Ten years ago I thought about trying out one of those new-fangled “web log” things to record my thoughts about Yuri manga and anime, Yuricon and random related items. Ten years later,  Okazu gets about 2500 visitors a day and  has had more than 3 million unique visitors.

Let me take a moment to think about that.

Wow.

And…thank you!

Thank you to every one of my Okazu Heros and Superheros for making it possible for me to continue to bring you all reviews of good – and bad – Yuri anime and manga.

Thank you to all my Guest Reviewers – you provide variety and a different perspective, save my sanity and make me smile.

Thank you to everyone who has ever commented on Okazu. Thank you to all of your who comment regularly, for stimulating me in thought and keeping me focused. Thank you, too, to all of you who have disagreed with me over the years – it’s important that you keep doing so. And thank you to my insane, ranting, incoherent and/or delusional commenters. We’ve all enjoyed what you’ve had to say. ^_^

And finally, a special thanks to all of you, my dear readers, I cannot tell you enough how much I appreciate your support and feedback…your very presence in my life. These last ten years have been absolutely extraordinary, something that can largely be attributed to you.

To thank you all and to celebrate Okazu’s 10th anniversary, I’m holding a contest. Ten lucky winners will receive Yuri manga or doujinshi!

To enter, please answer the following question in the comments. In your entry, provide your age and country and name. (If you go by Anonymous, please choose a nickname I can address you by, thanks)

Here is the question:

What would you like to see from Okazu in the next ten years?

As always, feel free to think completely outside the box. The more innovative and creative you are, the better the prizes. Go nuts. ^_^

I’ll be picking winners arbitrarily, but not randomly. If you’ve won a Yuricon or Okazu contest recently you are welcome to enter.

So, go ahead – help me blow out the candles on the Okazu birthday cake and tell me what you think Okazu should do, or look like, or be, for the next decade!

Happy Birthday Okazu – here’s to ten more amazing years!

I’m going to try and get a post out today, but it suddenly dawned on me that on August 14th my beloved baby Okazu turns 9 years old. I think that deserves a little cake or something, don’t you?

Best party suggestion wins a copy of the Strawberry Panic: The Complete Novel Collection for you or for your library, if you already have a copy.

Pictures/stories/videos/other of Yuriko and Midori eating Okazu birthday cake will likely get you better prizes.

Another Twitter triumph! Not only can I communicate with Yuri manga artists quickly, not only do I have awesome conversations with other anime and manga bloggers, industry folk and notables…not only do I have amazing amounts of high-utility fun on the world’s most annoying chat room, erm, social networking platform…I got me a new header, too!

One day, Lissa Patillo said on twitter that she felt creative, but had no projects. Half-jokingly I said, “You can always make me a new Okazu header!” And so she did.

So, let me say that 1) she’s a delight to work with (in case you have some paying work for her, hint hint); 2) her reviews are a blast to read, and; 3) she’s loads of fun to talk to.

Follow, friend, connect whatever, Social Media works. I got a new header to prove it. :-) I’ll be playing with it a bit in the days to come to see what I can add to the mix. Okazu has always been my playground for experimentation, so why not?

Thanks again Lissa! It’s going to make me happy every time I look at it.