HardDoor 2.0!

When I said last Friday that HardDoor was going dark for maintenance, I really did mean it, so to speak. ;)

HardDoor--The Fourth Anniversary

Four years. Hard to believe it has only been four years since starting HardDoor, a little blog about anime and boxing (and bits of randomness). Since June 26, 2006, it's been quite the time and new additions have come along the way, such as Decade's Best and the Free/Low-Cost Anime Directory & Guide (or just "The Directory" for short, and don't forget about the monthly picks!), and special pieces like the current "Blacks and Head Shots in Anime". Every anniversary, I like to reveal a little bit behind HardDoor's background or introduce a new feature, but this year's a little different, since I already revealed it a month early!

HD's Twitter page has been a great complement to the site, celebrating its own one-month anniversary today. It has really filled that void of keeping things up-to-date and providing commentary on things as they happen, even trivial ones, without having to post a bunch of entries each time. It's a simple, yet very neat service that fits the site well, but that's not the only thing going on on HD. The aforementioned special piece "Blacks and Head Shots in Anime" is entering its final stretch with the last part coming up, with the first installment of this year's Decade's Best edition following soon after (I was originally aiming to have it start today, but the former has taken more time than expected). There is also the Directory's much-needed revamping, and then...well, I'll keep that one under wraps... ;)

Here's to four and more!!!! :D

--HD

So...We Talk Again...

This month will prove to be a busy month for HardDoor, but also a very special one in many ways. I'll be working hard on a particular topic that I have been saving specifically for this month ever since I started the blog, and because of that, a few "sacrifices" will need to be made to accommodate this.

As such, the winter anime preview will be truncated to a basic listing and a few brief thoughts for each title (though I will still give the usual links, such as to free legal streaming). I'm still unsure of what I will do with the boxing edition, though I would really rather not drop it for the season.

The past two months have seen two free/low-cost anime picks and February will continue that unintended trend thanks to the streaming of a certain mega-franchise celebrating its 30th anniversary. It was originally going to be about the commemorating anime, but it will now include a few of its peers as well, most likely across two posts. And speaking of free anime (and back to "sacrifices"), some may have noticed the few, slight changes made to the Directory, including the recent section addition. It's definitely not the last and some big ones lay ahead over the course of this month and the ones to come--and maybe some outside it as well.

For a good while, I have had trouble with time and access restraints, but now I'm in a good spot and have switched things up a little, as evident with the consecutive posts for the last couple of days. All things considered, I'll probably start posting the "Decade's Best" lists next month ("Anime" is largely done, "Boxing" needs a little more cross-checking) and some other nuggets of joy. See y'all soon!

--HD

:anime: Decade's Best…So Far (2008 Edition) :: Anime (Top 20) ::: Overview & Honorable Mentions

<--To 2007 Edition

The twenty best anime of the decade, as they stand as of December 31, 2008:

:anime: Decade's Best…So Far (2008 Edition) :: Anime (Top 20) ::: Insight

For a fuller account of how the list was created and what thinking went into it, I strongly suggest reading last year's Insight, which covered it in an extensive and generalized manner. As this year's list is so close to the previous, it would be better to refer its behind-the-scenes feature instead of merely rehashing it here. Rather, this Insight will focus on why there was a lack of change, what works failed to make the Top 20 (or, in one case, even Honorable Mentions), and what the future may hold in the final installments for this decade...


The second edition of this Decade's Best series, having only started it last year, bears much a resemblance to its predecessor. The primary reason for this is that we are already nearing the end of the decade, and a number of the works present have had a longer scale of time to be judged on and compared to one another and others. Critical and popular opinions have also had a longer time to grow and solidify, meaning that any sudden or great change in the rankings would be less likely to happen than it would earlier or even halfway through the decade. Naturally, that means that newer works may have a harder time competing against these more established ones in obtaining a spot in the Top 20. The barrier-of-entry can be especially difficult when there are already a great number of quality titles among the 55 Honorable Mentions alone. This dilemma led me to designate a "Final Edition" of the list set to be revealed a year after the decade ends to give those shows a better chance. Through the tough competition, there were a few standout title which concluded in 2008 that where poised to make a crack at the upper echelon, though they ultimately did not make it (at least, for this edition...).

