Heyo nerds! Well the year is almost over so I decided to reflect on some radical things I loved over this dumpster fire of a year, so in no particular order, heres the top 6 things I LOVED in 2017!
Oh My Ghost
This Korean drama was actually brought to my attention by the always lovely Robin Goodfellow and I watched all 16 episodes in probably 2 days. This show kicked off a downward spiral into me consuming probably 15 more Korean dramas over the course of several months and completely destroyed my Netflix queue in the process. Essentially the only things recommended to me now are Korean dramas and Anime. I only have myself to blame.
Oh My Ghost centers around shy chef assistant Bong Sun, who is able to see ghosts. Bong Sun is in love with her boss Sun Woo, but is too nervous to do anything about it. Soon Ae is a ghost roaming the streets of Seoul looking for a woman to possess, as she believes she’ll be able to go to heaven once she loses her virginity. She sets her sights on Bong Sun and the two of them hatch a plan to have Soon Ae possess Bong Sun and use her charm and boldness to make Sun Woo fall in love with her, and help Soon Ae get to heaven. In the meantime, Soon Ae is trying to find out how she died, and Sun Woo’s brother in law is hiding a secret from the family.
This show was SO addicting I couldn’t stop watching it. It’s definitely my biggest guilty pleasure of 2017, and if you are a fan of romantic dramas or corny soaps, I recommend busting out the Soju and checking this out.
Shin Godzilla
I love Godzilla movies, We all know what we came here for: Godzilla rocking around screaming and stomping on things. Shin Godzilla does not disappoint. Shin Godzilla shows a really interesting new take on the genre by showing Godzilla as he evolves from water to land and goes from adorable little googly eyed baby to a bad ass big boss that sprays radiation from his mouth. The movie also includes the bureaucratic nightmare of how to possibly deal with a gigantic lizard attacking the city, as Director Hideaki Anno used this movie as an allegory for the Fukushima radiation disaster and the poor way it was handled by government officials. The movie cuts between scenes of Godzilla tearing up the countryside and panicked salarymen attempting to keep control over a completely uncontrollable situation.
Shin Godzilla is a fantastic addition to the Toho film series and just a super fun movie in general. I really recommend it if you’re a fan of monster movies, or watching Japanese men in business suits argue with each other.
Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami
This is a bit of a two for one, but it absolutely had to make the list as I have been in a Yakuza hole for the better part of 2017. I plowed through 5 mainline games and one zombie spin off game this year and I loved every minute of it. Yakuza is a bit of a sleeper hit that just recently gained steam in North America, with both the prequel Yakuza 0 and a remake of the original 2006 release getting localized releases in 2017. I think a lot of people have given them a miss just writing them off as GTA clones, but they are another animal altogether. These games are really difficult to explain, but they essentially tell the story of former Yakuza member Kazuma Kiryu and his struggle to live as a civilian, which is difficult because he keeps getting roped into the turmoil of his former Tojo Clan. The gameplay is a really fun beat ‘em up style with different combos and finishing moves, and there’s a ton of mini games ranging from karaoke to slotcar racing to mahjong. There’s also a lot of substories you can stumble upon throughout the game. The substories are definitely the most fun part of the games, they range from the mundane (Kiryu gets his wallet stolen) to the bizarre (Kiryu has to help a dominatrix get better at her job) and totally make the game.
Yakuza 0 is a prequel game that follows mainline game protagonist Kazuma Kiryu and his sometimes friend, sometimes enemy Goro Majima. Kiryu is trying to clear his name of a murder he was framed for, while Majima struggles to decide where he stands when an assassination assigned to him doesn’t go as planned. This game is a super fun addition to the franchise since it’s set in the 80’s and you can see the characters progression into the men they are in the later games. It’s also a fantastic jumping off point into the series, as they do put some little hints and references to other games in the series but not enough that you wouldn’t be able to pick it up and enjoy it on a standalone level.
Yakuza Kiwami is a re release and HD remaster of the original title and as far as remasters go, this is one of the best. The characters and environments look amazing, and they added a lot of substories and cutscenes that explain more of the characters motivation. Set 17 years after the events of Yakuza 0 it follows recently released from prison Kiryu as he tries to track down his childhood love Yumi, and find out why his blood brother Nishiki has turned his back on him. The most fun aspect they added to the game is the Majima Everywhere system where he will just show up at random in various costumes (dressed as a zombie) and locations around the city (hiding in garbage cans) and challenge you to fights.
If you’re looking for a new action adventure game to pick up I can’t recommend this series enough, it’s the most fun I’ve had in years with a game franchise.
The Void
I cannot rave enough about this movie, this is one of the rare occasions when you are so hyped for a release and the movie is even better than you anticipated. I might be a bit biased going into this Canadian horror film since I loved all the previous work by directors Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie, but this newest effort completely blew me away. The Void is a horror that centers around a group of small town residents trapped inside a defunct hospital and have to survive the night in between attacks by ghoulish cult members and Lovecraftian nightmares.
The monster effects are a love letter to The Thing, and I was really impressed by the use of practical effects. Something about those rubber suits covered in viscera is so much more satisfying than CGI blood and gore. For a crowdfunded project with a pretty modest budget The Void really shows that less can be more and you don’t need millions to make a great product. The set design, sound design, and monster design all work perfectly together and this is honestly probably the closest to a Silent Hill movie that we’re ever going to get in terms of tone and that aura of an otherworldy brutal hellscape. All the characters are fully fleshed out and realized and I really found myself rooting for everyone to survive the night, whereas a lot of horror movies don’t really bother to make characters anything other than a stereotype or killer fodder.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from this movie and I’ve been thinking about it for most of 2017 The love for the genre really shows in The Void and it is absolutely my favourite horror movie of 2017 if not just general film of 2017. I also recommend checking out the rest of the directors works, especially Manborg and The Editor, if you’re looking for a new take on some old genre favourites.
Sex Criminals
I picked this comic up on a whim because how could I walk past a comic with a title like that. Though the series started in 2013 I didn’t find it until this year, and I’m so glad I did.
The series centers around couple Suzie and Jon who discover that they share the ability to freeze time after orgasm. You with me still? So with this newfound power they decide to start robbing banks in the frozen time to save the library Suzie works for, which is close to shutting down for lack of funding. The comic obviously doesn’t take itself too seriously, and its a blast to read. I have laughed out loud in public reading this several times. The characters are all really well written because they’re all kinda selfish assholes that bumble their way through sex and relationships.
Written by Matt Fraction, who has previously written for Hawkeye and Uncanny XMen and illustrated by Chip Zdarsky, Sex Criminals is a super fun comic with great visuals and a completely original story. With lots of fourth wall breaking, helpful sex moves illustrated (The User Agreement – jerking off a guy with your feet while signing up for iTunes) and tons of WTF moments, Sex Criminals has it all. There’s currently 4 published volumes available, with an apparent TV show in the works. So get on board now so you can say you liked Queeps (getting eaten out while holding the man at gun point) before everyone else did.
So that’s a few of the things that made my 2017, cant wait for 2018 to see what nonsense garbage I love next year!
-Rigby
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You can find Rigby on twitter dreaming about Majima, Frank Grillo, and big beers.
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