halfclovers is something I started genuinely thinking about when I was a college freshman. I imagined creating video essays on games like the Touhou Project I was just getting into at the time, or the recently released Persona 5 Royal that quickly became my favorite game of all time, or the slice of life genre that provided me with so much needed comfort after the stress from the pandemic and acclimating to the college setting. I wanted to have serious, thought provoking content with some occasional humor thrown in, like my favorite creators at the time: Joseph Anderson, Matthewmatosis and hbomberguy. I am writing all of this to say that I am now in the last month of my last year of college. Objectively, I have accomplished so much, but at the same time, I associate these years mostly with the media I've loved, and to look back and see that I've done nothing with said media makes me feel like I've done nothing all of this time.
Season 1 will serve as a reflection of not only the media I've loved throughout college, but as a portfolio of my college years. I still love the aforementioned creators whose works initially inspired me, but I've also found those such as Tim Rogers (action button), Big Joel and hazel. As a new creator, I can only expect that I will wear these influences on my sleeve, but I still hope to have my own, clearly defined identity by the end of this season.
As my college experience lasted five years, I thought it was fitting to have five videos for this season. Episode 1 (Spring 2024) will be an analysis of one of my favorite manga, Shimeji Simulation, focusing on the understated importance of Yomikawa in developing the plot and themes of the manga. Episode 2 will be a more ambitious reflection of Persona 5, it's impact on me, Megami Tensei, and gaming culture as a whole, meant as a sort of goodbye for the game as we are approaching the reveal and release of Persona 6. Episode 3 will be a review and recommendation of my favorite untranslated game, Tokimeki Memorial 2, while episode 4 will focus on the Touhou Project, including the games and its impact on doujin culture (this is the video I have the least laid out for, but it will be happening). Finally, this season will culminate with episode 5, a braided essay four years in the making. Partially a memoir, partially a look at the slice of life genre, the creation of this channel and the media featured in previous episodes, it will most likely be the most niche, but I hope you enjoy it regardless.