Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Games of the Decades Conference) SoulCalibur II (Games of the Decades Conference) Earthbound (Games of the Decades Conference) Final Fantasy VIII (Games of the Decades Conference) Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal (Games of the Decades Conference) Paper Mario (Games of the Decades Conference) *abstain* Sonic Adventure 2 (Sonic Overload Conference) Sonic 3 & Knuckles (Sonic Overload Conference) *abstain* Final Fantasy Tactics (Sonic Overload Conference) Gears of War (Sonic Overload Conference *abstain* #18 Tales of Symphonia (Cult RPG Galaxy Conference)
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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris
#4 One Piece (1999-____) Anime, Adventure Mega Mana Ranking: Not on list Opening:
God I love that opening.
So here is the #1 anime in my mind. It is just an amazing show. The cast is interesting, diverse, and has amazing chemistry. I love ever member of the main crew. The plots are good and each one just gets naturally bigger than the last (unlike shows like Doctor Who which have to keep making up a more ridiculous finale each year). The show is fun, exciting, funny, and emotional. Oh man is it emotional. That actually caught me completely off guard when I first started watching. It gives off this feel of a pure lighthearted adventure and then it hits you with big emotional moments and very serious storylines. I have never cried as much watching a show as I have watching One Piece. The background arcs especially. Nami stabbing her arm, Chopper and the Doctor, Red Leg's food bag. And then other amazing moments like Luffy telling Vivi she can't protect everyone, Robin's "I want to live", Ace. When this show wants to be fun and light it is amazing. When it wants to be about action and fighting it is great. When it wants to be emotional it is possibly the best around.
This is a show that knows the characters are the most important thing. No matter how big and elaborate the plots get, the characters are always the focus. And that is a good thing.
If I try getting into specifics I will be here all day. The people who love the show know why, and the people who haven't seen it won't care. If you want to know more specific thoughts on anything just ask.
We hundreds of episodes in with hundreds of episodes to go and I am still loving it. It seems to just keep getting better, and I can't wait to start watching the post time skip stuff.
One Piece starts off the tier of shows I'm not sure anything will ever be able to join. It is truly amazing. If you can get past the mediocre animation (and sadly some people can't) and the long openings, you are in for a real treat.
WE ARE!
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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris
One joke does not make up for three seasons of annoyance. And I never liked the Cordy/Angel relationship, it just never worked for me. It doesn't help that I'm a Bangel shipper.
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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris
Resident Evil 2 (Smash Trigger Conference) #1 Chrono Trigger (Smash Trigger Conference) #18 Tales of Symphonia (Cult RPG Galaxy Conference) *abstain* Sonic Adventure (Twilight Barrel Galaxy Conference) Sonic Adventure 2 (Sonic Overload Conference) Fallout 3 (Thousand-Year World of Sunshine Conference) Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (Thousand-Year World of Sunshine Conference) Tales of Vesperia (Brawl for Broke Conference) Starcraft (Fanservice Conference) Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (Smackdown Hotel Conference) #21 Paper Mario (Games of the Decades Conference) Devil May Cry (Tanooki Blitzball Conference) Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening (Thousand-Year World of Sunshine Conference)
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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris
+10 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl +9 Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi +8 Alien +7 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King +6 Casablanca +5 WALL-E +4 12 Angry Men +3 Reservoir Dogs +2 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers +1 A Clockwork Orange
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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris
Sonic 3 & Knuckles (Sonic Overload Conference) Final Fantasy Tactics (Sonic Overload Conference) Disgaea: Hour of Darkness (Nintendo Objections Conference) Jet Force Gemini (Smash Trigger Conference) GoldenEye 007 (Tanooki Blitzball Conference) *abstain* Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (Thousand-Year World of Sunshine Conference) *abstain* Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald (Nintendo Objections Conference) Skies of Arcadia (Tanooki Blitzball Conference) Sonic Adventure (Twilight Barrel Galaxy Conference) #4 Super Mario Bros. 3 (Tanooki Blitzball Conference) Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Twilight Barrel Galaxy Conference) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Games of the Decades Conference)
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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris
GoldenEye 007 (Tanooki Blitzball Conference) Dynasty Warriors 4 (Metroid Eater Conference) #18 Paper Mario (Games of the Decades Conference) Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Brawl for Broke Conference) #7 Super Smash Bros. Melee (Fanservice Conference) Mario Kart 64 (Twilight Barrel Galaxy Conference) Suikoden II (Nintendo Objections Conference) Fire Emblem 7 (Smackdown Hotel Conference) Tekken 3 (Twilight Barrel Galaxy Conference) Suikoden V (Patriot Time Portals Conference) Final Fantasy Tactics (Sonic Overload Conference) Suikoden III (Fanservice Conference) Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Thousand-Year World of Sunshine Conference) The Secret of Monkey Island (Smackdown Hotel Conference)
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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris
#9 Whose Line Is It Anyway (1988-2006) Comedy Mega Mana's Ranking: 5
I love improv. I love doing improv. and I love watching improv. I first round this show because there were reruns of the British version aired. Then I started watching the new American version. Both are amazing and it is hard to say which one is better. Drew has better interactions with the cast, and the American version has the best people from the British with some great new members like Chip and Wayne. But the American version also seems to be a bit more hit or miss than the British.
