I Was A Cringy Teen Weeaboo | Art + Storytime

In honor of spookymonth, I'm digging up the ghosts of my past and discussing the cringe of my teen years. There's catgirls in there.
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[@onetinyrabbit742]

I know your deep dark secret And yes, everyone, it really did make me laugh so hard I cried

[@JustAnAverageToast]

._.

[@VideoCannibal]

Yasss- I meannnn yuh- no no no... hmmmmmmmm Hello?

[@orangeismyfavoritecolor]

Oh my god now I NEED to know

[@mindopolis6089]

It's better for our sanity to not know

[@kyubeycoobie3568]

Is that discussed on the podcast? I usually don't lke podcasts but I must know lol

[@TukaShiri]

"Don't kill the part of you that's cringy. Kill the part of you that cringes." Seriously needed to hear that today.

[@faenene]

Favourite quote! ⭐️

[@just_squidding]

"Don't kill the part of you that's cringey. Kill the part of you that cringes." genuinely inspiring. people should be allowed to like what they want without worrying about being deemed "cringey" or embarrassing!! (within reason ofc lmao) also i think i'm a bit late but congrats on 100K subs!! you totally deserve it!

[@Nugcon]

enough exposure to cringe culture and you'd realise that what's "cringe" is decided completely arbitrary and changes all the time. Trying to keep up with that not just inhibiting, but also is fruitless and a waste of energy

[@PeriluneStar]

Yeah, it can be fun to be cringe! Not worrying about what other people think and having fun is what matters :)

[@MatthewConnellan-xc3oj]

Yeah, like how I like JJT, Googology, and Tower creator, all at once.

[@vortolex]

Indeed…. Love and embrace the part who want to love and remove the thing that doesn’t want to be the real you. ;)

[@JanusKastin]

While I was taking Japanese in college, one of the grad students in the department did research on us, asking how many of us were in the program JUST BECAUSE OF ANIME.

[@JanusKastin]

@MrRainbow228 In my classroom, all of them.

[@aperson1754]

I'm kind of like this, but instead of anime for me, it was the video game Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Or it was for like 3 days because I hate learning languages.

[@ArwenCaldwell]

This video has made me reflect on my middle school self… I think the worst thing I did was making mha characters into furries 😔

[@tatugasshow6047]

this made me cry

[@ArwenCaldwell]

This also makes me cry

[@random_kai]

as a furry, this is the most funny thing I have seen today

[@espressodepressoo]

when i was in 6th grade i cosplayed as ochako uraraka WITH FUCKING CAT EARS 💀💀 im never gonna forget the pain

[@bunniifangz]

man u used to be cool af

[@ShelbyLikesStuff]

9:25 I imagined a scenario for this. *jingling slowly approaching* “You hear that?” “Yep she’s coming, we gotta go fast.” “Hey friends!” *the pitter patter of small children running*

[@MsChaing]

Ough, this gave me so much psychic damage and remembering my own cringe phase... I remembered that in middle school some "friends" and I would roleplay as Sailor Moon characters during recess. I was always Sailor Moon, and I was convinced I had psychic powers for like, 2 years. This doesn't include my own catgirl phase, as well as creating my very first Princess Tutu cosplay out of old white tshirts from my dad that I just cut up and literally stapled together. It didn't last very long, only an hour before getting tossed in the trash

[@PeriluneStar]

That's hilarious- omg the roleplaying part made me think of when I wrote a book in second grade and asked my teacher to read it to the class (she did) and we all liked it so much that during recess we played as the characters-

[@MsChaing]

@@PeriluneStar Wait that's actually kind of sweet of the teacher and your classmates, it sounds like they were very supportive!! Do you remember anything from this book that you wrote?

[@PeriluneStar]

@@MsChaing yeah she was a very nice teacher!! Well, the book was called Wolf Adventures, there's three books in the series, and I have all of them actually! The first book is where the wolves all live together in a pack, and they're in the cafeteria and they keep hearing a banging noise on the window and try and find out who is doing it, and it turns out to be this wolf who got kicked out from the pack for some reason. It's not that great, but it was good for the age I wrote it at :)

[@vortolex]

WtG no worries I also had embarrassing moments but I had learn from my parents there is no need to be shame because that is the part of who we are (no harming anyone) we must cherish. Lol you been a full Chūnibuyo mode then activating Bankaiii!

[@enetgrinson8394]

I was apparently too young when I discovered night core to know that it was a genre, I legit thought it was a specific artist XD

[@UhhOlivia]

me being a weeaboo actually built my career in art and video making too, so honestly we were just building life skills!

