Team Blogging and an Anime Music CD Giveaway

Back when I responded to Justin’s team blogging article, one of the things that surprised me the most as I thought over his questions was Anime Instrumentality’s slow transformation into a team blog. There never was a grand, overarching plan that I had envisioned for getting a group of writers to wax fondly over anime music; it just sort of happened serendipitously. The recruiting process is nearly nonexistent in that we’ve only had one staff contest. Most everyone else have come through informal channels, usually by sending me an e-mail, instant message, or talking to me through Twitter and indicating interest. It doesn’t get any more informal than that. I’m happy with how it’s currently working out and don’t plan to change it anytime soon.

Now, the one part that I partly addressed in my response to Justin is that having more people on staff brings about a diversity of opinions, backgrounds, and experiences that keep the content fresh. We all have our views on music and getting to read and understand different writers’ perspectives helps make the listening experience more enriching and engaging. It’s rare that I read something someone else wrote and not come out of it feeling more enlightened than before.

On top of the diversity of content and viewpoints, each writer also brings in a unique style, be it a quirky turn of phrase, descriptive tendencies, or a certain rhythm and tempo in their writing. And I’ve wondered for the longest time whether each writer on Anime Instrumentality has their own unique voice, a signature that sets them apart from the others that readers can readily pick up on and identify.

Here’s where you readers come in.

One of the comments in the 2011 Anime Soundtrack Retrospective asked us why we didn’t indicate who wrote which section. That was by design because I wanted to turn it into a game where I give away one of the CDs shown above. This is how it’ll work:

• Go read the 2011 Anime Soundtrack in Review Article.
• Using the template provided below, list your guesses as to which Anime Instrumentality author wrote which section.
• E-mail your guesses to me by September 1st.
• Whoever gets most of the answers correct gets to pick from one of three CDs presented above!

Template:
[spoiler]

Introduction:
Gundam Age:
Hunter X Hunter:
Puella Magi Madoka Magica:
Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing:
Hanasaku Iroha:
Guilty Crown:
Nichijou:
Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai:
Break Blade:
Ao no Exorcist:
Mawaru Penguindrum:
Ikoku Meiro no Croisée:
Usagi Drop:
Yumekui Merry:
Final Thoughts:

[/spoiler]

Some pointers to get you started:

• Four authors contributed to the article: me (zzeroparticle), Jen, Aftershok, and Yu.
• No author wrote more than 7 sections. No author wrote fewer than 2 sections.
• Aside from grammatical edits and changing awkward sentences, each author’s voice has been left intact.

That’s it! In case the picture of the CDs are too fuzzy, the winner can choose from (left to right) Joe Hisaishi’s Princess Mononoke Soundtrack, Michiru Ooshima’s Fullmetal Alchemist Soundtrack 1, and Yoko Kanno’s Macross Frontier Soundtrack 1, all of which are Japanese releases. CD cases have been opened and are no longer in their shrinkwrap, but the disc itself is well taken care of. No geographic restrictions are being imposed and I’m willing to mail out your CD worldwide (though I’m mailing it from the US, so if you have to pay any fees or anything, apologies!). Best part of all? You don’t even have to review it!

Beyond that, this is mostly to satiate my curiosity as to whether Anime Instrumentality is a giant collective or if we actually have distinct voices as we write. If you want to be a part of this lovely chorus of opinions, be it as a one-shot submission or a staffer, feel free to drop me a line. Otherwise, good luck and I’m interested in seeing how this goes!