It’s that time of day again, and it went by relatively quickly. Today is my 36th birthday, and, well, it’s been a challenging year, more than I had hoped. Well, here are my thoughts.
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Editorials
Opinion pieces related to Anime in general
Top Anime of 2024
Since it’s already the New Year, it’s time to share my top anime of 2024. Of course, this list is subjective and only shows aired in 2024.
The shows that I watched are:
- Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete
- Metallic Rouge
- Shuumatsu Train Doko e Iku?
- Sasayaku You ni Koi o Utau
- Yuru Camp 3
- Seiyuu Radio no Uraomote
- Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai
- Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan
- Mayonaka Punch
- Na Nare Hana Nare
- VTuber nanda ga Haishin Kiri Wasuretara Densetsu ni Natteta
- Elf-san wa Yaserarenai
- Acro Trip
- Sword Art Online Gun Gale Online 2
- Love Live Superstar 3
- Kabushikigaisha Magilumiere
- Mahou Tsukai ni Narenakatta Onnanoko no Hanashi
Honorable Mentions:
- Yuru Camp 3
- Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan
- Sword Art Online Gun Gale Online 2
- Kabushikigaisha Magilumiere
- Mahou Tsukai ni Narenakatta Onnanoko no Hanashi
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12 Days (or 8) Yuri Pairings of 2024
Now that I have finished all the anime for this year, it’s time to focus on some of the notable Yuri pairings of this year. Compared to previous years, this list will be a bit smaller given how late it is, and there are not many yuri-genre shows that aired this year.
As expected, there is no specific order.
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Experiences After Leaving Twitter – Two Years Later And The WordPress Drama, The Implications on the AniBlogosphere
It’s almost coming to two years of leaving Twitter. You might be wondering, how are things going? Yes, there are a lot of challenges in cutting myself from the connections I made on Twitter that are in the Aniblogosphere as the site has gotten worse.
After I decided to cut Twitter loose, I moved on to the Fediverse with things like Mastodon and Misskey. Now that we are in two years as Elon continues to destroy what remains of the site, now called X, I may as well reflect on that and, of course, the drama with WordPress. Yes, this one is important. This is also the 2ndanniversary since I started Sakurajima on October 28, 2022.
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Happy 35th Birthday
Again, it’s my birthday. As I reached the midpoint of my 30s, another year passed as I turned 35. Sure, I didn’t accomplish too much when I was 34, but I may as well share my thoughts.
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Learning Japanese the Right Way
After reading about Irina’s experiences of not learning Japanese, some people wonder how I learned Japanese correctly. While I can relate to a few experiences. Things such as picking up word immersion and some I can agree with, such as a language learning partner.
However, I disagree with some methods. Yep, it’s Duolingo, as it’s very ineffective for a complex language like Japanese. Moreover, she didn’t focus too much on knowing the Kana, which is essential.
Believe it or not, I started self-studying Japanese in college in 2012. Although I slacked off for a few years thanks to my mistake of not focusing on Kanji or the Japanese version of Chinese Characters, I fixed that. So, while I went in-depth on my experiences of studying Japanese, this guide is more of a general starting point for those who are serious about learning it.
Note: I orginally wrote this editorial back in 2022. Since then, I kept it as a draft, until now adding some additional things to the post from my recent experiences.
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Thoughts on Taking the JLPT N2 and What I Have Learned?
Last year, I decided to take the JLPT. However, I am not too confident that I will pass it since I spent a lot of time doing WaniKani and doing some Bunpro along the way. My only immersion was a handful of JDrama and many Manga volumes.
While I knew that passing the exam at the N2 level would be a stretch, I may have a better chance of passing N3, but I am up for a challenge. Here are my thoughts on the JLPT N3 exam I took at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. I took the exam to see my progress in my studies.
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Chikorita157’s Anime Blog Finally Turns 15 Years Old!
Another year went by so quickly. It has been yesterday since I wrote my 14th-anniversary post back in 2023. Today is Chikorita157’s Anime Blog’s 15th anniversary. Yes, my blog is basically a teenager now. It has gone a long way since I started the blog 15 years ago when I just started college.
With that, I will share my thoughts on the last year of blogging and plans for the future.
