Research Has Become My Way of Life
Nice to meet you, I am Saijo.
As a freelancer, I work on various tasks including writing, AI utilization, SNS operation support, and product sales.
However, there is a common theme across all my work.
Researching, verifying, and organizing those insights to deliver them in an easy-to-understand way.
Trying out new AI, analyzing SNS operations, tracking trends in the product market, and finding hints for life and work from anime—to me, these are all the same 'research'.
I am active with the hope that by delivering the insights I gain in the form of articles, content, and system building, I can help reduce even a little bit of the detours others might take.
The reason I chose this way of working
The path to arriving at this job was by no means a straight line.
When I was a child, my family environment was a bit complicated.
My mother suffered from mental illness, and even when I spoke to her seriously, there were many times when things did not get across as I had hoped.
'Even if I speak, it doesn't get through'
That feeling was very painful for me as a child.
Gradually, it became natural for me to swallow my feelings and put my emotions on the back burner.
I couldn't decide my career path based solely on my own wishes either.
My student days were spent choosing things by saying 'it can't be helped' while considering family and financial circumstances.
That is precisely why, somewhere in my heart,
'Someday, I want to choose my own life for myself.'
I kept holding onto that thought.
The sense of discomfort I felt during my time as a company employee
Seven years as a salesperson at an automobile company.
Five years working in administration at a nursing care facility.
Both were companies where the level of exploitation was so extreme that it is unimaginable in today's compliance-oriented environment.
Naturally, it was an environment where people would bluntly express what they wanted to say without sugarcoating it, and unfortunately, individuals were not respected.
In the midst of that, while working, I was always thinking.
"Isn't there a better way to communicate?"
"Isn't there a better way to do things?"
When something bothered me, I would research it, try it out, and improve it.
Looking back, I think I naturally liked researching from around that time.
Anime that supported my life
During that time, it was anime that supported me again and again.
In "Angel Beats!", I was encouraged by the characters who tried to move forward while carrying various pasts.
In "s-CRY-ed", I gained courage from Kazuma, who lived his life according to his own beliefs.
And in the "Mobile Suit Gundam" series,
"What is righteousness?"
"What is my own will?"
I was constantly asked these questions.
For me, anime was not just entertainment, but also educational material for thinking about life.
Even now, when I watch any anime work, I think,
"Why this direction?"
"Why does this line stay in my heart?"
I enjoy thinking about things like that.
The choice of being a freelancer
After working as a company employee, I became a freelancer.
At first, I had no confidence,
"Is this really the right path for me?"
I worked while carrying that kind of anxiety.
Even so, as I continued, I realized one thing.
It is not that I like any one particular job.
It is that I love the act of researching itself.that is.
Trying out new AI
Analyzing social media
Continuing to write articles
Investigating the retail market
Verifying habit formation
Activities that seem unrelated at first glance are all connected within me.
Formulating hypotheses
Testing
Failing
Improving
And then, delivering those results to someone in an easy-to-understand way.
That was the most natural way of working for me.
What I value
What I am aiming for is not just to earn money blindly.
What I want to value the most is,
"Being able to choose how I spend my time in life of my own free will."
I want to do research.
I want to write articles.
I want to watch anime.
I want to try new things.
While cherishing such time, I want to continue working with the desire to make this research useful to someone.
Track record of consistency
Things I have been able to continue because I love them have gradually become my track record.
Written over 1,100 anime blog articles
Continuously sharing information on note (1,262 articles posted as of July 29, 2026)
Published over 2,000 AI illustrations
Over 100 copies sold in content sales
Over 450 transactions on Mercari
Client work such as writing, AI utilization, and SNS operation support
None of these are special talents,
"but the result of continuing to research what I found interesting."
That is what I believe.
In conclusion
There are many things in this world that do not have immediate answers.
That is why I continue my research today.
Investigate, test, think, and test again.
And I want to organize the insights I find along the way into a form that can be useful to someone else.
People who love anime
People who love AI and new technology
People who want to find a way of working that is more true to themselves
People who enjoy building things up steadily
I would be happy if I could learn, think, and grow together with people like you.
You only live once.
That is precisely why I want us to weave our own unique stories together, by our own will.
What remains after persistence
Thank you for reading this far.
I do not think I have any special talent.
But if I have one talent, it is to keep steadily researching the things I am interested in.
If something catches my interest, I look into it.
I try it out.
If it does not go well, I improve it.
And I put the insights gained in that process into words.
As a result of continuing to accumulate such efforts, there are activities that have gradually taken shape.
Here, I would like to introduce those that are currently public.
Anime Blog
During my time as a company employee, I used the hour before work to open my laptop in the car and continued to write articles almost every day.
As a result, it became an anime blog with 1,131 articles posted, and I continue to update it irregularly even now.
Illustration AC
I created AI illustrations based on requested themes and continued to post them for 302 days. (Currently, posting is suspended because new AI posts are not allowed.)
2,025 illustrations are available to the public.
Content Sales
As a result of continuing to post on social media every day for about a month and a half after the start of sales, there is content that has been purchased over 100 times.
It was an experience that made me realize that continuing to send out information leads to trust.
Mercari
From January 2023 to the present, I have conducted over 400 transactions, mainly involving Pokémon cards for players.
I continue to verify things daily while observing market prices and demand.
These may look like separate activities.
But to me, they are all the same.
Researching, trying, continuing, and applying the insights gained from that to the next step.
That accumulation is what leads to my current work.
Following this, I have also summarized things I noticed while continuing, habits and tricks that were actually useful, and services and books that I tried and found helpful.
I would be happy if the experience I gained through my own trial and error could serve as a hint for those who want to start something new or those who want to keep going.