2025 End of Year Awards!

Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_04 (00:12):
This is the Wait For It Podcast.

SPEAKER_10 (00:16):
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Wait For It
Podcast.
I am your co-host, Phil Barrera,aka Phil the Filipino.

SPEAKER_09 (00:23):
And I'm your other co-host, Mr.
Eric Almighty, and we have madeit to the end of year awards,
the most prestigious award show,the one you've been waiting for.
You marked your calendars.
It's here.
We're ready to do this.
We have some clips from friendsof the show, as always.
But who cares about anybodyelse's opinions?

(00:43):
You want to hear about the besttwo co-hosts' opinions, and
we're always right.
Welcome to the End of YearAwards.

SPEAKER_10 (00:50):
Yeah, they do say in the industry, Eric, award season
starts on December 10th.
That is when this episode comesout, and that is when everybody
in the industry is looking tosee what the Wait For podcast
chose for a bunch of differentawards when it comes to popular
culture.
And 2025 was a crazy year.

(01:12):
We got some uh hits that cameout of nowhere, some insane
misses.
Like, we don't really talk aboutlike the worst of anymore like
we used to in previousiterations of this episode, but
like I'm sure some stuff willcome up naturally as we talk
about our favorites of 2025.
But uh, we're so excited to getto this episode again.
Uh once uh once again, we dohave uh, as Eric mentioned,

(01:35):
we've got some submissions fromfriends of the show, which is
always very exciting and throwsin a nice little mixture of
everybody's opinion.
And uh very, very excited totalk about all of this here
today.
If you're brand new to the showand you want to keep up with us
heading into 2026, uh make sureyou stick around to the very end
of the episode where let youknow you can find all the rest
of our content.

(01:56):
And for all of our returninglisteners, thank you so much for
being here.
Super excited for again anotheryear five of the Wait Forward
Award.
So, if you have not listened totwo one of these episodes
before, we have sevencategories, and those categories
are artist of the year, song ofthe year, anime of the year,
game of the year, best TV show,best animated picture, and best

(02:20):
picture.
So essentially we take all ofour favorite genres and award uh
and we give uh all of our giveout our awards here uh in this
episode.
So, Eric, uh without furtherado, let's go ahead and jump
into this here.
We're gonna start off with songand artist of the year.
And you know what?
Why don't we go ahead and bringin our first clip?

(02:43):
It is a uh it's a longer one,but it's one of our favorite
guests that we had on thepodcast here.
Uh they were featured forCreator Spotlight and part of
the cast of my dear friendNokatan.
Let's get to our firstsubmission for Song of the Year.

SPEAKER_08 (03:02):
Hello, everybody.
Uh Donald Guzzi here.
Um, so welcome to the Wait ForIt Podcasts End of the Year
Awards.
Um thank you guys so much forhaving me on.
It was an absolute blast gettingto hang out with you all at a
couple of conventions and uh andbeing able to join you on your
podcast.
It was tons of fun, and um, youguys are just awesome as hell.

(03:26):
So, you know, anyone listening,uh, make sure to give Phil and
Eric a round of applause.
Um, because they are fantastichumans.
Um, so uh my end of the yearaward is for um my song of the
year.
This is this is very hard forme.

(03:47):
Um so i i'll just get right downto it.
Uh my song of the year, uh, forme personally would probably be
Caramel by Sleep Token.
Now I know what you're thinking.
Actually, I don't know whatyou're thinking, but that's
fine.
A lot of other people seem toagree with me, uh, considering

(04:09):
that this particular song wasalso nominated for a Grammy.
So, um, that being said, uh, itis a very it's a special song
for me.
Um so for any of you who don'tknow who Sleep Token is, they
are an anonymous, I'll doquote-unquote metal band.
They kind of transcend genres.

(04:31):
Um, really interesting,interesting stuff, like this
song in particular, Caramel.
Like uh it features a reggaetonbreakdown, like a metal
breakdown with a reggaeton beatin there.
And blew me away, of course, butI digress.

(04:52):
This song in particular is uh isspecial because so the main
singer of uh of Sleep Token,Vessel, as he's called.
So, like, you know, they'reanonymous.
I mean, you can you can figureout who they are.
It's not hard to figure it out,but part of the mystery is, you

(05:12):
know, part of the fun is themystery.
So this entire song is reallyabout like uh, you know, their
their rise to fame so rapidly,um dealing with navigating those
channels and how how many peopleare trying to like bring them
down in a specific way and liketry to oust their identities to

(05:34):
the world and things like that.
And and it was just really, itwas just a really like emotional
driven song.
Like, not that any of thatreally applies to me
necessarily, like I'm notfamous, I'm not on stage doing
all these crazy things, likelike you know, mild success,
sure, been in a couple animesand things like that, but it

(05:58):
just it just hit different.
I don't really know what it wasthat made this song just latch
on so much.
And you know, my wife as wellloves loves the hell out of this
song, and like, you know, one ofthe one of my favorite lines
from the song is uh right footin the roses, left foot on a

(06:21):
landmine, and you know, it'slike you know, on one hand,
everything is amazing, you know,my music is reaching so many
people, all these things, butthen you've got your left foot
on the landmine, you're like,but there's there's that
negativity that comes along withit as well, and and it just it
just hit me, hit me for I like Isaid, I don't know why it hit me

(06:44):
as hard as it did.
It just did.
It was very visceral, veryheartfelt, open, like it was
just a very, very intense, uhintense song, so to speak.
And and you know, yeah, I thinkyeah, that would be my my song

(07:04):
of the year, uh, for sure.
I I totally would have thrownthrown out uh an electric
callboy song, but uh of courseum their cover of uh Everytime
We Touch came out last year.
So uh can't can't can't use thatone.
Um but caramel definitely for2025 would be uh my favorite

(07:30):
song of the year, Caramel bySleep Token.
So uh yeah, thanks again, guys.

SPEAKER_10 (07:37):
Shout out to Donald for that clip, and it was the
perfect one to start the episodeoff with because he gave us such
nice words to start off on thatclip, which is so so great.
So, Donald, uh yeah, we we hopeto see you more in 2026.
And uh again, thank you so muchfor uh being on, of course, the
uh uh the episode of uh CreatorSpotlight had a lot of fun.

(07:57):
Eric, uh Sleep Token is a bandthat I started listening to just
this year.
What is your familiarity withhim?

SPEAKER_09 (08:04):
Yeah, so I actually started listening to Sleep Token
at their last album, uh 2023'sTake Me Back to Eden, and very,
very casually listened to it.
And over the next two yearsleading up to this year's album,
I started listening to them evenmore with anticipation, and they
were one of my favorite artistsof the years.

(08:25):
In fact, uh, we're gonna I'mgonna save some of my talk about
Sleep Token for either of thesecategories here in a moment, um,
because they really are going totake over a lot of my Spotify
Rapped.
If K-pop Demon Hunters didn't doit, it was gonna be Sleep Token.
So they're definitely gonna beup there for top artists of the
year uh in my Spotify Wrapped,and they definitely made an

(08:47):
impact in the awards categoryfor me this season.

SPEAKER_10 (08:50):
Yeah, 100%.
Um their songs have uh foundtheir way onto my playlist over
the course of the year.
Really, really love their sound,so that is a uh a great
selection uh for Song of theYear.
Before we get to our next clip,I'll go ahead and throw out my
choice.
This is incredibly difficult.
Um, there are so many songs tochoose from that I know are

(09:15):
gonna be battling it out for thetop of uh my Spotify wrapped and
songs.
There's so many songs that havealso stuck in my on repeat
throughout the entire year.
Um, some of the ones that I dowant to point out here uh that
were just really, really good,um, that I listened to a lot.
Of course, Olivia Dean was oneverybody's playlist this year.

(09:38):
Man I Need was such a good song.
Um, Justin Bieber put out areally two really good albums
this year.
Uh Go Baby and Speed Demon wereon repeat throughout the entire
year.
Um, really, really like that.
State Champs released some newsongs as well.
Uh Khalid had a great album.

(09:58):
Um, and then of course,everything that came off of the
uh uh from K-pop Demon Hunters.
Um and then, of course, Eric,Club Husband from C-Pain, which
is easily the banger of theyear.
That guy just continues toreinvent himself.
Um, I really want I think thisis probably my attempt to not

(10:19):
have K-pop Demon Huntersdominate this episode.
So, uh, because as much as Iwant to go with what it sounds
like or Golden, I am going toactually go with Folded by
Kalani.
That song, again, just likeOlivia Dean has dominated the
charts all year, she released analbum of remixes with Jojo and
Mario and Neo, Tony Braxton.

(10:41):
Like, what are you kidding me?
The song is outstanding, itreally brings you back to like
that classic RB feel, which youknow I'm a really, really big
fan of.
So Kaylani uh folded will get mychoice for Song of the Year for
2025.

SPEAKER_09 (10:54):
Yeah, not a not a bad choice because I like that
song uh earlier in the year,June.
Okay, I was like, it feels itfelt like that came out.

SPEAKER_10 (11:01):
It feels like it's been out for a while, right?

SPEAKER_09 (11:03):
Like it's just I was like, it's not it wasn't early
in the year, but it also wasn'tlate, right?
So I was trying to figure outlike when I had heard that song.
Uh yeah, no, great, great, uh,great choice.
Kalani's great.
And I think uh, you know, that'sdefinitely if you're not gonna
pick K-pop demon hunters, whichI also tried not to do in this
category on purpose.

(11:23):
We all know the soundtrack'sgreat.
Yeah, uh, maybe as a maybe as afiller, if you don't already
know what our favorite K-popdemon hunter song is, Phil, what
is what is yours?

SPEAKER_10 (11:33):
Well, the this is literally like show yourself
from Frozen 2 all over againbecause what it sounds like is
the best song on the album.
Objective! Objectively it's thebest song.
Golden is the one that theyrelease, and then this is what
they did in the movie.
They released to announce a newalbum, but what it sounds like
is the one that's like, oh shit,like I'm listening to something

(11:57):
crazy.
So, like, you know, InSync wouldrelease Bye Bye Bye, which is a
great song, but I think it'sgonna be me, is a better song.
Same album, right?
But you release Bye Bye Bye toget people in, you release
Golden, and then you know, theykill the Saja boys.
Uh, to this is what it soundslike.
I mean, come on.

SPEAKER_09 (12:16):
So yeah, and unless you're like the most miserable
person on the earth, uh, aperson we do actually know in
real life, then there's no wayyou don't enjoy that song when
it comes on by the end of thefilm.

SPEAKER_10 (12:27):
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm I'm bummed we didn'tget to see I didn't get to see
that in theaters.
I knew you got to see it.
I'm hoping they maybe release itone more time uh for the
holidays.
We'll see what happens.
But uh yeah, Eric, before you gowith your choice, uh let's go
ahead and get our nextsubmission in here for Song of
the Year.
And you know what?
It just so it just worked outthat we're talking about K-pop

(12:48):
demon hunters.

SPEAKER_03 (12:52):
Hey, it's Rue Rider, and I'm presenting Song of the
Year.
And I gotta say, it has to begolden from K-pop Demon Hunters,
and I know that everybody's beenlistening to that ever since it
came out, and it's most likelygonna be in my Spotify raft
because that song has been onreplay over and over and over

(13:13):
again.
I absolutely love it.
The vocals are great, theinstrumental, everything.
So yeah, that's my pick for theyear.

SPEAKER_10 (13:24):
See how juxtaposed these two are?
Rue got it done in 30 seconds,and Donald was a four and then.

SPEAKER_09 (13:32):
Donald's like, here is the backstory of sleep token.
But but respectfully though,Donald Donald understood that
like his answer wasn't gonna bea 30 second, like Sleep Token is
is getting pretty mainstreamnow.
Yeah, I believe, but they're notas mainstream as K-pop demon
hunters ruling the whole world,right?

(13:53):
So, like, if you say yourfavorite song of the year is
Golden or any song off of thesoundtrack, everyone's like,
Yeah, get I get that.

SPEAKER_10 (14:01):
Yeah, 100%.
But shout out to Rue and Donaldfor their choices.
So uh yeah, Eric, I'm very uhvery curious.
What was your selection for Songof the Year?

SPEAKER_09 (14:10):
Man, oh man.
Uh I'm gonna go with there thereare a lot of options that I'm
gonna mention here.
I am gonna end up going uh withthe one that's probably gonna
take the number one spot becauseof repeat listens, and I'll
explain that a little bit morein a in a minute, but I'll I'll
mention some uh honorablementions, uh songs that have
been on repeat in my carrecently and really throughout

(14:32):
the year, anything epic tomusical related.
Uh the last uh saga came out atthe tail end of last year when
we were recording this lastyear, and I listened to the
Ithaca saga quite a bit.
Between the challenge and holdthem down, at first, I was sure
one of those two would be in thetop spot, but really any song

(14:53):
from that uh last saga couldhave made the the jump, but it's
gonna make an impact in mySpotify raft.
Songs like Jump from Blackpink,very catchy, really enjoyed
that.
Eye Candy from Justin Bieber,Symmetry from Ed Sheeran.
I love that fucking song.
Uh, I don't feel like enoughpeople are listening to that.
That song is really, reallygood.

(15:14):
Uh, but there were a lot ofthem.
Body Bag by Melrose Avenue wasanother big contender, and there
was a whole slew of other songsthat I could mention.
You know, I had fun with clicheby MGK, of course I did.
Uh stuff like that, right?
The song, though, came from analbum I listened pretty heavily
when it came out earlier in2025.

(15:35):
It was actually a Januaryrelease, and it's a weekend song
from its album Hurry UpTomorrow.
It's called Sao Paulo, featuringAnita, and it's a five-minute
song.
They've released a singleversion that I don't think is
good enough because it feelslike a five-minute journey that
you need to take.
So shortening it actuallyweakens the song.
But this five-minute likejourney of a song to get to like

(15:58):
the last 15 seconds ofinstrumental is quite magical,
it's quite magical, and it'sbeen played so much that I've
had to, by request of my child,play the song constantly.
Uh, and whether or not playing aweekend song uh to a preteen is
appropriate, I don't know.
But this one's you know goodenough where we could do it.

