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By George, I think I’ve got it! |
This week I had planned to talk about something silly and frivolous (it’s about time for another FetishFrame, me thinks…), but as is so often the case, the writer’s bug has bitten and another subject has bubbled to the fore, demanding to be addressed before I can think about anything else. This subject comes as a result of comments on the last one, specifically a conversation with my good-friend-in-ridiculously-long-commenting, Zen. I would link you to it now, but it rather gives away the thrust of this post, so I’ll save that for later. For now, consider this question a friend of mine posed to me not long ago – one which you yourself may have wondered before:
“Why do you blog about anime? I mean, what’s the point?”
Why indeed. This may not seem like an important question, but it is. For those of you who don’t know, a single RandomC post takes anywhere from 2-5 hours to produce, from start of the episode to hitting the Publish button. Personally, my posts average 3-4 hours each (because I write too much), while these editorials take upwards to 6+ (and a single Kyoukaisen post was more like 8-10!). And, while fun, blogging here is still work – even when we don’t feel like it, if there’s a post to be written then we must write it, because we are proud of RandomC’s reputation, and because we’re masochists like that. All this adds up, and means that covering only two shows a season effectively adds 6-8 hours to the work week. At my most intense, it was more like 15+. For Divine in his prime, it was over 30. Every week.
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Actually, my most intense was over 50+, but then again, I’m totally bonkers. |
I do not say this to fish for compliments, nor because I begrudge doing the work – it is all done of our own free will, after all – but it does require a good reason for doing so, lest in the dark hours of a particularly exhausting and brutal night, we find ourselves asking “Wait…why am I doing this again?” There must be an answer, and instantly! Otherwise we’ll conclude that there is none, and before long we’ll end up fading away into the depths of the electronic ocean, never to be heard from again. That will happen to us all eventually of course, but it’s better to do it with purpose. Thus, we must have a reason for being here now.
Disclaimer: I do not purport to speak for the other writers, nor for Divine. Also, despite the rather final tone of the previous paragraph, I’m not planning on fading away quite yet. I just thought that you, our dear readers, might be curious about what goes through one of our writer’s heads as we write these silly posts. This is why I, Stilts, do what I do. Beware! We’re about to dive into the insane maelstrom that is my mind, so fasten your seat belts and grab on for dear life – it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
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Here’s something to make the ride a little softer, ufufu~ |
The reason why I write now is the same as why I came here to read for the 4+ years prior. In a small way it was because of the community. Watching anime has always been a solitary experience for me – none of my RL friends have seen more than perhaps a show or two1, which is a far cry from my 15-20-shows-a-season habit – so it was nice to see that there were others who enjoyed the same crazy cartoons I did. But that’s not the reason. I realized what the reason was when I realized why RandomC was the only blog I read consistently. It has to do with speed, or more correctly, magic.
For me, the time I need a blog most is when an episode has ended, and it was not enough. You know that feeling when the final moments give way to the ED, and you sit there, stunned, wondering how you can possibly wait another week for this wonderful story to continue? That. That’s when I would instantly rush to RandomC, to search for the post on that wonderful episode and drink it in. It didn’t matter what the writer said, not really. Nor the comments, if I chose to read those as well. All that mattered was that I had this place, this oasis to run to when the magic was too much, and I wanted to stay in that world for just a few minutes longer.
Though this post goes on for some time more, that’s the main reason why I do what I do. I write to erect (hur hur hur) a place for you all to come to when the episode is done and you don’t want to let go quite yet. That’s the reason I value posting speed above all else, and can be found berating myself when I can’t get a post out on the day of release (though all of us writers try to post quickly – it’s sort of a RandomC thing). What good is it if the post isn’t there when the episode is done? Well, a lot, but not nearly as much. Best to catch you when you need my words the most. That’s what I always wanted, after all.
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Don’t worry, jump! I’ll catch you. |
So if that’s why I do it, what does this mean for my writing? Perhaps now it’s time to link you to the conversation I had with Zen, but I’m going to demure once again, because it’s a long and tangential and I want your full attention. I’ll summarize: it had to do with the nature of objectivity vs subjectivity, and of artistic quality vs enjoyment. It brought to mind my reasons for being here, and a question – if I aim only to give you a place to come and bathe in a world’s magic for just a few moments longer, what role does a critic’s objectivity have?
It has a place. The most critical question, especially in the first few posts and the season previews, is “do I want to watch this?” There I must engage in some dispassionate analysis, or I wouldn’t be doing my job (as long as it doesn’t hurt my post speed too much – quick quick, I must go quick!). Criticism too, I try to slip in where it’s necessary (even on the shows I like), because to do otherwise wouldn’t be honest. And yet, they are not my primary goals. Between the objective critic and the subjective entertainer, I will pick the entertainer every single time.
