Miscellaneous / Random Musings


In just seven months, Random Curiosity has been graced by another 10 million visits, so I’d like to once again thank all our readers for continuing to make this site one of your regular stops on the Internet. It simply wouldn’t be what it is today without its readership, which motivates me to continue on to the best of my ability. The five-year history that was about to come to a close has officially become six, coinciding with the one-year anniversary of things under my tenure. Both Kiiragi and Prooof are approaching their first full year as writers as well, so I’d like to thank them for all they’ve contributed. The same goes for Takaii, who’s taken on a fair number of shows in the past six months and handled them very well.

This isn’t the same Random Curiosity that Omni left behind, but I hope the changes made in the past year are seen as positive ones. This includes the ever-so-popular season previews that I’ve tried to improve by making them more comprehensive than in years past. A goal of mine has always been to promote a more open-minded view on anime, so hopefully the fairly objective coverage on a diverse range of shows has achieved that to a certain degree too. For me, one of the most satisfying aspects about blogging anime is helping people discover new shows that they would have never considered and sharing in the discussion of them. After all, it’s about being a fan first and foremost, and our mutual interest in anime.

Since August, the site has seen 600 new posts, 32,000 new comments, 18 million new page views, and of course 10 million new visits. We’re quickly approaching the 5,000 post mark and have already past the 205,000 comment mark. Again, thank you all for helping Random Curiosity grow, not only as an anime blog but as a bit of a community as well. This one’s for you guys!

173 Comments

  2. keep it coming! hopefully the site can also do prices in the future for some contest ofcourse or if u buy some items from this site being auction u get a free shirt. just laying out some opinions if it happens in the future love this site alot.

    the_custard
    Reply

  10. Thank you Divine for your continuous hard work for covering all of the newest anime. Where would we be without your dedication to bring all of this to the table. My congratulations to kiiragi and Prooof for a solid year and to Takaii for blogging like there is no tomorrow! You guys are simply amazing!

    Radiator
    Reply

    1. Are you checking post views prior to March 1st, 2011? The plug-in was only installed then, so the numbers are only applicable to posts on or after that date.

      If you’re wondering where I’m getting this number from it’s SiteMeter at the bottom of the sidebar. I also have three other tracking software that can confirm its values for the past year. i.e. Google Analytics, AWStats, WP-Stats.

      Divine
      Reply

      1. There is also the fact that sometimes (most times?) people will visit only the front page to check if a new post is up, contributing to the overall site view statistic, but not to any post view statistic.

        runedot
        Reply

      2. No, I’m just assuming that if the popular posts get 10,000~ views in the first week, 10million is kinda hard to reach in less then a year. But I guess the number of readers AFTER the initial period (aka, a few weeks later) is a lot greater then I thought.

        And that thing about people checking front page only too. Guess not that many use a rss feed. ;D

        Eternith
        Reply

  22. Random Curiosity was the first aniblog I’d ever visited, and I’ve been following it ever since.

    A big THANK YOU to all the contributors, past and present. It’s been such a blast, and I’m looking forward to many wonderful years to come! ^____^

    Windaerie
    Reply

  23. Thank you so much for all the hard work everyone!
    I’ve been following RC for about 4 years now and
    IMO Random Curiosity is one of the best anime blogs out there if not the best 🙂

    Maichain
    Reply

  31. 70M visits is a well-deserved feat for all you guys’s hard work. congratulations:)
    i’m a regular reader for over a couple of years now.
    Now .. i think .. its for me to make a legit account .. I would like to have my own
    avatar just like most of the guys here :p

    Progeny
    Reply

      1. I don’t know how many times i’ve been through that site.
        Its always “ahm .. yeah, I’ll do this next time.”
        well, this time for sure … thanks Divine.
        Keep it coming 🙂

        Progeny
        Reply

    2. Heh, you and I are in the same boat, I’ve been reading this site for years and have yet to actually create a solid account yet because I feel like “I can do this later”.