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2023 Year in Review and Plans for 2024 (Including Winter 2024 Anime Season Preview)
Well, it’s finally the last day of 2023, so I will share what I plan to watch in 2024, my thoughts on 2023 and my goals for next year.
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12 Days (or 9) Yuri Pairings of 2023
As expected, I share my favorite Yuri pairings yearly for the “12 Days of Anime” thing. Of course, I am always late on this since I am so busy with stuff and less than the usual 12, as that is what I can come up with. The list is not in any particular order, of course.
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Sakurajima Mastodon’s 1 Year Anniversary, and why Mastodon and the Fediverse is the Future (and Why You Should Join)
Since Fall will be a busy season, I guess it’s time to share my thoughts about running an anime-themed Mastodon Server. Sakurajima is a project that is basically a fandom and creator server (e.g., Anime Bloggers) to share their content and interact with others in the fandom. After running a Mastodon server that grows quite a bit and is relatively active, here are my thoughts.
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Happy 34th Birthday
Wait, it’s already my birthday. While today I leave my early 30s as I turn 34, it has been an eventful year. Besides going into the office for a whole year, I did accomplish quite a bit.
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The Enshittification of Centralized Social Platforms and Implications on the Japanese Media Fandom, or Why You should Join Mastodon/the Fediverse
Since the mid-2010s, the Japanese media fandom, whether anime or manga, has moved away from blogs and forum communities to centralized platforms like Twitter, Reddit, Facebook and Instagram.
However, in 2023, we are paying a massive price in abandoning user-run spaces and moving everything to centralized platforms. These platform owners realized they had to make money. This is because central banks worldwide are increasing interest rates and tightening the money supply to fight inflation. As a result, these platform owners realized the venture capital funding they receive has dried up, and now they must turn a profit. In fact, no centralized social planforms ever really turn a consistent profit that can sustain themselves.
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With Centralized Social Platforms in Turmoil, Another Reason to Leave Twitter and Join Mastodon at Sakurajima
Recently, it seems as if centralized platforms have been in turmoil. Besides, Twitter is becoming full-on “Truth Social” or 4chan/8chan and a cesspool of hate, including rampant racism and queerphobia. Now, there is turmoil at Reddit, where third-party applications are at risk of shutting down with people threatening to leave.
With interest rates rising, causing VC funding to dry up with persistent inflation, the negative moves made by corporate-run, centralized platforms will impact content creators and followers. Still, people are reluctant to join the Fediverse since it seems complicated. It doesn’t have to, and I will disprove this myth.
Note: I’m making yet another post since WordPress finally released Autosharing to Mastodon today. Therefore, I want the Aniblogosphere become aware of our instance at Sakurajima where a good number of Anime Bloggers are already there.
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Jumping Further Down the Anime Merchandise Rabbit Hole – More Thoughts about Anime Figures and More
Back in 2014, I shared my thoughts on collecting merchandise. Of course, a lot has happened since 2014, when I was in my second year working on my Master’s Degree. A lot has changed since I started working and can afford things.
As a result, since I last shared my thoughts on collecting anime merchandise, some views have changed. But, of course, there are some more things I want to go through, and there is more to this rabbit hole than what I shared last time.
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Anime Blogging after Leaving Twitter – Blogging Frustrations and Feeling Left out of the Community. The Case to Rebuild the Anime Blogging Community
It’s coming to a 1-month mark of finally leaving the dumpster fire known as Twitter. But, of course, interacting with other anime bloggers has been a challenging aspect through the transition. I still struggle to receive comments compared to other bloggers, as seen in the last four posts, although others have it even worse.
With Twitter possibly becoming a worse place and even perhaps becoming Myspace or shut down entirely in the future, what will life be for Anime fans without Twitter? Sure, people mention Mastodon as an alternative to Twitter, but aren’t people forgetting about Anime Blogging?
You might think people should also start anime blogs and revive the medium since there is a community there too. I will share some thoughts about the state of the anime blogging community and why you should get involved. Also, I share some ideas on how to revive the community.
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12 Days of Yuri Pairings – 2022 Edition
Like every year, I always do the 12 days of Christmas thing. Of course, I couldn’t finish it on time since I procrastinated during the holidays. Also, I needed a break after the chaos on that site. With that, while this came out very late, at least
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Top 5 Anime of 2022
With 2022 coming to an end, I should probably do the low-hanging fruit post before doing the most challenging post left, 12 days of Yuri pairings post. Of course, this list should be an easy one, although there were a lot of good shows that aired this year.
