This has been a pretty big year for CCLemon99. I have written some pretty big blog posts and have put out some pretty cool videos. I suppose it's worth going over how 2014 has been to me along with some general thoughts on the year that has brought us a Shin Figuarts.
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YOUTUBE CHANNEL
I guess I should start with my Youtube channel since, well, it's the only thing that people really give a damn about (kidding, my blog has been getting some pretty steady numbers...*you're* reading this after all...). My Youtube channel has been growing at a very fast pace. Granted, I've been doing this for almost eight years...but when you take into account that I didn't hit 1,000 subscribers until I was doing this for about two years it puts the growth into perspective. Every year trounces the previous year. If I may say so, this isn't bad considering I don't like anything popular and really don't give into requests/popularity at anytime. Before you say that me giving into Figuarts is giving into demand...nah. Very few Figuarts videos get numbers that would normally be reserved for a mecha or changer review/video. If they came out with a Go-on Red or Gaored Figuart...I might actually get some traction.
So for being a pretty specific channel (things I like) I still managed to have a banner year. Thank you for your continued viewership!
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To contrast that win I might as well talk about a loss--Twitter. I've pretty much fucking had it with everyone on it and how it is run. My account is still active, but I really had to cut back on it big time. If you happen to be one of the people who I left when I cut my followees down to 20 from 70
Also, what the hell with all of these tweets from accounts people my followees follow? That was the biggest reason I trimmed a lot of people from my list. Y'all follow some lame shit. This is really more Twitter's fault, though. It doesn't matter if I follow 4 or 4,000 people, I should only be subjected to what I want to read. Oh, and sponsored tweets aren't among the one I hate. I know that Twitter is a business and that their survival is hinged on revenue...but these unsolicited "_____ follows" tweets are bullshit.
So be sure to follow me on Twitter (
Yeah, so follow me. You'll see links to my videos, blogs, and throwback videos. Not too much else.
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TOYS
Toys! I should talk about the toys of 2014, right? To be perfectly honest...I didn't get a whole lot of toys that were made this year. I got some of the Figuarts that were out this year and like three ToQger toys. The Figuarts I did get were pretty awesome, but this has been the lightest Sentai toy year for me since like Blowkenger. This pretty much reflects on how I feel about the shows.
I will say this...easily the best toy I bought this year was Renewal SHF Kamen Rider BLACK RX. I thought it was really, really good when it first came out...but as I've been spending more time with it I realize that it's pretty much a goddamn masterpiece. Maybe the green is a little too bright, but wow...I'm really in love with this figure. The head/neck had never been done anywhere close to right in a figure before it and they nailed it.
SHF Shin was another one that I absolutely love. Shin and ZO were two Figuarts I wasn't expecting to see for a very long time...but they both came out in the same year. Hopefully 2015 will give us Kamen Rider J.
It was really nice to finally put an end to SHF Zyuranger. I'm really glad I ended up with the whole set since all of the figures turned out very good. The only real quibbles I had with them were in the accessory department. Overall, though, they all turned out great and look fantastic when they're standing behind the Howling Cannon.
I guess it's worth talking about this year's Sentai Changers since that is pretty much the basis for my channel. Well...they're better than the crap we got for Kyoryuger. I always enjoy a Henshin Brace and the ToQChanger was at least interesting when I could get them to work properly. The Changer/Mecha set is a smart buy especially the prices have pretty much tanked on them for some reason. I got mine for a pretty low price...and the price has seemed to have sunk even lower since. I wonder why that is? Ehhh. Oh, and the Applichanger is alright. It's pretty neat that it slides out almost into a little diorama from an iPhone-ish looking toy smart phone.
tl;dr: Buy SHF Kamen Rider BLACK RX.
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VIDEOS
I had 56 new videos in 2014! Yikes!
In November I put up my 400th video, which was a loose story-telling of Zyuranger featuring all seven Figuarts (I also took pictures of SRC Daizyujin vs Dragonranger, but those didn't make the cut. Fear not, I plan on staging this battle in a video next year...I always have a plan up my sleeve). I've never made a video and thought "I have a hit on my hands"...and this was the first time I thought that. I probably should have thought that previously with my since-imitated Sentai Changers 1982-2012 video, but it never really occurred to me while I was making it because it was a lot of work and was 100% editing of old footage. The all-Zyuranger video was a TON of work, but the editing process was a lot of fun. The biggest problem I had that when I finished the video I had to wait three months before anyone was able to see it.
The wait...was.....worth it!
I'm so happy that the video turned out amazing AND was universally loved. The views have been taking a steady climb as time has passed...but I know this one is destined to have a lot of views even though it's a Figuarts video.
I'd also like to say that I had as much fun making the upcoming year-closing video of all four Kamen Rider BLACK Figuarts. If you haven't seen the short 3D BLACK RX movie, I highly recommend watching it before my video drops.
Outside of this, I know this year has been very light on Mecha videos. I really haven't been motivated enough to make any new ones for quite some time. I've been sitting on a lot of 80s and 90s mechas that I really don't feel like making videos for. I *do* really want to do the remaining Megaranger mecha along with the various Megaranger weapons I have laying around. Expect a long month of Megaranger stuff next year some time I suppose. Maybe I'll come around on some other Sentai mecha I have laying around too.
