1. Write and Keep Writing
2. Don’t just review popular or mainstream sh*t
3. Do not restrict yourself to a single genre
4. Keep a balanced opinion
5. Don’t Fixate on the Barrier
6. Avoid Re:reviewing
7. Try to Go Beyond a Statement
8. Spoiler Control takes Practice

9. Prepare to grow cynical and distrustful of anime

Look, I’ve been doing this for five years now. It’s not really the most enjoyable thing in the world for me now. I’m honestly sick of it, so advice number nine is coming from the dude that wasted five years of his life doing anime reviews. It just really hurts. I’ve been talking about looking at everything as a chance to grow and to approach things with an open mind, but it can really take a toll on you. Reviewing is a tough thing to do. When you dissect sh*t and analyze stuff, you’re figuring out the pattern and the way an anime functions. The problem with the whole thing is that anime really loves its patterns and formulas.

They rarely deviate so you’ll be watching the same harem anime with a bunch of girls, where one is flat chested, the other is a slut, the other looks good in an apron and another is a childhood friend, over and over again. It can get painful and very tiring. I am personally amazed that I am still blogging for this long. There’s very little reward in watching the same gawd damn four panel anime about a bunch of cute girls just doing random sh*t, so you’ll often just hate it all. It’s not a rare occurrence where I might be only solitary case. Nope. This happens. You’ll hate anime, and you’ll get sick of everything. You’ll be this curmudgeon that cannot look on the bright side. To be fair, I consumed a lot of anime back in the day and I pushed real hard to reach a high review number. Despite that, the feeling of wanting to stop and just break up with anime will really creep up over time. If you’re serious about reviewing, then prepare for this big wall to be in your way.

Of course, this wall can be overcome with no real problem. Look at me, five gawd damn years and I’m still writing sh*t. For me, I just really love anime. I have this big advocacy of just sharing this love to other people. It’s ideal garbage that I personally don’t like, but it’s the thing that keeps me going. I’m currently stuck in Summer 2014 because I don’t want to miss any anime. Every single sh*t must be reviewed, and it is tough to accomplish that. I’m simply sticking to it though, because I just really love anime. Even the same tired LN formula or Harem formula or the marshmallow format or that one anime where two people have sex then it’s dead air for ten episodes until someone is killed, they must be given a chance to be reviewed. I just can’t stop, and I hate myself for that.

I should be giving advice though. Look, I’m tired. If you’ve ever come across this wall where you start hating anime and start getting tired of the same formula, then you can do some of the things I’ll list below. They’ve been tried and tested by me, of course.

Read other reviewers/bloggers stuff. Sometimes, their enthusiasm in blogging can rub off on you. Sometimes, seeing them fail on things you’ve long understood can be a fun little activity to revitalize yourself. Sometimes, seeing the same passion can trigger you to be better than them. If you’re someone that gets jealous though, like suddenly feel deflated seeing the number of comments on their reviews, then tread carefully on this advice. It can often backfire. I’ve seen a two paragraph review get five hundred comments because the blogger does this thing where they comment on other posts and there is now this obligation to comment back. I hate that, but it does bring in the comments. It’s part of the community spirit though, and I appreciate that. I personally read and comment on what I think are actually good posts though. In fact, you can try that yourself to distract you from the wall and I know it can work.

You can go a step beyond the comment obligations and actually befriend other bloggers. I personally don’t do this, because I am a mean arguer and I offend people easily. Part of the discussion process is me pointing out your pent up gay-ness, so don’t get mad if it’s not true. I’m just a mean spirited person on the internet. If you genuinely enjoy another blogger’s post though, then try befriending them. In fact, get a group of friends on twitter and just enjoy the blogging experience together. Yeah, after all, blogging is supposed to be a way to connect with other people, right? I’ve been doing it wrong. I did setup a facebook page to achieve just this, and I have a group of people that frequently comments. Interacting with them can be a nice breather from getting banged up on the wall countless times. Shout out to those awesome people as well. All your current recommendations are sh*t. I hate you all. Nah, I kid. I love ya. Buy me beer if I’m ever in your area. I’m also a frequent visitor on some blogs because I do enjoy what they write. If I comment at almost all your posts, then I do want to be friends. I’m personally avoiding the obligatory comment back routine though. You don’t have to comment just because I did. Five years doing this thing, you realize the genuine likes and comments from the obligatory ones.