That said this show is hilarious and every episode will have me laughing my head off. It was higher on my list originally, but the fact that some of the sketches can be very hit or miss combined with the amazing quality of the other shows have led this awesome little improv. show to fall down a bit. This is as low as it goes however.
Mana already covered everything in his writeups so I will simply leave with a couple rankings.
Ryan > Colin > Wayne > Greg > Brad > Chip > Kathryn > Josie > Drew > Michael McShane > Stephen Frost
Top Tier games (there are a lot of them): Party Quirks Scenes from a hat Whose Line Quick Change Director / Hollywood Director Infomercial Props Tag Mission Impossible/Improbable Mission Weird Newscasters Questions Only World's Worst Two Line Vocabulary Foreign Film Dub Stand, Sit, Bend/Stand, Sit, Lie Down Superheroes Alphabet News Flash Film Dub
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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris
And while this may be a bit behind I have something to say to that little dog that keeps trying to nip at my heels. Hey Ed. You think you got yourself over? Really? I MADE YOU. You were nothing before CPU and I brought you into WTHJH. We got you noticed. We kept you in the company after your firing. We kept you relevant. We are the only reason you ever got any momentum. And by we I of course mean me, since we both know that I was the real leader of WTHJH. Even after WTHJH ended I supported you and kept you going in this fed. You may have thought you were moving up the ladder on your own, but you are merely deceiving yourself. I showed that you were nothing without me when I ended your rise at the King of the Board Finals. I left you on your own and you have been flopping around ever since. Without me you are nothing. You bounce around trying to find a path on your own but you can't. Because you are NOTHING without me.
You said you were going to climb up the division and beat me? Well where are you? I've been waiting, occupying myself with helping Tom and working Tag matches, but it seems like you aren't even getting closer. I'm not going to wait around here forever. So hurry up and get to me so I can knock you all the back down to the lightweight division where you belong.
As for Semi and co. I could care less about their empty threats. This company will survive as it always has, and I will use their very campaign to see my goal of restoration completed.
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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris
Tom Bombadil posted... so is this like a "play by AIM for the next couple hours" thing or a "play over the course of weeks/days/years and it happens to be AIM" thing
The later.
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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris
#8 Leverage (2008-____) Drama, Crime (but more in the Ocean's 11 way than the Law and Order way) Mega Mana's Ranking: 60 Opening:
Hitter, Hacker, Grifter, Thief, Mastermind. The makings of a grade A crime team. Only this one has a Robin Hood complex.
Former good guy finds himself working on the other side of the law and realizes he can do more good that way. He works with a team of crazy criminals who are being the good guys for the first time (except maybe Eliot).
This show has great scripts that have a real Ocean's Eleven vibe to them. The action is good, the comedy is funny, the characters are interesting, what's not to love?
While Nate and Sofie probably qualify as the true main characters of this show the real heart and soul comes from the other three members of the team. They're interactions and development together is what I truly love watching. They started off as three loner characters who struggled to work with each other. Hardison and Eliot basically hated each other, and both were just freaked out by Parker and her insanity. Parker meanwhile didn't care about anyone. Now they have slowly developed into a great group of friends (possibly Parker's first friends). Eliot and Hardison are best friends, and Hardison and Parker's potential romance has been developing beautifully. They are all great together and steal every episode.
Oh and did I mention that the great Mark Shepphard has a recurring character? It's my favorite of his characters (yes even over his Firefly and Supernatural roles) and it is an awesome antagonist. He is coming back next week and I am crazy excited. Will Wheaton also has a great recurring character set to come back this season.
The show is already in its fourth amazing season, and while I always worry that it will go downhill so far it has not struggled, even when losing a main character for half a season. As long as this show keeps its focus on this amazing cast of characters it will be just fine.
This is also one of three ongoing series in my top 10. I love it and just can't do it justice in this write-up.
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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris
#9 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999) Sci-fi Mega Mana's Ranking: Opening: (such a boring opening)
This is by far my favorite Star Trek. Great seasons, good writing, good casts, good relationships, and a nice mix of action comedy and drama. Watching the early seasons of DS9 I just feel like I am really getting something out of it. DS9 does a tremendous job of dealing with real issues, both present and future. I love that watching it now (16 years after it first debuted) it still can teach us something. It's what made the Star Trek series great and its what sets DS9 apart from most shows. The issues with the planet Bajor which are central to the early seasons of the show have surprising parallels to our current situation in Iraq. This show also goes through everything from Religion in schools to Nazis. I not only get an enjoyable experience from watching DS9, it actually makes me think about a lot of real and important issues.