[@raxxie]

Holy crap! I saw my name, yay! I was much more cringey in highschool than I thought I was at the time... I was a SUPER emo, wannabe gangster rapper. Yep.. I was equal parts, writing my first album and writing ridiculous poetry that I dreamed would be discovered 100 years after my death

[@luigiboi4244]

We all have that part in life where we think we are the hottest sh*t, but end up channeling our inner Bully Maguire.

[@Idkpleasejustletmechangeit]

What if it does get discovered 100 years after your death?

[@raxxie]

@Cocaine420_ that would be awesome and horrible lol

[@ShelbyLikesStuff]

Props to Star for remembering her childhood, don’t ask me anything about my childhood before 9 I won’t have sh*t to tell you, Edit: just changed the word “past” to the word “before”!

[@ceinwenchandler4716]

XD

[@HiddenWindshield]

I was an absolutely unrepentant nerd when I was a teen. I'm... just a little bit older than Star, so this was late 80's and early 90's. I remember telling anyone who would listen what "The Internet" was, and how it was going to revolutionize absolutely everything (and I hate the fact that the internet took so long to make an impact that I grew up before I could say "told you so"). I was part of Usenet, and I was the first person in my family to have an internet email address (except for the one my parents got for free from their ISP that they never even checked). I knew people who had UUCP bang-path email addresses (though I'm not _quite_ old enough to have actually had one of those myself). My equivalent to Star's bell necklace was a binary watch I wore proudly for about a year or two. As in, instead of showing "8:30", it would show "01000:011110". The only reason I stopped wearing it was because it wore out (it was a cheap novelty thing that didn't last long). And, yes, before you ask, I now make a living as a computer programmer and technician.

[@Island_vampire]

I was a Weeb for China starting in the 5th grade but the roots started for me in Kindergarten after watching Mulan for the first time. My peak cringe was a wearing a red quilted Qipao jacket in my family’s Christmas card photo at 12. But some good things is that I read books about Chinese history which lead to me reading books by Chinese and Chinese American authors which really lead me to develop an actual constructive love for the culture and learning about issues in the Chinese American culture. It also lead to me learning Chinese and I have been actively studying the language for over three years. I would yell at 12 year old me for accidental cultural appropriation but I’m kinda proud of how I was able to turn my weeb-dom into something productive

[@-themightymittens-]

I was into Warrior Cats and Dork Diaries in middle school. I was also obsessed with My Little Pony until I was like 14 lol. I think we all think of our younger selves as cringey. Who knows, I might look back in 10 years and be like "Oh ew I was into The Owl House, how embarrassing" lol.

[@bubbledafoxy]

im into warrior cats still! and i want to start watching the owl house bc my friend loves that show and i already like it too lol and when i was little i loved MLP too

[@vaporean_boylove.0w083]

Dude I BUGGERED my family so much about MLP. I'm still a fan as I'm older now. Luckily it stayed off the internet xD

[@-themightymittens-]

@@vaporean_boylove.0w083 Oh yeah, some of the MLP fandom is weird lol

[@vaporean_boylove.0w083]

@@-themightymittens- I will say that I was kind of lucky that I didn't know you could go on different forums specifically for MLP, so I was able to avoid the very weird fans and just stayed away from the very critical side of the fandom.

[@banana_man565]

I know this may be off topic but i am saying this to everyone do you want a banana, i try to give everyone i meet a banana just to make there day a bit better and i hope you have a wonderful day

[@BDSomewhat]

Of course I’d love a banana

[@banana_man565]

@@BDSomewhat here "gives you a banana" hope you enjoy and again I hope you have a wonderful day

[@jelly_swoosh]

