The whole "book reviews actually hurt my channel" bit made me really sad, the book reviews are why I subscribed here in the first place. I've picked up several new favorites based on your recommendation. Would it be worth making maybe a second (or third I guess lol) channel just for book reviews or something? Even if it's lower production value than the main channel I just like hearing about new books.
Absolutely, came to this channel years ago for books and reviews and I do miss them, obviously I’m still here so I’m still a fan but wish the book reviews would come back lol
I would love this, when I come to the channel I feel like I'm scrolling down looking for book stuff, I wouldn't mind a lower effort second channel when you just sit down and talk about a book!
Sad. Rather than focusing on the things that RUclipsrs originally started their channel for, and built an audience, the RUclips algorithms force them to just chase the views. I honestly can get movie and tv reviews at a million other channels that have been around forever. It was nice to get good book reviews and discussion that I couldn't get anywhere else. I guess if it brings in the views, you just gotta do whatever you're going to do.
There's millions of channels talking about film & tv shows, and plenty for anime & manga... books are still underrepresented. I don't mind the channel diversifying but hope books can remain a core.
I don't really think of Arcane as a game adaptation. To me they took the world of LoL and built an awesome story within that. One I enjoyed massively without having ever played the game
Yes and no the character dynamics and what they are in the futur like echo , Viktor, vi, powder/jinx has its roots highly deep inside the game even a glimpse of powder traumatic childhood and they manage to add more to them and the execution was stellar
@@chriscolombie4135 But at the same time, the game itself isn't about those stories. The lore is just flavor for the characters. So it's not really a game adaptation, but a lore adaptation. Which is a weird, possibly pedantry, difference, but I think it matters. A League of Legends game adaptation would be a show about Summoner's Rift. At least that's how I see it.
Honestly daniel i started watching your channel beacuse of book reviews, and i am glad you are moving your career along i find myself coming back to the channel less and less when i see you dont review a book in months You have helped my reading journey a lot and i appreciate that, thank you
@@lemonz1769 mhm i didnt say it as a negative, i have had that opinion for a while now, i myself don't care for his other content that much but i am glad to see him grow and see that people love it, just a bit sad that my go too booktuber isnt reviewing as many books as he used to
Why not just continue to do book reviews on a specific day? The algorithm may not like them, but a lot of your viewers do. Even if we don’t watch them immediately, if we read the book we come back to it.
He’s not doing this for us, he’s doing it for money (it’s his job) and happy algorithm means more money. It is what it is, it’s his channel to do what he wants with it. But trust me, there are many booktubers out there with awesome reviews that I have discovered precisely because Daniel wasn’t putting them out anymore so it turned out to be great in the end!
@@gwenheppinstall3128 Sure! I am not only interested in fantasy and I'm not too big on sci-fi, but a couple of youtubers I enjoy that talk about them are Elliot Brooks, BooksWithEmilyFox (she reviews all kinds of books but reads at least two fantasy/sci-fi a month), Christy Ann Jones (different genres and also does vlogs - her positive energy is amazing), Peruse Project, Library of a Viking is new in the game and he relies solely on fantasy, and I also really enjoy Morgan Long (more whimsical and middle grade fantasy) and Cari can read (loads of YA and fantasy)
Thing that bugs me is that in Australia at least they are only available on hardcover and thus more expensive, to the tune of double the price in some cases, than full sized books and only one third of the size.
This channel's come such a long way. Hearing you say it isn't just books now but all kinds of SFF really cemented that in my mind all of a sudden, so onwards and upwards to the (bit late) list! :P
TL;DW: Honorable mentions: Spidermain far from home, Suicide quad (James Gunn), Invincible 10 Midnight Mass 9 Dune 8 Martha Wells Fugitive Telemetry 7 John Wgynnes Shadow of the Gods 6 The Green Knight 5 The Expanse 4 Adrian Tchaikovskys Shards of Earth 3 Joe Abercrombies The wisdom of Crowds 2 Arcane 1 Fonda Lees Jade legacy
As someone who really enjoys your book reviews I would love to see them make a comeback. Perhaps even a second channel specifically just for those kinds of videos. Though I understand why you would want to branch out into other media (which i enjoy as well, especially your manga and anime stuff).
Sad to hear that book reviews are hurting you. Especially since you got me back into reading last year with all your hype in First Law related videos. I originally was reading grimdark for a homebrew DnD campaign, but after making my way through First Law it became more a joyous part of my day instead of homework for my DnD campaign. I have since read Kings of the Wyald, a book into the First Law stand alone stories, and had my brother buy me the Age of Madness trilogy for my birthday. I sincerely cannot thank you enough for your amazing efforts. I have spent an unhealthy amount of money on book this year, and it's all thanks to you. Sorry this is a little long, but I just wanted to let you know that you have been an integral part of getting me back into reading. Regardless if you decide to do more book reviews or not, I hope everything works out for you as your other content is also of quality.
I’m so sorry to hear about the algorithm not liking book reviews. I love them, and obviously like most people here, they were what brought me to the channel! You keep doing you boo! But I wouldn’t have gotten into the first law series without you!
I ended up watching Midnight Mass, Arcane, Green Knight, and reading the entire Murderbot series based on your recommendations. Also, the Jade series is bought and on my audible list to listen to. I keep meaning to start watching The Expanse but it just seems like such a commitment that I just never get around to it, sadly Funny story(s) about the Green Knight. I convinced my friend to go with me and he hated it while I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The women next to us was snoring halfway through and I think some folks got up and walked out at one point. About a month later I'm visiting a different friend, who is a church pastor, and he asked me what movies I'd seen lately. I immediately said "The Green Knight" and he just went off about how it didnt make any sense and it was stupid and he had no idea what any of it meant or what the message or metaphors were. I laughed at him and told him that its a christmas movie from Authorian legend that is inspired by the temptations, passions, death, and resurrection of Christ and how the hell did he, a church pastor, miss all of that? His wife then chimes in and says "Thats what I've been telling you!". She apparently loved it A24 still continues to be the best studio and this movie needed to be nominated for best picture
Man, I only come for the book reviews! It’s stupid that it hurts the algorithm when that’s what you started as. Keep up the great work both on the Tube and in Literature bro
I'm really sad to hear that book reviews hurt you in the algorithm. I started watching you specifically because of the amazing book reviews, and I've been missing them a lot lately...which means I'm just not watching you nearly as much anymore. I know I'm only one viewer, but I would gladly fight the algorithm to get more book reviews from you.
I enjoy your videos. I read your book “Breach of Peace.” I read it in one day and couldn’t put it down. Loaned it to a friend and she did the same thing. I have your second book, “Rebel’s Creed.” Looking forward to it. Keep the books coming. Thank you!
Arcane absolutely deserves the praise it got, damn that show was fantastic in every way. I just finished the tv show of the Expanse and am more than curious to dive into the books now. I only read book 1 of the Jade Legacy series so far. While I liked it, my mind wasn't blown or anything. But I liked it enough to see where the story will go in book 2.
I really don't get the hype about the Jade series. I liked the first two well enough to finish the series, but Jade Legacy was such a drag. I had to skim through about 200 pages in the middle, I found it repetitive and borderline boring. Obviously tastes are different and it seems that I'm in the minority with this opinion :)
I liked the premise of the Jade series, and enjoyed a decent chunk of it, but I honestly find it has really bad pacing issues. Every time the story builds up momentum, the author cuts and goes somewhere else, breaking the flow of the story.
Look as someone who misery porn doesn't work on Arcane was just OK. Like I get it you feel sympathy for all these people, and turns out they're all kind of awful. Conflating emotions abound, but really the show was as much porn as anything on Xvideos. It's fine, but it's hardly one of Sam's "stories that really matter."
The expanse up until the scene where everyone meets up at the hotel is absolutely some of the best story telling I have ever seen. I feel like the show after that wasn't nearly as good.
Wow, no Wheel of Time. I'm surprised, but it's understandable. If 2 years ago you told me I'd like a screen adaptation of League of Legends over Wheel of Time, no way.
I love everything on this list that I've seen/read. Jade Legacy was my favorite read of 2021 as well. Just wanted to shout out a few great scifi/fantasy anime from 2021 that may have fell under the radar for some. Ranking of Kings was my favorite standalone show of last year. It started in 2021 and ended in 2022 so not sure if it would count for this list, but please give it a chance if you have the time. Some others I'd recommend are To Your Eternity and Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song. Love the channel and keep making great videos!
