I've been vaguely wondering whether to do a reflection on some of the media that most stuck with me in the 2010s, and then owlmoose made an entry along those lines, which finally nudged me into actually getting it done. In alphabetical order, here are ten canons from the decade that I think I'm going to remember.

Note: this is media that I first experienced in the 2010s, rather than necessarily being media that was originally released in the 2010s. Community, Uncharted, Higurashi and Umineko technically originated in the decade before.


1. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy. This one crept right under the wire for me. My mum received this book for Christmas this year. I'd never heard of it, but I opened it at a few random pages and genuinely started crying because it was so beautiful. It's sort of philosophical whimsy in the vein of Winnie-the-Pooh or The Little Prince, it's gorgeously illustrated, and I'd recommend it without hesitation if you enjoy those books. I was really surprised by how deeply it affected me. Friendship!




2. Community. Community didn't manage to keep up the same level of quality throughout its run, alas; it's definitely stronger at the beginning than it is by the end. But the beginning is so strong. I've said this before, but the first series of Community is the best series of television I've ever watched. Almost perfectly crafted. It's so funny, it's got so much heart, and the characters are delightful. (Well, apart from Pierce.)

3. Danganronpa series. The series that kicked off my collection of weird videogames about murder. An interesting twist on the murder mystery genre: rather than bringing the 'detective' in after the murder occurs, it lets you get to know all the killers and victims well before the murders actually start happening. And then you're emotionally invested in all of them, and it's terrible! But also it's great. Interesting mysteries; fun characters; weird, irreverent, comedic tone that keeps things from getting too dark, but still gives events enough emotional weight for them to feel like they matter. I crowed with laughter at the end of Danganronpa V3 because I was so delighted by the weird plot twists.

4. Final Fantasy XV. This game's a mess. The pacing's catastrophic. But it's heartfelt and gorgeous and fun to play, and it's got so many charming details, and at its core it's a story of intense friendship that I can't resist. I got so happily lost in this game. I've written so much fanfiction. I love these boys so much.

5. Higurashi: When They Cry (visual novels), instalment six: Tsumihoroboshi. I've played seven instalments of Higurashi and I enjoy the series a lot, but Tsumihoroboshi in particular is perfect. An incredible story about the power of friendship and the power of murder and the strange ways they intersect. Guilt! Paranoia! Being haunted by things you did in time loops you can't remember! Dramatic friendship speeches before hiding corpses together! Triumphant scenes of two friends fighting to the death and having a great time doing it! It's a bizarre, cathartic delight of a visual novel and I absolutely loved it.

6. The Last of Us. I remember my first encounter with this game: I watched th_esaurus play through the opening, and I was so tense it physically hurt. An absorbing, incredibly done story of learning to care again after loss. Wonderful performances, great writing, fascinating worldbuilding. Ellie is one of my favourite characters of all time, and I'm both excited and nervous to see her again in Part II.

7. Life Is Strange 2. I love sibling relationships, I love stories about two people against the world, I love people suddenly being ripped out of their normal lives and thrown into overwhelming situations. I loved every moment I spent playing as Sean Diaz, this wary, sarcastic, loving, vulnerable kid, watching him struggle and suffer and push through that for the sake of his brother. He has no idea what he's doing, but he's trying so hard to do right by Daniel. I sobbed my heart out when I finished the game; I hadn't cried so hard at a work of fiction in eight years. I was thinking solidly about it for a fortnight afterwards.

8. Umineko: When They Cry (the visual novel series, rather than the anime). Umineko is a murder mystery, and a story about how we create our own realities, and the strangest, most beautiful love story I've ever experienced. The pacing is wildly variable (I struggled to push through the slow opening on my first attempt and dropped it until I was persuaded to give it another go by, of all things, a Simpsons meme), but I really think Umineko is something special. I played it while I was recovering from a bit of a psychological collapse, and I was surprised and delighted to learn that fiction could still affect me so deeply. Its message about having hope in hopeless situations came to me at a time when I needed it, too.

9. Uncharted series. Even though the gameplay isn't necessarily my thing, I adore these games. The first one hadn't entirely found its feet, but then they established themselves as a gorgeous, fun series of shooty tourism simulators, where you run around and climb pretty buildings and listen to the characters bantering. As with Danganronpa or When They Cry, there's emotional weight, but the tone's also frequently a lot of fun. I love fictional suffering, but I can struggle when it's completely straight-faced all the time; it's good to be able to laugh as well.

10. Your Name. This is my favourite film in the entire world and crashes straight through my heart every time I watch it. I've never seen anything that impacts me quite like Your Name does. I'm always afraid to revisit it because I'm thinking 'what if I don't love it as much as I remember?'; I always end up loving it more. The most visually and emotionally beautiful film I've ever seen.


This is probably going to be my last entry before 2020, so a happy new year to you all! I'm glad we're all here.