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Ore wa entertainer~ |
Does saying this destroy my credibility? If so, I don’t care! Hell, I wasn’t even aware I had any left. I’m the ecchi guy, remember? Being all stuck up and serious wouldn’t suit me, so I don’t even try. Better to be the jester, the silly little (well, very tall) man who traipses about, telling jokes and gushing about imoutos and pointing out sexy scenes with a pervy smile on my face. Because here’s the thing about jesters, my friends…once upon a time, in the days when an ill-thought out comment could earn you a date with the executioner’s axe, it was only the jesters who could utter scandalous things in front of their kings, all because they slipped them in between fart jokes, and because he couldn’t possible be serious, right? Why, he’s the jester, of course not! But wisdom comes in funny places, often literally, so if you’re looking for wisdom, it might be better to look towards comedians and writers rather than politicians. That is to say, I may be silly, but I like to think that some interesting topics are broached in my posts from time to time. Perhaps even right now?
Yet still, that is all secondary to my true purpose here. I write to extend the magic, and to give you a place to come when the episode is not enough. If some of you laugh, if some of you smile, if some of you are just a little bit happier for having read these worlds of words and screenshots and joy that I have built for you…then I am happy as well. That, more than anything else, is the most basic, elemental reason why I am here – to spread just a little bit of enjoyment and happiness to others, in a way that is fun for me as well.
That’s why I blog. Now tell me – why do you come here to read?
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Is it lolis? Tsunderes? Imoutos? Busty vampires? Genderbent legendary kings? HELP ME HELP YOU! |
I haven’t asked them yet, but if any of the other writers feel like sharing their blogging philosophies in the comments below, I’ll throw links to them here (Edit: Moomba, Zephyr). Oh, and here are the links to that conversation I’ve been alluding to for so long. I’ll just give you the important parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Enjoy!
By the way, this post’s title is a reference to Stephen King’s On Writing. If you’re an aspiring fiction writer, I highly recommend it. I don’t much like any of King’s actual novels (too meandering, and I’m not a big fan of horror), but this one book is fantastic. Highly suggested!
One last thing! I took a page from Zanibas’ book and started doing alt text for all the pictures in my Stilts Out Loud posts. Now with 10% more droll humour™ in every post!
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1 My one friend who actually has seen a decent amount of anime – who is also the only one who reads this blog – takes exception to that comment. Okay, so there’s one! And he watches Space Bros, so he’s pretty much a badass. But my general points stands! [Back]
>objective
>Random Curiosity
lol
There is no such thing as “objective writing”. It’s a bloody myth. Like a bigfoot. Or Ness… If you’re a human, one way or another, it’s bound to be subjective. Might as well give up on that notion and write what you want and what you think instead of trying to censor yourself in a vein attempt to please some invisible mob, eh? I’d say just go for it!
although i don’t agree with you completely you do hav a point, if one is to be truly(100%) ‘objective’ it would require for him to have no emotions and no prior knowledge of anything(and i mean anything) like a completely blank page, something difficult to attain for a someone writing a review.
There are different standards of objectivity and even different definitions depending on your discipline. Objective writing very well exists. Of course, everything in this world is viewed through a personal perspective. But we can still apply rules of logic and models of analysis in such a way that not all conversation boils down to my bias versus yours. To borrow liberally and rather unfaithfully from Einstein, it’s about having, and being aware of, a frame of reference.
Yes, no writing is truly objective. It’s an impossible ideal that us squishy humans in our meatbags full of emotions and hormones constantly strive for, but will never reach. That said, trying to be objective has the effect of bringing us closer to that ideal than pure, unfettered subjectivity would allow.
That said, as I noted, I’m not particularly worried about being objective. I attempt it erratically, but that’s about the best I can say for it.
HK-47 Reference? xD
Wait, did I make a reference there? I just thought that up myself a while back :X
“Why do you blog about anime? I mean, what’s the point?” Well, duh, for MY entertainment of course! 🙂
Love you all bloggers and readers, keep it up!
Busty vampires.
*slaps postage on a box full of busty vampires. wipes his brow*
Okay, all set. Who’s next?
I’d like to order the “Dere” set. You stock up on kuuderes too, don’t you?
Stilts, may I suggest in the near future to address this “anime monster eyes+no-nose” (usually for girl character) syndrome that dominates Japanese anime world? Perhaps you are not bothered by this at all and god forbid even like this freaky thing (freaky if you think about the look rationally, not necessarily just because it’s stylized drawing), but this monstrous look never ceases me disturbs to no end. Even on a rare chance I grow on some characters who happen to spot that characteristics, I shudder at that monster-look. I know how that whole thing started back in the days trying to save some dough, but now in year 2012, they can certainly afford to pay to shrink that eye size by half and draw some more nose in, doing away with spotting monster faces AND still express their faces just fine! I think they are just now doing this for the sake of doing it. Huh, how about it, Stilts? Maybe within next to-write-topic no.5?
I might expand that to examining the peculiarities of manga/anime art in general, but I’ve got it on my list!
*looks at his list*
Wow. That’s long.
(That’s what she said!)
I blog for a variety of different reasons. But most of it stemmed from the limitations I feel are in Facebook and Twitter. And oddly enough, RandomC was the very first website (besides google of course) that is my homepage (still is).
