Lauren Orsini

2 months ago | animeherald.com | Lauren Orsini

I discovered anime when I was eleven years old, in 1998. That was during the first Toonami wave on Cartoon Network, when Sailor Moon shouted “Moon Prism Power!” for the first time on American TV. However, my first anime was The Slayers, which I acquired via my best friend’s older sister’s traded VHS tapes. Most of my classmates had never heard the word “anime” and honestly, my parents were confused and not a little bit concerned about my strange new interest.

Jul 3, 2024 | animeherald.com | Lauren Orsini |Samantha Ferreira

On June 10, the New York Times’ Wordle picked “MANGA” as the result of the day, and boomers went ballistic. Even though “SALSA” had been a result just recently, the comments section was flooded with complaints about how “foreign words” were not kosher. “How many English-speaking people would ever have heard of this word?” asked one frustrated commenter. Wow. Guess I can’t keep saying that everyone and their grandmother knows about manga.

Jun 5, 2024 | animeherald.com | Lauren Orsini |Samantha Ferreira

Are you an aspiring convention reporter? Are you interested in covering conventions, “but not yet, once I get some more experience”? As fandom event season approaches, I’m urging you (yes, you!) to put those concerns aside and apply for a press pass at an anime convention near you. You might be thinking this is easy for me to say, since I’ve attended Anime Boston, Anime USA, Katsucon, and Otakon (for a few examples) as a member of the media.

May 1, 2024 | animeherald.com | Lauren Orsini |Samantha Ferreira

One day, I was offered a book deal and my life changed overnight. Just kidding. Even today, writers cling to the fossilized misbelief that books are the end-all-be-all of our careers. The problem is, nobody reads books. In 2023, only 54% of Americans read even one. Consequently, as a viral article made it clear this April, nobody actually buys books, either. I’m making a very likely guess that you, the person reading this article, did not buy my book. That’s because very few people did.

Apr 17, 2024 | animeherald.com | Lauren Orsini

I never thought breaking my foot would be the ultimate crash course in taking a kid to an anime convention. As it turns out, though, a bum foot and a preschooler aren’t all that different. Back in 2011, I broke my foot by tripping down a Metro escalator. Katsucon began the next day, and I’d already lined up interviews for my convention reporting. So, I got an aircast boot for my foot at the hospital, and a wheelchair from the accessibility station at the Gaylord Resort.