      Alex4life
      Reply

  33. wow.
    I think I already said this last time but we should be the ones thanking random curiosity. thank you Divine,Kiiragi,Takaii and Prooof for blogging, even if I dont check everything.

    amado
    Reply

  34. Mhn…just a thing, why using a such powerful server on this little number of visits/pageviews?

    I mean, 50K visits/75K pageviews a day can be managed even with an Atom/Intel core duo server with 100 Mbit as connectivity… (at around 100$ a month)

    I remember you saying that you picked up a Dual Intel i7 920 that is plain overkill…unless you’re paying already that sum. (in that case introduce me to this hosting :D)

    feal87
    Reply

      2. Dedicated, not shared. I didn’t shell out for the gigabit switch, which would’ve tacked on another $35/month. $120/month is kind of steep for me, plus the only thing that would warrant it are the videos. This isn’t a streaming site, so people can wait a little longer if the site is congested.

        Divine
        Reply

      3. Mhn…after your talk I decided to do a quick search just to be sure.
        This website (it’s an apache server on a debian linux) is hosted in France with OVH (budget dedicated hoster) with a 100 Mbit till 5 TB and then 10Mbit for the rest and unless you have some big connections with the company you’re not getting 1Gbit unmetered anyway for that price.

        it’s always limited to 5/10Tb then it gets down to 10 mbit as the Europe internet lines are not good as the USA ones. (Unless you’re using the “low transit priority” unmetered ones that is not very good as if there is some big traffic on the lines it will go even slower than normally)

        I do not see the offer you cited on their website, so its likely a temporary deal (or some friend connection) as for that price range you’ll only get the Core Duo I was suggesting you before.

        Yes I agree that if you’re not streaming 100 mbit is overkill for this level of users. (You can bear 100/150K a day with a 10 mbit easily if the server is doing compression correctly)

        feal87
        Reply

      5. I’m sure you must be joking 🙂

        The US internet is downright terrible compared to the European one. Divine is getting a full 100MBit feed till 5TB of traffic, and he hasn’t broken this limit yet. If he does, he can purchase an extra 5TB for a few more bucks. I haven’t seen a single offer which even comes CLOSE to this traffic price, and you get a much more powerful set of CPUs, memory and diskspace than what’s normal in America, for a significantly lower price.

        Mentar
        Reply

      6. Yeah, I’m not joking.

        Bandwidth network is far better in the USA than in Europe that’s for sure.

        For the hardware part you’re right in terms of offers, but anyway I don’t think this blog will EVER use that machine, not even at 1% average at the moment especially with wordpress/blogengine caching system. (hoping it’s active, is it?)
        There are many (go and read webhostingtalk) low-end dedicated provider in the USA that can offer unmetered bandwidth at 100mbit for peanuts.

        And I’m talking unmetered, not 5TB and then 10mbit. (30TB a month available)

        I for myself own a couple dedicated with FDCServers and Joe’s Datacenter (example of low end dedicated at the same level of OVH. We’re not talking about Softlayer or BIS here… (thought i manage a server at BIS for my work company and well…the difference is evident)) with 100Mbit unmetered.

        My blog is one dedicated with 10Mbit unmetered with FDCServers (Atom server with 4 GB of ram) together with a test server for some tcp-ip application I develop. (otherwise I would have just sticked with a VPS)

        100Mbit unmetered (that I could get for 25$ more totaling 85$ a month and I have a Plesk Licence + Windows 2008 license) is pretty much money wasted. With 4K views a day (i’m too young :() and 2/3K wallpaper downloaded a day atm I’m not even using 400 kbit average a day (CPU 0% used by the blog due to caching :P)…
        The server can easily stand 20 times the same traffic (80K views a day) without giving any problem or slowdown (that is more than this blog I think) and there still room for improvement with some lighter engine (i’m using big bad IIS after all).

        so in the end, why spending 85$ + set up fees to get something you’ll never use on a land distant from yours (ping more than 100ms for sure due to transatlantic link)?