(16:20):
And while Hurry Up Tomorrowisn't gonna be my album or
artist of the year, the weekend,uh, Hurry Up Tomorrow had a
couple of bangers in that album,which I think Dawn FM prior to
that had it.
I don't think that the weekendhas had like a consistently
fantastic album since thatStarboy one, but uh again, he
definitely whenever an album ofhis comes out, there's always

(16:41):
two or three songs that end upmaking my end of year list as
far as most listened to songs.
And this year, uh, yeah, he hehad to have cracked the top
spot.
Uh, probably the only artistthat could overcome K-pop demon
hunters and uh Sleep Token.

SPEAKER_10 (16:56):
Yeah, I don't think I've heard that song.
Star Jones crazy, it's good.
We spent probably the leastamount of time in the car
together than we ever have in ashort time.
Yeah, so like the really theonly time we would ever uh hear
each other like was if is if webrought like a speaker to a
convention or something likethat, you know what I mean?

(17:17):
So like we that that we that'swhere we found a lot of like
crossover as far as the music,as we would we would be in the
car together, and that just uhyeah, but I also like haven't
listened to a lot of the weekendjust because of his 2024 gave me
the ick, so I just kind of liketook a step.

SPEAKER_09 (17:33):
Listen, and the movie for this I hurt his ass.
So I almost it almost was goodenough to make me the singles.
Uh, some of the singles on thisalbum were good enough to make
me go see that garbage assmovie.
I'm so glad I didn't.
But uh there are uh Give MeMercy on this album is really
good, Cry for Me is really good.
Uh, there are a couple of othersongs that I really enjoyed, but

(17:54):
this one again, it's verysimilar to my pick last year,
which was Sympathy is a knife byChar uh Charlie XEX.
It was not the most notable songon that album, but it was the
one instrumentally and justvibe-wise that like caught my
ear.
Like I could listen to it allthe time, almost any mood that
I'm in, and it would at somepoint or another in the song

(18:17):
would really like scratch thatitch, uh, which is very similar
to like I mentioned Ed Sheeranand Your Face was hilarious.
Uh, but Symmetry is also a veryclose contender for that similar
reason.
I also like uh some of the uhsome of the other aspects and
remixes for that song.
But yeah, that was uh my choice.
And if you didn't hear any ofthose songs that I mentioned, uh
you definitely should check themout.

(18:39):
This one, uh again, a vibe forme.

SPEAKER_10 (18:41):
Yeah, I know the you know, right now, of course, the
Spotify uh playlist for thepodcast is currently dead, but
maybe we can do one more for ourwrapped.
Uh maybe that'll be a goodsend-off as far as like our rapt
songs.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 (18:53):
Yeah, or share, or share our raps.
Yeah, we'll just do that.

SPEAKER_10 (18:56):
We always do that anyway.
So we always uh Eric always putstogether a nice uh um uh thing
together on social media.
So if you want to see what ourrapt looks like here, uh in the
next couple of weeks, you'll beable to do that.
But yeah, uh great choice.
I guess I'll have to go tolisten to that song again.
Like I said, I kind of took astep back from the weekend uh
after his interesting,interesting 2024.

(19:19):
But uh, you know, him him withbetween him and like I said, uh
I haven't really heard a wholebunch as far as solo from
Khalid, and his album isoutstanding.
Not that they're like on thesame, like they didn't have the
same type of year, but like justhadn't heard from him in a
while.
Yeah, and that album is so good.
Uh the Khalid album is isoutstanding.
So yeah, um, I believe that isall the uh submissions for Song

(19:39):
of the Year.
Okay, great.
So yeah, let's move on to Artistof the Year.
Uh, which means, of course,Eric, we have to go to someone
we can always depend on uh whenit comes to artist of the year.
In fact, when I reached out tohim for his clips, I said, Hey,
game of the year, artist of theyear, and he sent them over
right away.
So let's go ahead and give itaway.

SPEAKER_09 (19:57):
Actually, do you think we could pivot to game of
the year?
So the

SPEAKER_10 (20:00):
Yeah, you know what?
Actually, yeah, actually, youknow what?
Yeah, let's go ahead and justswitch up the word.
No, we won't uh we won't do thatto him.
But yes, let's get to the for uhthe first selection as we move
into artist of the year.

SPEAKER_05 (20:14):
Hello, listeners and viewers of the Wait For It
Podcast.
My name is Andrew, and I am alongtime member of the Super
Bracket Bros Cinematic Universeand a recent member of the
Fusion Frenzy Squad.
I was the host of the FriendlyNeighborhood Gamers podcast,
which is still available foryour listening pleasure, and am

(20:35):
now currently making Soulslikeand Action RPG videos on YouTube
under the name Loyal Undead.
I was invited once again toshare my picks for this year's
Wait For It Awards.
I'm gonna kick things off withmy pick for Favorite Artist.
My favorite artist of 2025 isPendulum.
For those who don't know,Pendulum is an Australian drum

(20:56):
and bass and electronic rockband, often credited with
blending hard rock and heavymetal influences with
high-energy electronic dancemusic.
They were absolute pioneers inthe genre throughout the 2000s.
They released their first fullalbum in 15 years titled
Inertia.
After the release of their thirdalbum, Immersion, in 2010, the

(21:18):
band essentially went onindefinite hiatus from album
production and touring, with keymember Rob Swire focusing on his
side project, Knife Party.
While they started trickling outsingles and EPs again in 2020,
Inertia marks their true,full-scale return to the album
format, which is why thisrelease is such a landmark
moment for their fans.

(21:38):
I remember jamming to theirwatercolor album back in my late
teens.
This new album, Inertia, is aperfect blend of classic
pendulum with their signaturedrum and bass euphoria, as well
as some heavy new twists.
You get those throwback trackslike Archangel and Colorfast
that remind you of the Hold YourColor era, but what really makes
this album a contemporary bangeris the range of collaborations.

(22:01):
You have the aggressive metaltinged tracks like Halo
featuring Buller My Valentine,the chaotic Screamo influenced
Scarlord on Mercy Killing, andthe rap rock flare of Joey
Valance and Bray on Napalm.
It's a cohesive record that'sboth a hearty summation of their
discography and an exciting lookat where they can go next.
It's full of energy and overallis just a banger of an album

(22:24):
from start to finish.

SPEAKER_10 (22:36):
And he's just so good at it.
But yeah, he's so uh shout outto Andrew.
Uh just uh if you want to hearmore from him, we just uh heard
him.
Uh he was just a guest inNovember's episode of What Did I
Miss?
Uh but yeah, uh I I havedefinitely heard a pendulum.
I don't believe I have any oftheir music um on my playlist,
but uh I I did like play acouple clips from some of their

(22:59):
songs, and it's definitely uhstuff that I have heard before,
um, but not an artist uh or aband that I had been familiar
with uh prior to this uh reallytoo much.

SPEAKER_09 (23:08):
Yeah, me neither.
And I was like, where do I startwith this so I can maybe talk a
little bit about it?
And I was like, I'm not gonnatry to play their top hits.
Let me listen to this album, letme just listen to the beginning
of the first couple songs.
These things were fuckingbangers, like 30 seconds in.

(23:31):
That was sick.
Those are I'm gonna listen tothis album dead ass.
I'm gonna listen to this albumuh very, very soon because I
listened to the first fivesongs, like 30 seconds.
I kind of skipped forward alittle bit, and like the vibe is
there for sure.
Now I don't know how the vocalsand the lyrics and all that will
hit me, but vibe-wise, like justagain, instrumentals, which I've

(23:53):
already mentioned is a big thingfor me uh musically.
Yeah, no, that uh thatdefinitely hits.
There were a couple thatimmediately from like the get
got me.
So I'm very excited to checkthis out, but yeah, no, never,
never heard of this group.
And with the hiatus, I mean, Iguess I that shouldn't be
shocking.

SPEAKER_10 (24:11):
Yeah, we can always depend on Andrew to have a a
really, really great choice uhwhen it comes to our vibe.
I mean, we listen to so manydifferent genres of music here
between the two of us.
Uh, very excited to dive into uhsome pendulum.
So thank you so much, Andrew,for that submission.
Uh, let's get to another personwe have not heard from yet here
on this episode with theirartist of the year.

(24:33):
And uh yeah, let's get to thatclip.

SPEAKER_00 (24:38):
Vintage again, and one of the memorable highlights
of music for me, I want to givemention to the artist Lola
Young.
I heard her, I think maybe forthe first time in March of this
year.
I saw one of her performances onI believe the Tonight Show, and
I was enamored with how hervoice is just so soulful and

(25:00):
deep, and one of her popularsongs, Messi, subsequently
became played on the radios, andI think she has expanded since
I've really enjoyed several ofthe songs that she's put out.
Two of my favorites, I loveConceited, which is an earlier
song, but one of her songs fromthis year of 2025 is Spiders.

(25:22):
It's just absolutely a beautifulsong that resonates with me.
And I hope that Lola Young is umhere to stay.
She has been vocal about herissues with mental health
struggles.
In September, she was playing amusic festival in New York and
she collapsed on stage and thenput out a press release that she

(25:47):
was postponing any liveperformances indefinitely to
take care of her own mentalhealth and physical health.
And I wish her well, and I hopethat 2025 she's remembered for
her music, and that at somepoint she's healthy enough to
come back and create more.
I hope she is remembered fondlyin this year of music.

(26:10):
Thanks.

SPEAKER_10 (26:14):
Shout out to Vintage Eric Vintage, a local podcast
legend, if you guys are notaware here in Jacksonville,
Florida.
Super uh thankful for uh forvintage uh getting that clip uh
sent in here.
Maybe we'll hear from her againa little bit later in this
episode.

SPEAKER_09 (26:27):
Well, I'm I'm guessing based off the way how
how she started that one.
Hey again.

SPEAKER_10 (26:32):
Yeah, you you really set her up for failure there,
but that's okay.
To be fair, she didn't ask likeAndrew did.

SPEAKER_09 (26:36):
So that's that's well, Andrew, but Andrew has
succumbed to that exact scenariobefore.
It's so true.

SPEAKER_10 (26:43):
So Vince did she just learn the way that
everybody else has to learn.
Listen, um maybe I'll startincluding the order in which
we're gonna be doing that.

SPEAKER_09 (26:51):
That'd be great because I I just I looked back
just to the first time.

SPEAKER_10 (26:53):
To be fair, we did just change around the order.

SPEAKER_09 (26:56):
No, I thought that I was gonna take half the blame.
You start with best picture, soyou don't you actually fuck them
from the beginning.

SPEAKER_10 (27:03):
Well, that's just the list in that's just the list
in order we that we have it.
I mean, best picture is the mostimportant one, that's why it's
at the top when I send the thetext.

SPEAKER_09 (27:10):
I get it.
You may want to change thatapproach, but uh we'll see what
happens in 2026.

SPEAKER_10 (27:15):
No promises.

SPEAKER_09 (27:16):
Lola Young.
I mean, I've heard uh one of herbiggest songs is Messi.
I've definitely heard that andliked that on my Spotify.
I haven't heard too, too much uhfrom her, but I have heard she's
definitely been making somemoves.
So to hear that name, uh, youknow, in this category, not
surprised.

SPEAKER_10 (27:32):
Yeah, and I know her from the song that she has with
Tyler the Creator.
Um, so again, like like Vincentwas saying, just an incredibly
soulful voice.
And also, you know, somethingthat resonated with me too, as
far as like her having to stepaway.
You know, we just heard uhremember like last year we were
lucky enough to see DonaldGlover childish gambino right
before he had to stop his tour,and we just heard that he had
had it suffered a stroke likewhile on this tour.

(27:54):
So uh, you know, definitelysending the best for her.
So that you know that that storykind of resonated.
Um, but yeah, it's it's crazy,man.
You gotta um it's it's a lot togo on tour, um, even though I
don't think Eric has forgivenCharlie Pooth to this day.
It was Charlie Pooth, right?
No, no, Sean Mendez.
Sean Mendes.
Sean Mendez, Sean Mendes, yeah.

SPEAKER_09 (28:14):
Charlie Booth is a saint and he's uh amazing in
concert.

SPEAKER_10 (28:18):
Um Sean Mendez that that bailed on you guys.

SPEAKER_09 (28:20):
Sorry.
Yeah, yeah, it's a bummer.
Um also, this is so random.
Did I tell you I got tickets togo see the Jonas brothers?
Oh I'm going on the 30th.
Uh they're coming to Daily'splace.
Motherfucker! Yeah, okay, yeah.
I was like, I I gotta go.
I gotta wanna go.

SPEAKER_10 (28:36):
I wonder who their guest is gonna be.
Yellow card?
No, they did yellow card.
They already did yellow card.

SPEAKER_09 (28:42):
Yeah, I don't know who it's gonna be.

SPEAKER_10 (28:43):
Why didn't they do yellow card here?

SPEAKER_09 (28:45):
I don't know.
I gotta use I gotta listen tomore of their most recent album,
uh, but you know, some of themore recent songs that they've
had.
I can't wait to hear WaffleHouse in person.
I'm excited, I'm ready to go.

SPEAKER_10 (28:55):
Hmm.
Okay, yeah, public and C Ray isalready going.
I'll I'll talk to her.
Yeah.
That sounds uh really fun.
Well, let's get to your pick,Eric, for artists of the year.
Is it the Jonas brothers?

