Sea Slugs! Anime Blog

I love me some episodic anime blogging, and I stand fast defending the benefits of a comprehensive or (going the other way) concise summary to go with it. Sure, the readers that see that post when it’s fresh off the Write Post page will likely skip your summary and render your hard work useless, but assuming your blog survives more than one season, there will be people who discover series late and depend on your summaries for literary sustenance.

More importantly, it’s so damn hard thinking of all those creative topics to write about! Me, I like being able to just type in “Divergence Eve 01″ and then move on to the next question. Hells yeah, 1/2 finished, baby! But for those of you who prefer to avoid summaries and episode-based posts like the plague, perhaps this list of 10 Killer Post Ideas may inspire you. The article is worth reading, but here’s my take on his top 10 list, as it could relate to anime blogging:

1. How to: Although the domain of topics for this one may be a bit limited, this is the sort of anchoring post that could really help a new blog get some traffic. Think about all the things we take for granted; you know there are some poor hapless n00bs out there just wishing they had your skillz. Maybe a nice tutorial on using Bittorrent clients to find fansubs, or perhaps even tips you picked up when actually working on fansubs could be just the thing to really inform and inspire your audience.
2. Lists: This one is an easy and versatile one, and one of the few non-episodic posts that I personally use on a regular basis (typically the monthly top 5, and also the previews at the beginning of a new season). Whether you’re listing seiyuu, series, or even loli-sisters, lists always make for good posts. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a list-whore, and I look forward to seeing a site completely devoted to making lists. I’ll even suggest a title for you: The <OL>timate Anime Listblog.
3. Campaign: A campaign sounds like too much work. You’d have to really want to see another season of Big O or something to be making campaign posts. I find my personal apathy amazing, but hardly uncommon.
4. Interview: Ok, now this is one that I would really like to see myself. While it’s doubtful that many of us have the connections to interview anyone that’s really in the industry, I would really like to see some interviews with members of the community. That could be the anime blogging, or fansubbing, or anything community! I don’t know about you, but I stay up at night yearning to know what Jason’s favorite citrus fruit is, or if BluWacky prefers kittens or puppies, and I can’t possibly be the only one wondering! Matthew had an interview or two on his radio show, but I understand that the logistics of putting one together are tough. However, what’s wrong with a text interview? I think either a chat transcript or even email correspondence could make for some gripping literature, if planned correctly.
5. Review: Well, a review is pretty easy for an anime blog site, so I don’t think I need to go into much detail.
6. Case study: Writing from a real world experience can be informative and engaging, and give your audience a way to really relate to your experience. I remember reading a case study on how real manly men out there collect Hello Kitty plushies, and I could totally relate! Wait, that was a joke post?
7. Research results: This could take a lot of work, but could really work well, especially if you posted your progress regularly. If you dove into various forums and chatrooms with other fans, it could really be an interactive and fun way to entertain your audience.
8. What’s new, trends: These pop up from time to time, but I’m not sure this is a type of post you can use very often or reliably. I guess you could talk about the proliferation of series with tsunderes, the use of the letter X in series titles, or whatever else you see a pattern in.
9. Attack!: I’m not a huge fan of this one, but if discussion is your goal, nothing spurs on comments like saying something to the effect of “Cagalli is so much better than Lunamaria”. The description on the 10 Killer Post Ideas didn’t really seem to be attacking, though. When I think of attacking, I think of accusing Stripey of being a sis-con.
10. Ask the audience: This works especially well if you are spending money. Who doesn’t like telling someone else what to buy?