        And let’s be honest, this website is even using more than 2-3 mbit of bandwidth a month in average? Isn’t more sane in this case a VPS like BuyVM (the 2GB one) for more less money? (13$ a month) and be happy with it? (considering the great work the guys at Frantech do?)

        Dedicated doesn’t look like the solution to me in this case.

        Just a big waste of money,
        my 2 cent.

        feal87
        Reply

  42. Congrats Divine, Kiiragi, Takaii, and Prooof! You guys have no idea how much we appreciation all of you and especially Divine for keeping the site alive! Keep up the awesome work ^_^!

    May Random Curiosity never see an end!!!

    Justa_Dream
    Reply

  43. I suppose I should throw out my little speech huh?
    Seeing how I will probably be the newbie of the group for a while, I’m glad to see the direction the site has gone. I’m also amazed with the response that all of you give through the comments, the shoutbox while we still had it, and IRC.

    I’m no Divine or Omni, but I do hope that you will continue to read my posts as the months pass by. I can honestly say that this has been a really rewarding experience — even though I’m not really trying to get anything out of it, I relish in the fact that I can say “Why yes, I do write for a site called RandomC.”

    It might be a bit early to say this, but I’d like to say Thank you to everyone on the staff. Divine, Kiiragi, and Prooof. Divine for mentoring me and making it clear just how cool of a person you are, Kiiragi for being a bud and overall nice guy, and Prooof for having some damn funny opinions on different topics.

    If you look at my early posts, you can probably see just how bad I was when I first started. I’m personally happy with what I would call improvement, and I hope that I can continue to get better at it so that I can provide all you readers with something fun and entertaining to read.

    All in all, you could say that even though I’m only 6 months in, I don’t plan on going anywhere. Not while I have some awesome people to write with and a great audience to share it with.

    ::Shameless Plug:: You want the inside scoop into whats going on behind the scenes at RandomC? Hop in the IRC and chat with us sometime (:

    Takaii
    Reply

    1. You are no Divine or Omni, and you don’t need to be. I enjoy your writing just as much as theirs. Even if you’re a “noob” your still as much an RC writer as the rest. We enjoy everyone articles because we know you all work hard. I stumbled upon this site accidentally but i come here daily ever since. This site is great to read others opinions on anime and to find some new to watch.
      Keep up the good work!

      Dacasa
      Reply

    2. well, maybe you are still the “youngest” regular writer here, you are still one of the legendary RC writer, Takaii 🙂 I like your stuff 🙂
      hope you enjoy blogging, and thank you 🙂

      jrj
      Reply

    4. You know what… was thinking of doing a shout-out just for you 🙂
      Thanks for providing us with very timely posts on Madoka… the best place to vent after being brain-overkilled by Shaft every single week
      Love the goodies you’ve shared with us. Keep up the good work, Sir!

      Jamie
      Reply

    6. Young padawan, you are not Omni or Divine. You are awesome as is sir. I enjoy reading your posts very much. It’s reassuring hearing you say you’re not going anywhere. Randomc is and will continue to benefit from you for a long time coming, forever I hope, or at least until I die, lol no it’s ok die long after I die it’s fine lol. ( lol I’m only 19 – not decrepit) Hope you are in good health and fortune. You are on my top list of cool people along with Omni, Danny Choo, Joshua Jackson, and Ajay Bhatt. Best wishes to you Kiiragi, and to Divine, Takaii, and Prooof!

