Bea Reviews 2015: Media Edition!
Above: an actual thing that happened in 2015. Thanks, RDJ.
The lists are media-heavy, so I looked for a code to work into the post so you can toggle showing the each section. Don't mind the weird spacing between each section, the code is just confused sometimes, haha. Also, give each section a moment to load in case your RAM/connection can't handle it, hahaha. It loads fine on my laptop though, but yeah, LOTS OF RECOMMENDATIONS. 2015 was a great year for media consumption. Yay 2015!
Top 5's!
[TOP 5 FANDOMS]
5. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
This show. I don't think I've ever actually laughed that hard at an anime... ever. What the heck. This was hilarious and amazing, without being over-the-top ridiculous like StarMyu (then again, StarMyu's really on its own level if we're keeping score of sheer lovable ridiculousness). Every episode was a hilarious thing in itself and I would legit re-watch this forever given the chance. The characters are all incredibly endearing and I'm weirdly invested in each of them. This show re-opened the world of anime to my jaded eyes and so it has landed on this list, haha.
4. One Direction
I was shamefully very into One Direction this year. WHAT? Their songs are catchy!! Haha. Also, I watched their concert with Cheska, which was... unique? It wasn't the best concert I've been to, partly because they seemed a bit tired, which is probably a function of the Asia leg of the tour being one of the last ones, and the fact that Zayn had just taken his "break" at the time. But, also, mostly, their songs have been getting better and better. When Zayn left and they started writing their own stuff for Four, it was probably some of their best work ever as 1D. That, compounded with ONTD's weird obsession with loving/hating them has turned me into a fan who's weirdly updated with them with a mess of opinions on everything. I love their albums, but I admit they're kind of messy in real life.
3. YouTube
YOUTUUUUBE! I've had a weird obsession wih YouTube for a while now, but it really reached its peak this year when I got into Dan and Phil. I wrote about them here, actually! So you can go read that if you want to burn a few minutes (or hours) with YouTube videos, haha.
But I have loved and watched a lot of YouTube this year - FineBros, Hannah Hart, Tyler Oakley, Mamrie Hart, Flula, Hikakin, PewDiePie, Rhett and Link, Paint, Superfruit, Grace Helbig, etc. I've really enjoyed watching the collabs too! What a great community of people ♥
2. Arashi
This is only at #2 largely because I only really got back into the fandom groove last month, but, damn, was it a biggie, haha. Not only did my return to fandom change my nightly playlist from english to Japanese, it also changed everything I've been watching and downloading altogether. I also opened my open subbing community this year for fansubs, so that's a new level of devotion to Arashi. I've actually translated things for them! I didn't even know that was possible. (Thanks, Google Translate, for aiding me in this fruitful journey.) God, Arashi's great. At this point, I've stopped trying to put my love for them into words because it just feels like a lost cause, haha. Their songs, their shows, their concerts, gah... Arashi's the best. Don't let anyone trick you into thinking otherwise.
1. Marvel/Avengers
FREAKING MARVEL TAKING OVER MY LIFE SINCE 2012. Every waking moment is filled with thoughts of Marvel - a lot of the time subconscious, but still at the back of my mind. When I'm bored, I read Steve/Tony fic, my Tumblr is filled with GIFsets I made of Marvel things, I post on FB about it, I post on Twitter about it -- my friends and family got me an assortment of different Marvel merchandise for Christmas (as you may have seen from my social media posts), and it was AMAZING. Hell, every room in our house has some version of Steve and Tony present in it. Our TREE HAS STEVE AND TONY HANGING ON IT. God. Also, some of my most emotional moments this year came from Marvel - the Civil War trailer (LET'S NOT TALK ABOUT IT), the fandom wanks, the lust for Chris Evans, ugh. Haha. Also, you can read more about my feelings here and here.
* Special mention: Ms. Marvel
This was legitimately one of the best comic books I've ever actually read. I mean, sure, people can criticize it for being "too politically correct," whatever the f that means, by casting a Muslim WOC as the main character, but one encounter with Kamala Khan in the comic will shut you up. The comic is legit hilarious, with great adventures, and filled with lovely and really well-developed and well-rounded characters. Also, I mean, Kamala's a gigantic ass fangirl, she writes fanfic, and she doesn't take shit from anyone. What else do you want in a protagonist?
