Farewell, Emma.
Speaking for myself, this has been a grand two weeks as a blogger: I’ve been able to share my enthusiasm for manga, I’ve been inspired to post my first reviews in years (and to a depth I’ve doubt I’d ever attempted more than once), I’ve had the opportunity to sit amidst a growing maelstrom of internet activity where a number of manga bloggers I’ve known and respected for years sent links to me
and of course, I purchased a new laptop, installed a new scanner, caught the flu, ran my annual store inventory (just this past Sunday night), rewatched the Emma anime in full, built some shelves... and I even got to do some of these things near simultaneously:
That is to say, 48 hours ago I was marathoning the Emma anime while alternating between ice packs and medication hoping my fever (and throbbing migrane) would go down before 5pm on Sunday, so I could go in and at least limp through the store inventory.
It’s been Grand.
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No complaints, no accusations, no recriminations: I actually had hoped to be done with the Emma MMF at least two days before inventory, so that’s my own fault, and the rest of it… is just life. And life will always surprise us.
And no matter how fun, the party has to come to an end.
I might have left the window open even longer, but we’re stretching two and pushing three weeks already and while I have great fondness for the Manga Moveable Feast it is not mine; the MMF belongs to the community.
I’ll be pleased to link to (and talk about) any additional Emma articles — please send them to me! — but from now on these will and must be just links. Alas, the MMF, the event, is over.
(over until next month)
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Thank you, everyone; not only those of you who submitted contributions but also, heartfelt thanks to our many readers. I will always have a fondness for Mori’s manga, and I’ve been happy to share that enthusiasm with all of you over the past two weeks.
Ed Sizemore of Manga Worth Reading has volunteered to host the next Manga Moveable Feast; tentatively scheduled for the last week of April. Please set a bookmark and keep an eye on that site for future announcements.
The MMF is still an internet experiment, though with each iteration we come closer to making this an institution. If you weren’t already familiar with Urushibara’s Mushishi, our next topic & focus, this would be a great time to pick up a volume or two and read ahead. Any blogger, indeed any fan, is more than welcome to contribute to the MMF. All you need is a copy of the book, a viewpoint, and enough time to type up your thoughts.