Do you see banana man Hopping over on the white-hot sand Here he come with some for me Freshly taken from banana tree (one, two, three, four) Banana man, me want a ton Gimme double and a bonus one Gimme more for all me friends This banana flow will never end Do you want a banana? Peel it down and go, mm-mm-mm-mm Do you want a banana? This banana for you Tonight, we dance around the flame Then we get to play spirit game Spirit names, we shout out loud Shake the thunder from the spirit cloud All the songbirds in the tree Chant a tune to let the spirits free Then we see them in the night Spirits jumping by fire light Do you want a banana? (Do you want a banana?) Peel it down and go, mm-mm-mm-mm Do you want a banana? (Do you want a banana?) This banana for you Look you, you too uptight, you know You could laugh and kick it back and go (wee!) But without a rhythm or a rhyme You do not banana all the time Fly away from city on the run Try to make a little fun Look you, come to the bungalow African't you tell me told you so Don't you love the bumping of the drum? Make you shake until the bum go numb Let de bongo play you 'til you drop This banana never stop (never stop, never stop) Forget all your troubles and go with the flow Forget about whatever you may never know Like whether whatever you are doing is whatever you should And whether anything you do is ever any good And then forget about banana when it stick in your throat And when it make you wanna bellow, but you stuck in a choke And forget about the yellow from the beckoning man Who make you take another one and make a mock of your plan Bungalay, bungalow Make up your mind and tell me no (Shh) Well, it's nine o'clock, and it's getting dark And the sun is falling from the sky I've never left so early, and you may wonder why Tomorrow morning on the plane No banana make you go insane Floating back to busy town No banana make you want to frown Do you want a banana? (Do you want a banana) Peel it down and go, mm-mm-mm-mm Do you want a banana? This banana for... you

[@banana_man565]

@@jelly_swooshbro thank you for singing me a song you made my day and again I hope you have a wonderful day

[@kitcoyyoy]

@@jelly_swoosh I'm gonna go listen to this, on loop, max volume, with my earbuds now I love this song

[@Dancinglemon]

Nothing teaches you patience like having to wait 15 minutes for your internet to load 1 minute of potato quality inuyasha on KZbin. Those were good days :’)

[@NREKAI]

As someone who makes over edited CapCut videos, I feel like this will be a large and embarrassing part in my art journey once I look back at this when I’m an adult

[@Mattchudon]

My first steps into middle-school weeaboo-dom was seeing the first volume of One Piece in one of those Scholastic book orders in 2004. Pirates of the Caribbean was the big thing of the time, and the summary said it was about pirates, so naturally I wanted it and begged my mom for the ten bucks to get it. When my 13-year-old self got the volume, I went from, "Wow, backwards book? That's weird" to "Whoa, swear words and blood and violence? Awesome!!!" I got as many volumes as I could, but I think I petered out at volume 32.

[@GhoZtect]

Instead of acting out my weeaboo tendencies irl, I channel them into my writing. Great way to create storylines

[@Linkfan88]

I did the bell neck choker too, in High school. You were not alone. It honestly wasn't that bad. It was just anime reference the mass school population did not get. Gosh feels its so nice to know I wasn't alone in doing this.

[@Rocketdog299]

"Don't kill the part of you that's cringy. Kill the part of you that cringes." If you ever found a way to include that quote in Castoff or one the D&D-streams you participate in, I would passionately applaud you😆.

[@mayuwu4408]

The reason I clicked on this video was the thumbnail. I didn't feel a shred of judgement from the way present you was looing at your past self. It's silly and still a bit emberassing, but the way she looks back with this kind and almost bitersweet expression was really touching and profound to me, I teared up a little. I felt that whole final point of the video, a journey I have been on and resonate with personally, just from that expression. "What makes you different makes you strong." - Vi, Arcane Star's point at the end of the video exeplifies this quote perfectly; all those "cringey" things of her past are part of her too. And they've blossomed into this beautiful passion carreer. For others, that might mean realizing that you're a girl (me haha). For everyone, you get to just authentically unapologetically be yourself openly and without shame!!! Try not to let anyone try to make you feel shame about yourself, as if there was something wrong with you and that you need to hide or supress or change. Don't kill the part of you that's cringe, kill the part of you that cringes. You deserve to be who you are.

[@legendary_hero]

It's okay, Star. You may be cringe, but you are free.

[@guitarlover1204]

Ah damn, this one just brought me back to my cringe weeb days. They were good. A little weird, and I definitely did some things that I don't like back in the day... but I had so much fun. And just as you said, I started then to do the stuff that I do now for a living. I also had those "how to draw manga" books, btw. I begged my parents to get them for me and they were BAD but GOOD and weird... I still remember the timeless character design advice: give your characters different hair, because their faces will mostly be the same anyways.

[@thoughtfulravn]

"In the all my friends have crushes so I guess I will also pretend..." I literally slapped my hands on my desk like YES THAT IS WHAT IT IS LIKE for young aces! I also remember the exorbitant prices of anime DVDs and even further, the VHSs with maybe three episodes on them (if that) from Suncoast. Also the KZbin episodes cut into two to three parts, would open multiple tabs and pause the videos so they would buffer while I was away at class in college. What a trip down memory lane, haha! Kids these days are really missing out on having goofy signature images and silly forums.

