This is where I write about fandoms I've been in that have been a major part of my life. A lot of thoughts about the media that I fixated on, and bits about my experience with the fandom. Most fixations tend to last about a year, and after that I become a bit more of a casual fan. Though, some of this might not read as that casual.
You can click the tab to read about the corresponding fandom/media. They're arranged in chronological order, from my first fandom/fixation to my most recent one.
Type: Video game
When did I first get into it: 2016
How I got into it: Watched a playthrough and then played it myself. I don't really remember whose playthrough it was, if I had to guess it was either Jacksepticeye's or Cryaotic's.
What I like(d) about it: I connected HARD with the characters, and its humor was right up my alley. Not to mention the amazing music and the way it tackles aspects of video games usually taken for granted.
Notes
Ah, baby's first fandom. I was in the middle of high school when I got absolutely obsessed with Undertale. I was already on Deviantart at the time, and kept encountering all sorts of beautiful fan art and interesting AUs.
There's so many things I still enjoy today that I first learned about through my involvement in the Undertale fandom.
I created a Tumblr account because so many of the AUs I found interesting were on that site, and I listen to Ninja Sex Party because someone made a goofy AU animatic to one of their songs, haha. Most importantly, I got into digital art because an artist I admired did digital art and explained the basics of it well enough for me to convince my parents to get me a drawing tablet for my birthday. I've been using that tablet to this day!
Papyrus
He's really funny and nice and it's honestly hard not to root for him to achieve his unlikely dreams.
Undyne
I loved her general intensity, and the fact that she's a strong warrior lady. Warrior women are cool.
Alphys
I found her adorable, and, nerd that I was and still am, I related to her nerdiness and awkwardness.
Type: Video game
When did I first get into it: Winter 2016
How I got into it: I'd read a review from which I got the impression that it was a pretty decent game, and then I saw it on sale for €15. Like I would let that pass me by, video game prices being what they are. I also hadn't owned my PS4 for long yet at that point, so I barely had anything to play.
What I like(d) about it:
It's got a fantastical feeling to it, but the more serious moments land well too, and it doesn't feel like the two
clash or one has to be seriously pulled back. The characters were really charming and had lovely designs, I liked hearing
their silly conversations about history or armadillos.
The gameplay's very fun, most of the characters are great to play as. It was pretty accessible for me when I first played it as
well, I didn't have as much experience with video games at the time.
It has a fantastic soundtrack too! Especially in comparison to the other Tales games (Berseria and Arise) I've played. Those tend
to be forgettable, but I still listen to the Zestiria soundtrack every now and then. It really manages to capture Sorey's wonder
and curiousity about the world.
Notes
This was the first fandom I mainly experienced on Tumblr. I followed loads of blogs, made fanart, kept up with discussion around the terrible anime adaptation. I played the mobile
spinoffs, Tales of Link and Tales of the Rays, when those were up. (I still have some recordings of character special attacks in TotR!) I also participated in a shipping-related event for the first time, hehe.
I was mostly interested in Zestiria, but I'd inevitably hear about the other entries in the Tales series, because that's how it goes with series fandoms. I got exposed to the other entries in one way or another and kept up with the newest ones. I played Tales of Berseria shortly after it came out and had a great time. Couldn't say the same thing for Arise, which was too bad since it looked gorgeous. I just didn't jive with the gameplay at all.
At some point I somehow got my IRL best friend to play Zestiria. Idk how far he got in the end, but one time I was over at his house and we played some of it in the multiplayer mode, it was a fun afternoon.
Sorey
I'm a history lover myself, so it's neat to have a protagonist who's a massive dork and really into archaeology and
ancient history. His arc is really interesting too; he has to accept some dark truths about the world, but he never
loses sight of his dream to create a better future.
Mikleo
He has a fun dynamic with practically everyone in the party, and I like his slightly more down-to-earth, but still
dorky personality in comparison to Sorey. On top of that, I love characters associated with water, and he has a lovely design.
During fights he's very useful too. It's really easy to switch between offense and defense with him, and considering I like to
have control over healing but don't want to be stuck in the back, that's very welcome.
Lailah
She's Sorey's mature mentor, but she also manages to be really cute, I like that combination. One moment she's explaining
the Duty of the Chosen One™️, the next she's making terrible puns.
Gameplay-wise she's one of my favorite characters to control as well. She's a bit slow, but once you get the upper hand it's
really satisfying and easy to keep it that way. Especially since she's got fire magic, meaning massive explosions and tornadoes of flame near the end of the game.
Type: Video game
When did I first get into it: Summer 2017
How I got into it: Jay from TheKubzScouts started a playthrough of it, I thought it looked interesting. By the time I had finished watching the playthrough of the first arc I decided I wanted to get it and play it for myself.
