30 Day Challenges, Part 2 - Super Cute!

It's the second day of these 30 Day Challenges: Doctor Who, Otaku, and Video Games. Let's cut the formalities this time and leap straight into the thick of it. Here we go.

Doctor Who Challenge, Day 2

Your favourite classic series episode.

There are a lot of amazing classic Doctor Who episodes. All of the best Dalek moments come from the old series, all of the best Cybermen and Sontaran episodes, too. The most popular (or at least most well-recognized) is still Tom Baker, and the generation of writers that write Doctor Who right now grew up with this series as more or less inspiration for their whole careers. That's pretty amazing, if you ask me.

Anyway, I have equal love for a lot of old serials. Genesis of the Daleks is amazing with the introduction of Davros, The Talons of Weng-Chiang for pure Jon Pertwee genre filmmaking, and a handful of Sylvester McCoy episodes have stunning visuals and writing for what was still one of the lowest-budget shows on the airwaves. But if you pressed me, I'd probably answer you with The Mind Robber. I first watched all the Doctor Who episodes via repeats, in order, starting with the very first episode, and The Mind Robber was the first Doctor Who serial which, I feel, really started to mess around with the perception of reality within reality. Sure, old Hartnell episodes focussed on the logistics of time travel and human relations with artificial intelligence, but The Mind Robber is the first real "mindfuck" Doctor Who episode, which remain to this day my favourite stories from the series. So yeah, from a pure nostalgic standpoint, I love The Mind Robber.

Otaku Challenge, Day 2

Favourite band in an anime.

When I first read this question I was about ready to just call it the light music club from K-On! and call it a day, but something deep in my mind slapped me over the back of the head and cried, "Andrew William Deavin, surely Cowboy Bebop has the best music of anything ever?!" And yes, Cowboy Bebop and its band The Seatbelts are the best band ever. But that's the thing, the Seatbelts are a real-life band. They play real music for a lot of shows and movies, not just Cowboy Bebop.

So in this case, my instincts were about right. I'd say my favourite band in an anime is the band that is formed in K-On! - if not for just for pure moe value, just because they're also just... lame. So lame. Their first original song is a title called "Fluffy Fluffy Time," and is basically the worst piece of garbage I've ever heard. Regardless, the charm of the characters in the series perpetuates their whole band from pretty damn shit, to actually damn watchable; and the series itself is as amazing as slice-of-life can get without going sci-fi like Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi, so they're probably all good reasons, eh?

Video Game Challenge, Day 2

Your favourite character.

There are a lot of characters I'd say are my favourite from video-games, ever. Gordon Freeman. Tommy Verceti. Super Meat Boy. Raz. Guybrush Threepwood. Super Mario. Pikachu. Commander Video. GLaDOS. Sam and Max. Frank West. Coach. Josef. Duke Nukem. So many great characters! Some are well-rounded, real people, with deep personalities. Some are vehicles for jokes, some are jokes. Some are merely player avatars that look awesome. Some are something else altogether. But you know what? I am going to defy conventions, and say that my favourite video game character of all time, is probably... Kirby.

Yes, Kirby, the pink little... thing. He's bright and chirpy, and painfully adorable. So what pushes him to my favourite? He. Can. Be. Anyone. I mean honestly! As long Nintendo doesn't retcon that he can suck up enemies and take on some of their abilities and traits (when not made of yarn, I mean), he basically represents every character ever made. He can be Solid Snake! Sonic! The entire cast of Team Fortress 2! Yes, Kirby is every character, only super cute! ...and goddamn it that's why he's my favourite. It's obvious... when you think about it.

Tune in tomorrow for my favourite new series Doctor Who serial, a game I feel is underrated, and my... next cosplan...? ...eh, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.