Those of us who have been following some of the latest anime series for the past few years may have heard of Random Curiosity, an anime blog that blogs on the latest episodes within hours just after it's been aired. Today OMNI, the main blogger of the site, has announced that he will retire from blogging at the end of this month.
Random Curiosity started blogging on Animeblogger since 2005, and has covered a lot of anime series that were aired up until now. Screenshots of an episode usually come within hours after they have been aired, with a few comments on the overall episode. A longer post depicting the details with a more structured conclusion comes later to polish things off. That's how Random Curiosity works.
I came quite late back into anime, and only noticed of its existence when I was looking for episodic reviews for Gundam 00 and Shakugan no Shana II back in late 2007 (which were airing at that time). I am the type who don't really mind spoilers (in contrast to my sister who really does mind and would try to kill me every time some anime or game plot spoilers were leaked to her), so I sometimes head right into the posts before I watch the episodes just to look at the screenshots and overall thoughts on them.
On the other hand, you may notice that I use screenshots from there on my posts now and then. For example there is one in the recent furikake post.
It is a pity to see it stopping, especially just a month shy of its 5th anniversary, but it has been a great pleasure reading the latest stuff from OMNI as well as his co-bloggers. Divine is keeping a copy of the blog for arhive, but it is unclear whether he will continue to update on it. Nevertheless I do want to thank him humbly for the episodic reviews and screenshots he has provided for a lot of us as anime fans all these time. Wish you all the best for what's to come ahead.
Gosh.. that's bad news for us who always visit Random Curiousity for episodic reviews and summary. Feels somewhat sudden and this really came unexpectedly. It shall be missed.
ReplyDeleteSame here. I visit RC on a semi regular basis.It will be missed.
ReplyDeleteI've been following the blog for years after finding it through momotato daioh (another cool blog which is now defunct). I think the first shows I started following via RC was Aquarion and Seed Destiny, so yeah... quite a while ago!!
ReplyDeleteThe news was a bit of a shock and it's a real shame to see the site go since Omni really helped me pick up some shows which I would otherwise have missed but I only really stuck around for the omni stuff, which was getting less and less recently. I just can't get my head around divines writing style...
The series previews were really useful too! I'll really miss the blog when it goes!
yeah I visit random curiousity from 2007 T_T a huge lost for me as well
ReplyDelete@ Jacques:
ReplyDeleteIt really did come rather suddenly, and I did not see it coming at all. Reminds me the time when Gunota Headlines discontinued blogging as well. I can only wish him all the best for what's to come for him in the future.
@ C.R.:
I really like reading the episodic reviews over there, even for some of the shows that I may not plan to watch in the first place. It will surely be missed by many.
@ gundamjehutykai:
Oh SEED Destiny, that's going all the way back in 2005!
I really do like OMNI's analytical way of writing reviews, yet concise at the same time. I too have noticed that OMNI has blogged fewer shows and a bit less often recently. I've actually rarely watch shows that Divine has blogged about so I can't comment much about his writing style other than that it sounds more personal than OMNI's style.
It's a shame to see it go. It's one of the few blogs that are really worth going back even for the archives!
@ moemoekyun:
It is indeed a big loss for the anime blogosphere. Now we just have to pick up from that and look for alternatives, or for those who are capable of it start their own.
I've only heard of this site just now. Probably because I don't like spoilers that much, though I probably won't be too upset if something did get spoiled.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you can follow up when he retires? :)
@ lightningsabre:
ReplyDeleteOh really? It is often mentioned in forums, but since you said you don't like spoilers then I am not surprised that you haven't heard of that place until now.
Follow up?! I am not so much of an avid anime watcher compared to many others out there! Besides, the last time I have blogged about an anime properly was almost 2 years ago!
That's a real shame, I always liked Random Curiosity, Omni was a cool guy. There were quite a bit of anime I got into because of RC. I started visiting the site around 2008. I was also able to avoid a lot of the ecchi anime because he always showed pictures of the more ecchi parts.
ReplyDelete@ diyedas:
ReplyDeleteIt's a pity indeed, since a lot of us check his episodic reviews weekly, or even daily. In a way I agree that he got a lot of anime watchers, casual or not, to get more into the series that we like, or just to check out whether something's worth watching or not from the screencaps. Even though he's not blogging anymore, I think he's still lurking around the new Random Curiosity blog. At least it's good to know that the blog continues to live on with the support of Divine and other new members who are willing to help out.