The idea of this project is for everyone who participates to be reviewing a show that they might not normally watch or might have overlooked. Everyone will get someone else in the project to review a series of their choice and in return review something picked by one of their fellow bloggers. The goal is threefold for everyone involved:
- Mixing up what you watch and review on your blog.
- Getting other people to watch things you feel deserve more attention.
- A way to interact with other bloggers thus creating possibilities for cross blog readership, also it fosters an environment to try other cross blog experiments.
Here is how this little experiment will work: If you want to participate send us your Name, Blog, and My Anime List (or some other equivalent listing) page via e-mail (secretsanta.rt [at] gmail [dot] com) with subject: Secret Santa Participant. Due by Wednesday, October 10th. Make sure that your MAL (or whatever!) is updated as much as possible before you submit it. Also, if you will not watch fan-subs mention that in the e-mail, too.
We will send you back an e-mail that says we got your application. Please give us a couple of days to respond before sending queries about your application.
After the deadline for participation, we will then make a circular list of everyone involved in the project that only we will know the order of. The order of the list will be made completely at random. Everyone will then receive the name, blog, and list of the person they are the Secret Santa for. You will then suggest three shows for the person all of which must be 26 episodes or less (yes, you can suggest movies, too). The shows must be subtitled in some fashion. Remember that you are picking shows that you hope the other person will like and give an honest chance. Look over their list and whether they watch fan-subs then try to pick out something good but unexpected.
Once we get everyone’s picks we will then pass on the shows to the recipients. No one except us will know the names of the person who gave you your choices. You then pick the show your are going to watch. Everyone is responsible for getting their own material for the review.
You then have until late December to watch the show you were assigned and write a review. On the week of Christmas everyone will post their reviews for the Secret Santa Project. We would prefer you to post your review on Christmas Eve but you can alter it as to the schedule of your blog. On Christmas Day we will reveal the name of who had who as a Secret Santa along with a small post about the project.
Again: If you want to participate send us your Name, Blog, and My Anime List (or some other equivalent listing) page via e-mail (secretsanta.rt [at] gmail [dot] com) with subject: Secret Santa Participant. Due by Wednesday, October 10th.
Reverse Thieves 
First year of participation I got an OK result, and second year I got a pretty awesome result. Will this year top it?!
I think someone is setting themselves up get the spiritual equivalent of Akikan!
BTW Friends don’t recommend friends to watch Akikan!
– Hisui
Friends recommend friends POPEE
If you define “friends” as “people who wind up murdering each other in a brutal fashion as a warning to others” then yes. You are correct.
– Hisui
Everyone who participates must have seen Dennou Coil. Otherwise, it’ll be too easy to make recommendations.
The last problem we have to worry about is it being easy to make recommendations.
It is like having to much money. I am sure it is a problem for someone. That someone is not me.
– Hisui
Looking forward to participating again this year. Need to get my anime list updated though. Shouldn’t be so bad this time since I’m actually starting from a base rather than from scratch and having to remember everything I’ve seen in the past 18+ years.
The annual secret santa and the otaku diaries project are I think your guys’ grandest undertakings and most interesting contributions to the community. I’m still waiting for the otaku diaries 2.0. Though I know it took a TON of work to do the first one, I think it really yielded some fascinating results.
The main problem that is stopping us from doing more otaku diaries style projects is time. As you are well aware Narutaki’s time is a precious commodity and she just does not have enough of it to spend on a huge project like that as is stands.
– Hisui
Ah yeah time to try Secret Santa again! My hope is that I don’t watch another Air Master. Maybe I’ll follow after Shinmaru and get something awesome?!?
I missed out last year by accident, but I made sure that I wouldn’t miss this for my second time around this year.
Just wondering if you have to have an actual blog to participate? Or can it be something posted on a review site? Thanks.
– Kaikyaku (Nihon Review)
As long as the review is somewhere semi permanent to access it online. So a review site, Tumblr, etc is fine. It does not have to be owned by you personally.
– Hisui
Here’s my effort for the scheme. Very enjoyable, I’ll do it again!