In April 1976, he enrolled in Kinki University for nuclear engineering,"Kinki University was the scene of my college career, and once there, I chose to study nuclear engineering. The reason was simple: The world was changing, and the future would revolve around electricity....And electricity for the future meant nuclear energy- or so my 18-year-old brain conceived." pg 21, Takeda 2005 but began neglecting studies (repeating his sophomore year) when he joined the sci-fi club in April 1977 and became active in organizing clubs, founding the "Confederation of Kansai Student Sci-Fi Clubs". It was through these early activities that Takeda met many other fans, some who would become more involved: at his first convention, Seto-Con ("Sci-Fi Festival 78"), Takeda met Toshio Okada."In those days, we didn't have the word 'otaku' yet, but my first impression of Okada was, 'Here's a geek if I've ever seen one.' With his girly long hair and his freakishly excited way of speaking, all I could think was, 'This guy is exactly like me?'" pg 31, Takeda 2005 In November 1990, he married the Japanese writer Hiroe Suga.
In 2002, he published a memoir/autobiography about his life (particularly focusing on his college life, involvement in science fiction conventions, and his subsequent career) named The Notenki Memoirs; the name Notenki is an old nickname of Takeda's, derived from his part in Kaiketsu Noutenki.
He is portrayed by actor Gitaro in the 2014 TV Drama Aoi HonÅ based on the autobiographical manga by Kazuhiko Shimamoto, which follows the college years of the future Gainax team.
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