July 17th marks the third year anniversary of CEN.TAKU.ME! It was the day the website launched for the very first time after a few years of sticking around LiveJournal and Blogger for my writing needs and carefully mapping out plans for my next website. It was also the beginning of becoming a full-time Anime blogger after my return from Vana’diel and Azeroth, settling down doing what I love the most.

In 2007, I came up with the name “CEN.TAKU.ME” as a merger of my other blogs, including the short lived NA.KI.ME Anime blog in 2006. “The Center of Otaku, Anime, and Games”, or Center of Otakudom and Anime as gaming can be defined as a sub-interest in Otaku culture and the fact that I cannot bring myself to play Final Fantasy XI or World of Warcraft anymore. ^^

The first year of CEN.TAKU.ME consisted of my continuing journey through Azeroth as a Level 70 Blood Elf Warlock on the NA Stormreaver and WarHammer servers. But the enjoyment playing WoW wore off; it was time to get down to the real business at hand.

The later part of 2007 saw more posts focusing on Anime reviews and culture from a personal perspective. There were a few posts here and there about Azeroth, but it came to an end when I couldn’t find the time to play—until Wrath of the Lich King was released. It was then that I created a Tumblr blog, Wrath of the Nak(ichi) just for WoW related posts.

No more WoW: it was time to move on to creating a full fledged Otaku and Anime culture blog, picking up where I left off from the NA.KI.ME blog.

The second year of CEN.TAKU.ME went by quietly, but this makes up for it. There are a few plans in store for the third year of the blog. Instead of griping about the cons of the community, it’s time to enjoy it.

First off: spending years as a fan, it’s time that I level up. For the third year, I plan on using my press status to conduct interviews with members of the Anime industry: fellow Anibloggers, podcasters, and voice actors… maybe the CEO of an licensing company! ^_^

Secondly, this is a perfect opportunity to begin The CEN.TAKU.ME Podcast, which is now listed on the iTunes Store. It is the beginning of the “CTM” brand expansion.

Thirdly – and very importantly, I am going to focus more on reviews, convention reports, and a monthly look at my fandom life through the new CEN.TAKU.ME Journal series. I’ve realized that several of my recent posts are filled with rants about my past run-ins with rabid fans. I also feel that I may (advanced warning: or would) have offended some innocent people with the things I said that I really didn’t mean: when I’m ranting about one thing, my grammar suffers along with it. And if I offended anyone, I apologize. If you there’s something wrong with the post, feel free to speak up! ^_^

But that does not mean the blog will be clear of rant posts in the future. It’s what makes a blog a blog when you have something you want to get off your chest. Although I will only post them only when various conditions are met; I’ll reward myself and post it when I really, really, really want to say something.

And lastly, a complete overhaul of the blog is underway. The Sherbet News theme worked then, but it looks out of date. With the release of WordPress 3.0, it will be easier maintaining many of the elements (post thumbnails, tagging, etc) that originally relied on plugins that are now a part of the platform.

One more thing: I’ve have compiled a list of my favorite posts from the past three years. Relive the memories or indulge in what the blog has to offer.

The later part of the year will including perfecting AniBroad to work the way I want it to work. Plans include adding blog categories, a RSS aggregator, and customized user profiles.

Other plans include something I have talked about for years, adding additional authors to the blog to turn CEN.TAKU.ME into a team blog: it will truly be the Center of Otaku culture! There are so many ideas in store that I have yet to reveal, but those will be kept a secret for the next month.

Thank you all for reading CEN.TAKU.ME and your continuing support! Here’s to another three years! ^_^

(Image via Danbooru; Warning: Contains NSFW Content)