SPEAKER_09 (29:06):
No, no, uh much different direction uh on my
end, and I kind of alluded to itwhen Donald sent in his clip
talking about Sleep Token.
So I'm gonna have to scrap theentire backstory conversation
that I had planned, uh, and I'mjust gonna have to cut right to
the chase, guys.
I really enjoyed Sleep Token'salbum, and it was an album that

(29:29):
at first I listened to and I waslike, oh, that was pretty good.
That was pretty good.
I really enjoyed it.
But just like the album beforeit, when I first got introduced
to them, the more I listened toit, the more I really started to
vibe with it.
And Donna was talking a littlebit about the song Caramel and
wondering why him and hispartner were not able to figure
out like why they liked it somuch, and they were kind of you

(29:51):
know pulling at some ideas.
But I kind of agree with a lotof the ideas he was throwing out
there as possibilities, likefrom the lyricism to the way
that some of the songs go leftwhen you expect them to go right
musically.
Like, there are different thingsthat Sleep Token has done within
their music that sound reallygood, and I think they're

(30:12):
fantastic to the point wherelike any edit, any major edit
that I saw on like TikTok uh wasbasically Sleep Token.
And then, of course, K-pop DemonK Hunters comes out, and what do
we get?
We get a mix of like free andone of the one of the biggest
sleep token songs from thealbum.
Like, that's not that's not fornothing, and you know, I will

(30:33):
say with this pick, this willstart off a kind of domino
effect for me of I would callbasic bitch picks, where we're
like, I I'm going with thepopular opinion here with a lot
of these, but uh they'regenuinely that good.
And I think if you haven't givenSleep Token a chance, you
should.
And even if you have, uh this isan artist I think on multiple

(30:54):
re-listens, putting it on in thebackground really helps elevate
a lot of the things that you'renot catching on just a one-time
listen.
And that's the thing I loveabout music, Phil.
Music is something you can haveon all the time, you can
reassess, re-judge, and justkind of go through the motions
where I don't have to watch amovie three or four times and

(31:15):
waste a whole day or lose awhole day in hours, right?
I could multitask, probably theonly thing I can multitask with
in my life is music.
And yeah, I just cannot say itenough.
Check out Sleep Token ingeneral, but their most recent
album, uh, even in Arcadia,very, very good.
Favorite album of the year, uh,top to bottom.
Again, that wasn't K-pop DemonHunters.

SPEAKER_10 (31:37):
Yeah, man, I'm gonna have to really prioritize Sleep
Token in 2026.
So um love, love that.
And you know, again, it's asound that you're just
immediately drawn to.
So very much love that pick.
Uh, yeah.
Uh, we have one more clip forartist of the year.
Let's go ahead and get to thisperson here.
First time, uh, first of twotimes we'll hear from them here

(32:00):
in this episode.

SPEAKER_06 (32:04):
Hello, this is voice actor Josh Portillo, and I am
going to say my artist of theyear.
So, for me, it's one of theK-pop demon hunters singers, and
it is Ray Ami.
I love how Ray has beengrinding.
I love how uh she's been goinghard for 10, 10 years, 10 plus
years, you know, um, grinding,getting rejected by agencies,

(32:26):
you know, different differentaspects, and um just finding her
way.
And you know, it's reallyinspiring, and yeah, that's the
reason why she's my artist ofthe year.
Um, a lot if I could choose allthree of them, if I can choose
um Audrey, um EJ, and Rayami,um, I would.
But in this case, I woulddefinitely choose uh Ray.
She's she's pretty awesome.

SPEAKER_10 (32:50):
Shout out to Josh, another uh wonderful guest we
had on in 2025.
Crazy that we met them inJanuary, and here they are.
Uh, you know, at least threethree out of four of them uh we
have here on the end of the yearuh episodes, which is which is
fantastic.
Um, and yeah, first appearancefor Rayami.
Uh yeah, all three of them, EJ,Rayami, Audrey Nuna.

(33:12):
I mean, obviously they had uh agreat, great year.
Also, shout out to Josh for theproduction value on that uh on
that clip.
And Josh, you can choose allthree because my artist of the
year is Hunterx.
I mean, so this is where mybasic bitch slide starts with
with the 2025 uh Wait ForwardAwards, because I I I I thought
about cheating and just givingit to Huntryx slash Saja Boys,

(33:36):
but Hunterx is alive.
Uh so I mean I guess I give I'llgive it to them.
Uh and and yeah, I mean, we'rethey they were on the Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade, they'reon the Tonight Show, they're
everywhere, and not only arethey doing you know stuff
together, but uh EJ, after youknow, I think it's EJ's story
that you know, being told thatshe was too old to be an idol,
like put out her single.

(33:56):
Uh, they're all having justfantastic years, and of course,
this movie uh I'm um uh you knowI'm is is going to it put its
stamp on pop culture, which iswhat this show is is all about
here in 2025.
So Eric, there they are.
First appearance.
How long are we?
How far into the episode are we?
Like 20, 25, 30 minutes into theepisode.

(34:16):
There is Hun Tricks uh in aninevitable um appearance.
They're like the the the uh theThanos meme, like I am
inevitable, that's what Hunterxis this year.

SPEAKER_09 (34:26):
Yeah, and I mean like again, they deserve to have
the light sh like shine on them.
Like it just it just is at somepoint, like you're very much in
the minority with thisparticular take.
Like, if you don't like this,and again to that individual in
our life that we know that maynot have enjoyed this, you know,
you're wrong.

SPEAKER_10 (34:45):
Or we'll listen to this episode.

SPEAKER_09 (34:46):
No, I I would recommend to that person
specifically who isn't gonnalisten to this, but if you are,
you're gonna want to stop herebecause it's uh this is not the
last time K-pop demon hunters isgonna come up.

SPEAKER_10 (34:58):
It is not.
So uh yeah, shout out to HunterX and also thank you, Andrew,
vintage, and Josh, for thosesubmissions.
And Donald.
And uh well, Donald was Song ofthe Year, but yeah, uh I was
talking about Artist of the Yearspecifically, yeah.
But uh yeah, uh so let's get tothe next category here, Eric,
which is going to be Game of theYear, a big one.
Uh, we have a couple ofdifferent uh submissions for

(35:21):
this particular category.
Uh let's go to somebody who uhyou know what uh I think has
been on most uh between Andrewand this particular uh
submitter, I think they've beenthey made maybe the most
appearances on the uh end ofyear awards.
So let's hear from them.

SPEAKER_01 (35:42):
This is the category that I was dreading the most.
I I don't get to play as manyvideo games as I like to, and
I'm always gifted a bunch ofgames, whether they're current
and whatnot.
I never get to touch them.
We had a lot of great games thisyear, a lot.
Um, and I would probably bepicking a different game if I

(36:04):
was able to play this game, butum, we had games like Silent
Hill F and Expedition 33 comeout this year, and I definitely
would have picked one of thesegames if I had the time to play
them.
Um, but my game of the year isDigimon uh Time Stranger.
Like, I love Digimon, it's myfranchise, it's my like monster

(36:25):
franchise.
I I grew up with it, and I lovethe Digimon story games, and
this game has just been awesome,it's just been super fun getting
back into like making these uhDigimon Digivolve and all that
stuff, and like just kind ofplaying these like traditional
JRPG elements.
Like, I just it's for me, it's Ilove it again.
I'd probably be changing myanswer if I played X position 33

(36:46):
and Silent Hill F.
But those uh at least X Pedition33 is a relatively long game,
and uh Silent Hill F, I just Ilove horror, so like I just know
I'm gonna love everything aboutit.
I love Silent Hill, I love theaesthetic they went for for this
game.
But yeah, Digimon, I just Ican't put down.
I was gonna like say, like, oh,I won't play this now, play
something else, but I just keptpicking it back up and I kept

(37:07):
playing it.
So when I realized I wasn'tgoing to switch games, I was
just gonna keep playing Digimon,I just was I just knew I had to
finish this before I playsomething else.
And I don't know, as a diehardDigimon fan and all that, like
it's definitely up there, and Ithink it really holds its own,
especially in comparison to likeI don't know, the new Pokemon
game, which I haven't heardgreat things about, but this is

(37:30):
not a uh debate thing betweenthem, but yeah, Digimon, um,
even the fact that they even didall the voice acting for like
different for all the differentDigimon and things like that.
Um, for a hardcore Digimon fan,this is the game to go to, and
it was the most fun I've hadplaying a game for a while,
especially this year.
So sorry for all those who wouldthink I'm crazy for picking this

(37:51):
game, but it's Digimon Time uhDigimon Story Time Stranger is
definitely the game of the yearfor me.

SPEAKER_10 (37:58):
Shout out to Ivan Patch making his first uh couple
appearances on this episode, anduh yeah, I'm looking forward to
having him on the show more in2026 and seeing him at the
conventions.
But yeah, Eric, Digimon uh TimeStranger, this is a game that is
on my wish list, um, both onPlayStation and PC.
Um, because uh one, it looksoutstanding.
I've I've heard wonderful thingsabout it, and also it it really

(38:21):
puts to shame.
He mentioned it there, like thePokemon games and their lack of
just any effort because theanimations in this game are
incredible.
There's actual voice acting,which for some reason Pokemon
refuses to do.
I don't understand it to thisday.
Um, well, I mean, it comes downto they just cut corners and
they're gonna sell millions ofcopies, so it doesn't matter.
But this game I've heardincredible things about, and

(38:42):
it's definitely on my list toplay in 2026.

SPEAKER_09 (38:46):
Yeah, I've seen a buddy of mine, Ashwood, uh, play
this um on stream, and like it'syou know, it's it's it's kind of
like in that same Pokemon vein.
Like, I I think as long as youdo a game like that right, then
fans of that genre, whether it'sthe genre of the game or the
genre of the IP, like I thinkthey're just gonna be happy.

(39:08):
And it sounds like that's what'shappened with Digimon.
So, like, kudos to uh the peoplethat made that game and the
people enjoying it.
Uh, it's not my cup of tea, butI'm glad that you're enjoying
it.

SPEAKER_10 (39:18):
Yeah, heard heard a lot of really, really good
things when it comes to uh TimeStranger.
So uh yeah, we get so goes onsale a little bit.
Maybe I will jump in.
Hopefully, I'll be able to jumpinto it in 2026.
Let's get to someone else wehaven't heard from here yet.
I believe this is out of order,so let me just introduce them.
Uh, let's hear from our buddyGefiltha.

SPEAKER_07 (39:43):
When it comes to game of the year, there's
definitely tons of games that Iwish I had the time to play.
Things like uh Clear ObscureExpedition 33 or Dispatch or
even Hollow Knight Silksong,things that I've seen everyone
playing, and I can see whythey're Putting them up on the
mantle of Game of the Year.
However, my honorable mentionwould be blueprints.

(40:06):
Me and the fiance got down onblueprints so hardcore.
We were in it.
We were in it and in it.
Man, we wanted to discover andkeep seeing how different our
progress could be in blueprints.
Definitely an honorable mentionfor me.
But the one that I wouldprobably have to say is I was
hyped for all year leading up toits release would be Battlefield
6.
It delivered exactly what Iwanted.

(40:34):
I'm a big jet guy on there, andjust really delivered.
There's a battle pass and youknow, store, but there's some
grievances and cons there.
But I just go in, I play italmost every day, get in a
match, call it a day.
That's about as much time as Igot.
And it's just a solid, wellrobust shooter.

SPEAKER_10 (40:54):
Yeah, shout out to Battlefield 6, uh, which is a
game we know we discussed alittle bit again on what did I
miss a couple of weeks agobecause of the horrible,
horrible state that Call of Dutyreleased in.
Uh but yeah, Eric Battlefield 6.
I I think we um, you know, wejumped into like the battle
royale mode, uh, played a littlebit of the beta, or at least I
did with uh with Andrew.

(41:15):
And you know what?
Like it's good to know that ifwe ever do get that, like we
want that fix to play some sortof military shooter, like
Battlefield is there, we don'thave to revert back to Call of
Duty.
Will we do that?
Probably not, but uh it's Ithink it's a resounding win that
Battlefield is back on track.

SPEAKER_09 (41:31):
I think what I like about both of these picks for
game of the year is that they'recoming from diehards of that
particular genre of gaming.
And again, if you make a goodbattlefield game, people who
like Battlefield will enjoy saidbattlefield game.
That's again, this is just kindof what people are gonna like.
And I'm glad to hear, I thinkwhat this definitely tells us is

(41:52):
which franchises and whichcompanies are going in the right
direction and which ones aregoing in the wrong direction.
Like again, we're not gonna talkabout Call of Duty on here,
we're gonna talk about like anArc Raiders.
I'd be shocked, I wouldn't besurprised if an Arc Raiders was
here instead of Battlefield orvice versa, right?
So that is the kind of thingthat is nice to have in the

(42:12):
diversity of clips and justpeople's opinions.
There's so many different typesof games that could fit this
award category for people, andagain, it's just really telling
that Battlefield's going onedirection, Call of Duty is going
the other.

SPEAKER_10 (42:27):
Yeah, so um it's again, it's uh it's crazy that
people just want a standardmilitary shooter.
Who would have thought uh theydon't want to fight a giant
Yondu?
Uh I know Michael Rooker is a uhvery well established actor, but
just Yondu is what came to mindfirst.
Uh, let's get to my selectionhere, Eric, for game of the year

(42:47):
before we get to your pick, aswell as the uh the other
selection for game of the year.
What am I gonna do, Eric?
You're not there's like no way.
There's no way you can do it.
What am I gonna do?
There's no way here's somehonorable mentions uh for games,
because uh admittedly, and wekind of talked about this like
last week.

(43:08):
This is kind of my TV categorywhere I played a bunch of games,
but I also played a lot of gamesthat are never gonna get
considered.
I'm not gonna consider uh thegames that I probably played the
most this year are collegefootball and NBA 2K26, and
another game that maybe I'llbring up in a second.
But those are two games that Iplayed the most of because
they're time killers, and I cando other things while I'm
playing those games.

(43:28):
I had fun with them, not gonnabe game of the year.
I enjoyed split fiction, uh, butit was not it takes two.
It doesn't even really comeclose to hitting the highs of an
It Takes Two, um, even though Ivery much enjoyed that.
Uh South of Midnight, I did notbeat, but still, uh, you know,
would love to go back into thatgame um at some point, even
though I canceled my game pass.
I definitely want to go back andplay it.

