This is a retirement post. Sort of. Not really. Okay, it’s complicated. The quotes in the title don’t indicate dialogue.
Site News
4 Years of Mage in a Barrel
Exactly four years ago, I made my first blog post on the blog that would later become Mage in a Barrel. After all that time, it’s hard to think of any other personal projects that I’ve stuck with so long, had so much fun with, learned so much from, and met so many great people through— so this post is a celebration of four years of being an aniblogger.
I hope you’ll journey with me for a bit.
Aniblogger Podcast Survey
Hello, nice reader people!
I’m thinking about starting a podcast featuring myself (obviously), as well as other anime bloggers from around the web. I’m still in the planning and brainstorming phrase, but I’d like to get some input from people who would likely be listening to the podcast so we can make something that, you know, people actually want to listen to!
To make that happen, I’ve put together a short survey (just 9 questions) to gather people’s thoughts about this potential podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your opinions! And, of course, if you have any other thoughts you want me to know about related to this you can leave a comment here on the blog!
Help Choose Mage in a Barrel’s Next Episodic Project!
Hello, friends!
It’s taken a while, but I’ve finally recovered enough from the (what felt like to me) Herculean effort that was my Hyouka episodic posts and I’m ready to pick up something new. I’ve got a shortlist of things that you can vote on, but if you’d like to really make a cast for something on this list – or, better yet, recommend something not on here at all – leave me a comment!
Note that the upper limit here is 26 episodes. Maybe someday I’ll do episodics for Turn A Gundam, but I’m just not there yet.
Here’s the shortlist poll—and I’ve got more thoughts on why I’m interested in writing on these shows below. As always, I reserve the write to chuck all feedback out the window and do something else entirely (although I doubt that’ll happen in this case).
I’ve Updated My Top Anime List!
After more than two years, I’ve finally updated (and expanded!) my top anime list! Instead of 20 shows, I’ve now got 25 on the list, with all new pictures, blurbs, and even some reordering! What a relief—it’s nice to feel my list fully represents my current tastes again.
If you want to get reading it right away: My Top 25 Anime List.
After the jump, I’ll be talking through the details of this overhaul: what’s new, what got kicked out, and what just barely missed the cut.
Evolution of the Barrel
Hello, dear friends and readers! Right now is an exciting and fun time for me to be writing here at Mage in a Barrel. As you all should know by now, the blog succeeded in reaching (and surpassing!) the goal of upgrading to WordPress premium and I recently closed out one of the biggest projects I’ve ever attempted on here with my final episodic post for Hyouka going up last Sunday. As always, I’m hugely grateful for your readership and support—you guys make it a lot of fun to keep this project running.
(If you want to get to the part of this where you tell me to do things, scroll to the bottom of the post.)
Upgrading Mage in a Barrel
I’m going to keep this short.
Those of you who like to spend time poking around the blog may have noticed a couple of new things. I’ve changed primary fonts, have taken down a few old (read: not very good) blog posts, and have added a few other new things here and there.
Of these, the biggest addition is a new page nested under the “About the Blog” page, called “Donating to Mage in a Barrel.” This new page lays out a few details about why I’ve opted to open up this little fundraising campaign, so I’ll let you read those details there, but the long and short of it is that I’m asking you guys to support me just a little as I look to upgrade the backend of the blog (which will, in turn, result in better frontend content). For example, as I’ve started to increase my volume of writing related to cinematography in anime, it’s become increasingly clear to me that I need some sort of video capabilities on the blog to help illuminate more complex points. This upgrade would be a big step towards making that happen.
I’ve put up a donation button and tracker in the sidebar—once we’ve hit the goal, it’ll go away. Of course, donating is completely optional. I’m not going to implement paywalls or anything like that. But I would really appreciate your guys’ support so I can continue to create new and better stuff for you.
To donate, you can use the donate button or follow this link. If you have any questions about this, please feel free to ask in the comments!
Announcement: Introducing Aniwords on Crunchyroll!
So, I teased a big, exciting announcement at the beginning of the day and now it’s time to make it (although it’s already been spoiled if you follow me on Twitter):
Click the image to read the article!
I won’t lie; I’m pretty freaking excited about this. This will be the biggest audience I’ve ever written for and (to tell the truth) I’m at least partially looking at it as a way to expand this blog’s reach. I’ll certainly be putting up a post every week linking to the column itself, but I’m considering doing something a little extra for you guys on here. Y’all were, after all, my first and are still my most faithful readers and the people I most enjoy interacting with. So, yeah, there might be some sneaky bonuses coming your way in the future. This is supplementary to my work on the blog, and I don’t intend to change my posting schedule here for the sake of the column.
But, for now, I hope you enjoy the semi-inaugural edition of Aniwords!
Blogging Hiatus: Graduation Time
Site News: Mage in a Barrel Updates
Hello, hello, everyone! I’m here with a couple big announcements about Mage in a Barrel today! I’m really excited about some of the changes I’ve been making around the blog and what it means for the future, so let’s dive right in!
Of course, it only seems right to kick off big news like this with some help from the site’s two long-time mascots, Maka Albarn and Chitoge Kirisaki.
“Thanks for stopping by!”
“I-it’s not like I’m glad you visit or anything…”
Mage in a Barrel 