Back in the days of Omni, RandomC has been my one true source for anime. While I don’t rely on it too much nowadays, I do love the community of bloggers here. It’s a standard I want to strive for, but eh, the nuances of life leaves me to write any anime-related posts in a sort of pseudo-live blog format rather than the collected and edited posts on here.
Keep it up, and if RC ever falls into the depths of the ocean, it was well worth the time and a significant factor of shaping my tastes and my teenage years.
objectivity:
judgment based on observable phenomena and uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices.
subjectivity:
judgment based on individual personal impressions and feelings and opinions rather than external facts.
from google, anyone disagree with the definitions?
hopefully this will be helpful if ppl argue about which is better.
Word. This is exactly what drives me to blogs such as RC – trying to keep myself immersed in the magic for those few precious minutes longer. Plus I’m collecting screencaps as research material, so it’s nice that somebody takes them for me 😉 That’s why I truly appreciate the efforts of all the bloggers – you are doing something for the benefit of others, for free. That’s almost like a charity. Hontoni arigatou.
BTW. My 1st post after years of lurking around!
Congrats, and welcome to the club! My first comment was after I had already become a writer, so good job on getting ahead of the curve ; )
You hit the nail on the head. Especially if it’s a really good show I come straight here after watching an episode mainly to hear other people’s thoughts and confirm what I think about it. So in light of that I’m always disappointed when the post isn’t up yet. I don’t even watch the episodes right away usually.
I normally watch everything in order and it’s 1-2 episodes a day therefore I’m typically 2-3 days behind. That’s one reason why I don’t comment sometimes even though I want to because everyone quit commenting by then and I don’t like leaving the last comment.
Hah, I had the same problem back before I became a writer! Actually, to be honest I have the same problem now :X I rarely watch episodes right when they air (unless I’m blogging them), so by the time I get to them and go to the post, it’s nearly on the second page! Some day I’ll have more time and catch up. Some day…
I’ve never really thought too hard about a solid philosophy behind my blogging. I write because I enjoy doing so and because RC was one of the first anime blogs I actually frequented starting back during the days of Code Geass. As Stilts said, I always came here after watching an episode I felt particularly strongly about, to see how others perceived it and so that I could revel in the moment just that little bit longer.
I don’t like to consider myself a critic and I claim no pretensions of objectivity. But I do like to try to be fair in my approach. Everything I write is based upon my personal opinion as an individual – I write impressions and thoughts, sometimes tinged with a little weak British humour and sarcasm.
One thing I really like about anime blogging in comparison to the pro review sites (of particular note is the mess that frequently comes up with video game journalism) is that there’s generally very little in the way of external bias. No-one pays us to write what we write; no large companies sponsor us and expect us to plug their anime for them. If we don’t like something, we’re free to say it without having to worry about having a sponsorship pulled or losing access to early releases or anything.
That’s the point of blogging really. I started blogging not because I wanted fame or to start earning income on the side (although i know some who have gotten to that point) but because the gunblogging community spurred me on, and in essence, as did the aniblogging community.
I blog about stuff I like, be it firearms, politics, anime, or world of tanks. Y’all have helped shaped that view of mine.
And VG Journalism is Journalism in general, there are biases, some more profound than others to fulfill a contract.
Originally I started blogging because I was curious and wanted to try it myself. Quickly, though, I found it to be very fun (if a bit hard at times), so I stuck with it. Even when I took a hiatus due to stress, there were a few times when I wanted to sit down and write some stuff. Nowadays it’s a good way to keep my English skills intact since I don’t read it in school anymore!
You just gotta remember that you’re doing it for fun, not for work. If you become too focused on blogging of the sake of blogging, it will only bog you down one day or another and your posts will probably be very forced.
– Curious as I am, what are the requirements to become a blogger at Random Curiosity?
– Also, is the post format you use obligatory (aka tons of pics and then only text)? Only with editorials you seem to ignore that format.
There are no official requirements for becoming a RandomC blogger…mostly because, before a year ago, it wasn’t an issue. Now we’re still trying to iron out the issues with this whole team blog thing, but until we decide we need more writers (probably when attrition takes a few more of us…<3 un-chan and takaii!), we haven’t bothered to make any official requirements.
If I had to throw some out at random though, they’d be 1) good English skills, 2) a ridiculous priority on posting quickly and consistently, 3) someone we’d want to work with, 4) someone who likes the kind of shows we’re not blogging enough of, 5) knowledge of the Japanese language a serious plus. That’s just talking out of my ass, though.
As for the post format, it is largely obligatory. We keep a little leeway, but mostly we want a RandomC post to be a RandomC post, regardless of who is writing it. Special posts are the exception, though they all have their own set formats (Season Previews, year end Best of Anime, etc) that we try to follow. These posts are just rather unique ’cause I can alter things at will…a benefit you get when you’re egotistical enough to put your name in the post type, I guess ; )
Been lurking here for about 6 years now and I’ve got to say, keeping that “magic” alive by once that 23min episode is over has been the thing that has really kept me coming here for all that time. From HS to college and now grad school, it’s really become a habit to come on here everytime I watch an episode. Wouldn’t swap this space for the world (even with all the trolls and fanboys!)
