The time has come, year-end lists! I am not going to stress how bad this year was, not gonna sound like a broken record. Awhile the majority of my blog is music based and I will have my favorite and worst albums of the year on the way, also by the way I did a playlist of my favorite tracks this year, go peep my Twitter. I wanted to do something different this time for the year that was, 2020. The majority of us were stuck at home, so I had a lot of time to play video games, watch movies, catch up on my anime backlog, and other things. So I said, "Hey why not talk and write about them!" So here my favorite things I did while the world was falling apart!
Moving on from XBOX (for now) and making the Switch to PS4 and the Switch
Yeah yeah I know the new consoles are out, yes I am planning to get a pS5 whenever there is a solid release date for Final Fantasy 16, but the ps4 and the switch helped me out a ton. I have been mainly an Xbox user since 2011 and I do have great memories but I was salty when the new hot game out and it was a PlayStation exclusive, Xbox One and Mircosoft lost the recent consoles war due to the fact a lot of their exclusive games weren't it. When it was announced this year that the Final Fantasy 7 Remake had a solid release date and the 1200 stimmy checks were coming, I knew it was time to cop one. Final Fantasy 7 Remake as I am writing this, is my favorite game this year, awhile I did struggle a lot at times. Whenever it was the tough boss battles or me getting lost 75 percent of the time, Still the game was just a nostalgic trip with new mechanics and a different story. I ended up getting a switch like two weeks before the whole world just fell apart, Awhile I haven't played many of the exclusives cause Nintendo will be greedy forever, I did have a great time with Animal Crossing. Sure I am the best world builder out there but those 50 plus hours I put into the game put my mind at ease. I do wanna shout out other games like the Yakuza franchise, both versions of Persona 5, Smash Bros, Three Houses, and DBZ Kakarot, I do thank the people and also feel sorry for in the gaming industry who had to work double overtime to get these games out. My gaming backlog is getting bigger by the minute but hey that's life for ya.
Anime seasonals and finally catching up on that backlog of mine
Anime season of 2020 has been hit or miss depending on who you ask, few got delayed to later dates or 2021, others had the hype and build-up but didn't deliver at the end, and also some were just dead on arrival. Don't get me wrong, gems and highlights were here, but 2021 could be the year for anime. My main highlights for seasonal was Kaguya Sama, Fruits Basket, Re Zero, and Rent-a-Girlfriend. Kaguya Sama season 2 with each episode got better and better, I know I see time to time debate if this a rom-com, awhile I agree to disagree with that take, I love the comedy in this show, great timing and great cast of characters. I love the hijinks and the ways the two main characters try to one-up each other and confess. Fruits Basket 2019 version I had to catch up on cause yes I do watch some anime dub cause the option is there and two, I am an old man, my eyes hurting. Plus dubs drop randomly cause of covid restrictions, so I had to watch the finish season 2 on the sub, and man, this shit still had me crying like a damn baby. A wholesome but also very heart wrenching too. Re Zero is just a mind fuck and depressing watch, it's one of those watches you have to experience. Rent-a-GF is a very trashy watch but I do love some trashy anime if it is solid and boy this was. In my backlog, the main ones that stuck with me this year were Violet Evergarden, Vinland Saga, Attack on Titan, Golden Time, and Hyouka. If I had to pick one season that delivered, I'll say the summer. 2021 seasons should be great and I look forward to what's coming.
Getting deeper into my manga and a light novel bag
Outside of watching anime, I recently got into reading manga and a couple of light novels. When I got back into my anime thing a couple of years ago I didn't read much until late last year but glad I did. I do agree the manga version can be more superior to the anime version and some don't even need an anime and fine where they stand. Kaguya Sama, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Chainsaw Man have been holding me down this year. As I'm writing this, Chainsaw Man is coming to an end, doesn't surprise me cause Mangka loves his short stories. I won't spoil anything but the journey has been amazing and sure some moments did piss me off, Grateful for the material that we got. Kaguya Sama manga is slowly coming to an end and each chapter gets sadder and sadder, I do hope we get a happy ending. Jujutsu Kaisen's current arc right now in the story has been solid but I do wish it did end soon, but still, great fights though. Check out the anime if you haven't yet, its good so far. Mashle, Rent-a-GF, My Hero, and Spy x Family stand out this year too, and would recommend it to anyone. Demon Slayer ended this year too, I did hope the last arc and ending were better in my opinion, still good for what it was, waiting for the movie to hit the states soon. Light novels I got into a couple weeks ago with Danmachi and that's been fun so far. Reading is very important, a book a day with pictures can help your knowledge.
