Well, another year has come and gone, and with 2008 at an end is it once again time for us to share with you some of the highlights of the year. Thus, I am very proud to present to you the 13th Annual Epic Win Best of the Year Anime Award Show, where the awards are made up and the points don’t matter!

Although I felt that this year in anime didn’t have as much to offer as last year, with no new series that really stood out head and shoulders above the others the way Gurren Lagann or Lucky Star did, it nevertheless brought a number of interesting and entertaining moments.

As always, keep in mind that these awards are completely based on our own opinions and preferences. Guaranteed 100% biased, no middleman, factory direct to you from Epic Win! In addition, we’re extremely flexible about what we consider allowable from 2008. Basically, if episodes aired within the last 12 months, it’s fair game.

Now, that said, obviously the two of us can’t watch everything by ourselves, and especially this last year we haven’t even been able to keep up with all the shows we would have liked to, so if you feel that we left out something important, or if you have a different recommendation for a particular category, by all means lay it on us. Read the rest of this entry »

みんなメリークリスマス! Merry Christmas everyone!

I hope Santa Claus brought you all lots of rare figures and doujinshi and moe goodness this yuletide season. Alas, I didn’t get any of those, even though I went so far as to leave a tray of mochi and a box of Pocky out by the fireplace for him. Damn, what could’ve gone wrong? I thought that would work for sure…

Although we weren’t able to post nearly as much as we would have liked this year, we want to continue our annual tradition by taking a moment to remember all you guys who have read and commented on Epic Win over the last year. I feel bad because I haven’t been very good about responding to comments recently (something I hope to do better on in future), but both Guff and I do read and appreciate each and every comment on this site. Read the rest of this entry »

Sheesh, I leave for a couple months and all the anime bloggers start dying off faster than the cast of a Key game. Or perhaps Higurashi would be a more appropriate metaphor, since true bloggers never really die, they just go nuts every once in a while and then eventually everything resets.

Speaking of which, I think we’re about ready to open up shop again here at Epic Win. It’s been a long and busy year, but fortunately things are starting to settle down finally. Having just finished the JLPT level 2 (bleh), along with a couple big deadlines at work, I’ve switched to consumption mode and am busy working through my to-watch backlog. Oh, and if anybody has any recommendations for stuff from this year you think I should be checking out, feel free to let me know.  Read the rest of this entry »