Reality Check

Blogging, simply put, is the defining tool of a new era of journalism, both inside of geekdom and outside it. It puts power in the hands of the underdogs: no matter who you are or what your education is, if you start a decent blog and pimp it hard enough, you’ll get your word out.

It also provides for discussions and social interactions unlike any other media form out there… and that’s why I started blogging. August 2007 was the month I began homeschooling, which did quite a number on my RL social life, obviously. I was determined to meet other people fascinated with Japanese animation and comics, just like me. Needless to say, that experiment worked pretty well: I now have some of the greatest friends in the whole world, and my baby is getting 25,000 pageviews a month with 250+ RSS feed subscribers.

But now I’m walking away. A third-degree existential crisis hit me yesterday, and though most of it was mainly about real life stuff, some of it was about my blogging. To sum it up, I’ve hit the point where blogging isn’t doing anything for me anymore, and it’s conflicting with my RL goals. I really hate to leave this behind, because I don’t want things to change; I don’t want to move on. But it’s happening, and this post goes a bit more into why. It’s a little tl;dr, but I’m explaining it all in hopes that maybe it’ll prove to be inspiring for someone else. I don’t want anyone else to quit aniblogging, obviously, but the emotions and logic in this post are fairly relevant to a lot of things besides blogging.

And in the words of my AP US History teacher, no, this ain’t gonna be a “sit around the campfire and sing kumbaya” post. (Of course, I guess that depends on your definition of one…)

[Manga Monday] Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Meakashi-hen

You’d think I’d get tired of Higurashi after a while… But somehow, the fresh twists on the series’ recurring premise keep me entertained time and time again. This time, Mion’s family history comes fully into play, with her twin Shion returning to town to mix things up. Plus Satoko’s older brother Satoshi is still around – because the arc actually begins a full year before the events of the other arcs. What does this mean for the murders that are destined to occur in Showa 58?

Well, it’s hard to say at this point, because the scanlation efforts of Meakashi-hen don’t seem to be complete yet. The seven currently-released chapters, though, are quite an interesting read. Yes, ‘interesting’ does include the usual gore and distorted expressions, but there’s also an element of honest humanity here that’s different from Higurashi‘s normal state. Even though it’s not as well-executed as some other arcs, Shion’s story is worth reading if you’re already a fan of the series – but it’ll be pretty darn confusing for newcomers to the franchise.

Durarara!! 11

There’s nothing more romantic than spontaneous proposals. And there’s nothing more awesome than Mikado being spontaneously awesome. And there’s nothing more heart-tugging than good, original character development.

… And I won’t say anything more than that til after the cut. <3 Festivities ahoy~!

[Manga Monday] The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

… Hey, I’m kind of on a roll with the movie/OVA-to-manga adaptations…

Anyway, Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo was probably the most hotly anticipated North American release of 2008 (although I personally didn’t care about it,) and Bandai licensing its manga adaptation made a lot of sense. There’s a minor problem with Bandai being the ones to release it, however: they’re idiots who can’t proofread things worth crap. The finest example is “Makoto” being spelled “Makot” at one spot on the back cover.

Kindergarten-level proofreading skills aside, though, I’m glad someone brought the TokiKake manga stateside, because some of us prefer the sensation of holdign a book in your hands to watching a DVD. Don’t get me wrong, I bet the movie’s great and everything, but I’m perfectly content with the manga. Despite the typos and confusing beginning and end, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is an enjoyable read, if you’re not in it for character development or major philosophical ponderings of any kind.

[CJ's View] Durarara!! 07-10

If I had to pick a high point for these episodes, I probably couldn’t. Despite the continuing lack of a cohesive plot for episodes 7 and 8, all four of these episodes have thoroughly cemented my faith in this series. Though some of the characters are still fairly underdeveloped, most became considerably more well-rounded through the ~100 minutes of these episodes. They were great characters to begin with, and now they’re rivaling those of Fullmetal Alchemist and some of my other all-time favorite series.

Not to mention the ever-deepening mysteries, which continue to perplex as much as they amaze…

[Spoiler-free post ahead! Aren't you proud of me? :D]

Shakugan no Shana S 01-02

I’m not a huge fan of the Shana franchise… but I am a fan of the short-tempered sword-swinging loli herself. ♥ I figured checking out the OVA would be worthwhile, partly thanks to the better (and therefore more adorable) animation. After reading about it all over the blogosphere and getting mixed reviews, I really wanted to check it out for myself, but didn’t get to until recently… and was thoroughly rewarded by the changing room scene in episode 1:

“Sakai-kun! Why are you covering Shana’s eyes?!” Abso-friggin’-lutely priceless. (Also, tons of Shana spam under the cut.)