What I like(d) about it:
Its gameplay, its characters, its music, and its overwhelming amount of style.
Everything has so much identity and charm to it. Despite my ever-increasing list of complaints about it,
it's still a very comfy and fun game to me.
Its social commentary may be kinda on the nose, but I really appreciated it for pointing out that the issue the main
characters are trying to fix is a societal one. Throughout the game they're taking down bad individuals, but those individuals are a product
of the society they live in. So to actually change things, they confront a representative of those broader societal issues. In a fantastical JRPG 'killing gods'
way, of course, but without that angle the game wouldn't have been complete nor its message as interesting to think about.
Notes
When I tell you this game haunts me-
I had been in big, active fandoms before (Undertale), but back then I didn't have much experience with fandom specifically. So to
be in the Persona 5 fandom at the height of its popularity, it was amazing. There was tons of fanart, fanfics and analysis, but it wasn't just that. There was a big circle of character ask blogs, people made tons of zines,
spinoffs kept coming out because Atlus is Atlus, so there was always something going on and something to talk about. The experience of being in that fandom
felt so varied and lively, I still look back on it with fondness.
I even made a friend in the fandom! Our friendship lasted for several years, well beyond my fixation on P5, but eventually we started drifting apart. It happens.
Persona 5 was also pretty important to my artistic development. Its art style was very cool and fun to imitate, and it was probably my first experience with cel shading. It also impacted other things, like the way I draw noses and face shapes. When it comes to face shapes, actually, it's moreso that I started paying attention to them and making an effort to differentiate them. My friend telling me my drawing of Ryuji didn't look like Ryuji has become a core memory in that regard, haha.
Lastly, my evolving thoughts on the game eventually culminated in me writing my bachelor's thesis on sexism in Persona 5. Ambivalent sexism, specifically.
Writing the thesis
was rough and the graduation ceremony was embarrassing because the announcer didn't read out the full title for some reason, but I am proud of what I accomplished.
Ryuji Sakamoto
He's so enthusiastic and cares about his friends so much! He's got such inner strength too, he manages to keep his head up
despite his tough past (and his friends treating him like shit in the latter half of the game because someone thought that would be funny).
Ann Takamaki
She's cheerful and emotionally intelligent, and I love how driven she is to become stronger so she can help and inspire others.
Seeing her own her sexuality (in the first arc and her side story, anyway :/) was awesome too.
Yusuke Kitagawa
I related to him a lot, as an artist and a person who's not too good with talking to people, and
both his introductory storyline and side story were really good. We don't talk about the modeling thing.
Futaba Sakura
Her entire storyline in the game was amazing, getting to delve into the way she felt and thought,
and the reasons behind it. And though she gets help from the other characters, she still manages to overcome her issues herself.
I related a lot to her too, with her nerdy interests and social awkwardness. Looking back,
she reads as pretty autistic, so it probably had to do with that (same with Yusuke actually).
She's also just a really adorable snarky younger sister type of character.
Haru Okumura
She's kind and gentle, but doesn't wait until someone else saves her from her awful situation.
She tries to handle it as best she can and tries to learn to trust her friends, I love that.
I also liked that it took her some time to definitively stand up against her horrible father, instead of her making up her mind instantly.
Kasumi Yoshizawa
She has an amazing arc of finding her own purpose and identity, and she is the only one
where I can believe that she's in love with the protagonist, instead of it feeling forced for
the sake of being able to date the girls in the game.
Zenkichi Hasegawa
My beloved pathetic old man ♡
Strikers adding an adult character to the gang was great, it allowed for a fresh perspective.
Zenkichi's a person with much more obligations than the teenage Thieves, which makes it that much harder
for him to break free and follow his own path. It makes it all the more satisfying when he finally does.
All of that aside, it's funny how he tries to be the responsible adult yet is such a loser.
Type: Video game series
When did I first get into it: Summer 2018
How I got into it: A friend was really into it. I watched the anime adaptation of the first game but I didn't really get into it until after I watched a playthrough of the first two games. I believe it was Minx's playthrough. Eventually I got Danganronpa V3 for myself and that's what sent me over the edge, so to speak.
What I like(d) about it: Its wacky characters, the mysteries, its unique visual aesthetic and distinct soundtrack.
Notes
This was one of the first fandoms I made OCs for, and I had a lot of fun with it. The series' gimmick of basically every character being
the best at something makes for a fun writing prompt.