I think that is one of the main reasons why I don't love the Dominion War seasons more than the early ones. I love all the ethical and moral issues that the early seasons have. But then again, it has been so long since I've seen the later seasons that I might feel completely different this time around. Heck, if I like the later half of the series as much as I love the early seasons this show could jump all the way into the top tier. It is really that good.
Just look at all the truly great relationships and characters in this show. You have a great family dynamic in the Sisco's, and Commander/Captain Sisco is a good character character and something unusual for the Star Trek leaders. I especially love the differnece in how he deals with Q vs the other captains. Sisco/Dax is one of the most unusual relationships in TV, but it is so good. Jadzia is one of my favorites, and not just because the actress is gorgeous and from my hometown. Honestly, between O'brien/Keiko, O'Brian/Bashir, Bashir/Dax, Odo/Kira, Jake/Nog, Bashir/Garak, this show is just filled to the brim with great relationships. I have to mention one of my all-time favorites in Odo/Quark. They have this great antagonistic rivalry that is always fun to watch. They are great as they continuously challenge each other, they may even become friends though they will never admit it.
Add in a great minor character in the mysterious tailor Garak, a great villain in Gul Dukat, and some extremely good storylines and you have a show for the ages. It doesn't interest a lot of Trek fans due to the switch from traveling ship to stationary space station, but in my mind that allowed for so many great things the other shows could never do.
I just watched a few episodes of Season 3 and it is just so good. Even when the plot isn't great the characters and their stories can really carry it and make it good. That is the kind of thing that makes a show truly great in my mind.
I just know this show is going to go up from #9. But for now this is where it is.
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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris
#10: Top Gear (UK) (2002-____) Comedy, Talk Show, British Mega Mana's Ranking: Not on list Opening:
I am not car guy. I am definitely not a gear head (or as the Top Gear guys would say a petrol head). This show is still amazing and hilarious. Much like Mythbusters this show benefits more from the people on it than what they are doing. I would watch Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond sew quilts, and it would be hilarious and amazing.
Jeremy Clarkson is the "lead" of the show. He is big, loud, brash, boastful, arrogant, condescending, snarky, and probably insane. He makes up the weirdest metaphors you will ever hear, and half the time you aren't even sure if he was saying something is good or bad. Let's put it this way, he once described a car he was driving as "actively trying to kill me". That was high praise. Jeremy mocks everyone, especially his co-hosts and is a sore loser. He often plays the bad guy on the show, but no matter what he is doing he is hilarious.
Richard Hammond is a short and more practical guy most of the time. Except for when he is acting like an American (the shows words not mine). He likes muscle cars, power, and vehicles he can steer around a track without hurting himself. He and Jeremy butt heads constantly with him usually on the losing side. He also seems like a genuinely good guy and not only is he funny but he can also take a joke better than the others.
And finally, in season 2 a third man was added to the show. James May, or Captain Slow as he is often referred to, is a techie. He can repair cars and loves all the little details that most of us pay no attention to. He could go on for hours about how an engine runs, and is often considered the most boring of the crew. However, he still has a great sense of humor and plays off the other two perfectly. He graciously accepts his position as the butt of all jokes and has some skill when he decides to get them back.
Together these three will have you laughing no matter what you think about cars. Their antics are great, they play jokes on each other, and they will constantly try to one up each other.
The show itself is a mix of car reviews, track tests, celebrity races, car news, and challenges. Challenges are the highlights. The producers are vicious when setting them up, and there are a couple of times where it seems like they are actually trying to kill the guys. Sometimes the guys will even come up with their own crazy challenges. This show is brilliant, even if you are like me and find the actual car talk boring.
If you want to find a great jumping on point watch one of the specials where they go someplace and do an all episode challenge. America 1 or 2, Vietnam, Sahara, Antarctica, all of them are great. Then you can watch some normal episodes after. One warning, the early seasons are more serious and car focused (though still funny and often crazy) while the later seasons have a bigger focus on the guys doing stupid stuff.
Here is an example of them being idiots: Here is one of the specials (part 1): This show is on Netflix, go watch it.
Oh and finally, the American version is an abomination and I will say no more about it.
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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris
So I left off right as the battle to save Ace was beginning (the giant friend of Ace had just been taken down). How many episodes do I have to catch up on?
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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris
For future reference, there is probably a really good combo (though not an official one) we can do if we ever need to focus. Nina has a damage reflection move that we could use to have her tank while we focus.
I'm good with dowolf's vote for the first attack.
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"Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris