Looking back on the media I consumed in 2025, this is a list of just my favorites.

🎮️ Games

Dragon Quest V

I was always a Nintendo kid, and have played very few Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy games. I’d heard that is one of the best, and I finally grabbed the iOS port this year. Among other things, I was really impressed by the clever usage of game mechanics to tell story.

Early in the game when your dad is traveling with you, having him defeat monsters and heal you constantly cements his presence as someone you can always rely on. Once you set off on your own, the world suddenly feels big and scary. Other battles throughout the story play within existing mechanics, allowing you to take an active role and live through the events. Really creative, masterfully crafted experiences.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

This game is a joy to play. I completed it not-quite-to 100% on my own (I plan to go back to it eventually), but this also holds a special place as the first video game we let our son play. And he got good at it so quickly! On the easier mode (what a great option), he has cleared the main story and most of the extra stages as well.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

This game’s world building and creativity blew me away. The gameplay was nothing ground-breaking, which was the correct choice, I think. Give players a familiar playground with some engaging mechanics, introduce them to some monstrously powerful enemies, and then allow characters to grow even stronger. Nothing fancy, just all of the good stuff.

But the environments, man! This may have been the first game where every single area I entered, including the post-game, compelled me to explore – not by dangling achievements and loot, but by placing me in genuinely compelling settings and taking my breath away. Climbing The Reacher was a high point in my gaming career.

Alter Aeon

This year, I played MUDs for the first time in my life, and Alter Aeon will be the representative of the many I tried. There was something really compelling about accessing a full, vibrant world through a terminal and telnet. While many players were very friendly, it unfortunately felt hard to really connect with the existing player base as a noob, and I had decades of catching up to do. But overall these were very fun experiences.

Fantasy Life i

The first Fantasy Life game I played was the iOS version, and I really loved it. It took many of the things I enjoyed about MMOs and packaged them into a friendly, approachable single player game. This newest game follows the same formula, and its just very comforting to play. Chicken soup for my gamer soul. Fighting monsters, gathering materials, and crafting items is perfectly balanced to be fun and engaging, but not too tedious or boring.

Chaos Zero Nightmare

This one was not on my radar, but I heard about it as a roguelike deck-building gacha game. I started it mainly for market research, but was very quickly hooked. Choosing three characters to make a team, and mixing their cards to make your deck gives a lot of room for experimenting with synergies, and the random nature of card upgrades provides a lot of replay value while chasing the perfect deck.

That said, I am pretty worried about the game’s longevity because, while it’s a ton of fun to assemble an overpowered deck, what will be left to do once we have all attained them? I’m already feeling a very strong power creep after just a couple of months. The game is still in its very early stages, so we will see how the service evolves.

📙 Books

The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson

This was introduced to me as the first major literary work featuring a haunted house. A very fun read, it shows that techniques for scaring people through words hasn’t changed much in 60+ years.

The Stormlight Archive – Brandon Sanderson

After loving the first two books, I read the third and probably never finished the fourth. But since book five is the conclusion to the first arc of this story, I gave the whole series another go. I’m glad I did, because I enjoyed it much more the second time around, and book five gave a very satisfying conclusion.

Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir

I love Andy Weir’s writing – I was following The Martian as it was being serialized on his personal site. This book was everything I loved about The Martian, with even more toppings that only enhance the experience. An absolute joy.

The Books of Earthsea – Ursula K. Le Guin

I’ve never read these books before! How can that be? I’m currently most of the way through book 3 and I’m loving it. The first book was pretty good, and each consecutive book has been pulling me in more and more.

💬 Manga

ルックバック (Look Back) – 藤本 タツキ

This one-shot manga about aspiring Manga writers and their dedication to their craft made me cry on the train. The movie was also fantastic.

ダンダダン (Dandadan) – 龍 幸伸

The first manga series in a long time that just completely won me over. The gags are so funny, the action is so good, the poses are so cool. It just perfectly aligns with my tastes. (The fan service was a little excessive in the early chapters though, and I’m glad that wide popularity seems to have toned it down a bit.)

よつばと! (Yotsuba&!) – あずま きよひこ

A re-read, but this is nourishment for my soul. Now that I have kids of my own, I recognize that a lot of elements of the story should be taken as fantasy. But every time I read this, I’m motivated to be a kinder, more loving person – especially to my kids.

📺️ Serial Shows

No No Girls

A reality show following an audition for a girls’ performance group. Produced by Chanmina, the selection explicitly prioritizes skill and passion – not looks. I was blown away by the care taken in coaching the participants. It is clear that Chanmina truly cares about each of these girls, and is seeing the audition as an opportunity to connect deeply to, and really guide every person through a pivotal point in their professional lives.

ホットスポット (The Hot Spot)

A comedy SF drama about an alien who lives a relatively normal life in a rural Japanese town, pretending to be human and hiding his marginally useful psychic abilities. Written by Bakarhythm, I will always gladly watch another show by him.

じゃあ、あんたが作ってみろよ

A weekly drama airing on local Japanese TV about a couple who break up, and then separately do some soul-searching to grow into a better version of themselves. Very cute, and the comedy was on-point as well.

Last Piece

Another reality audition show, this time with boys. It’s put on by the same talent agency as No No Girls, so more of the same good stuff. I wasn’t planning on watching it at first, but the resulting boy group’s performance on TV was really great, and made me want to see their origin story.

ザ・ロイヤルファミリー (Passing the Reins)

A drama series about a racehorse team, following a few generations of their prize horses. This was just a really great story, and very well presented. I really want to know how they filmed the races themselves, because they were all very exciting with the perfect dramatic finishes.

🎬️ Movies

侵入者たちの晩餐 (Trespassers)

Another by Bakarhythm. This is the story of three unlikely robbers who break into their boss’ apartment, where antics ensue. The Rashomon-esque repetition of the events from various characters’ point of view was delightfully done, too.

Kingdom 4: 大将軍の帰還 (Return of the Great General)

I love the Kingdom comics, and the movies are also a lot of fun. This fourth one though, was damn good. Loved everything about it.

ザ・マジックアワー (The Magic Hour)

I haven’t seen very much by Koki Mitani before, but this movie was great. It was kind of similar to the Bill Murray movie, The Man Who Knew Too Little. A huge misunderstanding persists throughout the entire movie, leading to brilliant suspense and comedy.