There were a lot of personal ups and downs last year, some fandom based, others closer to home, so here's a look at how 2018 was possibly the most eventful year of my life...
The bad stuff - lets get it out of the way first.
As some of you know, I had a rough year to start with; I had the final court appearance in a case of corporate theft (us against the thief to be clear!) that we won after suffering three years of aggression, smears and death threats. It was during this time that, very distressingly, we lost our baby too. This of course put what followed into perspective, but it was a devastating blow.
What followed, of course, was the whole insidious Anime Feminist incident wherein a group of writers at my UK Anime Network site were working quietly alongside Amelia Cook and turned very nasty when I dared to question politicising anime in the same way as comics and games, especially given how the motivating factor seemed to be money above all else. On the plus side I suppose having your podcast bootlegged and passed around is a kind of achievement.
Stepping down while I looked into the incoming online vitriol, more legal action had to be taken by incoming Editor In Chief Seb Reid against the previous anime editor who had stolen our data as a form of ransom, and been working toward the Kickstarter project that netted "AniFem" $20,000. So after being hunted by their twitter mob for daring to question their "playbook", it turns out all the moral objection of the time was actually just a cash-grab. Thankfully they never ended up with the benefit of UKA's reach or endorsement in what I see as a pretty sorry episode that even dragged one anime company into the mess. Had it not been for the enormous support of the community in private messages, phone calls and emails I'd have just as soon walked away entirely, but why let them have the floor unchallenged eh? Stiff upper lip engaged!
A special mention to Sakura Anime News, and in particular this article. Gabriel has steadfastly reported honestly and in detail about this political shift in the industry. Very brave indeed!
The recent mass lay-offs at Buzzfeed and Huffington Post within their "opinions" departments should have sites like AniFem worried. The propagation of misinformation (such as reinventing the ages of characters in an anime to feign offence for clicks) is now being called out and views for such content are drastically dropping. Far from being "the rise of the far right", it seems to me more of a lurch toward common sense and actual journalism, both of which are in short supply online. Professional bloggers pushing agendas for money are clearly not paying for themselves, and hopefully we'll start to see some maturity enter the market. The outraged reaction of these bloggers when advised "learn to code" just shows the hypocrisy and lack of maturity they're leaving with - these same people issued the very same advice to blue-collar workers when their jobs were taken away. The irony.
And so to the good stuff.
Despite the angst above, 2018 was also a great year in many respects, not least the fact that I've created 2 new successful companies and developed Anime Independent itself. Some of our news articles have been linked to internationally (not least my chat with Tony at MVM about the future of anime on DVD) and the First Thoughts series of articles I've created has allowed me to take in a lot more varied anime than I could at UKA. All in all, I'm delighted that AI has found friends and that I can chat freely, unencumbered by a need to protect those around me from online abuse.
Japan 2018
We managed to fit in another 3 week trip to Japan, and this time I got to show my fiance Bryony around the snowy region of Sapporo and the snow festival. It was my first time too, and it was such an amazing city to explore. The ice sculptures, stage shows and sporting events were wild and varied, and I can honestly say I've never experienced anything like this before.
Of course we also dived into the Tokyo culture and visited Tokyo Skytree (happily during an awesome Macross exhibition!), found the Ranma 1/2 Pop-Up Cafe, toured Ginza on bicycles and even found time to visit Tokyo Disney Sea, which was magical in every sense of the word. You can see the gallery of our visit right here on AI.
On week three, Bryony had to return home but UKA Editor-In-Chief Seb Reid joined me to cover the Winter Wonder Festival (see my gallery here). I've never visited a dedicated toy show before, but it was incredible. The industry has really embraced what was a fandom-driven event, and despite spending a little with the big boys, I'm most fond of the fan-made model I picked up of the penguin-girl from Kemono Friends.
Creating Anime Independent
This site, I have to say, has been enormous fun. During the height of the political nonsense, I just got up one night and decided to create somewhere truly independent for me to blather about one of my earliest passions. Just like in 1996, where I created The UK Anime Network, this was a place for me to pour some passion about a culture I care deeply for. I was working on a new Content Management System at the time, so created this very site around all the latest coding I had come up with - as such, it's a real pleasure to write on. One of these days I'll get around to updating UKA too, but the tools and interface on this site are leagues ahead of my old one.
Anybody can create a website with Wordpress, that's true, and in many ways it's lead to opening up the internet to the well-informed but less techy types. But there's still nothing quite like building your own system from the ground up and making it do what you want. The gallery system in particular is a favourite addition, and it's really inspired me to overhaul it all again as soon as I have time - sometimes you just can't stop tinkering!
