It’s been 7 years since I started this anime blog.  It originally began as a challenge for me: a way to force me to think deeply and critically about anime; to share my thoughts and appreciations of the shows I watch; to develop a voice for my creative writing; and to discover and grow my relationships with other anime enthusiasts.  When I look back – as I’ve done with every anniversary post – across these 7 years and 640 other blog posts – I am satisfied with my accomplishments, achieving far more than even my wildest dreams back on December 20, 2010.  But the same can’t really be said of the last year, which saw only a single post get penned in the last 12 months.  If I were to do a reflection of the year, then I’d simply request that you re-read my thoughts on an anime season that concluded 9 months ago.  Instead of looking back at 2017 for this anniversary post, I’ll try something new and look forward to what the future of this blog might look like.

Getting straight to the point, while I still have the desire to write about anime, I certainly lack the time and the energy to write posts that I am satisfied with.  My lack of production this year is the same as it has been the last few years, though it seems to be trending in the wrong direction.  I still toy around with ideas for blog posts and brainstorm how I might communicate them here, but that’s about as far as it gets.  The desire to write about anime has never waned since starting in blog – rather, it’s gotten much stronger – but things are vastly different in 2017 than they were in any year prior.  At the very least, I’ll still have the ability and the opportunity to post whenever I am able, should I discover some free time in the near future or decide on other method of anime blogging.  Simply, the future of this anime blog will remain quiet and unknown, given the reality of time constraints coupled with my continuing desire to write about anime.  And if you want any evidence or proof that I still want to write about anime, look no further than my commitment to write my 7^th anniversary post about a subject that’s still on my mind and in my heart.

Today marks the ten year anniversary of this anime blog.  While these archives have rested silently these past three years, I still periodically return to dust off dated impressions and earnest introspection to measure how my anime fandom and behavior has evolved.  I originally intended for this blog to challenge myself in four areas, with all four having been completed years ago.  However, each time I return, I recognize this blog has a newfound and lasting challenge that I never envisioned: when and how do I say good-bye?

Having never written a farewell post – though honestly speaking, my seven year anniversary post was written as a de facto one – this blog remains open.  Nonetheless dormant, here remains a place where I often reexamine my thoughts and opinions about the anime I have enjoyed over the last decade.  The ten year mark spurred me to return yet again, and while I originally conceived penning a farewell post, I realize it is unwarranted and unnecessary.

Doing so would provide closure for a blog that has not seen consistency in seven years, but I wonder if such an action is necessary and whether it is necessary now.  I still happily return to these sentimental pages to find inspiration in these forgotten posts where I am infused with a desire to adapt these former analytics and enthusiasms to the anime I enjoy today.  These emotions certainly outweigh the nostalgia of foregone anime, and each time I leave, I am more elated and encouraged than when I arrived.  A significant part of that inspiration is from a sense that I may one day be able to return to writing about anime.  At least, that is how I felt seven years ago when I last considered writing a final post, and that is how I feel today, ten years after this all began.

Given that this blog still inspires these feelings, I am choosing for this blog to remain open, although I have no immediate plans to restart it in any form.  Yes, this is another de facto ‘farewell post’, but one that leaves that sense of wonder alive and manifesting it in a way I hope others understand and appreciate.  I will continue to enjoy anime however I can, whether its engaging with people online or simply imagining topics and opinions in my head or even watching episodes quietly alone.  This blog, and everything that derived from its connections, will continue to remain a part of my anime fandom going forward.  Even if this place remains still and even if I never publish another post here again, this blog will remain as a source where I can refill my motivation and passion for anime should it ever run dry.