Animanga Spellbook Resolutions

As inspired by this and the various other posts involving looking back on a blog’s progress.

It’s a new year, so here are some blog resolutions I hope to keep in perspective. My blog’s only been around for about 2 months, so I’ll skip looking back on it for now.

1. Cull some of that (anime) on-hold list.

The on-hold list, as of Boxing Day 2017, is 127 anime long out of just over 650 titles (651, to be precise). Most of those should be streaming, if not they were available through…less than scrupulous means…but it’s still a lot.

So, I want to bring the rough percentage from 19% (127/651) to about 17%. It seems like a small dent, but it’ll mean a significant amount of watching.

2. Finish at least 10 older shows (or seasons of shows) to make an older anime ranking in 2018.

I had a lot of fun keeping a bunch of different lists/awards in 2017 and releasing them over the 27th – 28th of December. Thus, this resolution was born.

Madoka Magica will probably make this list, by the way. (I finished Evangelion just after the end of year list was compiled, so it’s neither here nor there.)

3. Keep posting weekly.

Plus having the other columns too. Establishing a routine is good for the audience to come to rely on you, after all.

4. Finish 4 or more short series (15 minutes or less) which are from 2018 to make a substantial ranking.

Same motive as number 2. MahoYome will make this list, so there’s one anyway.

5. Resist the temptation to keep adding columns.

I bet I’ll be drowning in columns by the end of 2018, so I better stick with what I have…just to keep me from going overboard with number 3.

6. Vary my genres.

I’m a fairly varied person in regards to what I watch, but I’ve realised that a lot of shows I’ve put on hold or dropped fall into a lot of the same genres. Therefore, I’ve made a list of genres I know I avoid in the simulcast commentary, because they tend to not make the cut:

• sports
• mecha
• idol (female)
• idol (male)
• romance
• sci-fi
• Cute Girls Doing Cute Things
• slice of life
• otome game adaption/visual novel adaption oriented towards guys involving harem
• horror

You’ll notice “isekai” or “light novel adaption” isn’t on there. I have a project planned for that which will take its place – there’s no set date on it, but it’s likely it may make an appearance as early as February. Ecchi/yaoi/yuri/hentai hasn’t made the list either, and that’s because I would never forgive myself if I put titles which are mainly aiming at getting the viewer to…erhem. Also, the idols are splintered by gender because I have completely different reactions to each…because male idols are great eye candy…

I’ll do my best to look into more shows of these genres, so you can rec me whatever finished shows you want that fit at least one of the list’s genres. Preferably, it should be from my on-hold or plan to watch list, but anything off it is okay too.

7. Talk about manga and manga-exclusive titles more.

There was a startling deficit of manga on a blog called the Animanga Spellbook. I think this is partially because I approach my manga and anime in different ways and partially because most of my manga comes from physical libraries and a lot of waiting, unlike how most of my anime comes from streaming services. Maybe these differences should become a post…?

However, despite this deficit, I did mention the “manga” part of the title was just so I could put my feelings about Boku no Hero Academia: Vigilantes out there, so this resolution isn’t as important as the others.

8. Experiment more with Twitter/WordPress integration.

WordPress people tend to be active on Twitter. In the past 2 months I’ve announced shows I’m watching and posts I’m planning there, so trying to do so for the new year should improve my interaction and such.

I’ve already joined Jon Spencer’s #CreatorShowcase on Twitter as part of this resolution, so if you want, you can read how to join it here.

9. Join some more anime challenges.

More accurately I want to chase up the Anime Secret Santa for 2018, but any other challenges would be good too.

10. Get to 60 days watched or more.

As of the 29th of December 2017, I’m on 48.4 days watched so I’m just using this as an excuse to step up my game for 2018. My other resolutions, plus what I’m already doing, should be able to fulfil this one easily.