I basically just wanted to get my voice out there. I had a desire to start writing about anime and manga. That aspect has definitely has evolved how I view the two mediums nowadays, and maybe it’ll keep evolving for years hopefully (assuming I don’t burnout!).
I was actually inspired by Omni to start blogging. Back when I first discovered RC, I liked his episode summaries cos it reads like an actual novel, plus it helped me verify certain parts of the episode that I didn’t quite understand.
After two years of blogging, I’ll say that episode summaries take much less time to produce than an overall impression on the episode. When writing a summary, I would only detail the crucial points in the episode. Whereas, in a overall impression, I’d have to plan what I want to write based on topics such as theme, the way the episode expressed that theme, character development and so forth. I believe there are bloggers who can write their minds spontaneously on the spot and still create an entertaining article, but at the moment, it’s still far from my capabilities.
Another benefit apart from enjoyment and community relations that I found from blogging is that it had drastically improved my overall vocabulary. Whenever, I write an article, I find myself having to find different words to express the same thing so that I don’t sound so redundant throughout the article. When I first started, I had a thesaurus with me more than half the time. Now, still have one with me, but that just means I’m continuing to learn more words.
The activity of blogging itself has also helped me in situations outside of blogging, such as writing reports for work related matters and communicating with clients. That’s because ever since I started writing, I’d tried to avoid using street nor social web jargon and instead portrayed my ideas using a more factual tone. By doing it this way, it at least makes it feel like you know what you’re talking about. This may relate to the matter of “objectivity vs subjectivity” because one who is highly subjective is likely to rely on their casual tendencies to bring their idea/s across.
I’m curious, how much do you plan out a post? Personally, I just write out three ALL CAPS fragments that serve as rough subjects for my paragraphs, and then I start writing. As my posts clearly illustrate, this only rarely results in just three paragraphs (I write a loooot, lol), but it at least gets me started and gives me an idea of where I’m going without wasting too much time.
My writing style differs from season to season. However, I always follow some sort of structural convention.
This is a rough outline of how I plan my article in the previous season:
P1: Introduction/General Overview: Two sentence summary of the events of the episode, general thoughts about the episode (i.e. whether I enjoyed watching it.)
P2: Opening Scene Evaluation: How the viewer was brought into the episode and the purpose of the way it’s done
P3: Character Development: The way the characters are being portrayed, their actions and how these actions may affect the progression of the overall story
P4: Plot devices: Overall message/idea being portrayed in the episode, the way it’s being done and whether it’s affective
P5: Pacing: The speed at which the events unfold, the purpose of the pacing used
P6: Closing Scene Evaluation/Conclusion: The way the episode ends plus closing statement
Basically, my approach differs to that of RC in the way that instead of being critical of what we actually see on the surface, I focus on why we see it, thus, putting myself in the shoes of the creator. For example, I would sometimes imagine that I’m the one creating the series and explain how I would approach the progression of the episode.
This approach may sound like some high school English assignment, but after doing it this way for one whole season, it made me understand more about how some anime were made.
Why do I read RandomC huh. Why indeed. I guess you could say the simple answer is the increase of perspective. Though I catch a lot of details on shows, often some most don’t catch, I am interested in there are occasionally details I miss or topics I am unfamiliar with and therefore do not have the ability to understand. By coming here and reading the posts + comments I am able to widen my understanding of the show and the world at large. I am after all just a solitary civil engineer who has highly specialized knowledge on one profession though an interest in multiple different fields of study (pet peeve, if you wana be a demolitions expert you better take up civil engineering rather than architecture Jormungand). By coming here I am able to understand more of the shows I watch through the minds of various other individuals with their own set of specialized knowledge and further increase my human capital. It’s not a joke to say that because I’ve started watching anime and reading manga my perspective of the world has been expanded.
Yes. Period. For ever.
Watching a moving episode of your favourite series – yes, every episode moves its engaged viewer somehow, some way –
your experience begs to be shared with other like-minded viewers. You look around the room, and 99% of the time, it’s empty.
For whatever reason, watching Anime serves up the amazing contradiction that it can be an incredibly lonely experience.
Hence, the need for places like RC. Everything you said (for me personally) is exactly what I do – I’m not ashamed to admit it.
The best word I’ve been able to use to describe this “Anime Process” is “immersion.” We’re able to immerse ourselves
and understand (most of) the Anime nuances; why they’re there and how they play into the story. And yes, pantsu shots are
important to a story – else, why would they be there?. If I have to explain why, well then, you obviously don’t get it 🙂 :).
So, it’s good to have a place where there are others who are following the same series’ as you. You can sample their ideas,
and add your own if so inclined.
Which brings me back (of course it does, clear as a bell this train of thought) to the poster. Because, I see the poster as the
catalyst to this discussion. IMHO, a good poster won’t do a complete analysis, but lay the foundation for their commenters
to build upon – the start of the discussion.