      MrBrownSound
      Reply

  50. not to sound like a selfish butt …….but i was wondering when yall think the next mahou shoujo was coming out i know that japan is in a crisis and its sad but i was just curious Xb

    also this is definitely my favorite anime blog its actually the only one 1 go to all yall here at RC Divine, Prooof, Kiiragi, and Takaii just seem more open minded than most other blogs keep up the great work XD

    Charles
    Reply

  53. I’m astounded by the numbers of views and comments you guys get since I am new to this site. I’m loving the ‘whiteness’ of the site and it’s simplicity is like magic~

    As a new writer on Sekijitsu, I continue to learn new things and having being recommend to this site by a certain awesome fellow blogger on my site…. Let’s say I realized I still had much to learn and I’m glad I stumbled across this site so I would be aware of it ever more.

    Cheers Divine for the 70+ million views and I wish the best for the future! Even though you guys are basically the BEST blogging site on the net ;D

    Tofu
    Reply

  55. Cheers to your success. I don’t comment much but I like reading through the episodic blogs.

    Hope to see more posts and looking forward to your retrospective view for march post.

    MartianMage
    Reply

  58. I can’t imagine a day without visiting RC at least once. I’m glad you saved it from the brink of death. I hope you keep up the awesome work because I think we, the readers, depend on RC as much as RC does on it’s readers. It’s a perfect symbiosis. A congregation of English-speaking anime fans orbiting the site. I think I’m speaking for the majority when I say that RC is nothing less than a cyber-sanctuary for folks like us.

    SirMuffin
    Reply

  59. I didn’t join RC until Divine took over. So while I can’t compare it to the old RC, I got to say, I love this site so much, and it has become a site that I visit everyday 🙂
    Thank you all the RC writers for making such an amazing place for us!!!

    jrj
    Reply

  63. aside from MyAnimeList, this site keeps me informed about anime. I wouldn’t have a day w/o visiting RC when surfing the internet. It became a daily habit.

    Thanks guys and may RC flourish for a lot more years to come. ^^

    Zwei
    Reply

  64. If it wasn’t for this webside I wouldn’t have watched so much anime as I do. So really I’m the one who should be thanking you guys. I really hope you keep up the good work for the years to come

    Pera
    Reply

  66. thanks soooo much Divine for allowing this wonderful site to continue, I was worried it wouldn’t after Omni left, but I’m happy that you have continued and have helped make iit better, again thank you so much

    Der Fur Shur
    Reply

  67. i think, im gonna randomly watch anime and miss the nice one without RC.
    RC really helped me so much since 2 years ago.
    so thanks so much Omni and Divine for all your help discovering an amazing anime for me.
    Im very shock since Omni retire from writing, cause i think RC gonna stopped.
    But after Divine took over keeping RC after Omni.
    the new RC still as amazing as the old one.
    keep up RC and keep reviewing the interesting and suprising anime on the next seasson .><D
    and keep writing Both Prooof Kiiragi and Takaii don't lose to Omni and Divine.

    Shageki
    Reply

  69. I’ve been a lurker of RandomC since 2005 and just want to say from 6 years of lurking (and counting) I’m enjoying visiting this site and wish that RandomC will continue and stay strong in years to come. As much as I have the same thoughts as you Divine in regards to picking anime to watch, I’m happy how RandomC is trying to convey that anime in whatever form it comes is all a form entertainment and should not go down to downplaying and bashing just because of prejudgment and biases towards the lack of so-called ‘plot’ or full of ‘fanservice’. In respect to other anime blogging site which I won’t mention a name, I believe that these ‘professional’ aniblog are going down the wrong path with all their pre-biases towards these ‘no plot’ anime. I just feel that they are setting the bar high for anime and treat it as a form of literature or something. If that will be the case, just read Homer, Shakespeare and other known writers’ works and that will give them the plot they so longed for. Anyhow, before I go out of topic, I salute RandomC and will be a staple site for most of us here. Thank you too and god bless RC staff!

    Sotogawa
    Reply

  71. I tip my hat and raise my glass. The writers are all great, and a vast majority of the community is fantastic and helpful. I truly believe this site has improved immensely since Divine took over, no offense to Omni. Let’s keep it going for another 70 million visits!

