What a year, right? What am I saying, it was kinda a huge mess. A lot of rough shit happened and continues to happen all around us. Times are tough and the outlook is that things will only get tougher from here on. But… I do try to remember that we are not in this alone. There are still many good people out there doing their best in these difficult days. In that spirit, I wanted to do something a little different for my list this year. I wanted to talk about the things that made me feel less alone, less shut out and cut off from the world around me. These were the experiences I had in 2024 that let me connect with friends, strangers, and loved ones. Let’s get started, shall we?
Go
I really made a fool of myself on Oops All Manga that episode, huh? Back when we covered Hikaru No Go for the show, I recall myself being so… wholly dismissive. “Fun manga, but the game? Eh. Seems boring.” Oh past Kyrie, you dunce. You buffoon. How little you knew then and how little you know now. In a moment of inspiration, when Six suggested we play the game that was so easily dismissed, I couldn’t comprehend how much things would change for me. Cue months later where now I own two boards, have played countless real-time and correspondence games, and routinely watch videos and read books on this board game that has warped my way of thinking. It’s not new or revelatory to say but there is a reason why this board game has endured for millennia. I wrote about it earlier in 2024, and I will do what I can not to reiterate my points, but this game is really really special.
In the months of playing it more often, in learning the basics and strategies of the game, I now feel I am in this comfortable place where I can introduce the game to others. I have since exposed friends and family to the game who hadn’t even heard of it or thought about it before, and one of the joys of a game like Go is in showing someone else the magic of it. For years I would go to conventions or friend’s places and teach them Riichi Mahjong, and now I get to add another fun game to share under my belt.
I remember at Christmas last year where I played a 9×9 game with Jennifer and showed her sister how to play too. Like the years I have taught mahjong to others, there is nothing like seeing the bulb of realization go off over someone’s head when the game begins to click into place. The ways people’s eyes widen when they realize some insight into the game and open their minds to the possibilities they had never thought of before.
As a former school teacher, it’s so rewarding to teach someone something new. I am happy that I am now in that place with Go, a game that if you let me go off I will start discussing knight’s moves, monkey jumps, and san-san openings. But sit down, let me show you why this game has endured. All it takes is one stone, and everything can change.
Turn A Gundam
At the start of the pandemic, normalcy was really hard to come by. As the world was shifting towards this new terrifying normal, it was hard to keep it all together at even the best of times. But during the lock-downs, we strived to find a bit of stability. Between our friends, we embarked on a multi-year journey to watch the Gundam series. Every week or so, we’d get together and watch around three episodes of the original Gundam series, going all the way through 0079 to Zeta Gundam and then to ZZ Gundam. I had watched some other Gundam projects in the past in passing, but this journey through the original trilogy of shows was enlightening.
But sometimes, we’d need to break it up a bit. We’d check out other projects along the way, such as War In The Pocket, F91, re-watches of Hathaway and even a screening of Char’s Counterattack where I recall sitting in the voice chat with everyone dissecting the movie for another two hours or so. I watched a lot of Gundam. But this all led up to the sort of… final stop of this group watch. We finished the main series and other works of Yoshiyuki Tomino, but it culminated in a complete viewing of Turn A Gundam, and it was transformative.
The story follows Loren Cehack, a child of the Moonrace sent to Earth to achieve cooperation between people that have been divided by centuries of time and gulfs in technology. Set in a world seemingly gone backwards into a steampunk era compared to the hyper-advanced technology the series is known for, what follows is a tale of bridging the impossible gaps between people, nations, and ideologies. They will try and will fail along the way to reach understanding. Loren will use his earnestness to reach out to others, rarely faltering in his beliefs but stumbling in the ways young people do. It’s a work that is hopeful and heartbreaking in equal measure, and it was a joy to watch the series and discuss it with Six, Allen, and Jennifer every week or so.
I have a hard time articulating why the series works- there is just so much going on with this show. I could go on about the visually striking mecha battles or impeccable music choices that accompany some of the most gorgeous backgrounds and intricate plot beats, but I’d like to focus on a moment in particular that stands out. In an early episode, Dianna Soriel had swapped places with her striking Earth look-alike Kihel Heim, of whom Loren has an established relationship with. Loren and Dianna find themselves in an underground passageway where Loren comically slips from the Turn-A’s cockpit and injures himself. The two then go through this silly and awkward exchange where Dianna and Loren negotiate her tending to his wound and the boy just being confused and flustered that the disguised Dianna is being so suddenly nice to him.