I try to appreciate all of this work because it’s volunteer, and I realize that circumstances could change and a writer may not
be able to make the investment of time to continue posting about the series.
And it will end. I just hope that isn’t for a long time (boy, I sure hope all of this made sense)…
The game is never about making it last forever, for that is impossible. The game is about keeping those plates a-spinnin’ for as long as you possibly can.
*quietly spins his plates, whistling all the while*
Stilts, which anime is the last picture from?
Carnival Phantasm, which is a Type-Moon spoof story (most recently, a series of OVAs) with characters from Melty Blood, Fate/Stay Night, and Tsukihime.
I’ve been out of the anime loop for a while – what shows those characters are from on the 1st, 3rd and 5th pics?
Robotics;Notes, To Love RU – Darkness, and Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou respectively!
Oh, the new shows. Ta!
Once again I find myself agreeing with what you said stilts. I haven’t been visiting Randomc for a long time. It somehow turned into a habit. Now I visit Randomc almost every time after an episode. So yeah its pretty much a spot on reason for me(making the magic last longer etc).
This would be my first comment ever basically.
*side note* With the shows you cover, so far, I have been having almost the exact same opinions about them. Just that when I read your posts you can get it better into words then I can(not that I actually blog). Just a random thing I noticed for myself is all.
\o/ Glad to hear it, both that you’ve decided to join the commenting game, and that my silly words have resonated more often than not. I’ll keep doing my best, and I welcome you (all) along for the ride! *fight-o pose*
what anime is it ? plz ty
https://randomc.net/image/Miscellaneous/Stilts%20Out%20Loud/Stilts%20Out%20Loud%20-%20016%20-%20Large%20Even%20when%20it%20leaves%20me%20screaming%20on%20the%20inside.jpg
Refer to yourservice’s comment above: it’s Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou
Hmmm… to be honest, it’s really kind of hard detailing exactly why I ended up blogging about anime. I mean, there were just a huge amount of factors that played a part in the end, and like Moomba, I admittedly haven’t really ever given much thought to actually having a kind of solid philosophy regarding the matter either.
I guess for me, the thing that started it all was stumbling upon RC a couple years back when Divine first took over in earnest. At the time, it felt like there was something… novel (for lack of a better word) about the notion of blogging anime in an episodic fashion just for fun and not for pay. In addition, it was pretty amazing seeing so many people from all over the world just getting together to talk about anime.
Up until that point, I had already pondered many times about being a writer of some sort. I had already written quite a few story/novel drafts… but the thing was, I never did finish any of em’. In the end, I suppose I kinda realized that I probably wasn’t going to be one of those authors that would be able to write huge novels on a whim and just earn a living from that, so I took an extended break from any kind of writing in general. Every once in a while though, I’d still get this urge to write about the most random things…
And well, I guess the rest of the story ends up being a kind of progress by natural progression. I ended up thinking: “Hmmm… you know, there are all these people that do online blogging about the things they like… why not give it a try?” Ultimately, a spot ended up opening at a friend of a friend’s site (leetneet.net) early this year. The site was based around anime and games, both things I loved writing about… so I ended up jumping at that chance. Needless to say, I ended up loving the whole experience of it all, and realized also how fun it would be if I ever got to write at Random C as well, which I had been following for some two-ish years already. Just a few months later, a spot would open up here too… and well, I guess you can see how things worked out from there.
Overall, I guess I write because… I just like to write… and because anime just so happens to be something I like and like talking about. In addition, it’s nice being able to get out your opinions out there in a written form and discussing it, rather than just bottling it in and not having anyone to talk to. It’s fun too, being able to meet/talk/and work with people from all over the world… people I would not have otherwise been able to interact with.
And last but not least, I blog here in particular because I want to give back to the community. It sounds stereotypical and boring I know… but it’s the truth. This site, Divine, and the writers/viewers that have come and gone have been constant companions of mine for years now. As such, I feel a kind of obligation to help keep this site running as long as I can for the many viewers who have enjoy coming here as much as I have… and for the writers that have come before me. Because as long as RC’s still running, there’ll always be a record of the mark they left and the effort they put in.
Blogging philosophy-wise… I can’t say I really have one. Like Moomba, my posts are pretty much a combination of impressions and thoughts, with an emphasis on points I feel like warrant discussion from the given episode/series or points I feel viewers would most likely want mentioned/discussed. And well… I mean, I could probably go on all day trying to describing everything in some overly complex and detailed way, but I reckon by now you guys probably have a pretty good point of my philosophy and the kind of person I am, haha. If not, feel free to sneak a few peeks at my posts sometime… XD
Ahhhh… that feeling when I finish a series or an episode… That feeling when I finish watching the episode and an insurmountable feeling stays with me and coerces me to find something that will help the uneasiness settle. To look at it and to witness more about it for the feeling will not be appeased otherwise.
The feeling is sometimes so strong when I finish a series that I stay with it refusing to move on. Over time, I’ve realized that the only way to move on is to read or to have someone else talk about it with me. Still, the feeling is inexplicable; you must feel it to understand.