    Bossun
    Reply

    1. I don’t know about you but Omni has done a great job in maintaining this site. Remember it was Omni who had given/shared a ‘structure’ of writing in covering anime shows. If there is no Omni, there is no Divine and of course RandomC. The site is almost the same as when Omni was still here and that’s because Divine has done a good job in keeping it that way.

      Sotogawa
      Reply

  72. What a brilliant achievement and I couldn’t wish it on a better team. You guys have been so consistently great in the past 6 years that it’s no wonder that you guys are the biggest there are.

    Here’s to another few years of RC 🙂

    Bass
    Reply

  73. This site is such a valuable resource online which is incomparable to other anime blogs that may not cover as many shows, or give such in-depth analysis’. Thank you for breaking your backs to continue this.

    starss
    Reply

  74. Thanks to you guys for helping with my past time at watching these show….. without the season previews or the current blogs I might never find some shows like Kore wa Zombie and Gosick for this season… Thanks to all for their hard work and hope for many more to come….

    Totoro!!
    Reply

  79. I want to share my story of how I found this site. I’ve been coming here for about 4yrs when omni was the head man. But before that I was just getting my reviews from anime-planet. Then it wasnet until I staterd watching Kanon when I accidentally found RC. Ever since then I been coming here for my anime fix. I just love when Im done watching all the shows that I can come here and read every ones post then comment on what I thought about as well. Then when you did that post All good things come to a end I was a little pissed but glad you kept RC up and running. Ever since you took over Divine RC has improved so much and thanks to you I watch so many differnt anime that I wouldnt of even given a second look if it wont for RC. Tanks for keeping Rc up runnimg.

    infinite
    Reply

  80. Wow, time sure flies. Found this site from people posting your screencaps for shuffle on animesuki’s forums something like 4 years ago. Great job keeping the site alive!

    I confess I do miss the time when I can judge the quality of a show simply by the fact that it was being blogged here, although the broader range of shows is nice too. Maybe you could create a something like an editor’s choice list like many review sites do? Could just be a category for you to file things under 😀

    disgradius
    Reply

  82. A BIG Thank you to Divine’s hard work and unrivaled dedication in making this the most accessible and interesting anime and manga-related blog on the net! Also many thanks goes towards all of the current and past writers that have contributed so much to Random Curiosity.

    I love this place, and I can’t imagine not visiting RC at least a few times each day. I’ve been here since 2007 and I never regret using this site as an excuse to procrastinate from finishing off homework… *shakes fist*

    Hey Divine, will you ever change the banner back to Louise for old time’s sake? Maybe for a week or so as a tribute to the original RC or heck, even the legendary Omni. 😛

    haru
    Reply

  86. It’s Awesome that you’re still around.
    As A lurker from the early days (before haruhi, I think late 2005?) I’m glad that I can still come here and enjoy your opinion on anime and other stuff. I thank everyone here for keeping the site alive and making me still interested in anime.
    Long live RC!!!

    arcanes
    Reply

  91. Congrats on the success of the site and the excellent job of the RC writers who have made it what it is.
    As much work as you put into this Divine, it’s no surprise that it’s doing as magnificently as it is.

    Looking forward to the next milestone Random Curiosity reaches. ~

    ryaku-aku
    Reply

  95. Well done, guys! You have not only preserved this wonderful anime resource, but dare I say, expanded it. It’s been a pleasure watching this site continue, and I sincerely hope that it will for years to come.

    Dandos
    Reply

  96. I’m glad to be part of those numbers; sure, my activeness within the page has dicreased since Onmi’s departure, not becuaseo f him, but because of my own lack of motivation to keep track on my favorite series here with everyone esle.

    Anyway, I hope we can still talk about anime and celebrate another year next year.

