This year’s Summer of Manga/Anime has come to a close and I’m ready to let the words fly with the strength I’ve used to keep them steady.

With my last impromptu update on the subject, I made it known that I didn’t like how I reversed course on the theme of the Summer and went in a traditional direction. Had I decided prior to the Summer to make one half manga and one half anime, it would’ve been fine. But to admit that I was burned out after only seventeen manga is irritating for my pride and looks bad for my consistency. It still bothers me and it only came to serve as the second Summer in a row where things ended up making me see the Summer as a chore rather than a celebratory experience.

That’s why I’m effectively ending the Summer tradition after seven years.

No matter how often I think about it, time simply moves too fast. It’s already the seventh Summer I’ve done this! I’ve met a lot of people, grown a lot as a person, and indulged in many different types of anime in that time. This is something I’ve always looked forward to beforehand, though the last couple times have shown that adhering to a strict schedule tires me out more than motivates me. Time also prevents me from thinking that the tradition will improve in the future. By next year, I may very well have a full-time job in a place not of my current location. With how infrequent I was with my watching with only a part-time job, it only infers that I won’t have the energy to keep it going.

Though this isn’t to say I’ve completely sworn off doing anything anime-related along the lines of my March of the Movies block. Just not with the “Summer” name, rules, or timespan. I may dedicate some week or weeks of time only watching anime, but it’ll be more casual or what have you, though it may also depend on how interested in anime I am at that point. All that I can confirm now is that the Summer of Anime has reached its conclusion after its seventh(!) airing.

I’d like to thank any and all who have been following me long enough to know that it meant a lot to me to keep this thing going and to convey my appreciation (or disdain) for anime in blog form. I likely wouldn’t have been able to make things more interesting year to year without thinking that people outside my brain might enjoy some added variety. What’s ironic is that I think the first Summer of Anime ended on this day, too, or at least within a few days of it. A perfect conclusion, especially considering my weird nostalgia trip with FLCL.

THANK YOU!