January 4, 2009

• Best of 2008 (My Picks)

  And the new year goes along. It’s back to a regular work week tomorrow, but with one slight addition: my birthday at week’s end. I will be taking that day off, so it’ll be another long weekend for yours truly. Things at work will be a bit different as well; my old supervisor will take up her position as such again, and a new coworker should be added to the ranks. At any rate, this week will signal the resumption of my job search now that the holidays are over. I’ve got to find a way out of this rut somehow. As long as I don’t give up I should be ok.

  But anyway. Here’s my “Best of 2008″ list!

  The nominees for Best Anime of 2008 are:

  Air Gear
  Code Geass
  Kannagi
  Gundam 00 Season 2
  Hell Girl
  Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit

  The winner: Kannagi. This anime was the gem of the Fall season, and the kind of anime I’d been longing for ever since Tenchi Muyo, a similarly genred show. It had it all; interesting plot, cute girls, gags, and very tasteful fanservice. My only qualm about it is that it only lasted 13 episodes! They did leave it open for a second season though, which given its success and popularity in Japan seems like a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’. So it is with much anticipation that I look forward to that season, circa 2010 or so I predict.

  The nominees for Best Song of 2007 are:

  モンスター (trans, ‘Monster’) by Ellegarden
  Fire Cracker by Ellegarden
  Mr. Feather by Ellegarden
  Love is Growing by James Wendt (music by Yoko Kanno)
  Solus by James Wendt (music by Yoko Kanno)

  The winner: モンスター by Ellegarden. 2008 was the year of Ellegarden, a J-rock band I discovered almost by accident in early May. This song was the first I’d heard, and I was hooked. A catchy riff, strong vocals and even some poignant English lyrics sprinkled in made this song unmatched by any other I’d heard all year. It was by far the most played song of my Ipod that year, and will continue to be unless 2009 steps up and brings more musical lovliness to my ears.

  The nominees for Best Game of 2008 (that I’ve played in 2008) are:

  The Metroid Prime Trilogy
  Final Fantasy Tactics
  Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings
  Mega Man 9
  Super Smash Bros Brawl

  The winner: Final Fantasy Tactics. I had been introduced to the Tactics line of Final Fantasy via Tactics Advance for the GBA back in 2003. That games was based on the original for the Playstation that came out in 1998. Thanks to a good friend I was able to play the original in ’08 and I know now why it it so universally lauded. Deep, engrossing story, intense tactical fights and an absolutely amazing soundtrack cemented this as the best game I’ve played in 2008. Why hadn’t I played it before? Simple. I never owned a PS1, and when I got my PS2 I was too busy playing the current games and past FF titles. Even after I played Tactics Advance and made a point to play the original something or the other prevented me from doing so (mostly college related stuff). But as they say, better late than never. And boy was I happy that it turned out to be the former.

  Looking back, 2008 was a pretty good year for my hobbies. This year I hope to get a PS3, opening up myself to a library of even more titles. Bring it on.

                                                                                                  SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY…

  • 11:46 pm
  • 1 Comment