Personal Updates

I'll start with the bad so you know what I've been dealing with: This was the worst year I've ever had medically. I've had back-to-back persistent painful dental issues ALL year long, multiple trips to the ER, countless surgeries (the biggest of which - from May for my impacted wisdom teeth - I'm still recovering from), and a crushing amount of stress on top of it all. Thank you, sincerely, to those who have supported me in any way this year, and an extra big heartfelt amount of love to those who helped me meet my goals toward my medical needs: I couldn't have made it this far without you! Even though money continues to be tight and I'm still dealing with some medical issues, I'm doing my best to keep going with the hope for a better future. With a great amount of uncertainty due to some personal developments, I'm not sure how things are going to play out for me in the immediate future, but I'll do my best to kick off the new year with a smile despite what I'm going through.

Despite the hardship I've faced, there have been blessings of love. My little sister Niki had her firstborn child - the first kid to anyone in my immediate family - and we got to celebrate her precious new life with my family in person several times this year! Another huge thing that happened was that Chris' little brother got married; the only downside is that we couldn't make it in person due to some insanely delayed flights... but we made a nice trip out of what would've been by going to Disneyland using the money we'd saved, sharing the joy with my partner's family via pictures and texts, finding ways to celebrate the new union in our own way. Even though we missed the wedding and seeing Chris' family in person, I'm very grateful we still got to see Chris' parents earlier in the year when they came to visit us - that was a lovely time of relaxation that made for a welcome reprieve from what I'd been dealing with.

This year we discovered the coolest shop in existence, RATNEST! We happened to visit during my and Chris' birthdays, and it immediately became one of our favorite places ever!! I love everything about the shop: the atmosphere and vibes, the kinds of media it stocks, the rad arcade games, the cutie kitten Jamma, the kind employees, and our dear friend Robbie who owns the store. It's a little far from where we live, but just being in some kind of proximity to it makes my life sooo much better.

Chris gifted me a membership to our local zoo for Valentines Day, which I've gotten a ton of use and lots of inspiration out of! I adore animals of all kinds, so getting to be around them has been one of the constant sources of happiness this year. You can see some of the pictures I've taken there in previous blog entries, but I'll share some faves here too (including Wilson the Hyrax, one of my favorite beasts to visit)!!

Chris and I went to some super cool local events this year, two of which were very art-focused: the Risograph Art and Zine Fest at Gallery Nucleus, and Comic Arts Los Angeles. Meeting other creators who present their craft in such unique ways lights my inspiration aflame and makes me want to immediately start making my own things!! Hopefully next year I'll be able to bring more ideas to life (and support the awesome artists at the next RAZ and CALA!!!)

Some other quick highlights of the year that are weirdly attorney-focused include that I won a copy of the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection from Sunright Tea Studios (the AA series is a BIG favorite so this made me extremely happy), and I had my first Jury Duty ever (that I thankfully wasn't needed to serve on)!!! The Jury Duty will forever stand out in my mind because I immediately walked over to a super neat Square Enix shop pop-up and got a fat moogle plushie to squeeze while healing from my impending surgery.

I also got a Vincent Valentine poster who has graced the backside of my TV most of the year... I initially put him there as a joke, but we kept him there for fun!

Projects

My energy was lower than ever thanks to the ever-persistent pains I endured, but despite it all I put some creations out into the world!!

A big project I've been helping with under wraps is a bumpslash game that my partner's been working on for nearly this entire year. I've mostly been designing characters, giving feedback, and playtesting gimmicks and levels when they're finished. It'll take a little more time to be completed, but I'm EXTREMELY excited for everyone to see what he's been pouring so much effort and heart into!! Please give it a try when it's ready!!!

Video Games

There were so, so many great games that my partner and I played this year. I'm super grateful that we experienced as many incredible stories as we did.

First of all, did you know my partner solo-created a really cool little game called AFTERLIFE? Check it out - it's short, free to play, very unique, and super haunting!!!!! I love it!!!!!!

