Welcome to what is ostensibly a filler post as I buy time for what’s to come next week. But more on that in a moment…
I want to start by expressing just how taken aback I am by the blogging community. When creating this blog I was shooting in the dark so finding the active scene here on WordPress was an unexpected revelation. The discourse that takes place here really does weed out the grandstanding, dick-sizing nature of anime communities. I’ll spare you the theatrics but suffice to say this has been the best decision I’ve made in some time.
Ok, I lied. Time for theatrics.
Over the two months before Thoughts That Move debuted my passions were in crisis. The Fall 2016 anime season bore little fruit for me. La La Land was the only theater-going experience I’d enjoyed since Shin Godzilla three months earlier. Every hour poured into the vacuum of screenwriting felt more demoralizing than the last. I needed something new, some way to simultaneously reinvigorate my passions and my writing drive. This blog has been that and more.
To everyone who has read the blog and/or shared it, thank you so much (no, really, thank you). I hope I can continue to hold your interest!
With that I want to announce my first blog series: Underview. Underloved, underknown and misunderstood.
These posts will focus on anime, films and anything else I believe never got the exposure or love they deserved. It’ll continue in the same vein as my School Days and You Are Umasou posts except trading the broad narrative focus for a closer lens on what makes each selection worthwhile.
The first Underview will be going up on Monday at 12pm EST. I’ll leave the subject matter a surprise except to say that it’s a film celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, adapted from what could be described as a Great American Novel.
Talk to you then and have a great weekend! ^.^
– Tim
Edit: On the off-chance you’re reading this in the future, well, I cancelled Underview after realizing it was an inherently flawed idea to consistently write about things nobody cared about. The first and only post in the series was my analysis of Less Than Zero although it’s since been scrubbed of the “Underview” moniker. I’ll still be talking about things that I think deserve the attention they aren’t getting but it’ll be stand-alone content.
Thoughts That Move 
I had similar feelings before and after I had (re)started blogging. I was writing with restraint and censoring my thoughts in fear of how others would react. Then it eventually clicked that I wasn’t enjoying writing because of it. So, I decided that I would start up a new blog and this time be open and honest about my thoughts on what appealed to me (and occasionally what doesn’t appeal to me). This has been a revelation in my life, and I feel liberated because of it. It was the best decision I’ve made so far, and I’m glad you feel the same way too. There’s a sense of camaraderie between (anime) bloggers that I didn’t expect to get swept up in.
That’s enough about me (I’m an egoist, sorry). I very much look forward to reading more of your thoughts, especially regarding the more obscure, under-the-radar and misinterpreted works. I haven’t gotten around to reading some of your previous posts – specifically, the Haruhi and Umasou ones – as I’ve yet to watch both works (I know, Haruhi’s been on my list for almost six years now!). Though, I’m generally not aversive to spoilers, there are some shows/movies I prefer to experience with fresh eyes, before delving into any analyses or discussions that interest me. The School Days post was an interesting perspective.
Enjoying the content so far. You’re doing great work.
~ Ace
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Glad you could relate! It really is liberating, even if I’m really adding something new to my life to worry about. :p
Spoilers are tough to avoid when writing about these topics. I tend to err on the side of using as much as I need to make my points but I also don’t want people to leave my post with the takeaway that I just ruined something they wanted to watch. With the Haruhi piece I actually didn’t spoil too much but it’s also not a post you’ll get much out of unless you’ve seen the series. You Are Umasou only spoils a few moments in the first half of the film but it’s a movie I recommend watching with fresh eyes since that’s what I did and it was a great experience.
I really appreciate the compliment. Hoping to keep it up. 🙂
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