[@vinling2767]

"Respect your elders dammit!" Had me laughing so hard I cried. 'Just Communication ' was my ringtone.

[@nomistarry]

A cringe man thinks he is based, a based man thinks he is cringe

[@maplesugar7409]

I don't find anything you did in middle school cringy. I wish I had that much fun in middle school. I didn't get into anime until well into high school and was still in my Hannah Montana phase in middle school.

[@thaipankatima658]

I'm glad i grew up in a weeaboo family. My brother, cousins, and nieces all love anime and manga

[@C052-ip9zs]

... let's say my family doesn't...

[@TexTheGuy]

@@C052-ip9zs i was called gay for it well they ain't wrong really (aroace in ze closet)

[@ufoesferico1050]

The choosing a random kid to be your crush that you actually didn't care about and mixing it with your current weeb obsession felt too close to home. Hehe, middle school is something.

[@ReesesBees]

I often look back at my younger years, and the weeb phase I had for... a lot longer than I should've (from ages 11 to around 17), and while I do often go "Oh my fucking god why did I say/do/draw/write this?", I still look back fondly, because it was that phase that sparked my love of creating characters, writing and creating stories. One of which was a literal carbon copy of a video game called Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon on the N64; the story today is so vastly different than the first iteration that you'd never know that it was originally a weird weeb's story full of "totally original characters".

[@MyNameIsUnpronouncable]

My cringy thing: I wore tails everyday everywhere. AND STILL DO (not everywhere tho lol)😅😅

[@virivimagines]

This entire video was just back to back psychic damage attacks. I've never felt so old before, thanks star!

[@sauceakure]

this exact video made me wanna read your comic recently, i really love your artstyle a lot and your comic is actually really something that made me happy, congrats on everything man love you.

[@HTMangaka]

I started out cracking up to this video....then about halfway through I just clutched my head and screamed at the ceiling. This was WAAAAY too relatable. O_O I loved it! Awesome stuff! ^^

[@kenniCutiefish420]

I felt so seen AND heard with this video I STG. The nightcore and AMVs. ESPECIALLY Everytime We Touch. You sent me and probably several others into a nostalgia spiral

[@-themightymittens-]

8:47 This reminds me of when I was in my Warrior Cats phase and would pretend to be a cat. I made a "collar" and everything XD It was basically just a necklace made with a piece of yarn and a big yellow bead in the middle.

[@aec1990]

Thank you so much for the nostalgia

[@ChidoriAlchemist]

Your last few minutes of your video where you said "love something and love it fearlessly" is the information that I needed to hear about 15-20 years ago. I mean, I have discovered this myself in my adult life, but oh how I wish I could go back and tell that to myself. I was always teased for liking Warrior Cats, anime, manga, all of that fun stuff- I should have never been afraid to love it.

[@Mushroom_Drawz.0]

I just started watching your videos today as a kid over 10 and you have inspired me to make my own comic and I love your comic. Thank for inspiring me ❤

[@noriyasusan]

"Don't kill the part of you that's cringey. Kill the part of you that cringes." Lovely phrase. Im from Uruguay and we didnt have a blockbuster that would sell us anime, so what we did was, found a forum of anime fans in general and then we setted up a date and a place (rented by the forum administrators) and everyone who ever was lucky enough to download a series or any other way of adquiring one would go to that meeting with their series and a lot of DVDs... and we would spent the whole night trading copies and making new ones of the anime that everyone had... Good times

[@TexTheGuy]

I'm sorry but *phrase

[@MikiChanCatGirl]

There were certain parts if this video that felt like they were pulled straight from my own experience. God I did so many cringy things back in middle and high school days. I wore a bell until I was told to take it off, just to name one. I also named my first car after Kisshu from Tokyo Mew Mew. And dang I think about my Gaia days often, including the friend I had at the time that did the whole fake Japanese boyfriend thing. His name was Rikamaru. 😂 but all in all, these experiences probably made us more well rounded people in the long run, and brought us where we are today. I'm about to have my first convention art booth thanks to the skill I built up in those days. You are such an accomplished comic artist and you've been selling at kons for years. We truly wouldn't be who we are now without the cringe. 🎉 Thanks for sharing your stories.

[@Quizzicalotl]

I related so much wanting to get song audio but only having my parents' computer, headphones, and recording software! And that wearing the cat bell choker for 2 years?! Cringe, yes, but I've gotta give you props for the dedication!

