For our first episode of 2025, we take a look back at the very best in video games from 2024, with Sean and Jonathan both presenting their picks for the 10 greatest video games of the year, a diverse collection of titles including several games we’ve never discussed on the show before! In our Show n’ Tell segment, Jonathan talks about his adventures graduating, moving, and preparing for a new job, Sean talks about watching old Gamera movies and Ultraman Tiga, and we review the Doctor Who Christmas Special, “Joy to the World.” And finally, for The Monthly Ten, Sean challenged Jonathan to rank the 10 best years in human history divisible by the number five, but Jonathan had a slightly different take on the assignment.

Enjoy, and come back in February when, after years of mentioning it over and over again on the podcast, we finally devote an entire episode to Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane. It’s going to be highly educational.

Time Chart:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:15:32

Show n’ Tell: 0:15:32 – 1:25:28

Topic (Top 10 Games of 2024): 1:25:28 – 4:29:15

The Monthly Ten: 4:29:15 – 4:41:27

Outro: 4:41:27 – 4:43:45

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels!

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

In this special bonus episode, Jonathan Lack counts down the Top 10 Films of 2024!

You can read the text of this episode, and see links to full reviews of every film discussed, at https://www.jonathanlack.com/p/the-top-10-films-of-2024

Time Chart:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:02:38

Honorable Mentions: 0:02:38 – 0:10:54

#10: 0:10:54 – 0:16:12

#9: 0:16:12 – 0:20:22

#8: 0:20:22 – 0:24:53

#7: 0:24:53 – 0:29:36

#6: 0:29:36 – 0:33:12

#5: 0:33:12 – 0:37:51

#4: 0:37:51 – 0:41:35

#3: 0:41:35 – 0:46:02

#2: 0:46:02 – 0:49:51

#1: 0:49:51 – 0:56:57

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels!

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman

For our December episode, we go deep with Atlus’ outstanding new JRPG, Metaphor: ReFantazio. Like Persona 5, the team’s previous game, this is a work deeply involved in the political and existential questions of our present time, and gives us a lot to chew on as we break down what is easily one of 2024’s best games. In our Show n’ Tell segment, Sean gives his first impressions on Sony’s PS5 Pro and the range of games upgraded to work on it, Jonathan reviews Square Enix’s incredible Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, and special guest Thomas Lack gives his thoughts on Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Thomas sticks around to play a special, very silly game celebrating the music of Atlus’ video game library – particularly those songs by rapper extraordinaire Lotus Juice – and for The Monthly Ten, Sean ranks the Top 10 Media that Most Embody Christmas, helping us to learn the true meaning of the season.

Enjoy, and we’ll be see you in the new year when we count down the Top 10 Video Games of 2024. What kinds of things do you think we’re going to learn next time?

Time Chart:

Intro: 0:00:00 – 0:12:11

Show n’ Tell: 0:12:11 – 1:33:03

Topic (Metaphor): 1:33:03 – 3:12:05

Game Time: 3:12:05 – 3:31:10

The Monthly Ten: 3:31:10 – 3:58:51

Outro: 3:58:51 – 4:00:23

Read Jonathan Lack’s movie reviews and stay up to date with all our podcast projects at https://www.jonathanlack.com

Subscribe to JAPANIMATION STATION, our podcast about the wide and wonderful world of anime: https://japanimationstation.com

Read Jonathan’s book 200 Reviews in Paperback or on Kindle – https://a.co/d/bLx53vK

Subscribe to our YouTube channels!

Japanimation Station: https://www.youtube.com/c/japanimationstation

Purely Academic: https://www.youtube.com/@purelyacademicpodcast

Support the show at Ko-fi ☕️ https://ko-fi.com/weeklystuff

Original Music by Thomas Lack https://www.thomaslack.com/

©2012 - Present Jonathan R. Lack & Sean Chapman