Boy, did All About Manga’s second anniversary take me by surprise. I only remembered that it was coming up last week!
It’s been a pretty crazy year for me and I think that’s been reflected in the blog. I’ve gotten new clients, lost one big client and some of the manga I’ve worked on has hit the NYT bestsellers list.
It’s been hard to blog sometimes, if only because I find myself not having a lot to say every week. Because of this, I started the discussion questions you’ve been seeing on All About Manga a lot. I like them because they’re relatively easy for me to write up, because I get to hear different perspectives from average manga fans and because I get to interact a lot with my regular readers!
Here are the top 20 posts from All About Manga. If you were around for All About Manga’s first anniversary, you’ll remember that I highlighted my top 20 last year too.
1. The Great Manga Gift Guide-SHOUJO STYLE!: This was a post that put me on the map as a manga blogger, so I’m happy to see it take the top spot.
2. 10 REALLY GOOD Ways to Buy and Not Steal Manga: It’s nice that this post is so popular. Last year it was #1!
3. Why is Manhwa not as Popular as Manga?: If only I could take this post back… It’s the most embarrassing post and my opinion on manhwa has changed completely! I hope next year it’s not even on this list at all!
4. Jews in Anime and Manga: While I really like this post, I swear it gets me the weirdest search results ever.
5. Earthquakes and Tsunamis Strike Japan: Watching the tsunamis hit Japan live on my television was a horrific moment. I dare say it was on the same level as 9-11 for me. Even though I was far away from both events, they both shook me too my core.
6. Prostitution in Manga: Quite frankly, I am extremely proud of this post. I hope it has changed some people’s opinions about prostitution. (Although I doubt it.)
7. 2010 Great Shoujo Manga Gift Guide: I guess I’ll be doing another one later this year! These things are pretty popular!
8. Anime and Manga Bloggers for Japan: The response to this post was tremendous. We raised $1000 in 24 hours for two great charities who were on their way to help the Japanese citizens. We’ve gone on to raise nearly $5000 for Doctors Without Borders and Shelterbox. For a little grassroots fundraising effort, that’s an amazing amount. I cannot tell you how proud of my readers and friends for all their contributions.
9. Webcomics Wednesdays: Naughty and NSFW: My Webcomics Wednesday feature never seem to be that popular, but I guess my readers like it better if I share the dirty stuff with them!
10. My San Diego Comic Con 2012: Part Two: Moto Hagio is an incredibly cool mangaka, which is my explanation for why this post is so popular. Ironically, I ventured into Hall H the very next year despite swearing up and down I’d never really do it.
11. Discussion: Is Hetalia Offensive to You?: People have mixed reactions about this manga, but I still find Himaruya’s most offensive moments to be about other Asian countries. Most people seem to feel the same way, aside from the misguided cosplayers dressed up as Nazis.
12. Hetalia: You Should Read This Manga Even If You Don’t Want To: What a heavy-handed title, but I really just wanted to see people give Hetalia a chance. A lot of people were dismissing it due to the crazy fandom.
13. Comics & Girls: We want to kick ass: How ironic that this post is still so relevant today. I guess it’s because ladies of all ages STILL want to read comics and not feel left out. Who would have guessed it?
14. Interning in the Manga Industry: My Advice: Perhaps some of my advice is out-of-date now that Tokyopop is gone and not taking on interns anymore, but the post still holds up for the most part.
15. Webcomics Wednesday: 10 Tips for Beginners: This is actually a guest post by my boyfriend, so kudos for him for having one of the most popular posts on my blog!
16. Anime Los Angeles 2011: This con report is about a small con that is really crowded and laid back at the same time. It’s a really great con for cosplay due to its location and meeting up with friends.
17. The Manga Cliche Review: Musical Talent Part Two: Why is this one still popular? It’s so old! I started this concept of reviewing manga before All About Manga even existed! (I started a manga blog just before I was assigned to start All About Manga in a class.)
18. Gakuen Alice on the Fast Track: I don’t know why this one is so popular either, considering how it’s been irrelevant since April.
19. Causing the Death of an Industry: Obviously the idea behind this post hasn’t changed much. What has changed in the field of digital manga, hopefully proving that there are other ways that the industry can provide manga to hungry fans.
20. Scott Pilgrim/Mighty Fine T-Shirt Contest: What does it say about my blog that this contest is over a year old and still such a popular post! I guess it was a pretty successful contest…
Twice in the last year, I’ve touched upon what I want to do with this blog and my career. The first post was your typical New Year’s resolutions kind of post. The second post followed up on my resolutions and made a few new ones. I’m pretty happy to say that most of those goals have been achieved, although a few got upended by circumstances beyond my control. (Thanks to California Governor Brown, I can no longer do an affiliate program, for example.)
It’s been a pretty roller coaster year for me, so I’m very happy to reach this blogging milestone. If I had one main goal for this blog, it would be to make this blog more interesting to read over the course of the next year.
And I do hope you’ve been enjoying this blog as much as I enjoy writing it and reading all of your responses.
Love,
Daniella
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Wao! Amazing! Glorious! Congratulations on your anniversary. Blogversary? Sounds like a blog adversary. So.
Thanks, most untrickable of owls! 😀 I think most people spell it like “blogiversary” though.
Grats on such a large milestone! I only just really noticed your blog the other day so this timing of this post is great! I get to read the “best of” right away so easily and can feel up to date moving forward 🙂 I hope you don’t mind me commenting on the older posts you’ve linked to here, there are a lot that catch my eye.
No, I don’t really mind, but I was quite surprised to see a flurry of comments from you all at once. XD
I think I accidentally came across your blog a few times in the past, but you said something that caught my eye on Twitter the other day and I specifcally came here. (so now you’re bookmarked)
Out of curiosity, what did I say on Twitter that piqued your interest?
Well then, congratulations! But come on. It’s only been around for two years. It needs to be around a while longer for it to get some respect 😀 😀 😀
That’s kind of a mean way to wish this blog happy birthday! I definitely don’t do this blog for the respect alone. In fact, it’s respect is probably the least important part for me. Well, anyway, thanks.
…So they say lol jk. I kid, I kid!
In all seriousness, it’s good that you’ve been around this long. I’m just hoping that you’ll be around a lot longer^^
I’m hoping I’ll be around a lot longer too! The need to have something meaningful to say prevents me from blogging a lot more than I do right now, but I don’t have any desire to quit the blog. I just wait until inspiration strikes.
Congrats on two years! I really enjoy reading your posts, so here’s to many more 😀
Thank you! I’m so glad to hear you enjoy the blog. 🙂 I’ll keep writing as long as I have something to say.