[Manga Monday] The Voices of a Distant Star

Makoto Shinkai’s first true OVA got the attention of sci-fi and romance fans on both sides of the Pacific with its beauty and tear-jerker moments. I was initially somewhat wary of its rarely-mentioned manga adaptation, partly because anime-to-manga adaptations normally suck.

But… This one was different. It totally took Shinkai’s idea and ran it in a dramatically different, slightly more political direction with a very different ending, and it somehow works. Mizu Sahara’s adaptation is just as tear-jerking as the original, but has a less ambiguous ending, which should please the softer-hearted readers. Its original characters could have been extremely annoying, but instead they flesh out Mikako and Noboru’s world quite well. Though the art is fairly weak, especially in battle sequences, there’s a couple of really nicely done color pages at the beginning of the book. It’s a must-read for fans of the OVA and shoujo fans in general.

[Review] Darker than Black – Ryuusei no Gemini [MAJOR SPOILERS]

I honestly didn’t think I’d ever recover enough to write a review about this series. I mean. That ending. T-That ending.

After a while, though, I’ve come to terms with the depressing mindscrew end, and have decided to enjoy the show (and its fandom) for what it is: a quasi-psychological sci-fi exploration of characters and “what if?” scenarios. As I’ve said before, Suou captured my attention enough to make me watch the show, but it was also worth watching thanks to the exploration of Hei and Yin’s relationship and the extraordinary plot twists. Close to the end, it seemed like Bones had written itself into a hole, but the revelations at the end of episode 11 pulled things back together surprisingly well.

(A/N: Still haven’t managed to see all of season one, but fandom has spoiled me enough to allow me to put this review quasi-in-context of Kuro no Keiyakusha. Therefore, it may contain minor spoilers for season one as well.)

CJ’s off hiatus, got her college stuff worked out, and got some new writers~

First, the obvious: I’m off hiatus. Expect a few fun new things from me within a day or so.

Secondly and slightly more importantly, I got my college plans worked out… and I will be attending school in-state! This means good things for my convention schedule, because I will still be able to attend Matsuricon and Ohayocon each year. Theoretically, I’ll even be able to add Sugoicon, Anime Punch or another Midwest convention, if I can get rides. ^__^ Paneling, especially Anime Blogging 101 and 201, should continue, and maybe I’ll even manage to work with Rakuen, Dave, or others to do a new panel or two.

The bad news is that I have to start classes in the summer… but that’ll be okay, since it’s Japanese 101 and 102, which I could have tested out of but decided against because there’s big holes in my writing abilities. ;_; Sigh.

Thirdly (and even MORE importantly~) Borderline Hikikomori has two new writers! Raphael will start posting shortly, but lvlln jumped in already with a Dance in the Vampire Bund post since I dropped the series. We’re all looking forward to working with them and the fresh insights they’ll bring us!

~CJ

PS – Spring Preview will be up by Monday!

CJ’s going on hiatus, but at least we’re looking for new writers~!

Title says it all! CJ’s facing scholarship and other college-related drama over the next two or three weeks, so she won’t be doing Durarara!! posts, Manga Monday or any of the Catch-Up posts she’s been trying to do. Sorry guys! Luckily it’s gonna be a short-term break just to get stuff back on track, and it wouldn’t even have come to this if my work schedule weren’t so nuts…

The good news is that we’re accepting applications for new writers~! It’s nothing serious; just send a review/news article sample to CJ’s email (cjblackwing -at- gmail -dot- com~) with a bit of info about yourself, what series you like, etc. We’re not picky about writing skills, as long as you’re coherent and quasi-committed to this whole blogging thing (help with Season Preview posts, Shameless Shipping and 12 Days of Christmas series as needed; besides that, do whatever you want~)

Anyway, CJ will hopefully survive the scholarship crap (Please be kind to me, WUSTL~!) and manage to get back to new writers within 2-3 days after they email her, so you don’t have to worry about her leaving you hanging for 2 weeks. Don’t be scared; let us know if you want to join us~!