4 Glorious Years with Meta L♥ve

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Last year I played a joke, this year, I don’t think anyone would appreciate the same thing. So, yeah, not going to quit anytime soon! You will always find Metanorn around, with new posts on daily basis because we make sure that you are entertained 24/7. We talked about an aniblog’s age last time and of course, it can’t be similar to a human’s. So, if we take the assumption of a three years’ growth being equal to an actual year, then Metanorn is around the kawaii age of twelve, which means it’s the beginning of rebelliousness! And you can already see us rebelling against our own previous format and adding more interesting content to the site as the years go by.

This anniversary comes at an interesting time for me because I got promoted in my current job TODAY. So, seems like this month has been good not only for my online life but RL as well. Every year, I set challenges for myself and team. Surprisingly, we do even better than our expectations (touch wood) and this is the time I not only say hat’s off to my team but a very gracious thank you, because it’s not easy balancing online life with RL but my writers do it brilliantly and awesomeoferricly. So, this is the time for our own merry-making and a pat on the shoulder for partying on for more than four years. Let’s hear it from the team because we don’t miss ANY chance of celebrating and group hugging. Not to mention, over-loading you with awesome sauce of MOAR interesting posts. Expect us! But before all that, Metanorn Team took out some time to look back at the good times and how important this animanga community has become to them:

Click on the image for an enlarged version

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From Metanorn Team, with L♥ve

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Metanorn has hit yet another impressive milestone. The site itself has been here for 4 years, meaning I’ve been around for only a quarter of the time Metanorn has existed. I’m just a tiny speck in the life of this site, but I’m glad that I’ve been able to be a part of making this site grow – even if just a little bit. I love writing for Metanorn and getting to chat with all of you wonderful people, so seeing the site which I call home grow another year older is heart-warming. Well..okay…maybe not heart-warming, but it’s nice that Metanorn is still going strong! Even if I didn’t get that fateful acceptance e-mail, I’d probably still be here as a commenter.

Since the beginning, Metanorn has been all about bringing some fun and excitement to the aniblogging world with fresh ideas and the highest quality of writing we can all manage without turning blue and keeling over. That much hasn’t changed. Although, we have certainly grown bigger (even compared to year 3) with new writers and new readers. So thank you to everyone who is a part of the Metanorn family – from the lurkers to our very own ringleader Kyokai-sama!

FOUR years! Four glorious years! And Metanorn is still growing stronger than ever!! I am so touched and overwhelmed and proud at the same time I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. (BOTH!) Till this day, I still admit that I’m awed to be part of such an awesome community here and Metanorn, team and site visitors alike, have become more of a family to me than anything else. Just less than half a year ago I was a super-lurker hiding in the deepest, darkest corners. And now… *BAWLS* In the few months that I’ve been aniblogging here, I’ve spent many long nights writing episodics, recorded the first-ever podcast in my life staying up till 4am because of crazy time-zone differences, met countless wonderful people that share the same love for anime and Japanese culture. Metanorn has grown to be an irreplaceable part of my life and simply coming to this site everyday makes me feel so happy!

I honestly cannot imagine life without Metanorn and just- what would I even be without you guys! No more obsessively refreshing the page every 30 minutes, no more waiting in anticipation for interesting comments.. BUT that’s not gonna happen for a long, long time. xD Metanorn is a place not only for people who enjoy watching anime alike – more than that, I think it’s really somewhere where you can feel you belong. That’s what’s so precious about this blog, this community we have here – that’s something that’s not going to change. Metanorn is on it’s way to becoming the best blog ever in the entirefreakinguniverse, and I’m looking forward to watching it grow bigger, better and badder for many years to come. …Have I mentioned how much I love you guys already? (*T▽T*)

Has it been 4 years already? Man, time flies. I remember before I received the results of my application to Metanorn that I had two reoccurring dreams all the time. One was that I made it in. The other was where Kyo had sent me the harshest email ever saying “NO. GO AWAY. WE DON’T WANT YOU HERE”, but then Sephiroth from FFVII was my dojikko childhood friend (it was a sight to behold).  To this day I still don’t know which version I prefer. …What I’m attempting to say here is that even 2 ½ years after I started stalking this place, it’s still amazing. Even with Kanzie and Tsui gone (to tell you the truth, I keep assuming they’re both dead with all of this talk of being ‘gone’ or ‘moved on’), Kyo has done so much to raise Metanorn to the powerhouse it is today.

