September 16th, 2005. That’s when the 12-year-old-me watched the first episode of Naruto premiere in Canada on YTV. I’m still not sure exactly what made the show so alluring at the beginning but from that day on, I was hooked. Week by week, I would grow more attached to the series and its characters with each episode.

The weekly episodes soon just weren’t enough. Frustrated, I discovered the original Japanese episodes had all been uploaded on Youtube and were subtitled in English. Since the original episodes were a lot further ahead, I binge-watched them all like no tomorrow. Internet speeds and video-loading weren’t as fast back then – I still remember always having 3-4 windows open at a time in the background for the next episodes so that they would load while I was watching the current one.

It didn’t take long for me to catch-up to the most current episode (Around 160) and again had to start waiting weekly for new ones. My friends told me about the Naruto manga series which was even further ahead than the anime. I read the chapters voraciously. With every passing arc and every new character introduced, the series just got better and better. Just like with the anime though, I quickly reached the current chapter and had to start waiting weekly for new ones. But this time, there would be no alternate route for me to advance further in the story-line.

So this began a routine that lasted upwards of the next 9 years. Every Wednesday I would wake up like a kid on Christmas ready to read the new chapter. Every Wednesday until today, the day the final chapter was released.

Naruto’s been a constant in my life for the last 9 years. I finished elementary school, high school and almost my entire undergrad; I made lots of new friends, been all over the world, had my heart broken, had people in my life die, been through countless highs and lows. The whole time, Naruto was always right beside me – but it’s starting to sink in now, that for the first time since I can remember, it won’t be anymore.

And I’m sad. It feels like my childhood friend is moving away forever and while I’ll still be able to see pictures of the times we’ve had together, I will never be able to see him in person again.

I’m sad because I know Wednesdays will never be the same and that instead of eagerly hopping out of bed every morning, waking up is going to be just a little bit harder now.

I’m sad because I’ve lost one of the last remnants of my childhood and that Naruto won’t be there with me as I enter the uncertainty of adulthood.

But it had to end eventually, so all I can do now is say goodbye and show my appreciation. I know I speak for a lot of people when I say that this is truly an end of an era. So thank you, Naruto. You captured the imaginations of a generation. You inspired us to live our lives with love, courage and compassion. And lastly, you taught us that even with our backs against the wall, even when no one else believes in us, that we should never give up fighting for our dreams.