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2022 Year in Review, Future Plans, and Happy Holidays
With Christmas around the corner, it looks like I’m not going to get my 12 days of Yuri pairings posts out. I do this every year to share the yuri pairings from anime I watched during the year. However, it will come out during my holiday vacation. So I may just limit what I think about the pairing to 1-2 paragraphs and make it brief.
To make it up, I will focus on the year in review stuff and the plans for the future. But yes, 2023 will be a big year for obvious reasons.
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PSA: Now is the Time to Leave Twitter and Use The Great Tusk and Thoughts about Reviving the AniBlogosphere and Independent Web
Right on cue, I’m making another public service announcement about moving to alternative profiles. Last night, I witnessed the unthinkable with journalists getting banned for mentioning a particular account and banning links to alternative social networks like Mastodon, aka “The Great Tusk.”
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PSA: If You are on Twitter, Share your Alternative Social Accounts Now
Last week, I made a PSA to the AniBlogosphere to start looking for alternatives to Twitter. After all, Twitter has a significant possibility of going bankrupt with the FTC fining Twitter and possibly shutting it down for the decree they currently have. In other words, things are not looking great.
Now, there is news that 90% of the remaining employees have resigned. It’s because they don’t want to work 84 hours a week and be forced to work to their limit with no overtime pay. This will mean that Twitter can go down for long periods or indefinitely as there aren’t many people manning the ship.
With the recent news that Twitter closed all the buildings with badge access suspended, we are possibly seeing the endgame of Twitter or the speed run to kill a company/platform off. While some don’t believe that Twitter will end, the end of Twitter is now here, or close to it. So it’s time to prepare your alternate social accounts.
I know Mastodon, similar to Twitter but decentralized, is getting slammed. Still, it’s probably best to join a smaller server for most anime fans and content creators. I thought this would happen and set up a server called Sakurajima. Many bloggers and anime fans have already joined with a good amount of activity. If you need help getting around Mastodon or setting up Auto Post with WordPress, all is in this guide. If you are looking for other alternatives, see my previous post on why to think about alternatives. After all, I don’t want you to lose contact with your friends and followers.
Breaking: Twitter could go down at any time now.
With that, here are my alternative profiles you can follow:
- Blog – https://chikorita157.com
- Mastodon – https://sakurajima.moe/@chikorita157
- Tumblr – https://tumblr.chikorita157.com
- WordPress Reader – https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/50814868
- Discord – chikorita157#2077
Be sure to have a backup of your Twitter account and remove all connections with Twitter before leaving.
If you need assistance joining the Sakurajima Mastodon server or help using it, use the comment section on this post.
PSA: Start Thinking about Alternatives to Twitter and Migrate Now, Here’s Why
With Twitter doing a speed run for killing its platform for good, I’m surprised that nobody mentioned Twitter alternatives besides the Anime Feminist back when a certain billionaire decided to buy the platform in April.
From what I am experiencing, very few posted alternate profiles. From this, I fear that most will get caught flatfooted when Twitter goes bankrupt or suddenly shutdown by regulators, probably sooner than we expect.
Given that most anime fans and bloggers use Twitter to socialize, there is a huge possibility that many will lose contact with friends or connections made on the platform. I want to bring attention to this in the anime blogosphere to start thinking about your escape plan. Then, I will explain one alternative most people are switching to.
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The AI Anime Generated Art Controversy – My Take
Earlier this year, AI advancements were made as DALLE was revealed to the public, making compelling images. It allows users to generate images from a text prompt. However, the latest version is not open to the public.That all changed this month.
Earlier this month, NovelAI released their image generator that uses similar methods as DALLE to generate anime-themed images. While it’s impressive how decent the images are, they caused much controversy in the anime fanart and V-Tuber community. So, you might wonder what my opinion is on this whole thing. I decided to try the image generator on NovelAI, and no, it will not replace fan art and anime art commissions for various reasons, which I will go into.
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Happy 33rd Birthday
Oh wait, I am already 33 years old. Well, I certainly don’t feel or look like it. Even so, I want to briefly reflect on the past year of my life along with some plans.
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