Sayonara, and Kemonozume

It's been a bit over eight months since I first started writing posts for this blog, and I'd like to think that it has contributed a little something to the anime blogging community through its presence. At all times I have tried to escape the common mold that plagues the anime blogging community, ridden as it is with episode summaries. To this end I focused on the editorial side of the house, writing articles that I hoped would help anime fans engage in debate over what is a very personal hobby.

Anime caters so much to an individual's personal desires - to an individual's need for fantasy - that it leaves little room for the discussion inherent in most great works of art. In fact, to an even greater extent that traditional film and novels, anime creates a link with the viewer. The difficulty that people find in trying to relate the impact that anime has on them (other than the common: "it really touched me" or other likewise simplistic phrases) is a direct result of this link.

I love anime, to such an extent that for the past ten years I've watched an increasingly ridiculous amount, whether it be good or bad. This is a commmon trend I've found among anime fans - the inability to discern between the good and bad, or rather the inability to care. I referenced this very concept in a previous post on Otaku Consumerism. And many other bloggers have tackled the issue in their posts about how much critical acclaim has met some of the most despicable, blatantly fan-oriented shows (Kanon, for instance).

Anime has stagnated. It's not the art form I loved so long ago. As a combination of both my increasing standards (and honestly, who has time to watch upwards of two dozen shows a season?), and my increasing age, I feel like I've drifted away from the "pure" love I felt for anime in the past, and I don't feel that this is a bad thing.

The appreciation that anime has given me for many other things - the seasons, the taste of good sake (or any liquor), Japan - in part has contributed to this drifting away. I can't watch the bad shows, or even the mediocre shows, anymore. I don't want to. Unless it has the bold artistic direction of Kemonozume, or the brilliance of Now and Then: Here and There, I'm not interested.

So this is "good-bye," at least to this blog. I'll be putting in to have it removed from animenano within the next week or so. I plan to keep posting on the blogs I already frequent (Bateszi, Hige, Riuva, etc.), no longer as a fellow blogger, but as someone who hopes to find something worth watching amidst all the trash.

It's been a great ride - long stretches without any activity, some really memorable posts, some not so memorable ones, and along the way I got to experience a great community of bloggers who really care about this hobby. Unfortunately I won't be able to take part to the extent that I have in the past, and I apologize, but I hope you all continue to write and introduce more and more people to the grand passion that is anime. It's well worth the experience.

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