The beginning of Autumn (in the UK) is one of my favourite times of year. There’s just something about the colour of the sunlight, especially in the mornings, like a momentary pause in time, that puts my mind at ease and invites introspective feelings (not to mention, the snoring cat curled up beside me). So, naturally, over a late lunch on this rainy October Sunday afternoon, my mind inevitably drifts to anime, and therefore this anime blog. It has been my muse for so long, after all.
Obviously, it’s the beginning of a new anime season too, and since I’ve been relatively quiet over the summer months, I thought I’d drop a note to say, “Hi!” before there’s a flood – at least for this blog – of first episode reviews. This year is the first in a long while that I’ve written so many seasonal, gut reaction pieces, and so far, I’ve enjoyed the format, if just because it requires me to favor a sense of urgency over procrastination, and also feels like it breathes new embers into this, my perpetually smouldering corner of the internet, like a fireplace still warm after a long night.
There’s at least 5 new series airing over the next 9 days that I hope to write something about, so please look forward to those.
Anime blogging in 2020 in many ways feels quaint, but I think that’s merely an illusion cast by social media. Anime blogs are harder to find today, but they are still out there, with new sites being created all of the time. To this end, back in April, I created Anime Blog Tracker, where I’ve been quietly curating (and polling) a list of anime blogs and YouTube channels to index. It’s a really simple site right now, but I’d expect to augment it with new functionality (or just simply a new UI) at some point. Anyway, that’s a thing that I built, so do check it out if you like reading anime blogs.
Before I bid you adieu, one last thing. Have you seen ACCA: 13? I think it’s the perfect Autumn anime: a quiet, smokey political thriller, obsessed with food and other sensual, seasonal aesthetics (both images in this post are from it). A chill Rose of Versailles. I watch it in the mornings before work, framed by my dewy back garden and the steam rising from my hot tea. It’s lowkey one of my favourite anime of the last 5 years.
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