There's also that, for a long time, a Persona 5 x Danganronpa crossover I drew was by far the most popular drawing I had ever made. It was the P5 cast arguing in DRV3's Scrum Debate set-up. I went through a lot of effort to draw each P5 character in the Danganronpa style, recreate DRV3's UI and mix it with P5's, and then make various screenshots going through the entire hypothetical Scrum Debate sequence. It makes me happy that something I put such effort into got such a big response. I remember opening my Tumblr the morning after posting it, refreshing the page, seeing the number go up every time and checking the reblogs to see if anyone had said anything nice or funny about what I'd made. (Back then Tumblr didn't display tags added to a post in the notes so you had to manually go through the reblogs)
Sakura Oogami
It started out with me thinking it would be funny to say she was my favorite, with a sprinkle of "It's kinda cool for
there to be such a muscular woman and that she's not ENTIRELY played for laughs". That eventually became half of my
reason for loving her, and the other half became how kind and strong-willed she is.
Celestia Ludenberg
I like her design (I've a fondness for Lolita-type fashion) and how cold and clever she can be.
Angie Yonaga
She seems merely strange and silly at first, but she's really clever and, even though I
think she means well, rather manipulative, and I think that's really interesting.
Gonta Gokuhara
He's such a sweetheart, and I love how much he loves bugs.
Kirumi Tojo
She's elegant and wickedly skilled at so many things, but there's also something tragic about her
because she's dedicated to serving others to the point of it becoming her downfall. (Also I think her English
VA did a fantastic job, that definitely helped)
Korekiyo Shinguji
Ignoring that horrible, horrible reveal that they should not have added because good lord why - he's actually my
favorite from V3. He's weird and a little creepy, but I find that charming in a way. And I like that he's an
anthropologist, and very passionate about it in his own strange way. Yes, "humanity is beautiful", tell me more!
Type: description
When did I first get into it: Summer 2019
How I got into it: It was one of those series I come across several times on the internet, and when I got my 3DS I decided to download ROMs for all the games I could get my hands on.
What I like(d) about it: The mysteries and goofy characters! The earlier games really excelled at those, and at making even the smallest case feel like the fate of the universe depended on it. AJAA had a fantastic darker tone, and it upsets me greatly that Dual Destinies ditched everything about it to try to go back to how the series used to be.
Favorite game(s):It's Justice for All, Apollo Justice and Spirit of Justice. JFA has Franziska and an utterly fantastic final case, AJAA has that darker tone, Apollo, Trucy and Klavier and interesting loose threads (that never got tied up 😭 thanks DD) and Spirit of Justice, though the whole premise is so over the top, it has fun cases, a great soundtrack and it got me to care which DD couldn't manage. Yes I am using this favorites section to bash Dual Destinies. What about it.
Notes
There's a lot of stuff I can recall regarding my various interests and my fandom experiences, but Ace Attorney
especially is tied to very specific memories, of a weird transitionary time in my life. And the Coronavirus. I had bought a 3DS
secondhand, and the L button was busted, and either shortly before or after the start of the lockdown, I went to get it fixed at a nearby video
store. It was a Monday, and the town plaza was nearly empty. It was a bizarre sight.
I also associate the soundtrack of Spirit of Justice specifically with the start of my first year at university, cycling to and fro the various places I had to be. Lady Kee'ra's theme has become the theme of me turning That One Corner. Funny how the human brain works.
I hope that someday we'll get AA7 and that it will feature Athena as the protagonist for 100% of the game, you don't play as Phoenix even once, but it's been 10 years and all we got was rereleases. They officially localized DGS and DGS2, though, so that's nice.
Franziska von Karma
Cool lady with a whip coOL LADY WITH A WHIP COOL LADY WITH-
Apollo Justice
He's doing his best but at the same time he's so done with everything and
everyone, it's really funny. He feels a bit spunkier than Phoenix and I like that too.
Trucy Wright
She's so cute and charming, and her dynamic with Apollo was really fun. I also love her design and her theme.
Athena Cykes
Sucks that she had to debut in the worst game in the (main) series, but I love her and her energy regardless!
Her design's pretty neat too. It's a little cluttered, but I like her hair and the moon earring, and the whole is always instantly
improved when a fanartist gives her pants instead of that short skirt.
Uendo Toneido
He was simply a lot of fun in Turnabout Storyteller. Sometimes you have these cases with only one main
witness and it starts to drag on, but I never had that feeling with Uendo. He was entertaining throughout.
Nahyuta Sahdmadhi
His design's doing a lot of the heavy lifting, I have to admit. But he's a fun enough prosecutor
and the drama during the final case was pretty solid.
Type: TV show
When did I first get into it: Late summer 2019
How I got into it: Nostalgia. I had watched it as a kid and one day I remembered it existed, I decided to go back to it and take a look and quite liked it.
What I like(d) about it: Magical girls! Glittery magical girls each with unique powers! It's just unapologetically feminine and colorful, and it has a really unique setting, this mix of fantasy and sci-fi elements. I mean, have you heard of other media where a main character's magical power is technology? The art style and music are pretty iconic too if you ask me.
