Rabbit Poets was actually born in October 2008, so technically it’s already 3 years old, but I tend to celebrate the anniversaries close to the last day of the year, because a.) that’s when I became more serious about writing regularly and b.) frankly, it’s just easier to remember that way. Still, my relative absence over the last couple months did make me consider whether a picture of a funeral would be more fitting than a celebration. So with that said, I think I’m due an explanation and my thoughts moving forward.

Three years and hundreds of virgin followers

The last three months

So my absence wasn’t unplanned per se. I knew that the first quarter of grad school was going to be really demanding on my time, so I had no plans to write episodically for the fall season. However, I probably should’ve at least posted about it in advance. I was just hoping it would fall under the radar, which was partly why I ramped up on writers in the months prior to ideally fill the void while I bowed out for the season. Unfortunately, as circumstance would have it, my writers ran into a similar time crunch as me, and to be honest, I did a poor job of managing the situation. Not only did I lack the time to write regularly, I lacked the time to guide my writers, and for that I apologize.

On the bright side, my absence has nothing to do with me losing interest in anime. Actually, after getting one of those HP Touchpads on fire sale, I’ve even started reading manga (really love the Natsume Yuujinchou manga, there’s definitely enough good stories for the fourth season).

• Loved Fate/Stay Zero, although I really wish they would’ve just made it a straight forward two coeurs instead of giving us a cliffhanger and four months of wait
• Really liked Haganai, or OreImo 2, except with more sentimentality and a much better soundtrack (or maybe I’d just call it a better, less otaku-pandering version of OreImo). Basically, it was AIC doing what it does best
• Ika Musume 2 has been ok, but as expected completely unnecessary
• Persona 4 has had its ups and downs – more downs than ups lately, although the last episode was probably the best of the season so far
• Guilty Crown was a disgraceful disappointment and was dropped. I don’t hate Shuu or any of the characters, but the show is just so soulless and unengaging. What is up with soulless, crappy action mecha shows this season? First Star Driver, then Sacred Seven, then Guilty Crown. Bones, Sunrise and now Production IG – all just completely dropping the ball. Did Code Geass inadvertently ruin the mecha genre?
• Have heard good things about Mirai Nikki, but haven’t watched it yet. I’m collecting episodes, so I can start marathoning it once it gets close to completion.

About episodic blogging

I will admit I have grown increasingly frustrated with episodic blogging – which hasn’t exactly helped my not-so-prolific output.

It’s similar to my concerns with the season preview post – basically, what’s the point? I remember someone posted a while back, I want to say it was Hinano, but it might’ve been someone else, about how episodic blogs initially arose. And how they fulfilled a need by getting fans up to speed while they waited days, even weeks, for the show and episode to be subbed. This was why blog posts of yore often had detailed summaries and loads of screenshots. Nowadays, if the show isn’t simulcast, a sub group has the show up within a day, if not hours, of the RAW hitting the net. No one reads episodics for the information anymore.

So if it’s not about information, is it about our opinions and speculation? But I’m convinced that it can’t just be about that. If that’s all it was about, then we should just post on a board like anime suki where an actual discussion can occur. After years of contemplating the value of comments and trying to figure out ways to encourage them, I’ve come to the conclusion that I was really just trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. Blogs are good for generating “feedback”, but they’re not an ideal vehicle for sustained or invested “conversation”.

So I’m convinced that episodics need to be like mini-editorials. And actually, that’s how I’ve approached it mentally for a while now, even if I was probably not that successful in reality. But sometimes the material might not be there, so dutifully writing after each episode becomes more challenging, if occasionally superfluous. I want to approach the routine of episodic writing completely differently.

The future

To be perfectly honest, the next quarter isn’t necessarily going to be easier for me. However, one bonus is unlike last quarter where I had classes start at 8am everyday and was stuck at school for basically 12 hours a day, I start classes much later this next quarter, so thankfully, I’m not going to be held hostage at school all day long. This means even though my school obligations won’t be alleviated much, I’ll be able to make better use of all my time.

