In view of the nice things that well-meaning people have said and the not so nice things that other, more tragically misunderstood people have said, I guess now would be a better time than any to clear the air on the inaugural Anime Blog Awards, of which I happen to be part of the organising committee. We’ve been railed at countless times, and I’ve kept my silence on the matter for quite some time, so this reply is somewhat overdue.

It also goes without saying that poor Impz has been tearing his hair out about the criticism, a matter I was supposed to follow-up with in a more vitriolic post tearing apart the flimsy reasoning and half-baked arguments, among many others, with massive amounts of logic. However, apathy for the misinformed and procrastination both led to me eventually forgetting about making that post, and just as I was going to write one regarding my nominations for the awards, I figured I’d just kill two birds with one stone by posting about them at the same time.

I’ve never viewed this as a popularity contest, if you ask me. The point for me has always been about the nominations and the accompanying transparency — I care about the results like I did the outcome of True Tears, which is to say, somewhat, but not as much as the process of getting there, and it’s this period that I want to highlight. Think of it as a mini-awards of sorts, my little “Up yours, fags!” to those with their inflated egos and/or popular blogs who haven’t even deigned to see where we’re coming from. Heaven forbid we didn’t consult your Excellencies in our bid to make something that everyone could take part in.