As I said before, I really have to want to make a Mecha video before I actually get around to it. They are easily the most boring videos to make...and things like Jet Icarus will haunt me forever in their badness.
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TOKUSATSU IN GENERAL
I don't feel any different about Tokusatsu than I have in the past few years. I might think the new shows are crap, but I still love my old shows to death...I don't think that will change.
As usual, though, Toei has been getting almost desperate in the milking of out fading interest in nostalgia. Why would anyone care about having a Go-onger train for their ToQChanger? This is getting stupid...
The biggest win for Tokusatsu for 2014 is big and largely exclusive to North American fans.
...I think you know what I'm talking about...
That's right!...
They made Kyoryujin's arm purple instead of pink! I always though this was a problem!
Kidding. Zyuranger has been licensed for release on DVD in North America! This is incredibly cool and hopefully only the start of wonderful opportunities for Tokusatsu in North America. I know that there have been several releases in the past, but the dubious nature of the Tsuburaya/Chaiyo BS has tarnished anything Ultraman. The one-shot releases of various Toei properties (Hakaider, Sukeban Deka movies, Zebraman, Kamen Rider The First/Next) over the course of like ten years have never lead to anything because they really had nowhere to go.
It's nice knowing that we're finally getting a genuine Sentai release instead of being trapped in a tundra of awful Power Rangers shows for all of eternity. It gives me hope for more, but if it ends with Zyuranger...I'll just be glad that someone had the sack to try.
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THE BLOG
I might as well end this entry with a bit about the blog in which you're reading this (unless you're reading this from the future on some kind of Google brain implant probe...and if you are, fuck you. Google Glass was stupid enough. Remember them?? Yeah, you're just as much of an asshole as a glasshole).
I had a pretty big year with the blog as well. In fact...you know...why the hell not? One more for the year...
Top Seven Blogs of 2014!
07. Video Game Review: Ultraman Toward The Future
OK, I didn't even write this one. In order to be a master of all forms of media...sometimes you have to hand the reins to someone else. D3rachi did a great job writing (so far) my lone guest blog.
06. Jetman Part 1/Part 2
Going back and reading what I wrote about Jetman made me laugh. I'm really glad I sat down and wrote my thoughts after viewing the show after not seeing it for several years. Even if nobody were to agree with what I had to say about the most over-hyped mediocre show in Tokusatsu history, atleast I was able to entertain myself on future re-reads.
05. Kakuranger 20th Anniversary
Any chance I get to write about Kakuranger makes me happy. Sadly, I think I've exhausted myself of Kakuranger material since I even wrote up a list of my Top 7 problems with the series.
Also.....just a head up...don't ask me about the 2015 Sentai Nininja. I'll get to that soon enough.
04. Kamen Rider Movie Reviews! Shin, ZO, and J!
Basically I review the three Rider movies from the 90s. I especially had fun tearing J a new one...
03. Super Sentai Music Collections
My first really detailed post about my CD Collection was an absurdly long post about the Sentai Music Collections that were released in the mid/late 90s. It was fun to write about all of these CDs mostly because I sat down and listened to every single one of them in preparation. Yes, I really do listen to everything as I write these CD entries up.
I've since written several more CD Collection entries, but this one will always be the gold standard to me.
02. Angry Video Game Nerd The Movie...Reviewed!
I actually did some field reporting for this one. Heh.
It was a fun experience to go out and actually see the movie and having the opportunity to write about it as an early-review was pretty neat. I got a boatload of traffic as a result. Then, just before the film was released on VOD, James linked to my review from Cinemassacre which gave it a massive bump in views.
I know none of this really of this lead into any kind of bump in readership to my blog (and if, for some reason, you decided to stick around after reading my AVGN review after seeing it on Cinemassacre...give me a shout!) but since my review was the lone review labeled "MAJOR SPOILERS" I'd like to think that I helped a few people who were on the fence about checking out the movie.
Also, I got some feedback on Twitter about it afterward. People weren't exactly clear on whether I really liked the film or not. Ofcourse I did! I mean, it has some faults...but so do a ton of movies you and I like.
01. The Abandoned Ohranger Theme Songs
I wrote about this fairly recently. I wish every blog I wrote was as interesting as this one. Expect a little P.S. to this post soon!
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PERSONAL STUFF
I don't really like to talk about the person behind CCLemon99, but I might as well--I'll keep it brief.
This hasn't been a stellar year for me personally. It was going great until about June, when basically the bottom fell out on just about everything. I kinda hinted at this above when I was talking about Twitter, but there are lots things I need to work on.
This isn't a complaint, really. I'm writing this so that when I look back on this post next year, I can hopefully be thankful that everything is better by then.
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So that is pretty much 2014 in a nutshell for CCLemon99. If you have any thoughts, I would love to hear them below or over that damned Twitter (seriously, just leave a comment here...you probably have a Google account already anyway).
Thank you for reading. I'll see you in 2015!
-CC