You can also blog about other stuff. This is a great distraction from the tiresome formula of anime. Why not spend some brain cells understanding the plot of West World? I personally enjoy Top Chef and I felt demoralized when Sheldon, a Filipino chef (because we are rarely represented), didn’t win the damn thing. I channeled my blogging energy into ranting about him not winning. Take a break from anime from time to time. When it starts to feel like a chore, then you should take a break from it. I heard Olaf made a cameo in Moana? Like seriously, where was he? Use your energy on something else, and the enthusiasm for anime will eventually return. Netflix has a lot of original stuff to binge on, so you should just stuff your head with their shows. Seriously, it can reinvigorate the mind sometimes knowing originality is still alive in this day and age. You can also try moving to a different platform. I have been planning on doing some reviews on youtube, but I don’t have the time right now. I have the script made, but the editing is too damn hard. Speaking of youtube, you can try watching some youtuber’s work. I personally enjoy the old Channel Awesome gang where they do crossovers with the Nostalgia Critic. The reviewers there are having fun, and hopefully that can rub off on you as well.

Lastly, and I say this with all honestly, you just need to stop. I once didn’t want to stop, because I feel unsteady not posting in my blog. You also know that stopping activity in your blog decreases views and comments, and that’s like ambrosia to us. If that feeling of losing views and high stats ever happens to you though, then you need to stop. Just stop. Let it go. The cold never bothered you anyway. Continuing forward will just do more damage. This is the roughest lesson I learned in five years of being a blogger, because some people eventually goes away. Some things changes, and life moves on. You’ll often feel like it doesn’t for you. So, before that happens, you just need to stop. When you start to feel like everything is a chore, then the product reflects that. It’s like getting an injury. Why worsen it? Just stop for a while until the damn thing heals. When you start to worry about not posting something for a long while, then just let it go. Your blog is still there. The people that read your sh*t will still be there, and the world won’t end. Stopping isn’t a bad thing. You’re healing yourself, and that’s fine. Go meet a cute girl at an anime convention and ask her out or something. Your blog doesn’t control you. Don’t let it ever control you.

Should it ever control you, like consume your entire free time and cut you off from the world and stops you from achieving the very best you, then just stop completely. You can restart. In this day and age, quitting isn’t a sign of defeat. You need to look out for yourself, and I can honestly tell you that I am ready to stop anytime soon. If I just didn’t have this strong ideal to review every anime, I would’ve stopped a long time ago. I’m just too awesome, that’s why *crotch chop*

In all honesty, I use my facebook a lot so you can message me there. If you want tips on how to improve your sh*t, then fine. You can message me. I can be counted on for things blogging related. Fine, I’m opening it up. Let our intellectual minds go on a play date. Just don’t get mad if I point out your pent-up gayness. It is part of the discussion process, like how some people use the race card or the retarded argument or the Hitler comparison angle. It’s all good. If you ever feel stuck on anime reviewing, then I can lend an ear. We anime reviewers gotta stick together, so just message me on my FB group. I don’t use much twitter, and I still don’t really know how to use it. I’m not really the kind of person that shares what they’re doing at the moment. Like, ok, so you’re going back from school. It doesn’t really add value to my life, but more power to you. You can drop me a line there, I guess, but I’m more active on facebook. This is my facebook page. FB is a big place where I consolidate my contacts. Some of my students still messages me there, old friends I personally do not want to talk to messages me there, and I am cleverly disguised as TPAB on there too. So when you feel the wall in your sights, then maybe I can help but I’ll still call you gay. Deep down, we all want phallic things and that’s a fact.