First of all, thank you so much for your messages. It made me really happy that you felt you were able to approach me. It takes courage to do something like this! Secondly, thank you for giving me permission to post this, because I feel that it is something very important, and I really wanted to say these feelings to others as well in case they feel the same way you do.
I guess Iâll start off  by quickly mentioning how I got to know OLDCODEX, because it seems relevant here. I had no idea that OLDCODEX even existed until about three years ago or so. And the way I found out about them in the first place was because of Kuroko no Basuke. An anime. CatalRhythm was the first OLDCODEX song I ever heard, and I liked it! (Iâve always been someone who listens to opening/closing themes of shows, because I feel like theyâre a part of the experience, if that makes sense. And thank goodness I did.) At that point, I still wasnât actively seeking them out, though. It wasnât until I heard WALK for the first time that I sat back and thought, âOkay, I really need to check them out!â So I went to YouTube and found a playlist of their music videos and took the time to listen to them all, because I found out quickly that I really liked their sound (Rage On, anyone? Another anime song!). A friend of mine had their CatalRhythm and WALK singles, so I got them from her and downloaded them to my phone, and found that eventually I was listening to their songs more often than any of the American rock bands that I enjoy. I started looking up more and more information, found out more about them and how they started, discovered more of their music, and completely fell in love with a band thatâs half a world away.Â
And the rest, as they say, is history.Â
The point that I want to make here is, even people like me only came to discover OLDCODEX because of anime. Maybe not all fans, but probably a majority. And for me, I never wouldâve even heard of them if not for anime. Itâs also important to remember that, until just a few weeks ago, it was incredibly difficult to have access to much of their music at all. All of their stuff is on US iTunes now, which is great! But before that, it was difficult.
In no way does only knowing anime songs make you a âfakeâ fan. Never. If you love OLDCODEX (or any other band for that matter!), no matter how broad your knowledge of their discography is, you are a fan. And you have every right to call yourself one. I donât want you, or anyone else, to even think youâre somehow not a true fan because you donât know every song theyâve ever made. That isnât what makes someone a fan. I think itâs much more about the love and support you show that tells the real story. Itâs like someone saying theyâre a fan of a sports team, and someone else says, âOh yeah? Well do you know about (insert ridiculously random and irrelevant fact from 50 years ago here).â It shouldnât matter, you know? You shouldnât have to prove yourself to anyone. Everyone has to start somewhere, after all!
I also think that it can be a beautiful thing to not know everything, because thatâs how you learn! I didnât know they had live DVDs of their concerts available until last year, when I saw (my now best friend) Birdie liveblogging about it. I shot her a message asking her about it, she showed me Budokan, and weâve been friends since then. Sheâs one of the ones I went to the concert with! OLDCODEX brought us together, and thatâs incredible to me, since weâre from completely different parts of the country. Music really does have the power to bring people together, and this weekend I saw just how true that is when a bunch of us from all over the country were together under one roof singing along.Â
In addition, itâs only because Iâve seen Budokan and the Contrast Silver live more times than I can count that I knew how to act during the concert and up on stage. If I had never seen live footage, I wouldâve never known about some of the crowd chants during songs! I wouldnât have known about the little parts in Dried Up Youthful Fame, WALK, and Kick Out (among others) in which they involve the crowd. Itâs okay! Concert DVDs are even harder to get ahold of, but those kinds of things are also easy to pick up! People who didnât know about clapping and such picked up on it really quickly, but even that wasnât the point. The point was to go to the show and have a fantastic time, and you can do that in any way you want (and without knowing all the details!). Itâs okay to not know everything, because then others can show you, and then you can talk to them and make new friends. :)
This is getting a little long winded, but I wanted to make sure I got everything. I guess what Iâm saying is this: I own their entire discography. Iâve seen two concert DVDs (they have more I havenât seen that others have!). Iâve listened to interviews and other little things theyâve done. I follow them on social media. Does that make me a better fan than anyone else? Certainly not. The important thing is that if you love them and want to call yourself a fan, then by all means, you have every right. Whether your collection and knowledge is small or large, it doesnât matter. And even though you said this wasnât the case, I want to say this anyway: no one should ever make a fellow fan feel inferior in any way, shape, or form. If we want them to come back to America and eventually make their way to other parts of the world, we all need to stick together as friends and fellow Codexers. We need to have each otherâs backs and support the hell out of them, as one, because thatâs how weâre going to help make bigger and better things happen for them. Be kind to each other. Show each other songs and videos you havenât heard or seen before. Tell each other random facts about the members. Whatever it is. Just remember to always lift each other up instead of tearing down. Spread the love and the knowledge to others who ask for it.Â
I hope this all makes sense to you, and I thank you again for letting me post this publicly. Also, thank you for your kind words! The amount of love and support Iâve received from fans all over is incredible, and Iâm very, very happy and truly honored to have been able to represent Codexers in that way. Please, if you love OLDCODEX, then continue to support them, and donât let the fear of not knowing everything drive you away. There is no need to feel ashamed. You can always message me again if you ever need to.Â
My inbox is always open to anyone. :)
