Introduction
Hello, fellow adventurers! Blaziker is here because I wanted to give you adventurers an update on what is going on now that the end of the year is nigh. I wanted to give you an update on what it is going on within my own world, a brief preview on the re-design of the website (including a name change) and the future in store for the Blog of Blaziker!
With that said, let’s not waste any time and get to the point, shall we?
Life Updates
First off, I wanted to talk about what has been going on in my real life, because it feels important that I keep you updated on it.
The last time I provided you with my life update, I was about to begin my Masters studies at the University of London (via the Singapore Institute of Management) for Masters of Science in Professional Accountancy. This was why I had to make changes regarding how I review the movies in my Animated Movie Rundowns, but I am happy to report that I had passed all my modules, and I will be graduating from the course.
Second of all, I am still in my current job as an auditor, only I had been promoted to the position of Senior Auditor. There is still some uncertainty over my future job prospects, especially given the uncertainty in the job market now, but for now, I am quite happy with my new position.
And now, with my life updates over, it is time we get to a few important announcements:
Website Works in Progress
The second thing I wanted to talk about is regarding the website, and I wanted to start off with a history of the website itself.
When I decided to take the plunge into creating my own blog website for my animated movie reviews, I had designed the website from scratch. Many of the elements are designed by me despite having no experience in art at all. Everything either came from my ideas or an inspiration of other blogs that do animated movies before I do, so I owe it to those ideas and my brain for crafting the designs in the first place.
However, after more than 2.5 years, I feel it is time it needs a bit of a refresh, and I just did. The website looks quite different previously and feels more modern compared to the previous design. And yes, I had changed the name of the Blog to reflect this new refresh, but more on it in the next section.
A Renewed Identity (And the Future of Blog of Blaziker)
And now, the most important aspect of the post, and that is to talk about where this Blog is heading:
More Standalone Reviews
The first update is that I am aiming to do more standalone reviews of animated movies, and honestly, this could not have been a better time to do so after my completion of the Masters programme. This will especially be evident, since I had plans for standalone reviews of GOAT and Hoppers, who will both get their own spotlight. It is also funny my GOAT review will make it the very first Sony Pictures Animation movie that is getting a standalone review since Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse back in 2023.
Besides the big mainstream animated movies, I also wanted to do standalone reviews for non-mainstream animated movies that deserve more attention. While I had done so for a good number of them (such as Little Amelie or the Character of Rain last year), given my speciality in covering non-mainstream animated movies in general, this is a good time for me to give some of the higher quality non-mainstream animated movies the attention they deserve.
More Non-Review Articles
The second update is that for a very long time, my Blog is mostly about animated movie reviews, and that has been the idea in the past. My reviews are an expansion of the reviews on my Letterboxd account, but I also write essays about certain animated movies or anything within the world of animated movies, such as distributors like Viva Kids last year.
I wanted to do more non-review posts where I get to let loose and talk about anything outside of animation, or inside. I don’t know how many of those I planned to write, but I wanted to tease you on something, and here is a picture of my next non-review post above. Until then, this is the only hint of what is to come!
A Shift in Movie Selection
Finally, I wanted to talk a bit about the movie selection, and honestly, this is very important.
For a long time, I had been championing non-mainstream animated movies, as I feel that there is not enough coverage of some amazing animated movies from around the world, and for the past 2.5 years, I got the opportunity to venture to different worlds to find really fantastic animated movies that are worth seeing, and also movies that are just not worth the risk.
With the worrying rise of generative A/I “animation” that is only vomiting stolen imitations that are just poorer quality, it is more important to highlight better quality animated movies that are more interesting and exciting to cover, instead of covering the usual poorer quality family-friendly foreign CG animated movies that I have specialised in for a long time. I had been well known for covering those types of animated movies, and I wanted to break away from this speciality so that I could spend more time covering the animated movies more people need to see. I had been moving away from covering too many of these this year, but now, I feel it is time to intensify this.
Therefore, starting next year, I am planning to be more stringent on what animated movies to cover, focusing on quality rather than quantity by focusing on a few great animated movies that are worth journeying to. Of course, I am still going to cover the family-friendly foreign CG animated movies here and there, but only if they provide something interesting or are of good enough quality for me to take notice. Sure, that means missing out on a lot of them and moving away from an identity that I had adopted for so long, but given so many A/I generated “animation” takes inspiration from similar types of animated movies and that a lot of them are just not good enough for any coverage, I feel covering too many bad ones from that sub-category just is not worth it.
A Brand New Name
Finally, it is time for a name change of this blog. Goodbye, Blog of Blaziker, hello…
The Animation Adventurer!
Don’t worry, the domain name will remain unchanged for now, but this name change reflects the main purpose of this blog, which focuses more on my exploration of animated movies. Honestly, with the website refresh, this was the next obvious change for me.
Conclusion
So, there you go, some updates about where this adventure is heading next. There is a few more surprises incoming, but you will have to wait until those surprises materialise that I will share to you, adventurers. After all, if you know exactly where you are going, you might as well enjoy the journey to the fullest.
Thank you so much for joining me on this short update. Tune in very soon for the final 2025 Animated Movies Rundown for the final 7 animated movies to explore. Until next time, see you on the next adventure!
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