This is the first time I'm doing one of these, but so many blogs I follow compile their popular posts at the end of the year, so I thought I'd do the same (although it's 2024 now!). I didn't do posts written in 2023, just the most-visited blog posts in 2023. And by far the most popular are my animation reviews, which indicates to me I need to keep pumping those out. Here they are, my top ten, in order of most popular. Are you surprised? I am!
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This is by far my most-viewed post on the blog thanks to Google! I'm surprised so many people are searching for a Made in Abyss review and they've come to my humble little blog. The show has been out for a little while now, and while it was an enthralling season, it was also pretty strange, and my review reflects those sentiments. However, overall I enjoyed the second season!
My second-most popular post, this is probably getting hits because Season Two has just finished airing, and that was quite the showstopper, so people might be curious about starting the show. Another series I really enjoyed, despite a couple complaints, and I can't wait to review Season Two and Jujutsu Kaisen Zero.
I was quite surprised to see this up so high on the list, considering a lot of my more personal posts get very few hits. I wonder if people are interested because the questions are so fun and they want to answer them themselves or use them as a conversation starter. Anyway, it was pretty introspective for me.
I am absolutely delighted that this made my fourth-popular post as I loved this show with a passion. The character of Hyakkimaru is so enigmatic and I wanted to root for him the whole season as he fought to get his body back from the demons his father sacrificed it to. What a compelling show!
The "Fairy Tale Childhood" series discusses the formative introductions I had to fairy tales as a little girl. A big one was Faerie Tale Theatre, where not only did I get introduced to common and lesser-known stories, but also was my introduction to many celebrities who guest-starred in each episode. I'm surprised this post was popular, but I'm happy it is!
I was able to watch this show thanks to my sister's access to Disney + while I lived in Japan, and found the series to be quite charming. I know the show has since wrapped and I'm super behind on viewing the rest of the seasons because I've been distracted by other things, so I hope to get to watching everything else at some point.
I think this post is popular because Season Two of Invincible is now airing and people might be looking to start the series from scratch or review the first season before watching the second one. I know I need to get started with the new season because I definitely want to review it for the blog!
One of the first anime series I've ever watched (yes, this hails from Japan!), I grew up learning about fairy tales for the first time through this show. It covers famous stories but also lesser-known tales, too. My favorite was Jorinda and Joringel. Anyway, I'm pleased to see people have been finding this post because that means watching the anime on Nickelodeon wasn't some kind of fever dream from my childhood.
I'm so glad this made my top ten as Heaven Official's Blessing is one of my current obsessions. The second season is airing now on Crunchyroll and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. As the case for Invincible and Jujutsu Kaisen, I think people are finding these to start watching the series or refresh their memories while watching the second season. This is one of my favorite shows as it adapts the novels quite well.
I'm pleased people are finding this, but looking back on my initial thoughts, I think maybe I was too harsh on the show on first viewing. I came to this conclusion especially after talking to two of its English VAs, Ryan Colt Levy (Denji) and Reagan Murdock (Aki). So I'm going to keep watching the franchise and hope that I gel with it a little more, and maybe even rewatch the first season to see if I feel better about it.
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That's it for my top ten posts of 2023! I hope you enjoyed taking a look back at the year on the blog with me, and as always, I appreciate your support. Happy new year!