So Long, 2008!

And so ends quite the year that was 2008, or at least when midnight comes around later. The North American anime industry saw its biggest shake-up in years, if not in its history, with FUNimation solidifying itself as the dominant company with its acquisition of the titles from the doomed Sojitz-ADV venture and their partnership with the reduced Geneon (not including the major shows they picked up on their own) as well as its massive push in the digital distribution sector (more on that later). Bandai Ent. shocked many with its pick up of Gurren Lagann off the heels of the aforementioned deal collapse and created some intrigue (and amusement/annoyance, depending on who you ask) with their still-mysterious Project Nebula and the "novella" being played out within their site's source code. Even a small company in Media Blasters got in on the surprises when it announced its "rescuing" of Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit when it became a victim of Geneon's collapse late last year. On the boxing side, there were upsets galore, with Bernard Hopkins schooling Kelly Pavlik, the U.S. Olympic boxing team stinking up Beijing (and let's not even get into the scoring, all-around...), Antonio Margarito's march through Miguel Cotto, Joe Calzaghe smoking out Roy Jones, Jr., and the biggest of all, Manny Pacquiao's absolute destruction of Oscar De La Hoya.

:anime: Free Anime Directory Update! ::For 12.26.08::

I figured that if the "Seasonal Boxing Previews" can have dedicated update posts like "Boxing Bits", why shouldn't a frequently-updated feature like the "Free/Low-Cost Anime Directory & Guide" get ones of their own? In addition to that, it also goes a long way in doing so to bring more attention to it and the new links made available there. These types of posts will be done every-so-often when content is added, updated, or removed, with bits of information (and some personal thoughts) to go along with them.

The title listed for this post is a working one, since I haven't really come up with a suitable one just yet. Hey, maybe I'll even keep it, but in the meantime, enjoy yourselves some free anime (...legally...) on the web!

I guess one could consider this as something of Christmas present... --HD


Since this the first post, and because of the large amount of actual updates recently, it is pretty sizable. Some of the notices attached to some entries have been listed on the Directory for a little while already, but they are still plenty new (that, and I wanted something to showcase from there, so I let them stay for a long period of time than I usually do). The format style may change over time, but the overall template should remain.

:boxing: Boxing Bits ::12.17.08:: Pacquiao Demolishes De La Hoya, W. Klitchko Bests Rahman

Manny Pacquiao shocked the boxing world, and myself, by thoroughly destroying Oscar De La Hoya, whereas Hasim Rahman continued his perpetual "unlucky" streak when he stepped into the ring with Wladamir Klitschko.

:boxing: The Big Fight, The Big Risk, and The Big Pay Day:: De La Hoya vs Pacquiao

Oscar De La Hoya would have you believe that his upcoming duel with Manny Pacquiao was one of impeding epicness, a summit meeting long awaited between the two, in part fueled by his own sense of injustice at Pacquiao betraying him and reneging from a contract with Golden Boy Productions to be managed instead by rival Top Rank (his former promoter, before their (in)famous falling-out (on the other hand, De La Hoya does have a history of taking things personally before a match). In reality, it is all smoke-and-mirrors meant to hype a match that, by marquee, looks spectacular, but is really just a sizable mismatch dipping wholly in the Golden Boy's favor.

:boxing: Boxing Bits ::12.01.08:: Hatton Dominates Malignaggi

The last post for this autumn's boxing season sees Ricky Hatton come back to form in a big way and some new talent make bigger names for themselves.