In general I think it's been an OK year for Megatokyo. There were a ton of things that could have been done better and there were definitely a few low points, but there were also a lot of high points. It wasn't a perfect year, but it really wasn't a bad one either. Just the fact that for the most part you were getting 3 comics per week is remarkable. :P I think most readers are more or less happy, or at least content enough to keep reading to find out where things are going. I've done well, better than the year before, but i know i can do better -- and that is probably the best way to sum up my goals for 2006.

This is actually kind of refreshing, really. Often when i've sat down and thought ahead about what i need to do to improve things it has been in the midst of feeling that everything was in some kind of downhill spiral and i was having to work my ass off just to get things back to some kind of level point before people stopped reading in disgust. Thats a miserable feeling, trust me :P I'm sitting here looking at 2006 with the idea that the hard work i put into it this year can actually improve things and make them better, rather than just catching up to where things should be. That's a very nice feeiling.

Doing a comic like Megatokyo is like steering a big freakin cruise ship - it's not the most responsive thing in the world. It can take week, even months to veer this thing away from icebergs on the horizon. It's not a 'sporty' webcomic -- able to take turns at high speeds and impress people with it's road handling and sexy sports car lines. It's more like a huge Prevost coach... its big, its cool, and when it gets going it cruises, but it really is kinda scary on those curvy mountain roads.

That's kinda why I really hesitate to call Megatokyo a webcomic anymore. I think it has been determined that webcomics really should be built more like sportscars than motorhomes. The instantaneous nature of the net and the speed with which things move online really means that a good webcomic should be able to move quickly to adapt to the changing landscape.

Looking at it that way, Megatokyo really is a lousy webcomic... but that's ok, it doesn't bother me too much. It just means that i can stop worrying about the fact that Megatokyo really won't ever meet the 'expectations' of what a 'good' webcomic should be, and simply allows me to be some sort anomaly that entertains the people who like it just because they like it. :) I can't make Megatokyo a better 'webcomic', but i can make it better for those who like the kinds of things i like to do.

I'm rambling a tad, and really it's just a snippet of some of what i've been thinking about for the past few weeks. My goals for 2006 involve a lot of things that hopefully will improve the readers experience -- of the comic and the website, of the community. I have goals that involve writing, layout, productivity. I have goals that have to do with breaking some of my reclusive behaviors. I have goals that deal with improving the website. I have goals that deal with how to start being ahead of the curve instead of always behind it. I have goals that simply are about doing a better job at what i am trying to do.

I am taking the week off between Christmas and New Years not only to have a little bit of breathing space for the two holidays and our anniversary, but to get a jump start on 2006 and see how successful i can be with some of these goals. I'm not going to lay them out for you - these are difficult goals that i might not be able to attain and i'd rather not have people jumping on my case about all this stuff i 'promised' i'd do but failed to achieve. I'm going to try very hard to reach them, and i'm not going to crow about succeeding at any of them. I just want to quietly reach these goals, and if i do, 2006 will be a very good year for Megatokyo.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for reading Megatokyo, whether you have been reading it since day one, you discovered it last week, you've been reading for only a few years, if you abandoned it and came back, or even if you've had it and you're gonna clear it from your bookmarks at the first of the year -- Thank you. There is nothing perfect about what i do, and i thank you for being patient with me and all of my personal quirks. Hopefully you've enjoyed things so far, and i hope that i can continue to do so as things motor along :)

note: i need to clarify that the artwork in my rant image is NOT done by me (man, i wish it was. I'd kill to be able to paint like that ^^;;) The artist's nickname is 'Moonknives' and the reason i didn't like the site directly is because his/her site is no longer active. Since it was a freesite, i assume that he/she moved to better hosting, but i couldn't find it in my search. Here is the full version of the image for you to view - i wish i could give better credit to the creator because it's an awesome image. (special thanks to danbooru where i found the image in the first place :) (note: danbooru has lots of cute stuff, but it also has lots of adult content. Not safe for work. :P:)