(43:48):
Uh Claire Obscure did not beat,but obviously that's gonna be
uh, you know, we'll see whathappens to the game awards this
year.
Uh Battlefield 4, I'm sorry,Borderlands 4, in the process of
playing with friends, having alot of fun with that.
I know it's getting bad reviews,but I enjoy wasting time in
skate.
It's not a perfect uhexperience, but it's something,
again, another another timekiller.

(44:11):
So now the game I spentobviously the most time in,
well, third most time in isJurassic World Evolution 3.
It's outstanding.
It is head and shoulders aboveboth of the the previous two
games.
Uh, maybe we'll have a guest onto talk about that production
process here in the future, alittle bit of a teaser.

(44:33):
Uh, but I'm gonna cheat here alittle bit because I haven't
beaten this game, but I have puta significant amount of time
into it over the last couple ofweeks, and I'm pretty pretty
confident based on other reviewsthat Ghost of Yote is gonna end
up taking that crown.
Um, I loved Ghost of Tsushima.
This one was like riding a bike.
I jumped right back into thisgame, and also the new mechanics

(44:54):
are outstanding.
It's a beautiful game.
Um, the the new character isvery interesting.
The story is, and this also isalso compounded by the fact that
I hated Assassin's CreedShadows, and they're very
similar in terms of their story.
Uh, but I gave Assassin's Creeda shot in 2025, and I just don't
have any interest in playing inan Assassin's Creed RPG.
Will they get my money for BlackFlag when that comes out early

(45:17):
next year?
Sure.
I'm gonna jump back intoAssassin's Creed Black Flag and
play that game.
Uh, but other people are doingAssassin's Creed things better
than Ubisoft, and Ghost of Yotaiuh is that game, and it's
outstanding, and I love it, andI cannot wait to continue
playing it.
Uh, again, I am cheating alittle bit because I haven't
beaten it, but again, I'menjoying it so much I can't
imagine that it's gonna fall offthat much.

(45:38):
So Cris was averted, Eric.
Ghost of Yote is my game of theyear.

SPEAKER_09 (45:42):
You know, and it was scary because like I knew you
hadn't beat Yote yet, so Iwasn't sure if you go there or
even like mention it here.
So I'm really glad that that uhthat made its way and you made
some some strides in that gameto know uh that it's a
contender, which again, I Idon't I I wouldn't argue with
that.

SPEAKER_10 (45:58):
Uh Jurassic World Evolution 3 up here, different
story, but yeah, Yote, I'm gonnait has been no it has been
nominated for a uh a game awardsaward for best uh simulation.
So it is okay that's fine.

SPEAKER_09 (46:12):
That's fine.

SPEAKER_10 (46:14):
So all right, let's get to one more submission here
before we get to your pick,Eric, for game of the year.
And of course, we have to goback to the uh the the the tried
and true, our friendlyneighborhood gamer.
Former, sorry.
Was we neighborhood we heardthat Andrew!

SPEAKER_05 (46:35):
Hey, it's me again.
Now I'm gonna share my pick forGame of the Year.
This will all flow togetherreally well unless Phil and Eric
decided to swap the run of showon me again, in which case
you'll hear my introductionlater in the episode.
So, similar to Shadow of the UrTree last year, my favorite game
of the year this year is a DLCslash expansion.

(46:56):
So, as an honorable mention,I'll shout out Wu Chang Fallen
Feathers as a fantasticsouls-like experience that I
played this year.
The level design was incredible,the character customization, or
fashion souls, was great, andthe combat was a nice blend of
familiar and innovative.
And other than some difficultyspikes in the bosses and the
Chinese censorship controversy,this was a fantastic game that I

(47:19):
highly recommend.
But the expansion that Imentioned earlier is the
Overture expansion for Lies ofP.
This expansion takes everythingfrom the already incredible base
game and adds to it.
The new levels are incredible,the new weapons are a ton of
fun, and the story and charactermoments are some of the best
I've seen in a Soul Slight gameso far.

(47:40):
Overture is actually a dramaticprequel that transports you back
to Krat right on the brink ofthe puppet frenzy.
The new areas reflect this,shifting from the ruined
Bellapoke city of the base gameto unsettling new locations like
Krot Zoo and the stilloperational but deeply twisted
Carnival Gardens.
They really leaned into thehorror and grand architecture,

(48:00):
making these levels amasterclass in environmental
storytelling.
On the gameplay side, the newweapons are fantastic and highly
inventive.
We got additions like a newgunblade called the Pale Knight,
the fast agility focused DeathTalon Claws, and even a full-on
royal horn bow that lets youdeal ranged damage as a main
weapon.
The new levels are packed withformidable unique bosses that

(48:21):
serve as exciting climaxes toeach chapter, and the story
fills in crucial gaps in themain game's narrative, providing
some really satisfying answers.
Crucially, the update that camewith this expansion also brought
a ton of quality of life changesto the game to make it more
accessible to more players.
This includes three officialdifficulty settings, Butterfly's

(48:41):
Guidance for a cinematicstory-focused experience,
Awakened Puppet for an easierchallenge, and Legendary Stalker
for the original BrutalDifficulty.
They also added a boss rush modethat lets you refight any boss
at varying difficulty levels.
So now with all these options,there's absolutely no reason to
not experience this incrediblegame.
Oh, and one final shout-out, I'mcurrently playing through the

(49:02):
first Berserker Kazan, and it'sawesome so far, but I haven't
played it enough to give it anysort of game of the year title.
However, I can easily see itearning that prestige unless it
massively fumbles somehow.
Anyway, that's it from me thisyear.
Thank you, Phil and Eric, somuch for inviting me to do this
again.
I really appreciate it.
Keep up the good work.
Can't wait to do it again nextyear, and uh I'll see you guys

(49:25):
at the holiday special.

SPEAKER_10 (49:29):
Yeah, holiday special 2025 coming up ne this
fro this Friday.
If you're listening to this onthe day the episode releases, if
you're listening after December12th, watch the replay, I guess.
I don't know if we're releasingthe audio or not for that.
We haven't discussed it.
Yeah, we probably will.
Okay.
It's out there somewhere.
You can find it.
But yeah, Andrew again, uh,shout out to him for game of the

(49:52):
year.
Uh Lies of P obviously somethingI will never dive into, uh, but
uh not not surprised uh that aSouls like was his pick here,
Eric.

SPEAKER_09 (50:01):
Yeah, not surprised at all.
And a game that because ofpeople like Andrew, I've wanted
to check out.
Um it's just am I gonna am Igonna commit that amount of time
to a singular game?
Um when I haven't even playedElden Ring, which has been on my
bucket list, when I want to getback into like a Baldur's Gate
3.
Um, it just unfortunately fallsto the wayside when it comes
down to uh you know some ofthose.

(50:22):
So yeah, sorry, but I'm glad youliked it.

SPEAKER_10 (50:26):
You can play on your shiny new Steam Deck.

SPEAKER_09 (50:28):
I could, I could, but I have I have literally like
15 games installed on there, andgenuinely I have I have gameplay
left in like all 15, arguably.
So yeah, it's it's gonna betough to fit any more in there.

SPEAKER_10 (50:43):
I'm gonna get one and play Jurassic World
Evolution 3.
You make me sick.
Well, Eric, what is your pickfor game of the year before we
move on to our next topic?

SPEAKER_09 (50:55):
Yeah, this year has been man's uh somewhat of a
renaissance for me when it comesto gaming.
I'm really happy to kind of fallback in love with uh with gaming
as a whole versus just somegames that I've gotten to enjoy
year after year.
There are so many games, and ofcourse, like I dive into the

(51:17):
roguelike, roguelike category alot.
So a lot of these type of gameswill just never be considered.
So a lot of the games that I'veplayed aren't gonna come up in
this conversation, but you know,there's always an option for
like a Slay the Spire or aBalatro.
Like, I get why some of thesegames are so appealing.
For me, that game, an honorablemention for me would be Absalom,

(51:39):
which I've played a couple hoursof and is a ton of fun.
It's a beat-em-up roguelike thatI really enjoyed, aesthetically
looks so fucking good.
And had I dipped more time intoit, I could have seen this being
a personal contender for me.
Um, now this isn't a contenderfor me, Gafiltha mentioned
Blueprints.
I just wanted to make a commentthat I'm too dumb to play that

(52:01):
game.
That game requires anintelligence level that I did
not meet the requirements of.
So I just wanted that to be wellknown.
But again, there were so manydifferent games that I kind of
dived into and enjoyed.
When we talk about game of theyear, there's really only one
that I've played.
And despite my problems withsome of the game compared to

(52:25):
others quoting it as amasterpiece, it's hard to argue
that one, it deserves thenomination, and two, it likely
deserves what would be andshould be the game of the year
nomination at the game awards uhto win it.
And that is Clear ObscureExpedition 33.
Uh, that is a game, a turn-basedgame that I never thought I
would jump into and play.

(52:46):
And while I did limp across thefinish line in both my feelings
for the game and the fatigue ofwhat I was playing, it's hard to
argue that a lot of the elementsjust simply worked.
And if you're gonna get me toplay as much of that game as I
did willingly and having a goodtime at the end of the day, well
then you did something right.

(53:07):
And for me, that game was clearobscure.
It's probably not even closefrom a quality standpoint.
It's the biggest game I playedthis year, and it's the game
that I'm gonna have to give thenod.
Uh, but again, with a little bitmore time set aside to complete
other games, I would have hadsome personal favorites that
could have contended from a juststrictly objective standpoint.

(53:28):
Uh, there's really no otherbetter choice.

SPEAKER_10 (53:31):
Yeah, in terms of just development and you know
how forward that team has beenas far as the production of that
game and uh artistically whatit's meant, and you know, being
available on Game Pass and allof that, being available to so
many people that never wouldhave played a game like this.

(53:52):
Like, this is a game that Icaught eye uh like had caught
wind of in 2024 just because ofthe art style.
I was like, whoa, what is this?
And ultimately, you know, I hadto drop the difficulty because I
suck at parrying and dodging.
Uh, but still I was enamoredenough to want to make sure that
I at least got through, youknow, some of the bigger story
point points.
And then um, you know, now herein the in the second act, which
I, you know, you did say uh doesdrag a little bit.

(54:14):
But uh eventually what I'm gonnahave to do is if I'm gonna have
to replay that game, I'll haveto uh probably just re-sign up
for Game Pass as opposed tostarting over on the
PlayStation.
Unless there is like a crazy$10sale in 2026 for Claire Obscure,
then sure, I'll play through thegame again.
But uh yeah, really great uhgreat pick there.
And you know, hopefully theyhave I'm hoping to see some
success for that show or forthat game uh at the game awards

(54:37):
this year, which I'm sure wewill.
Uh Eric, let's get to uh thenext category here.
Big one.
Anime of the year.
Um, you had made a commentbefore we had um recorded this
episode.
Like, even, you know, movies hadreally taken a front scene.
Movies and roguelikes werereally your year.
That was your 2025.
You could do your own award showfor just roguelikes and movies,

(54:59):
and you'd have yourself a hellof a time and a really lengthy
episode for you to edit on yourown.
So let's get into uh anime ofthe year.
I'll play our two clips first uhbefore we get into our
selections.
This is one of the only yearswhere I think we have the same
thing.
I don't know, I guess we'll see.
I don't know, unless you watchsomething that I'm totally
unaware of.

(55:20):
I don't know.
I guess we'll see what happens.
But let's go back to Gafilte andsee what his choice was for
anime of the year.

SPEAKER_07 (55:28):
Hey guys, it's Gafilta here to deliver the end
of year awards for the Wait ForIt podcast.
Now, I'm just gonna start offwith anime of the year for you.
For Mobile Suit Gundam G Quux orGQ U U U U U X.
I don't know why they went withthat title, but nonetheless,

(55:48):
it's almost like the multiverseof the Gundam franchise.
For those that are fond of theoriginal Gundam, Mobile Suit
Gundam, it's it pays homage andconnects things really
interestingly, like withalternate universes in a way.
Beautifully done, great music,great animation, and that's
definitely my anime of the year.

SPEAKER_10 (56:12):
A Gundam anime is just something that's like my
last kind of frontier.
Because it's never I've I'vejust have not dove into one.
Um, whether you know, I knowthere's so many to choose from.
Maybe that's the maybe that'sthe other reason is like, what
do I do?
Throw a throw a dart at a walland just and just pick one?
I don't know, but I had neverheard of this one here, Eric.

(56:33):
What's your uh familiarity withmobile suit gundam?
Q you you you you you gqx, Ithink people just call it GQX.

SPEAKER_09 (56:43):
No, I don't I don't think that's what they do.
I I've heard nothing but goodthings uh from that community in
general, but I'm not asconnected to Gundam as I was uh
with the Witch for Mercury,which was my intro to that whole
uh subsection of anime.
Uh Gundam is something I'vewanted to get into for quite
some time.
Not really my jam becausethere's so much, it's kind of

(57:05):
daunting, but I've alwaysappreciated it from afar.
And we always love again.
This is another thing of likefans of that franchise enjoying
what that franchise has tooffer.
Love to hear when it comes tosomething like Gundam.

SPEAKER_10 (57:18):
Yeah, 100%.
So thanks, Kefilta, for that uhselection.
There, we'll hear from themagain one more time a little bit
later.
And let's get to uh one of ourfavorite anime watchers and see
what they had to say for theirselection.

SPEAKER_01 (57:34):
Anime of the year.
Uh, what can I say?
Uh ton of great anime this year,and I feel like there's certain
ones that some people would haveexpected me to say.
Uh, or it's like just like justlike really obvious ones.
You know, we had we got Dante onthis year, season two, we got
Gachi Akata, we got you know,these series that like I've been
really talking about and excitedfor and whatnot.

(57:57):
Um, but uh I would have probablypicked a different one here too
if I finished it.
But uh I love Taco P's originalsin, but it's only six episodes,
and I only got to watch thefirst four.
Whereas this other anime I havewatched, I'm all caught up with
it.
It's still airing, but I am allcaught up with it.
It is uh Santa, which a lot ofpeople don't know about.

