Hi everyone, long time no see. Today marks the fifth anniversary of my blog. Ironically, it also marks exactly one year since my last post on here. I wanted to briefly explain where I’ve been and what my plans are.

After my last post in July 2020, I willingly decided to take a break from anime blogging. I was becoming stressed about the blog to the point where I couldn’t even watch anime. My hobby, which is supposed to bring me joy, was causing me distress. So, I stopped watching seasonal anime and stopped blogging. It was going to be a short break, but alas… life happens.

In lieu of writing about anime, I worked on other creative projects. This took up a lot of my free time and creative energy for a couple months. Around Fall 2020, however, I fell into a bad depression that lasted until around Spring 2021. I barely wrote at all. I started to feel better after increasing my anti-depressant dosage (I’ve been on the same dosage for years) and felt inspired again! The problem was, I still hadn’t been watching anime, so there wasn’t anything for me to write about. I also work 40 hours a week as an editor, so I tend to get burnt out on writing periodically. To make things worse, planning projects and sticking with them is very difficult for me – depressed or not. I think I may have ADHD and would like to get tested soon.

At this point, I’ve been watching anime again for a while – yay! – although I’d like to finish my other creative project before I start blogging. (The other project is a secret, sorry!) If I had to guess, I’ll probably have more time to blog during the Fall and Winter of 2021. But no promises. I really need to make that clear. I won’t make any promises about creating content. I want to continue this blog, but I don’t want to stress over it anymore. I’ll post when I have the time and inspiration. When/if I return to blogging, there will be no set schedule, at least at first.

I used to be scared of my blog becoming “irrelevant” and that’s part of why I stressed so much about it. My year-long break taught that it’s okay to be “irrelevant.” I went a whole 365 days without posting anything, and people still visited my blog. I’ve learned that I don’t need to only watch the latest and greatest anime to be a good blog. I can take my time watching anime, so I’ll actually enjoy it. Five years ago, I started this blog for me, and no one else. I’ll write about what I want without caring about trends or what other people think.

Even without a single post, my blog did better – stats wise – than ever this past year. I’m both surprised and flattered. Thanks ❤ The articles that are performing the best are ones I took my time with, ones where I really loved the anime and analyzed the crap out of them. I’d like to do more of that. I miss it. That being said, my favorite type of piece – analysis articles – take a long time to create. I have some ideas for blog posts, but who knows when I’ll get around to writing them… hopefully in the Fall or Winter like I want.

Thank you so much for everyone’s continued support. I’m bad at replying to comments, but I appreciate all of them, I promise! When/if I get back to blogging, I look forward to seeing more comments and reactions. In the meantime, I’m still writing manga reviews for The OASG. Be sure to check them out! I may post some reviews here to fill in the void. I also occasionally write poems and short stories. I’d love some feedback on them!

Until we meet again… whenever that is. Jaa ne~!