One thing I prefer reading about is objective analysis about the way the blogger feels and perhaps why they felt that way, rather than just ‘hnng’ing and writing out what their feelings are.
It’s more interesting and thought-provoking, in my opinion.
i think it’s the same for everyone here, we all want to savour the aftertaste of a short 20min episode a while longer.
though for quite a few shows, i actually stalk RandomC posts cos my eyes do not detect that much detail, and i need someone to fill in the gaps i miss out for me XP
” I write to erect (hur hur hur) “ <– THIS is why I like it here. XD
@Stilts your avatar of Kumagawa from Medaka Box really fits your character imo with being echi/funny character =3, also since I watch a crap load of anime’s per season/year and i dont really have anything to do, should i make a blog because i would love to talk to people about anime/manga since my rlf dont like or watch anime as much as i do =/ or is it RLY hard cause from what i read from this, is that it seems really tiring xD.
P.s-I always thought randomc was 1 person LOL
Up until a year ago, you were broadly right, and a few years back you definitely were! We’ve only been multiplying lately ^^
As for how hard blogging is, it’s really quite easy if you take it casually. On other blogs, an average post probably takes more like an hour MAX. Now, if you want to do it seriously and get some viewers…that’s an entirely different matter.
And Hand Bra Jeans-sempai is the best! 😀 Nyahaha~!
But I thought he was open-front hooded sweatshirt sempai.
for the record, I only look at the posts to see if my thoughts are any similar (and to see what have I missed watching the episode (most often from Kyoukaisen than from ANY OTHER series).
…and then the comments, sometimes reading that may be a riot, or just something you want to take out with a flamethrower without looking at it…
btw Stilts, have you ever dared to ask anyone irl to read what you write here? (especially the dignity-robbing editorials 😮 )
Au contraire! Unlike some of my more shy fellow writers, all of the people close to me know that I write here, and many of the not-as-close ones as well. I don’t usually suggest they read most of my posts, though. Not out of embarrassment, of course – I’m incapable of that particular emotion – but because, if you don’t watch anime, quite a lot of these are damn hard to understand. I do link a number of my friends to the more accessible editorials, though… All Good Stories Must Come to an End and The Best Stories Are the Ones That Leave You Wondering got some good reactions, and I passed around An Ode to Twintails just for the lulz, heh.
As for my fiction, I’ve asked multiple people to read what I’ve finished. I just need to hurry up and move more into that finished column…
Why do I not blog for RC?
Duhhh!! Everyone will become a tard in the future.
I pretty much agreed with your points—after all, objectivity is simply a generalized subjectivity.
As for your question, I guess I’m reading RandomC to widen my perspective about a show. Being biased is inevitable when watching some shows in particular, so another views from other people who also watched the show actually help me relive the shows with a new experience. That, and maybe partly because I just love killing time by reading—lol.
agreed with everybody! we da people are social animals and we like to share our thoughts whenever we cans and here is where you can @ d comments! or rather where you share your thoughts @ d blog and we absorbs and take it all ins. because you da writer notice awesome tidbits we missed cuz heads will roll when we miss da cool stuffs of our fav jap cartooons! the awesome screencaps rox so hard that we gots to come here and we view em and maybe read the TLDR section that *cough* this awesome postlacked D: just sayin…! weeee and/or flame the smokes out of the cartoons we despise? thanx u writers for all da hard works to extend da magix in a timely manner! oh noes youve been acknowledged by some random on teh interwebs? but dat cowboy guy whats his deal? he always be reckoning kinda feels forced like puting in swears just cuz swearing is cool mkaaay he reckon’d. he be from texas/south or sump’in?… maybe thats like his bit? doooo it just dooo it … i reckon kekeke
I read for pretty much the same reason you did, Stilts, though I’m also always very interested in all of your guy’s opinions on some of the more outstanding portions of some shows.
Ah. your reason to write the reason I visit, so thanks for writing just for me!
Also, where the hell is the shinsekai yori article!? I MUST DISCUSS IT! OR ATLEAST READ SOMEBODY’S THOUGHTS. IT WAS SO AMAZING.
Something similar was mentioned in seitokai no ichizon s2 before: (Not exact phrase
“t may be pointless but there is value in the things we do. That’s why we do them 🙂
“Why do you blog about anime? I mean, what’s the point?”
I’ll admit Stilts, I was half-expecting you answer the question with “because it’s there… :)”
LOL
A younger me would have said just that, or perhaps “Because I feel like it.” I’m getting a bit more introspective in my advancing age…though I was pretty damn introspective to begin with. You don’t gravitate so much towards writing if you’re anything but, I suspect!
The main reason I started reading aniblogs was that I wanted to discuss and explore more about the shows I’m watching. That desire led from reading to commenting to making super long comments and then ultimately to writing blog posts. And even with a whole platform to talk about shows from, I still can’t say all that I’d like to say about most shows, because I don’t want to bore the reader with 2500 words.