(58:18):
It's on Amazon Prime, they don'tpromote it.
But Santa is like fantastic.
It has like this weird fixation.
I have this weird fixation forit, like it has a grip on me.
It's like such a stupid,ridiculous premise.
This descendant of Santa livingin some like this he's like in a
school in this dystopian world,and it's it's crazy.
The animation studio is uh thesame ones we don't.

(58:39):
It is it is balls to the walllike insane, but it is
definitely up there.
My favorite anime I've watchedthis year.
I the character designs aresick, the animation is sick, the
story is actually pretty deepconsidering the premise is
really ridiculous.
Um, but yeah, it's just it'sdefinitely anime of the year.
Taco P's original sin is reallyup there, it's like number two

(59:00):
for me.
It struggled between the two,but it's definitely Sanda.
I really think that people needto give this show a shot.
Like, I mean, some people don'teven know it exists, so I blame
Amazon for that and all theirterrible promoting of anime.
Same with Hulu.
But Santa is like fantastic.
If you are a Don Don fan, if youlike all these kind of like
crazy, over-the-top typestories, this is the one for

(59:21):
you.
Like, it it I do love that ithad it is kind of a satire in a
way, and it's taking this likekind of very serious issue um
that they have in like I guessJapan's society right now, and
they're like really going crazyand exaggerating it, but like to
prove to like get to a certainpoint, like to show you, like
it's just I don't know, I can'texplain too much, but like the

(59:43):
basic premise is really not thepoint of the show, but it is
definitely my favorite series.
Um, anyway, I'm just ramblingnow.
Um, yeah, Sandah, my favoriteanime of the year.

SPEAKER_10 (59:55):
This is why I'll die in the sill.
The anime.
Is a top-tier medium becausewhat the fuck do you mean it's a
Santa Claus?
I know I've seen this becauseIvan shared it, and I remember
looking it up.
I was like, and I just saw thispicture of this jacked fucking
Santa Claus, and I was like,what is this?
And that that's why, again,anime is a is a top-tier medium.

(01:00:18):
Uh, what have you watched Santa,Eric, or has this been on your
watch list?

SPEAKER_09 (01:00:22):
No, it is now though.
Like, we just we just got doneuh saying we couldn't do
international feature forDecember because there probably
wasn't enough stuff.
We could have done this, wecould have done damn it.

SPEAKER_10 (01:00:33):
Yeah, so a shout out to Ivan for always having uh
some some great suggestionsthere uh when it comes to uh to
anime of the year.
Um, yeah, this is definitelygonna be added to the watch list
for sure.
Maybe we cover it as a late tothe party in 2026.
Maybe we'll do that.
So so thank you so much, Ivan,again, for your participation.

(01:00:54):
Actually, no, we have him, we'llhave him one more time, uh a
little bit later in the episodeas well.
So for me, I will go first sinceof course, Eric, this is your
bread and butter when it comesto anime of the year.
Um man, I definitely watched theleast amount of anime that I
ever have in in any year, andthat's something I'm as we go
through this episode uh that I'mgonna have to commit to more TV

(01:01:15):
shows, finishing more games, andalso doing more anime.
But like 2025, and you know,this isn't really the point of
the episode, is the busiest yearEric and I have ever had on a
personal uh level in terms ofour own journeys as far as
content creation and otherthings, but the podcast as well,
we've had so many coolopportunities in 2025.
Um, so I just haven't gotten toas many things as I want.
Um, he mentioned Don Danon,which has been outstanding.

(01:01:38):
Um he I'm surprised he didn'tmention the summer uh Hikaru
died.
Uh we know obviously we watchedthat for an episode that maybe
might release in the future uhfor the world of Cory.
Um obviously, really, reallygood.
Um I very much enjoyed what I'veseen so far from Kaiju number
eight.
Uh, and then also catching upwith the episodes of uh uh well

(01:01:59):
did the season two of Blue Lock,did that release this year or am
I catching up from last year?

SPEAKER_09 (01:02:04):
I believe you're catching up from last year.

SPEAKER_10 (01:02:06):
Okay, that's what I that's what I thought.
So, but I I just have not beenable to keep up with as much
anime as I want outside of theyou know some of the uh the
mainstream ones, like a sololeveling, things like that.
I would just be totally remiss,Eric, if I said any anime, and I
haven't finished it yet, I'm alittle bit behind, but I I just
would be lying to myself if Isaid that any other anime other

(01:02:28):
than the final season of my ARAcademia has hit me in the way
that anything has in a very,very long time.
Um, if I'm sure if Chainsaw Manhad been released in episodic
form as well uh outside of themovie, maybe be having a
different conversation, but umthat doesn't qualify here, at
least in my opinion.
So again, after especially aftera couple seasons where I was

(01:02:49):
still enjoying it, but I waslike, man, it's there their
focus is elsewhere, the story isis is lagging a little bit.
Some things we talked about,like you know, how this all
takes course over the all takescourse over a year or so is kind
of crazy, but like what I'veseen so far and catching up in
2025, and literally like I feltlike Seamus, shout out to the

(01:03:09):
WWE.
I have like banger after bangerafter banger, and I was like,
these motherfuckers don't miss,bros.
It was an insane run.
I don't expect that to slow downhere as I catch up to the last
few episodes.
Um, so yeah, my hero academia,final season hit my my absolute
cinema pose.
And you know what?
Uh whatever the fans have done,I don't care.

(01:03:30):
I'm enjoying the show.
Uh final season, my hero is mypick.

SPEAKER_09 (01:03:35):
Yeah, you know, it's not my pick only because it's
still going on, but I don'tblame you for doing that because
even despite that, it was highlyin consideration here, despite
that.
So, again, I'm not gonna faultyou at all.
And what I'll say is, I think alot of people are echoing this.
I think we're gonna look backabout a decade from now and

(01:03:55):
we're gonna look at my hero insuch a different light, and
that's a good thing.
Like, I think in a very, verypositive way, uh, we're gonna
look at the series overall muchdifferently than we do today.

SPEAKER_10 (01:04:06):
Do you think and this is totally different, but
like in terms of how they haveprogressed, but the only thing
that I can think of, maybe thisis a precursor to uh again, we
don't do worst anymore, but theworst show I've watched so far
this year is easily StrangerThings.
But do you think like My Herohas kind of been like in this

(01:04:28):
strange audience of like aStranger Things audience where
it's like holy shit, it it ittook off like in a way that I
don't know how many peopleexpected it to, and then it has
like these obnoxious fans, andthen and now the thing is with
my hero is that it it stayedgood where where Stranger Things
uh is not, and you guys canfight me, I don't care.

SPEAKER_09 (01:04:47):
Uh yeah, yeah, my hero never really turned out to
be bad at any point, it justkind of fell off a little bit,
and there's a lot of stuff we'vetalked about between the movies
and some of the story decisions,like even when we talk about the
villain arc, uh academia arc,there was stuff that they
omitted um and they didn'treally flesh out as much that I
think would have helped goinginto uh see the the season

(01:05:10):
before the final season, uh,especially.
But again, it's it's one ofthose things where I just think
this is a show not just ananime, it's a show that I have
deeply connected to particularcharacters to, and with when we
talk about the show as a whole,there isn't a show that on
repeat watches gets me to anemotional point of like I'm

(01:05:31):
gonna cry.
Like this show, this showmultiple times has done that on
one watch, and then onrewatches, I will find myself
like fuck man, if I if I justlike let it go right now, I'd be
fucking balling like a baby, andit'll be like the third or tenth
fucking time I've seen thatscene or or that that time um

(01:05:53):
that I'm that I'm watching, andit just it's not something you
could take lightly, like eventhough the sum of all of its
parts, maybe not everything wastop tier, I just think it has
too many fantastic moments toignore, and I think people are
starting to recognize that inthis final season.

SPEAKER_10 (01:06:10):
So I'll I'll compare it to like the the Infinity saga
for the uh for the MCU.
There are films that I go backand re-watch, like I'm gonna
I'll re-watch Silver War, I'llrewatch um uh you know Infinity
War and um some of those othermovies.
Like there, I don't think I'llever re-watch my hero as a

(01:06:31):
whole, but I will go back andre-watch my favorite episodes.
Like that's how it will live forme.

SPEAKER_09 (01:06:37):
100%.
And that's a great uh comparisonbecause like we especially with
what we're getting now,unfortunately, we we will look
back at the Ragnarok, you know.

SPEAKER_10 (01:06:46):
Like I'll put it like I'll I'll go back and
re-watch those movies, you know,yeah, and re-experience them.

SPEAKER_09 (01:06:51):
Yeah, and then the the like really shit ones are
still tied into like the overallpositivity of the Infinity Saga
because again, the sum of all ofits parts aren't great, but it's
just there's too much good shitto ignore.
Um, but we do acknowledge likethere's gonna be stuff that you
miss.
Like, I personally like thegentle criminal arc, but I

(01:07:13):
understand why nobody would wantto go back to that arc.
I like him coming in particular.
I like what I've seen recently,but I I've I've heard I've heard
more people talk about the thefact that they like the um the
hero licensing thing thathappens after the all-for-one
all might fight.
You lost me.
I I don't know, I don't know wholiked that that arc in
particular.

(01:07:33):
What a weird place for that arcto be.
Uh, they saved it with theBakugodeku fight, which they
kind of did then again at thisthe tail end of season four.
They did that with Endeavor andHawks versus the Nomu.
Like again, there will bestretches where it's like, this
is fine, and then there arestretches where it's like, this
is fucking cinema, like this isso fucking good, and it's not

(01:07:56):
just cool to look at, it likedeeply affects you emotionally
and to your core.
And that's what Mike Hero hasjust been able to do
consistently is have thosemoments that work.
That's why it's not a show youcan just watch clip of and get.
You can't watch a few episodesand get you have to be on the
train ride or not.

SPEAKER_10 (01:08:15):
Ted Lasso's like that.

SPEAKER_09 (01:08:17):
And I vibe with Ted Lasso, the eighth of it that
I've seen on TikTok.

SPEAKER_10 (01:08:20):
I'm telling you, you can't I can't experience it like
that.

SPEAKER_09 (01:08:24):
I I love seeing their journeys from you know
where they started to where youknow they end.
Uh Jamie Tart, Nate, you know,all of them.
They're really the way theystart to where they finish, man,
good shit.

SPEAKER_10 (01:08:39):
You disgust me.
Um, what's your choice?
You didn't you didn't give yourchoice yet, right?
No, no, no, no.
We got off on a tangent there.
We got off on a My Hero tangent,but you know what?
Uh, this is ours.
So uh yeah, Eric, what is yourchoice for anime of the year?
I also will say the other animethat I wish I had gotten to
watch, which is the one that hasbeen most recommended to me

(01:08:59):
across the board, is GachiAkuda.
So I'm gonna be prioritizingthat in 2026 as well.

SPEAKER_09 (01:09:04):
Yeah, that's one that I really wanted to check
out.
I think we're purposely avoidingthe movies.
Um, you know, Demon Slayer,Infinity Castle Part One.
I mean, if you considered that,that's in contention.
Chainsaw Man, the raise the RezArc, uh 100% in contention.
Uh, the summer who car died wasgood, you know.

(01:09:24):
I liked it uh more so than theproblems I had with it.
I will say, Phil, this is also aweird season for me because
there's a lot of shows.
Either there's a lot of showsthat I wouldn't really consider,
like, you know, we're finishingup Doctor Stone.
Um, I watch a show uh calledHanukko, uh Toilet Bon Toilet
Bound Hanukko Khan.
Every time I bring up the show,Phil looks at me like, what the

(01:09:47):
fuck are you talking about?
It's a very good show.
It's a very good show.
I watch it with my family, wehave a great time.
There are a bunch of those showsthat are in like multiple
seasons that are just like we'rejust vibing with them, we're
enjoying them.
But outside of those, I haven'tunfortunately gotten into too
many new anime, and I'veprobably watched the least
amount of anime this year aswell because we've been so busy.

(01:10:09):
So I'm glad you brought up thatprecursor.
My anime of the year is going tobe a sequel season, but it's one
that I think already got itsflowers, and I think people
thought it was undeserving.
So I'm just here to remind youthat solo leveling season two
was fun.
It was fun, it was a great time.
I thought it was better than thefirst season, and I thought it

(01:10:30):
was better because it leanedinto the premise.
I think I just want to watch himfuck up shit and be more
powerful than other people.
Is this what people thought ofone punch man back in the day?
Are you guys just sour becauseyour show sucks now?
Is that what it is?
Is that what it is?
I'm curious.
I'm very curious.

(01:10:51):
I think that's what I mean.

SPEAKER_10 (01:10:52):
This Manoir came in and stepped in, stepped in on
your territory.
It might what do you mean I readleft to right?

SPEAKER_09 (01:11:00):
It might be.
Um, but no, yeah, there's uhagain a couple of different
ones.
I definitely um I definitelywould have uh I definitely would
have had a couple of differentoptions possibly come up here.
Apothecary diaries, I've heard alot of great things about um,
you know, Sanda.
I have I did see on a list ortwo.

(01:11:22):
I did see on a list or twobefore Ivan brought it up.
So I'm just saying it might notjust be him.
Uh, but I again it's more mylack of time showing up here
this year, more so thananything.
I'm gonna be giving anime alittle bit more attention next
year trying to catch up.
But again, solo leveling waslike I had to be seated for it
when it came out, and I think somuch has come out since then.

(01:11:45):
It's kind of like such adifferent scenario, Phil.
But like when Dune came out andeverybody pretty much forgot
about that movie come awardseason.
Like, I feel like talking aboutanime at the end of the year
versus maybe the middle of theyear is a much different
conversation because of thingslike my hero and the you know
spurt of fantastic episodes thathas been giving out.

(01:12:07):
So that would have been my pick,my hero final season, if it was
done.
I do know how it ends.
I'm curious how people will takethis ending.
But since it's not over, I wentwith the one I did see and I had
a good time with solo levelingseason two.