My expectation is that I will be following a show “episodically”. Not guaranteed, but if there’s an interesting show, that’s my plan. In the event that I don’t, I will still be writing more frequently – hopefully trying to think of topics as interesting as the ones Triple_R has done in the past. I’m also hoping to be plugged back into the community again – whether through the blogs or through twitter… when I’m away from my computer, Twitter continues to be out of sight, out of mind for me – even with a vast array of mobile apps to rely on.

Writers-wise, Triple_R will still be spinning his golden silk. I’m also happy to say Sabishii, after a school-initiated sabbatical, will be back.

On the downside, I’m sorry to say that Lemmi, Essick and Sophy won’t be back for the new year. I realized I had less time to manage my writers, so I wanted to consolidate the team. I want to thank them for all their help and support. I really enjoyed working with them and wish them the best. (And of course, hn_elly too, although this was a summertime change)

I also want to thank the readers and the blogosphere. If you didn’t exist, I probably would’ve folded up shop.

As far as predictions go, I guarantee that Rabbit Poets will be around for at least two more years… because I just recently paid the two-year bill for continued hosting. So bear with us for a while longer.

Watching Daikichi take care of Rin while she was sick brought about a heartwarming feeling. I remembered all the times my parents took care of me when I was sick. No words can express my thanks for their love and tender care. That is why now as an adult, I will return that care to them tenfold.

As RP mentioned in early June, I had to stop blogging at Rabbit Poets because of a family emergency. All the responsibilities, once shouldered by my parents, were shifted onto me. I assumed the role of Daikichi, and my sick family member took on Rin’s role. Episode 10 of Usagi Drop reminded me what every day of my summer was like. These past few months have been like a roller coaster ride and it has finally come to a stop. I have settled into my new lifestyle and now have the time to watch anime, read manga, and blog again. Thank you for having me again. I am happy to be back.

Interrupting your regularly scheduled program with breaking news…

This isn’t exactly groundbreaking news per se, but over the past week, I’ve been driving from the east coast of the US, to the west coast of the US and have finally settled into a little town called Los Angeles. Which means… absolutely nothing as far as blog posts go, but it does mean half the RP team now hails from the western time zone.  It also means I might try to snag me one of those nifty press passes if I can make it to Anime Expo this summer. Well then, carry on.

I know I’m going to regret proclaiming this, but I think Lemmi will be the last new writer I’ll be taking on for a while. Feel free to parse that language to determine how I could squirm out of that statement. But never you mind, please welcome Lemmi to the team! He’s here because he’s got good taste, writes well, and is a funny dude. –RP

I love Ouran High School Host Club! What about you?

Hello, I’m Inushinde of Shinde Iie Anime Blog & Review, writing here on Rabbit Poets. For any who’ve brushed up on their Japanese, Inushinde is a nonsensical name essentially meaning “Dog Dying.” Not my brightest choice, but Lemmi was already taken for a name. So why this awkward introduction? In a constantly sleep deprived state, that’s the best that I could come up with.

So greetings, I’m Lemmi. I also go by Inushinde, but either name works and I prefer the former. I’m a dedicated anime fan who also enjoys campy horror flicks, RPGs, black metal, and long walks on the beach. I also have an irrational fascination with cuteness which baffles me still.

I decided to write episodic reviews for Rabbit Poets on a whim, because commitment to this kind of thing has always been good for me. It also seems like a pretty cool place; welcoming, as well as casual.

I didn’t really start to get into anime until around two and a half years ago. I mean I enjoyed anime before then, really being into Bleach at the time. But I had no desire to watch other series until a sordid affair with a girl (We held hands and hugged maybe once) led to me watching Death Note. And that ballooned into Code Geass. Which ballooned into Lucky Star, in some bizarre leap of logic. Long story short, that got me started on a constant anime watching habit.

However, my interest in the medium as a whole wasn’t piqued until just this past January with the enchanting Mnemosyne. I’m not sure what compelled me to start blogging about anime, but I got around to it in mid-April. And now I’m here, so this is evidence that fascinations tend to snowball into great things.

When it comes to anime, I’m not picky. However, I tend to grow bored with shounen and giant mecha shows very quickly. Of course there are exceptions, but I mostly stick to distinctly psychological, horror, and slice of life dramas. I still hold Shiki and Welcome to the NHK in extremely high regard as a result. I also have a relatively lax attitude toward moe and fanservice. I don’t ever go overboard in either liking or showing disdain for either, as long as they’re kept mild.

