Why I Dropped Demon Slayer but Binged Jujutsu Kaisen

I don't trust anime fans. I don't trust normies. So, it would be safe to assume that I also don't trust normie anime fans. 

Lately, the two they like to bring up a lot are Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen. Both of which I watched only recently due to my aforementioned distrust of normie anime fans. 

Now, as the title suggest, I didn't finished Demon Slayer. I got to episode 7 before feeling like I've seen enough. Due to my reaction to Demon Slayer, I thought my reaction to JJK would be the same. And after a slightly underwhelming first episode, I resigned to a likely possibility that it will suffer the same fate. 

But then, I ended up binging the entire first season in only a few days. 

Granted, weed and two snow days played a major role. However, I think it's also that both of these shows posture themselves in very different ways. One show postures themselves as having a fundamental understanding of making a good serialized story, and the other is Demon Slayer. In short, I can give three reasons why I dropped Demon Slayer but binged JJK. And maybe through explaining these reasons, maybe I can teach you normies what a good television show looks like, so you can be more consistent with recommending shit to me next time. 

BUT, I'll be gracious. I understand I'm writing this under incomplete information. I imagine y'all Demon Slayers will say "oh but it gets soo good at episode __" . And yeah yeah yeah, I don't care. All I trust are my instincts, and I'm not going to spend my short time on this Earth watching an underwhelming show that might be good eventually. 

Reason 1: Don't Put Your Narrative Eggs in One Narrative Basket 

Now, I got to episode 7 of Demon Slayer. For those with not-so-great deduction skills, that means I kind of liked the show to at least watched up to episode 7. I would have gave up on the show much earlier if the show was fundamentally flawed. Lord knows, I didn't reach episode 7 of Velma. 

It's because early on, Demon Slayer is pretty good. You got a main character pushed into this exciting albeit grim adventure. You watch him grow as a demon slayer. He's got a great motivation which ties into an interesting relationship with his sister. You are strung along a series of set pieces that inform those dynamics. You get a nice picture of how the world works. Solid stuff. 

Unfortunately, once his training is complete,  That thread you were so invested in is gone. He completed his training. He's become the thing he wants to be. Now what? 

It leads to a sudden halt in its momentum. You enter a new part of a story with a less interesting main character and barely one thread to be intrigued by. What's next? Oh a basic anime fight followed by a villain with a weak personality and a dynamic that's awfully familiar to another famous Shonen anime? Yeaaaah, that's a pretty simple way to rapidly decrease my confidence in you. 

Now, let's cut back to JJK. I said I didn't care for the first episode. What changed? Well, a fucking lot. 

I won't go into spoilers yet, so I'll be vague. But once you get into episode 2, the show shows that it has a lot more to work with. You are introduced to a new important character with his own set of personality and motivation. You are given a long term goal for the story to string its series on. And, Yuuji, who started as a underwhelming protagonist, is presented with an interesting situation that will inform his character and his relationships for the rest of the story. The villain doesn't automatically make me feel I'm watching Full Metal Alchemist again. You are given so much meat to chew on. 

A common piece of financial advice is to have multiple revenue streams. The idea that multiple small revenue streams is better than one large one. 

It applies to narrative as well. Sure, you can probably make a show with only one thing to keep you watching. But, if that stream runs dry. Well, you get Demon Slayer. JJK understands how multiple ways to intrigue your audience can not only cast a wider net but give your narrative a better foundation to build a long story on. If I were a financially saavy person, I would be more confident in how JJK invests its resources than ol Demon Slayer over there. 

Reason 2: Have A Gojo Satoru in Your Series

I love this character. He's not the most unique or innovative character. I mean he feels like a fusion of Brock from Pokemon and Sonic the Hedgehog. Yet, he is the garlic that gets this pasta sauce working. 

The single moment that got me hooked on the show is in episode 2. 

Uhh, how can I avoid spoilers, ah fuck it. It's only episode 2. Alright (spoilers for episode 2 of a show everyone already watched)

So in episode 2, we are introduced to our main villain who in an fun gimmick is housed in Yuuji but can't possess him. Gojo as a test asks Yuuji to let him be possessed for a single minute. And in that minute, Gojo toys with the villain before Yuuji changes back. 

It's a single fight that's less than two minutes. A chunk of that fight is just Gojo doing his stretches so he doesn't have soreness when he goes to bed that night. And yet, there is more information conveyed in this short span of time than entire episodes of other series. 

There is a term I like to call storytelling duties. It's the idea that stories require a bit of set up in order to ensure your audience has everything they need to know in order to be properly moved by the emotional touch points in the story. After all, you got to know in order to care. Common story telling duties are things I mentioned throughout this blog. There's character personality, motivation, inciting incidents, and relationship dynamics. Others include stakes for failure, obstacles, and setting.

In Shonen, there is an additional duty of establishing power hierarchies. Shonen literally translates to boy. And if you are a boy, there is nothing more important than finding out who's stronger, how you can get stronger, and how to be cool so it's easier to talk to girls. So naturally, you want to establish that information as well. 

Establishing these things are technically not required, but you need a delicate storytelling hand to pull that off. And if you are merely telling an exciting fantasy story, there's little reason to complicate the storytelling process by ignoring storytelling duties. While it's not exactly the most interesting part about your story, it's nonetheless as important. Those "hype moments." That term that JJK fans like to use a lot are only hype because JJK is considerate to its storytelling duties. 

What I like about JJK is it's very efficient with fulfilling its storytelling duties. That single fight shows...

1. That Gojo is probably the strongest character you will see in a long while.

2. That Gojo's occupation is one that has existed for centuries.  

3. Both the protagonist and antagonist have the potential to match or even surpass Gojo.

4. Gojo has a cocky personality which may foreshadow his downfall. 

5. That stretching is important in this universe as it is in real life. 

What makes Gojo great is the same reason most great characters are great. Sure, he has a fun personality, but he is also extremely useful as a storytelling tool. He conveys so much information but does it in a way that's fun and engaging. No time is wasted, and the creativity from the creative team is on full display. That's how you get me invested in a television show. 

Essentially, you don't need a Gojo exactly to make your show work, but there is a clear advantage of having a character or device that can achieve multiple storytelling duties at once. It's good for pacing and it will impress the screenwriting nerds. 

Reason 3: Signal Depth As Soon as You Possibly Fucking Can

I'm referencing episode 2 of JJK again. It's a good case study of good serialized writing. But more importantly, it shows that there's no such thing as being too early when it comes to establishing depth in your narrative. 

Depth comes in many forms, so many that it would be impossible to explain in written form. But for simplicity's sake, let's describe depth in the literal sense. Imagine you are in the shallow end of a swimming pool. I assume you have functioning eyes, so you peer to the other side and see the deep end. In that regard, that is signaling depth. You are not in the deep end, but you know it's there and will get there eventually.  

