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Your Visual Novel, Manga, Anime, Game of the Decade


mitchhamilton

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Almost a month has gone by since we step into the new decade and maybe that's enough time for us introverts to think about our most influential titles in these categories. I'll start! :mare: 

 

For visual novel i would have to say Katawa Shoujo. This one changed my views on vn's in that they can offer more than just sexy time. Being the spawn of 4chan, I know, it was a surprisingly a respectful look into the lives of disabled people and the treatment they have been through and what they are currently going through. And again, they can offer characters that are compelling and have their own troubles that goes deeper than "your penis can make things better". Although to be fair, those can be pretty deep as well. HEYO! :makina: 

 

For manga I would say Kodomo No Jikan. Towards the end of the decade I've sort of fallen off with reading manga but as I look back at the most influential one I thought of this one. Judge me all you want but despite it being a love letter to lolicons, I found the character studying bits to be very engaging. How the children have their own troubles and how this young bright eyed teacher views them and how he needs to deal with them. It was the manga that lead me to talking on forums on my anime list, it was the one I waited patiently for new chapters to be translated. This little gem is what started my interests into manga and I will be grateful for it for that.

 

For anime Attack on Titan. Yeah, this one wasn't hard. I was gonna compare it to Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and why I choose AoT over it but then looked it up and FMAB aired in 2009. Just missed it my friend, you'll get them next time though. Anyways, airing in 2013 Attack on Titan had a very strong start to say the least. The opening song alone was enough to become popular and what anime openings should aspire to be. But as the show continued on it kept it's audiences attention by being compelling to watch. So many questions and twists and turns and now that we're 3 seasons in it's safe to say that the author isn't just making it up as he goes along. From episode 1 there is set up and pay off to events way down the line of this series. With it airing in 2013 and no mention of a second season, the show could've ended there and been just a shiny example of what anime should be but instead it continued on for 3 more seasons even into the new decade. Who knows, I may make another one of these threads and have it as anime of the new decade. :makina: Nah, that would be cheating since the very first ep aired in 2013. Oh god, what if I'm on this site for another decade!? :marie: 

 

And finally for game of the decade for me it's Dark Souls. Love em or hate em you can't say the souls games haven't had an impact this past decade on the video game industry and it all started with this one. Yes, I know of Demon Souls but that one kind of fizzled away a bit with it's release while Dark Souls exploded into popularity. From it's difficulty curve to it's compelling story and lore that is still being dissected to this day, to it's combat system it inspires a lot of games even as we head into the new decade. Of course From Software is good at what they do and all they do is Dark Souls so that helps with reminding people about this game.

 

So those are my picks. What are your picks, you degenerates? :meguface:

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VN of the decade's gotta be the one I simultaneously never shut up about and also never say anything about, Subahibi.  I don't read manga so I'll abstain from that category.  I also only recently got into anime, so I'll abstain from that category as well.  Game of the decade's gotta be Just Shapes and Beats!

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VN: Mahou Shoujo (lifelike characters and interactions)

Anime: Simoun (could not expect an anime like this, it's like a moody space opera with character development)

Manga: N/A

LN: Mushoku Tensei, it made me think about what it would be like raising a family. Grimgar: Has influenced me a lot over the years. Serious party combat isekai ftw.

Edited by Chronopolis
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Visual Novel: If My Heart Had Wings/Konosora- Helps I was part of the Retranslation project as QC/testing but it's one of the best uplifting, wholesome stories I've ever read.

Anime: Dragon Ball Super- Seems like a kinda mixed reception but I loved almost everything about it and it was almost everything I wanted in a true Dragon Ball Z sequel.

Manga: My Love Story/Ore Monogatari - Kinda ties in with the anime but it was a very wholesome/funny story. Unlike anime actually had an ending.

Game: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Smash Bros is my favorite series, every game is an improvement somehow, and theres just too much good stuff.

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VN: Evolimit

Anime: Overlord

JRPG: Tales of Berseria

Book: Honor Harrington series (I started it this decade, lol)

Evolimit is the VN made this decade that I come back to the most.  Yes, I love Light's games, but Evolimit has more great scenes and moments while being more accessible for normal people (instead of crazy text-addicts like me) so it is easier to talk about with other people. 

Overlord's setting and characters, with the weird balance between humor and evil, have kept me fascinated enough to actually pick up an LN of my own will for the first time (I have had LNs thrust on me in the past). 

Tales of Berseria left an impression that this mostly JRPG-dead ten years has generally failed to do, at least for me.  It brought back what I liked most about jrpgs while also managing to stand out from the tired norms that are endemic to the genre.  For the most part, the last decade has been a dead zone for good jrpgs, with only the Trails series still providing a solid first-line experience. 

Honor Harrington has been a gift to me, as a sci-fi addict.  With a saga spanning over thirty years (at this point) just in the protagonist's lifetime (there are other side storylines that go far in the past) and a powerful cast of characters with lives that aren't sidelined by the action, I can't help but love this series.

Games in general have not really impressed me over the last ten years.  Most of the promised advances have not materialized, and for every step forward, it seems like another step and a half back have been taken.  I suppose it is because so much emphasis was placed on the multiplayer experience over the last decade that solo games have taken a backseat...

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VN: The House in Fata Morgana. I believe, no comments are needed at this point. A year ago I would most likely choose Subahibi, but, thinking about it, it has way too many things that I personally don't really like.

Anime: Shinsekai Yori. It's a rather strange postapocalyptic story which may seem a bit random at first, but in the end provides really unique and self-contained experience. It also has one of the best endings I've seen in an anime so far. I don't think I've seen any anime from the last decade that I liked more.

I don't really read manga much, (at least, not particularly good manga) so skipped.

As for LNs/WNs, while I've been reading quite a lot of them recently, I don't think I've found any 10/10 LNs yet. As for my personal favorite, I guess I'll go with a relatively niche one called Shini Yasui Kōshaku Reijō to Shichi-nin no Kikōshi, because it somehow manages to combine everything I like in fantasy novels, like good world building, interesting and not particularly over the top characters, well written action, and intriguing mystery.

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VN: It's so hard to pick just one among all the amazing works I've met in the past decade. I'd nominate Chaos;Child, ISLAND, Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception (I count it as a VN regardless of its RPG elements), Four Rhythms Across the Blue, and Senren*Banka. And finally I chose Senren*Banka because it brought me so much laughter, and the soundtrack is really awesome.

Anime: Little Witch Academia. Other nominees: Hyouka, Psycho-Pass (Season 1), Fune wo Amu, Zombie Land SAGA.

Manga: And Yet the Town Moves (half of the volumes are published in 2010s so I think it's fine). I was considering Attack on Titan but I picked a more joyous one at last. I also like Ayakashi Hisen, and I even bought the folding fan from the manga in Kyoto.

Game: Sekiro. Miyazaki-sensei is the best.

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On 1/27/2020 at 8:43 PM, GXOALMD said:

VN of the decade's gotta be the one I simultaneously never shut up about and also never say anything about, Subahibi.  I don't read manga so I'll abstain from that category.  I also only recently got into anime, so I'll abstain from that category as well.  Game of the decade's gotta be Just Shapes and Beats!

shit. Beat me to it.

Anime of the decade: Really hard to say, but I think Steins;Gate is a good contender. However, I am a moe bitch so I will pick Mysterious Girlfriend X.

Manga: Fuck, I don't read manga like that.

Game: Yall motherfuckas are forgetting about the mastapiece Super Mario Odyssey

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  • 4 months later...

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