To give you a good idea what I like, here’s a list of a few of my favorites, in no particular order:

• Kino’s Journey
• Detroit Metal City
• Shiki
• Welcome to the NHK
• Serial Experiments Lain
• Black Lagoon
• Baccano!
• Spice and Wolf
• Aria the Natural
• Macross Frontier

So yeah, I’m Lemmi, and it’s wonderful to be here with all you wonderful folks. There we go, that should do it. And always glad when I can make people laugh~

I know it’s probably been said that adding another into the fray might shake things up a bit, but a little one such as this could only serve to better things!

Source: http://anime.desktopnexus.com/wallpaper/211041/

I’ve been given the green light to go ahead and put this up, as the wildcard anime review writer. The name’s Vee. Or Little One, if you’d prefer. (You’ve got to give me props for a cheesy opening line.)

As a little girl in the 90s, I grew up watching things like Sailor Moon and Pokemon with my friends, and like so many other little girls do, or so I hope, I went around pretending I could use magical rose petals and capture domestic pets in little red and white balls. Sadly, that never happened, but that didn’t stop me from growing up to be enchanted by the world of anime. To be perfectly candid with you, I only rediscovered it at the start of my high school years, thanks to one of my closest friends. After that, something captivated me, be it the art styles, the foreign culture, or simply the unique story lines put across that we didn’t often see on everyday television. I began to pursue both shoujo and shonen and everything in between with a healthy interest. I thought for sure that one day the interest would just wane, and i’d simply fade out once more, but as of seventeen years of age, it’s still going strong.

Truth be told, I’ve developed something of a critique personality these days. Being both a Literature and a Media student and pursuing both those interests outside of school too, I’ve come to analyse what’s better known as “tropes” in shows and characters, and potentially predict what’s coming next. As you might’ve guessed, this occasionally makes me a fastidious and nit picky reviewer. Regardless, it also makes for a more enriching experience on a whole, and I am particularly pleased when the tropes are subverted or turned on their head. (And I am also sounding particularly like an old man. Shame on me.) That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the odd bit of fluff; if well placed, I’ll probably let out a couple of daaaws, and if well plotted and played out than I’ll probably go on to extol the production company’s worth. I will, on occasion, also write little articles on character analysis or the breakdown of how a series works or such, to the best of my ability.

The first writer search ever went pretty well. For all those who’d taken the time to express their interest, thank you very much. I truly appreciated the time and effort everyone put into their work. It was tough making decisions. Hopefully I’ll hear from you all again in the future.

The last one is SabishiiMiruku. Not Sad Mikuru like after a Haruhi raeping. But Sad Miruku, like milk after it’s been left out too long. -RP

Source: http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=15073565

Hello guys! I’m SabishiiMiruku!

Here are a couple of details about me:

I started watching anime when I was around 4, but those anime were simple and innocent ones such as Doraemon or SD Gundam.  I only started to get into watching the more “mature” anime starting when I was 12, and my first “teen” anime was probably Gundam Seed.  I’m currently 16 years old and watching a lot more than just shonen anime now!

Because I lived most of my childhood in Asia, I was fairly accustomed to watching anime instead of the Western cartoons such“Dexter” or “Batman”. Not that they were bad, but I guess I just had a head start on watching anime.

After I watched Gundam Seed, I began exploring other Gundam series. By the age of 14, I was completely absorbed by the Gundam universe and because there were no new series until Gundam 00, I thought my anime watching would soon come to a halt. That was until I subscribed to Dengeki Hobby and Hobby Japan. I had mainly subscribed to those magazines for the sole purpose of mastering my skills to build Gunpla, but as I flipped to the end of each issue, I’d notice these doll-like figurines and I’d always wonder what anime they’re from.

After a couple of months or so, my curiosity reached its zenith and I couldn’t resist Googling the anime titles of the figurines and I soon found myself a whole new type of anime to watch. It wasn’t the old mecha-duke-it-out style anime, but rather more along the lines of Keroro Gunso or School Rumble. So as I transitioned from solely watching Gundam to more categories of anime, I used Keroro Gunso as the “stepping stone” to various other genres. I eventually progressed to watching “slice of life” and “romantic” ones like School Rumble and from that point on, I was “unstoppable”.