Shows tend to shy away from signaling depth out of fear of revealing too much of their hand, so there is this drip feed of content that is very frustrating to watch. Granted, I understand the realities of television can hamper this. You got five episodes of story, but the higher ups asked for 12 in the contract, to name an example. However, then I see shows like JJK doing this wildly unprecedented practice of not wasting my fucking time, and it's all better for it. 

A great scene that signals depth is in the scene where Yuuji meets the principal of the school he will be training at. It's actually a perfect scene to demonstrate this so thanks JJK for making my job easier. 

It's perfect because it starts off rather cliche. The principal, an imposing and serious looking man, is subverted as we see him surrounded by cute plushies. Admittedly, it's an obvious pull from a trope book. But then, something interesting happens, and I feel that contrast accentuates the depth the show is about to convey. 

Before this scene, there is a pivotal scene where Yuuji's grandfather passes away. And as his dying request, asks Yuuji to help people which informs his decision to embark on this journey. It's simple. But hey, it's the kind of "if it ain't broke" kind of device I can get behind. 

What I didn't expect is for that show to have a character, whose not a villain by the way, outright reject Yuuji's sincere motivation as not good enough. The whole scene is practically the thesis of the show, and the principal carefully explains how Yuuji's mindset would perish under that thesis. In other words, you got an archetypal character clueing the audience in on the type of show they are getting into. One that's complex, dangerous, and will challenge the hero in a profound and upsetting way. But also, we get to see the main character making that same discovery and seeing him rise to the occasion. That's signaling depth. We get a perfect understanding of the show's deeper elements and are reassured that the show will not waste your time. 

Conclusion

A theme you can say this review evokes is the importance of building trust. TV Shows don't exist in a vacuum. They're thousand of shows constantly competing with each other in order to get your precious attention and time. Hell, shows aren't just competing with other shows. Anything that wants your attention has to settle it in Smash whether it be TikTok, that book you've been meaning to read, that concept album your friend won't shut up about. Sure, you can try to accommodate with playing things in the background, buying that fourth monitor, that Netflix 2x speed feature. But at the end of the day, something will be excluded. 

It's why it always bothers me when I watch a show that takes my time for granted. I'm giving you the luxury of my time, and the best you can do is "ehhh, it will be good later." They think they're Steins Gate when really they're being...well like Demon Slayer. 

Jujutsu Kaisen puts its best foot forward and understands the importance of earning the audience's trust. So if in an event where Jujutsu Kaisen hits a slump. Let's be honest, not every show is going to be good 100% of the time. If Last Airbender can have bad episodes, no show is safe. The first season of JJK ends in kind of a slump to be fair. Not that it's bad, but it had to follow one of the most pop-off anime fights I've seen in a while. It doesn't end the show on its highest note. 

Yet, because I trust this show, a slump like that isn't a detriment. There is plenty of good will left in the tank that Im happy to extend more patience. If JJK says "it will be good later," I will trust it will. 

Cruella | Review Ramble

So there I was, going through my list, planning what blogs I wanted to do for 2026. I was craving a movie review. I had so many options to choose from. Oh, I could bring back my Films Didn't Click Series. I could have rewatched Casablanca or some other classic gem I haven't seen in a while. What movie deserves my attention in this little time I have on this Earth? 

Well apparently, it's another Disney live action remake, so I guess we're hate watching another one. 

I only have myself to blame on this one. I rewatched 101 Dalmatians over the holidays because depression do be like that sometimes. And then, I had this weird compulsion to explore this rabbit hole. Something about learning the history and cultural impact of this series became a fixation. Of course, that meant watching the other Dalmatian movies which I did: 101 Dalmatians 2 Patch's London Adventure, 101 Dalmatians (1996), 102 Dalmatians, and obviously the subject of today. 

Now to recap my Disney live action journey so far, I reviewed Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid remake. In short, I labeled Beauty and the Beast as my Worst Movie of the 2010s and Little Mermaid with nothing, because there was barely nothing in the film to enjoy. Cruella is where my piercing hatred has gazed onto next, but let's establish how Cruella is kind of a different beast compared to ones I reviewed so far. 

Cruella has sort of a cult following which can't be said of most of the modern live action remakes. Disney live action remakes are comparable to a wilting flower. They get bought when they're fresh, but that's all their function. Once their responsibility of making the shop owner more money is fulfilled, the flower is wilted dead never to be thought of again. Basically, lastability and standing the test of time doesn't seem to be a concern with these movies. It's honestly reflective of the Dalmatian movies as a whole. The entire franchise has a history of either cutting corners or creating art in a cynically commercial way. 101 Dalmatians is the first movie to use the Xerox method. A method that Disney implemented to save on costs during a financially turbulent time in Disney history. 101 Dalmatians (1996) goes without saying as being the precursor to these awful Disney remakes. Patch's London Adventure is just another instance of that era where Disney shat out direct-to-DVDs with wildly varying degrees of quality. And finally, 102 Dalmatians is actually the greatest movie ever made. I actually had no problems with that one. In fact, I should establish now that I'll segway to talking about 102 Dalmatians as a failsafe if Cruella becomes too numbing to talk about. 

That leads us into Cruella. Which before even turning on the movie, Im wondering why. I mean, I know the why in the form of selling wilting flowers to insufferable white women but why narratively? Making a film revolved solely on someone like Cruella feels as misguided as making a biopic on Casey Anthony. 

Now this isn't to say flawed or even downright evil women can't be protagonists. Any good writing can justify any protagonist. And from a feminist perspective, I can understand putting a spotlight on women villains from the perspective on shedding a light on how we treat maligned women vs. other folks. I totally get it. 

What I don't quite get is if that's your angle, why Cruella? You know what, let me bring out the segments. 

Seriously, Why Cruella???

Let's go back to the source. In 1956, a children's book titled 101 Dalmatians was published. In that book, a character called Cruella de Vil was introduced and she had exactly three aspects to her character: (1) She was obsessed with fur. (2) She wants dog fur in particular (3) Anyone or anything that gets in the way of that second one is considered an agent for the antichrist. The animated movie would give subtle elaborations to that character, making her a force of nature, exaggerating the ego, basically doing all the things Disney did with their villains from 1937 to recently when Disney realized they could put those villains in Washington D.C instead. 

Then, Disney had to justify making a remake to this story, so they made Cruella into a fashion designer since I guess that's related to fur. And since fashion design is one of the few occupations associated with women with any significant amount of influence or power, well then let's throw in an out of place feminist line that women will use for screenshots long after people stopped caring about the movie. By the way, the movie was written by 90s era John Hughes. Your favorite feminism line was written by a middle aged white guy who wrote Flubber and Baby's Day Out. 

My argument is the Cruella character never really came of a place of substance. She was a device to tell a very simple story. That feminism line works fine on its own as a screenshot. But in a movie that's about cute dogs thwarting criminals that want to skin them, it doesn't quite work. Basically, if you were to make a standalone story about an established character (a children's book character no less), surely you have an reinterpretation in mind or maybe a story that would give the character more dimension. Like, if Milton could do that with literal Satan, someone at Disney could do that with a white lady. 