Did you know that my partner got his first official big industry credit as well?? If you happen to have a Quest VR headset and enjoy rhythm games that get you up and moving, try Starwave! I personally love it and think he did an amazing job designing levels to play!!!

I had the honor of sharing some of the games that gave me the biggest brainworms on my Twitch Channel, including Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth and Visions of Mana. I additionally played through from FF7: Remake to give my audience the full experience of the remake trilogy (for what's out now, that is), which was super fun since my party was extremely beefed up from my previous plays. Despite not liking Rebirth's gameplay as much as Remake, I had a blast with it because I love the characters so much! And Visions of Mana was a game I had to share as immediately as possible because it quickly became one of my favorite games ever. Stunning art direction, immensely enjoyable characters, touching moments, and super-fun gameplay combined this into one of my favorite experiences of the year.

Chris and I played many Nihon Falcom games this year, with a couple of them also becoming new all-time favorite games ever for me personally: Gurumin and Zwei!! 1 (the Arges Adventure) and 2 (the Ilvard Insurrection)! Gurumin is the perfect game for those who love Saturday Morning cartoons, snappy gameplay, cute costumes that change your character's aesthetics, and DESTRUCTION!! Everything about it is just gushing with cuteness and charm! Uniquely delightful as well are both entries in the Zwei!! games - 1 and 2 both have drastically different visual styles, with 1 having a hand-drawn approach with adorable chibis, and 2 having more similar of a 3D style to Gurumin (which I loooove). The gameplay for both is pretty similar, with 2's being a little more refined on its concept of magic/attack combos and eating food for health AND experience. I wish all of these games had bigger fanbases so there could be more merchandise... Falcom hasn't made anything for them!!!

I played some excellent spooky games this year, two of which include Kuon on PS2, and Silent Hill 2's Remake for PS5. Made by FromSoftware, Kuon reminded me of all my favorite classic survival horror games from its era with its cinematic-inspired camera angles, phenomenal atmosphere, intriguing attacks, and silly voice acting. The SH2 remake is one I'm actually surprised I have on my favorites list because I wasn't really expecting much from it, but I've had such a great time with it so far! The jump to modern console and more action-oriented gameplay meshes much smoother than I figured it would, and Team Bloober did a great job putting so much heart from the original iteration into this one.

There were some big celebrations for two particular games I enjoy: Splatoon 3 and Neopets! Splatoon 3 wowed players with several huge events throughout the year, all leading up to the 2nd anniversary's big bonanza: an in-game concert and game festival called Grand Fest! I got an IRL wristband that I wore the entire weekend to feel more connected to the game, and actually shed a tear (or ten) at the heartwarming final performances. Neopets celebrated a huge milestone in its 25th anniversary - it isn't a video game per say (it's a website filled with games) but as someone who's played in its world for nearly as long as it's been around and taken boundless inspiration from it, it was a big deal to me. I'm grateful Chris and I could make it out to the Tsun Scoops Ice Cream shop that had special flavors to honor it!!

Yet another phenomenal year for indie games. My bestie Spacey's game Freedom Planet 2 made it to consoles (psst there are currently physical copies up for pre-order!!) and the first game celebrated its 10 year anniversary! My friend Ashley's Petal Crash 2 campaign was a smashing success, and while the game won't be out for a little bit longer, it's looking incredibly beautiful and fun! My friend Crit finally released the big game they'd been working on for a long time - Brawn, Scorn and Ammo - with super appealing art and snappy gameplay (psst also check out their other little games too!!) Chris played Sylvie RPG: 7 Elf Apocalypse and it was amazing that such a simple yet fun game could be created in a short amount of time. Chris also playtested Angeline Era - a beautiful bumpslash by Analgesic Productions, and one of my most anticipated games for next year. There are a ton of other fantastic indies out there that I wanted to play but didn't have energy for.... maybe next time!!!!

