Eeeper's Choice Podcast

Sending a DM on Twitter just now, going through links, I just found out an láidir, @edsizemore has stepped down from reviewing manga. He was more worried about what other reviewers and people who followed him on twitter would think of the news. He should have no such worries.

I have to say, first of all, sorry to Ed as I was so wrapped in my own little world that I didn’t notice his blog post about this. I usually read all his posts but this one slipped by me. I consider everyone whose reviews I read for opinion to be my captains in this endevour. That I failed to noticed one of my captains leaving the battlefield for a respite is inexcusable. Sorry, Ed.

Second, I’m gutted about this news as Ed is someone whom I derive a lot of guidance about the few reviews that I post every so often. More than anyone that I can think of, Ed proved to me that you could be a bloke and still review non-blokey manga. He also proved that you could treat people with respect on Twitter and not feel cross enough to lower yourself to an ungentlemanly level when someone crossed you (I already knew this from growing up but Ed simply helped, along with others, to re-enforce it). I remember when I “discovered” Ed on Twitter, it was a bit of chatter between him and @hisuiRT, I believe, and I decided to read more of his tweets (I can’t remember if I read his reviews first or his tweets so I’m going with his Tweets). After I followed him on Twitter, there followed a period where I actually checked if he had followed me back (an aside: if I follow you and you don’t follow me back in a quick time frame, I instantly begin to worry that you saw the new follow email, read some of my tweets and decided you don’t like me). One day, I get an email saying that Ed was now following me. Awesome! Now we can chat on Twitter and I can pick his brains! But reading more of his reviews was the best way of getting to know Ed. Still, to this day, if you’ve never had the honour and pleasure of meeting Ed, then the reviews are the best way of gaining an insight into who Ed is. Being on his podcast was one of the highlights of Otakon 2011 and I will continually curse the fact I didn’t get to spend more time with people at the con like Ed. Cries of next year ring hollow when the sheer distance for a European to traverse is taken into account. When you guys in the US hang out together at cons, remember to, I don’t know, not so much cherish but be mindful of the fact that some people you may not see for some time. For people like me, it’s usually a case of year long gaps.

Reading his reviews on comicsworthreading.com, I mean…do you know when you search for his name on the site, you get 31 PAGES OF CONTENT!?!!! I haven’t even crested at 10 ten worth of review content, alone, on my site! If only we could all be that good. Ed’s also the reason why I doggedly keep reviewing and reporting (meagre as my efforts are)on events that happen in the anime and manga industry. Because of something he reported on, I’ll keep writing in this field of endeavour if only to disprove the theories of people who maintain that only those trained in journalism can report in so open a field as anime/manga journalism. Every review I write, it’s because of people I respect, like Ed, who help me become a better, more eloquent writer. Every review I write is one more imaginary battle to be fought where the enemy is a closed mind and a closed opinion and victory brings the chance for more literary battle.

Thirdly, I figure Ed stepping down should be my call to step my game and put more of an effort into reviews as well as podcasts. I like discovering new stuff and write about it when I feel brave enough but week after week, Ed just put out review after review of stuff he’d discovered. And made it seem easy. I should be better at reviewing with that kind of ease. I CAN be better at reviewing with that kind of ease. I’m getting ready to tackle a project that frankly is making my legs turn to jelly at the prospect. But people who review other stuff give me confidence. Ed gives me confidence. Would that we all have a captain like that?

Ed has said that his podcast, Manga Out Loud, is taking a brief hiatus after which he’ll decide how or in which direction to take it. However Ed decides to call it, I will respect his decision. In the meantime, I can still enjoy his podcast archives until he reaches a decision. And for the record, I’m glad that Ed shared his written insight into manga with his reviews and I don’t, in any way, feel let down that he’s stepping down. Because there’s always the chance he’ll come back for a guest review sometime.

In closing, I hope I don’t come across as gushy in this text as that’s not how I feel in this regard. More like respectful and glad to be able to say that I know of a particular person and that they inform and shape aspects of my personality for the better.

So, one of my captains has left the battlefield. And I will await his return in whatever form he takes.

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