Hello everyone! My name is Tion. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. You can say that I pretty much came out the womb as an Otaku! I owe my ‘Otakuness’ to my mom. She may not look like a geek (she’s far too beautiful), but deep down she is one. My mom exposed me to Marvel comics, anime, and video games at a very young age. I started playing video games when I was two years old. The first system that I owned was the NES. Most of time I played Super Mario/Duck Hunt, Final Fantasy I, Dragon Quest I, and Tetris.
Draining HP: I would switch from Final Fantasy to Dragon Quest or vise versa, every time I got stuck on a story ark. Talk about living (wasting) my life!
My favorite genre of video games (if you haven’t already take the hint) are JRPG’s; Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest are my favorite JRPG series. Final Fantasy II, IV, VI, VII and Dragon Quest III, V, VI, and IX are my favorite entries. I’m not a fan of new-school Final Fantasy games. I hated everything from FFVIII, and beyond with the exception of FFXII.
Final Fantasy VII had the BIGGEST impact on me. It changed my way of thinking, actions, and my attitude towards the people around me. I’ve been told by friends that I am “dark and gloomy”, and “too serious” like Cloud at times. However, deep down I ‘m a funny and down to earth person to talk to. As for Cloud, I don’t mind the comparison. I admired the REAL Cloud, those who have played FFVII know what I’m talking about. He has gone through a lot like I have, so I can easily relate to him.
Artwork by Final Fantasy veteran character designer Yoshitaka Amano, who also worked on the Gatchman TV show.
It wasn’t until I was in middle school that I really got into anime and manga. At that time I was into the popular, “bubble-gum” manga like Ranma 1/2, Bleach, and Dragon Ball. Naturally, over the years my tastes have evolved. As I got older, I gravitated torward superhero-type manga like Devilman, and Akumetsu. The very first, and my personal favorite, anime that I watched was Science Ninja Team Gatchman. What I found unique about it is that the superhero genre in manga and anime is not that popular in Japan. 
Hahaha, that’s me at Anime Expo ’04.
Aside from anime, I like to watch a lot of movies. I’m a HUGE horror, or should I say slasher-horror, sci-fi, and fantasy film fan. Star Wars (the original trilogy), and Halloween (the original film; the Rob Zombie remakes aren’t that bad to take a glance at) are some of my favorite all time movies.
When I’m not writing for Real Otaku Gamer, I attend college majoring in Art and Japanese. Anyone who wants to practice, learn, or teach me something that I don’t even know, feel free to contact me by leaving a comment below.
It has been a blast! Cheers!
Dragon-Quest is goldy! Love your real otaku “tales” article. Amano is one of my favorite rpg game artists too but you already know that.
Love to see some of your art Tion! Maybe I should finally fire up a DA account after all these years if but to simply keep track of my friends’ deviations.