#like arcane would be a Great 5 season show tbh

[allgreekbitch]

if this fandom dies after arcane ends and i stop getting a daily supply of fanart and fanfiction and fun little yapping sessions about it IM ENDING IT ALL

[protect-namine]

Hi.... If you don't mind me asking, can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series/games/etc) and your top 10 favorite characters from any media ? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this questions....

sure, thanks for asking! my top favorite characters don't necessarily correspond to my top favorite media so it's great we're differentiating them.

top 10 favorite media (in no particular order):

never let me go by kazuo ishiguro (novel) — this one is a slow burn, a bit heartbreaking. I still don't know how to describe the feeling the story left me with. it's like... contemplative, and bittersweet? there is also a movie version as well; watch it if you want to see andrew garfield screaming.

orpheus and eurydice (greek myth) — what can I say? it's tragic, but the love was there. it's tragic because there was love. I like any media that touches on their story. hadestown is probably the most popular, but I'd like to recommend eurydice by aucoin and ruhl.

the good place (tv show) — funny, genuinely good story, has a lot of heart. love kristen bell in it. there's also a podcast from the cast talking about the behind the scenes.

you're the worst (tv show) — tbh I think it's just because one of the characters reminds me of my ex, so some of the scenes felt extremely personal lmao. also, I watched the season 3 finale during a breakup, which is the worst time to watch that scene. but it's genuinely a fascinating show about "terrible" people getting into relationships. tackles some heavy topics, has some dark humor. season 4 was kind of a mess, but the way they ended this show in season 5 is exactly how I think it should've ended.

the world ends with you (video game) — the ideal way to experience this game is to play it as a teenager or young adult, like specifically at that age range (but later on is fine too).

nier automata (video game) — love when video games talk to me (the player). love games whose story can only exist as a game. did you know you can go through the amusement park level without killing a single machine except for the boss fight? also, there's a youtube video of the english voice actors reading the concert script.

gravity rush (video game) — it's a shame the studio behind this was shut down. it was such a unique game to me, and the world building is fascinating. falling around as kat and exploring the world felt relaxing and fun.

shinsekai yori (anime/novel) — this was originally a novel (there's a translation here) but I first experienced it through the anime adaptation. it's not the kind of story that's my favorite because I watched it a bunch of times. I only watched it once or twice, but the story still stayed with me, and it made me contemplate on the consequences of empathy. I watched it at the same time as psycho pass, and tbh I think that's a pretty good way to watch it. you appreciate both series more when comparing them. the novel translation I linked is pretty good too.

dishonored (video game) — 11/10 art direction, stealth mechanics, world building. it's just a really fun game. I wish fortiche (studio that animated the arcane series) could make a dishonored animation, but alas

link click (donghua) — might be recency bias since I'm currently obsessed with this show, although I've been watching it since 2021. but it's such a fun... experience, I would say? the story itself is great, but the experience of engaging with it makes me feel like johnny truant from house of leaves sometimes. idk, I'm kinda insane about this show atm. but I think that's the ideal experience; you gotta be insane about this show to get the most out of it

top 10 favorite characters (in no particular order)

edmund and lucy pevensie (chronicles of narnia, c.s. lewis) — technically cheating since this is two characters. whatever. they're the heart of this series, to me

emma woodhouse (emma, jane austen) — tbh I need to read more austen books besides emma and pride and prejudice. but emma is really so wonderfully flawed and entertaining. she thinks she's soooo clever. I like that about her. also this book is such a delight because it's just a bunch of characters who think they're clever at the regency era social game. plus the movie version stars anya taylor-joy. she's great. I love her

namine (kingdom hearts) — she's in my url, after all. re:com was actually my first kh game. kh can't end without sora thanking her

kisa tachibana (jack jeanne) — otome heroine, but it's important to realize that I think she's a weird theater girl (affectionate) who heavily uses avoidance (through theater!) as a coping mechanism. you will not get this from the game except for like, one scene. there are some hints of this in the side materials. but yeah this is like. a very specific interpretation of her, probably not even the intended interpretation for her. also, she's got gender thoughts that I wish she'd interrogate for herself, but she won't, but that's what also makes her interesting imo

shen yuan (svsss) — if there's ever a guy you'd want to put their brain under a microscope, it's him

cheng xiaoshi (link click) — studio lan researched how to create "sincere guy you'd want to protect" and perfected it in cheng xiaoshi. big heart, an actual angel. but he's actually really clever, if people would just let him exercise that cleverness

kaneki ken (tokyo ghoul) — another character whose arc is "kindness leads to tragedy." hm. (also: I like haise and his relationship with arima. this is important for you to understand what I like about kaneki)

lelouch vi brittania (code geass) — I was this close to putting cg in my top 10 media list, especially for the poetry of its ending. but tbh it's the characters that make it great. some aspects of the show did not age well. but anyway. he's one of the best characters to have been created in anime imo, but most people nowadays know him from the soup store meme

wanderer (genshin impact) — genshin's writing fluctuates in quality, but they truly knocked it out of the park with wanderer. and his story isn't even over yet! (he's got the albedo/durin plotline and dottore plotline to follow up on)

shuichi saihara (danganronpa V3) — (major spoilers for the game incoming) favorite dr protagonist. actually feels like I'm a detective when playing him. love the trust/doubt and truth/lie theme going on. dr protagonist who doesn't push for hope as the answer against despair. dr protagonist who lies and commits perjury in court. dr protagonist whose game plan was to ask everyone in the final trial to commit group suicide with him to end the danganronpa franchise. we don't know if he's actually a "real" person, or a scripted one. he's great, but you have to go through DR1 and SDR2 to truly appreciate him imo (you cannot play V3 as your first danganronpa game)

honorable mention to yin yu from tgcf. he couldn't make it to the top 10, but he's up there. tgcf is my least favorite of the three mxtx novels, but yin yu is one of the realest and most human characters mxtx has written, imho.