10 years ago today, I posted the very first entry on this blog, featuring my recap of and yapping about the first chapter of the Yu-Gi-Oh manga! In my cold open to that post, at the end of the very first paragraph, I joked about how focus was not one of my strong suits.
In hindsight, that was a fucking lie.
What madness caused me to consistently comment on every single chapter of three separate manga for a decade straight? I can't say, but I AM comfortable saying that this is the longest running project of my life, and despite how strange some others might find it, I am immensely proud that it's reached 10 years old. As a container for my thoughts on specific fiction, it's been invaluable, and as a way to just get out of my head for a little while and into pulling apart another world, it's been a godsend.
I've bought it a nice little cake for the occasion, even though my husband and I will be the ones consuming it. If I had a little more foresight, I might have ordered something beautiful and ready for social media, but alas, it is a mere generic celebration cake from the grocery store.
Happy Birthday Manga Snark!!!! 🥳🎉🎂
ReplyDeleteI remember I first discovered this blog back in 2019 (I think?), around the time you were covering Kaiba's duel with Ishizu (watching Ishizu dismantle Kaiba's whole strategy and break him down was absolutely glorious, it's a shame she relied so heavily on the Millennium Necklace and didn't just attack Kaiba with 2 monsters to win instead of summoning a 3rd to blow Obelisk up with a trap). I went back to read your earlier Yu-Gi-Oh! entries (if I recall, you mention in your review of chapter 1 that you started covering the manga because Dark Side of Dimensions had just come out, kinda crazy that both that movie and your blog are 10 years old and the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga itself was 20 years old at the time and is now 30, holy guacamole I feel old 😂). Ever since, I've been a huge fan of this blog. 🙂
It's been cool reading your analysis on these stories that honestly have meant so much to me growing up and still do. As silly as it may sound, these stories have really helped me and inspired me during some dark times in my life and this blog has become a part of my daily life now. I'm 36 and for personal reasons I won't go into here, my education has had delays (I will mention that I am autistic so navigating things has been difficult) and I only just recently got my master's degree back in September in 2025. I'm currently in the process of trying to apply for a PhD and just dealing with some personal family stuff, so it's been rough (not to say anything of the insane current state of the world) and honestly, now more than ever, these stories have been so important to me. Coming to your blog and reading your analysis of these manga has gotten me to think about these stories in new ways and shown me a new perspective on things and that has been really important to me and to your other readers and I think there is tremendous value in that. Sorry to get so personal, I only wanted to express how important this blog has been to me and, I'm confident to say, to your other readers.
Also, nice picture! It's cool to see the person behind the blog! 😊
Happy birthday to your blog Writch and here's to many more to come! 🥂🍻
By no means does it sound silly that the stories I've covered here still mean a lot to you, because they mean a LOT to me too, both now and in the past, and I think they always will. Stories are a big part of how we learn and develop a sense of identity, and one of the things I've learned by doing this blog is that coming back to these formative materials helps us to ADD to our understanding of them and ourselves! It's also so fun to have others along on the journey with me, looking back on the stories I've loved so thoroughly in evolving ways throughout my life, and seeing what everyone else has to say about them too! Comments with different opinions have really opened up my mind about the variety of interpretations and information behind the scenes that I've never heard before!
DeleteI'm sorry to read that you've had a bit of a rough time of it, though sadly it's not unusual given how generally difficult this past decade has been for most. I hope that things become easier soon, and that you get into a PhD program that you love! Don't be sorry for getting personal in your reply, because if my blog has helped to bring peace to any part of the chaos of the last ten years for you, I'm VERY happy to have served that function for you!
I'll drink to many more years of Manga Snark for sure! Thank you!
Thank you, that really means a lot 😊 I hope things get better for all of us, this past decade has just been rough as you said. I have hope for the future and despite the difficulties, I have so many things in my life to cherish and I must recognize that I have been incredibly fortunate despite the bad stuff that's happened in my life. Things in the world have been difficult for a lot of us, there has been some truly egregious injustices inflicted upon many of us (especially the most vulnerable) by a corrupt system effectively run by a small percentage of incredibly wealthy and powerful people. I believe that we must not give in to despair and we must do our best under our respective circumstances, we must have faith that we can have a good and fulfilling life ultimately with our loved ones and that we can achieve a society that is just and fair for everyone.
DeleteThank you again Writch, here's to many more years of Manga Snark and I'm happy to accompany you on this journey through these stories that mean so much to us. 😊
10 more years! 🥳
ReplyDeleteAt the rate I'm going, probably 20 more years at least! XD
DeleteThanks so much for being a reader!
10 years! Wow! I don't even remember when I started reading your blog...but I don't want to think 10 years have already gone by 😂
ReplyDeleteIn any case, congratulations! And here's to many more years!
This anniversary of the blog has been a bit bittersweet - on the one hand, I'm proud of myself for sticking with this for SO long, but on the other, thinking about it makes me feel a little old, HAHA!
DeleteThank you for your support, and I'm looking forward to continuing to entertain you here!