Last year, we at the Herald served as a host for the Anime Spring Cleaning Challenge, or AniSpring. Through this challenge, I and a number of bloggers rose up and said “enough!” to the growing backlogs that we’ve amassed. While the event went well, I felt that it the process could be tightened and refined. Parts were being tweaked and written as we went along, and I knew that a bit more planning could create a more enjoyable experience for everybody involved. This time around, the rules are similar, but there are a few key differences in how the event will flow:

  1. The participant watches through a show or film of his choosing. This can be anything – a title seen but never reviewed, a title never seen before, or anything in-between. So long as it’s in the backlog, it’s fair game.
  2. The participant writes a brief review or article on the title.
  3. The next title in line will be determined by mob rule, using polls on the site, via social media, or other means. This is a multiple-choice affair, with 3-5 titles chosen by the participant for the poll.
  4. The participant watches the mob rule title and writes a corresponding review or article on it.
  5. Goto 1.

Now, there are a few specifics that I’d like to mention at this point. In particular:

  • The mob rule shows must be decided by mob rule. They can be chosen over a week, a few days, or however long is needed to get a final answer. The average last year was 3 days per survey.
  • Mob rule titles must be shows that the participant hasn’t seen yet.
  • Writers can start the process with either user choice or mob rule. However, once started, it must follow the pattern of User => Mob => User => Mob, etc.
  • There is no limit to how far a writer can go, but one User-to-Mob cycle is preferred.

Ideally, this will be used to highlight titles that may not always receive the most attention, or the most love from the larger community. While not every title will be a hit, it will hopefully allow us to start whittling down the backlogs that continue to swell.

As with last year, I will be tracking all reviews that come through, and keeping links to all titles in a central location.

All bloggers and writers are welcome to participate. If you are interested, please e-mail me at
[email protected] with (or use our Contact Form) your site info. I’ll post a list of participants beginning on May 4, and the challenge proper will begin on May 7. Like last year, the current AniSpring will run until the last day of June, which would ideally allow for one full cycle from all participants.