:anime: Decade's Best…So Far (2008 Edition) :: Anime (Top 20) ::: #5 to #1

And now, finally, the Top 5, with #5 to #1--the best anime of the decade...so far...

:anime: Decade's Best…So Far (2008 Edition) :: Anime (Top 20) ::: #10 to #6

Entering into the Top 10, here is #10 to #6...

:anime: Decade's Best…So Far (2008 Edition) :: Anime (Top 20) ::: #15 to #11

And now, #15 to #11...

:anime: Decade's Best…So Far (2008 Edition) :: Anime (Top 20) ::: Introduction and #20 to #16

Last year's introduction started off with a mention of the debate about whether this decade has been a "golden age" for anime or not. While that argument has lessened some and has gone to the way side in turn for the more dire matter of the worldwide economic downturn's effect on the industry as a whole, a number of well-made titles that have come out since then, despite the circumstances. As good as they are, they will have to contend with an already crowded list of stellar anime, much less one centered around the top twenty anime of the decade--so far. The anime in contention (shows, movies, OVA, etc.) are judged primarily on their own merits and critical opinion, with slight attention being paid to popularity (this isn't exactly "Decade's Most Popular") and a dash of my own personal discretion. The list is unbiased overall, outside of the accompanying "Personal Note" with each entry, which details why that particular anime is there, at times a bit of history behind it, and of course, my own personal opinion of it.

Because much of the information in this introduction and in the entries to follow were more informational and insightful than time-related, there was little need to rewrite everything all over again. As such, what is displayed is nearly the same as before, only with some parts updated with newer information, reflections on why a title's ranking may or may not have changed (whether it might in the future), and additional opinion.

The rules remain as followed: only anime that have either begun showing since January 1, 2000, have been shown in their entirety from that date to December 31, 2008 (2009 in the end), or have aired a vast majority of its episodes (i.e. long-running shows of 75 eps. or more) in that given period of time are eligible. Five will be revealed until the number one anime of the decade--so far--is revealed.

And so once more, we start, from #20 to #16...

:anime & boxing: Decade's Best…So Far (2008 Edition) :: Introduction

This year's edition comes a little later due to matters previously discussed. Yet still, it's that time of the year once again, when HardDoor puts out its listings of the twenty best anime and the ten best boxers of the decade (...so far)!

:anime & boxing: Decade's Best…So Far (2008 Edition) :: Briefing

Usually at this point of the year (well, ever since last year, when I first started it) I post two lists detailing the best anime and boxers of the decade--appropriately named "Decade's Best". Recently, however, my access time to a computer has been erratic, so this year's installments will be on delay, unfortunately. Thankfully, I already know how mostly everything is going to play out and I don't have to spend numerous hours and days writing up entire entries, as was the case when I first began doing this (especially for the boxing one, where writing two entries would be an all-day affair due to the amount of details involved). That doesn't mean that last year's will be entirely regurgitated for 2008's, as they will be updated where appropriate and given some additional thoughts. If there are any sort of hints that can be relayed for what is to come, it's that there will be some surprises in store and perhaps a reshuffling somewhere...

And so, pardon for the delay, though both will certainly be up in the very near future (and no six-month spacing period for the boxing list...).

--HD

:boxing: Decade's Best...So Far (2007 Edition) :: Boxing's Pound-4-Pound (Top 10) ::: Overview & Honorable Mentions

The ten best boxers, pound-for-pound, of the decade, as they stand as of December 31, 2007:

:boxing: Decade's Best...So Far (2007 Edition) :: Boxing's Pound-4-Pound (Top 10) ::: Insight

This "Decade's Best" list for boxing followed in the footsteps of the anime list earlier, though both are, altogether, very different. Originally when I started this, I said that my personal discretion would have a heavier influence on than one the anime one. The end result showed something almost entirely opposite of what I had planned, either unintentionally or I just plain came to those conclusions similar to that of the scribes or critics. During the planning stages, Oscar De La Hoya was in the top running for No. 1, as I felt that his willingness to fight the best was admirable when compared to other P4P residents like Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Roy Jones, Jr. (must be a "Junior" thing...) who I saw more as resting on their laurels rather than actually going out there and challenging someone worthy of their tremendous talents. Personally, anyone can look good against opponents that have no real chance of beating them, and while boxers will fight those types a few times in their careers, it becomes a problem when they constantly just fight those types and not ones who can legitimately challenge them. In my opinion, if you can beat them, your legend and credibility grow in my eyes. This, however, turned out to be a double-edged sword, as De La Hoya lost a number of those sorts of match-ups, despite being close in all of them, and Mayweather went up due to his undefeated record, victories over a few notable opponents, and his own win over the aforementioned fighter.

