That's right, everyone, this blog has now become two years old! Hitting the one year mark last year was an awesome feeling, and while the second year doesn't quite hit the same excellent feeling it's still just as awesome. While the overall number of posts this year won't quite hit the number it was in the previous twelve months, I still got a really nice number of posts, and I have kept up my goal of keeping an average of one post per week, for the most part.
Anyway, I had planned for two more reviews to do for Mecha Month last year, but having a brand new Wii U, combined with friends who wanted to play games like Mario U, ZombiU, & Tank! Tank! Tank!, kind of took the place of watching those two titles for review. Hopefully I'll get to them for this month, as well as a very special review that I am willing to break a rule of mine, technically, to cover this month. But, outside of those reviews, this month will specifically be about celebration. This blog has hit two years, and the main attraction for this month will be me taking a look back at the previous two years, plus December 2010, & bringing up my favorite posts of each year. Trust me, out of all the list-style posts I have planned out, these two upcoming lists have been the hardest...And I haven't even reduced the list for this year down to twelve entries yet!
Anyway, last year's anniversary was filled with stats that I compiled for the hell of it, so this year I'm doing something similar: Here are, according to Blogspot's "Stats - Posts" category as of this post, the Top 10 Most Read Land of Obscusion Posts of All Time! (Plus my thoughts on each one)
10. The Hunter X Hunter 1998 JSAT Pilot (July 4, 2011)
I'm not too surprised to see the Hunter X Hunter pilot review has made it to the Top 10, though it does often get overtaken by the Psychic Force OVA review (of all things). It's a fun little piece top watch, as it offers a different take on a familiar scene early on in the series. I must admit that I haven't really seen the anime remake that Madhouse is still doing, but I do plan on getting to it sooner or later, especially if a company was willing to license it for DVD release. Regardless, if you're a fan of Hunter X Hunter and want something "familiar, yet different" then by all means check out the 1998 JSAT pilot, especially since it is fansubbed.
09. Gundoh Musashi (December 1, 2011)
Has it been one year since I decided to give one of the absolute worst anime of all time a fair & complete review, possibly the first (& only[?]) one of its kind? To be honest, seeing Gundoh Musashi in the Top 10 only reaffirms that my idea of giving this title a complete review was a good one, as people do seem to be interested in reading something that actually gives an absolute opinion on the show in its entirety, rather than the usual reviews that seem to only cover a few episodes. Granted, my overall opinion was similar to what the other reviews were, but at the very least my review gives people an idea of how the actual story advances & even "ends" (i.e. it doesn't really "end"). Will I ever torture myself that much when get to Review #100? Probably not, but I do have to think about something that's worthy of the #100 slot, since I am presently at 82 reviews.
08. B't X Neo (February 17, 2012)
One of only two posts on this list that came from this year, I think it's great to see a B't X review in the Top 10. Re-watching this OVA was just great fun, and that multiple-episode final climax is still probably one of my favorite endings in anime & manga, though the manga's ending is no slouch, either. Masami Kurumada has become a bit of a small focus on this blog, and though I do wish that a Ring ni Kakero 1 post was in the Top 10, B't X Neo is a perfectly good replacement.
07. Gyakkou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor (February 2, 2011)
This is the only part of what I call the "Madhouse Gambling Series/Quadrilogy/Tetralogy/Whatever-You-Want-To-Call-It" to make it to the Top 10, but I'm fine with that since Kaiji exemplifies the insane amount of quality that these four series all have. Like I've mentioned, I tend to consider Akagi the best overall, but Kaiji definitely gives a very tough battle. Not much else to say but I'm glad it's in the Top 10.
06. Fukkatsu! The Renaissance of Twelve Older Animes That Deserve License Rescues Part 1 (June 11, 2012)
Holding the record for fastest entry into the Top 10 is my Part 1 of my third license rescue list, making it to the #6 spot in just one day! This list featured the likes of Android Kikaider the Animation, Hajime no Ippo, Godmars, & Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals, and overall was a really nice start to this triumphant(?) return of the good-old license rescue list.
05. Violence Jack: Evil Town (November 17, 2011)
You know, I think a fair number of the people who read my blog are sick, sick human beings, and that's because, until the #6 spot debuted, my Evil Town review was the fastest entry into the Top 10, getting to its present spot in about a week. Out of the three Violence Jack OVAs, Evil Town is easily the most messed up, violent, & disturbed entry, with a scene that enters into outright hentai territory. All of that does end up with Evil Town being the best Violence Jack anime there is, but the sheer fact that it got into the Top 10 so fast really makes me wonder what my readers are really into...
04. Salamander (September 2, 2011)
This was a review that I was really hoping would make it into the Top 10, because this is a really great OVA that makes for a great example that video games can be made into really enjoyable anime productions. Salamander takes the barely-there story of Gradius & Salamander/Life Force and creates an entertaining, if maybe a little simple at times, anime but in a world where everyone knows of tripe like Panzer Dragoon it's annoying to know that only the UK actually received Salamander on VHS outside of Japan.
03. Super Robot Wars Compact 3 (February 10, 2011)
First let me state one thing: The Top 3 posts have been the Top 3 pretty much since early 2011 and haven't changed since then, outside of #2 & #3 switching places on rare occasion. With that out of the way, let's get to #3, which is also the only non-anime-related post in the entire list. SRW Compact 3 is a title that was essentially unknown until the release of OG Gaiden on the PS2, which introduced Compact 3's main character Folka & his race, the Shura, into the so-called "OG-verse". Unfortunately, Compact 3 itself remained obscure due to the system it was released on, the Bandai WonderSwan/SwanCrystal, and because it was the only SRW to ever feature the likes of Escaflowne, Acrobunch, Betterman, & Mechander Robo. Still, some little annoyances aside, Compact 3 was a really fun entry in the SRW franchise and I'm glad to see that people are reading bout it.
02. Next Senki Ehrgeiz (December 9, 2010)
For such an obscure series, I'm really amazed that my third-ever review is also my #2 most-read post on the blog. Of course, that might be because the part of the title everyone knows it as, Ehrgeiz, is also the name of a fairly infamous 3D fighter that featured characters from Final Fantasy VII. Still, like I said during Mecha Month, Next Senki Ehrgeiz is a title I will always stand behind and support, so seeing it in the #2 spot just makes me really happy.
01. Fuma no Kojirou: Yasha-hen (December 12, 2010)
The most-read post on this entire blog is my very first Masami Kurumada-related review, not to mention the most obscure of the various Kurumada anime. And it isn't #1 my only a few posts, either, because it's beating Ehrgeiz by roughly 100 views, which on my blog does make a difference. Honestly, as surprising as this being the #1 spot is, it also showcases that the goal I had in mind with this blog, i.e. talking about lesser-known anime & manga, is truly being fulfilled, and that's the best thing I could ask for.
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Well, I once again thank everyone who reads this blog and has been doing so for the past two years. Though I can't guarantee how many reviews I'll get in this month expect this month to be fairly retrospective in its execution. Here's to another year!
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