Happy New Year, everybody! Here’s to a wonderful 2016 for all of us. I sincerely hope you’re all resting well and taking good care of yourselves.
As always, January 1st is the best day to make a bunch of half-baked resolutions and never follow through on any of them. In lieu of that, here is my list of New Year’s Resolutions!
- Don’t watch Idolm@ster
- Get better taste
- Become a magical girl without having to sign a contract
- Pick up a girl in a dungeon
- Destroy Twitter
I’m kidding, of course (…or am I?!) But seriously, I do have some cool things in store for this blog in 2016, so let me tell you all about it.
The first change is that I’m going to start posting during the day instead of at night. Most of my readers are from the United States, so I’m just adjusting my posting schedule to your sleeping schedule.
The second change is simply a continuation of the direction my blog has been headed for the last year or so. There will be less posts about anime specifically and more posts about other aspects of the industry and fan culture. Expect more focus on the following:
- Light novels, manga, games and visual novel reviews.
- Academic book reviews. (See, for instance, my reviews of Beautiful Fighting Girl and The Soul of Anime.)
- Translations of interviews and industry-related stuff.
- Further continuation of my “Translation theory for anime fans” series.
I’ll still watch and comment about anime, particularly the notable titles and anime-original projects, but these days I’m more interested in writing about anime in its sociocultural context. I’d like to explore aspects of the subculture that tend to go ignored by English-speaking anime fans.
I also realise that I simply don’t have the time to keep up with a bunch of anime titles and be an academic and translator at the same time. Besides, there are plenty of great critics who specialise in anime; just check out my blogroll if you want some names. Since I’d like this blog to offer some fresh perspectives to anime fans, I’m going to be more selective about what I write about.
I have good news if you write a blog, though! One of my other resolutions is to comment more on the blogs that I follow. So by all means, please keep up your excellent work, my fellow anime bloggers! And if your New Year’s Resolution was to start a blog yourself, do let me know and I wish you all the best.
My third New’s Year Resolution has to do with my translation work and personal life. First of all, I’ve decided that this year I will take the JLPT N1 test, which is the highest level of Japan’s standardised language-proficiency test. I’m also considering starting up a translation commission service this year. Expect more details about that over the next few days. So yes, there’s plenty to be excited about this year.
Once again, Happy New Year, everybody! Let’s make 2016 a great year!
Frogkun.com 
Happy New Year to you too! It’s still 2015 in my neck of the woods but I’m stoked for the new year. I haven’t been super active in blogging this year either but would like to return to slightly more formal, essay length literary analyses of my favorite anime shows and character and examine them from new lenses like feminism, New historicism, etc.
You have no idea how stoked I am about this prospect.
Yeah…as much as I like doing lists (they’re easy and for some reason, people just like reading lists more than essays), I feel that I can say more interesting things with essay-ish posts than lists…hope my readers won’t totally hate me for this. I’ll still talk more about card games…but from a totally academic perspective :P
“I’m also considering starting up a translation commission service this year. Expect more details about that over the next few days. So yes, there’s plenty to be excited about this year.”
Does this mean I can pay you to translate Henai Psychadelic if I pay you in asspennys and Stanley nickels?
Also does that mean you’re posting during MY (Eastern Standard Time) daytime? Or your daytime? It doesn’t make much of a difference to me, since I get an email whenever you post, but still.
Finally, here’s to another good year! It’s been good knowing you Froggy, and I hope it’ll be good to know you in the future, too :D
I will explain all the conditions in detail in the next post, but I’m not going to translate a light novel for anyone. BUT I will offer cheaper alternatives for anyone who wants their light novel fix.
My daytime. Also, around the time I published this very post.
You too! Good luck with your uni stuff!
Okay, but this means you WILL accept asspennies and Stanley nickels as payment, right
Shut up, Garlock
“Don’t watch Idolm@ster”
same
I always knew you were a good man
Happy New year! Good luck with destroying Twitter. And here’s to another awesome blogging year! Cheers!
Thanks! You too!
Well, I’ll be studying in Japan for 6 months this year, so getting married might be a resolution? Let me see… See Shin Sekai Yori, Tatami Galaxy, House of 5 Leaves and Casshern Sins? I bought these on sale, and didn’t see them! I might write about tropes and trends in anime, like how they represent homosexuality (with Yuri Kuma, Tokyo Ghoul and even One Punch Man as examples) and how the industry is viewed in Japan? There’s a lot of great topics that here been barely covered. I look forward to your content in the new year. Keep up the good work.
Wait a minute, how does the first one lead to the second one? lmao
Also, thanks for the well wishes. You keep up the good work on your blog too!
Just about the new year where I’m at. Wish you luck on your test and your resolutions. My new year resolution…. “to get it on with one hundred (members of the opposite sex) before the end of my high school year!” Or have the first one I try to do it with turns out to be my soul mate. Also, I’m glad I reminded you of Assassination Classroom. That and One Punch Man were actually my two best watches of the year along with Born, Eupho, and Tokyo Ghoul Root A. Just guessing but I would guess about an approximate 9043 people have asked you to watch One Punch Man so far, am I right? Thought so. No rush bro, I will be looking forward to the posts of the new year.
Good luck with that.
Hey, I watched the first two episodes at least! (Although I can’t remember what I thought of them…)
Anyway, thanks man. Hope you have a good year too.
My new year resolutions: Post more negative sh*t.