Harry Potter
Harry Potter
FANTASTIC BEASTS HAS INSPIRED A REAWAKENING IN ME.
[TOP 5 MOVIES]
5. Pitch Perfect 2
This combined two of my favorite things: hilarity and music ♥ Here's a movie that wasn't trying to pretend to be something it wasn't - just like the first Pitch Perfect, it was hilarious, irreverent, and filled with great acapella music. I remember I had to watch this in an isolated single seat because the theater was so full and only a few single seats were available, so I had to sit separately from my dad, who I watched it with. So I was alone in my seat, crying while silently laughing at Fat Amy singing to Bumper on a CANOE. Do you know how hard that is?! I COULDN'T BREATHE and I had to stop from grabbing the arm of the stranger beside me, hahaha. Also, praise the Green Bay Packers.
4. Inside Out
SOB. As a viewer, a psych major, and, really, as an all around human being, I thought this movie was so important. There were no villains, just exploration of the human mind. Also, the fact that it was the mind of a young girl going through tough changes made it all the more interesting. Bing Bong killed me, of course, and the different childhood memories too. I liked how they portrayed the different parts of the brain and Riley's self-schema. ALSO, of course, the voice actors ♥
3. Ant-Man
Wow, how surprising was this?! Honestly, I was expecting Ant-Man to be Marvel's first flop because... you know, it's Ant-Man. I wouldn't go as far as to say he's the Aquaman of the Marvel Universe, but I mean, it's not too far off. Ant-Man was the movie I was least excited for, which is probably why I, like so many people, liked it so much. It was mostly Paul Rudd being Paul Rudd in the midst of being a superhero, which is nothing but a step up in any universe, in my opinion.
2. Star Wars
Another surprise! I've mentioned before that I found the original series of movies somewhat lacking (I watched 4-6 recently, and I know enough about 1-3 that I don't need to, nor do I want to, rewatch it), especially in the story-telling department. I get that the special effects were incredible for its time, but it's not really the effects I had trouble with, it was being invested in the story itself. It just made my eyes glaze over. So, yeah, where I was expecting to be vaguely "mmm, notbadmeme.jpg" about it, I ended up being super impressed and now I've gone and watched it in IMAX. Hahaha! Yay!
1. Heneral Luna
Do I even have to talk about how much I loved this? *goes to watch DVD*
Special mention: Avengers: Age of Ultron, but let's be real, it could never have lived up to the hype. At least we got am implication that Steve and Tony had to share a bed in Clint's farm?? HAHAHA
[TOP 5 SHOWS]
5. Daredevil
Okay, first of all, anyone who talks shit about AoS has 100% guaranteed not been watching this season. It has been AMAZING. Zero chill every episode. I like to describe it as everything I wanted the series to be when I first heard there would be an Agents of SHIELD series - full of plot, incredible spy action, scattered references to the larger MCU without relying on it too much, and always, always full of heart and focus on the characters. There's a growing ensemble of regulars, and it always surprises me how well-developed they are. You could place them on a long street, let an Inhuman out, and probably correctly predict their actions, and/or still make sense of the surprises along the way. That's how well-written the series is. Gah.
Yay John Oliver ♥ If you're new to him, do watch: Net Neutrality, Sex Education, Government Surveillance, and Televangelists. HE'S HILARIOUS AND AMAZING and honestly the world would be a better place if we learned from him.
WHAT EVEN WAS THIS WHY WAS IT SO GOOD??? The action scenes, the relationship developments, the creepy villain, MATT FREAKING MURDOCK who looks like an adorable baked good who could never hurt anyone but turns out to be strangling people with this bare fists and owning the shit out of the Batman voice. Also Foggy. AVOCADOS AT LAW!
4. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
It took me a while to finally watch this, but when I did, I finished it in like... 3 days or something. I will forever maintain it was snubbed by the Golden Globes because HOW COULD ELLIE KEMPER NOT GET NOMINATED? And how could the series in general not be nominated, tbh? Ugh, this was so stupid and hilarious. Ellie Kemper's so weird, but it works so well, I can't explain it.
3. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
B99 has been consistently hilarious this season, and it's just been one of the best comedies around. I think I love it largely because of the PnR-style humor (without the documentary feel), and the characters and situations are just hilarious. I liked that they didn't focus too much on Amy and Jake's relationship eventually, but also gave the other characters time to grow and breathe.
2. Great British Bake-Off/Survivor (TIE?! Haha)
This Buzzfeed article about sums up my feelings about GBBO and Nadiya.
BRB FEELINGS STILL FRESH.
What can I say, I love my reality shows. These two are pretty different from each other though - GBBO features British amateur bakers who rarely ever run into drama precisely because they are so British, and Survivor is basically Americans being as dramatic as possible to win a bunch of money. Still, I've been pretty obsessed with both this year! I was incredibly satisfied with the end of GBBO, but felt Survivor was too predictable (dammit, Spencer!).
1. Agents of SHIELD
1. Agents of SHIELD
Okay, first of all, anyone who talks shit about AoS has 100% guaranteed not been watching this season. It has been AMAZING. Zero chill every episode. I like to describe it as everything I wanted the series to be when I first heard there would be an Agents of SHIELD series - full of plot, incredible spy action, scattered references to the larger MCU without relying on it too much, and always, always full of heart and focus on the characters. There's a growing ensemble of regulars, and it always surprises me how well-developed they are. You could place them on a long street, let an Inhuman out, and probably correctly predict their actions, and/or still make sense of the surprises along the way. That's how well-written the series is. Gah.
Special mention: Parks and Recreation (SOB I will watch you forever my sweet, sweet comedy show), The Office (which I watched for the first time this year - A+ WOULD RECOMMEND!), various late night talk shows especially Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (PRAISE BE), Conan, and Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon ♥
Yay John Oliver ♥ If you're new to him, do watch: Net Neutrality, Sex Education, Government Surveillance, and Televangelists. HE'S HILARIOUS AND AMAZING and honestly the world would be a better place if we learned from him.
[TOP 5 ARTISTS/ALBUMS]
I actually relistened to a bunch of BSB tracks in preparation for their concert. Since the concert was so great, I ended up just listening to all their songs over and over again for the rest of that month or so. Haha. SO GREAT. I rediscovered my love, in particular, for More Than That and The Call. So goood. And their latest hit, Show 'Em What You're Made Of, which they wrote for their various kids, is so sweet and lovely to listen to.
3. One Direction - FOUR/Made in the AM
A SURPRISE HIT!! This happened purely by accident, but things just clicked and this ended up being one of my favorite albums probably ever. CRJ is kind of crap at choosing her singles though, because I Really Like You doesn't even begin to do justice to the greatness of this pop album. I'm glad she did Run Away With Me though. I loved almost every track (which you can read about here), and honestly I still kind of listen to the ones I don't like. Haha! Again, if you're turned off by her Call Me Maybe image, you should really listen to this album. It'll blow your socks off.
1. Arashi - Digitalian
Like I've said before, Digitalian didn't really appeal to me at first because I'm not very into techno-pop-y music, but the more I listened to it and, indeed, after witnessing the magic known as Watching Arashi in Concert, this album has become one of my all-time favorites. The concert, as well! Ask anyone I live with, they'll tell you I watch the concert at least twice a week. That's how freaking good it is. Seriously, watch their Hope in the Darkness performance I've embedded here. Japan in itself is nothing to scoff at, and while people may criticize their pop scene to be largely manufactured, Arashi has proven time and again that they break out of the mold by talking about how they didn't want to debut at first and how they wanted to quit from the get-go, but eventually found joy in what they're doing. I don't know. They're just great, okay???!
5. Pentatonix - Pentatonix
I've been a fan of Pentatonix since they joined The Sing-Off, and they've never failed to impress me. They've been through so much, and their rise on YouTube has always been an inspirational story that made me feel warm fuzzies, haha. This year, they released their first studio album with original songs, and to be honest, I was feeling pretty iffy about it because I'm the type who believed that acapella should be for covers and not original song. BUT DAMN DID THIS PROVE ME WRONG. Just track after track of great songs, beautiful vocal performances, and gaaaah. Yes. PTX. Yes.