Instead, (I feel I use the word instead a lot when reviewing Disney remakes), we got what essentially every bad prequel movie does. It merely takes the iconic traits of a character and gives a half-hearted explanation for how they originated. The first thirty minutes are the most egregious examples of this, possibly in any prequel movie I've ever seen. The two goons that work under Cruella were actually people she knew as early as when they were children. They were always thieves! Isn't that convenient? Did I mention the original book got flak for having anti-Romani stereotypes? I guess Disney didn't read that part of the Wikipedia page. 

Do you know why Cruella doesn't have parents? It's not like they were irrelevant to the story, so they never bothered to bring them up, NO! Her mom was killed after being run off by Dalmatians. It's so fucking lazy. 

Being friends with filmmakers, I sometimes get scripts to read so I can give feedback and the like. A thing I look for when reading first drafts is finding what I like to call gold nuggets. First drafts are often bad. That's their nature. But equally as often, those first drafts contain nuggets that have genuine potential. Like gold nuggets, they are unrefined. But with careful hands, they can easily turn to perfect ingots. 

It's not a good sign when watching a movie and feeling like Im watching a first draft script, because you can see the gold nuggets hiding in plain sight. 

There were two moments that stuck out as gold nuggets. 

The first is early on when Cruella befriends a black girl as a child. Since the movie is set in a pretty racially charged time, I thought it was a start to an interesting angle to exploring racism. Systemic racism in the U.K is not really explored at least for U.S audiences. This could have been an opportunity to do that and give Cruella a sympathetic side and a relationship that we would have the pleasure to watch grow overtime. Instead...well this is a Disney remake. Ain't no realities of Black oppression is going to fuck up Disney's quarterlies, right? 

The other moment is Emma Thompson who plays Cruella's boss throughout the movie. I presumed because I've seen movies before that they were going for a fall from grace story where Cruella is taken under the wing of an evil mentorship in order to attain a lifelong ambition and is elegantly corrupted into the contemptible villain we know and love. Instea-THEY ARE DOING A FUCKING HEIST MOVIE-WHAT!!!!  

Let Me Take a Break

102 Dalmatians is a movie released in 2000. It's only significance is being the first DVD I recall owning. It was that and Inspector Gadget. Yeah, my tastes were delectable back then. 

Now these movies are famous for Glenn Close's performance as Cruella. And for those that are curious about seeing that performance in action, I highly recommend just skipping the first movie and go straight into the second one. If you want to know why Glenn Close's performance is considered iconic, it is all in that second movie. 

102 Dalmatians gives so much for Glenn Close to do. One scene has her rip a shut door with her bare hands. She commits crimes such as drugging unsuspecting dinner guests, framing someone of a crime, false imprisonment, and violating parole. She gets baked into a cake in a very graphic scene. She has a psychotic break scene that felt directed by David Lynch. This movie is going sixty in school zone. 

Much respect to Emma Stone. She is the A+ student regardless if she is grouped with ineptitude. However, an actor is only as good as the material you give them. I made a whole fucking blog about it. And yeah, they gave her scraps when it comes to opportunities to go wild and out. 

You get about a full hour before Cruella does anything remotely Cruella. The rest is this long numbing exercise of going through predictable plot threads and generic dialogue in order to set up flashes of the things people pay money to see. Scene 1 of 102 Dalmatians has Cruella in a prison cell eerily giggling while puppies run all over her. That's how to start a movie about a woman who wants to skin puppies! With Cruella, you have Emma Stone struggling to make the most of what little she can do. The interesting costumes and sets are a facade to the fact that none of this movie has any meaningful substance. 

God, I intimately understand why Meryl Streep's character in Devil Wears Prada is such an asshole. When you are presented with such obvious mediocrity you just want to dress these fuckers down. You are given Emma fucking Stone and you make her stand quietly while Emma Thompson does a watered down version of the same character I just referenced. It's beyond criminal.

God Even the Soundtrack is Bad

Using popular music in movies is like using a crutch. In that, if I see you using it without needing it, Im going to beat you with said crutch. 

The music in this movie felt haphazardly picked. It felt like a random mix tape pulled from the editor's Spotify. It doesn't gel with the pacing of the scenes. It's A1 sauce on a steak. It's an established flavor meant to mask a flavorless foundation. 

It's soul sucking to watch. Here you have artists from the 1960s and 70s that put their hearts and passions into creating transformative music that would build on the canon that is humanity. And now, in 2021, they are used to try to salvage this dog turd of a movie.  

It conveys to me what I've seen from every live action Disney remake. It shows a lack of confidence. A heist movie can actually do a lot without music believe it or not, and that's usually because the mise en scene is well considered. Oceans 11 isn't good just because it has good music. Oceans 11 also has stakes that are clear. Blocking and cinematography that create a visceral tension. Interpersonal relationships that inform conflict. The music is just one ingredient to enhance an already well crafted scene. It is not used as a distraction meant to not look at how shoddily the scenes are edited together. A good mark of editing is not noticing the editing, and these heist sequences did not pass that test. And now, Im wondering now if I should delve deeper or take another break. You know fuck it, I need some self-care. 

I Need Another Break (Preferably a Cigarette One)

One of the things both the original movie and 102 Dalmatians highlight is how rich people exploit poor people's inability to sustain themselves in the face of a massive financial burden. Cruella does that in both movies. She tries to buy out Dalmatians from owners that are struggling to afford to keep 15 puppies. And in the sequel, she buys a charity on the verge of closure in order to rehabilitate her image. 

To me, these are the themes of 101 Dalmatians. It's a simple one but effective especially in this era of current Disney and their 101 Abused VFX artists. 

It's why the girlboss angle always bothered me. You're talking about a character who is rooted in this anti-capitalist statement and you're having her as your protagonist? 

Remember the Civil Rights Movement? 

You might know the name Rosa Parks and how she was a major face in that movement, but a less commonly known fact was that she was just the face that won the audition. Many people such as Claudette Colvin* also had been arrested long before Rosa Parks. Unfortunately, activists at the time didn't publicized it due to her being an pregnant teen. It's tragic and shows how the sausage is made when it comes to activism. But when you are in a competition of competing narratives, a good character that reflects your values is essential. 

I say this because if the writers of Cruella were in charged of the Civil Rights movement if it happened today, they would have made the face of the Montgomery Bus Boycott fucking Bill Cosby with a blonde wig, and we'd all screwed. 

*After drafting this segment, Claudette Colvin passed away at the age of 86. Thank you Colvin for your contributions to civil rights and for letting me use you as a device to make fun of a Disney movie. 

So to circumvent this, there are very contrived and clumsy moments that have the obvious goal of distancing her away from her evil associations. It speaks to what I like to call the "Smoking Problem." The idea of something like smoking, a feature of Cruella's character, is omitted for commercial or legal reasons. And because of these omissions, it can potentially break immersion when characters, especially in a historical period where smoking was socially acceptable, is not shown doing just that. Granted, I can forgive cigarettes since it's not just a Disney problem but the general realities of how movies are made. It's not ignoring racism at least. But point is, the film puts on a vain effort to try to rehabilitate her character to make her more appealing to modern audiences to the detriment of her character.  