Notes
The funny thing is, as a kid I watched the show, but since it was on traditional linear TV, I hadn't watched every episode.
Most of what I had watched was season 4 and 5, with the occasional season 1-3 episode. I really liked season 4, season 5 was fine.
I watched the first movie too, and I still have it on DVD.
I also own some of the comics, I have no idea how I got my hands on them. I probably got a couple through one of my cousin, she also had
a lot of W.I.T.C.H. comics she gave to me.
When I got back into it, I rewatched bits of season 4, 1, and 3, and as of writing this I am making my way through the English RAI dub of season 2 on Youtube. I've collected a few DVDs with the Dutch dub too, the voice acting is hilariously bad looking back on it.
Now, what I'm gonna say next is gonna sound crazy to anyone who has heard of the platform, but my best community experience with the Winx
fandom was on Amino. That platform was a hot mess, but years after I'd basically stopped using it, I'd still return every now and then to post my art and
leave some comments on other people's posts. That's because the Winx Amino was basically the only place where I'd regularly receive comments on my art, and nice
ones too! Not just for fan art, but also for art of my fan OCs, which are very near and dear to my heart.
It felt like I was somewhat known and appreciated over
there. I had some good times on the Persona 5 and Danganronpa Aminos too, but the Winx one is the only one that actively makes me a little sad that Amino shut down
before I had the chance to screenshot and archive some stuff.
Tecna
Her being my favorite character was basically carried over straight from my childhood. I liked her back then
for being 'the clever one' and feeling a bit different from the rest (i.e. I saw myself in her a lot, probably had something to do with my autism, who knows).
Now I also like her style, her attitude, and how unique her powers being technology-centric is.
Musa
Disregarding all the drama with Riven, she's fun, and I like the tomboyish style she had going on in the
earlier seasons. Actually, almost all her outfits and transformations look great.
Roxy
Another favorite carried over from childhood, and I still think they did her a disservice after season 4.
Just so much wasted potential.
Type: Video game series
When did I first get into it: Summer 2020
How I got into it: AntDude's videos on the series. At some point Youtube recommended me one of his videos on the Mario & Luigi games. I had played Kirby Super Star Ultra when I was a kid, and I saw he had videos on Kirby too, so I decided to give those a watch. I'd gotten myself a secondhand 3DS around that year too, so at some point after I modded it, I downloaded Triple Deluxe and Planet Robobot ROMs.
What I like(d) about it: The games feel great to play, with all their various copy abilities, and the best games are not super hard but still provide some challenge if you want it. They're visually gorgeous, with bright colors and all sorts of adorable and whimsical details, and the music is always incredibly good. Kind of similar to that level of optional challenge, I like the lore, and I think it's handled perfectly. You don't need to know it at all to enjoy the games, but if you pay attention, there's this slightly darker layer to everything that happens. Most of it is vague, but there's
Favorite game(s):
My favorite games are Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, and Kirby Triple Deluxe!
I really don't think they could have done a better job converting Kirby's gameplay style to 3D than what they did with Forgotten Land. The levels are
amazing, the level missions give you so much reason to go back and explore, and Waddle Dee Town is such a comfy place to be. It's a bit sad that the Copy Abilities
don't have as many different moves, but that's kind of a sacrifice they had to make to get them working well in 3D.
I like Kirby Triple Deluxe because it introduced my favorite character in the series (Taranza), but that's
not all of it. It may seem generic in its looks at first, but it's actually got a unique whimsical visual aesthetic that centers around nature, and level locations to not completely be the standard
set-up of "grassland-desert-water" etc. (Looking at you, RTDL.) Especially toward the end it gets this fairy tale-like feeling, and I'm a sucker for that. The music is fantastic
too! Go listen to Moonstruck Blossom!
Finally, no matter how good Planet Robobot is (and it is really good), I'm tired of people going on and on about how it's the best Kirby game, so I can't help but want to be a bit of a contrarian.
Notes
The Kirby fandom is probably one of the most straightforward yet pleasant fandom experiences I've had. I mostly interacted with the Tumblr fandom,
read some fanfic here and there, posted fanart on Tumblr and Twitter (yeah I used Twitter back then). The fandom is super chill and the fanart
I made got more attention than art I made for other fandoms. Not even mentioning original art I made because that never gets attention haha. Number go up isn't the point
of making art, but it getting more traction meant I would get more nice comments, and that was just a great experience.