So from watching Gundam to basic shounen shows, I eventually progressed to seinen shows, which I only recently started watching as of summer 2010. My first ever seinen show was actually Highschool of the Dead and I fell in love with it. It became the gateway to watching other seinen/ecchi shows for me. After watching HOTD, I discovered shows such as Hyakka Ryouran, OreImo, Sekirei, etc.

My favourite genres of anime are slice of life, romance, comedy, and action. I don’t mind the occasional ecchi as fanservice, but too much is just bad.

Anyways I won’t rank which anime is my favorite, but here’s a list:

• Bleach
• Naruto
• Highschool of the Dead
• Keroro Gunso
• Bakemonogatari
• Gundam (Seed, Seed Destiny, 00, UC)
• School Rumble
• To Aru Majutsu no Index ( I & II)
• To Aru Kagaku no Railgun
• Natsu no Arashi!
• Azumanga Daioh
• Amagami SS
• Freezing
• Durarara!!
• Infinite Stratos
• Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?

Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!!!

The first writer search ever went pretty well. For all those who’d taken the time to express their interest, thank you very much. I truly appreciated the time and effort everyone put into their work. It was tough making decisions. Hopefully I’ll hear from you all again in the future.

The second of three is Essick. -RP

Source: http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=2157528

WHY ANIME?
You can say Anime has acted as this sort of proverbial jack in the box by popping in and out during random intervals throughout my lifetime when I least expected it.

When I was in kindergarten I watched Sailor Moon on Kids WB during the weekdays at seven in the morning. (Remember those days?) And then there was this strange show called Tenchi Muyo! on some Spanish network that used to air on Saturday mornings.

At this point I really didn’t understand that what I was really watching was something called Anime or Japanese animation. I just liked these crazy cartoons that for some odd reason I found really aesthetically pleasing. I just thought it looked cool.

And then of course, the inevitable happened; I started to get up later to go to school and the Spanish network that used to air all those cartoons that I kinda liked, started canceling those shows in favor of newer programs.

So just like that: Poof. Nothing.

There was no anime to speak of at this point. I even forgot about it actually. So there I was, spending my afternoons blissfully plopped in front of the television watching Nickelodeon like a normal child. All was quiet.

Until 5th grade.

Though, of course, (like all obsessions that you go through when you’re a kid) that part of my life came to a close too. However, this time I found that my overall love for anime was hanging by a thin thread.
I thought that once I had careened off the Pokemon bandwagon, the high esteem that I held for this wonderful thing that I discovered as a small kid would just fade away. I thought I would be perfectly content spending my afternoons blissfully plopped in front of the television watching MTV just like everyone else that was going into middle school.

Thank god I was wrong.

Today, I can say that my love for Anime since then has been successfully rekindled (Thanks .hack//SIGN). What really keeps me watching, to be honest, is the content. The characters, and of course, the storylines are something that I have yet to witness with western animation.

LIKES/DISLIKES:
Oh, the enviable list. So what makes me happier than a pig spending the holiday in a cesspool, or makes me want to forgo watching Anime altogether?

I couldn’t really say what exactly makes me like an anime. Like I said earlier, it’s the characters and the story. But as for the genre, that’s a little bit more difficult to pinpoint. Honestly, I’m a person who likes to be entertained most of the time, so it makes sense why I often drift towards comedies. Besides good ol’ anime humor, I also like having my helping of science fiction every once in a while. However, one of my favorite animes, Blood+, is neither comedy or sci-fi for that matter. I believe what I am trying to say is that, I’m just as lenient with my anime watching as I am with my musical tastes– I could stand just about anything, but I still have my favorites.

Just not Shoujo.

I’ll go into a diabetic shock from all the fluff.

The first writer search ever went pretty well. For all those who’d taken the time to express their interest, thank you very much. I truly appreciated the time and effort everyone put into their work. It was tough making decisions. Hopefully I’ll hear from you all again in the future.