For one, she has a gay colleague. And yeah, I guess having gay friends just instantly makes you a better person. Just ask Ellen DeGeneres. I should remind you if you've forgotten that this is a review of a movie about a Disney villain, and she doesn't do anything remotely cruel to any of her henchmen and associates. We live in a reality where Ellen DeGeneres is a better Disney villain than Cruella De Vil. 

In fact, I can't recall her doing anything that evil. The most evil thing she does in the ENTIRE movie is disobey her mother which snowballs in her mother's death. But even then, they couldn't commit, so it's later revealed that she wasn't the cause of her mother's death after all, exonerating her of any guilt, and wiping Cruella's hands clean of any potential growth characters get when processing a misjudgment. 

There's a scene that stuck out to me where the Romani goon tells Cruella that cliche "revenge won't bring back your mom." And I guess in a joke, she nonchalantly dismisses it. A little amusing I guess, but it lacks the edge that I associate with Cruella. My Cruella wouldn't have hesitated in beating the shit out of that goon for talking out of line. Where's that Cruella? You are doing a Disney VILLAIN movie, and you don't have her do anything genuinely villainous. I feel I'm watching the girlboss equivalent of a family dinner where they didn't salt any food because it would be "unhealthy." Bitch, I'm not watching Cruella to be healthy, where's my gravy? 

It stands out the most with Roger. The guy who would later write the famous in-universe Cruella De Vil radio hit. He doesn't hate Cruella for any direct means. He hates her because she was tangentially related to the reason he got fired. So instead of resenting the person that fired him, which I think 99% of normal ass people would do, he instead resents Cruella? Why? Emma Thompson was clearly the cruel abusive one to Roger even before Cruella was in her life. But, I guess Roger needs to eventually write the famous song, so we'll just say he hates Cruella anyway. This writing by the way still got over half a million people to rate this movie 4 stars or above on Letterboxd. I guess you can't have any girlbossing without some gaslighting. I just wish the gaslighting came from the actual Cruella, so we can have some actual character in this film. 

The aforementioned plot line of Cruella being the main villain's daughter is only done to get Cruella into wealth that doesn't involve her doing the things rich people normally do in reality to quickly accrue hoards of wealth. Cruella doesn't exploit low income factory workers. She doesn't defraud innocent people. There wasn't a strategic marriage. Can you imagine Cruella killing a random husband while manically laughing just to net his cash? Apparently, Disney didn't. Because instead, she got it through an inheritance that wasn't meant to be hers, but that's ok! The person with the money was a bad guy and not this woman who is known for wanting to skin dogs. 

Conclusion

Some of you might harp on my insistence that she likes to skin dogs since she doesn't actually do anything like that in the movie, but I'll present it to you from a different perspective. 

Out of curiosity, I looked up Casey Anthony on Wikipedia. I surprised to find that no Wikipedia on her really exists. Only the Caylee Anthony case at the time of writing exists. It speaks to what I was alluding to before. Casey Anthony, outside of this case, has nothing of value. No lesson to be learned. No relationship to explore. She would be a total nothing burger if she were made into a fictional character, because all she has is this albatross around her neck. And to ignore that albatross, it not only negligently dismisses the brutality of the situation, but it shows to me where y'alls priorities actually lie.  

Cruella to me isn't a movie for girlbosses, feminists, and the like. It is capitalist slop. Any heart or potential you might have pulled from this character would have revealed an underbelly that none of you seem to want to accept. You gobbled pure movie enshittification. A movie with less performance, craft, and humanity. And they got away with it, because y'all bought into it. 

Granted, that's the trapping of enshittification that makes it so devious. The infancy of enshittification is always accepted with an "at least" that people will easily accept as a reasonable compromise before that compromise turns unreasonable. It's a morally dubious transaction, but a transaction that consumers theoretically get the fruits of. 101 Dalmatians used a xerox method that made it's animation lesser quality than movies like Bambi and Fantasia. But "at least," we got cozy movie in spite of that. And hey, if cutting corners means more flexibility for art to shine, it can't be that bad? Right????

The first 101 Dalmatians remake is just a soulless shadow of the original, but it "at least" opened up to an electric performance later on. Patch's London Adventure is a mere direct to video junk but "at least" they understand that having Cruella being extra is the minimal requirement for making a 101 Dalmatians movie. She even fucking smoked in that one. Bet a Disney lawyer got flogged for not catching that one.

Shit, Canine Crunchies is just fictional dog food, but "at least" the commercial has a catchy jingle. Cruella doesn't even reference Canine Crunchies. They couldn't even be bother to homage the bottom of the barrel art that is fictional commercial jingles. Cruella "at least" has cool costumes and Emma Stone and faintly reflects the values that women are hungry for. But, how much less are we willing to accept from Disney? Maybe in Cruella 2, the costume designs will be AI generated but at least Emma Stone will still look fetch in them. With how Disney has been lately, are you comfortable in giving Disney the benefit of the doubt? 

It's a lesson that we shouldn't accept less even from our girlboss films. There are better more organic movies that can achieve your needs that Cruella never could. It make take some Letterboxd sleuthing, but the effort will be all worth it if it means one less audience member for trash like this. 

So there's my picket sign. "Serve Cunt; Not Slop!"  

My Favorite Shows (& Other Media) of 2025

My favorite blog to write is here. Not because TV is my favorite thing but because it's the last thing I do before I leave the previous year completely behind. After this, I can leave 2025 to memories to only be pulled in drunk stupors or potential blackmail. 

Much like the other two best of lists, which you can read here and here, any season of television or piece of media can qualify as long as it's my first time watching it in 2025. Though due to the long running nature of series, if I already discussed them on lists in previous years and I have nothing new to say, they won't be included. So while Silo, Abbott Elementary, and Spy x Family both continue to maintain their standard of quality, I simply have nothing else to add to warrant writing about them again. 

10. Smiling Friends (Season 3)

CTRL+C and CTRL+V my review back in 2022-hey what are you doing in the best of list????

Smiling Friends has a very passionate following. One I was never really apart of. It's like those people who obsess over coffee to where they have kitchen signs saying "a day without coffee is like reliving Columbine" or something like that. And here, I am thinking that coffee is just a nice drink to have on a Monday morning. 

However, I'm slowly coming around to Smiling Friends, and I think it's because it's clear the creative team are doing their absolute damndest to top themselves and use every penny from their increased production budget. Not every episode is a banger. It's one of those "when it hits, it HITS."

Part of it is the increased quality of the visuals. When the visuals synergizes with a clever bit, the result is some golden television. The Halloween episode is perhaps one of my favorite pieces of horror comedy media I've ever seen. 

While the rest is pretty standard Smiling Friends humor, those rare gems throughout the season is enough to at least get mentioned on the 10th slot.    

9. 100 Girlfriends (Season 2)

It's not an M. Rambles list without some wholesome romance anime. 