[@velvi8359]

This video sent me reeling back to my freshman year of highschool when me and all my friends were all Hetalia obsessed deviantart kids, it was truly tragic.

[@HelloMomoMomo]

Your life story is my life story LITERALLY!??? also I’m making a comic and I use your videos to focus 🤯

[@harperdean203]

This whole video is giving me flashbacks

[@poppythecat454]

I remember watching just about anything and everything on KZbin when it started too!! I loved it.

[@mychemicalfckingromance]

finally, youtube recommended me a good youtuber with a large catalog of videos that I can binge while eating

[@marialagidyne]

NOOOOO THIS VIDEO HAD ME HOLLERINGGGGG the tmm and gaia online mentions specifically 😭 tmm got me to start taking art more seriously (although the style definitely leaned more into chobits after a couple of months) & my friend group assigned mews to each of us and i was lettuce 😂 my weeb phase did bleed into high school but a certain incident with my best friend's sister snapped me out of the most extreme part of it pretty quickly so i understand the laughing hard enough to cry LOL

[@mossimur]

You bringing up Tokyo Mew Mew unlocked so many memories for myself. I completely forgot that this was infact, one of the first 3 animes I watched way back when. Just seeing the image made me feel like I warped back to 2007. A simpler time. (':

[@nellieuwu4548]

Love this stories

[@silencedogood472]

The like button is not big enough for how much I enjoyed this one. I was expecting to just be entertained and then you dropped some wisdom. Thx for posting this. 🎉

[@sejgonkaa]

IM SO EARLY ! I used to have the SAME phase and ive had to have EVERYTHING anime themed. I had all my walls in manga pages, i had a lot of anime clothes, figurines and i used to make my own cosplays... my cosplays werent so good but i was happy. I miss that era when i didnt care that i was cringe and enjoyed it.

[@fizz_bit]

9:29 As an aroace, I felt this on a different level

[@ladytanyeta4687]

I took psychic AND physical damage watching this entire video dare you unearth these memories.

[@Kris.krisis]

Oh my god, this was absolutely adorable and really sweet

[@Johnmorova]

Really been enjoying your stories, and your art style is fantastic.. Really enjoying watching your vids.

[@AzuraiFrostwing]

I feel your pain. I too was a teenage weeaboo and seeing messages I sent and conversations I had makes me cringe SO hard. I've grown up so much! But also! Oh BOY I hope nobody ever sees those ever again. I too had a collar, but my friend thought it was funny to buy me a collar. Still wore it til the end of my Sophomore year.

[@riatsila144]

Albuquerque and Azumanga Daioh. Sounds like my childhood! Thanks for the story time! Things were wild back then, but as much cringe as it was at times, they were good times.

[@Kitsume_c0s]

When you played Bad Boy, my whole childhood flashed back to me. I'ma go cry now lol

[@KatAlystsStage]