4. Backstreet Boys - ... all?? Hahaha
I actually relistened to a bunch of BSB tracks in preparation for their concert. Since the concert was so great, I ended up just listening to all their songs over and over again for the rest of that month or so. Haha. SO GREAT. I rediscovered my love, in particular, for More Than That and The Call. So goood. And their latest hit, Show 'Em What You're Made Of, which they wrote for their various kids, is so sweet and lovely to listen to.
3. One Direction - FOUR/Made in the AM
I CAN'T CHOOSE SO I'M PUTTING BOTH. What a surprise, though! People expected them to be shit after Zayn left if only because it would jar any band to suddenly lose a member, but I honestly think they came out better than before. They started participating more in the creative process for their albums, and the pop-indie feel of their recent stuff is pretty damn great. People get turned off by the "boyband" brand, but honestly, give it a try - they'll surprise you!
2. Carly Rae Jepsen - Emotion
1. Arashi - Digitalian
The video won't embed properly so click the liiiink I swear it will improve your life tenfold. Haha.
[THE DIGITALIAN] Hope in the Darkness (Eng Sub)
[THE DIGITALIAN] Hope in the Darkness (Eng Sub)
Like I've said before, Digitalian didn't really appeal to me at first because I'm not very into techno-pop-y music, but the more I listened to it and, indeed, after witnessing the magic known as Watching Arashi in Concert, this album has become one of my all-time favorites. The concert, as well! Ask anyone I live with, they'll tell you I watch the concert at least twice a week. That's how freaking good it is. Seriously, watch their Hope in the Darkness performance I've embedded here. Japan in itself is nothing to scoff at, and while people may criticize their pop scene to be largely manufactured, Arashi has proven time and again that they break out of the mold by talking about how they didn't want to debut at first and how they wanted to quit from the get-go, but eventually found joy in what they're doing. I don't know. They're just great, okay???!
[TOP 5... EVENTS??]
ALSO:
Top 5 Memes:
Top 5 Time Waster Websites:
So, that's basically it for me and my year of PERPETUALLY CONSUMING MEDIA. Hahahaha. I'll write another Year in Review for things like reflections and all that, but I'll probably post it as a separate entry. :) Happy holidays, everyone! ♥
(aka this was my Year of Concerts, and I want to commemorate it haha)
5. Carly Rae Jepsen Concert
CRJ is great at performing - she sings great and she's the kind of no-frills performer that just gets to business. I put her at 5 though, because in terms of watching something happen as opposed to just listening to her and singing along, her concert "lacked" that oomph. I say "lacked" but really, I think it was just her style - she's not really a production number-type of artist, and that's actually part of what I love about her. Just, for this list, I have to. Sorry, CRJ!
5. Carly Rae Jepsen Concert
CRJ is great at performing - she sings great and she's the kind of no-frills performer that just gets to business. I put her at 5 though, because in terms of watching something happen as opposed to just listening to her and singing along, her concert "lacked" that oomph. I say "lacked" but really, I think it was just her style - she's not really a production number-type of artist, and that's actually part of what I love about her. Just, for this list, I have to. Sorry, CRJ!
4. 1D Concert
Okay, so 1D's pretty great and all that, and I don't know if this how they normally are or if it's because it was raining during the concert or whatever, but they just seemed a bit out of it during their concert in SM MOA this year. They rarely connected with the audience (except for the time when some fans literally threw a burger onstage because Liam said he was craving for some), and seemed to just rush through the set to get things over with. It was fun while I was there, especially the singing in the rain part, but in the aftermath, there wasn't really much to talk about or much to look back on.
3. Idina Menzel Concert
3. Idina Menzel Concert
IDINAAAAA oh my god. I watched this with my sister and my cousin, which was a great decision because they're both huge fans as well. Idina shameless opened the show with Defying Gravity, which literally had us in tears right off the bat. I was trying to cover mine up because it's kind of shameful to be literally sobbing a few bars into the song, but I chanced a glance to my right and left and, sure enough, both my concert-mates were also in tears, hahaha. We laughed about it, but damn, just... what an incredibly gifted performer. She even sang without a freaking mic at one point and gah. To be in the presence of that amount of talent is just incredibly humbling.