I watched an assortment of light entertainment this year. The aforementioned Abbott Elementary and Spy x Family are good examples. This year was the year I finally got a Dropout subscription, so I've been eating good with their content. 

Yet, despite this show being the literal first show I watched this year, I rewatched it periodically throughout the year. I apparently can't get enough of this stupid show. 

It's a guilty pleasure as the show is basically just a syringe of serotonin with little else in terms of interesting storytelling, but I don't care. I love how shamelessly stupid it is. I love its continued commitment to give 100 girls that are affable and cute. I love its single-minded goal of just showing an idealistic boyfriend being in a healthy romantic relationship with said 100 girls. It's so indulgent, but it's pure in that indulgence. 

This is the Oreos of romance anime. There's richer flavors out there. But I know what I'm eating when I need a self-care day.

8. Snapcube's Kingdom Hearts Fandub

The oldest YouTube genre I fell in love with is the Abridged. The idea of voicing characters from my childhood to say stupid shit will never not be funny to me. It's hard to beat Eggman peeing on the moon or Joey Wheeler saying Brooklyn rage. 

It's bout time this genre got some representation on these list, and Snapcube to me has been the gold standard as of late. 

No series this year had me waiting for the next episode to release like this one. Combining the nonsensical nature of Kingdom Hearts and improv dialogue is comedic perfection. 

7. Papa Meat

Everyone has their comfort watch. And for me, my way of unwinding is cycling through the same handful of YouTube channels over and over again. It's been a while since I added a regular to my rotation, and Papa Meat was the new obsession to do it. 

Remember JonTron? Yeah, this is what I imagine JonTron wanted his career to go. Unfortunately, his humor couldn't keep up with his increasing production value. And yeah, it would help if you didn't say some hellishly ignorant ass things in a public setting that would tarnish your reputation. 

But this isn't about JonTron, this is Papa Meat. And man, Papa Meat is like eating a delicate recipe. It has just the right amount of edge, heart, humor, and pacing. No one element overpowers the other like a sweet and savory dish. 

It is just a well-balanced variety show. 

Very few YouTubers 'have it all.' And because of that, some have the hubris to try to have it all but at the price of diminishing the specific talent they excel at, *cough cough* JonTron. Suffice it to say, Papa Meat is one those few where I feel they are capable of doing just about anything. Well, almost anything. Please don't do anything problematic. I'm still mourning losing Bill Burr.  

6. Superbunnyhop

Let's segway from dumb comedies and light entertainment to the really good shit. 

Video essays are quite the artform. An artform that I find usually terrible because the standard of quality is all over the place. Hey you, yes you! The one that just finished Silksong and wanted to make video essay on why Bilewater is an allegory of the American oligarchy. Just know, these are the content creators you are competing with. 

Superbunnyhop returned with some high quality videos after a hiatus, and it was glorious. If I made a Top 10 YouTube Videos of 2025, I would easily give three of those slots to Superbunnyhop. 

In one year, he released a comprehensive video on the history of strategy games. How black and white movies could be a frontier AAA gaming could utilize to innovate on game fidelity. He made another Games from My Inbox video which are like fucking crack to me. And, he's doing it while fucking fighting an HOA in an inspiring legal battle. I love this man. 

Go watch his content. He's one of my favorite video essayists, and he deserves more love. 

5. Severance

When I see shows like this, I always picture what the premise would look like if it was executed poorly. Like, can you imagine if Ryan Murphy used this premise for American Horror Story? Oh God, that makes me want to throw up. 

This is a nice high concept that's elevated by great acting and slick cinematography. It's no Andrei Tarkovsky, but it nails down the fundamentals. 

This show is for people who love to watch acting. Characters playing two to three versions of themselves. Dialogue filled with a constant double meaning that the actors have to weave through. Often, the story is told through eye contact and body language. The cast should be commended for their work on this show. I fell in love with a lot of new actors because of this show, specifically Britt Lower and Tramell Tillman. But also, I gained a new appreciation for actors I merely liked. Adam Scott for instance was so enjoyable to watch in this show. 

The second season ended with its intrigue relatively intact. If it makes good on season three, I could easily see this show back on these lists. 

4. Dan da Dan

A good indicator on whether I love a show is if I binge it. I almost never binge shows. It takes a special kind of show to do it, and I always wonder what that special sauce is. Well after Dan da Dan, I think I know what that is. 

My favorite media tend to explore a vast spectrum of emotions. They don't dwell on just being happy or sad. You get a little bit of everything. 

Dan da Dan explores all the emotions in such a rapid pace that I'm in awe in didn't fall apart into this tonally inconsistent mess. 

I feel like I'm micro-dosing on different emotions with this show. I think the mass appeal of Dan da Dan is taking all of these emotions and tying it into a cohesive piece. You can have funny banter in one scene, an exploration of depression or social anxiety in another, to a sudden burst of action. It all works because the foundation is rock solid. The characters are wonderful, and all the tonal shifts are in service to them. 

This aims for broad appeal and nails it perfectly without diluting itself in any way. A wonderfully paced show with great action, romance, everything! A great sample platter for the days when you are being indecisive on what to watch. 

3. Somebody Somewhere

Got to love when a great show just falls onto your lap. 

I watched it on a lark after seeing it win its first Emmy. I'll spare you the semantic rant of what constitutes a comedy or a drama. The point is this show is well worth watching, and I wish more people talked about it.  

Comedy, dramedy, whatever genre you want to label it, this show is beautifully written. Narratives don't often prioritize the salt of the Earth that makes humanity what it is, so for a show to fully embrace it is refreshing. 

It's uncanny how true to life this show is. Conversations feel straight ripped from real life conversations I had with friends, family, and coworkers. I seldom used the term feeling heard, but I felt the creative team really wanted this show to relate deeply to how interpersonal dynamics play out in our current era. 

And oh God, this show pops off in season 2. Granted, I was going through my seasonal depression, so I was already feeling a bit raw. But either way, this show gave me some healing cry sessions at the start of season 2. 

2. Pluribus

Vince Gilligan had a significant trial in front of him. His first original narrative since his Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul run. What's that? There was also Battle Creak? Well fuck, I already had a set up I wanted to do with this. Fuck it, I'm doing it anyways. 

Normally, when an artist strikes a home run in the way Gilligan did, their follow up is looked at with a kind of anticipation that I can see being a high pressure situation. We've had a variety of successes and failures throughout history from these situations. I always think of Ralph Ellison, the man who wrote the Invisible Man. He never completed a second novel despite Invisible Man being a critical darling. The running theme of audience expectation and meeting up to your reputation came up a lot in my research on that speculation. The question of whether your work is reflective of your talents as an artist or just beginner's luck. That can be an agonizing pressure. 

It's also more noteworthy since Gilligan is in this new world of TV. This isn't 2008 anymore. We live in a world where most televisions show are vying for the same level of production quality that Breaking Bad helped standardize. Breaking Bad was an amazing show in an era of ok television. Now, amazing feels like the new benchmark in order for people like me to sit through your 12-hour long season. 