Thank you for telling these stories, they were an absolute delight to hear, I enjoyed it. Took me back to when I was in middle school in the 2010s. Not the same scene as the early 2000s, we definitely had a lot we learned thanks to those that came before us, but I can confirm, we were cringy too. X'''D My best friend got me into anime in the 11th grade, we had this tech class that was super lax, and we constantly had our work done before everyone else, so we would just, watch anime in the back on some websites she knew of. I got introduced to Tokyo Mew Mew as my first anime too. X''''D Haven't ever watched it in full, as she wanted to switch to Sword Art Online, but it was cool, and I continue to love Magical Girls. We enjoyed a lot of RWBY and Blue Exorcist as a friend group too. I had a few manga books for Shugo Chara, One Piece, and Fairy Tail, but none of those were anywhere near as enticing as my REAL cringy love: Sonic. I was a MASSIVE Sonic fan growing up. I started drawing OCs to try and appear cool to one of our other friends before they moved away, and it continued to be something I would do all the time. I'd get into my first roleplaying space in the comments section on KZbin channels, and later Deviantart would be the home for my art. It's not anymore, but that was a time. It would also kickstart my earliest days of voice acting. So many people are surprised to know I started out as Cream the Rabbit, considering that nowadays, I'm known for Rouge the Bat. That's kind of the funny thing, I was bullied relentlessly in my fandom space for a number of years, told that my art was garbage and that I would never be good enough. It got so bad that when I got to my junior year of college I quit drawing Sonic altogether. But that's the thing, I was out there studying for my graphic design degree, and it was a rough patch, I ended up graduating wondering if I was really ready for the world, afraid that maybe I really was just that bad at being a creative. And while I'm still struggling, I'm happy to report I was wrong about that. I ended up in another fandom space that left me feeling fulfilled and happy: Bendy and the Ink Machine, and that genuinely changed my life. The second chapter was coming out right as I finished junior year, and I fell into it HARD now that I'd left a toxic relationship that had previously shamed me for my passions. I roleplayed with friends, I made OCs (one of which had her 6 year anniversary the day I'm writing this), made an effort to celebrate my fellow fans, and my positivity and passion in the fandom didn't go unnoticed. I'm now one of the Bendy Fambassadors, a group of fans brought together by voice director and actor Lauren Synger to celebrate our fandom and do creative projects geared towards engaging the fandom, and I've made friends with several of the cast members for Bendy and the Dark Revival. I moderate their cast signing streams too. It's, still really surreal, I mean having a voice actor you look up to tell you that you've got a great voice and that they appreciate what you're doing means a lot. But they're not the only ones who have me feeling welcome. I've made so many friends with fellow fans, I love hashing out theories and geeking out with them. I recognize I'm probably still very cringy, but the difference is, I'm happier now. I have people who value me, not for my connections, not for my skills, (i mean they value me for those things too, but that's not ALL they value me for) but because I am in fact a likable person, and my passion is part of what makes me, well, me! It's a part of me worth embracing. And if there's no other takeaway, I hope people reading this at least walk away feeling a little better about themselves. Like, yeah, I needed to learn some social skills over the years, and sometimes I'm not a perfect compatibility match with those around me. Sometimes I have some extra things to navigate as a result of being autistic. But I finally get to be me now, a nerd who loves storytelling. That's seeped into every facet of my life, I am a storyteller, and that's what makes me happy. I still voice act, heck I still do Sonic voice acting. You've probably heard me if you're a fan of Adrenaline Dubs, a comic dubbing channel, I'm regularly there as Rouge. I do original stuff too now thanks to people I know through Sonic fan projects too, like voicing Venus on the original webcomic series, Tales of Annualia, something I remain immensely proud of! I can finally draw Sonic stuff again without hurting over it, and happily enough, my skills have gone way up in all my mediums. Things got BETTER, I found good people who want me BECAUSE I'm passionate. Who cares if you're cringy? So long as you're not putting yourself or others in danger, go do what makes you happy.

[@CrazyDominant]

Aww! I love this story! So relatable! For me, even though, yes, I loved anime and Japan too (and still do!), my equivalent of this was when I got really obsessed with a cartoon Canadian band in junior high (and into high school!) and got all my friends into them too. My friends and I always used to act like we knew them and made up this whole story that they had this whole other life outside of their music and that we all went on dates with them and to parties with them and stuff. It was crazy! We would sleep over at each other’s houses and make up this continuing story over the weekend, that every weekend, the band flew in to hang out and get into all kinds of crazy situations with us because they were on tour, but then went back to Canada because their school was there. Then my friends and I would come back to school and pretend like all that really happened over the weekend, and talk about it, around everyone else, like we were cool, when we were actually nerds who just sat around and did basically nothing on the weekend except draw and listen to the radio stations on tv. We’d talk about the DJs on those stations like they were at our parties, and about us drinking weird drinks that we actually made up, because none of us actually drank, and that even the teachers (whom we gave nicknames) actually partied with us! It was crazy! I didn’t get good grades, except for in English and art, and didn’t plan on going to college because I couldn’t afford it, but since everyone always talked about the college they were going to after high school, I said that my “boyfriend”-aka my favorite band member-was going to Harvard after high school. And my English teacher, whom was kind enough to play along, was like “oh wow! He must be really smart!” And people seemed to buy it! Lol! It was crazy! Later in high school, I think I had built up such a reputation for spewing bs, that that’s why one of the actual smart girls in school thought I was a straight a student, other people had wanted me to run for class president, and even another one of my teachers was impressed that I knew something about a subject when nobody else did because I came across it on accident while studying about that band. It was insane. But I guess people wanted to believe it since we had managed to get together the biggest friend group in our lunch room-when actually, we were just a bunch of nerds who met in choir! Lol! But, like you said, it does shape you. I got more into music from around the world and studying all sorts of other subjects because of that fake band! I got more into writing, and studying politics, and frankly, I improved my life A LOT because of them! I am forever grateful, even if, I too, ended up being so cringeworthy, that they actually ended up writing about me liking that band in our senior year yearbook!