SPEAKER_10 (01:12:23):
Yeah, it's great.
There's also a video game thatcame out that I have wishlisted
on Steam that I definitely wantto check out.
And my thing with solo leveling,and I've talked to our friend
Ashley about this, is like hejust got in, and it doesn't
necessarily bother me too much,but I just want to see him
struggle a little bit.
And I know I know those arecoming, like that's about to
happen.
But like he just rose throughthe ranks so easily, and like

(01:12:44):
you said, that's such a goodcomparison, is like, oh yeah,
that's what One Punch Man was,and I'm enjoying seeing him, you
know, get taller and fuck uppeople and like steal your girl,
and you know what I mean?
Like, that's what I want to seesee him do next.
It's so good.
So it's fantastic.
So, um, I want to point out thenumber one show on Collider's
list is To Be Hero X, and thisisn't anything that I've heard

(01:13:05):
of.
Have you heard anything aboutthis?

SPEAKER_09 (01:13:07):
I I have.
Um, it's not one that I plannedon watching anytime soon, but it
is one that is on many people'slist.
Um, I'm gonna just double checkbefore I say this.
But I'm pretty sure, yeah.
So 2B Hero X is a dongwa from aChinese donga uh from Anaplex,

(01:13:30):
and it's uh part of that wholefranchise, but it is uh yeah, a
little bit different, a littlebit out there, not necessarily
your traditional Japanese anime,but still I think would fit
under that bill.
Uh, a lot of people wouldconsider it that same genre.
I mean, it comes out just likeanything else on Crunchyroll,
yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_10 (01:13:47):
So just wanted to bring that up here.
So, all right, let's get intoour final three categories.
Kicking it off first, we will gowith TV show and let's go with
um bringing another uh one ofour submissions here.
This will be the last time wehear from her.
Let's get back to VintageMacaroni.

SPEAKER_00 (01:14:08):
Hi everyone, this is Vintage Macaroni here, and I'm
here to talk about some of myfavorites over the last year of
2025.
And when I say favorites, I'mactually gonna talk about what
was memorable to me and not myfavorite.
Because if I were to talk aboutmy favorites, I might be here a

(01:14:29):
while and I don't want to boreanyone to tears.
So, what I am gonna talk aboutare two things that come to mind
when I think of 2025 in mediathat I was enamored with, and
specifically the television showSeverance.
I began watching the firstseason when I heard the hype

(01:14:53):
around the second season, and Iwas able to watch along with
everyone else what transpired inseason two, and I was blown away
about just everything as far asthe production design, the
music, the acting, the uh thethe cinematic feel of the show

(01:15:16):
is fascinating to me.
So, for instance, when is it itwas initially pitched and I
asked, well, what is Severanceabout?
And it was communicated to methat oh, well, this is a show
about what happens if yourpersonal life was separated from
your working life.
I mean what that would be like.

(01:15:36):
And my initial thought was, Ohmy gosh, I would love to
disassociate for eight hours andto be a completely different
person going to work and cominghome and keeping those parts of
my life separate.
And when I watched the show, Isaw the philosophical

(01:15:57):
consequences of that verythinking that I had like, oh,
that sounds like a benefit.
Who wouldn't want to go to workand be able to focus on work,
and when you're at home, be ableto focus on your personal life,
and the complications of whatwould happen when you would have

(01:16:17):
two separate consciousness.
Essentially, that's what wouldhappen.
And you have what's called theinnie and the outie personality,
and then you learn about Lumenand what this company or
corporation is trying to do.
There's this air of mystery, andyou're trying to solve it along

(01:16:38):
with the characters, and youreally are taken along this
journey, this emotional journeywith the any characters, and you
fall in love with them, and yousee their level of vulnerability
and trust and connection thatthey have with one another, and
it's so enduring.
And I just was blown away by theproduction quality of the show.

(01:17:03):
For instance, the season twoopener is technically one of my
favorite shots of uh of a film,of a movie, like the technical
aspects of what they did to filmthe sense of urgency of Mark
running through the halls ofLumen is honestly fascinating.

(01:17:27):
And just how they use cinematiclanguage to convey the
transition of the Audi to theinnie with the Dolly Zoom made
famous by Jaws, it it's justmind-boggling and such a marvel.
I don't want to spoil too muchfor or any listeners that
haven't seen this show, but it'ssomething it's to behold.

(01:17:52):
It's a show that is memorable,that you can connect and talk to
people over.
And I mean, Ben Stiller reallyblew me away with his technical
level of expertise when it comesto filmmaking.
I really I had no idea, and I'ma little apprehensive that he's

(01:18:12):
not gonna be truly a part ofseason three, that he is taking
a step back, but I do believewith what he has set up for the
show in terms of look and feeland overall uh story that it's
able to be taken intoconsideration with comfort and
care.

(01:18:33):
Yeah, Severance is just aphenomenal piece of work and
definitely the highlight oftelevision and media for me in
2025.

SPEAKER_10 (01:18:46):
Thank you so much, vintage, for your submissions
here uh this for for this awardseason.
And uh yeah, uh this is likejust what we were talking about
a couple of moments ago, Eric,with anime.
Like, what do you mean Severancecame out in 2025?
Like it was so long ago.
The season two premiered inJanuary of this year, and um,
yeah, and I know I know itdidn't necessarily hit as hard

(01:19:09):
as it uh did for some of us asit did uh on your end.
Uh still a really enjoyableseason of television, even
though I I do like the firstseason more than season two.
I'm still enthralled, stillgonna continue watching it, and
uh yeah, Apple TV had themselvesanother stellar year.

SPEAKER_09 (01:19:25):
Yeah, it was one of the TV shows that I was signed
up for, like when it dropped.
Like I was ready to go, and Ienjoyed season two.
It it's actually an honorablemention for this award category,
but that speaks more to my lackof television shows versus
anything else.
Like again, you mentioned moviesand gaming was really my strong
suit uh this year, where TVshows, anime in general, like

(01:19:48):
that that definitely took uh astep back, which will be
interesting for my TV showoption, which is gonna be you
know a clear winner for mebecause it's it's hard to keep
my attention these days on theselike Episodic formats and uh
yeah, Severance had no problemdoing that.
Uh, from episode to episode, Ivery much was intrigued where we
were going.
Uh, it was just some of thepayoff stuff that we still

(01:20:10):
haven't gotten or that we didget that I didn't quite love.

SPEAKER_10 (01:20:14):
Yeah, 100%.
Hopefully, we won't have towait, you know, half a decade
for you know season three,whatever that does drop.
But uh yeah, Eric, actually,before uh I'll actually go first
actually with with your TV showof the year because uh me as
well as this next submitter havethe same choice.
So if you want to go ahead andgive your pick uh for TV show of
the year, yeah.

SPEAKER_09 (01:20:34):
So this is a show that we spoiler alert are going
to be covering in the month ofJanuary.
Phil, you gotta get on it, yougotta get started.

SPEAKER_10 (01:20:42):
Chaos Theory season five.

SPEAKER_09 (01:20:45):
Please.
Newest season dropped, and Ihave to keep telling my child to
watch it by himself because Idon't want to and my daughter
who we we've watched ittogether, she is also to the
point like uh what they need tofucking end this.
It's just not it's just not it'snot even fun anymore.

SPEAKER_10 (01:21:01):
Not only that, is none of the characters are
likable anymore, they werelikable as children, and they
are not likable as teenagers.

SPEAKER_09 (01:21:07):
That's a reminder.
I gotta take those episodesdown.
I don't want those episodes upanymore.
We just stopped like afterseason four of Camp Cretaceous.
I'm gonna take those down.
Um, so anyway, uh, you guyswon't be able to find them
because they'll be gone.
My TV show of the year is ThePit.
Uh, it came out early January,so just like Severance, this was
I kind of had to make a choice.
Like, I kept hearing about thepit of the pit.

(01:21:29):
I didn't know what that was.
The pit.
I didn't know what that was, andI am not a medical drama person.
I'm just not.
Uh, I don't watch Grey's Anatomylike that, I don't watch a lot
of these shows like that.
Uh, the last one I watched, theymemed out of existence.
I'm a surgeon! I am a surgeon.

(01:21:51):
They uh yeah, they they justmeme that one to death.
You can't do that.
You know, that I thought thatwas acceptable.
Anyway, the pit, on the otherhand, though, uh, heard so much
good stuff, people really sworeby it, so I gave it a shot.
And boy, did this show almostevery minute of every episode

(01:22:12):
have my attention.
It's something about, and again,we're gonna save a lot of this
for the late to the partyepisode.
We're gonna release that inJanuary to uh collide with
season two's release of The Pit.
But yeah, it just it just was sointeresting of a concept.
This day by day, this not evenday-by-day approach, this hour
by hour approach that they tookto the episodes where you're

(01:22:37):
trying to just uh take ineverything that's happening, and
there's so much stuff thatpeople have praised when it
comes to the way the medicalstuff was shown in this uh
particular series.
I'm not gonna speak on thatuntil I do a little bit more
research, but I did appreciateit, and it felt a little
different from that aspectwatching it.
So, Phil, the pit is my choice.

(01:22:59):
I can't wait to talk more aboutthis next month on Late to the
Party.
But it is uh yeah, it is it is ashow that really, really took me
uh by the seat of my pants andjust said, hold on, and every
single episode I was sat for it,I was ready to go, and I wanted
to get to the next one as soonas possible.

SPEAKER_10 (01:23:21):
Yeah, um our our friends Jordan uh and my sister
Falyn have also watched Throughthe Pit, and they have you know
nothing but good things to sayabout it.
Uh so yeah, really excited tocover that.
It's one of those shows that I Iwanted to get to uh here this
year, um, but just didn't get achance to, along with a bunch of
other shows.
Uh that that's really what likea lot of my list is is like
shows I just didn't get a chanceto uh to catch in time for this.

(01:23:45):
I wanted to watch.
I've heard good things aboutTask on HBO.
Uh I've heard really good thingsabout that.
Um is something like a uh likean what's it called?
Uh an Alien Earth.
That's something now we can diveinto, uh, having been more
familiarized with thatfranchise.
Um there's a show that is calledThe Chair Company, as we are now
just the biggest Tim Robinsonfans ever.

(01:24:06):
I want to start the chaircompany on HBO.
Um cannot wait for that.
We're probably gonna coverDetroiters on uh late to the
party in 2026.
Um there's another, there's alsouh I never got to see Common
Side Effects.
Never got to it.
Uh obviously there was the clipin the mid in the beginning of
the year that had us hooked.
I never got to it.
Um and then there's also anothershow called Plur uh Plurabys on

(01:24:26):
Apple TV, of course, um that Idid not get a chance to start,
but I will be starting very,very soon.
So, really, there have only beena couple TV shows um that have
uh um that I had to choose from.
Peacemaker season two.
I have not finished it, but itis outstanding what I've seen so
far.
I've gotten through half of theseason, and it is very, very
good.
But for my choice, um, this uhnext submitter and I have the

(01:24:49):
same selection for TV show ofthe year.

SPEAKER_01 (01:24:55):
Alright, so uh with TV show of the year, um I watch
a lot of TV, I draw to a lot ofshows, and I thought uh like
this would be harder, and itactually really wasn't.
Uh, we have shows that are stillreleasing right now, so like I'm
a big fan of horror, so itwelcome to dairy is out, and I
do love that show, but it's notcompleted, and um this next show

(01:25:18):
like just had me laughingconstantly, and just like I
don't know, it was like it waslike a kind of like a comfort
for me.
So I would say the my favoriteTV show of the year is the
studio.
I I just loved it.
I I loved I loved the directionthat the show went.
I love all the celebrity uh likecameos and appearances, and I

(01:25:39):
just like the commentary theywere like making.
Uh like I it was really coolthat like this is a show like
Seth Rogan made and the factthat I got like nominated.
If I can't remember if itactually won any awards this
year, I I can't recall, butyeah, the studio just had my
attention.
I just I I had I just keptwatching.
I actually couldn't even draw toit.
Like I put it on to try to drawto and like just kind of have it

(01:26:02):
as like a show to have on whileI work, and I got distracted a
lot.
I just kept watching and keptlaughing and just thoroughly
enjoying it.
So yeah, the studio isdefinitely my um my TV show of
the year.

SPEAKER_10 (01:26:16):
Yeah, I watched through all of the studio in
about three days.
Uh it's a very bingeable showepisode.
I think the longest episode isabout 35 minutes.
Uh Seth Rogan obviously has beenone of our uh you know one of my
favorites for a very, very longtime.
And season or episode two of thestudio is one of my favorite
episodes of television that I'veseen in a very, very long time.
Um, no surprise here, Eric, thatI want Apple TV, but I finally

(01:26:39):
got a chance to sit down andwatch the studio.
Uh it's outstanding.
Uh she's not in it like a ton,but I did not know Katherine
Hahn is well, she's she's in agood amount of episodes, but I
did not know Katherine Hahn wasin this.
She is fantastic.
Uh Catherine O'Hara, obviously,incredible.
Um Ike Barenholtz, top-notch.
Uh, and then of course tap uhyou know topped off with Seth
Rogan.

(01:26:59):
Uh this is a show that I whenthere are you know very few
shows because I know likethere's so like you said, there
are only so many things that canhold your uh attention.
This is one that I would go tobat for when it comes to the
studio.

SPEAKER_09 (01:27:11):
Yeah, this is one that I really wanted to watch
before we got to this episode,and I just I just could not get
to it.
I just I and again, could I haveput it on like Ivan mentioned?
And I'm glad that it's still youknow TV show of the year for
him, but can I put something onand multitask like that?
Like, I just don't think I wouldI wouldn't have appreciated like
episode two the way that you hadif I was multitasking in that

(01:27:33):
way, and that's just a me thing.
So uh is it on my watch listthough?
Yeah, I do plan on watching thissooner rather than later because
it's a hundred percent gonna beup my alley.
Like, I already know between thepeople involved from the comedy
satire aspect to just what seemsto be an underlying message of
love for film.

(01:27:53):
You know, that's those are allthings that appeal to me and and
are definitely interests of minewhen it comes to what I want to
watch.
And also time-wise, uh, youknow, I like hearing that it's
like 30 or so minutes under.
That's great.