I had the opportunity to playtest various games this year! I was one of the few accepted into the Nintendo Online Playtest, which was [REDACTED]! Sonic Rumble's playtest was actually some of the most fun I've had with the series in some time - the collectables are quite adorable and the gameplay was pretty fun, and I say that as someone who doesn't typically like those kind of games... I'm looking forward to its final release!! I tried Infinity Nikki's closed beta and thought it was stellar in how it looks, liking the costume powers fashionista Nikki can play around with. Last but not least, I'm one of the official playtesters for the Hololive fangame Chrono Gear! I'm SO proud of what the team's been putting together and it's extremely fun. I'm not personally a so-called "fan" of Hololive itself, but this game made me care about the personalities associated with it via its charming writing, beautiful graphics, and excellent gameplay - look forward to it!!!

Some other games that I enjoyed thoroughly don't particularly belong to one category. Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth was probably the game I spent the most time in for one sitting, and I enjoyed every moment of it!! The world was so fun and alive, and I loved making friends with everyone in Hawaii. I got the urge to dirge in Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy 7, which I'd never fully completed on my own until this year - I LOVED it and was surprised by how good the controls felt! Sonic X Shadow Generations was decent overall, with Shadow's campaign being the biggest highlight - his new abilities were pretty fun to control for the most part, despite some of the mobility in certain levels being a little weird. And finally, I've been seriously enjoying the Pokemon TCG App!!! I've loved the Pokemon card game as long as it's been around, for both collecting and building decks to play, and I like that you don't have to play competitively against other people to enjoy the game itself here. I love you video games!

Anime/Shows

I tried to group everything into similar categories yippee!!

We started the year with some shows that contained excellent world building. Dungeon Meshi didn't quite capture our hearts until we switched to the dub around episode 3, and after that we were often in TEARS from laughter!! Great characters and seriously yummy looking food. Land of the Lustrous was another that brimmed beautifully with imagination and intriguing story (and also has an excellent English dub). Even though the anime probably won't ever be finished, I think what we got is lovely and I want to read the manga someday to see how it ends!

Looking for something a little bit cozy? Check out Tonari no Youkai-san, a collection of stories that all link together in heartwarming ways to weave an endearing story of community, family, and friendship. Shoushimin: How to Be Ordinary is a deliciously animated spectacle about mundane mysteries with breathtaking backgrounds, gentle moments, and a surprising sense of adventure.

We saw several stories that center on students with touching stories, including college-age ones! A Sign of Affection is fluffy, sweet, and lovingly animated, featuring a deaf protagonist falling in love with a world-trekking sweetheart who wishes to understand the protagonist's world better. Kageki Shoujo!! is one I accidentally happened upon (when trying to find Shoujo Kageki to watch while recovering from surgery, a totally different series) and I ended up adoring its storytelling; the characters were put in very real-feeling situations, and reacted in ways that felt real as well. Orange was similar in this approach to creating relatable characters - of which I read the entirety of its manga (thanks to my sister Niki's bday gift!) and watched the anime adaptation. Both brought me to tears in the best of ways. Jellyfish Don't Shine at Night is a beautiful show all about four girls who collaborate to create a music-media project come to life with their individuality and skill, one I'd probably consider one of my favorite one-season shows nowadays. Such good storytelling, and highly relatable struggles!!

We also saw some strange (but good) shows about girls in funky situations! Alien Nine is seemingly cute and straight-forward on the surface - some girls are put into an alien extermination squad for their school - but then things go awry in ways you might not expect. Train to the End of the World has one of THE most incredibly bizarre and interesting opening episodes I've ever seen, and I was immediately hooked. Though the episodes can be more or less interesting based on the premise, it's such a distinctive show that I gotta recommend it! Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction had me on the edge of my seat for a good portion of the show. I've hoped for some of Inio Asano's works to be brought to life in animation for awhile, and was very pleased with the outcome of this one!

