I know. You are a guy wearing glasses, who has at least 300 GB of anime stashed away on hidden DVDs, you have no girlfriend and, while in school, bullies used to pick on you and steal your lunch money. Lunch money that, eventually, would have been spent on some ill-reputed porn magazine. It's a hard life, isn't it? Because all that intense and in-depth knowledge you have regarding the anime phenomenon is a complete waste of time. No one needs it, you can't make money out of it, and, even if you spend your entire day dreaming about it, you will never get a little sister with natural pink hair to call you onii-chan. These are the freaking facts, my otaku friend, you are bound to an endless life of misery, locked up away in your room, waiting in darkness for that next DVD release, or for that oh-so-cute Hazuki-chan figurine to hit the shelves.

Did I make you cry? Are you ready to go atop that big building over the street, say bye-bye to this unforgiving world and make a jump for it? Well, don't! Because it seems someone is starting to notice your puny existence, after all.

"Zenkoku Sougou Anime Bunka Chishiki Kentei Shiken", which vaguely translates into "Nationwide, Integrated Anime Cultural Knowledge Permissibility Test", is the first effort that Japan ever made to acknowledge it's own sub-cultural demands, and it has been officially unveiled by the Anime Verification Executive Committee. These guys will work hard with the likes of Tokyo Anime Center, and the little project, bound to take place somewere in 2007 (and sponsored by e-book Japan and Mainichi Newspapers), will firmly test the participants' overall knowledge regarding the japanese animation phenomenon. You will have two ways to prove that you do not suck at life - the first five stages of this test will require your presence in one of the five testing facilities throughout Japan. I've heard that the staff of them centers is composed of pure hearted little girls, so you might want to check it out. The final stage can be made via cellphone for free. So, my dear otakus, prepare for your next year exam. An official website should appear soon, so keep it steady.