12 Days of Anime (2014) – Day 6 – 4 Year Anniversary and Accepting Obstacles

Today is this blog’s fourth birthday, and the traditional way I’ve chosen to celebrate this anniversary has been to reflect upon a valuable lesson that I’ve learned since the last December 20th. Of course, these posts are always a cover for me to needlessly post pictures of Setsuna everywhere, but the topic of this post relates to a previous post in this year’s 12 Days of Anime series as well as a couple of future posts that will appear later on. The theme between these posts is on the challenges and difficulties inherent in following anime within a dense, tight schedule, and the focus of this post is learning how to manage these obstacles and accept certain complications.

Summer 2014 – Week 10 Anime Review

Back during Week 10: expanding my theory about the primary and secondary focuses of Hanayamata, an example of the magnificent cinematography in Zankyou no Terror, what made episode 23 of Captain Earth the best in that anime, and the return of the subtle yet sensational running gag in Space Dandy Season 2.

Summer 2014 – First Impressions (Part 4)

This post reviews: Yama no Susume Second Season, Majimoji Rurumo, Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?, and Tokyo ESP.

Winter 2014 – Week 11 Anime Review

This week: the contrast between Aki’s family and Hachiken’s family in Silver Spoon, demonstrating Hiyori’s character growth through subtraction in Noragami, the humanistic personalities of djinn in Magi: The Kingdom of Magic, and the good half and bad half of the story in Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha.

12 Days of Anime (2013) – Day 1 – The Final Chapter of Needless, the End to my Favorite Manga and the Tale of my Anime/Manga Revolution

On May 19, 2013, the June issue of Ultra Jump debuted as any normal issue of a mangazine would.  However, this particular issue was noticeably different with an announcement following the 113rd chapter of Needless stating that next month’s chapter would be the final one.  Without any preparation or any proper warning, the sudden and abrupt ending was only a month away.  The announcement began to explain the accelerated pace of the last few chapters and the conclusions of many loose ends, but with so much more remaining and the peculiar developments of late, especially some of the absolutely shocking events in 113, you wondered just how the manga could end with an unfortunate amount of unanswered questions.  But one month later, Needless 114 debuted and so ended the serialization of my favorite manga.

12 Days of Anime (2013) – Day 6 – 3 Year Anniversary and 500th Post

To think, on December 20, 2010, Avvesione’s Anime Blog was nothing more than a wild idea derived from my passion for anime and my desire to express it.  It may have been 0 days old and have 0 posts, but I knew this idea would grow into something special.  Today, on December 20, 2013, my anime blog has triumphed through 3 long years and amassed a total of 499 posts.  With this post commemorating the 3 Year Anniversary for Avvesione’s Anime Blog, it also marks a great, new milestone, being my 500^th post.  This is truly an exceptional moment for me and my anime blog.  Just trying to fathom all the time and anime and thinking and writing that occurred between these two time points is nothing short of remarkable.  Never did I imagine that my anime blog would ever make it this far.  And now, I wonder, where will it go from here.

Needless – Chapter 114 (Finale)

And so, with this final chapter, the first half of Needless comes to a close.

As with any finale, Needless 114 is and will be met with a variety of emotions and reactions among its fans, especially since the manga is ending quite abruptly after 10 years of serialization.  For some, the response might be simple and straightforward, but for many, it will be complicated and conflicting, particularly for those still asking those unanswered questions or wanting just the slightest bit more.  For me, being in the latter group, the Needless finale does leave me with mixed emotions.  On one hand, the developments in these final chapters answered numerous questions, connected many loose story points together, gave the series a conclusion that truly unified the manga, its concepts and its story, and presented it in a way that’s ready to launch Needless into its continuation, Needless 2.  On the other hand, there’s just that lingering sensation of feeling unsatisfied with this culmination, that these final chapters were rushed and that the manga didn’t end the way that it wanted.  Or that it deserved.