something that wasn’t anime and manga. I started asking myself the real questions:
“Why am I investing so much time in something that isn’t what I truly love? Why can’t I give that same level of dedication to anime and manga?” At that moment, I felt like a pretentious LARPer—someone who didn’t actually fit the narrative of being a hardcore otaku. It was something I had prided myself on in the past (and still do today, even more so now), but back then it felt hollow. I’d spend 90 minutes plus stoppage time glued to a soccer match when I could have been marathoning epic anime and manga masterpieces—old classics or brand-new gems. In that instant, the truth hit me hard: I was wasting my time. Especially at 18 years old. Time was changing, slipping away, and I was tired—exhausted—of this endless drought in my passion for anime and manga while trying to live the otaku life. I realized the clock was ticking, and I couldn’t keep living like this, and just like that, Makoto’s song “Times Are Changing” from Gran Turismo 5 echoed in my head.
Ain’t that symbolic…So, what happened afterwards…?

Between December 21 and 24, I dove headfirst into videos about anime and manga—especially one on the history of 4Kids TV. I also started listening to anime songs on repeat while watching trailers, including those for Spirited Away. Speaking of Spirited Away, I kept playing “In the Name of Life” over and over again. That melody resonated so deeply with how I was feeling: every time it played, I’d get emotional and, at the same time, strangely excited. It was as if something inside me was screaming that a change had to happen in my life. During those days, I kept telling myself: I need to change the way I live. And right after Inter Milan’s crushing loss to Lazio, my mind and heart felt like a free agent—no lingering loyalty, no interest in watching soccer anymore. I was exhausted by it. I craved something new, or rather, something my heart had always truly desired and longed to return to.That’s when anime and manga surged back into the spotlight. In that exact moment, I realized the otaku bubble’s long-held dream had finally come true: soccer had been assassinated. It was murdered in cold blood by the otaku bubble. Of course, unlike cars—which completely faded away—soccer didn’t vanish entirely. It remained somewhat relevant in the years that followed, but it never regained the glamour and dominance it had in 2015, when it ruled everything with an iron fist. The otaku bubble destroyed that reign and relegated soccer to what it truly was: just a hobby. Nothing more—and often much less. With that symbolic execution, the otaku bubble put an end to the era of divided passions. From that point on, I focused solely on my otaku life. Anime and manga, once again, took center stage—officially reigniting in 2016.

On December 25, 2015, I made a decision: I was going to watch the most popular and biggest anime of the time—Attack on Titan.Attack on Titan was no stranger to me. I vividly remembered the insane hype it received back in 2013 and how that buzz continued long afterward. Even in 2015, people were still talking about it nonstop, with the anticipation for Season 2 building like wildfire. So I decided to finally give it a try. What ultimately prompted me to start was remembering that epic opening. I caught myself humming it over and over again in my head and thought, “Gee, Kurai—you always hum this opening! Why not just watch the show already?” So I did. Between December 25 and December 30, I watched four episodes a day, and in just five short days, I finished the entire first season. When the final episode ended… oh my goodness, my reaction said it all. I realized that over the past three years, I had missed out on absolute masterpieces like Attack on Titan. And it wasn’t just this one—there were so many incredible anime out there I’d completely overlooked. Attack on Titan instantly became a forever favorite of mine.

It felt exactly like one chapter closing and a brand-new one opening. The hype was out of this world. My passion for anime and manga was burning inside me with fresh life again. Excitement flooded through me in a way I hadn’t felt in ages. In other words, the birth of a new era was set to begin the following year. I never would have imagined this transformation could happen simply because my favorite sports team lost a crucial game… and then I decided to watch the biggest anime of the time. The otaku bubble’s long-held goal of striking down soccer was finally complete.

My otaku life had returned, and a new era had officially begun. What a beautiful, emotional end to the year. You can’t imagine how I felt—smiles everywhere, excitement everywhere, new ideas everywhere. Little did I know that happy memories and incredible changes were waiting just around the corner. When 2016 started, I immediately dove into anime marathons, started reading manga, and began building an epic manga collection that I still own and cherish to this day. Anime DVDs and Blu-rays would soon follow. By March, I was sitting in a park in South Florida. I looked over at my mother with an emotional smile and said, “Life is beautiful.” She stared back at me with a shocked but deeply happy expression. We both knew it: that long, dark era of passionless drought had finally come to an end. A new era of greatness had begun for me. Not only that—revolution after revolution would unfold. My otaku passion grew bigger and stronger, new memories were made, and new people entered my life along the way. So… what happened afterwards?

The rest is history… As you are seeing right now…

Thank you for joining me on this emotional anniversary. Today, I’m a full-fledged otaku more than ever before—and right now, I’m aiming to become Florida’s #1 Akiba-kei. The dream goes on!