Finished Zeta Gundam last night and it was kind of a disappointment. The story was darker but that doesn’t make it better, the antagonists all felt caricatured, eps. 20-32 felt like a blur of inconsequential events, and the concept of N-Types really exploded into something fantastical.

Now that I’ve beaten the original FF VII for the first time, I can say it was a great experience and certainly elevated my opinion on Rebirth—frustrating mini-games notwithstanding.

I did reassess my thoughts on IX though; the failure of Necron as a final boss aside, the game was incredible.

Finished Gundam Seed: Freedom this evening and I enjoy it. Contrived as some parts were, it felt like an interesting epilogue much like Endless Waltz. So, I had to update the list (and consolidate 00 to abyssmal).

Still chugging through Zeta . . . thank god for Char.

Beat Final Fantasy IX for the first time this evening and I enjoyed it more than anticipated (still not a fan of the aesthetic). Now I need to decide between restarting—and completing for once—Final Fantasy VII or Final Fantasy XIII . . .

Just so you guys know. I realized half way in that I had listened to this episode before. Don’t know if this was intended.

Thought this would interesting to list out, so here we are:
• top 4 books
• top 9 movies
• top 16 shows
• top 25 games

Friendly reminder that the Lutece Twins are two of most creative, witty, and philosophical characters in gaming.

This tierlist might change as I plan to reread the series before the anime returns in April, but here is where every One Piece arc currently sits for me.

One Piece Ch. 1138 is a fantastic example of modern myth-making achieved and growing! It doesn't just take inspirations from real-world cultures and myths, but neatly and deeply threads together its own world-building and expansive lore over the past nigh on 30 years. #spoilers

I've been doing a massive Gundam series watch (re-watch for Wing and G) since the end of 2023. This is my current tiering of the series.

As to which is my favorite, that would either be Wing (for its presentation of antimilitaristic themes) or SEED (themes of child-soldiers and racial prejudice).

Today’s event:
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth Orchestra World Tour in NYC

I really really REALLY hate this encounter. I know it’s a skill issue, but I’ve been stuck fighting this menace for months now.

This might be the first year where John Williams isn’t my top artist (despite his pieces never making it into my top 5). Clearly, it was a big gaming year for me though.

With the end of Shaman King: The Super Star, all I can do is sit and wait for Sky and the final arc of the entire SK series. It really has become my favorite manga series with its intensive examination of human perception and deep philosophical motifs—to say nothing of Takei’s use of myth & religion

Real toss up for slot 4 between Genesis, Lightning, and Agrias

Adding another four titles because why not?

Introduce yourself in four video games

As the year winds down and I start to look back on 2024, it was a pretty good year . . .