Returning to UKA
Having stepped back to examine all the fuss, and understanding the motivating factors when everything finally came to light, Seb very graciously asked me to help out again on UKA. We agreed that we'd do it without any fanfare or "public announcements", as having undergone a 3 month crash-course in social media cultural warfare, we better understood the methods and madness often used to incite a mob mentality and generating clicks for websites pedalling emotive or divisive content. Frankly my return had little effect and passed without much comment, and subsequently I'm now back as Manga Editor, my preferred position at all times due to how little time I have to watch a full series of anime.
It's been nice to invest my time back into the site I created all those many summers ago, but Anime Independent is a new home I'm very proud of and I think my heart, in many ways, is here now. I am forever grateful to Seb for stepping up and providing leadership when it was most needed. We always had fun debating each other politically and in general, and I can honestly say there are very few others I have such respect and admiration for. When the AI Podcast returns, I very much hope he'll guest on it sporadically for more intelligent debates.
Working with artist Rachta Lin
I've been fascinated by artists ever since my Mum gave me a suitcase full of Silver Age DC comics, and when I needed a mascot for this site, I turned to Rachta Lin. A wonderful artist from Singapore, Rachta agreed to create something for me in her own incredible style. I had 2 stipulations - make her a blogger, and make her a redhead like my fiance! (Okay, 3 stipulations, I also wanted a female!) I love what she came up with, the detail and painted style give the piece a mature look, which is only fitting for someone my age. If you check out Rachta's Patreon, you can even see a video showing the work from start to finish. I've fostered a friendly working relationship with Rachta and look forward to the day she attends her first UK convention! Rachta's recent Artists Journey Kickstarter campaign is already well into stretch goals, and I've pledged enough to get my own personalised avatar, which I can't wait to post on here!
Thought Bubble 2018
Having delayed my report on the show while I found the Rapunzel piece by Disney artist Victoria Ying (it was lodged in the pages of another artbook to keep it safe!) I'd certainly rank this year's show as one of my favourites. I had a great time wandering around with Dan, James and Sophie, and buying up all the artwork I could afford. It wasn't my biggest spend at the convention, but I did have a great time just socialising with artists and writers who had bags of passion to spare. I also got to meet John Allison who created Giant Days, which garnered an article on this very site - the benefits of not being entirely bound to write about Japanese releases!
TF Nation 2018
The one convention I try never to miss, my beloved Transformers get a yearly blowout in Birmingham, which I attend with my geeky bud Sophie. I take all the credit/blame for introducing her into the world of transforming robots, and I always have lots of fun hanging out and enjoying the atmosphere. This year of course we had the incredible spectacle of Stan Bush performing his 1986 Transformers Movie anthems in a live concert, and when we got to meet the man himself he was as charming and friendly as you could wish for! The shopping, panels and art on display were all tremendous too, and I'll be booking tickets for this year's event as soon as they go on sale.
If you'd like to see a snippet of the concert, you can find it here
Friends in Japan
As a frequent visitor to Japan, I have a number of friends in the country, chief amongst them is Ai Ab, a terrific lady who has, in her time, worked for Square Enix. More importantly she shares my love of geeky things, and this year she sent me a present that genuinely blew me away. Visiting one of our favourite bars, writer Ken'ichi Matsuzaki (Macross, BubbleGum Crisis) gave a talk. I can't tell you how much of an influence this guy has been on me (I will admit to having written a Bubblegum Crisis fanfic but it remains under lock and key!) so getting his autograph is just an incredible thing for me. I couldn’t be there myself but Ai had my back, and in return I was very happy to secure an autographed copy of The Coldest City by Antony Johnston (the basis for the film Atomic Blonde) at Thought Bubble for her. It's these kind of cultural exchanges and appreciation that make a fandom truly inclusive experience and I'm incredibly grateful for her friendship and thoughtfulness.
Phew!
All that and I really didn't have time for so much more - MCM Expo, watching The Levellers and Mumford & Sons in concert, even getting engaged - it's certainly been a busy one. We're all the stronger and wiser for our experiences, and I hope whatever the passing year brought to you, you've made it out of the other side and are ready to look for bigger and better things in 2019. I wish all of you the best, whatever your interests or background.
You never know what's around the corner, and I'm thrilled to say that Bryony is pregnant again, so all my hopes and prayers are focussed there. I hope we have a new future anime fan on the way!
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