Mostly, my philosophy about blogging is that I want to write the posts that I want to read. Not necessarily in a self-congratulatory sense, but in an analysis and discussion sense. I want to read insights and exploration and speculation about what’s going to happen. I want to see loose ends tied together, connections made, and discoveries found. And I also want to see approval of the things I liked about a show and criticism of the things I don’t like. That’s what I’d like to read, so that’s what I want to write.
The speed is something that I try to reach a middle ground on. I definitely can’t be the fastest person, and multi-hour writing sessions are common and tiring, and I don’t want them to be a source of burnout. And I’m still fairly new at it. So because I can’t be the first guy to get a post out, I try to use that to a bit of an advantage, reading the thoughts of others who also watched a show, and developing responses or reactions to that. In fact, a lot of the points I make in my blog posts originated in my comments to other people’s posts (I really try not to just lift other people’s insights and give the impression that they are my own, however. That just feels like bad form). So I shoot for publishing 2 days after I watch a show, and usually will write part of a post one day, let it sit overnight, and finish it the next day. I’ve always got something to add on that second day.
But the main reason I blog? Because I like it. And really, anyone who does it should have that as the number one reason. Do what you like to do, and if you don’t like it, then find something else you do like, and do that.
No worries about lifting insights and impressions. There are few artists who create wholly unique works. For most of us, our art – whether writing or singing or raising children or creating code – is done by stealing from others and reassembling the pieces in new ways. It’s like they say – “steal like an artist” 😀
And there’s something smart in your two-day posting goal. When writing fiction (or even these Stilts Out Loud posts), I do find that there’s a LOT of value in putting down the work and coming back to it another day with a rested mind. That said, a piece of fiction is an enduring work – a good novel takes a long time to become dated, and for the truly excellent ones, they’re timeless. Episodic blogging, on the other hand, has an extremely short half-life. What is sought after today is late tomorrow, unimportant a day later, and useless three days hence. That’s why I emphasize speed so much.
As for burn out…well, I’ve felt its flames lick at my feet, but it hasn’t claimed me yet. The challenge is just in seeing how long that lasts! 😀
Yeah, it’s definitely a tug-of-war between timeliness and ability to get the post like I’d want it to be. Especially for shows that whatever thoughts you have now, they’re going to change and morph and even be completely wrong by 7 days after you saw it, because there’s a new basis of discussion. Plus, there are so many shows everyone watches that people are always moving on to the next one. But there is also an audience that is very invested in the particular show you’re writing about, and aren’t so easily moved past, and that’s kind of the audience I shoot for (even if it may not exist).
Blogger seeking for reason why he`s blogging is seriously pathetic.
Man it up Stilts: the only reason to domething is to derive enjoyment of it, you fucking masochist!
Since I fall under both categories of being a “writer” and a reader, I feel “obligated” to give my 2 cents on the topic. Hopefully it will be an interesting read 😀 (Was originally intending on making a short bulleted list, but I decided expand it into a post of sorts rather than a leaving it as a normal comment, spoiler tagged to make it easier on the eyes)
Why (I) Write
Show Spoiler ▼
Why (I) read
Show Spoiler ▼
As for why RC, like many others, this is where it all began for me. I’ve been here for a long time, seen people come and go, changed my “lurking” status to “IRC regular” – I like it here. Despite comment quality dipping as of late, this is where the people gather, where the quality of the contents posted are arguably one of the better, this is where “magic” happens.
PS: I would go into subjectivity vs objectivity but perhaps another time..:)
Why I started reading RandomC? Hmm, the reasons have sorta changed over the years. When I first found this blog years ago, Omni was running the show and his early posts were for the most part summaries of the episodes that he watched- which spoiled everything in great detail. And I, being the kind of person who derives his enjoyment of a show from his understanding of it am one of those rare individuals who adores spoilers and scorns cliffhangers- (Just to give people a picture of just how much this strange affliction affects me) when Horizon was running I spent hours lurking the internet attempting to spoil the the entirety of the season to myself, so that I could have a good grasp of what was going on, which I managed to do by sifting through numerous anime forum comments. So an anime blog that not only spoiled everything, but also did it in a detailed and timely manner for a wide variety of shows? Needless to say, I saw the early RandomC as some kind of anime-blog utopia- and was instantly hooked.
Then one day Divine came along, and Omni eventually retired. And as the blog evolved with the passing of the torch, so did my reasons for visiting it. Divine is, quite simply (for the lack of a better word), divine- he somehow managed to blog 15-30+ shows a week all on his own, and in great detail. And as it turned out, my own anime viewing habits were also evolving; I was beginning to experiment with different genres of shows, beyond the shounen shows like Bleach and Fullmetal Alchemist, and the campy ones like Ergo Proxy that were my gateway drugs. And there was truly no better place on the internet to learn about anime’s wide and varied genres other than RandomC, where there were timely and detailed season previews and posts about (close to) every show that happened to be currently running. In fact, I think I’d even go as far as to say that it was Divine exposing me to many different kinds of anime that made me want to expand my horizons to begin with- and later greatly accelerated the process. I want to say that by the middle of Divine’s Era (Or a little bit after), I had become a person who could watch and enjoy thoroughly just about anything and everything- as far as anime was concerned, at least.