All of this worry only for Pluribus to anticlimactically exceed my expectations, because this show is lit. 

I love going to media as blind as possible, and this show exemplifies why I continue that practice. Intrigue is one of the many dangling carrots TV uses to bring in an audience. If we grade shows based solely on the ingenuity of building intrigue, then Pluribus would be the top student. I can't wait for film professors to force their students to watch the Pluribus pilot over and over again in screenwriting classes everywhere. 

1. The Rehearsal (Season 2) 

Storytelling has been a tool for a very long time. So needless to say, the potential of storytelling has been explored to about as far as we possibly can. And if you're like me, a guy about to turn 30 and has experienced a lot of amazing media over the decades. There is little room for someone to break new ground outside of a new technology or societal shift. 

This season of Rehearsal wasn't just great. It felt like I was a witness to something incredibly new. The kind of new that people must have felt when in audience for Mozart. Of course, the type of storytelling Nathan Fielder is expressing has been around since at least Sherman's March, and even longer if we include the entire breadth of creative nonfiction. Even Nathan Fielder himself has been playing with these concepts during Nathan for You. However, it's this season where it felt more fully realized. This feels like the next stage from the days of Finding Frances. 

The line between reality and script has blurred to such a poignant level that even the traditional approach to critique of analyzing the merits of writing and production value feel ineffectual. Nathan Fielder's ability to make his audience both be apart of the joke and the butt of the joke, while never conveying where that line is placed, is nothing short of incredible. With no pretension, Nathan Fielder has established himself as a genius in the world of entertainment. There is no one at the level of what Nathan Fielder is at, and it's a pleasure to be alive in the same time as him. 

So that's 2025. It's a copy of Sinners, DK Bananza, and the Rehearsal all standing in front of a burning dumpster fire. May these works of art outlast the smell. 

My Favorite Movies of 2025

Let's cut to the chase. This has been the hardest I can recall putting together a year-end Top 10 list. This is the year where Paul Thomas Anderson made a new banger, Sean Baker got his first Best Picture win, and Latvia won its first Oscar. And yet, none of those three qualifying movies in question will make an appearance on this list. 

As always, any movie from any year qualifies as long as it's my first time seeing it in 2025. So with that said, let's see how many people I can piss off with my number ten pick.    

10. The Naked Gun (2025) 

I hate to be that guy for putting a movie on here for merely doing the same thing I like in an older movie, especially ranking it above a Paul Thomas Anderson movie. However, how else am I suppose to react when something like this comes around? 

For the first time, I had a theater experience where the room was full of laughter that I got to participate in. I never got that since comedy over the last few decades hasn't appealed to my sensibilities. I thought the rest of my life was going to be theatrically released comedies starring an unfunny Will Ferrell and Melissa McCarthy. 

Naked Gun (2025) proved that comedy like this never went out of style. Those fucks were just too lazy to do it. 

The movie itself is merely solid. It's on here for what it represents. That I can reread this blog years later and bask in the memory of a mainstream comedy that made me laugh! To me, that feat is more meaningful than a PTA film or an artsy indie film. 

9. Titane 

You gotta love a movie's ability to make a main character the most unlikeable person on the planet. And yet, through movie magic, they will make you sympathize with that character anyway. 

I technically mentioned this during my multimedia mentions. However, that was before I realized No Other Choice wasn't going to be screened at my local theaters. I even left a space open on this list as I was fairly confident it was going to make it on here. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. Frankly, I'm still raw and salty as I'm writing this. I was really excited to see that movie in 2025. But I like to look at the bright side, and I am glad I now have a spot to talk about this movie. 

There's a great Roger Corman quote that goes "you can make a movie about anything, as long as it has a hook to hang the advertising on." Well, a movie about a girl getting pregnant by a car feels like the exact kind of movie that quote was talking about. 

One of the things I admire about French Extreme is that they really push what films can be about. We humans arbitrarily limit ourselves in the kinds of stories we tell in some pointless obligation to the rules of reality. Titane teaches us that you can have a movie about the depths of grief, gender, and familial relationships while having a scene where someone fucks a car. 

8. Ugly Stepsister

While Titane may have more material for film scholars to chew on, I would be lying if I said I liked it more than Ugly Stepsister.

There is a lot to love in Ugly Stepsister. It's well made. In a medium where fairy tales have been adapted to death, this movie approaches the source material in such a fresh and confident way. There is a lot to unpack with this movie. 

However, Lea Myren is the X-factor for putting this movie on this list. She is the reason I still think about this movie months later. She may not even get a nomination. But in my heart, she is 2025's Best Actress in a Leading Role. 

7. Dinner in America

I don't think of myself as a harsh critic. However, I will admit romance movies does compel more scrutiny from me than other genres. Not that I hate romance films. Far from it. It's probably my favorite genre. It's also a genre plagued with the cheapest impulses an artist can commit. 

It's why when a Dinner in America comes around, I will parade that shit in the streets to make sure every living breathing organism knows what good romance looks like. 

This should be the standard we should expect from romance films. One that's brimming with sincerity. That void that lives in your heart should be temporarily filled by the love portrayed on screen, and I felt that with Dinner in America. 

It has a slow start. But once it gets going, it turns into one of the most enjoyable rides you can hope for. 

    

6. Oddity

Much like smoking nicotine can cause cancer, watching a lot of movies can cause some side effects. The condition of film hipsters can be a debilitating one. I've been successful in curbing some of the extreme symptoms, but one that can't be helped is my relationship with horror. While I love horror for a number of other reasons, it's hard for me to be scared by traditional horror. I've seen everything, so the mysticism of horror is mostly lost on me. You don't wanna be the guy eating Japanese junk food while watching the Fly. 

Oddity is the first movie in several years to genuinely creep me out. And it's not like the movie is doing anything particularly unique, it is just a straightforward and finely crafted movie with a story that's pitch perfect. Add on some very well written characters, and you got a movie that's a shoe in for this list. 

5. Mickey 17

I feel like if Bong Joon Ho made a Kickstarter campaign for this movie, it would start by describing it as a spiritual successor to Paul Verhoeven. 

This is the best Verhoeven movie that Verhoeven never made. The satire is blunt but creative. The movie is extreme with its depiction of violence and sexuality. This feels like a sci-fi movie ripped straight from the late 80s - early 90s. 

Robert Pattinson absolutely nailed it. Easily my favorite acting performance(s) of all the movies I've seen this year. 

This was my first "movie of the year" I watched in 2025. And while it fell through the ranks as the year went on, that's not due to Mickey 17 lacking in quality. It's just where this film blew my socks off. These next films blew my gnads off. Yeah, I had to undergo multiple surgeries this year. 

4. Weapons & Magnolia

Yeah, thought I wasn't going to be talking about Paul Thomas Anderson this year, didn't ya? 

I'm pairing these two, because I cannot separate them in my mind. Individually, they're both great. Weapons is one of the best directed horror movies I've seen in a while that's simultaneously deep but doesn't take itself too seriously. Meanwhile, Magnolia is PTA at arguably his most PTA with this movie having all of PTA's signature tropes at some of their most potent. 

