If you have not already listened to this category’s podcast, these are the final results, so this will spoil the course of the discussion on that podcast! Be warned!

The Winner

Sonic x Shadow Generations

How did I get here? How did we get here, as a society? There used to be certain truths we could count on in the games space. Beyond Good & Evil 2 isn’t real. Nintendo will never understand why people like Metroid. And 3D Sonic games are bad at best, miserable at worst.

Obviously, there was a time before these truths locked their posture to hold up the sky like Atlas. The developers making Super Metroid had a very clear understanding of what was good about Metroid, and yes, angry Sonic fans, Sonic Adventure 2 is a pretty good game.

That was TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO.

So yes. That Sonic x Shadow Generations is one of the best 3D platformers in years is surprising. VERY surprising. But thanks to the recent release of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and reports out of Ubisoft, I don’t think I have to worry about my other two core gaming truths crumbling any time soon.

-Six

The Runners-Up

A Wild Last Boss Appeared!

I say it every time: what a terrible title! And if this weren’t an adaptation and thus an inherited title, I’d suspect that it was deliberate, to lower expectations so that the show could sucker punch you with a much smarter anime than you expected. Yes, this is an Isekai Check-in show. Yes, this is an adaptation of a novel from my website nemesis Shousetsuka ni Narou.

For all that, it’s funny, fun, charming… and then tense, suspenseful, cunning, and even a little unsettling. I don’t know if it’s the best MMO isekai story I’ve ever seen, but it’s certainly the most intriguing. Schemes within schemes, plot twists that manage to astonish you without feeling cheap… A Wild Last Boss Appeared! has it all. An isekai check-in I firmly recommend to anyone with the slightest interest in the genre.

-Six

Umamusume: Beginning of New Era

Umamusume Pretty Derby as a product, by and large, designed to take your money and nothing else. The same could be said of all products under capitalism, but when it’s a gacha game? It’s a little different. And yet when you look at things spun off from the product itself, a well of creative energy and inspiration is found. And Beginning of New Era is one of the most passionate anime movies I’ve seen in a long time. 

Chronicling the journey of Jungle Pocket, a new racer at Tracey Academy, she meets an enigmatic girl who is on the verge of redefining the sport of racing. But when Agnes Tacheon suddenly retires for good after four races, what follows is Jungle Pocket’s emotional spiral into her own draining motivation and self doubt. She sinks further into depression, only able to come out through the grace of others and finding her own internal engine of motivation. 

The triumph of this movie is not just found in its music and animation, which to be clear, are top notch. But at the heart of this movie is the bleeding heart of sports narratives: where motivation must come from within for it to truly propel you forward. The movie is a visual spectacle that brought me to tears, and pushed me to lace up my own running shoes. Not bad for a Gacha game movie. 

-Kyrie

The Wonderful World of Puss ‘n’ Boots

My selection method for Oops All Anime shows and movies is less of an ordered process, and more centered around my whims at any particular moment. Thus, The Wonderful World of Puss ‘n’ Boots landed on my list for one, extremely simple reason: “Wouldn’t it be interesting to find out what’s up with that cat in the Toei Animation logo?” To my great relief, this meant the three of us got to watch an excellent animated film, one produced by a number of animators who would go on to have legendary careers!

At its heart, the movie is a simple take on Puss ‘n’ Boots, featuring a jovial, swashbuckling cat named Pero. But it’s got real heart, an excellent sense of humor, and an utterly charming performance by the late Susumu Ishikawa. And even though its climactic action scene on top of a crumbling castle lasts for longer than you’d expect, the alternating cuts by Yasuo Otsuka and Hayao Miyazaki are truly a sight to behold.

After The Wonderful World of Puss ‘n’ Boots landed so well with the three of us, I’m more confident than ever that going with my gut, chasing whatever catches my eye at any given moment, isn’t a half-bad method of picking something to watch. Though I can’t help hoping that I pick fewer Zatsu Tabis and Banana Fishes this year…

-Jen

And that’s a wrap on week one of the Gimmick Awards 2025… mostly. The Best of 2025 piece from Six got pushed back for refinement, and will be coming out Saturday. But the proper Awards will resume on Tuesday with Best Surprise!

Our art is a commission from GOMA on Bluesky.