Seriously, this news caught me off-guard.
You already knew or not, Stephen Hillenburg, the main creator of SpongeBob SquarePants, has passed away on the age of 57 after a long battle against ALS.
I grew up watching SpongeBob SquarePants. I remembered the time when the series first aired on Indonesian airwaves. If i remembered correctly, it has Indonesian actors (I don't know their names tho) talking about the show in a short segment right before the premiere of the first episode. Seemed like it was hyped for some time.
Little did i know, that little kitchen sponge ended up dominating my childhood. Back in elementary, i played pretend with my friend as SpongeBob and Patrick having adventures. Every breakfast before going to school is always accompanied by watching his episodes on my TV along with my li'l brother and my mom. When i draw stuff in my childhood, it will mostly involve SpongeBob. When i talk to people, my distinct speech patterns and mannerisms are inspired by watching the show. Heck, i'm so into SpongeBob, he basically taught me basic acting skills (Even if i barely do acting) as result of me occasionally quoting the episodes (I think. My memories are fuzzy). Everytime i mimicked a character's voice (Mostly Sponge, Pat or Squid), my friends will remark how similar my voices are to the ones from the show (The Indonesian dub atleast). When the movie came out, i managed to got a CD copy of it to watch at home. It's the shis. It left a long-lasting impression on me. SpongeBob also introduced me to other Nickelodeon cartoons, such as ChalkZone, Jimmy Neutron, Danny Phantom, Fairly OddParents, and Avatar.
Around that time, SpongeBob also indirectly introduced me to the wonders (And dangers. Can't split them.) of the internet, with one of the factors being The SpongeBob Wiki. My relentless browsing introduced me to DeviantArt, where i looked at SpongeBob comics made by other artists, that eventually introduced my to fanart to other shows, that eventually leads to said other shows, as well as YouTube, where i laughed my ass off watching "The Sky Had A Weegee" and "SpongeBob and Patrick Sell Bombs" YTPs.
When the modern era rolls along, i'm still into it. But when Season 6 and beyond rolled along, i sensed something strange. The characters' no longer felt like actual characters. Every episode felt like it was made for kids with ADHD.
Around some time in high school, i started seeing
's Top Worst SpongeBob Episode DeviantArt entries as well as watching Mysterious Mr Enter's videos, where i realized that i'm not the only one feeling alienated towards the modern SpongeBob episodes. Through some twists of fate, they somewhat played a role introducing me the darker side of animation industry, the cynicism of modern world in general, as well as the truth that animation (And entertainment in general) industry has little respect for their viewers, especially kids, due to them introducing me to internet review shows, be it YouTube or DeviantArt.
In the end, SpongeBob held a special place in my heart. Sure i rarely watch his show, but to me, he is my gateway to the Western world (And probably Japan too), where i got introduced to numerous things that broadens my perspective when it comes to cartoons. And if it were not for him, i'll probably never stand out in my life, be it in personality, drawings, or any other stuff.
Well, my cup's raised for Hillenburg and to his talented and hard working SpongeBob crew who helped build a tight little ship. Never knew that tight little ship is now a massive cruise ship, sailing around the world.
Thank you Stephen Hillenburg. May you rest in peace.