While every cool anime kid in my day (now that’s an oxymoron) was growing up with the Big Three, my Christian ass was knee-deep in the thrilling and very censored plotline of the Zatch Bell! English Dub baby. Longtime readers of the blog already know my absolutely nostalgia-fueled and illogical love for the series, so imagine my surprise when I saw last week that a smartphone game was announced for the 20th anniversary of the franchise. The game is supposed to be an RPG where you build a team of mamodo to take down enemies from a roster of returning and original characters. So essentially it sounds like the new standard shitty gacha cash grab model. And you bet your ass I already tried to sign up for the Japanese-only closed beta test happening this September. Let’s hope they don’t notice the abundance of English on my application.

Put me in coach!

Today I wanted to share this news that I and two other people on Earth care about, and also pose the question of what series or media could turn you into a nostalgia cuck like myself. Sadly I KNOW that this game is probably going to be a letdown but I still want to play it day one simply because it’s been so long since I’ve seen these characters that used to frequent my TV screen all the time. There aren’t many anime (or franchises in general) that can turn me into this much of a nostalgia-blind idiot, but the ones that do are strong. I’m sure once I get my hands on this game and it almost inevitably offers a horrendous quality gameplay to cash required ratio I’ll snap out of my stupor and delete it, but man those first three hours or so will be sick. Then it will be time to close out this wacky ride and go back to playing a real game.

Ah, it was a different time.

But enough about my obsession with an objectively lackluster franchise, I’d love to hear you guys chime in. What series shaped your childhood the most? Do you feel heavy nostalgia for the series, or are you satisfied with the memories and leaving it in the past? Have you ever made a bad or rash purchase driven by nostalgia as the primary factor? Wake up on a weekend morning, watch your favorite show, and remember the entertainment that made relaxing fun in the comments below!