They Ghosted Me, So I Built an AI That Actually Picks Up: VoiceOtaku
Hiiiiiii! 👋
So... I've been going through it lately. 😅
Let me explain.
The Job Hunt Phase 📚
Lately, I've been focusing less on coding and more on "selling myself" — you know, the whole networking, calling, and interview thing. It's a different kind of muscle, and honestly? It's been a journey.
I've been diving into some personal development content. Shoutout to Mel Robbins (https://www.youtube.com/@melrobbins) for the mindset shifts — her podcasts have been helping me reframe how I think about opportunities and rejection. And big ups to Vinh Giang (https://www.youtube.com/@askvinh) for vocal mastery — because apparently, how you say things matters as much as what you say. Highly recommend both if you're in the same boat! 🙌
But despite all the preparation, the interviews kept coming... and going. 📉
The Ghosting Saga 👻
And by "going," I mean... silence. The kind of silence that screams.
Don't get me wrong — some companies were straight up with me. They'd send a "we've decided to move forward with other candidates" email, and honestly? I love that. I respect companies that respect applicants' time. We clear, we move on, no hard feelings.
But then... there are others.
You know the type. They reach out, excited about your profile. Give you the whole process — interviews, technical exams, take-home assignments. You jump through every hoop. You respect their time and comply with every requirement.
And then... nothing. Days pass. Weeks pass. crickets. 🦗
Even when they explicitly said "no ghosting." Like, huh??? I gave you my all, and you couldn't even send a "thanks, but no thanks"? 😭
Some even offered paid technical exams — cool, right? I'd submit the task, and then... poof. Vanished. No feedback, no update, nothing.
I've got a few theories:
- The job posting was fake all along (data harvesting? 🥶)
- They just wanted free work — poisoned source code or weird coding tasks sent my way
If it's #2, good luck to them. My dev tools protect me from sketchy code. But still... the stress of it all? Exhausting. 😩
The Vibe Shift 🎧
So what did I do? Went back to my comfort zone — podcasts, YouTube, reels. Just decompressing.
That's when I stumbled upon The Brian Adams on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079484715461).
If you haven't seen it — check it out. It's basically an anime help hotline. Real helpful, but also... hilarious. The way they present it, the energy, the whole vibe. It's exactly what the anime community needs but doesn't know it wants.
And then it hit me. 💡
What if... I built something similar? A web app that's like an AI receptionist for anime recommendations. Same tech stack as Intervu, but simpler — just a voice-first experience where you call in and get anime suggestions.
No typing. No scrolling through MyAnimeList for hours. Just talk.
Introducing VoiceOtaku 🎙️
Meet VoiceOtaku — your AI anime advisor that actually picks up.
It's simple: you call in (well, click to start a call), describe what you're in the mood for — a genre, a vibe, a show you already loved — and VoiceOtaku listens. Then it recommends something tailored to you.
In a voice. Spoken back to you.
Think of it like calling that friend who has watched every anime ever made. The one who always knows what to recommend at 2 AM. Except this one's available 24/7 and never gets tired of your questions. 😄
Features
- 🎙️ Talk, Don't Type — Just speak naturally. No search bars, no filters, no typing.
- 🤖 AI-Powered Recommendations — A smart anime expert is always on the other end.
- ⚡ Fair Queue System — Everyone gets a turn. First-come, first-served.
- 🔒 Private & Ephemeral — Conversations aren't stored. Your chat vanishes when you hang up.
No data collected. No accounts needed. Just you and the anime discussion.
The Tech Behind the Magic 🛠️
Like all my projects, VoiceOtaku runs entirely on my homelab. Here's the stack:
- Frontend: React + TypeScript + Vite + Tailwind
- Backend: N8N workflows
- STT (Speech-to-Text): speaches.ai (Whisper)
- LLM: Ollama + OpenWebUI
- TTS (Text-to-Speech): tts.travisvn (Kokoro)
- Queue: Redis
Everything runs locally on my servers. No cloud subscriptions, no vendor lock-in. Just my homelab doing its thing. 🚀
The MVP Disclaimer ⚠️
Okay, real talk before you try it.
This is a working MVP. It's not perfect.
Right now, responses can be a bit slow — the AI takes its time processing. I'm planning to speed that up in future updates. I'm also working on adding skills to pull up-to-date anime details (currently watching, seasonal anime, etc.).
But does it work? Yes. Can you call in and get anime recommendations through voice? Absolutely. Is it fun? Honestly? Yeah. It's pretty fun. 😄
Try It Out! 🎬
Ready to meet your new anime buddy?
Give it a try! Tell it what you're in the mood for. Ask for something specific. See what happens. And if it recommends something weird? That's on the AI. 😂
Until Next Time 👋
So yeah — companies ghosted me, but my new AI friend won't.
Thanks for reading, friends. Now go watch some anime. 🎌