But this too would pass, and Divine eventually (as he put it) hung up his blogging gloves, ushering the way for RandomC’s current era. The RandomC posts of today retain the same degree of detail, variety and timeliness that Divine’s RandomC possessed- with the added bonus of having a large number of hardworking, dedicated bloggers who work together to get things done- now instead of simply having the opinions of several bloggers expressed (Which were mostly Divine’s, even then), we have the opinions of many- and like variety in anime, the variety of opinion makes things all the more interesting to me. As Divine himself put it, the RandomC of today is something that is truly greater as the sum of of its parts.
But another major factor that keeps me coming back these days is the community- I started posting comments sometime during Divine’s Era, because I liked the general atmosphere around here where people tended to be open to discussion. As I’ve said many times before, I’m the kind of guy who enjoys a good discussion, and there is no better place to find one than a place like RandomC that has no shortage of passionate, open-minded and intelligent bloggers and readers. So my goals when writing my TL;DR’s around here are twofold, one to generate discussion because I love debates, and two, to (hopefully) get anyone who cares to read what I write to expand their horizons by thinking about things in new and novel ways. It is more than enough for me if the things I write occasionally happen to inspire even a single person to think about something, anything at all in a new light- what I never anticipated was that my comments would help inspire a whole post; I’m surprised, touched and very humbled that it did (#^.^#) (Love and thanks to Stilts!). Stilts and co., you guys rock! Keep it up, love you guys! 😉
Bravo, you perfectly expressed what would have been my comment. (though mine would have been much shorter & less eloquent) 😛 &@ Stilts Thank you for all the magic, goes to all you other bloggers out there.
No, thank you Zen. Inspiration is a rascally bastard, coming from unexpected places at unpredictable times and altogether totally screwing up my fevered attempts at having a sane, human schedule. To have people sitting around trying to inspire people – whether it’s targeted at more or just in general, though I must say I prefer the latter approach – is a great help. I’m just glad I could thank you properly by having one the sparks you were kicking up take light!
Um, I write reviews and I read reviews because it’s fun? There’s no other reason than that! It’s fun to read other’s thoughts about the episode in which I love, and it’s fun to discuss with people why I think this episode was grand and why he think it was trash.
Is it lolis? Tsunderes? Imoutos? Busty vampires?
None. I choose Yandere Loli Imouto Demon Zombie.
http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=67945
Also, can you inform me of what’s the next step after hand-bra-jeans?
I’m in the mood to be enlightened.
Also do you know any classic anime with nymphomaniacs?
Wow…. there’s this amazing feeling when your comment gets linked to by a Stilt’s post. To think that I made even a slight contribution to RC is just too…..
“…I try to slip in where it’s necessary (even on the -shows I like-), because to do…”
For me, humor is what appeals to me initially and the wisdom behind it is what keeps me reading.
That’s the amazing power of the written word, both in the warm smile that appeared as I read your original comment or your own reaction when I linked it here. And people wonder why I like to write.. Isn’t it grand? ; )
“You know that feeling when the final moments give way to the ED, and you sit there, stunned, wondering how you can possibly wait another week for this wonderful story to continue?”
THAT I KNOW TOO WELL.
Thanks Stilts. Just thanks for writing that. 🙂
*bows* And thanks to you for reading : )
Stilts, Highschool DxD Season 2 is coming:
http://www.moetron.com/2012/09/05/highschool-dxd-tv-second-season-announced/
FUCK YEAH!!
wait, maybe it’s an old news and everyone EXCEPT ME knew about this already, seeing it’s dated from September~!
OMG This is Unbelievably Accurate for me :O
@ Stilts
“That’s why I blog. Now tell me – why do you come here to read?”
Answer to that Question has already Been Answered, Expanded and Explained By YOU :O
LOL -I better Read this WHOLE Post again to actually Absorb Everything You’ve Said T_T
You have Explained the Very thing i was failing to explain to my friends…..
I always tell them to come here and read the Post about the Episode after they finished it but they never do =.= I don’t think they’re interested in making something Last as long as possible(Hopefully Forever but highly unlikely)
Well for me Your Explanation is EXTREMELY Well Received, Accepted and Adopted for life 🙂
I hope that if my friends read this they will realize what I’ve been telling them to do is for a good cause. Making those wonderful Moments and Memories Last for EVER (or as long as possible)
50 HRS PER WEEK :O where do you get the time to Sleep T_T That is Exactly 2 Full Days and 2 Hours OMG!!!
That’s WHAT I CALL DEDICATED :O or Passionate 🙂
For me if your doing what you Love there is no such thing as a “Time Limit” and giving someone “one” would only be stupid as it will limit their Overall creativeness.
I agree completely that it Is worth it in the end ^^ You can never call it Wasted time if you enjoyed the experience of participating.
Always Keep doing what you love! and try to do them for the right reason 🙂
Dedicated, or passionate…or crazy. All are applicable : ) Nyahaha!