I always prefer "Best of" awards or videos to release in February or March because it gives some time for the new year to set in and we can look more objectively on the previous year.
From the anime world we have - mushoku tensei - sonny boy - 86 - vivy - to your eternity - ranking of kings - odd taxi - kobayashi dragon maid - link click - rezero - shadow house - wonder egg priority (except the final episodes) - idaten deities - slime anime Still there are fantastic animes that i didn't watch yet 2021 was one of the best year for anime
I add Yuru Camp, Non Non Biyori, Jujutsu Kaisen, World Trigger, Dr. Stone, SK8, Fruits Basket, Zombieland Saga, Mashiro no Oto, Vanitas no Karte, Kageki Shoujo, Shiroi Suna no Aquatope and Heike Monogatari. I added sequels as well. Indeed, 2021 was GOATED for anime. Talking about the best Fantasy & Sci-fi series of 2021, Arcane is excellent, but honestly, it just doesn't reach the level of Mushoku Tensei, 86 and Ousama Ranking *imo.* If it was in 2020, the only competitors would have been the first season of Dorohedoro and Akudama Drive, in that case I would have put Arcane as the winner. Link Click is a Donghua (chinese animation) but yeah, it was great.
Underrated series that came out last year, Superman and Lois is a family drama that explores the difficulties of raising children whilst being the most powerful creature on the world, the responsabilities of parenthood, education, duty, communication and love.
I'm sorry to hear book reviews are bad for your algorithm.. I kind of noticed for a while now that a lot less book reviews were being posted. I am truly glad you have expanded your channel and by doing so I bet you get a lot of new followers as well. I understand it's your job and that your channel is growing and developing. That's good! But.. I am sad that I have to look for an other booktuber.. I really value your opinion on books (even though I know there are many good booktubers out there) 😔 I have read many of the comments and some have suggested two channels where one continues with book reviews.. Not sure if that is a possibility for you (I know you have a tight schedule).. but it would be a shame to lose the contend you started out with and that so many people enjoy. Anyway, wish you all the best- you're a great creator ❤ Love from 🇳🇴
I just finished Arcane yesterday. I checked it out since I kept hearing about it and I was not disappointed! It was well written and the characters were great. I love how broken Jinx is and how they don't shy away from that trauma. Pretty much everything else is on my list of things to watch/read.
This is your reminder to watch the 2021 anime adaptation of To Your Eternity. Some of the best and most emotional character-driven fantasy I've seen last year.
Daniel I know you probably want to diversify your content I’ll greedily suck down on every tier list, ranking, or best off video you do. Go crazy. Do one a month
Maybe bulk book reviews? Like "Here's what I read in Fall 2022; here's what I recommend." It might prove to grab people more, because it's essentially a grab bag of books, rather than "Oh, here's what I think of that one Star-Wars book." People probably don't click on the single-book reviews for the same reason they don't pick up a book in the bookstore: the cover, genre, IP, or title just doesn't interest them. Though, I suppose that is more or less what you are doing at this point. I definitely find myself clicking on reviews most, whether they're bulk, retrospectives and tier-lists, or single reviews.
I was worried when I saw that, because I thought that might put it in the top 10. You know ya fucked up when you make WoT content that the OG WoT channel doesn't like.
This is an awesome video, glad Jade Legacy takes the top spot. Though I have to say it’s sad your reviews aren’t getting the attention they deserve. The best stuff I read the past two years all came from reviews I found on your channel!
Would you ever in a million years have guessed around 2018 when your channel was starting up, and the big premise was that you were a fan of the wheel of time and the upcoming Amazon adaption was going to be your GOT, that on the year of its release it would not even get a mention in the best of? Not blaming you, I don't think it deserves a place, but it shows you how much times change and our perceptions with it.
Yeah, there was a point when the show was going to be the future of his channel. WOT was going to do for fans what GOT did and add hundreds of thousands of new subscribers and now it has been memory holed.
I was sad to hear that you aren’t as focused on the book reviews. Your suggestions have opened my reading/listen to new epic fantasy series. I learned about Brandon Sanderson and Brent Weeks from you and one of my favorite of your videos was the best audiobooks lists. Please keep the book reviews coming. Thank you for your efforts.