    Syaoran Li
    Reply

  97. Thank you so much for all of the work everyone does. I check the site every day and love the whole community on here. You deserve every single one of those numbers and I absolutely adore what you’ve done with the site. Whenever a new episode comes out I look forward to reading about it on here!
    Divine has done so much and worked harder than I can imagine, so I extend all of my thanks to you all!! RC has become an even more incredible site.

    Aisu
    Reply

  102. Many thanks to Omni and Divine! may Random Curiosity have twice more year than its anniversary.. that means if you’re on the 6th year anniversary, I wish you 12 more years to come. and when you made it to you’re 7th, I wish you 14 more years to come.. and so on! (simply put it, I don’t want you to close down… ever!)

    MrRei
    Reply

  104. Ahh the g’ol days of Random cur. Oh how long its been.

    Tough times with Omni’s departure and happy times with the re-imagining of RC.

    A lot has happened. But I’m glad it was with you guys. Hoping to see more in the coming seasons!

    Keep it up guys!

    ROFLWAFFLELAWL
    Reply

  112. Wow… 6 years… seems a very short time in retrospective (lurking here since 2006, but not very vocal anyways). Congrats to Divine and Co., and a special thanks to Omni, wherever and whatever he’s doing nowadays.

    stargeizer
    Reply

  114. No, Randomc, thank you for keeping the site spam free and for all the great posts all these years. Congratulations to the current writers for making the long haul. Say hello to Omni for us.
    Lol is it ok that I see Omni as some mystical godlike being that left the midst of this website to conquer other immense problems unknown to us. Yup he’s up there in my top list with Danny Choo, Joshua Jackson, and Ajay Bhatt.

    Lol Anyway I hope to have my future children read this very website. Keep the posts coming Randomc.

    MrBrownSound
    Reply

  115. Congratulations on a fruitful year for the new RC, folks.

    I very much liked visiting Omni’s RC often to check up on the latest shows being talked about, but I absolutely LOVED the new RC headed by you guys, Divine. No disrespect to Omni, whatsoever, for without him, RC would not have been possible, after all. And credit must also be given to Omni for finding a worthy successor to hand the baton of RC over to. So it is his legacy as much as it is you guys’.

    Keep up the good work.

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

  123. No, thank YOU for providing us with a place that makes you forget about the troubles of life. I’ve always been a huge fan of the site for many reasons and try to share those reasons whenever I have the opportunity. Sometimes I meet lovers of anime on Xbox Live. I always direct them here.

    Congratulations and thanks for your hard work. ^^d

    Shirt
    Reply

  127. This is my third season following RandomC and I’m really glad I discovered it. Thank you for making anime even more enjoyable and for personally making me a better reader 😀 (I really did need some motivation in that area ^^’).

    dxb_blackwolf
    Reply

  128. A round of lager for everyone (of age). Y’all done a good job since Omni, and I’m sure he checks up on the site here and there. On to 4 more years of continued growth and development!

    Jusuchin
    Reply

  130. omni would be so freaking proud right now, im sure he is whatever epic stuff hes doing now. Kiiragi, Proof, Takaii, and especially Divine for all your hard work, Doumo Arigatou Gozaimasu

    voidgnesis
    Reply

  131. Hey congrats on everything. I also noticed you added a recent comments section. Thanks. Is there any chance of increasing the number of entries in the RSS feed? It only goes up to 12 for me and I’m thinking at least 20 would be ideal.

    sealouse
    Reply

  136. I like your website and I look at it everyday but most of the time I just look at the pictures, sorry dont get mad its just that Im lazy I dont have patience to always read the text you make for every episode.

    Cris
    Reply

  137. “Thanks for blogging!” =)
    We’re really thankful for you keeping randomc alive. I really love reading your post after watching the epi to see if your thoughts are same than mine. I just miss daily dose.
    Congrats divine (and team)!

    Ichigomaru
    Reply

  138. Way the go Random Curiosity! i met your website just a year ago like the fall 2010 and i was amused by your site! truly, i liked your website! keep up the good work! 😀

    keboboy11
    Reply

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