Shelf
A simple digital bookshelf of my favorite media. This isn’t everything I’ve consumed or own (physical or digital). But rather, just the stuff that I enjoyed the most and would watch/read/play again and again. Anything with a little mark on the top right means it’s currently in progress. You can click on the star rating to see a brief commentary.
For more info on the inspiration behind this, checkout my post On Owning Your Data.
Warning: Ratings, comments, and preference on each and every one of these items are mine alone. If you find anything offensive, well, sounds like a personal problem to me.
anime
5 Centimeters per Second
Makoto Shinkai
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
As much as it pains me to see these two kids not end up together, I appreciate the more realistic take on young love. This is usually how things end up.
86: Eighty-Six
Toshimasa Ishii
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
It’s mechs and war done right, with just the right amount of drama and romance.
A Silent Voice
Naoko Yamada
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I often find it hard to relate to these sorts of characters. I’m more of a “kick ’em in the knees until they stop bullying you” type of person. But watching the asshole grow and do his best to correct his mistakes was nice.
Attack on Titan
Hajime Isayama
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
What Game of Thrones wanted to be.
Erased
Taku Kishimoto
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I often find myself daydreaming about what I would do if I traveled back in time to when I was a kid, but with my memories intact. I too would kick some people’s asses and help out my loved ones.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Yasuhiro Irie
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
This was the first time I cried with an anime. Nina, forever in our hearts.
Ghost in the Shell
Mamoru Oshii
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Damn, they really don’t make ’em like they used to. There’s just so much texture and feel to the animation of this time. Cyberpunk like this wouldn’t work any other way.
KonoSuba
Takaomi Kanasaki
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
There’s so much isekai crap. But this has the right amount of self-awareness to be fun to watch.
Naruto
Masashi Kishimoto
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I grew up with Naruto. Watched it from day one. So regardless of the quality of the story —which I believe to be great—, I will always love this show. Because I can pinpoint important moments of my childhood to Naruto episodes.
Naruto Shippudden
Masashi Kishimoto
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Just like Naruto, Shippudden was there with me throughout my teenage angst and right into adulthood. I can listen to these intros and immediately recall important moments of my life.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Hideaki Anno
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
This falls under the “saw it as a kid and clearly didn’t get it” category. Saw it as an adult and damn does it hit differently. Loneliness is a motherfucker.
Princess Mononoke
Hayao Miyazaki
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
If Lord of the Rings was a kids anime. My favorite of the Ghiblets.
The Last: Naruto the Movie
Tsuneo Kobayashi
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Naruto ends here and nothing else happens afterward. You will never change my mind. This is the only ending I needed. My boy grew up to be happy.
Violete Evergarden
Taichi Ishidate, Haruka Fujita
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I’ve always had a hard time getting my feelings across. But my mother thought me early on how to express them via letters when the words just couldn’t come out. This story touches on a very emotional part of my life.
Weathering With You
Makoto Shinkai
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I really hope my marriage is this adventurous when society crumbles due to climate change.
Your Name.
Makoto Shinkai
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
My wife and I cry every time we watch this. I too would travel through time to be with her.
books
American Gods
Neil Gaiman
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I grew up in a cult (sorta). Today, I don’t believe in anything but the inevitable end of the universe. Reading about deities as fictional characters felt more aligned with how I view religion in general.
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
Hank Green
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
If life in the 2000s has thought me anything, it’s that social media is not the problem. People are.
Death's End
Cixin Liu
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
If I could leap through time and watch the end of it all, I would.
Dune
Frank Herbert
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
This was a masterpiece. I really don’t know what else to say.
The Dark Forest
Cixin Liu
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Knowing it’ll end, that it’s coming, but you just don’t know when. The anxiety eats away at you until you destroy yourself.
The Three-Body Problem
Cixin Liu
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
If aliens came to visit us, we’d be immediately annihilated. No species sufficiently advanced to travel the stars would come just to say hi. They’d come for something they need.
Turtles All The Way Down
John Green
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I am a simple unsalted piece of loaf. My greatest source of anxiety is not having enough time to read all the crap I want to read. This was a wonderful insight into the mind of someone that goes through life without having full control of their being. And it helped me connect with those around me that feel the same way, a little more.
comics
Humanity Lost
Callum Stephen Diggle
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Amazing world building. But more than anything, it’s wildly interesting to see the roles reversed; humans become the enemy. None of that shinny high-tech bullshit. This is what we’ll likely become in the far future if we don’t end up annihilating ourselves.
Something is Killing the Children
James Tynion IV
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Pretty sure this is what SCOTUS thinks we’re doing to the kids.
games
Alien: Isolation
Creative Assembly
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I felt in the Alien world. One of my favorite movies of all time. This was just awesome to play.
Celeste
Matt Makes Games
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I failed and died more times than I could count. But it was ok. The game made me feel like it was ok to get back up and try again. That was nice.