A year later, and I’m still excited to be here. Kyo is THE greatest boss lady in the world. No, I’m not even kidding. She’s so fabulously organized, she knows how to handle situations LIKE A BOSS and my admiration for her has quadrupled over the year. The rest of the team? Meh, they’re alright. (I’m kidding. I just had to add some tsun in there to balance out the dere. THE TEAM IS AMAZING and Metanorn just wouldn’t be the same without them.) So yeah, happy birthday Metanorn! ヽ(´▽｀)ノ Let’s make this year as fabulous as the last!

Four years!~ Wow, it’s amazing that the blog has been around for so long and has grown so much over time. I’ve only been here a few months, but ever since my first week here at Metanorn I’ve felt such friendliness and patience from everyone, bloggers and commenters, and that says a lot about how amazing the community at this wonderful blog truly is. I never thought I’d be here, happily spending my afternoons writing about one of my favorite hobbies, chatting with so many great people from around the world, and in general having so much fun being a part of something I love. It has also helped with my procrastination, so woo~ (｡-_-｡ )

The team is more incredible then I ever thought possible. (seriously yo, these people get stuff done!) Kyokai somehow manages what, like 13 of us, taking on SO much work and spending so much of her time to put together templates, and graphics, and plans, and documents. She’s one of the most impressive people I’ve ever met, and it’s no wonder the blog is going so strong! I can only imagine where Metanorn will be a year from now … Kyo will probably be leading an army by then! Jrow and Fosh are just as impressive, putting their awesome voices together for podcasts and editing. Ness’s work with graphics is beyond amazing. OC, anaaga, Kara, Hoshi, Hime, Zabo, Miyu,and lvlln are all brilliant writers. All the commenters add so much to every post! AGH YOU ALL ROCK. HAWT, OUT. \(-ㅂ-)/

Whoa four years of Metanorn!? Can you even believe that?! I always look forward to writing post after post on this blog, but the readers and commenters really make Metanorn feel like my second family. So we are four years old and still going strong with our writing, editorial works and the always fun MetaVerse! Soon we will finally hit twenty episodes; sure sounds exciting! Anyway I look forward to writing more about anime and of course laughing like a crazy person with everyone on the podcast, but I have to give a shout out my awesome team of writers and friends on Metanorn! LET’S AIM FOR A FIFTH YEAR! WOOOOO!! HOOOOOO!!

Over the few years I have been with Metanorn, Kyo and the team has inspired me to try new things like editorials, versus posts, MetaJump creating crazy captions and of course some experimental podcasts and tons of creative stuff to come your way! Besides the fun inspiring ideas I really love tag teaming posts as they have always been quite special to me, but my main goal is to pretty much tag team with everyone on here at Metanorn in the future. So, prepare yourself for more epic tag team posts and more caption work from me! Thanks for the support throughout the years.

Woohoo, happy birthday to Metanorn! 4 years doesn’t sound that long, but on the internet, that’s forever. Spring 2008. At that point, K-On, Bakemonogatari, and A Certain Magical Index did not exist in anime form, Redline was 5 years into production, Haruhi was still a single-season anime series, Masaaki Yuasa’s most exciting work was an original science fiction series called Kaiba, and I had yet to start my first job out of college.

Yeah, a lot can happen in 4 years. To think how far this site has come, starting out as a solo episodic blog following Vampire Knight and Soul Eater in the Spring 2008 season. Now this place has a solid stable of bloggers, covering a variety of shows from many angles, its own podcast and Flash visual novel, and, perhaps most importantly, a vibrant community of readers and commenters. And it continues to grow and improve, its brightest days still ahead. But already this is quite the accomplishment, so let’s take a step back to celebrate a very happy birthday for Metanorn.

