A Conversation With Two Happy Cats

Here we are on the 2nd weekend of January. Things just continue to happen, don’t they? But that’s ok, we are here for an actual fun and to learn more about cool people. Like, I somehow learn that I am surrounded by a lot of hard working bloggers around here. I knew that, but I am always amazed by how much people do.

Here is the short survey link if you are interested in joining into this fun: https://forms.gle/WfsoEgv3eGMKUUVF9

So here we are, talking about Steph. A wonderful blogger who does so many things. Not only does she write about anime, manga, and visual novels on her blog, Two Happy Cats, but she also writes for Anime News Network. That must take up a lot of time, but this is a blogger that can do it all and that’s fantastic :).

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What is your name, the kind of content you create on the internet, and the name of that or those pieces of media?

My name is Steph and I run the blog Two Happy Cats where I post reviews, opinion pieces and listicles on anime, manga and games.

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When did you first start enjoying the media of which you provide a voice for online?

I started watching anime at a very young age, maybe around five or six years old. There was an Australian kids morning TV show called Cheez TV which had Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z and in the afternoon, another program would show Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon. Funnily enough some of the Dragon Ball Z episodes would be skipped if they were too violent, so watching it could be quite a disjointed experience! When I was around ten, Toasted TV replaced Cheez TV and they aired One Piece and Naruto.But it was really when I was in high school (starting at year 7 in Australia), when I started getting really into anime and manga. It was then that I was able to narrow my interests down rather than just watching / reading whatever was available.

In terms of visual novels and otome games I only really became interested in them in the last few years. I have ridiculously bad motion sickness issues, so I can’t play games like Skyrim or Assassin’s Creed without throwing up. But tragically, I actually love playing games and just loosing myself in a story. So when I played my first otome Mystic Messenger, it completely opened my eyes to a whole new type of games I had never tried before, and was so excited I could actually play without feeling sick! From then on, I just completely fell in love with visual novels.

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What made you choose the media that you communicate your thoughts online?

I started my blog in August 2015 shortly after coming back to Sydney after a 6 month exchange in the UK. When I came back to Sydney I was struggling to make friends in my new classes, and was a bit sad I didn’t have anyone to share my hobbies with. A good friend I had made on exchange (we’re still friends to this day) showed me a blog she was running. I figured ‘why don’t I give it a go?’, and five-ish years later here I am. I suppose writing also suited me because I’m far too camera shy to try YouTube.

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Has it been difficult to find a voice in the online fandom?

Yes and no. When I started this blog, and what I continue working with in mind, is that I’m not trying to be a major voice in the fandom or an ‘influencer’ (for lack of a better term). I’m happy throwing out my thoughts and feelings and hoping that they interest people and better yet bring them some enjoyment. But what I have been working on is trying to improve my writing and cultivate a ‘unique’ voice on my blog. It’s a continual work in progress, but one well worth the effort.

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When did you start gathering an audience? (Even a small amount of views or subscribers is an audience.)

I’d say right from the beginning of posting. As others have mentioned in their interviews, the WordPress community is very welcoming so right from my first post I already had some likes, comments and people checking out my blog. It probably helped that one of my early posts was very popular and continues to be one of my most viewed posts. Unfortunately I can’t tell much from my analytics if there are any regular readers of my blog besides other WordPress bloggers who comment and like (massive thank you to those who do!) but I will say that the moment I really thought I had gained an audience was when I started receiving emails from people asking for recommendations and blogging tips as they wanted to start a blog of their own. It’s always incredibly heartwarming to receive those emails.

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What are two posts/podcast episodes/pieces of art/etc that you are very proud of?

Thank you! I’ll share two posts that I worked on in 2020 that I’m very happy with :

https://twohappycats.com/2020/10/20/the-coma-2-vicious-sisters-review/ https://twohappycats.com/2020/08/18/darwins-game-anime-review/

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Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions!

Thank you for hosting this, I really enjoyed reflecting back on my blogging experience 🙂

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Where can people find you online? (Twitter @/Facebook group/Blog Link/Place to find your podcasts/Patreon/Other Things?)

You can check out my blog at twohappycats.com or find me on Twitter @Twohappycats (https://twitter.com/TwoHappyCats)

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Once again, a big thanks to Steph for answering some questions with some cool insight and for being such a warm person :).

Everyone out there can join in some way. Here is the link if you are interested in joining in the fun 😀 : https://forms.gle/dpGk7TaiQJrBJh5N7