This whole scene plays out with great bits of voice acting and character animation that really give this simple scene life. Loren doesn’t know how to handle someone being nice to him! Dianna has to remember she is in disguise as someone Loren knows! It’s a fun and lighthearted character beat that will grow and evolve into this eventual love story that, to me, is the beating heart of Turn A Gundam. In a world turned upside down because of endless cycles of war and conflict, we must find ways to reach out and bridge those gaps between us. It won’t always work. It will frequently fail and it might not be enough in the end. But we must try.
(If you have watched Turn A Gundam and want to read some smart things about that series, definitely head over to Moon’s Cocoon, where Feez has compiled one of the most complete resources and analysis of the series in English, and I can’t recommend them enough.)
Helldivers 2
Ok listen. The last two entries have me waxing poetic about the transformative nature of media and all that. I will forever value those works that enrich my life on a deep level. But sometimes you just need to hop on voice chat with the lads and blow up some giant bugs (or robots, or aliens that turn people into zombies) in the name of SUPER EARTH! Helldivers 2 was a game that turned simple missions into full blown clusterfucks that always somehow came together in the end. It’s not a perfect game- Sony has seen to making the game way more inaccessible then it needs to be because of stupid corporate decisions. But it’s dang good fun when it all works.
We streamed the game a few months ago and I have plenty of fond memories of jumping into missions with friends and strangers alike over the course of 2024. There is a lot to like, and I really don’t have anything deeper to say about the game other than how much joy it brought me. Get some friends, go out there, and have a big ol’ time spreading democracy. Just make sure to call out what stratagems you plan to use. Please.
Otakon 2024
Anime Conventions are very important to me. In middle school and high school, I so vividly remember struggling with what I would later identify as depression and introversion. Sure, I would go to Anime Club after school, and I would have friends and acquaintances I could get along with. But I still felt this severe nervousness when interacting with strangers. I had a difficult time with small talk and even remembering people’s names. And back in the early 2000’s, anime was talked about but it wouldn’t be the cultural force in the US like it is now. It felt like an isolating hobby, enjoyed late at night in the glow of the screen but ultimately alone. I had accepted a fate bestowed upon me by the popular thinking of isolation and shame.
Otakon changed that for me. After taking the better part of a year gathering my courage and convincing my parents, I went in the summer of 2006. Suddenly, I found myself surrounded by hundreds, nay thousands of my peers all at once. In the years I have attended Otakon and other conventions of its ilk, I was able to chip away the armor I had built around my heart and find so many people I could connect with. I could make friends that lasted for years, or just have friendly conversations with passersby that were warm and inviting.
Conventions proved to be a training ground for me to practice those vital social skills I had thought were completely inaccessible. And those skills took me to so many places, including where it has taken me now as a member of the press. I remember submitting my press application in 2022, thinking I’d never get in. But they took one look at what Scanline Media had built and I found myself in an entirely new sphere.
I didn’t attend Otakon 2023, but last year I was able to attend the convention’s 30th Anniversary and wrote about it here. But I want to share a story I didn’t at the time I wrote that article. I had done some interviews and such in 2022 but I wanted to take the opportunity more seriously in 2024. But those old feelings crept up again. I remember sitting in the Press Ops room, feeling that sensation of being alone and isolated. I felt like I had no place here, like I had felt those years ago thinking I didn’t fit in at all. I remember wanting to just… walk out of that room and abandoning the whole venture. It felt like all that time and effort I spent getting to that point was slipping away.
But then I found myself striking up a conversation with some other media members during the Dealer’s Hall tour. Those skills I had honed returned to me effortlessly. Within moments we were laughing, talking about our work, and just being present in that moment. Those old feelings were washed away, reminding me of those moments of joy and camaraderie I came to cherish nearly 20 years ago. In these times of darkness, where the world makes you feel alone and isolated- remember that there is a community out there. Always has been, always will. You just have to gather the courage to get out there.
Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising
2024 was such a difficult year for me, y’all. I know I said that at the top, but it stands to be restated. My mental health was in a really dark place, and my physical health wasn’t doing all that much better. One thing that really brought me down was my wrist injury. Sometime in 2023, I had gotten a stress injury from my job and it severely impeded my ability to work and play the games I loved. My left wrist kept me from playing even simple games and it just… wore me down physically, emotionally, spiritually.
