I’ve been thinking about this site a lot recently. Over the last few months we’ve had a substantial increase in traffic, and clearly a steadily growing base of regular readers. Exciting times. It’s also made me think about the site’s direction and it’s aims. What do we do that singles us out from the vast number of other anime blogs out there?
With this in mind, I just updated the About page. It’s as close to a ‘mission statement’ as you’ll find around these parts:
(timmaughanbooks.com) has developed into a popular internet resource for reviews of mature Japanese manga and anime. Unlike other anime sites and blogs it focuses on high quality animanga either aimed at mature audiences or produced and written with exceptionally high values, while providing a haven for confused newcomers to the scene. The aim here is to seek out and critique works that show the best of what both media can deliver, and that will appeal to the wider audience of serious cinema, literature and the visual arts.
In other words if you’re looking for moe, shonen or hentai you’re in the wrong place.
So there you go. Hit the comments and let me know what you think. Even if you do just want to slate me for being a snob because – as a 35 year old British man – I don’t watch low budget shows made to sell toys to 9 year old Japanese girls. Go on, let me have it.
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Hi Tim, I think that’s a great direction to go in. I enjoy your blog precisely because you only highlight high quality stuff which is basically all I have time for.
I tend to gravitate towards Anime which makes you think and has great visuals which is definitely a good niche to be in considering all the other millions of blogs out there which ostensively cover the other stuff you mention!
Keep up the good work
Hey David,
I think you hit the nail on the head with what you said about not having time. I obviously read a lot of anime news sites/blogs, and am constantly surprised how western otaku seem to mistake anime as a genre or even a lifestyle, rather that a medium. There seems to be a misunderstanding of how the Japanese anime industry works; while (thankfully) it regularly produces intelligent shows and movies that cross boundaries, the majority of it’s output is precisely targeted at very specific audiences and demographics, and usually with production values to match. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that – or with western fans watching stuff they enjoy – it’s just that, like you say, I don’t have the time to watch everything. And a lot of it I just wouldn’t really want to – I wouldn’t want to watch Haruhi Suzumiya or Lucky Star anymore than I would want to watch Hannah Montana or High School Musical.
Oh, and thanks so much for the support man. Means a lot