Monthly Editorial #1

A brief summary of how HVO is getting on and my future plans and ideas.

I’m a week early for it to be an ‘official’ month, but I thought I’d write this now to break up the time between my next manga and anime purchases (which might be a week or two as I’m waiting on my student loan to come through and breathe life into my now very flaccid bank account) and thus, reviews.

As far as reviews are going I’m generally satisfied with what I’m knocking out. I have a habit of writing reviews in one uber sitting and feeling the distinct need to post it immediately after, which often results in some shaky grammar and syntax choices, but I’m learning to pace myself and do drafts, and I’m constantly editing current posts. The lengths of my reviews are too long, I know, and again I’m working on tightening things up and avoiding redundant tangents. I’ll eventually develop a bit of a technique if things continue to go to plan.

As for what’s coming: I’ve got my eyes on the latest volume of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (volume 5 for us Brits, annoyingly) and continue to see how Haibane Renmai develops. Howl’s Moving Castle is being played at the GFT (Glasgow Film Theatre) from the 23rd September, which I’m definitely going to see. Manga-wise I’m a bit directionless at the moment, being in a no-man’s land between my favoured releases with nothing in Forbidden Planet immediately grabbing my attention. I’m really enjoying Viz’s Shojo Beat; Nana being the obvious favourite, but Godchild is making me reconsider Angel Sanctuary and the Shoujo genre in general. Nana really is as good as people say; I might even do a wee overview when #4 of Shojo Beat is released. Sgt. Frog has always been on my ‘maybe’ list and feels like I should be reading it, but there’s something about the presentation that puts me off when I’m browsing. If there’s anything out there that you guys would recommend please do via email or the comments. It might be presumptuous to think enough people read this to ask but it’s worth a shot. Recommendations are always welcome anytime!

Which leads me to the key aim (site-wise) of getting more affiliates and a touch more attention in general. I’m of the thought that maintaining consistency and quality will eventually result in the good stuff, but there must be other, more pro-active ways of doing things. I’ve popped an extreme tracker on the sidebar to keep track and hopefully I’ll get some nice surprises from the referrals after a while. If you’d like to affiliate then don’t hesitate about emailing. Traffic and all that cal isn’t important assuming you’re doing good stuff.