ICHARIBA CHODE

“Once we meet, we become friends for life” There’s something beautiful, intriguing and spectacular about the word “hybrid”. Apart from the fact that it points towards co-existence, the mere imagination of the merge of two different things, culture and so on is thrilling. Thus, once we meet we become friends for life as we are now inseparable. This is exactly what Eko Anime Fest seeks to bring to you. Imagine an integration of the Japanese anime culture . Imagine a community of anime lovers, an opportunity to assess cosplay materials easily and a yearly anime festival for both anime lovers and non anime lovers in Nigeria. It sounds amazing right? Anime means a lot of things to different people and below are some responses on what anime means to some people “To me it’s a Safe Haven. One of the few things which keeps me sane even though I’m still not alright” “It’s an escape. Anything is possible in the world of anime. It keeps me sane and also helps my creativity thrive” “Lmao with anime, we’re still not normal. Have you seen the shit we watch?!? But we’re happy insane people who have found other happy insane people” “An escape from boredom and reality…a 2nd dimension” “Anime is my escape from reality. Anime is the one thing I seek when I am feeling sad, or when I want to feel any kind of emotion. Anime is more than entertainment, it’s what shaped me into the person I am now, it’s what made me see life in a different perspective. I’ve learnt a lot from Anime, not only valuable life lessons, but also how to cope with loss, how to have faith in your friends, how to see the good in all situations even if it’s hard to find… I was in a really bad time of my life once, and anime literally saved my life” I love how these responses beautifully shed light on the possibilities of anime. One thing which is dominant is “escape”. It’s interesting to know that when the realities of life are too hard to take in, anime could be an escape from all of life’s hardship at least for a while. The idea of a fusion of Japanese anime culture and Nigerian culture seems mind blowing. I earnestly look forward to it and so should you. I hope once you get to meet us, we become friends for life. ARE YOU ECXCITEDDD???!!!!

ICHARIBA CHODE