[@semiatolanigan7066]

It must be wild remembering your childhood in such detail. I just know somehow in elementary school I decided Anime was amazing and needed to watch all of it (action exclusively)

[@Nova_Bovine]

The flashbacks when she said gaia online my 35yr old butt just cringed so hard. I remember my snake escaping. We put flour all over my floor to see if i could catch it guessing it was still in my room. I didn't mind because I stayed up all night on gaia online. And for some reason that's a core memory lol

[@supernovablade]

Ah, this was such a fun video to watch and it really made me think a lot as well. It had been so long since I had last heard of Gaia Online, not going to lie. I had a few stories with that, but most of them are lost in my memory. But from what I do remember is a little before I stopped using it, I turned my entire head into an eyeball. I don't know what the hell was going through my head when I did that, but, I was young, and I was a creative.....kid back in the day. I also remember my sister friending one of the NPCs. I never had as cringy of a weeaboo phase as most people since I didn't get into anime until high school, even though I was aware of it as far back as elementary school, since I had a large Pokémon phase back in the day. I got into anime as a teen as a way to "fit in" with my online friends. I used to meme about it a bunch before I really got into watching it regularly. My first time dressing like a character from an anime was the costume of Rosario+Vampire I did in my sophomore year of high school, when my interest greatly increased the most. As time moved on, I got invested in more and more even when my high school's anime club subsided into nothing. And now all these years later, I am still an avid anime watcher and am now the secretary of my university's anime club, but it is interesting thinking about where it all started.

[@caeliris]

Horrified because I feel like I remember seeing your avatar and your Kish signature on Gaia back in the day LOOOL RIP Borders 🙏

[@decorativewingdings]

I only had to pause this video to take a deep breath 7 times Congrats

[@FazartOrganization]

16:00 LMFAO that Gaia shoutout brought me instantly back to my weeb years.

[@meAndILBlockyou]

love the videos and the vidcon ones always make me laugh

[@cameronguzman-keller477]

When I was in middle school, I started watching anime, with my first one being Princess Tutu (aside some of the more questionable antics in the show, I highly recommend it!), but afterwards I dove into a really weird phase of horror anime shows. Elfen Lied happened to be a show I really liked, and one day during class I was drawing the cover art of Lucy (iykyk), and this boy I had a small crush on saw what I was drawing and went “EWWW WHY ARE YOU DRAWING TITS???” The way I wanted to just run out of the room and rot away was immeasurable 😭😭😭

[@XayIsBored]

Felt the nightcore thing, that was the WHOLE thing of my personality for 6th to 7th grade

[@neongreenlizard]

the amv part gave me flashbacks to ajmvs (animal jam music videos) and i was OBSESSED WITH THEM.

[@B0ySkylark]

The absolutely inhuman noise I made when you mentioned Gaia;;;;; I'm right there with you Star, we probs wouldve traded items on there at some point in another timeline!

[@RuinexRoach]

Crying not the voice recorder for music omg I'm having flashbacks 😭

[@NonnaPossum1312]

When I was like 20 I used Gaia to watch public domain horror movies with friends, it was one of the earliest and easiest ways to do that at the time. You and your friends avatars would be sat in a movie theatre and you could chat while the movie played on the screen. I've been trying to remember what the hell that website was called for going on twenty years now, so thanks for that.

[@SteamPvnk]

I just got out of middle school and this video brought me some silly memories from when I was in my early middle school years. I had been obsessed with Japan and it's cultures. Eventuallly that lead to me attempting to learn the language through duolingo. I never really got through any courses but it did lead to my current self learning Spanish and German! And the whole thing got me into highschool band! WIthout those times in my life I also wouldn't have grown as much as I did with art and my studies. Its great going back and looking at the old memories from my early middle school years.

[@Marcosantoniothebluecreator]

its fun how , despite the country the Weaabo teenager were linked on the same cringe momments i remember watching a lot of anime on youtube back then and did a lot of thing u did, so i felt the cringe inside me screaming... those were rough days

[@hannahross9256]

The second you said Tokyo Mew Mew, i flashed back to my young tween years of watching anime on KZbin as well. And ALL the Cardcaptor Sakura AMVs 🤩😅

[@DJ_BoomBear]

Your amv story reminds me of how I'd used to save my favorite video game songs back in the day. Holly moly

[@CarnoReviews]

25:35 this is me with transformers. My dad told me about it when I was 7 or 8. Nearly a decade later and I’ve got a 200 figure transformers collection and know way too much lore

[@melianish]

Geez, you make me feel old... My anime phase was 2002-2004, all my resources were super early Deviantart and VHS bootleg anime lol

[@Jess-dm8hl]

It's crazy to me how much the culture around anime has changed especially between the early 00s and when I got into anime 2012 ish. I also had a Tokyo Mew Mew nya phase and it never fails to make me laugh and die of cringe.