We caught up on a LOT of Black Butler this year!! There was a brand new season airing live but I'd only ever seen season 1, so we watched through Book of Circus, Book of Murder, Book of the Atlantic, and caught up with the Public School Arc. I enjoyed them all, but I think the storytelling of Book of Circus was probably my favorite, with the newest aired season being a close second. My favorite way to watch is with the English dub - I look forward to the next season!

Things that don't quite fit into a category are the following... NieR Automata Ver1.1a Part 2, which continued from last year's first season spectacularly and drove the story into new and exciting avenues. I really like the anime-only ending!! And also, while not an anime, I discovered Angel Hare (thank you Edge for the suggestion!) and adored it very much!!! Chris surprised me with an Angel Gabby plush as a Christmas gift... I'm looking forward to her fluttering to my doorstep when she ships out next March!

Movies

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (the movie) is the only thing that's brought me back to the movie theaters in the past few years because I absolutely HAD to see my big favorite - Shadow - on the big screen... and I had such a great time watching!! Shadow shined brightly, you can tell he's the director's favorite (Jeff Fowler was a writer on Shadow's game!), and for that I'm grateful. Everything else about the movie was just alright, though I did also like Knuckles' portrayal as well.

Look Back is a beautiful look into the power of creativity and collaboration. Absolutely worth the watch, and a perfect medium to engage with this story.

CoColors creates a world that I wanted to know more about, but unfortunately nothing exists beyond this super cool little film!! Watch it when you wanna feel something.

Garden of Remembrance is short, sincere, and colorful. Lovely animation for a touching story told without words.

I watched the first two Ghost in the Shell movies for my very first time, both utterly stunning in cinematography, intricate background designs, and smooth animation. I especially enjoyed the second film's lean into horror!

I'm a big Godzilla fan, and Godzilla Minus One is a brilliant take on dealings of PTSD and finding something outside yourself to live for. Had some convenient moments, but the more I think about the movie as a whole, the more I love it. Incredible film.

I watched a plethora of spooky movies for Halloweentime this year, and I found it very fun to explore the 2000's era of foreign horror with Chris. A good chunk of them were new to me, and most surprisingly, were very good!! Seance, One Missed Call, Occult, Retribution, and Lake Mungo were my top picks, most of which are Japanese-made except for the last one (Australian!).

Disappointments of 2024

There were quite a few anime that I gave a shot but couldn't jive with: Bartender Glass of God was lackluster compared to the chill and quaint original, and Yuru Camp Season 3 lacked any of the charm the first two seasons had mostly due to bad writing. The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to be Archenemies had a promising premise and beautiful animation, however quickly leaned into some things I loathe to see, and then I absolutely couldn't stand how superficial Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again was.

As far as games go, I tried SO hard to like Digimon Survive but the boring gameplay and poorly written story made me drop it after just 4 chapters, and Silent Hill: The Short Message felt nothing like a Silent Hill game with its fake static cues and ham-handed writing.

The worst offender of the year was the Yakuza: Like a Dragon Amazon Prime TV show; they had no business even relating the show to the games because of how little it resembled them. All of the characters were butchered to where they don't even have the same heart, and the fight scenes were incredibly boring on top of that... it's not worth the time to even watch it as a generic crime show. Bleh.

The Future

I'm more than a little anxious about what's to come this year. I hope that more work opportunities present themselves so I can finally find a way to bring Chris and I more peace, and that I can actually move past my medical woes. I also wish to make more - games, stories, art, etc. This year was so hard to get anything done because of my perpetual lack of energy due to pain, so I'm hoping '25 is actually kinder to me.

And with that...

Goodbye Forever, 2024!

I wish a joyful 2025 to my loved ones, I want us all to make it. I'll do everything I can to spread happiness no matter what life throws at me. To whoever reads this: thank you for being here, I appreciate your presence in my life and I'm sending you so much love.