I'm not really interested in shipping. Like, I don't mind it, but I'm not ride-or-die for many ships, and it's not the first thing that comes to mind when I join a fandom. That said, I love Magolor x Taranza. I like them as individual characters, but you can get an interesting dynamic going with the two together. And, sometimes you just gotta smash your favorites together like dolls. Magolor and Taranza have both done wrong and changed their ways, but Taranza's not subtle about his regrets, while Magolor, if he has any, keeps them to himself. Taranza's a noble with (presumed) responsibilities, while Magolor's very much a trickster. The contrast's just fun! I much prefer it over Marx x Magolor, they are too similar for me to find a relationship interesting.
Kirby
Prepare for a totally unexpected, never-seen-before opinion: Kirby is cute. Both in appearance and his sheer joyfulness. And I really
appreciate just how much he loves his friends.
Taranza
Adorable spider creature with a heartbreaking backstory! I love that on the one hand, he has this whole dramatic 'master of puppetry', posh noble and sad past
stuff going on, but at the same time he has a kind of adorable patheticness to him.
His backstory is great fun to explore for drama if you feel like it;
he has to deal with the grief of losing a loved one, and that loss is in part his own fault.
Magolor
Hear me out - Magolor is the Shadow the Hedgehog of the Kirby series. Antagonist in his introductory game, gets a multi-game development arc
that feels at least partially unplanned, and is now basically on the good guys' side but in his own weird way. Though, Magolor's arc mostly happened in the background of the games he appeared in until RTDLDX.
His arc still paints an interesting picture. He is always kind of sketchy and mischievous, even when he's on Kirby's side. Yet, especially with RTDLDX's
additions, he's faced the consequences of his actions and actually worked to redeem himself on some level. He's still a menace, but he's your menace.
He's very fun to draw as well due to him being an egg with pointy ears, a cape and floating hands.
Zan Partizanne
She and all the Mage Sisters are fun and silly and tragic, but Zan's definitely the coolest of the three.
Type: Video game
When did I first get into it: Summer 2020
How I got into it: As a child I'd played Dragon Quest IV, I liked it and when I saw DQXI in a store I wondered how the series was faring 7 entries later. I got it for my birthday, played it and loved it!
What I like(d) about it:
It manages to a great mix of charm, goofiness, and genuine drama. The story and characters are relatively
simple, but in a game like this they don't need to be all that complex. Its world feels great to explore,
it's absolutely beautiful and filled with life, and I personally love the punny names for everything.
Not to mention. one of my favorite types of games is turn-based combat ones, and Dragon Quest is basically
THE turn-based JRPG series. The slight changes they made in DQXI only made it more fun to play. (The animations,
both of the party members and the monsters, are filled with so much character too!)
Act 3 was a horrible, horrible mistake on the part of the writers though. Even now that I've played the 2D-HD
remake of DQIII, an elaborate homage to it was not worth obliterating all of the main characters' character development and
giving a way less compelling abridged version. It did not feel like the party's own story anymore and it's just- Hello, I am playing DQXI
to play DQXI! Not to gush over DQIII!
Notes
Despite what my whinging about act 3 may lead you to believe, I actually think Dragon Quest XI in all other areas does a phenomenal job
paying homage to the previous games in the series, while integrating those homages into the game itself. On my first time playing,
I had only played DQIV, but I could recognize the story beats DQXI referenced without those references feeling distracting.
Many of the other homages went completely over my head, they fit so naturally in the story DQXI was telling.
After finishing DQXI I went back to the the other games. I haven't played every single one yet, but I have played III, V, VI and IX now too. I haven't actually ever finished VI, but I got to the final dungeon, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I really enjoy how each entry is slightly different in terms of gameplay, but the core of the series has remained basically the same. Though, the devs said they want to go in a more adult direction for XII, so I wonder what will become of that. It's been years since XII's announcement, too.
Erik
He had a really good introduction if you ask me, and I like his more down-to-earth, or even slightly
cynical attitude in comparison to the rest of the party. He's so hilariously busted in the late game too,
it's fun setting up a combo and seeing him annihalate bosses. (Bonus points for having a fairly reliable thieving skill too)
Good for him, getting his own spin-off.
Sylvando
He's so flamboyant and charming, but he's not just there for comedic relief, he actually is the heart of the group! I love circus theming
and dramatics, but his wit, his drive to make people happy, and his past give him the substance that makes him a definite favorite.
He's also saved my ass plenty of times with Hustle Dance so he's a solid party member in gameplay too.
Serena
I thought she was pretty boring at first - a cute, demure healer. Like I haven't seen that before. But her character
development turned my opinion of her around. I love feminine characters who ALSO have a strong resolve, especially if we get
to see them develop it!
