I remember sitting in my parents’ unfinished basement in the summer of 2013, in what was essentially a makeshift bedroom. The haze of the afternoon sun passed gently through the ceiling-high windows, and I could feel the cold concrete floor underneath my feet. I was working tirelessly at my laptop on a new logo design in GIMP called “Rising Seven”. I had no idea what it would be used for yet, I just thought it sounded cool. I was watching a lot of Eureka Seven at the time, so airborne surfing tricks and vague naming schemes were on my mind.
I remember how liberating it felt to have a corner of my family’s house where I could creatively express myself and make whatever I wanted. I was a college student attending a university in the midwest, studying engineering when what I really wanted to learn was animation. Anime wasn’t at the apex of popularity that it currently stands upon, and the only people I could discuss my hobbies with were my close group of friends. As I sat back in an old antique chair and proudly gazed upon a smattering of rainbow-colored gradients and geometric lines, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had made something truly meaningful. But really, there’s no way I could’ve known where it would take me.
As of the time of writing, Advent Seven is a website comprised of over 300 written articles and a YouTube channel of over 160 videos and livestreams. It’s an open-ended brand focused on opinionated content revolving around “nerd culture” topics like anime, video games, comics, manga, movies and more. We’ve covered works by Neil Gaiman, livestreamed some of the worst Halo Infinite gameplay, and even made a documentary. Hell, I got to interview Lisa Ortiz – the voice of Leena Inverse herself! There’s some truly next-level content here that I couldn’t be more proud of.
And it hasn’t all been easy, there’s a lot of stress that comes bundled with that much work. Our first time attending an anime convention as part of the press yielded footage that was 90 percent unusable. I once paid a friend to write a news piece about a video game trailer, and he sent me back two sentences a few weeks later. Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed a 5-year gap in the site’s archives, which was due to me graduating college and needing to set aside my creative goals so I could start a career in video production. I’ve learned to let go of my perfectionist habits a bit, and find joy in the process of doing rather than in the final product.
I never could commit to writing about just one thing, so I designed Advent Seven to be a place where I could write about whatever I wanted. There needed to be some branding guidelines, but they were and still are pretty loose. I’ve always felt that people should follow their inspirations, regardless of where they come from or where they go. It’s one of the few things in life you can trust. And what originally started as a desire to write about my hobbies became a desire to film, animate, podcast and livestream about them too.
So as I write this while sitting in my third-story apartment bedroom, I want to say “Happy Birthday, Advent Seven.” Thanks for giving that gifted teenage me a place where he could belong. Thanks for the laughs, for the friends, for every time I heard someone name drop “Advent Seven” mid-conversation. And thanks to every person who’s read or watched our content over the years. You helped me find myself when everywhere else I looked told me to be someone different. Here’s to another decade of passionate and inspired content, in any shape or form.
Soradewa, mata ashita.
Andrew
Founder and Producer of Advent Seven
Advent Seven 
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