2. PTX Concert
I NEVER THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD COME. My beautiful babies coming to Manila. It was really a toss-up between this and the BSB concert, because not only were PTX INCREDIBLE performers, the audience was amazing too! You could feel how freaking excited the arena was. People actually cheered for the band WHILE they were there, and you could feel the ground shaking with people stomping their feet. I was so glad, because I was afraid the hall wouldn't be filled and that PTX wouldn't feel the love, but damn was it conveyed. A great concert highlight was before they came back for the encore. They taught the audience a few notes for a part in another song, and we had to actually harmonize. Without any leading or communication, the audience just burst into those notes to call them back out for the encore. They came out and said, "We didn't want to come out yet, we were enjoying listening to you sing backstage!" Incredible ♥
2. PTX Concert
I NEVER THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD COME. My beautiful babies coming to Manila. It was really a toss-up between this and the BSB concert, because not only were PTX INCREDIBLE performers, the audience was amazing too! You could feel how freaking excited the arena was. People actually cheered for the band WHILE they were there, and you could feel the ground shaking with people stomping their feet. I was so glad, because I was afraid the hall wouldn't be filled and that PTX wouldn't feel the love, but damn was it conveyed. A great concert highlight was before they came back for the encore. They taught the audience a few notes for a part in another song, and we had to actually harmonize. Without any leading or communication, the audience just burst into those notes to call them back out for the encore. They came out and said, "We didn't want to come out yet, we were enjoying listening to you sing backstage!" Incredible ♥
1. APCC/BSB Concert
BSB Concert: The Backstreet Boys were a huge part of my childhood, and, I'm pretty sure, is 100% responsible for my natural love for boybands, haha. It wasn't even the content of their songs - I couldn't understand half the things they sang about when I was a kid, it was just the general feel of them and the synchronized dancing, and all that. I just loved it so much, and the great thing for this concert is that it was all still there. They still danced together, wore costumes together, and sure, part of its appeal is the novelty, but in general, it was just a really great concert. I felt good during and after the concert, and it stayed with me for a while, as my Spotify track stats will attest to, haha.
APCC: You can read my full review here, but basically, even if other aspects of the event were less than perfect, the fact that I got to see the Civil War footage (twice, and with Paul Bettany a few seats beside me) makes this an unchallenged number 1 in my book. Haha.
BSB Concert: The Backstreet Boys were a huge part of my childhood, and, I'm pretty sure, is 100% responsible for my natural love for boybands, haha. It wasn't even the content of their songs - I couldn't understand half the things they sang about when I was a kid, it was just the general feel of them and the synchronized dancing, and all that. I just loved it so much, and the great thing for this concert is that it was all still there. They still danced together, wore costumes together, and sure, part of its appeal is the novelty, but in general, it was just a really great concert. I felt good during and after the concert, and it stayed with me for a while, as my Spotify track stats will attest to, haha.
APCC: You can read my full review here, but basically, even if other aspects of the event were less than perfect, the fact that I got to see the Civil War footage (twice, and with Paul Bettany a few seats beside me) makes this an unchallenged number 1 in my book. Haha.
ALSO:
Top 5 Memes:
- Civil War meme (except if it's just Tony being uncharacteristically lame)
- hoe don't do it
- The Dress (because I sent it to everyone in the office and caused a shitstorm)
- JOHN CENA!!!!
- Taylor Swift copyright meme (aka please put your answer in the blank space [COPYRIGHT TAYLOR SWIFT 2015] below)
Top 5 Time Waster Websites:
- Buzzfeed
- Tumblr (except for when fandom got Too Much)
- Oh No They Didn't! (MY LOVE, MY LIFE)
- YouTube
- ... and ofc Facebook (again, except toward the end of the year because of politics)
So, that's basically it for me and my year of PERPETUALLY CONSUMING MEDIA. Hahahaha. I'll write another Year in Review for things like reflections and all that, but I'll probably post it as a separate entry. :) Happy holidays, everyone! ♥
Post a Comment