:boxing: Decade's Best...So Far (2007 Edition) :: Boxing's Pound-4-Pound (Top 10) ::: #1 and #2

And now, finally, #1, the best boxer, pound-for-pound, of the decade (...so far), and #2...

:boxing: Decade's Best...So Far (2007 Edition) :: Boxing's Pound-4-Pound (Top 10) ::: #3 and #4

And now, #3 and #4...

:boxing: Decade's Best...So Far (2007 Edition) :: Boxing's Pound-4-Pound (Top 10) ::: #5 and #6

Coming up on the Top 5, here's #5 and #6...

:boxing: Decade's Best...So Far (2007 Edition) :: Boxing's Pound-4-Pound (Top 10) ::: #7 and #8

And now, #7 and #8...

:boxing: Decade's Best...So Far (2007 Edition) :: Boxing's Pound-4-Pound (Top 10) ::: Introduction & #9 and #10

"Pound-4-Pound" lists have long been a staple of the sport of boxing. In a world that is surrounded by a number of great fighters in a number of different weight classes, it is only natural that cross-comparisons would arise among those at the top. As such, in another small bit of comparison, it would only be natural for an anime & boxing blog like HardDoor to have its own P4P list to go along with the "Decade's Best" list of Anime (Top 20) from the beginning of the year. Similar to that one, the only part of the boxer's record taken into consideration are those bouts taking place between from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2007, regardless of how stellar or legendary they and their record were before then. However, unlike that list, this particular one counts my personal discretion a little more heavily, with less an emphasis on critical opinion. Points such as activity, caliber of opposition, skills, bout results, championships, and inter-competition amongst those on the list (where applicable) will hold a greater weight, and thus, the need for such opinion becomes less needed. As a more complex set of criteria has to be taken into account and the boxer's themselves are the ones at the center of it all, it makes more sense that their body of work stands for itself rather than through critical opinion.

:anime: Decade's Best…So Far (2007 Edition) :: Anime (Top 20) ::: Overview & Honorable Mentions

To 2008 Edition-->

The twenty best anime of the decade, as they stand as of December 31, 2007:

:anime: Decade's Best…So Far (2007 Edition) :: Anime (Top 20) ::: Insight

I tried to remain as fair and impartial as possible in formulating a list of the best twenty anime in the seven years that have passed thus far, which wasn't quite an easy feat given the field. Nos. 2 through 5 were all strong contenders for No. 1, constantly being switched out of the spot during the formulation period. It wasn't until towards the very end that I remembered Spirited Away. Though the others were all more than worthy, it seemed perfectly well that the movie was most deserving at the top, given its praise, awards, and production values. After some thinking and multiple considerations, forming the list started to feel more natural once I gathered twenty titles together. I had a good idea then of which would occupy Nos. 20 through No. 16, which, more coincidentally than intentionally, contained shows that had a greater amount of praise on one side than the other (i.e. more attention from critics than from fans, vise versa). No. 15 to No. 11 featured (once again, more coincidentally than intentionally) shows that have experienced a mixture of both, as well as good deal of success, though they had not had the sort of impact, including in terms of success and praise, as those in the Top Ten. I suppose that FLCL could be an exception to the rule, but ultimately, there were other shows that there better than it in the grander scheme. The aforementioned Nos. 10 through No. 1 turned out to be the most popular shows in respect to the thoughts of critics and fans. As critical response holds a greater weight than that of the latter, there are some titles that were supported, in part, by this over some of the more fan-intensive ones (Eureka Seven over Gurren-Lagann, Millennium Actress' placement on the list comes to mind). Of course, it is overall merits that hold the greatest share in the decision, so the picks were not solely limited to being some popularity contest.