So far, since the blog’s inception, pretty much everything I’ve posted are about things I liked, gotta get my head out of the fairy floss clouds… (Seriously…I spent wayyy too much time gushing over Tamayura, Hibike OVA and Gochuumon this month.) I dare u to look over at my site, without withdrawing like a vampire from light, with all the whimsical POSITIVETY :D
My other resolutions: Get senpai to notice me, and watch more Gen the Butcher stuff to get my negative energy and tolerence up…hated Madoka Magica because I wasn’t ready for that sort of despair 6 months ago :(
I’m actually kinda curious now about your reaction to Madoka. There you go, there’s an idea for a post!
All in due time, frog prince, when I’m ready to talk about my traumatic experiences in detail…and how much depression I had to endure alongside sayaka (by God…her storyline was beyond words for me)
If I have something I hate, that’s not about the depressing elements alone, it’s Sayaka’s situation: it felt a little overblown at times…she goes crazy, because she didn’t confess? That seems feasible, but my biggest problem was the lack of karma in her could-be boyfriend’s situation: he lashed at her for his own misfortune, doesn’t apologize, forgets about her and…become successful with a musical career?! When Sayaka went haywire, I honestly wanted her to slice him up first :)
Geez, I felt the exact same way about Kyousuke. What a dickwad. But at the same time, it made complete sense for her to not get the guy after she made that wish. I don’t think Sayaka had it in her to confess her love to Kyousuke after realising that she was basically undead, but at the same time… she’s so gutsy about everything else, so why didn’t she say, “Oh, screw it!” and try to find happiness, even knowing that it wouldn’t last? Perhaps she was afraid for Kyousuke’s safety and figured that if they got in a relationship, he would die or something… There’s no happy way it could have ended.
Yeah, now that I sat down and meditated on this…you have a point: sayaka is another piece of genki meat left to rot for dem feels.
Kinda funny, how the only genki girl I’ve found the courage to invest my feelings in full-on… after THIS disaster on my mental health, was Hazuki, because KyoAni wouldnt do *that* to me right? Right?? *remembers Ushio*…shit…
Happy New Year to you Frog! Here’s to a year where I still probably won’t write any content to my blog. -cheers-
what? you had a blog?
Happy New Year to you too!
More translations and less review-type posts is also what I’ve been setting myself up for over the last couple of months, so I’m excited that you’re heading in this direction, too! Though I hope we’re not going to double up on any translations. (That said, I doubt we will, since you seem to be focusing on light novels and non-anime related stuff.)
And all the best with JLPT! I should probably take N1 again myself, even if only as motivation to get me back into studying my kanji properly…
Thanks! It’ll be my first time taking the JLPT. I figured I might as well aim for the accreditation, you know? It does mean I’ll have to hit the books and study up on the more obscure kanji and grammar, which is a bit of a pain. I haven’t actually studied the language in over a year, heh…
In any case, I’m looking forward to your future blog posts as well. It should be interesting to see what series strikes your fancy this year!
Happy New Year to you too! Looking forward to more of your wonderful content as always. Looking forward to what will hopefully be a bright new year.
Thank you! I hope I don’t disappoint :)
Seem like a promising year. Good luck!
But “Translation Commission Service”? Are you going to be serious in making money out of your hobby now? Should we worry about the direction that this blog are heading toward – I’ve seen a number of firearm shop owners doing reviews video solely to seel their guns,
I don’t think there’s any need to worry about the direction the blog is headed. There will be no paywall or ads or anything like that.
The thing is, I get requests from people to translate things for them from time to time, but it’s unfair to get no compensation for something that paid professionals do. If I want to translate something as part of my hobby, I’ll translate it for free, but if others want me to translate for them, they need to pay. I want to make that clear.
Happy New Year and good luck. I’m looking forward for your posts, it often an interesting read.
About resolution: my one is to make no resolution. It’s quite half-assed one, but hey, it works.
A resolution to make no resolution… isn’t that an oxymoron? :P
Yes, definitely it is. Maybe that’s a reason why it works.
Happy New Year! Your resolutions are good and ambitious, I hope you will pass this Japanese test!
Thank you!
Happy new years! I am also planning to study and eventually take the JLPT, at least N3 since that I pretty much studied most of the grammar (up to advanced) and a good amount of vocabulary (from playing video games in Japanese) and Kanji. I guess it’s something I can put on my resume if I pass even though it’s not really related to my field since I don’t intend to become a translator…
Aside from that, good luck on your goals.
Good luck with the JLPT yourself! I think you’ll do fine with N3 if you know most of the grammar already.
Happy New Year Froggy! I wish you the best of luck for all of your new projects and goals. Naturally, i’ll be interested to see which VNs you pick up.
I really need to pick up my language game >.<
Thanks! I wish you all the best too with your blogging and language learning!
Happy new year Frog!
I’m so hyped for the translation theory posts, I would stalk your blog all day and night…
Seriously though, good luck for the JLPT N1 and your blog, hoping to see more amazing translations and neatly written articles from you just like this year.
I’ll try to step up my game, both blog and language-wise. I have the Cambrdge Proficiency exam in mind as I write this comment… (JLPT N3 or 2 should be next year, if I feel confident.)
Best wishes from France!
Merci~
Good luck with your own language exams. I’m sure you’ll do extremely well at the Cambridge Proficiency exam. Seriously, your English is great. And I’ll be you do well at the JLPT as well. If you ever need help with Japanese, you can always ask me anytime.
Destroy twitter (or at least your account) so make time for more productive tasks that benefits everyone should be top priority =P
Happy New Year. o/
Happy New Year!
Please do go on with that Destroy Twitter idea. I think the world would be a better place for it. Someone has to make the hard call.