Now, part of why I pair them in my mind is Zach Cregger has cited Magnolia as an inspiration for Weapons. And while that may normally diminish a work knowing its influences, it doesn't feel that way with Weapons. Instead, the themes of Magnolia unveil an extra flavor of Weapons. And in turn, the themes of Weapons retroactively enhance a similar flavor to Magnolia. Basically, pairing these two was like when I discovered pairing Cool Ranch Doritos with your PB&J sandwiches.  

3. Cure

I watched a lot of recommendations from my friends in 2025. Some of them were good enough to be considered for this list. However, only one made me respond as if my friend properly understood my tastes. And funnily enough, this is the same friend that recommended the Little Mermaid remake earlier in the year. I guess my restraining order threat worked. 

Cure is a testament to the power of minimalist filmmaking. In an age where storytellers feel paranoid about their work not appealing to shorter attention spans thus crippling their work with superficial nonsense, it's nice to have a movie THIS understated. 

You don't need all these bells and whistles. You don't need the music mixed to blow out my speakers. All you need is a man drinking coffee. And with a little context and the right camera shot, it can turn that simple thing into some of the most gripping cinema I've seen. 

2. Sinners

I've seen overhyped movies, but I've seldom seen under hyped movies. And yeah, I know people hyped this movie up to high heaven for me. I just think even that level of hype doesn't reflect the actual quality of Sinners. 

Sinners is for people who miss the "good ol days" of filmmaking. This movie reminded me of qualities from the 1950s and 1980s, to name a few. It feels like a movie across time. And considering the themes of this movie, it feels intentional and all the more impressive.

It's one of those movies where if I'm not careful this entry that's meant to be brief will turn into a 10,000 word comprehensive essay, and that's excluding all the words I would dedicate to talking about how hot Wunmi Mosaku is. There is so much to gush about in this film. 

It exudes a confidence and density that I've only seen from one other film this year. I guess I better get to that before I start simping over Wunmi Mosaku. 

1. Once Upon a Time in the West

Out of curiosity, I looked at my other Top 10 lists and tried to figure out what is the oldest thing to hit number one. Remember, release dates don't matter so long as it is my first time experiencing it. Well, the oldest thing to hit a number one spot was the first Klonoa which came out in 1997. Well, as you can already guess, we got a new record holder. 

Coming from all the way from 1968, we have Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West, and I don't know if this record will be topped. 

To me, nothing betters shows the quality of a great director than when you can't decide what their best film is. You got Miyazaki with Spirited Away and Kiki's Delivery Service. Alfonso Curon with Children of Men and Roma. To name a few. 

Sergio Leone is now apart of that pantheon for me. Good Bad and the Ugly is one of my favorite films. And now, I have to spend the rest of my life debating with myself if this movie is better.  

Once Upon a Time in the West is just cinematic perfection. Every scene feels like full course meal in filmmaking. Very rarely has a movie made me feel this full and satisfied. 

I noticed this years lists had me overthinking the placement of these entries. At the end of the day, these rankings are arbitrary. However, a question that centered me was a simple one. "Which movie gives the most "number one" energy?" 

Well...this is my answer. 

My Favorite Games of 2025

This long ass year is finally over. Yeah, what a dumpster fire. Everyone seems to complain about 2025 including the people who caused the dumpster fire. But if there is one thing no one needs to complain about, it is the bangers of gaming, movies, and other media. Each one will get a blog entry. And as always, we'll start with gaming. 

Of course, these lists will not just include 2025 releases. Any game is eligible as long as I finished it for the first time in 2025. And no, I didn't play Expedition 33, so you bitches will have to wait till next year if it makes it on these lists. 

So with that said, let's begin the Top 10!

1. Donkey Kong Bananza

Normally, I write these how it's traditionally done. You know, the standard 10, 9, 8, etc. 

But for this year, it should be so blatantly obvious what my GOTY is that there's no point to dwell on the build up. Besides, it will give my runner up more of a spotlight. It's not their fault that it came out the same year as this once-in-a-decade experience. 

It's been 11 years since a mainline Donkey Kong game. It's been almost TWENTY-FIVE years since we've seen Donkey Kong playable in a 3D space. DK64 is one of the first games I ever played. And since then, Ive been longing to see a return to form. The game likely would have satisfied me if it just played to expectations. But. this is the Mario Odyssey team we're talking about, and they are more than just meeting expectations. 

This is one of the most distinct entries I've seen from any media franchise. It works so hard to differentiate itself from not just the other Donkey Kong games but from the aforementioned Mario Odyssey. While using the same structure as Mario Odyssey, we got a new movement system, a fully form destruction mechanic, and creative boss fights. Just about everything feels distinct. 

I won't disagree with the notion that it has flaws. But man, when a game like this shoots for the stars in the way Bananza does, a few flaws can be overlooked. 

The passion on display is infectious. In a perfect world, all Triple AAA games would put in this kind of effort. But for now, DK Bananza will just have to stand out as the gifted student in a sea of underperformance.

Easily my favorite game of 2025 and a likely placeholder among my games of the decade. 

And with that out of the way, here are the nine runner ups. 

10. Pokemon Infinite Fusion

This year saw the release of Pokemon Legends: Z-A. And yeah, when I saw the anti-homeless benches the game doesn't allow you to sit on and the egregious three hour tutorial, I realized Pokemon has continued to be the shadow of their former selves. If only there was a passionate fan community that has made a steady stream of excellent fan games and rom hacks that have taken on the mantle Nintendo isn't willing to take? 

This is where I have been filling my Mr. Mime shaped hole for the last several years. I would feel like a refugee if not for the fact these games have easily outpaced the official games in quality. 

In the case of Pokemon Infinite Fusion, what could have been just lame meme fodder where you can fuse Charizard with Caterpie is instead a fully fledge Pokemon game filled to the brim with QoL improvements, side quests, and unique sprite work. 

This is one of the best Pokemon games to play. I mean what other game let's you have this gentlemen as a party member? 

9. Primal Planet

Mina the Hollower got delayed which put me in a scramble to find a substitute to play between Silksong and Kirby Air Riders. I had a lot of candidates, but Primal Planet was the one the caught my eye. 

There is a childlike charm to this game but without any the amateurness of a child. You fight dinosaurs, and the game has this laid back feel of going outside to play pretend. Yet, this is portrayed with some beautiful pixel art and a gameplay loop that's fresh for a Metroidvania. 

It's not one of the most mind blowing games I ever played, but it's a hidden gem. And since Primal Planet got a placement, I'm allowed to renew my membership at the Gaming Hipsters Guild. 

8. Absolum

I played a handful of solid beat em ups this year. Streets of Rage 4 played to expectations. Marvel Cosmic Invasion likewise played to what I expect from the folks who made TMNT: Shredder's Revenge with the added bonus of playing as Ghost Rider. 

However, one game exceeded expectations, and Absolum exceeded! 

