Vibe Check #22 (July 2025)

Hello everyone, and welcome to the 22nd edition of our Vibe Check for July 2025, where we talk about anything dealing with anime, Japan, Japanese culture, or anything on the top of our heads. Hope you have a good reading about what's been happening this month.

Check #1: Countdown to Japan

As you know, I'll be heading to Japan next month. It'll be the first time I've been back in Japan since January 2018. I am ecstatic about going to Japan; however, I have concerns since it will be my first time traveling outside of the United States alone. At least, I'm going to Yokohama: the same location where I went for the first time.

There are tons of things I want to try: eat delicious Japanese food, buy tons of anime and Japanese merchandise, and scout around tons of locations in the Kanto area.

The other thing I was looking at before my trip to Japan was the Japanese Yen to United States Dollar conversion. The reason for that is that since the Japanese Yen has gotten weaker, that means foreigners like me would have a little more bang for their buck during their travels. If I can compare it to when I went to Japan in 2018, the conversion has skyrocketed for a while now.

Other than that, I would mostly be using this month to prepare for the Japan trip as conveniently as possible. There might be a chance I'll be able to create a blog post on what I did correctly before, during, and after my trip to Japan, and what things I would need to improve on. 

Overall, I just can't wait for the trip to Japan to get started.

Check #2: Anime Galore

While I am preparing for my trip to Japan, there have been some anime series I've gotten the chance to watch. 

The first obvious one was the second season of My Dress Up Darling. The breath of fresh air of seeing someone who's into cosplaying is nice to see (translation: mostly seeing Marin Kitagawa cosplaying as her favorite characters). Plus, it does show some creativity in creating a cosplay wardrobe. I am more of a fan of Gojo since he's a somewhat laidback type of guy who gets along with almost everyone, and it's interesting to see the shipping of Gojo and Marin.

The second anime I started watching was Gachiakuta, a brand-new anime series that debuted this month. The caste system has always been an interesting thing for me since I was a little kid, and whenever there's a caste system in any anime genre, I have to watch it! However, seeing Rudo being possessive of things that the average person throws away without a second thought is interesting and sad to see at the same time. It's the saying I constantly hear: one man's trash is another man's treasure. 

The third anime series I started watching is the second season of Dan Da Dan. I've never realized that after the first season that the anime took the world by storm. It's a great series, but goodness... the number of people cosplaying as Momo or Okarun online or offline is crazy to see. Seeing supernatural things is always a cool thing to see, no matter how old you are. Plus, it's funny to see the tough love from Turbo Grandma~

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That's it for this month's version of Vibe Check! Tune in next month for the special Japan Trip Edition of our Vibe Check where I talk about my entire trip to Japan. Happy reading!