Dead Cells
Motion Twin
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
This truly is a masterclass in rougelike game design. Always changing and never boring. I could play this for hours on end.
Hades
Supergiant Games
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Aside from being gorgeous and fun, you should watch the Noclip documentary on YouTube about the making of this game. The folks over at Supergiant are amazing and that series alone will convince you to play this wonderful game.
INSIDE
Playdead
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I want more of this. Nothing flashy or fancy. Just a simple story with a bit of mystery.
Journey
ThatGameCompany
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I got to experience this magnificent piece of art during a bitter sweet time in my life. And it has a direct connection to a special place in my heart.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Game Freak
⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Damn, they really tried. I think the concept is great and I would love to explore more of the pokemon world like this. But they really didn’t even try with the graphics.
The Last of Us
Naughty Dog
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
This should be the future of storytelling. I lived this story. And it was amazing.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Nintendo
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
It was a bit different than previous Zelda games. But it was unique and familiar. I felt nostalgic, but not too much. And I played this through a couple of significant life events. So it always brings back those memories and holds a special in my life.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Nintendo
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
When I was a young boy, my father took me into the city, while I played Zelda the whole time. If I had any sort of dreams about what the franchise would be when I grew up, this far exceeded those expectations.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Nintendo
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I played the original a while back and loved it. And while I thought the additional content was a bit overwhelming on this remake, the overall game stayed the same. I loved this game. It was the right type of nostalgia. The art style felt like what I imagined when recalling my original gameplay when I was a kid.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Nintendo
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I’ll take existential dread Zelda any day. Death looms at every corner of this game. Love it.
manga
19 Days
Old Xian
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
After I left the cult and became an atheist, I wanted to know more about the outside world. I came across this manhua and was trusted into the world of boys’ love. And that’s how I learned that people should be allowed to love anyone they want.
All You Need Is Kill
Hiroshi Sakurazaka
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Sometimes killing is the answer.
Attack on Titan
Hajime Isayama
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
This is peak fiction. Fight me.
Black Pararox
Junji Ito
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
It never seizes to amaze me how casually the Japanese see death. It’s not that they romanticize it. More like they’re just indifferent to it.
Dandadan
Yukinobu Tatsu
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I’m a sucker for horror. But every chapter of this manga is just great.
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
Tsukasa Abe, Kanehito Yamada
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I’ve always wondered about the life of someone like Legolas after the events of the One Ring. Most of the friendships he made would eventually die of old age while we remains. What is that experience like? Frieren is living through that herself and she takes us along her journey of self-discovery while remembering those that seemed transient in her life, but to whom she meant the world.
Hellstar Remina
Junji Ito
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The earth is about to be destroyed “It’s the devil’s work! Let’s sacrifice a women and it’ll stop!”
Junji Ito's Cat Diary - Yon & Mu
Junji Ito
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
If you’re a cat owner, you’ll understand. It’s an endless love/hate relationship with your furry friend. But one that’ll leave a hole in your heart once it ends.
Kaiju No. 8
Matsumoto Naoya
⭐ ⭐ ⭐
If you liked Pacific Rim, you’ll love this. It’s just some good kaiju action-packed fun.
Nan Hao and Shang Feng
Brownie
⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I wish I had a friend like this growing up. But instead, I chose god.
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai
Hajime Kamoshida
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
This hits on so many of the genres I enjoy and there’s like two panels with a bunny girl on the entire series.
Rascal Does Not Dream of Petite Devil Kohai
Hajime Kamoshida
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
These titles are so misleading. There’s no small satan’s child, but there is a lot of physics.
SQ: Begin W/Your Name!
Tan Jiu
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
After leaving the cult, becoming an atheist, and discovering the world of yaoi, I wanted to read more about people loving people. Then, a wonderful person by the username of crosseyedcyclops recommended this great manhua about two girls falling in love. Been reading it religiously ever since.
Uzumaki
Junji Ito
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Junji does an amazing job at capturing cosmic horror. It’s a slow burn that when it hits you, makes you feel despair and discomfort to your core.
movies
2001 A Space Odyssey
Stanley Kubrick
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
What more can I say that hasn’t already been said. This shit is a masterpiece.
Annihilation
Alex Garland
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The real horror here is what too much distance does to a relationship.
Arrival
Denis Villeneuve
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
What a beautifully told story. The aliens were pretty cool too.
Blade Runner
Ridley Scott
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I still don’t know what the loud “huuuuaaaaaannnnnnnnnnggg” background sound is. Spaceship taking off?
Blade Runner 2049
Denis Villeneuve
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
This dude is no longer The Notebook Guy. What an amazing performance. As always, Denis builds an amazing world and takes you deep into it.
Color out of Space
Richard Stanley
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I’ll take Nick Cage screaming “COCK SUCKER” alone in the car any day.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Stanley Kubrick
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
This movie was hilarious until it became too real.
