A confession.

My confession isn’t how I’ve been neglecting this blog and my new Solstice Review spot. My excuse for that is that I’ve been quite busy with some new posts on the US-based group blog The OASG that I’m a part of (that are all coming soon…ish). I do have a draft for my next Solstice Review post though, so it’s not like I haven’t forgotten about it all.

Instead this confession is something else…related to the UK anime community. It may not sound like a big deal to some, but it is still something I want firmly off my chest, as I never want to touch it again.

Advertisements

Solstice Review: Turning Girls

Okay, so the next Solstice Review is here. I’m hoping to make this a regular thing to do. Even though they won’t be on a timeline, like my Otaku Theater column is (check that out here on The OASG, if you want), this is something to keep me going, as I do enjoy watching shows that are a little off the ‘mainstream’ spectrum…if you can even call it that. And so our second one is this short web show, by the female staff at Studio Trigger.

Solstice Review: Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko

As mentioned in the last post, I’m hoping to create some kind of structure to this otherwise on-off blog…you know, something I purposely aim to do outside of the column I write for The OASG. And so after some thought, I settled with this: Solstice Review. An ongoing series of posts dedicated to looking at shows/movies/OVAs/ONAs that are seen as a little off the community radar. Here is the first show I’ll be looking at; how many more in the future, well, we’ll see…

Anime Solstice in 2019.

I won’t lie when I say that this blog has become on-and-off for like forever. And I usually find myself with next to nothing to write about. Even my last post was unrelated to anime and ended up being how frustrated I was with the ranked ladder of one of my favourite games.

I’m hoping to change that though, and have some kind of structure.

What sets this unknown blog from others? Nothing. Some others I highly respect rock because of the angle they have. Anime Feminist look at anime from a feminist and progressive POV, while Beneath the Tangles takes a more Christian look at it. Others I like specialise in their own genres, like shounen and yuri and mecha. Well since I have quite the varied tastes which have changed in the 20+ years I’ve been into anime, I asked myself what exactly should I do?

And then I asked myself: “All the big shows are huge because of their big…ness. So what about the unknowns and the unheard-ofs?”

My time at Japan Curiosity (now no longer updated) worked for me because it helped me write review posts, something I hadn’t done in a long time, and gave me a great excuse to catch up on the anime Netflix had to offer.

So from here on, I’m going to try and get Anime Solstice to become a review site once again. I already watch recent anime and have a column for it on The OASG, and there are plenty of blogs and sites out there that look at the huge anime franchises, so I’ll instead be looking at the unknowns and the unheard-ofs.

I’ll be starting with one little-known show that I’m especially fond of, with a post for it coming soon, so watch this space 🙂

 

I will no longer play ranked Overwatch.

*This is to be a long-ass post about something that isn’t anime*

I have been playing Overwatch since the beta. I fell in love with the game since the cinematic trailer with the two brothers in the Overwatch museum getting stuck in the middle of a battle between Tracer/Winston and Reaper/Widowmaker over a museum relic. I knew straightaway that this could become a competitive esport that would make a name…and it has. Now, we have the Overwatch League, which has done far better than people thought it would, with big sponsors wanting to get involved, huge global multinational companies wanting their own teams, and even the likes of ESPN and the Disney Channel wanting to broadcast the finals that took place in New York. In addition to this, there are the numerous people on the competitive ladder playing to their heart’s content, forsaking real-life things like jobs, school/college, food, and general adulting, because they want to be in an Overwatch team themselves.

I know my limits though. I’m trash at the game and I know it. But that still doesn’t stop me from loving this game, and continuing to love this game. I’ve been trying my best to do what I can in the competitive ladder, but starting today, I must leave ranked play. And there’s a few reasons why…