[@christopherparkes]

Ohhhhhh I feel this hard, It was an Undertale phase for me, still have tons of posters and a couple of plushies. Undertale fanart was what got me into digital art though! That game has a special place in my heart to this day, but I don’t work a reference to it into every sentence anymore. Maybe just every other sentence...

[@TsukiAnimeGirl]

Hahaha the choker thing made me remember when I made a Suzumiya Haruhi ribbon and wore it at school as well. (I may still remember how to dance Hare Hare Yukai) Not only that I made two of those arm pieces that Hatsune Miku has with the fabric of old uniforms to go to school without breaking the dress code. I made some amvs/gmvs and my knowledge of video editing never left me since then.

[@MorpheousXO]

my first exposure to anime was also at a young elementary school age, but around a decade further back. Saturday morning cartoons were great! Only years later (like, within the last decade, actually), did I realize some of my favorites were actually anime, and they were my favorites because they had actual multi episode arcs and referenced past experiences! Those anime? The 4 that I remember most vividly are: David The Gnome, Maya The Bee, Grimm's Fairy Tales (I think that's the name, I remember a man eating a cabbage and turning into a donkey, as well as red riding hood), and Noozles! No wonder I re-found anime as a teen with the likes of Ranma 1/2 and Trigun.

[@andytherobot]

This made me remember my "fan comic" from when I was around 8 years old and I was a fnaf kid and all of the ninja cats comics I drew on loose pages and stapled together

[@KaraValkryie]

Off topic.... The way you did the window back ground...I just learned a new art trick... Thank you

[@ally5993]

You just sent me back in time to when I would watch Naruto in 3 parts on early youtube LMAO. I was also super cringy on Gaia and deviantArt back then.. my Gaia account was probably nuked but (unfortunately) my first dA account full of weebspeak and angsty journals still exists. Looking over it though, I'm sort of glad I still have some bits of my cringy past xD It was a fun time. Awesome video, from a fellow former cringy teen weeb

[@ShelbyLikesStuff]

Ahh, I got my first manga like two days ago so hearing what the weeaboo stuff was like back then is fun!

[@VVilde36]

I am trying out gaia for the first time this week and its been really fun! I think its a cute daily log in game, like ACNH or things, but it does appeal to a gambler aspect, lots of things come in random form so far!

[@eiraflling4981]

The AUDACITY of calling me out THIS many times in ONE video!

[@shhinysilver1720]

25:30 the latest moment like this for me was when i discovered lackadaisy from the pilot back in april.

[@gidofter_lukge]

Pekora's theme at the very beginning was a perfect touch

[@RandomDuck-Productions]

YAYYYYYYY!!! STAR POSTED!!! I swear the only reason I got up today was to read the new Castoff page and to watch this video! :) Star you make everyone's Mondays better 🥹

[@sanhinamori9098]

THE NIGHTCORE VERSION OF BAD BOY BY CASCADA WAS A HUGE NOSTALGIA THROWBACK FOR ME OMG. I had a Nightcore "playlist" on Pandora in middle school and this was one of the songs that I liked 🤣

[@midnighthybrid1]

Oh man, when you started talking about nightcore I felt so old- I didn’t even realize people didn’t know the name of that anymore until rn 😭 I didn’t even start using KZbin very often until well into my middle school days, so it just feels so weird to think that I would sometimes listen to the ‘relics’ of a past KZbin Generation. No idea if it would be better or worse for the internet if we taught TikTok about the proper ‘nightcore’ term, though 😨😂 Awesome vid Star, I didn’t have a huge weeb phase myself but I had other cringy phases that this video properly reminded me of 😅 keep up the great work!

[@williek08472]

Star getting mad at Tiktok is so relatable

[@bg4779]

Oh god, i forgot about the 10min youtube anime episode videos. Hahaha

[@MegaRonTV]

Holy cow, I totally forgot that anime DVDs were a complete ripoff back in the day.

[@thatnerdyvonne]

14:44 I honest to God thought you were about to say you SANG it yourself 😭