Dune
Denis Villeneuve
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
This was a masterpiece. I really don’t know what else to say.
Ex Machina
Alex Garland
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
The parallels between our current reality and what’s to come are unsettling.
Get Out
Jordan Peele
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
A house-in-the-woods in the mountains of Caucasus are always a hit or miss. You’ll either see some lame dancing or get killed.
Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets
Chris Columbus
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I’m not sure how Dumbledore didn’t see that little shit was crazy.
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows - Part 1
David Yates
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
There’s a moment when the team is all alone. The music stops. You hear the wind. And you see their faces and the look of abandonment. They were all alone now. And afraid.
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows - Part 2
David Yates
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
If there’s even been a time for you to slow clap, it was here. My boy Ron did it.
Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire
Mike Newell
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Harry, isn’t of being a little shit to Neville, how about you show some appreciation for his intellect? It’s because of people like him that the dragon didn’t roast your ass.
Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince
David Yates
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Snape really was like “it’s my spell you little shit, sit back down”.
Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix
David Yates
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
It’s your fault Sirius died, Harry.
Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban
Alfonso Cuarón
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I was too young to appreciate the work of art Alfonso made for us.
Harry Potter and The Sorcorer's Stone
Chris Columbus
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
When I saw this movie in the theater, I knew I wanted to leave the cult.
Hereditary
Ari Aster
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Picture this. You’re sitting in a packed theater in the dead center because they are the best seats in the house. You just had a nice sushi dinner with your partner and are enjoying a crazy horror flick. So some cuddling is involved. Then, you see heads flying and shit. Your stomach begins to turn. The movie just keeps getting more intense. You’ve never felt this anxious and uncomfortable before. This is 4D cinema. You can feel what the characters are feeling. Then, the movie ends and you realize you have to take a massive shit. Sushi messed you up.
Interstellar
Christopher Nolan
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
My biggest fear in life is forgetting. I never want to forget the precious moments of my life and the experiences I’ve had. But there’s always the possibility I’ll get old and start to forget from time to time. When Cooper comes back from the Gargantua planet and sees what he’s missed from his kid’s life, I always cry. Because that is how I imagine life with Alzheimer’s would be like.
Knives Out
Rian Johnson
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Twists done right.
Midsommar
Ari Aster
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Once again, I find myself watching an Ari movie while having digestive problems. At this point, I’m just going to start doing it with all of his movies. It gives them an extra layer of unsettlingness.
Nacho Libre
Jared Hess
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I’ve seen this dumb movie so many times I can quote most of it. It’s so offensive, but I love it!
Napoleon Dynamite
Jared Hess
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Your mom goes to college!
Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I don’t know what exactly I love about this movie. It’s a great film. But for me, I think it’s the feeling of just enjoying the characters’ everyday life.
Pig
Michael Sarnoski
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
If John Wick was a chef and they took his pig instead of killing his dog. This was wierdly fascinating film.
Prometheus
Ridley Scott
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I saw this movie on the first date I had with my wife. I don’t know if it’s good or bad. I just have a great memory attached to it.
Sinister
Scott Derrickson
⭐ ⭐
I thought working from home would be this exciting. Instead, I just got fatter.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Rodney
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Best Spider-Man. You’re wrong.
The Hateful Eight
Quentin Tarantino
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
This film is wonderfully long. The scenery alone is great reason to watch this.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Peter Jackson
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Frodo grabs the One Ring and reads the inside: “Live, Love, Laugh”
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Peter Jackson
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I’ve cut out family because they’ve touched my food. I feel for Frodo.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Peter Jackson
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
When Eowyn offers her disgusting stew to Aragorn in The Two Towers, there’s a strand of hair in it.
The Shining
Stanley Kubrick
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Jack is your everyday asshat. How nobody saw it from the beginning is beyond me.
The Silence of the Lamb
Jonathan Demme
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I first saw this film when I was a sweet summer child. Why my parents allowed it is beyond me. I became a man that day.
The Witch
Robert Eggers
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
This is more or less what my life in the cult was like.
shows
Bob's Burgers
Loren Bouchard
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I relate to Gene on a spiritual level.
Dark
Baran bo Odar
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
What a fucking wild ride. This show does time travel beautifully. And I never lost interest in any of the characters.
Halt and Catch Fire
Christopher Cantwell, Christopher C. Rogers
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
God, I wish my life in tech was this exhilarating. So fucking cool.
Legion
Noah Hawley
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
When WW3 comes and I end up this messed up in the head, I too want to bend reality to my will.
Mr Robot
Sam Esmail
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
What I love about this show is how they romanticize being that big of a nerd.
Silicon Valley
Mike Judge, John Altschuler, Dave Krinsky
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
This show is a documentary involving 80% of the people I’ve worked with.
The Expanse
Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
This is just fucking great sci-fi.
The Office
Greg Daniels
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I too worked an office job once. Everyone was Angela.