It was my goal to kick 2022 off on a high note and I like to think that I succeeded there. Demon Slayer, Nagatoro, Symphogear, and Dragon Ball Z, all of them big franchises that I had a lot to say about, but which also took A LOT of prep work to get published. Combined with the site-wide renovation, I have to admit that I’ve been feeling quite exhausted.
Fortunately, the reception to the reviews and articles has been very encouraging. The critical review of Demon Slayer and the article about growing out of anime did exceptionally well, with the latter generating quite a lot of discussion both here and on AniList. Likewise, I have gotten positive feedback on the new look of the site, which spurred me on to move some other upgrades forward on the roadmap. The new categories have been implemented now, the menu has been updated to reflect this, and every article & review has been recategorized. Again, quite a lot of work for nearly 400 posts, but the results were certainly worth the effort.
Meanwhile, in the slice-of-life comedy that’s my daily reality, things are quite hectic. I’ve been working full-time through December and January without much of a break, and I won’t have any kind of time off until the middle of February. Juggling the major IT security debacles of recent months while training my newest minions is keeping me more than a little busy.
I have also been occupied with redecorating my house of late. My figure collecting got so out of hand that I had to split it up between two different display cases, one of which I decided to move downstairs. This began a domino effect of moving furniture around and deciding that some of it was overdue for replacement entirely. The most exciting change is that I finally got around to purchasing a hometrainer. There are days where I watch up to 10 hours of anime, which isn’t exactly a good foundation for a healthy lifestyle. I WANT to exercise, but I just get so fucking bored with going to the gym or doing other sports activities. This hometrainer has a tablet mount though, so I can exercise whenever I feel like it and have some anime or YouTube to watch. Peak efficiency!
On the topic of health, I also participated in Dry January again this year. I have fondness for strong beers, whiskey, rum, and the occasional vodka, but taking a break from all that once a year serves as a nice refresher. It’s good to know that my enjoyment of alcohol is not an addiction. Switching out my usual drinks with ginger ale, coffee, and the occasional tea made getting through Dry January painless; I just prefer alcoholic drinks because the (sweet) aftertaste of beverages like tea and cola doesn’t sit well with me in the evenings. On the downside, not drinking alcohol doesn’t magically cure my recurring headaches and nausea, so I probably gotta accept that these are just the natural state of my being.
But enough about me. What’s up for February?
Well, as I mentioned in the Plans for 2022 post, February is going to be all about romance! I got 4 feature reviews lined up for interesting romance anime, backed up by numerous smaller reviews, some articles, and a look at some visual novels. For thematic purposes, this means that the review for next Monday is postponed till Tuesday. It was fun writing about so many different romance stories, so I hope you all enjoy the upcoming month.
The next Behind The Scenes post will follow on the 27th of February.