Type: description
When did I first get into it: January 2022
How I got into it: Over the years I'd seen plenty of Jojo memes, and even made a couple myself (even though sometimes I didn't even know they were Jojo memes!). I'd also seen some of the anime's visual style, and it looked really interesting, so I decided to start watching it when I saw it pop up on Netflix. Battle Tendency was the first part I loved and that kept me watching (that, and seeing what the hype was about with Stardust Crusaders), and when in January I binged Diamond is Unbreakable that's when it clicked.
What I like(d) about it: It's really dramatic and engaging but at the same time it's so very silly, and it embraces it. The characters and fights are crazy and inventive and that's what's fun about it. Additionally, it has an incredibly distinct art style and character designs, and is really colorful, all things I love!
Favorite part(s): Battle Tendency, Diamond is Unbreakable, and Golden Wind. Stone Ocean gets an honorable mention for having a great main cast and a solid story, but the fights weren't as engaging, sadly.
Notes
JJBA truly is one of a kind. It might not be for everyone, but it has such a strong identity as a series. It could only have been
made by Hirohiko Araki, for better and worse. I think that's a great thing, especially with how many other big franchises sand off their
eccentricities to appear to a wide audience.
It has been inspiring to me as an artist, too. I think my character design has improved a lot since I followed Araki's example and started looking to the fashion world for inspiration. And I draw upper lips now lmao.
Joseph Joestar
I don't think Battle Tendency would've been half as fun without a protagonist like Joseph. He's funny
and unpredictable, I love seeing what strange tactic he'll come up with next. He acts carefree but does
take the situation seriously when it matters.
Josuke Higashikata
He's just as dynamic as Joseph, but he also manages to nail that feeling of "dumbass teenage kid"
without being annoying or an actual bad person. It's nice to have a male protagonist with healing abilities
too. I think that's way more interesting than a guy who just punches stuff *glances at P3 Jotaro*
Rohan Kishibi
A jerk with a massive ego, he's really funny and very easy to mock, but he also manages to be a
decent ally to the other characters so there's something genuinely good about him.
I also really enjoy his spinoff series, and how he'd changed since his appearance in
DIU. Lost my mind when he appeared again in Jojolands, Araki really loves that guy huh.
Mikitaka Hazekura
I just love weird little guys. And I like how it's never outright confirmed or denied that he's an alien.
Bruno Bucciarati
He has taken over my brain but I could not tell you why. I love his design and special ability but
the rest is weirdly hard to put into words. He's just good.
Trish Una
I didn't find her very interesting at first: she just gets carted around by the others so they can get to the bad guy, whoop.
But then that arc where she awakens her stand, oh boy! I can never get enough of female characters who come into their own
despite or because of their shitty circumstances and awaken a new power in the process. I think it's criminal that she and
her stand really only had one big moment afterwards. (Also, I have to admit she's really fun to draw and her outfit is great.)
Jolyne Cujoh
If we can have only one female Jojo, I'm glad we have Jolyne. She's not some demure, cutesy doll there for the
viewing pleasure of teenage boys; she's strong, driven, sometimes even kinda vulgar, and her caring side is portrayed
as just as much of a strength as anything else.
Type: Video game series
When did I first get into it: December 2022
How I got into it: I got Breath of the Wild as a present for Sinterklaas. I'd been wanting to diversify the types of games I owned on my Switch and heard quite good things about it. I played it, loved it, and got curious about all these other games in the series, many of which I'd heard about before but didn't have the urge to play until I had played BotW. I've played several Zelda games now, but there's still a lot of games in the series I wanna check out.
What I like(d) about it: The puzzlesolving! I love how you have to be creative with the tools you have at your disposal, and have to find new ways to use them if you want to get anywhere. The games also have quite a bit of charm to them, and character designs that I love, especially in the more recent games.
Games played: Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, Ocarina of Time 3D, The Minish Cap, A Link Between Worlds, Skyward Sword HD, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
Favorite game(s): Breath of the Wild
Notes
I love the games I have played, but the more time passes, the more conflicted my feelings about TotK specifically become. It's technically
a good game, but it felt like it had no idea what it wanted to be, and was scared to commit to anything. I think that sets a concerning precedent.
I don't own a Switch 2, though, and I don't plan on getting one, so I'll just see what other people think about the new entries for the time being.
Sidon
I adore his positivity and enthusiasm, and how open he is about his feelings. He doesn't hide them with snarkiness or
anything, he just says what he feels. It was a breath of fresh air when I played BotW, as was him actually helping in
several ways during the Vah Ruta questline, instead of going "Hey can you risk your life for us? Ok cool thanks good luck,
I'll just be waiting over here." Well, okay, he does that when you actually enter Vah Ruta, but up until then he did contribute.
I also like how he does have his insecurities, growing up in the shadow of his sister, who was practically sainted by
his people, and still struggling with her death himself. I like that TotK built on that in his quest and has him acknowledge
his feelings of guilt and put his trust in others again rather than believing he should protect everyone by himself.
I love his design too, especially in TotK, because the crown and collar are ever-so-slightly over the top which is pretty amusing to me.
Mipha
I like her kindness, she's a very sweet lady. But what I almost like more than that, is that her kindness
does not equal her being meek or cowardly. She has real inner strength and a strong sense of responsibility
and duty toward her people, which is what makes her put her life on the line.
Urbosa
Love me a beautiful warrior lady with a deep voice (and some actual dang muscles). Aside from that, though,
I love Urbosa's motherly bond with Zelda, and how she can be kind but also firm where needed.
Revali
At a basic level, it's fun to make fun of him and his pompous attitude, but he's also a genuinely interesting character to me.
There's just a lot to go into, and I'm doing my best to not turn this into an essay, but he is the only one out of the four
Champions who wasn't born with a special ability. He developed a new technique, isolating himself from his people to master
it, and he didn't even get to pass that technique on to anyone. He acts pompously, yes, but it's not entirely unwarranted,
and can be read as him masking his insecurities.
Zelda (BotW/TotK)
She has just the absolute worst time of it in BotW and TotK, but despite it all she keeps going, and I love that. She had the
weight of the world on her shoulders in BotW, and failed to prevent disaster. All her friends died, but even then she didn't
give up. And in TotK, she did all this work and made an incredible sacrifice just for the possibility that it might help Link.
Also, her nerdiness when it comes to ancient cultures and tech is just plain adorable.
Link (Skyward Sword)
Honestly one of the best silent protagonists I've seen, and so far the only one of which I can genuinely say I love them as a character.
BotW Link comes close, but SS Link is just a bit better. My love of him is mostly due to just how expressive he is during cutscenes,
which makes him come off as a sweet and slightly dorky young man. He actually seems emotionally affected by the story too, which is
hard to say of a lot of other silent protagonists (*glares at DQXI's hero*). It's hard not to like him and root for him because of that.
Groose
I really didn't think I'd like him at first. I thought he'd be a generic bully character whose relevance would quickly
vanish after the game's opening and Link has set off on his adventure. Yet, not only does he actually have a role to play
in the story, he goes through some absolutely lovely character development which turned him into quite the endearing guy!
Type: Video game
When did I first get into it: 2024
How I got into it:
I suddenly started hearing everyone talk about it, including my friends. At one point, while I was visiting my best friend, he let
me play the prologue, to try it out. However, I only got it after I saw a local video game store offer a deal where you'd get a significant discount on
a PS5 in exchange for your old PS4. So, I gave them my PS4 and bought a PS5, and then I bought BG3.
A few months later, I discovered that my gaming laptop
could actually run the game too, so I bought the game again so I could play it with friends. Crossplay hadn't been added yet and I didn't wanna pay for
Playstation Plus or whatever it's called anyway.
What I like(d) about it: It's an absolutely massive game, on so many levels, it just boggles the mind. There's so many different ways you can tackle any given problem, and the fact that the game manages to account for so many of your decisions is amazing. It's incredibly well-written too, they didn't reserve all of their effort for the main characters and main quest. Sometimes a side quest is more interesting than whatever you're supposed to be doing! That said, the main characters and their various storylines are simply amazing.
Notes
BG3 came around in a really crappy time in my life, and it was great to have something so expansive to dedicate my time to.
I could talk about it with my friends too, they don't always like the same media I do, so it's great when our interests do align
like this.
I had started playing Dungeons and Dragons, which this game is based on, a year earlier, so BG3 wasn't just an incredible game on its own, it was a fun way to explore the different classes in the game. And it allows you to easily take the character you made in-game and play as them in DnD proper. As of writing this in 2026, I'm playing one of the characters I made for BG3 as a character for an actual campaign.
Shadowheart
She was the second character I met after Lae'zel, and a lot less scary, so that did her a big favor.
I talked to her the most in my first playthrough, I loved the glimpses of sweetness and playfulness you got
despite the religious indoctrination. When she had to make her big decision, I didn't know the 'correct' dialogue option for that part,
so I spent a while save scumming until I hit the nat 20 I needed to convince her to abandon her evil goddess.
Absolute "I can fix her" hours. Seeeing her remain faithful to her goddess in a later playthrough was a beautifully tragic
complement to it.
Astarion
Sometimes there's these characters where I'm very aware they're the Popular character, and I become resistant to liking them or saying they're
one of my favorites too, but goddammit, the vampire got to me still. I love how, yes, he's got a very difficult past and could really use someone
who is even a little kind to him, but you shouldn't excuse his every action because of that. On a different level, I like that he is something of
a subversion of the 'seductive vampire' trope.
Wyll
He was the first straightforwardly heroic party member I encountered, and he was such a breath of fresh air.
Everyone's so caught up in their own drama, and here's Wyll, just trying to do good while trapped in a shitty situation himself. And
then there's that extra layer, where he doesn't seem to value his own life as much, as long as it's 'for the greater good'. I wish
his storyline didn't fall apart in Act 3 and that he got the proper attention his character needed.
Karlach
She's fun, she's silly, she's a strong as all hells, what's not to love? In addition, her storyline of coming to terms with
her death, and especially the moment she asks you to be with her when she passes, struck an extremely personal chord.
Minthara
My beautiful wife who is objectively a terrible person. I recruited her for the first time in my fourth playthrough and
when you're already committed to being evil she's great to have around. There's definitely sympathetic aspects to her that
add to her character, but I mostly like her for vibes.
Orin
Frankly she didn't impress me a lot in my first playthrough. She was fun for sure, being a crazy shapeshifting villain, but nothing
new, y'know? Then I did a Dark Urge playthrough and now she makes me sad.
Type: Multimedia series
When did I first get into it: 2023
How I got into it: The first time, through the Snapcube fandubs. I'd seen the both the fandubs and the actual series pop up around the internet before, but the fandubs and the character designs got me interested. The second time, when I really fell hard into the fandom, was when I had just seen the third movie in January 2025 and thought "Yeah Shadow the Hedgehog is pretty cool actually."
What I like(d) about it: There's nothing quite like this series. It's got an insane history that left its impact on videogames and internet culture, there's been many ups and downs and yet it still keeps going. It's got great music, and its style of gameplay that relies on momentum and memorizing levels to find faster routes is something I haven't come across very often. Beyond that, I really like the characters. They're charming, simultaneously simple and have a level of depth to them that's often partially the result of the series' chaotic history.
Favorite game:
It's between Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic x Shadow Generations. The latter was my proper introduction to the series' gameplay amd I really enjoyed
the levels and music, and the story in Shadow Generations, but I seriously love the challenge and freedom of movement in the former. Project '06 deserves
a shoutout too.
(Aside from the games, I've also really been enjoying the IDW comics.)
Notes
I'm honestly stunned by this fandom. To me, it feels like fandom at its most extreme, the good and the bad. I generally manage to
stay out of drama and toxicity, but even I hear about it from time to time in this fandom. Fans will argue and give each other a hard time about
the tiniest things.
However, I prefer to focus on the good, and I continue to be impressed by the dedication and creativity in this fandom. So much fan art, fan fiction, entire comics that have been running for years, and a lively fan-game scene, up to remaking the series' lesser games to improve what good there was. The fans seem so passionate about the series, or what they want the series to be, and it leads to a series and fandom that's never boring.
Sonic the Hedgehog
He's cool, he knows what he's about, he lives by his own rules but also has a positive impact on basically everyone he meets.
And he can be a jerk in a fun way.
Shadow the Hedgehog
The literal definition of an antihero. He's not necessarily a bad guy, but he's a lot more abrasive and his methods are more ruthless.
And, despite how incredibly over the top his backstory is, it leads to these struggles with identity that make Shadow interesting.
Silver the Hedgehog
On a basic level, I really like his design and powers, just the general theme of it. His theme song is also by far one of my
favorite songs from the entire series, period. Aside from that though,
I enjoy his duality. One moment he can get very excited and/or naive over mundane things, and in the next he will
plow through people he thinks are in his way, without any explanation because he thinks it's self-evident that he's doing it
for the greater good.
Amy Rose
I always have appreciation for cutesy girly girl characters. Especially when they've got a temper and cartoonishly big weapon.
Knuckles the Echidna
I love his self-assuredness. It's interesting how struggles with the loneliness his duty as a guardian brings him, but he not only sticks with it,
he also sees the positive influence it's had on his life. Also, his straightforward attitude makes for an enjoyable dynamic between him and basically anyone with more
guile than him.
Tangle the Lemur
Her scrappy, energetic and genuine nature make her really endearing. She's a fun counterpart to Sonic in the comics, since, especially in the comics,
he's presented as a more experienced hero.
Whisper the Wolf
Feels strange to say considering her whole sad backstory, but I think she's adorable. Capable and serious, but when she does
let her guard down it's really sweet.
Dr Starline
He's awful but in such a way that it makes him a really enjoyable villain. It's also so much fun to watch
how, again and again, he thinks he's being cunning and one step ahead, but everyone's already figured him out. Hubristic idiot <3
Surge the Tenrec
Someone who can be better and wants to be better than who she was made to be, but who at the same time
she's plenty rude, reckless, and even if she manages to turn over a new leaf, she'll probably never become friends with Sonic.
It's so different from what you tend to see in the series.