2013 in Review

2013 has come to a close and now it is time to look back at the things that have accomplished in world of entertainment. This is only the first part in a series of Year in Review posts that are about different things like the year of television in review as well as the movies that I am most looking forward to next year. However, since I have yet to see all of the major movies that came out last year, I cannot make an accurate list of my favorite films from 2013,  but I will have a Television Awards post. For this post in particular, I will be covering the things that I have seen and done for the first time throughout all of 2013, with the exception of movies that I watched in 2013 because that is another post entirely. Basically, these are the older movies, TV shows, and fandoms that I have started during the year. 

Firefly

Ever since watching the Joss Whedon's masterpiece, The Avengers, my interest in his work grew exponentially, and thanks to my friends Buruk and Maegen heavily recommending Firefly, I watched it and loved almost every minute of it. Firefly has one of the best group of characters ever developed. Joss Whedon's amazing ability to write flawless sequences of witty and smart dialogue is showcased perfectly during the series. I am now proud to say that I am a Browncoat. 

Firefly Review: Part 1.
Firefly Review Part 2: the Characters.
Firefly Review Part 3: the Characters.
Serenity Review (Firefly Review Part 4).
Firefly Review Part 5: Episode Breakdown.

The Walking Dead 

Last year I finally watched the absurdly popular television, The Walking Dead. Despite my original skepticism, the Walking Dead is one of my favorite shows on television. I have now completely caught up to the series' current episodes, and now I am eagerly awaiting season four. In the near future, I plan to post reviews of each season and when season four starts, I might review each episode as it airs similar to how I review Agents of SHIELD. A quick shout out to my friends Rebecca and Jamie for convincing me to watch the show. 

Anime

Back in July of 2013 Stilwater at In the Shade of My Wide-Brimmed Hat recommended Death Note in a post about Anime, and since I had nothing better to do, I decided to give the show a try, and to my surprise, it turned out to be one of the best things I have ever seen. After that, I watched what is essentially the Citizen Kane of anime series, Cowboy Bebop, and then I enjoyed that, which lead to me watching various series and then some movies. Even though anime can be weird, with the proper amount of research, you can find a lot of great series that are not different than what is on television in America, except much of it is higher quality. I have already posted several reviews, and I have even more reviews written, which I will be posting throughout the year. My favorite genres so far have been suspense thriller, action, sci-fi, fantasy, and mind bender. In general, my preferred broad genre is Seinen and with an occasional high quality Shōnen series like FMA: Brotherhood. Here is a list of all the series and movies that I have seen thus far in roughly the order that I watched the series. Also I have split the list between the series I have seen in their entirety, the ones that I am currently watching, and the ones that I watched part of before stopping.

Completed Series: Death Note, Cowboy Bebop, Code Geass, Angel Beats!, Baccano!, Neon Genesis Evangelion, IS: Infinite Stratos, Eden of the East, Steins Gate, Fate/Zero, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya,

Currently Watching: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Sword Art Online, Accel Woirld, 

Unfinished Series: Future Diary, Fairy Tail,

Movies: Akira, Cowboy Bebeop: The Movie, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Ghost in the Shell, Interstella 55555, Princess Mononoke, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky, Summer Wars, Perfect Blue, Spirited Away, Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance,

Alien Franchise

After years of seeing the first two Alien films on many top science fiction movies list, I finally watched Alien and its sequel Aliens. Even though the first Alien was great, the sequel Aliens even better! The movies have tons of suspense, action, thrills, and intensity. While they are not my favorite movies, they are among the best thrillers ever made. Also, death by facehugger is probably the worst death in all of cinema history, and Ellen Ripley is the best heroine of the 80s.

Watched Some "Classics"

Even though both Godfather movies, Pulp Fiction, and Fight Club are still on my need to watch list, during 2013 I finally watched the "classics" Citizen Kane, The Wizard of Oz, Akira, The Shawshank Redemption, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Watching those movies was an interesting experience. At least I can now say that I am seen them.

Playing Top Video Games

My way of buying video games is a bit unusual, unless said game is a must own right now, I typically wait for the games to go on sale between Thanksgiving and Christmas and just buy all of the ones that I was interested in at half price or less. Among the games that I have enjoyed the most last year and the beginning of this year are Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, XCOM: Enemy Within, Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and Batman: Arkham: Origins. After I finish the games I will hopefully have reviews for them whenever I get around to playing each one throughout the year. 

Overall, 2013 was a great year. Despite college slowing down my blogging and media consumption, I have become a fan of several new franchises and genres.  

Please check back next week for my rundown of all the television shows that I watched in 2012, which is quite a few, as well as awards for the best shows on TV. In addition to that, I have some posts about what I am most looking forward to in the future.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.