Ramy Season 2
Outside of my cartoons, I do watch original streaming content with real people from time to time. One show that stuck with me the most is Ramy. If you not familiar, The show starts with Ramy as his fictional self as a Muslim-Arab struggling with his spiritual journey with every situation with his family, friends, or women he has feelings, being stuck what's right or wrong. Season 2 kicks off with Ramy being down in the dumps and watching a lot of porn after his trip to his homeland and the passing of his grandpa, his life seems goes on the up slowly when he goes to a new mosque with the help of a friend and meets Sheikh Malik whos played by one of my favorite actors Mahershala Ali. It was weird to see him on the show like this, especially with the comedy aspects, the man was a fan of the show but didn't know if he was up for it but he wanted to meet Ramy, and he did he was on for the new season. I musty say, Ramy is a giant piece of shit. The man had it all towards and he had to ruin it cause he's a fucking idiot. I won't spoil but what a dick. The best things about this season were the episode where Ramy didn't' make an appearance. The one episode that made me tear a bit was the one about his uncle, him dealing with his sexuality and hiding it from his family. The scene where he accepts he's never gonna be happy and always alone and eating the cake just man. Shit's depressing. I know other shows that came out this year on other platforms but Ramy sticks to me at most and everyone should be talking about it more.
My love for wrestling is no more, other types of combat sports have entered the picture.
Being a wrestling fan this year has been horrible this year, sure a few moments did stick out positively. In all honestly, I am not into it as much. It mainly has to do with the fanbase itself, wrestlers being creeps and/or predators, and the product itself not being good. So I had to get my fill of people beating the shit out of each other and that's where MMA, boxing, and others come in. UFC has been putting on shows every weekend now, and sure some cards didn't delivered, mainly cause of positive covid tests or fights not living up to the hype. UFC did an alright job on what they can work with, my favorite thing is seeing more prospects get more airtime and exposure, which is always a great thing cause we do need new faces with a lot of the old-guard fading away into retirement, and man they were plenty this year. Bellator put on some decent cards too as well, and I am curious how the PFL does next year when they start up again. I recently got started back into Boxing, my co-workers are people I see most of the time and they always hype the new names in the sport and have enjoyed from what I've seen. Hell, Tyson vs Jones Jr. was the best old man fight I have seen in years. Kickboxing is one combat sport I dipped my toes thanks to a mutual on Twitter Trashydrakefan, you should check his personal page and kickboxing page at @kicktothefuture. Shout out to all men and women of these sports who risked and are brave enough to step into the cage or ring for our enjoyment, did help me during my drunken weekends.
Los Angeles Lakers and Dodgers winning the championship.
I am gonna be honest, sports shouldn't be happening, I mean the NFL has been having crazy covid spikes in the last couple of weeks but you know how sports owners are. NBA did a bubble at Disney world for the final 8 games of the season and playoffs, despite no fans, the games were fun to watch. TJ Warren of the pacers was balling out, Devin Booker and the suns went undefeated, and the Miami Heat were the underdog team and made it to the finals. The Lakers were favorites and I knew they were gonna win after the clippers collapse. Miami did give the Lakers a tough time and took him to six-game despite injuries. Sure, there was a "narrative" for the Lakers to win it all after the tragic passing of Kobe but hey man. The better team won, my basketball team won the damn championship for the first time in a decade and that makes me happy. The Lakers are favorites again in this upcoming season after AD and Lebron resigning new contracts and new pickups in free agency. Dodgers also won the world series finally after many years of being in the series and always fucking up at the end. Still crazy they got Mookie for nothing really. My favorite football team from New York is terrible this year, even though they're in first place in the NFC EAST. The teams from LA won titles for the city, so that's a good thing. Speaking of LA teams.
The Clippers of Los Angeles collapse.
The Picture speaks for itself. being petty sorry.
My Friends and Family helping through the times we are in right now (via Online)
The last thing I'll say here is, thank you, to my friends, family, and mutual. A very rough year for me and many others with all the shit we had to deal with. A lot has happened to me, good and bad for me in my personal life. I was going through some dark times during this summer, but luckily my friends and mutuals I met through Twitter and Discord helped me tons. You guys don't understand how much you guys helped and motivated me to stay positive and take it one day at a time. There are too many to name but if you're reading, you're definitely one of those people. Right now, life is fine. I finally moved out of my mom's crib and I got a promotion at my job. Took five years but trust the process. If I was also one of those people that made your day a bit better, I say, thank you. Man, I can't wait to go outside again, please wear your mask in the meantime.
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