Cool Media

The aim of this page is to share niche-to-obscure media that I enjoy that other people might also enjoy. As such, this is not a comprehensive list of all my interests.

Games

I'm not really a gamer, like at all, so I don't have much to offer here.

• Xenoblade Chronicles: viewed by many as one of the greatest JRPG series of our time, and also really fun and interesting.

Music

All links are YouTube unless otherwise specified.

• bôa: cool 2000s rock, only three albums Twilight, Get There, and Whiplash
• DJ Shadow: albums Endtroducing, Diminishing Returns (less readily available, search on YouTube), Preemptive Strike, The Outsider.
• The Beths: album Expert in a Dying Field. They have other albums but I haven't listened to them.

Anime

The whole "only niche things on this page" aspect really comes out in this section. There are a large number of other anime shows and movies I like that are also mainstream, normal picks. Entries marked with a * have good English dubs.

• Last Exile*: What can I say about Last Exile? A story and world far too expansive and beautifully constructed for a mere 26 episodes, early 2000s CGI that, despite its low quality, fits perfectly with the world and character design, and a story that is eerily reminiscent of Xenoblade, to the point that I'd be surprised if you told me Tetsuya Takahashi hasn't seen Last Exile.
• Space Dandy: Another space anime from the guy who created Cowboy Bebop. It's not Cowboy Bebop but it's not not Cowboy Bebop either. Space Dandy focuses on being funny and enigmatic instead of brooding and deep, but in doing so doesn't lose its way.
• Symphogear: Girl almost dies. Two years later, girl discovers she has powers and has to sing anime songs to unleash them and save the world. Symphogear is a lot of fun. In my opinion, season 1 is the only good season (story and music-wise), even though it has the worst animation and production value.
• Railgun: This is the most normal pick in here, but I think it doesn't get much attention, especially when it's overshadowed by its more shounen and much more poorly adapted sibling Index. Unlike Index, Railgun has consistently good stories, characters, and music, and does a really nice job of crossing slice of life with higher-stakes battles.
• Genshiken: A bunch of otaku hang out in a college club and act like otaku. Eventually girls come along and the story gets a bit more interesting.
• March comes in like a lion*: A story about a depressed young man finding himself through shogi and the people around him, while reconciling his past and struggling to become better at his hobby and job.
• The Tatami Galaxy: I can't really do this one justice in a sentence or two. Go watch it, and make sure to watch the movie that follows, but you can skip Time Machine Blues.
• Redline: A movie about racing cars in space. Everything about Redline is fantastic.
• Rakuen Tsuiho: A pretty good cyber-future movie with a character designed by Masatsugu Saito, the character designer for Xenoblades 2 and 3. A sequel is also in production that's supposed to come out soon.