So today I was shocked to learn that the infinitely entertaining and informative Rodger Swan aka Tokyo Swan aka Iwate Swan passed away. To say shocked would be putting it lightly. His series of youtube videos has recently come a part of my routine.
Swan was probably one of the best J-vloggers on the internet. His videos were all great peeks at living a life in Japan and his comments on the foreign world in which he lived. I discovered these videos maybe two months ago and it didn't take me long to watch all the videos he uploaded. From his early Tokyo Swan videos up to his most recent Iwate Swan posts.
He was a gamer, which probably drew my interest. In fact, in one of his videos he goes to Yokosuka to relive Shenmue! He literally went to Ryo Hazuki's hometown. I loved it! The other thing that drew viewers to him was his personality. I didn't know this guy at all, but his personality came out very strongly in his vlogs. Swan was clearly one of the good guys, one of the few truly deep down good guys in this world. He was always smiling in his videos, he was always excited about what he was doing. He clearly had passion, for Japan and for his life.
Which is why I teared up when I found out he passed away. I've only very, very rarely teared up at the passing of a complete stranger. I think Eddie Guerrero was the only other time. Rodger Swan was clearly a beloved figure evidenced by the outpouring of condolences on his Youtube page. Check out this heartfelt video from TokyoCooney to see how Swan touched people's lives.
Swan was only 23 years old. Three years younger than me and he was much more together than I am now. Not only that but he was living my dream. He was not only living in Japan, but spoke and could read/write Japanese with ease it seemed.
Go check out his stuff. It's really pretty cool.
Iwate Swan
Rodger Swan
1986-2010
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