SPEAKER_10 (01:28:05):
Yeah, exactly.
I know what I'm doing here.

SPEAKER_09 (01:28:07):
I know I know that that anime brain picked it right
up.
Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_10 (01:28:11):
I know, uh, I know what I'm doing here when it
comes to recommendations.
Just uh just like Eric knowslike which anime to and two not
recommend to me at this point.
Like we we get it now.
So uh yeah, that's uh best TVshow.
Shout out to again, vintage andIvan for those submissions.
Uh last two here, Eric, the bigtwo.
Let's get to best animatedpictures.

(01:28:32):
I started laughing like assbecause I know what's about to
happen here.
I think we only have onesubmission uh for this
particular.
Let me see.
Well, technically there's two,but Gafiltha kind of combined
his best picture and bestanimated, so I'll I'll throw
those together in the finalselection here.
But let's go ahead, Eric, uh,and get to our first submission

(01:28:53):
here.
Uh, animated film of the year.
We haven't heard from in alittle bit.
Let's bring back Josh.

SPEAKER_06 (01:29:01):
Hello, Josh Portillo again here, and um, I'm going to
present my pick for animatedfilm of the year.
You know it was coming.
You know it was coming.
Um, for me, it is K-pop DemonHunters.
Um, that film um was masterfullydone.
Uh the story was great, simpletoo, uh, not that hard to, of
course, follow.

(01:29:22):
Uh, characters were veryendearing.
Um, villains were villains wereendearing.
Uh, and um, you know, it justreally did a lot for the
industry as a whole.
There were a lot of animatedfilms this year that were very
impactful.
Uh, but um, for me, it is K-popDemon Hunters, and I cannot wait
for the second one.

SPEAKER_10 (01:29:45):
What's gonna come out first?
K Pop Demon Hunters 2, GTA 6, orthe final Spider-Verse film?

SPEAKER_09 (01:29:52):
None of the above.

SPEAKER_10 (01:29:55):
Yeah, so um, we know what's happening here, guys.
So before we talk about animatedpicture of the year, let's talk
about some other really goodanimated movies that came out
this year, starting with areally recent one, which is
Utopia 2, which I absolutelyloved.
And this is see see Moana, likeI'm gonna smack them in the back
of the head.
Like, see, this is how you makea good sequel.

(01:30:16):
It's smashing records uh allover the place, and it's because
it's a really, really goodmovie.
Did Shakira phone in the song?
Sure.
I don't care.
Is it just Waka Waka?
Yeah, but I like I don't care.
I like it! It's a zoo.
I don't care.
It's a fun time, it's a real youknow, uh, as you mentioned,
Eric.
Um, oh my gosh, why am Iforgetting his name?

(01:30:38):
Who voices uh Jason Bateman.
Jason Bateman is fucking killingit in this.
Um, a really, really greatanimated film.
Uh, a movie that probably onlyEric and I talk about, Naja 2
came out in 2025.
Uh and it is outstanding.
I think it's coming to Netflixthis holiday season.
So if you want to watch it, um,well, definitely watch the first
one, but uh, of course, Naija 2.
Um, and then another film, Eric,that I have been campaigning for

(01:31:00):
all year is The Day the EarthBlew Up, the Looney Tunes movie.
Uh, it was so good.
Again, animation like that isjust something you don't see as
much.
And I really hope we get to seemore of these Looney Tunes
films.
Uh, but those are some animatedpictures I wanted to point out
before we talk about what'sabout to happen.
And then, of course, Reza Arc,Chainsaw Man movie.
Outstanding.
Um, but yeah, there is anothermovie that we'll talk about here

(01:31:21):
in a moment uh that is head andshoulders and again has very
much impacted pop culture.
But any other animated films youwant to shout out?

SPEAKER_09 (01:31:28):
Yeah, um, I had a good time with uh these other
animated films, maybe not asmuch as some of the ones Phil
has mentioned, but PredatorKiller of Killers uh deserves an
honorable mention here.
The Bad Guys 2, uh franchisethat has no business looking as
good as it does.
Uh, and then yeah, that's uhthat was kind of it, other than
the Demon Slayer movie, whichvisually looked really, really

(01:31:50):
great and has one of the mosttragic, beautiful fucking arcs
in its third act.
Uh, does it all work togethervery well as a movie?
Maybe not, but it's still very,very good.
So those are just my honorablementions here.
And uh, Phil, we could prettymuch jump right into it because

(01:32:11):
uh yeah, this is the part wewarned you guys about.

SPEAKER_10 (01:32:14):
Yeah, it's K-pop demon hunters.
It it can't be anything else.
Um, even though I do haveChainsaw Man with a higher
grade, uh, in terms of like justfilm itself.
But K-pop Demon Hunters issomething that has changed the
lives of so many people thatweren't even really interested
in K-pop or this type ofanimation or whatever it may be.
This uh this type of um, Iguess, uh lifestyle just in

(01:32:38):
general, it's being opened up toso many more people because of
this movie.
Again, we got the the threevoice actresses out of it, and
and even some I think the voiceactor for Mystery Saja uh was
just cast in the new season ofJitsu Jujitsu Kaisen.
So, like they're finding workbecause of this incredible story
that was told, and it'ssomething remember, Eric, I pick
I I had uh honed in on thistrailer earlier in the year.

(01:33:01):
I was like, yo, this looksreally, really good.
And finally, and it came out,and I watched it the day it came
out, and I told all of ourfriends, I was like, yo, this is
it.
Like, this is there's somethingspecial going on here, and then
uh just uh over re-watching itmore and more, and it's I I've
just gained more of anappreciation for it.
So can't wait, just like Joshsaid, can't wait for the second
film.
Um, and it is uh outstanding,and these songs are gonna be

(01:33:24):
around for a very, very longtime.

SPEAKER_09 (01:33:27):
Yeah, maybe that's why they're making us wait so
fucking long for a sequel.

SPEAKER_10 (01:33:31):
Maybe that's why I mean the first one took years to
make.
I'm pretty sure it's the sameamount of production time.

SPEAKER_09 (01:33:36):
Man, Sony, get it together, man.
Get it together.
I know they're good.
I know they're good.
Stop taking so long.
Actually, take as long as youfucking need.
Take as long.
If they're gonna be this good,take as long as you need.
I uh yeah, K-pop demon huntersis the choice from an animation
standpoint.
I could have gone Naijot 2 here,and I feel like Najah 2 needs a

(01:33:57):
little bit more lovedomestically, like
internationally, and especiallyobviously in China, it's well
known, but I don't think it gotlike any love.

SPEAKER_10 (01:34:04):
Like I no one else the dub got like it it didn't do
well at all.

SPEAKER_09 (01:34:09):
Yeah, well, Michelle Yo is like 0 for 2 this year.
It's really it's reallyunfortunate on her end.
She should probably um stop stoptaking bad bad work.
But um, as far as as far as lovelove her as an actress, uh
respectfully.
So as far as K-pop DemonHunters, though, I really
enjoyed so much about it.
There's more I want to say andI'm gonna say in a little bit.

(01:34:31):
But right now, what I'll say forK-pop Demon Hunters is
definitely that it's impact onpop culture, it's absolutely
something you can't ignore, andit's one of the only movies that
I have seen multiple times thisyear, and I'll talk a little bit
more about that.
But that uh that says something.
I don't just re-watch movies inthe same year, especially,
unless I really need to.

(01:34:52):
You know, Superman, I didn'texpect to go see that movie
twice, and I did.
K-pop demon hunters, I didn'texpect to see that movie once,
and I did, and I saw it, andthen I wanted to see it again.
Then I went to the fuckingsing-along.
Do you know what it takes forsomeone like me to go to a
fucking sing-along in thetheater?
I'll leave it at that.

SPEAKER_10 (01:35:14):
Yeah, no tall task for sure.
So uh yeah, K-pop demon hunters,a um again, it will sit in
cinematic history, and if theyhad just put the fucking thing
in theaters from the from theget, who knows uh if it could
have been even bigger than it isnow, but at least we got this
thing along, and Netflix, Iswear to god, because we see
what we're you're doing withknives out.

(01:35:35):
I swear to god, don't do it.
Well, I just do the rights goback to Sony for the second one?
Like, how does that even work?

SPEAKER_09 (01:35:43):
I don't know, but Sony, holy shit, you fumbled.

SPEAKER_10 (01:35:46):
Yeah, fucked up.
Fucked up real bad, man.
So, all right, guys.
Let me just make sure I believethat is the that was the only
submission for animated film ofthe year.
Like I said, I can felt this iskind of a twofer.
So, yeah, let's go ahead and getinto Best Picture.
Uh, the uh the the cream of thecrop when it comes to the Wait
Forward Awards.

(01:36:06):
Uh, and in fact, I believe theAcademy does revert to this
episode, Eric, to uh kind of getan idea of how people are
feeling uh when it comes totheir their decisions.
Yes, also we watch movies.

SPEAKER_09 (01:36:17):
Yeah, I was gonna say they would have they would
have they would have nevernominated Amelia Perez so many
times had they listened to theWait Forward podcast, which is
definitely not what happened.

SPEAKER_10 (01:36:26):
To be fair, didn't we watch it after it won awards?

SPEAKER_09 (01:36:30):
That's true.
And it did start to have itsdownfall around that time, so
maybe.
Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_10 (01:36:37):
Oh boy, I can't believe we watched that this
year.
Anyway, let's get to some ofthese submissions here for uh
film of the year slash bestpicture, and yeah, let's get
Gefilta in here first.

SPEAKER_07 (01:36:54):
For my uh best picture, I mean it was tough.
I I wanted to say caughtstealing, it was a really fun
film.
Um, I wanted to throw in theFantastic Four, but it didn't
wow me as much.
Thunderbolts is for sure anhonorable mention for me.
Uh, that one was right up there,and I really enjoyed
Thunderbolts.
Watched it a few more timesafter its release.

(01:37:14):
How to get that steel book, butmy winner here would definitely
be Predator Badlands.
By far, an incredible film.
Uh, not just from my predatorfan base alone, but even just
from uh looking at it in acinematic point of view, having
a tale of this predator, um,taking the universe that I know

(01:37:35):
and love and spinning it around,something that's challenging,
something that's risky to do,and it delivered a nice good
story while still maintainingthe predator um in his
predator-esque, you know, notnot being a nice guy, focused on
the mission, it's all about thehonor and my kill the whole
entire time.
And ultimately, the fact that hekept speaking Yatwa the whole

(01:37:56):
entire time was good to me.
I I would I feared that we weregonna just eventually get
English um done dubbed overeverything, but I'm glad that it
still felt very alien, felt likea great sci-fi flick, and
Predator Badlands is definitelygonna be my best picture.
If I can cheat, I'm gonna saybest animated picture was
Predator Killer of Killers.

(01:38:17):
Thanks, guys, and that's my endof your awards.

SPEAKER_10 (01:38:22):
Thanks, Filtha.
Appreciate that again uh for uhmore submissions this year.
Uh again, can't wait to hang outwith you, and hopefully a
Jacksonville trip is in orderfor him in 2026.
But yeah, uh Predator Badlands,like it's I didn't enjoy it as
much as I wanted to, and Ireally set myself up for
failure.
I I don't think it's really fairuh for Badland, and I did still
enjoy the movie, but I watchedKiller of Killers and Prey this

(01:38:46):
year, and that that's the typeof violence that I was looking
for, and I did and I and I wasactually talking to him about
this earlier today.
Like, I didn't want to see thePredator killing androids, I
wanted to see him evisceratepeople, and that's unfortunately
not what we got.
At this point, though, I'm gonnago back and watch the originals
like we talked about when wecovered um Prey, and I also want

(01:39:07):
to follow this franchise goingforward, just like Alien.
So, you know, we kind of alludedto this in that episode.
There is that MCU void now, andwe're filling it with these
franchises we've just beenignoring, and I'm happy to be on
the ride for Predator.

SPEAKER_09 (01:39:19):
Yeah, 100%.
I think I'm right there withyou.
I enjoyed Badlands a little bitmore than you did.
Um, I liked what they weretrying to do.
I see what I see the vision.
I see the vision.
I just think again, inexecution, not exactly where it
needed to be.
But uh no, I mean Gafiltha, youknow, is I could see a lot of
people co coming to one of theselike stable franchises that are

(01:39:42):
putting out really good stuffand picking that as their movie
of the year, especially ifyou're not going to the movies
like as much as we are.
Like we saw over 30 films thisyear in Daters, and I think that
that probably says something.

SPEAKER_10 (01:39:55):
Yeah, uh, you know, and I still gave it a I I gave
it a three.
Um And again, I'm veryinterested to see what happens
next when it comes to thatfranchise.
But what I really want to see uhis more animated because yes,
Killer of Killers is fantastic.
So uh yeah, let's get to ourlast submission for best picture
before we give our choices here,Eric.

(01:40:16):
And let's hear from Ivan onemore time.

SPEAKER_01 (01:40:22):
Hey, it's Ivan here.
Um I am here with uh my choicefor best picture.
I did watch a ton of movies thisyear, and I thought I did think
it would be a little moredifficult, uh, especially after
seeing movies like Begonia andstuff like that.
But my favorite movie of theyear, the one that like it like
really sat with me more or themost and like really made me

(01:40:43):
like think a lot.
I don't know, it's just likeeverything about this movie was
just fantastic.
Um we had a lot, like I guessthere was a lot of information
and discourse about this movieas it was coming on, and then
when it came out, uh, but um onebattle after another was was my
favorite movie of the year.
I just loved it.
I loved all the technicalaspects, I love the
performances.
I just I just loved it.

(01:41:04):
I everything about it was justlike it hit really well for me.
Um, I mean, I know some peoplesay it was a long movie, but
like I just didn't feel that itwas long.
Uh it really did feel like therewas just a lot going on, and
next thing I knew, it was liketwo hours that went by, and it
just I didn't once think aboutit that it was that long.
Um yeah, the the comedy wasgreat, the the all the camera,

(01:41:28):
the the chase scenes, uh the thecard scenes, I think the ones
like in the beginning, and theneven the the one the main one
that everyone talks about that'sat the end, like it was all just
so good.
Like I just I couldn't keep myeyes off it.
I I just I loved everything, thedialogue, like I said, dialogue
performances, whatnot.
Yeah, so one battle afteranother was definitely my uh
movie of the year.