For those who haven't heard of Absolum, which if you haven't will really displease the Gaming Hipsters Guild, it's a roguelike beat em up. It's a match made in heaven that I'm shocked someone hasn't done until now, at least with this level of polish. 

But honestly, that's not why it's on this list. Take out the roguelike elements, and you still got beautiful environments, wonderful game feel, inventive levels, and not one, not two, but THREE defensive options. You're lucky to get any defensive options in traditional beat em ups, so to have options to keep the flow going feels so great. 

I sunk a quick 20 hours during a busy holiday season, and I hope to sink more. 

7. Hades 2

I hate to put something on the best of list for purely being a standard sequel. But, this is a standard sequel of shit I actually love. Yeah a feature complete game with more of the same wonderfully written characters, beautiful music, and snappy combat? I'll take that over Assassin's Creeds 17 (after googling, I was only three off). 

It was hard at first for me to pull away from my attachments to the first game. I felt that immediately going from Dusa to that bitch Dora. Talk about a downgrade. However, I respect them exercising some restraint in immediately shoehorning every character as soon as you turn on the power. And after a while, I acclimated to the new charming cast and got back into the same rhythms that I fell in love with in 2020. 

It's the surface route that cemented its place on the top 10 list. It's so creatively done and expands on a game that would've already be considered fleshed out by modern standards. This game isn't feature complete. It's feature complete with sprinkles and a scoop of ice cream. 

6. Hollow Knight: Silksong

Yeah, even the indie darling of the generation had to compete with DK Bananza this year. 

I played it in anticipation that I would have a lot to say. In fact, I was hoping for a Blasphemous 2 v. Silksong comparison similar to what I did with their predecessors. But then, I realized I would have to replay Bilewater again, so fuck that. Suffice to say, Silksong kicked my ass just as much as everyone else.

Silksong greatest strength as a sequel is that it doesn't go for the lazy solutions common in these follow ups. A sequel to a difficult game might make the game more difficult in cheap ways *cough cough* Dark Souls 2. Or, they might be comfortable doing the same exact system. They might even use the same map. 

I'm glad that Silksong's long development didn't feel like it was in vain. There is a lot of meat to chew on. The difficulty, with a few really egregious exceptions, feel carefully considered and make for some interesting scenarios. 

I felt properly pushed. And as a old hand who played dozens of Metroidvanias and soulslikes, a game that made me dust off the cobwebs that wasn't for some nonsensical Elden Ring reflex challenges was satisfying. 

And while I'm not fully down on the new crest system, it's at least different and has a few key moments to shine. Overall, this was a polished experience and to see it come from a small indie team makes it just that more impressive. 

Is this a godsend like r/silksong hoped? I don't think so. But hey, this game is on this list. That's got to count for something. 

5. Kirby Air Riders

We live in a tragic world. And in that tragic world is often a reality that a very unique premise only exists in one single piece of work. In some respects, that adds to the wonder to the world. It what makes the Sistine Chapel or the Grand Canyon that much more awe-inspiring. 

But let's be real, in a perfect world, a Grand Canyon 2 would be lit. 

Enter Kirby Air Riders. A game so majestic that fans before its announcement assumed it would never actually come. Like honestly, it was less likely to happen than the Rapture, YET it happened! 

It's part of why I had such a tough time deciding where to place this game. Putting nostalgia bias aside, it is just Kirby Air Ride for a new generation with all the new additions Kirby as a franchise has developed over the last decade. Unlike DK Bananza, I didn't get a fundamentally new experience. However, the amount of effort this team put into this game is felt. Despite being a pretty simple game, they gave it their all. Is it number one for being easily the best looking game I played in 2025 that's jam packed with content or is it number ten for simply being a fun arcade title while others are trying to push the medium either narratively or mechanically in ways I found more meaningful? The Road Trip mode is easily the best single player mode a Sakurai game has had, but it is also just a series of mini challenges with the advantage of an exquisite animation budget. I love the Grand Canyon but god damn is the concession food terrible. 

I guess that's the inherent nature of ranking shit. To avoid going insane over overthinking how I weigh certain qualities over others when composing these lists, I'm just going to place it in the middle and move on. 

4. Tactical Breach Wizards

My favorite feeling when starting a really great game is seeing it have complete mastery of its game design. I had a handful of moments like that with Tactical Breach Wizards. 

This has all the fixings I like in a tactics RPG. The movement is interesting with some creative tools to maneuver through the map. The difficulty, at least in the default setting, is absolutely perfect. The challenges pushed me to really use the mechanics to its fullest extent. It was so satisfying peeling the layers of this game. 

Story is also pretty good. The dialogue is a little rough around the edges, but the plot gets the job done in flavoring the premise, and it has a lot of heart. And like any good video game, the story synergizes with the mechanics beautifully. The ability to undo moves contextualized as foresight. The requirements to unlock costumes involve the crew getting more 'confidence' to wear more stylish clothing. As someone who adores creative gameplay narrative synergy, I got a lot to chew on with this game. 

This is one of the best tactics RPGs I played in a while. 

3. Nine Sols

The Metroidvania/Soulsborne genre are some of the most competitive genres in gaming. It's incredibly difficult to merely standout let alone be the top of the class. 

For that reason, I put off playing Nine Sols simply because I thought it was going to be on the pretty good end of the spectrum. Turns out, it is a lot better than that. 

The writing is what elevates it. The parry system is fine as is the visuals. But again, this is Metroidvania/Soulsborne. Most of them play well and or have nice visuals. Writing on the other hand is a whole different beast. 

It's not often that I actually read most of the flavor text and extra dialogue in a game. I don't got time for that usually. But, I did it here because the writing had so much depth. The characters are interesting, and plot is consistently compelling. In a genre that usually keeps narrative at a minimum, or worse, kept painfully ambiguous, to see a story that's rich is refreshing. 

2. Blue Prince

I think it's a testament to Blue Prince that I almost considered putting this at number one. For an indie game to put up a semblance of a fight against something like Donkey Kong is quite the feat. And while it ultimately didn't stand a chance, I think it's important to recognize that Blue Prince is amazing in its own way. 

Blue Prince is a game I always dreamed of. For those that don't know, Blue Prince has you exploring a changing house that you have to learn to navigate through to solve its many puzzles. It's a puzzle roguelike. And while I think the roguelike part of the equation is a bit weak, the puzzles are rock solid. 

The first fifteen or so hours are some of the most magical gaming I had this year. The sense of discovery, the atmosphere, and the problem solving was fantastic. 

Literally, it's a game I dream of. I recall having a recurring dream of being stuck alone in a house and trying to find hidden switches and solving esoteric puzzles. Many games have had elements like this, but none hit quite what I was looking for like Blue Prince. 

It's a game that epitomizes the "going in blind" approach to experiencing media. This is a game best enjoyed being as blind as possible. 

Again, if the Halley's Comet that is Donkey Kong Bananza didn't come out. This would be number one. I really want to emphasize that this is more than a silver medal. This is a slam dunk indie game that every gamer should play at least once.