When I saw this December’s issue of Teen Ink, I was baffled…in delight. Please, the magazine wasn’t even passed to my row yet and I was screaming off my brains for the people in front of me to fork it over. My teacher stared at me with an owlish look as I squealed in excitement and flapped my hands together like an insane seal. Right after that, I proceeded to rub my face against that beautiful cover and stroke it lovingly. There, right smack on the front page, was a magnificent, full-blown picture of an anime cat-boy who looked like he was staring straight into the depths at my soul, outright intending to break my heartstrings. I felt a rush of excitement and hugged it to my chest welcoming its entirety to Teen Ink. My friends chuckled and knew that I would react this way. Well, after seeing anime and manga being isolated so much from “regular” magazines, it pretty much touched my heart to see a 2-D, Japanese face so close up. You can’t blame me for jumping around in circles that day in the classroom.
That beautiful mob of blue hair tinted purple, those slender fingertips, and that distinct Japanese animation style sent chills down my spine. Oh, no matter how many times I looked at it, it was blinding. In my last piece of feedback, I had been on an embarrassing rant on how anime did not receive as much attention as regular stories or music. I’m terribly sorry that you had to read such things. This time, no matter how conceited it sounds, I had to think that this cover was chosen because of my unending complaints. In that sense, I’m glad that I let go of everything and just wrote it all down. This cover is very rewarding. I felt like I was sent to a haven when I saw this and my teacher, with another owlish look, kept staring at me.

Today I decided to write feedback of gratitude. Thank you for picking such a wonderful cover and thank you to whoever drew the picture with 100% intentions on making it appear on this month’s issue. It is simply astounding. The shading, the color choice, the bird in the corner, the type of character, and the cat ears, all of it is amazing. I was floating in the picture and was scolded for not paying attention in class. It has succeeded in bringing the Japanese culture into the mix of not just whites and blacks. I am proud to see anime and manga finally spreading its wings and making its way to expose itself to the rest of the world. I think Teen Ink has done a fabulous job in trying to reach out to other cultures. Now, if only all the other magazines were able to do that as well. Therefore, when my teacher warned me that writing feedback on a cover is extremely difficult, I let out a jingle of laughter.
“What are you talking about? At this rate, it won’t even be done in a page!” I stated, clutching the magazine tightly as I glided out the door.