To be honest, it took me a long time to collect my thoughts around Metanorn celebrating its fourth year. Lately I haven’t been as consistent or active as I would like to due to school, so I’m feeling like I shouldn’t be allowed to be part of a joyous celebration such as this because of the work I haven’t been able to contribute. That being said, I’m happy to see Metanorn is running just as awesomely as it has done these past three years. All the work Kyokai has done to make Metanorn bigger, better, and more badass is truly awe-inspiring, especially for a slacker like me who takes an hour just to work up the strength to type a single paragraph on a word document. I also commend my fellow writers here for blogging two or more shows while working, going to school, and/or doing other things both online and offline. You all inspire me to work harder and improve my time-managment/blogging skills, as cliche as it may sound. The team here is truly incredible and I couldn’t ask for better people to blog alongside with.

It’s unbelievable to think I’ve been here for a year, growing along with Metanorn; I’m glad though as I am able celebrate another Metanorn anniversary with the fabulous Kyokai, my fantastic teammates (new and old) and the great commentors/lurkers who have stuck by for so long. Even if I have to work from the backstage, I’ll be here for Metanorn to celebrate anniversary after anniversary. So cheers, and let’s celebrate a fantabulous fourth year here at Metanorn with more incredible posts and features to come~!!

W00t Metanorn is at its Fourth Year already! Congrtulations Metanorn and our Boss Lady Kyokai! *throws yaoi everywhere* I feel a little bit sad though because my portion is only 1/4 of the age *sob* But of course, I’m planning to spend more time here! *shake fist*… Ehm, anyhow, I remember the first time I joined Metanorn. I was such a total n00b LOL I’m actually laughing when I remember it. Seriously, I just sucked at making posts. Not to mention how I literally lived in a cave because I had NO IDEA how to work with BBC Code and stuff like that (hint: they’re not made by me). My only assets were my high school degree (I didn’t even finish high school at that time) and the scripts I made for Met’Amour (they’re long). Man, I didn’t even go through the proper procedure. Kyokai was all like, “YO GURL JOIN MAH HAREM I GOT COOKIES” and I’m like “WAIT WHUT SRSLY? YEAAHH COOKIES.” So yeah, I actually had my doubts. I had such little confidence when I first started.

But then everybody literally helped me. They answered my n00bies questions that little kids could’ve answered. They gave me feedbacks when I asked for one (real feedback too!). Kyokai even tolerates my procrastination. I’ve had so much fun in Metanorn even though I’ve been here only for a year (not counting the one year as a commentor! Hehe). Everybody’s so friendly and encouraging. I get to learn new things from METANORN (yes, I’m actually learning something by writing about anime). It’s been great! And of course, everything is all because of Tenchou Kyokai <3 Metanorn is nothing without her. Thank you so much Kyokai! And let’s add up Metanorn’s age, slowly but surely! *throws more yaoi*

Metanorn celebrating 4 years of existence. What is that in Aniblog years? Does that make it middle-aged or should we get the site a cane? All kidding aside, a lively team as we are is as much thanks to the site’s longevity as are all of you commenters (and lurkers). Meta’s done a lot of cool thing over just this past year alone and I think the site’s 3rd year was a lot of fun for everybody. Things are going just as great as ever in this shindig, so stay tuned for some more awesome stuff in Meta’s 4th year in its attempt for world domination!

So how does a somewhat oldie blog stay fresh? With new ideas, new fun projects and new approaches to what you know us best for. You’re seeing it in the way Kyo, Fosh and I are doing episodics of the Spring shows we’re covering; you’re hearing Fosh & I talk about Eureka 7 AO in addition to text; we’re also starting to transition toward having the podcast available for live listening. With a big team that’s in pretty good communication with each other, the possibilities of new content and improving what we’re best known for are plentiful and creative. But let’s not forget… we have all of this with you the reader in mind. Your comments are greatly appreciated and makes doing this enjoyable and worth the effort.

So it’s that time of the year already? Man, time sure flies by when you’re busy with life stuff. It really doesn’t feel like it’s been a year already since we last celebrated the wondrous anniversary of Metanorn. I suppose you could say that I’m still months behind in thought and probably life. But aside from that… woooooo~! It’s Metanorn’s 4th Year Anniversary!!! We shall partay hard for the rest of May. So expect many things to come to Metanorn in celebration of this event. XD