Arcane has a surprising amount of depth. I didn't really catch it myself until another youtuber's videos showed up in my feed where they just constantly pulled depth out of characters, symbolism, plot that I didn't catch in my viewing. The writers did a phenomenal job of giving every character meaning and backstory without slapping you in the face with it. It's really easy to miss how much care was put into the story and characters. Just look at how well the writers avoided the negative weak/strong women tropes.
Pls ignore. Just a note for myself as a reminder for what shows and books I have to catch up on. Still helps the algorythm I guess. - The expanse - Green Knight - Fugitive Elemetry - Joe abercrombie in general - children of time and shards of earth - spiderman animation movie - (shadow of the gods) maybe - The hole jade Legacy triologie
My favourite scifi media would be Sonny boy. Probably the most unique piece of media I've ever seen. The visuals - Top tier, The music - Godly, The story - beautifully bittersweet. This is going to be something I will remember for the rest of my life which will age better with time.
I understand that you need to feed the algorithm but I really do enjoy your book reviews and tbh honest you have rekindled my appreciation for reading actual books. Heck I have even started to rebuild my library. Many of which were from your channel. As I have said before, I found an enjoyment in book hunting in the used book sections of the second hand stores.
Gotta disagree on themes of arcane, they are as deep or deeper then a lot of full length novels I have read. Great list, keep doin what you do because I love it.
Listening to Daniel talking about the Jade series the only thing I thought was "Yep, Daniel adores the Yorknew City Arc, he should probably watch/read HxH" - dunno if he actually did, but I saw Merphy is doing it, so he probably atleast heard about it
I'm still waiting on the Wheel of Time readalong D: Even if most people don't read as fast as you, at least those that do don't have to wait to get to them, and those that don't can always come back at a later date. I don't see the drawbacks in releasing them sooner
I hadn't realized the Expanse series was finished. Might actually pick it up now. I was leery of starting such a long series without hearing if people liked the ending.
I’m only halfway through and you’ve listed four things that I hadn’t even heard existed/were released. Sorry about the algo-loss, but I’m now a huge fan of your list premiering in April when we aren’t overwhelmed by all the other lists!
I wish book reviews did better; I watch them all at least once, usually multiple times. I like content about taste and genre, book reviews satisfied that in a weird way.
Behind Arcane, my favorite show of 2021, is a rather unorthodox pick. Bare with me…. CentaurWorld. Yes, I am well aware that this show really depends on your taste and how you feel about the medium of animation and musicals. Even I understand this show is extremely niche, weird, and to quote a character from the show, “a lot,” but… My god! This really is a fantastic, surprising, surprisingly dark and layered 2-season (mini?)series if given the chance. But again, it’s entirely up to tastes.
I will say that, as a guy that doesn't watch very much movies or TV shows, The Green Knight was excellent. So was Arcane. I did like the Netflix adaptation of Leigh Bardugo's Shadow & Bone, too!
I know your just getting into anime and probably didn't watch a lot of it, but I recomend to you two animes that come out last year Mushoku Tensei (a wonderful isekai) and Eighty Six (an sci-fi dystopian world) and they are excellent at least they would have an honorable mention ;)
As a league of legends ex-player ( 3 years ago) I could tell you that the story of Arcane is actually from the game's Lore many of those relationships and events we knew about through vocal interactions between the characters in the game or by reading the Lore. Also the world is so big that the characters shown there aren't even 10% of the total (+130 main playable characters each with their own lore and story)
I’m not sure if they would come under the banner of sci-fi/fantasy, but I would highly, highly recommend the works of Tatsuki Fujimoto, namely Chainsaw Man, Fire Punch, Look Back, and Goodbye Eri. Fujimoto is a mangaka, and his works are (to me at least) deeply powerful, and I think you might like them. I would advise reading Look Back and Goodbye Eri first, as they are much shorter one-shot manga, and they give you a taste of Fujimoto’s bizarre but brilliant writing style. Fire Punch and Chainsaw Man are longer-form stories, and I would say that you have to get 20-30 chapters into them before the genius of them starts to come to the forefront. TL;DR : I liked the video. I recommend the manga works written by Tatsuki Fujimoto.
