Tomorrow is the 18th annivesary of Ogiue Maniax. My little blog is all grown up now.

I believe 18 years is supposed to be the point where you look at your child and realize that they’re not the same person—or rather, website—anymore.

If Ogiue Manaix could vote, what would it decide? Sure, it’s entirely a product of my own output, but I wonder if it would hold certain ideals or approaches to the world that are stronger because they are housed within this structure of written posts that continue to vividly reflect where I was, where I am now, and where I might end up in the future. I can’t remember my earliest memories as a newborn baby, but I can look back and see what I was writing about in 2007, even if it might be a little cringey.

That’s actually something I’ve wanted to be part of Ogiue Maniax all along, though. If I do have beliefs and ways of thinking that have shifted over the course of almost two decades, I wanted to have that documented as well. I also recall all those people I’ve talked to online who mentioned that you will end up hating anime you used to love because your standards will have changed. I don’t know if the first part has happened, even though the latter definitely has.

Blogging for 18 years has been less about prestige and more about stubbornness. I don’t want to give it up if I don’t have to. It helps keep my heart in my fandoms, even as I add other things to it (e.g. VTubers) and my post rate drops further. I’m nowhere near enough to be considered a notable veteran fan of anime and manga, especially as I get a mere fraction of the readership I used to have. Though, I have gotten more hits lately for some reason. I chalk that up to not understanding how WordPress (or any other site) tracks visits anymore.

Is 18-year-old Ogiue Maniax now entering college and joining the Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture? Will I actually change this blog again so that its template isn’t stuck in the past? Probably not, but who knows what the next year holds?