Celebrating 3 Years at the Abandoned Factory

Blogging powers … ACTIVATE!

Yes, it is official. The Abandoned Factory Anime Review began publishing in the distant past of February 28, 2010. Through the years I have met some great people online, and watched countless hours of anime, both good and bad. Now a new year begins and I look forward to more of the same.

Best wishes in the New Year, everyone!

Summer 2012 Picks and Prediction

Libraries oppose any type of censorship.

Each season I pick a few titles as being worth keeping an eye on, and predict one title that will rule over all. Unfortunately this season I just don’t see that one show that stands out above the rest, and it isn’t because everything is so utterly amazing that I can’t quite choose. This time I will break from my established convention and discuss three almost Predictions (Picks), and three almost Picks (Encouragement Prize).

For those looking for comprehensive previews, here are some links to good ones:

• Star Crossed Anime Blog – short analyses of each title, running from bad to better in terms of how much potential Psgels sees in them.
• Metanorn – previews of every title with perspectives from multiple members of the team.
• Avvesione’s Anime Blog – another individual perspective.

On to the shows…

Gooooal!

The now legendary Match 48 of Round 1 of the 2012 AniBlog Tourney has finally drawn to a close. And as we drag ourselves to our feet, and wipe the sweat from our brows,  we cast a tentative glance at the goal:

It went in!

Thanks for the victory to all who supported me! It truly feels awesome.

Welcome to the Abandoned Factory!

Entering the Abandoned Factory.

This is just a hello to anyone stopping by the Abandoned Factory for the first time. For those who don’t know, the Abandoned Factory is proud to have been accepted into the biennial Aniblog Tourney.

You can get a good feel for the site by clicking on links, either the recent posts below, or take a look at the categories listed on the right. I usually just muse about things that were of interest to me in a given show, but I am particularly interested in the Art and the Music. If you feel so motivated, please vote for the Abandoned Factory on April 26, 2012!

The Communicator. "You have no choice but to prevail against your own ordeal."

400th Post ~ Thanks to everyone! I couldn’t have done it without you.

The reaction I get regularly when I tell people I blog about anime.

Yes, this is the 400th post I have made here on the Abandoned Factory. I started this blog on a whim, but I have learned so much over the past couple of years. And there is no question in my mind about it: I couldn’t have done it without the support and inspiration that I get from everyone out there in the Internet.

So thank you, thank you, thank you to all of the folks who drop by to see what I have to say, and to those who leave me comments about what they have to say, and even for those folks who never stop by, but who have led by example, typing up blog posts year after year.

I have enjoyed my time in the Aniblogiverse, and never intend to go home. Yeah, actually I’m typing this from home, but I’m also right here with y’all, enjoying anime.

I hope each and everyone of you

finds health, and happiness,

and lots of great anime

to watch in the coming year!

Thanks again, everybody!

Spring 2012 Picks and Predictions

Drum roll, please.

It is my custom to look ahead to the upcoming season, pick out a few interesting shows and predict one that will be really great. As usual, I warn you that this is not a comprehensive preview of the season. Most of those haven’t come out yet, but I have run across two:

• Star Crossed Anime Blog – this is a comprehensive and methodical assessment of the upcoming season.
• The Cart Driver – this is a highly subjective and very opinionated assessment of the upcoming season.

Between the two of these you can get a good sense of what anime has in store for us in the coming months. If you want to skip straight to the good stuff, read on!

Site Update and Meiko Kaji (Enka)

Meiko Kaji, the eternal outcast.

SOoooo….. I have been watching Winter Season episodes but really haven’t seen anything that was so exciting that I felt I needed to write about it right away. Nothing was anywhere near as awesome as  the supreme outcast, Ms. Meiko Kaji, so I’m linking up some of her videos instead. Heh, heh. I’ll probably have a couple of first impression posts after watching three episodes alá the traditional “taste test”. Until then (or the next episode of Chihayafuru), enjoy some Enka instead.

Happy 1/2/12 (or 12/1/2, if you prefer) ~ it’s a celebration!

Yes! Another day, another reason to celebrate!

Today is January 2nd, 2012 1/2/12 (spelled 12/1/2 in some parts). As we all know, every strange looking configuration of the calendar must be celebrated, so here at the Abandoned Factory, we have dusted off the champagne glasses (haven’t been used in DAYS!) and are using this complete coincidence to overindulge in food and spirits, as well as playing music REAL LOUD.

Later in the day, we’ll be settling in to watch anime, I’m sure. Today is the first day of the Winter 2012 anime season, but some of us have started the celebration a little early, with a little something we saved from previous years.  :3

So … Happy 1/2/12 to all of you!

Winter 2012 Season Observation ~ by January 7, it will be half over

Winter 2012 Anime Season ~ Cumulative shows aired by date. Red dashed line shows approximate point at which half the new shows have already aired (January 6th).

You can file this one under what I did while I was waiting for the final episode of Working’!! to download. Including Black Rock Shooter (whose February premiere pushes it off the right of the chart), there are 22 shows starting this season (by my count). The red line shows that the half the shows will have aired by some time on January 6.

What can you do with this information? Make this lovely chart. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my download has completed.

Seasonal Greetings

Christmas Festivities in Sauville.

I hope everyone is staying warm and in good cheer. Tonight is known in these parts as Christmas Eve, and I already had a fun afternoon with family, as I went to the theater to see my nephew act in a Christmas play. I’m not a big fan of Winter, so I can’t claim this is my favorite time of year (it’s more like fourth on my list of seasonal preferences). However I do appreciate the symbolic start of a New Year, and certainly am willing to celebrate the end of the longest night of the year. I also think Jesus was probably the kind of guy that would have been fun to drink a few glasses of wine with, so I’m not averse to taking note of his birth while we’re at it. Whatever your reason for celebrating, if you are having a good time with family and friends you can’t be doing something too bad. Even if it causes you to step away from the anime for a bit, take the time to enjoy the folks around you.

Happy Holidays!