Happy news, everyone! Samurai Gatebreaker has taken another step toward achieving its goal of becoming a legitimate presence on the internet, with the release of an official artwork and icon! It’s almost like I know what the heck I’m doing now!

Sharp-eyed among you will recall Samurai Gatebreaker temporarily using Angry Tora from Ushio and Tora as the site icon. It was a holdover from my old blog, but since this is a new day and a new endeavor, I decided it would be great to have a brand-new piece that best represents the blog and its mission.

To that end, I went to an artist whom I commissioned several times over the last couple of years. Their name is Kiki Ya, and they do some of the cutest and amazing chibi artwork I’ve ever come across! My friend Laura, over at Beneath the Tangles, and my streaming brother, PandaHeroRoux, have also commissioned them for works and can attest to their incredible talent. I decided that I wanted something that represented myself, my overall blog mission (breaking the “Gates” of anime wide open for all to enjoy), and something that represented my all-time favorite anime and my all-time favorite anime character. It also had to be cute because, much like Sakaki in Azumanga Daioh, I like cute things. Tall order, right?

So, I gave Kiki Ya the jumble of ideas swimming in my bayou of ideas. A few days later, I was presented with this amazing artwork of Chibi-Josh and Koushiro “Izzy” Izumi from Digimon Adventure about to cause some good trouble. I can’t help but smile every time I look at it, and I really hope you guys like it too, as it’s now the official artwork for Samurai Gatebreaker! There’s also an ALTERNATE version of this picture that I’ll probably share later…or if you follow me on Social Media, you’ve already seen it. If you have any other suggestions or ideas for artwork, or if you’d like to offer your services, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I need all the help I can get.

Speaking of getting help, in more blog-related news, thank all of you who took the time to read my very first review here. I don’t do manga reviews that often, so managing to write one out in short order for this series was a great way to get into a groove and reestablish my own writing style, while taking everything I learned over the past few years over at my other home, Beneath the Tangles. Finding my feet after all this time has been a challenge, but my flippers are on firm ground.

Only downside? WordPress won’t auto-share my posts to Twitter (and no, I ain’t calling it ‘X’). Crazy, but hey…

In other news, I’m going to be busy the next couple of weeks over at Beneath the Tangles as the 2025 Fall Anime Season is about to kick off. The other writers and I will be doing First Impressions of a lot of the new shows! It’s a fun yet hectic time, but thankfully, it only lasts for a couple of weeks. I’m still deciding how to approach seasonal shows here, so this upcoming season may bring some clarity.

As for what is coming up next? Heck, I have loads of ideas currently swimming in my head. First things first, this post marks the beginning of a new section I’m calling “Gatebreaker Updater”. It’s a brief update on the blog, including upcoming content, current projects in the planning phase, and a place for me to drop in and say hello! I’m also going to start contemplating the first ‘If/Then’ post I want to do, as I have two good candidates for comparison and suggestions for new anime fans. Since this is spooky month, I think there are two witch-based series that could fit the bill. I’m also going to be doing a bit more tweaking and polishing over here, so there MIGHT be a few additions or subtractions over the coming days and weeks. Specifically, I’m going to add an index to all of my reviews, both here and elsewhere, and possibly a “What I’m Watching Now” section so you can keep up with what I’m watching. So if things look a little crazy for a couple of minutes, please forgive me and just bear with your old Unk, okay? This is the first time in a LONG time that I’ve run a site solo; not since my old Geocities days.

And yes, I had a Geocities account. “The Anime Green Sock.” It was mainly a page where I linked back to other websites, fanfics, and fanart I found online back in the early days of the anime internet, as well as some other…interesting topics and ideas. I was so proud of the work I did on it. Should I have been doing something more worthwhile, like paying attention in class? Maybe. But hey, it was fun times. It wasn’t so much about reviews as it was just posting links and stuff. I fancied myself to be the next Anime Web Turnpike or even Lelola. Suffice it to say, none of that played out, but it gave me some prodigious experience.

By the way, fellows, if you remember Geocities, Anime Web Turnpike, or Lelola, it might be time to schedule that prostate exam.

Have a great one, guys. Samurai Out.