But with that said, let me introduce you to the first of three. First at bat is Sophy. -RP

Multiplying like...

Hello everyone! It is a pleasure and honor to be here as one of the new writers for Rabbit Poets.

Please call me Sophy (or Sophia). There is not much to say other than that I’m a university student studying English. The best way for you to know about me and my relationship with anime is through this anecdote.

When I was in eighth grade, a sixth grader told me about something called ‘anime’. I had no idea what that term meant or what it was at all, until she started naming several shows I watched when I was a young child in Taiwan. *facepalm* In summary, it took me approximately eight years to learn what I loved watching on television was called anime.

Since then, anime has become something like an addiction for me; only that I do not get any withdrawal symptoms. Some of my favorite genres of anime include romantic comedies, mahou shoujo, fantasy, supernatural and shounen. Though I watch slice-of-life shows, they usually come off as a hit-or-miss.

Before I end this post, here’s an interesting fact about myself. Whenever a new anime season rolls around, I change the ringtone on my phone to my favorite OP/ED for that season. My ringtone for this season is SHINING☆STAR by 9nine, the OP to Star Driver.

Source

It was always my intent to extend the deadline for the spring season, but after some thinking, I figured it made no sense to lock out the other 50 weeks of the year and potentially miss out on talented writers. So the “join the team” option is now a persistent navigation item above. With that said, the deadline for the spring season has been extended to Saturday, March 5. Two weeks is much more symmetrical than 8 days. Click the join link to apply.

Also, in other news, I’ve ended the ReplyMe plugin experiment. ReplyMe is a plugin that sends an email to you if someone replies to your comment. You’ve probably noticed it here over the last couple weeks. Although I thought the feature was useful (I forget where I comment all the time), the lack of an opt-out feature bugged me too much, so I’ve shelved it for now.

No alliteration required.

Angel wings are optional, but can only help

So maybe the number of new anime blogs are down. But the jobless rate for potential writers looks to be going down with so many blogs adding new writers these days.

Well, for the first time ever, I’m going to open up Rabbit Poets up to new writers. While I do have co-writers here, they’ve been mostly recruitment efforts. This is my first public request for submissions, so if you promise to be gentle with me, I’ll be gentle with you.

What I’m looking for:

• People who are interested about blogging shows episodically (you would begin writing for the spring season which kicks off April-ish)
• I’m also open to people who are interested in writing in the “editorial” style as well, although I’m not looking for this specifically
• Deadline for submissions is Sunday, 2/27.

You should:

• Have busting through to the heavens passion and fire about anime and writing! I don’t want you to be a Mashiro, anime blogging for love and admiration from the groupies. I want you to be a Nizuma, anime blogging for the love of anime and writing.
• Be diligent and punctual. One of the most important things about blogging episodically is keeping up with shows on regularly and on a timely basis. The main value episodic blogs provide is information and opinion about an episode that just aired. No one cares about your opinion if you’re 4 weeks behind them.
• Have some time on your hands. Blogging is surprisingly time-intensive. An average post takes about an hour to write. Sometimes longer at first. Add in the time spent “socializing” and you may be looking at 2-3 hours of commitment per week. Accordingly, new writers will be limited to writing about one show at first.
• Ideally have some familiarity with blogging platforms. Doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have prior blogging experience. WordPress isn’t difficult, it’s very simple to use actually. But it does have its quirks. If you don’t know much about it, you should go register on wordpress.com and become familiar with how the system works as your homework.

Why write for Rabbit Poets?

• Because you just need to focus on writing and none of the technical stuff
• Because we have an established base of readers, and you don’t need to start from scratch
• Because I love to hear suggestions and you’ll have an opportunity to help take Rabbit Poets to new, uncharted territories

Are there any reasons you wouldn’t want to write for Rabbit Poets?

• Because you know you don’t have the time or temperament to write regularly
• Because you hate rabbits and other cute animals

If you’re interested, contact me with some information about yourself, including:

• Why you want to write for Rabbit Poets
• The types of anime you enjoy
• What spring shows you may be interested in

I’ll get back to you with details on submitting a sample post. Again, the deadline is Sunday, 2/27. Ganbatte!