Anime Web Turnpike
Anipike, or Anime Web Turnpike, currently has the largest database of links to anime-related sites on the web. Starting out as a simple link directory by Jay Fubler Harvey in August of 1995, Anipike quickly became one of the largest and most popular anime hub sites.
Throughout the years Anipike experienced numerous changes to its layout and content. Currently Anipike's features include the most comprehensive collection of anime and manga related links directory, a forum, a gallery, and a regularly updated magazine.
These changes were made in part by Ron "Yasuke" Scovil and his Anime Broadcasting Network, Inc. who, in 1999, acquired Anipike from Jay and expanded it. Recently in May of 2006, Anipike partnered with Juice Wireless and completely revamped its site interface.
Today, with over 1.2 million visitors a month and over 50,000 live links and counting, Anipike is looking to expand its services to a wider audience through the addition of new features and by hiring more writers and reviewers.
Timeline
1995
August 16th - Anime Web Turnpike is founded by Jay Fubler Harvey as a project to provide links of anime & manga websites to fans. In the beginning Will Ray provided a home for Anipike at Soyokaze.
1996
February 23th - 1996 March 31st - The 1996 AniPike Contest, where fans have to answer 101 anime/manga related questions, the prize collection was over $2,000.
Winter - The Turpike Trixie is born.
1997
Spring - The Turpike Trixie becomes Anipike's official mascot.
May - Ryan Mathews' "Last Exit Before the Toll" column begins. The "Guests' Web Picks" feature also starts in the same year.
1999
Fall - "Nikkou's Choice" begins.
Fall - Anipike purchased by Ron Scovil, president of Anime Broadcasting Network Inc. an announcement was not made publicly until a few years later, and Jay continued to operate Anipike.
2001
October 15th - Anipike down due to webhost problem, temporarily hosted at http://anime.jyu.fi/~anipike/ thanks to Miro. During the webhost outage, Anipike was hosted in Singapore, and the host tried to hijack the site for hosting fees, which caused the whole incident.
November - Anipike up but re-directs to the American Cancer Society website due to a DNS error. This lead to confusion among fans, as some believed that the American Cancer Society stole the Anipike domain. Anipike European Mirror still up at http://anime.jyu.fi/~anipike/, Jay Harvey posts announcement regarding down time on rec.art.anime.misc
December 10th - Anipike is back online at www.anipike.com.
2002
January 2nd - Jay announces his retirement from Anipike, Ron Scovil (Yasuke) went on to operate the site.
Spring - Anipike Chat channel launched.
November 12th - "Last Exit Before the Toll" retires after 5 years of operation.
2003
April 15th - First issue of the Anipike Magazine complete, but not open to public as Anipike is still preparing for its re-launch.
April 25th - Anipike re-launches with new layout (gold theme) and new features. New features include the Gallery, the Forum, and the Magazine.
September - Default layout changed from Gold to Blue.
October - Anipike experiences a crash.
December - Anipike now has over 20,000 links in its database.
2004
September - November - Anipike experiences major data crash, resulting in the loss of numerous links and forum posts, however the site was rebuilt later and most of the data was recovered.
December - Anipike now has over 30,000 links in its database.
2005
September - Anipike experiences another data crash, however the site was rebuilt and came back with more data.
December - Anipike now has over 40,000 links in its database.
2006
April - The second re-launch. Layout change, new JuiceCaster feature added.
May 10th - Anime Broadcasting Network Joins Partnership with Juice Wireless.
June 1st - Anipike celebrates 10th Anniversary, Jay's Comment.
July - Anipike now has over 50,000 links in its database.