10 Year Anniversary

Today marks the ten year anniversary of this anime blog.  While these archives have rested silently these past three years, I still periodically return to dust off dated impressions and earnest introspection to measure how my anime fandom and behavior has evolved.  I originally intended for this blog to challenge myself in four areas, with all four having been completed years ago.  However, each time I return, I recognize this blog has a newfound and lasting challenge that I never envisioned: when and how do I say good-bye?

7 Year Anniversary and… Now What?

It’s been 7 years since I started this anime blog.  It originally began as a challenge for me: a way to force me to think deeply and critically about anime; to share my thoughts and appreciations of the shows I watch; to develop a voice for my creative writing; and to discover and grow my relationships with other anime enthusiasts.  When I look back – as I’ve done with every anniversary post – across these 7 years and 640 other blog posts – I am satisfied with my accomplishments, achieving far more than even my wildest dreams back on December 20, 2010.  But the same can’t really be said of the last year, which saw only a single post get penned in the last 12 months.  If I were to do a reflection of the year, then I’d simply request that you re-read my thoughts on an anime season that concluded 9 months ago.  Instead of looking back at 2017 for this anniversary post, I’ll try something new and look forward to what the future of this blog might look like.

Spring 2016 – Week 5 Spotlight – The Shanghai International Settlement in Joker Game

The fourth episode of Joker Game had an astonishing setting, both in terms of its historical context and for the presentation of its story.  Yet, how was such a locale and situation even possible for a plot like this?  This episode was set in Shanghai and between 1937 and 1941, during the height of the Second Sino-Japanese War when Japan was invading and controlling large regions of China.  You may be wondering, with war between Japan and China raging across the nation, how was such a setting possible for Joker Game to utilize?  How was a military police unit, Chinese revolutionaries, and America and British citizens able to coexist in such a place with such turmoil and conflict?  This post on the fourth episode of Joker Game attempts to describe all the details and history of the Shanghai International Settlement and why it was such a remarkable setting for this episode’s narrative.

12 Days of Anime (2015) – Day 2 – Speaking with Hiromi Katou, Character Design for Needless, at Sakuracon

Hiromi Katou is a gifted and experienced talent, having a successful career in the anime industry through a variety of roles. Among his notable accomplishments, he was the character designs for Guilty Crown, Kobato., and Hakkenden, the animation directors for Beck, Gunslinger Stratos, and Fantasia Doll, and a key animator for Death Note, Azumanga Daioh, Shingeki no Kyojin, and many more. However, his most distinguished achievement, to me at least, is that he was the character design for Needless, which you might guess from previous posts is my favorite anime. I was extremely fortunate that Hiromi Katou was invited as a guest for Sakuracon this year and made sure to visit his Q&A panel, so that I could ask him some questions regarding Needless. So, for Day 2 of my 12 Days of Anime, I’ll recall my time with Hiromi Katou and the answers he provided about his experience with Needless.

12 Days of Anime (2015) – Day 3 – Favorite Openings and Endings of 2015

Every year, I recall my favorite anime openings and endings in my Final Review, selecting my very favorites from each of the four Season Reviews that settle at the end of each season. But, seeing as I haven’t published a Season Review since 2013 and given that there is no other time to document my favorite OPs/EDs of the year, I have reserved Day 3 of my 12 Days of Anime for 2015 for this lacking quality of mine. Of course, I won’t reveal my favorite OP and ED of the year just yet (that will be reserved for the Final Review of 2015), but here are some of my favorites that I would love to share with you. Now, please enjoy 8 of my Top 10 Openings and Endings for 2015.

12 Days of Anime (2015) – Day 6 – 5 Year Anniversary and Having Fun

Today, December 20th, marks the 5 Year Anniversary of Avvesione’s Anime Blog. As I’ve done with every anniversary post, I reflect upon the previous year and provide my input on the most valuable lesson I learned in terms of watching anime and writing for this blog. This year has been quite turbulent and chaotic, with countless new transitions, obstacles, responsibilities, and challenges – easily the busiest year of my entire life to date. As a result, I’ve had very little time to watch anime and even less dedicated to this blog. It pains me that I haven’t had as much time or energy this year to keep up with currently airing anime or write my weekly or seasonal posts, but it has helped me realize a valuable lesson, one that I may have overlooked since I started writing for this blog back in 2010. So, with that in mind, I’d like to share with you the most important lesson I learned in 2015 which is to make sure you’re having fun with anime.

12 Days of Anime (2015) – Day 10 – 123,714

This might seem like an odd topic for a 12 Days of Anime post, but it’s a topic worth discussing given how it continues to grow on me every year and with every new anime. In fact, it’s routine for me now, something constant and universal that occurs every time I watch an anime. And it’s a subject that can be entrusted quite easily by the number 123,714. So, what exactly does 123,714 mean?