Aside from that, I’d like to say congratulations to my fellow staff members. Without you, Metanorn wouldn’t be as progressed or to the point that it is now. We’re all busy with our real lives outside of the aniblogosphere and yet we find time to help this baby grow. As well, this is a big congrats for Kyo who has stood beside this site, keeping it cool, keeping it smooth, and keeping it hawt. What would Metanorn be without it’s all-mighty death perception fierce ruler? It would probably be boring and I would have never found this site. We’ve made it another year team, let’s relax, celebrate and get ready for more exciting things to come. Metanorn shall continue to evolve and we’ll be one step closer to the world domination where I shall be the treasurer and control all yo monehs… ahem… As well, we can’t forget the viewers and the fans~! You followers, commenters, fangurls/boys, lurkers and stalkers who make Metanorn lively… Thank You. This celebration is for you too. Cheers~

Wow. I just hit one year and I feel like I’m awesome and then I find out that Metanorn’s reached its FOURTH year. FOURTH. That’s seriously FANTASTIC. Suddenly I feel even COOLER for being part of something that’s so amazing! Metanorn was my first aniblog ever and despite the fact that I don’t have as much time to blog as I would like, it’s always going to be really important to me. I love everybody on the team and I’ve made some really awesome memories with a lot of them and you guys too, you beautiful readers, you. *pinches cheeks* I’d like to single out Kyo here though because, seriously, she makes this all happen. She truly loves Metanorn and works so hard at this with all her RL obligations as well. She’s created a big, happy Metanorn family that I feel honored to be a part of. CONGRATS ON THE FOUR YEARS METANORN! Job well done, Kyo and the team. *GROUP HUG* 😀

This year was tougher for me so I couldn’t be around like I used to because of my job and school. But fear not, I was there, I’m ALWAYS there! behind the scene making sure that everything is working fine and taking good care of the server and the site. However, I couldn’t give enough attention to JuStChat so that’s why it’s all ruined now, but it doesn’t matter, we now have an awesome IRC channel, active around 24/7.

Metanorn’s popularity has grown so much that we now need corporate class hosting solutions and it’s very own rack mounted server. We are receiving in average 10 page requests per second 24/7 day and night from all around the globe. Standard hosting services aren’t good enough for our awesomeness. I wish the Metanorn Team best of luck because if I have taken care of the backend, they have beautified the front-end with amazing posts and update. May this new year for Metanorn be even more awesome than the last one. Numbers are proving me right.

Well… You’ve heard it! The team has spoken and everyone is all fired up to keep you entertained! Metanorn completes its fourth year with around 6.9Million visits (7M would have been awesome, right?! so close), around 2,800 posts and 46,100 comments. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE SUPPORT AND CHEESE!!! Seriously, Metanorn Team is awesome (huggles), and I appreciate their contribution to the site every single day. Also, we couldn’t have done it without our community (our valued regulars and lurkers), who made Metanorn more of a fun place to hang around. So, old or new, let me catch you up to speed on what we have been up to last year and how to get in touch with us:

• Subscribe to our: RSS | Podcast | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | dA | Youtube
• Hang out with us ANY TIME OF THE DAY on our IRC Channel: Client | Web
• Want to be part of our blogroll or for any query, contact: Kyokai | Team (check individual IDs)
• Our content additions:
  • Didn’t miss a single season preview
  • Haven’t missed a single day without posting (since 25^th July, 2010)
  • Reached 5M unique visits
  • Switched to dedicated hosting
  • We partied around the year with many Birthday celebrations
  • Metanorn’s 2011 Year Ender Awards
  • Successful 3^rd cycle of ANTM
  • Growing list of Editorials
  • New Projects:
    • E3 2011 Coverage
    • MetaVerse Podcast
    • Anime Conventions coverage 
    • Meta Jump for Shounen lovers (On-hold right now)
    • Games Section got a boost with many added reviews
    • Second Aniblog Tourney Highlights, covering 152 blogs

I won’t ever get tired of saying it, so thank you (I should make this part of my email signature while I’m at it), for hanging out with us and let’s do the same for many more years to come. Cheers to Team and our Regulars/Lurkers; now join us for the party in Meta HQ and party till you drop! Just don’t swing by our dungeons. Welcome!

PAAAAAAARTYYYYY TIIIIMEEE!

About Kyokai

The Boss lady of Metanorn, who makes it all happen. An animanga enthusiast, who watches/reads almost anything that strikes her fancy. Just beware of her Death Perception and always keep her happy. Regularly found at @KyokaiTM & #[email protected].