Going through physical therapy, however, I was asked about my goals for recovery. It’s not enough to simply say “I want to get better.” That’s too broad, too unfocused- especially for me. I thought about it while the therapist was massaging my wrist, preparing for the next exercise to rebuild the strength I had lost over the course of the year. Suddenly, the answer came to me. It was clear as day.
“I want to be able to play fighting games with my best friend for as long as they can.”
In the time that followed, I kept at it. I did so many strengthening exercises. I even brought my arcade stick to a session so I could get guidance on how to hold it without strain or injury. I worked so hard, and the game that I kept in my mind in those sessions was Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising. Released in December of 2023, I knew this game would be good, but I didn’t realize at the time how much of a shift it would cause in my life.
One thing that helped tremendously was its Simple Execution for special moves- rather than a rapid left wrist movement to execute a move, which at the time would result in my play sessions ending in minutes, I could use a button combination. My right wrist could cover my left while my left was still healing, but over time I could strengthen it and get back to doing the inputs again. I switched to a Snackbox, as I detailed in this update. I kept going, and I stumbled frequently. In my training sessions, I remember them wearing me out and needing to recover long after. But I kept going.
I liked this game in 2020, but that interest was a short-lived passion as the netcode and simplicity of the game kept me from fully diving in. But I always had a spot in my heart for Katalina. In the many fighting game mains I’ve had in my life, so few have fit me as perfectly as her. In my recordings of the two part Neutral Game podcast (part one | part two) where Six and I talk about this game, I talk about how Katalina just fit so well into my play style. She was simple to pick up but had solid tools to deal with most situations. Her long reaching normals let me dance in and out of opponent ranges, while Light Wall let me turn the tide with a solid read. Her combos feel great to do and she looks amazing while doing it. With the changes made to Rising and vastly improved netcode, the game was exactly what I needed at this exact point in time; where I could play a familiar character in a new system where I could dive as deep as my body would allow with my closest friends.
And how it connected me. Friends who were never into fighting games before gained an interest in this game. My enthusiasm for this genre and this game led people who have never taken fighting games seriously to requesting matches with me on the regular. Jennifer got invested too, where we could now play on comparable footing because she sparred with me and her friends, taking her training seriously. I’ve joined tournaments and character specific discords so I could be better at this game. And my eternal training partner, Six… we could train and spar for hours, our bond growing as we both grew in our competitive drive. We can push each other to evolve and find new ways to surprise each other in our matches. After months of working at it, through the pain and uncertainty on the road to recovery… I think I have met the goal I stated that day.
Fighting games are very special. In many multiplayer games, if you can’t get a full lobby or populated server, it may as well be functionally dead. But if you find a fighting game and one other person on the planet who enjoys it too, that’s a well that will seemingly never exhaust. I don’t think I am gonna have that problem, considering how popular this game is. But even if it was simply me and Six playing this game, I think our thousands of logged matches in the mere year and change this game has been out is proof of it’s staying power. Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising was the game that shaped my entire year, and I foresee it shaping years to follow. I love this game for deepening my connections to others and I am glad it got the second shot it deserved. This game ignited a fire in me that I thought had been snuffed out, and I don’t see it flickering or fading anytime soon.
As of this year, it marks my 5th anniversary of joining Scanline Media as a fully fledged member. I had been a recurring guest before that point, certainly. My very first podcast was all the way back in 2017 where I was invited to a roundtable discussion of Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild back when we were going by different names and user handles. I would join different podcasts from time to time- an Oops All Anime here, special one off podcasts there, etc. But in 2019, I moved in with Jennifer and slowly Scanline Media became a part of my life; first by osmosis, then fully diving in with my own projects like Ultimate Despair Reprise and further guest spots. But I think by 2020 it had become clear that I should be more involved and intertwined with the site, and things have just… taken off from there.
Six and Jennifer have become incredibly important people in my life, and I never realized how much joy and fulfillment I could get from podcasting and collaborating with them. I was in an artistic rut years ago, my life seemingly stuck as I drifted from different jobs and places to live- never really finding my footing and drive. There exists a world where I could eventually find that creative drive again, but Scanline Media provided that spark that ignited me and took me to heights I am endlessly thankful for. I get to collaborate with some of the smartest, kindest people I’ve had the pleasure to know and I cannot fully articulate what that means to me.
I may never find the words that capture how fulfilling and rewarding my time with them have been, but I will try. Maybe by 2030 I’ll have figured out something more elegant. But that comes later. For now, I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