SPEAKER_10 (01:41:48):
My name's Ivan.
I have an IMAX theater near methat doesn't suck.
Whatever, man.
But yes, uh one battle afteranother.
As of right now, there are acouple more, you know, more
movies I want to see before theend of the year.
It is a top five film for me.
Um, it was outstanding, enjoyedit from beginning to end.
And yeah, like you said, but youlike you mentioned, Eric the

(01:42:08):
humor is on point.
Uh Leonardo DiCaprio, I think,does his best acting when he
looks like a bum.
Uh, and I think uh that this isdefinitely uh no exception here.
But yeah, one battle afteranother, not mad with that pick
whatsoever.

SPEAKER_09 (01:42:21):
Yeah, not mad.
It's also a top five film for meas of the uh recording here.
So yeah, you got me.
It's uh it was definitely acontender.
I think on a rewatch, I mighthave felt differently about my
score.
I gave it a four out of five.
It could have bumped up to it orfour and a half, which would
have put it in contention fortop three, but uh you know, I
don't know.

SPEAKER_10 (01:42:39):
I think if you saw it again and we watched it
together, I think you would giveit a four and a half because it
is we have memed it quite a bit.

SPEAKER_09 (01:42:45):
We we have.
I just I think I'm docking apoint for having to see Sean
Penn have a boner.
I think that's really just whatit comes down to.

SPEAKER_10 (01:42:53):
Or you're gonna up it upon second rewatch.
That is true, that is very true.
Could go either way.
Uh well, yeah, once again, thankyou to Ivan and Gafiltha for
their submissions here.
So, Eric, would you like to gofirst?
Because you've kind of alludedto what's about to happen here.

SPEAKER_09 (01:43:13):
Yeah, I I mean, listen, I Phil likes to do this
thing where he he like goes offof vibes and feelings and not
his actual scores that he gave.
And I'm the opposite.
If it I'm gonna rank them by theorder of the score, and only one
film got more than a four, andthat was K-pop Demon Hunters,
and it got a four on firstwatch, guys.

(01:43:33):
And I was like, wow, that was areally great time.
And then I watched it again, andI was like, wow, that was really
good.
And then I saw it in theaters,and I said, This is a four and a
half, and that the half is likeall of the all of the nitpicks
you have about the moviecompletely valid.
They're all contained in thatpoint five and thrown away.
This movie may never get a fivefor that reason, but it is a

(01:43:54):
four and a half, and it is myhighest-rated film.
It is the only other movies thatI've given a four are seven

other movies (01:44:02):
Sinners, Chainsaw Man, Najod 2, One Battle After
Another, Warfare, Companion, andI understand I'm in the
minority, uh, the how to trainyour dragon live action.
So those are the only ones thatuh yeah, have gotten a four, and
in that are some surprises.
But again, I'm not just handingout fours and fives like candy.

(01:44:23):
If I was to put K-pop DemonHunters up against most of the
movies from last year, it wouldprobably be number five.
I gave Duneport 2 a 5, The WildRobot a four and a half,
Conclave 4.5, Wicked Four and ahalf.
I'd put K-pop Demon Huntersright in the mix there of those

(01:44:44):
films, my favorite films fromlast year.
But for this year, it did takethe top spot.
There are a couple more moviesthat I hope to watch, so make
sure to stay tuned for ourletterboxed episode.
We typically do like a bonusstream, we turn it into content.
If we put that out this year,take a look at that to see if
this changes.
Very unlikely, though, which iswhy K-pop Demon Hunters is

(01:45:05):
taking the top spot.
The only movie from this yearthat I have watched more than
three times that says everythingyou need to know.

SPEAKER_10 (01:45:14):
Yeah, I mean, listen, not um not mad about
that choice whatsoever.
Uh, it's it's very similar tothe year where um, you know, uh
what's it called?
Puss in Boots, The Last Wish,Take a Shot, uh took the crown
across the board.
And I think um maybe it'shappened one other time as well.
But uh yeah, like what Eric istalking about, like I have given

(01:45:35):
13 movies fours or higher, andthere's still some on the docket
that I have a feeling I'm goingto enjoy quite a bit.
Um, as far as some of theseother movies that were in
contention, like you said, onebattle after another.
Uh, there is a film that justreleased on Netflix.
It released in in uh as far asin like festivals, I think last
year, but it just now isavailable to us here.
It's called Train Dreams onNetflix, which is outstanding.

(01:45:58):
Uh, some of the other films thatI really enjoy, Companion, which
is one of those that like getssent out in the beginning of the
year and you forget that youwatch later in the year, a whole
lot of fun.
Really loved Superman.
Um, and Friendship is a moviethat upon a second watch, I was
like, nah, that's a four.
I'm gonna give that a four.
Uh, and then um, yeah, reallyenjoyed that as well.
So if you want to hear some ofthe other movies that I ranked

(01:46:18):
highly uh here this year, likeEric said, make sure you check
out that letterbox episode.
Um, I've given out two fivesthis year.
One of them is to Chainsaw Man,the Rezé Arc, which I just
absolutely loved.
Uh, like Eric said, we do havewe are diametrically opposed
foes uh when it comes to how weuh rate our movies.
Uh number one for me and thefilm of the year is going to be
Sinners.
Um and it is it just hit me onevery single level.

(01:46:42):
On a rewatch, it did the exactsame thing.
I gained even more of anappreciation of the film once uh
Dead Meat and the Kill Countcame out.
As far as how much work wentinto this movie, uh Michael B.
Jordan was outstanding.
Uh Ryan Kugler again continuesto prove that he is one of the
best filmmakers uh out here uhin in the current day.
And uh yeah, I I love theperformances, I love the music,

(01:47:04):
the cinematography is uh isoutstanding.
And if we didn't have a shittyIMAX theater, I would have gone
and seen it again in IMAX, butnot stepping foot in Orange Park
or Regency uh for any reason.
I would have rather driven toOrlando to go see this movie
with Island when we watched itthan drive five minutes down the
road and go to our IMAX theaterin I think name only.

(01:47:27):
So yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_09 (01:47:28):
Now that uh now that tracks, um, as far as Sinners
goes, it it was a great film.
It deserves that top spot.
I will make this comment, whichis that if uh and Phil, I know
you actually like list these formovies you've seen this year,
whether or not they werereleased, like movies you've
just seen.
For me, just kind of quicklyscanning the horizon.

(01:47:50):
Like, if I tell you what thebest movie was, regardless of
when it came out this year, KpopDemon Hunters would be third.
Like, I would put Ry Lane upthere, which I Phil knows.
Like, I fucking loved thatfucking movie.
Uh upon another rewatch, PerfectBlue could be in contention
somewhere, but the movie I wouldput number one, guys.

(01:48:11):
You already know.
Fucking pretty woman, man.
Take a shot, take a shot, prettywoman.
Crazy, bro.
Anybody else, crazy anybody elsejust fucking love pretty woman?

SPEAKER_10 (01:48:21):
I would I cannot believe I do have a separate
watch list for movies I've seenin it regardless of year, and
Sinners is still number one onthat.
Crazy, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.
The top three is actually stillthe same, it's still Sinners,
Chainsaw Man, K-pop, demonhunters.
Number four is ShawshankRedemption, and then Pretty
Woman is number 10.
Uh on the actually, I need tomove this above Companion

(01:48:42):
because it is better than I doenjoy it more than Companion.
Um so I do need to move thosearound.
But still, Pretty Woman is stillin the top 10.
Um, but it's behind things suchas um Next to Normal, which is a
musical that released um the oneshot or the uh Pro Shot release
this year.
Um, but it's it's it's amongstthat uh that top 10.
So yeah, I do have a separatelist of films, uh, which is at

(01:49:03):
53.
So I did hit that the 53 the 50mark on just films in general,
um, but not for the new films.
So but Sinners is is number oneon both lists, so but yeah,
pretty woman.
Eric loves pretty woman, AaronBrockovich on the horizon.
Get ready.

SPEAKER_09 (01:49:17):
Oh guys, if it honestly, if it wasn't for the
pit, it would be January.
So just be ready.

SPEAKER_10 (01:49:24):
Yeah, crazy, crazy work, but uh not mad about it.
The pretty woman is outstanding.
So uh yeah, guys, there it is.
The 2025 Wait Forward Award.
So all of our winners, uh, yourtrophies will definitely be in
the mail.
So don't uh just look past thoseGrammys, Oscars, and Emmys, uh,
Golden Globes, all of those.
Uh the Wait Forward Award willbe on its way.

(01:49:46):
Uh just as the five timersjackets that we're gonna get our
wait for uh what did I miss?
Uh um participants, right, Eric?
All of that is in the budget for2026.
Thanks to our new Capital Onecredit card.
Stop saying we are we are an LLCnow.

SPEAKER_09 (01:50:00):
Stop.
Stop.
We are professionals.
I am a surgeon, I am apodcaster.

SPEAKER_10 (01:50:09):
Oh boy, uh Capital One, member of FTSC.
Not sponsoring this episode.
For legal reasons, the Wait forPodcast is not sponsored by
Capital One.
Yeah, guys, there it is.
Uh 2025 was uh an insane yearwhen it comes to uh surprises um
as as well as just things thatuh dominated pop culture.

(01:50:32):
Cannot wait to see what 2026brings.
If anything, we have a lot ofcatching up to do because we
just left a lot of stuff on thecutting room floor because we
were so busy, and that's becauseof uh the wonderful
opportunities that have beenpresented to us from uh just the
people we have gotten to meetover the course of the last few
years.
So shout out to all of you forcontinuing to make this episode

(01:50:53):
and this podcast possible.
Eric, anything you need tomention before we get out of
here?
I guess if you are lookingforward to what we're looking
forward to in 2026, you canlisten to our very next episode,
which is gonna uh be with ourbuddy Corey.
So since we didn't get hisselections this year, we'll
probably ask him a couplequestions next week uh when we
have him on.
But uh yeah, anything else weneed to mention, Eric, before we

(01:51:14):
get out of here?

SPEAKER_09 (01:51:15):
No, assuming Corey shows up for that episode,
because again, he's he doesn'trelease his own episodes, he
doesn't send us clips in time.

SPEAKER_10 (01:51:22):
Um he does show up for recordings, it's the
release.

SPEAKER_09 (01:51:25):
Oh, yeah, all the actual like work.
Okay, that's fine.
He's probably on a bikesomewhere.

SPEAKER_10 (01:51:33):
Well, we'll be doing the work for this one, so he
just has to show up with hismuch better beard.
Uh uh, some would say.

SPEAKER_09 (01:51:40):
Yeah, yeah.
And uh also fellow patrons, souh we probably shouldn't chit on
him too much.
No, I think uh I think uh wepretty much summed it up.
Uh, we got a lot of fun stuff inthe month of December.
I mentioned the letterbox uhrecap that we kind of do.
Uh we started last year, maybethe year before when we got on
to letterbox, but it's kind ofbeen an annual thing.
There's so much annual stuffgoing around this time of year,

(01:52:02):
it makes for a lot of fun.
So thanks for checking us outand uh hope you like the
episode.

SPEAKER_10 (01:52:06):
Yeah, shout out to everybody that submitted clips.
Rue, Donald, Vintage, Andrew,Josh, uh, Ivan, Gafiltha.
Appreciate all of you forparticipating in this year's
episode.
And we uh would love to have youback.
And hopefully we'll see you downthe road for uh uh, you know,
what did I miss or whatever itmay be.
But folks, thank you so much.

(01:52:27):
If you need, again, a reminderas to where to find everything
wait for it podcast related,it's right there in the
description of this in everysingle episode.
That link tree link will giveyou everything you need.
Follow us on social media overon TikTok and Instagram, join
our growing Discord communityand follow us on Twitch where we
are streaming basically everysingle week.

(01:52:48):
If you are on YouTube, hit thatlike, share, and subscribe
button.
And if you are whatever podcastplayer you are on, please give
us five stars or whatever theequivalent of that is on any
podcast player.
One of the best ways you cansupport the show.
Follow myself at uh uh as wellas far as my voiceover journey,
and make sure to follow Eric'spersonal Twitch where he
streamed a shit ton in 2025, andthat number is only gonna be

(01:53:11):
higher in 2026.
So make sure you follow us onour personal pages as well.
But if you find yourself headinginto the new year, wanting to
get yourself or others a gift,maybe you want some more wait
for it podcast content, and havea hand in uh the content that we
release.
Eric will let you know moreabout that before wrapping us
up.

SPEAKER_09 (01:53:30):
Yeah, it's a really good segue.
I couldn't imagine anybodygifting a Patreon membership,
but it would be really nice ifyou did because we appreciate
all of the people that signed upfor our Patreon and support us
on a monthly basis.
From Briar to T3 Kato to VintageMacaroni, Corey from the World's
My Burrito, Nick Casparo, theauthor of the Vitalarium series,

(01:53:50):
and Botter from the ShortboxPodcast.
All of these crazy nuts havedecided to give us their money
and in turn may or may not getjackets.
I don't know.
We're figuring that out frompatrons to to multiple guests
recoming uh recurring uh and thelike.
So, with all that being said, weappreciate you for coming on to

(01:54:10):
this episode.
If you can support us in thatway, that's great.
All the free stuff, weappreciate that.
Whatever takes a moment of yourtime works for us, and we will
see you stronger than ever nextyear.
We hope to see you there.
My name is Mr.
Eric Almighty.
That is my co-host Phil theFilipino.
And don't remember, don'tremember, please remember.
Don't remember, don't rememberplease remember, please

(01:54:32):
remember, please remember,please remember, and please
remember we release new episodesevery Wednesday for the podcast,
and all you have to do is waitfor it, or don't.

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