2009 - A Year of Unity

So it's a new year and in two weeks it'll be one year of Unity Plaza. One of those two things is probably worth making a post about, but probably not both. So let's just say this is the joint 'one year' post.

Unity Plaza has turned out pretty much the way I intended. It doesn't get updated every couple of weeks infrequently, has attracted not so much in the way of readership but has given me a venue to talk about some of my more obscure tastes without cluttering my writing blog. Some might call these are rather modest goals, but I never have liked the idea of having a popular blog. Blogs are meant to just let a person sound off as an individual without having to worry about people yapping at them. If there were 20 comments on every post, I'd probably turn comments off.

So yes, Unity Plaza is a success and will hopefully continue to be a success in 2010. But since this is a year thing, let's do a review of 2009.

I have no idea why this fucking Haruhi pic is showing up on the front page. It's not supposed to be there. Fuck Blogger.

So it says at the top of the website that this is a place to sound off about books, anime, gaming and whatever else comes to mind. So let's take those things in order.

Books:

I'd say that the best book I read this year was probably...



With powerful writing and a gripping storyline, the Kite Runner was the one book that I didn't just sort of slog through during the year, but rather actually enjoyed and went through with great interest. The post about it is here, so no need to say so much about it, but in terms of Books-I-Read in 2009, this was probably at the top.

The runner up...



Not technically a book, but certainly a story that I shall remember forever more. Reverie is still my desktop wallpaper and I have no intention of removing her.

The worst book I read this year...


I didn't make a post about this. It's about communists in space. I read most of the book thinking it was a tongue-in-cheek parody of communist propaganda and that the author was laughing with me. In the last few chapters it became clear that he actually believed what he wrote. This just made me sad. God damn commies.

Anime:

The best anime I saw this year...

Assuming that I do this next year, Gintama will win next year too. And, so long as it continues, the year after that and the year after that. I tried to make a post about Gintama once upon a time, but I found that words could not adequately express my feelings for this series. It's basically a sci-fi comedy series about a freelancer samurai and his two wacky sidekicks. But those words do not do it justice. What Gintama truly is is the pinnacle of anime and perhaps of human endeavour itself. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it does everything that a work of art is supposed to do without ever taking itself seriously.

Thus do I salute Gintama and sing its praises.

The second best...



Of course. Awesome storytelling + wacky characters + unique setting = one damn good series.

The worst...

Ignoring the series that I watched one episode of and shut off in disgust...


I don't know who thought it was a good idea to do 8 different versions of 1 episode, but that guy needs to be shot in the fucking face. And then following that travesty up with fucking Sighs, which is the biggest load of bullshit in Haruhi's damn universe? Fuck. There are no words to adequately describe how angry I am. Not even that Disappearance movie can placate my anger.

Games:

The best game I played this year...


The game has many virtues, too many to list here. What makes Arkham Asylum the best though is that it brings the player the experience of actually being Batman. One feels everything from Bruce Wayne's silly morality to the confidence of being able to beat the crap out of everyone that looks at you the wrong way as you stride about Arkham in this Metroidvania-style opus. Long story short, I cannot wait for the sequel.

The second best...



Persona 4 is just one of those rocking and unique experiences that leaves you wanting more. Mystery, romance, drama, fantasy and a dash of horror... it's just got everything. With the undub version providing a stellar Japanese cast, it's just an experience that you carry with you after it's done. Hell, I should play the thing again sometime.

The worst...

Puzzles are stupid, especially time puzzles based on rather arbitrary and illogical game mechanics. And just because a story is hard to understand and keep track of doesn't make it smart or deep. Fuck this game, it should go to hell. At least it only cost 2.50, but frankly a bag of chips would've been a worthier investment.

And everything else:

Favourite movie:
District 9

Second favourite:
Sherlock Holmes

Favourite song:
Warsaw Philharmonic Choir - Lapis Philosophorum

Favourite song that people who aren't like me are likely to know:
The Decemberists - the Rake's Song

Favourite Comic:
Bad Machinery by John Allison

Second Favourite:
Penny Arcade

Preliminary Unity Plaza-related goals for the year:

Read:
American Gods
Stardust
1984 (I was reading about it on wikipedia the other day and it's been so long)
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Dracula (I started it but never got through)
The Sandman Graphic Novels
Sherlock Holmes
Look for more good Visual Novels like Planetarian
A good adult fantasy series would be nice

Watch:
Gintama
Monster
Akagi (as soon as I learn Mahjong's rules)

Play:
Team Fortress 2
Jade Empire
Edgeworth's game

Swear at:
Patrick Rothfuss
Hideo Kojima
Andres Franco
Stephen Harper

Stop:
Reading bad webcomics
Watching animes recommended by Fradener

There, done.

Happy twenty ten!