I loved these picks. I'd probably rearrange a few though. Ones I haven't seen or read are getting added to my list. Invincible was so good. Amazon is carving their own identity with comicbook shows like The Boys and Invincible. I just wish we didn't have to wait so long for the second season. Midnight Mass was one of the best series to come from Netflix. The Green Knight flew under the radar, I got it as soon as it became available because a A24 fantasy epic is what I need in my life. It was epic in scale, slow and steady in pace, the main actor deserves a lot of credit. The gloomy and oddly uplifting world was the most intriguing part. I need to read the Expanse books, the series on Amazon was fantastic and just got better each season. It might be the best modern sci-fi show of the past few years. Dune is self explanatory, Dune is godly, Dune is spicy. It's probably my best movie of last year. I still need to read Abercrombie. All these rants DG does about how great his work is is finally getting through. I think I need to hear a few more rants to really know for sure
Thanks to your recommendation I downloaded all 3 books of the green bone saga on audible. Finished the first two books and working my way through the third. Really enjoying the story and glad I followed your advice and gave it a shot.
I know Daniel don't like wrap ups but they do well in the algorithm unlike book reviews but they are also book talk and they are fun, they also don't have to be monthly
A really good manga that’s recently finished, one that is heavily underrated and not talked about enough, is Hell’s Paradise. With only 13 volumes I honestly think it’s in my top manga ever. Not counting the latest chapters of One Piece I think I enjoyed Hell’s Paradise as a whole more than the vast majority of Wano.
Top manga ever? Dont get me wrong I love Hell's Paradise, Gabimaru and co. are incredible characters... I just find it a weird pick hahaha but I totally respect your opinion, it is an awesome series!!!! And I cant wait for the anime 🔥🔥🔥
@@bendover7841 I’m only on volume 7 of CSM so can’t say yet but I will say that I personally prefer HP over AOT. That might be a hot take but AOT is kinda overhyped imo. Still very good though.
@@eyereid AOT is better than HP if you pretend the final volume doesn't exist lmao. The ending is one of the worst things in fiction. And let me just say, CSM volume 9 will make your heart stop for a couple seconds.
Thanks for praising The Expanse, it had to be said. It is so criminally underrated and I'm so upset it's not being spoken of by everyone everywhere. I'm halfway through that series now and it's made a huge impact on the way I read sci-fi and the way I think about the future of humanity. Curse your goblin self for giving me more books to read that I have been sleeping on!! AGHGGHHG ... but I love you for it.
I don't really think Arcane lacks depth or anything. The fact that people argue all the time if Silco was a good influence on Jinx or not is evidence enough. Also, if you want a great high-fantasy manga, I recommend Houseki no Kuni/Land of the Lustrous. The anime is maybe even better, but isn't caught up to the manga. Also, also I read "Breach of Peace". Really good start for your first published book.
I personally like Invincible more than Arcane but only because I finished and loved the comic series so I have a little bit of a background on it. I loved Arcane though it was fantastic
Hey Daniel! probably not the first to recommend this, Commonwealth Saga by Peter F. Hamilton aught to be right up your ally, epic scifi. for us who love Wot, and everything Brandon Sanderson has written.
I’m not as late as I was last year!
How late will you be next year? XD
No Worries April is the start of the Financial Year
Only a few weeks after the Oscar’s which just did 2021 films so fair
Progress?
Don’t mind me, I’m just patiently waiting for the top 10 sci-if fantasy 2022 edition. Where is One Piece Daniel, WHERE IS IT.
The whole "book reviews actually hurt my channel" bit made me really sad, the book reviews are why I subscribed here in the first place. I've picked up several new favorites based on your recommendation. Would it be worth making maybe a second (or third I guess lol) channel just for book reviews or something? Even if it's lower production value than the main channel I just like hearing about new books.
Absolutely, came to this channel years ago for books and reviews and I do miss them, obviously I’m still here so I’m still a fan but wish the book reviews would come back lol
I would love this, when I come to the channel I feel like I'm scrolling down looking for book stuff, I wouldn't mind a lower effort second channel when you just sit down and talk about a book!
Sad. Rather than focusing on the things that RUclipsrs originally started their channel for, and built an audience, the RUclips algorithms force them to just chase the views. I honestly can get movie and tv reviews at a million other channels that have been around forever. It was nice to get good book reviews and discussion that I couldn't get anywhere else. I guess if it brings in the views, you just gotta do whatever you're going to do.
There's millions of channels talking about film & tv shows, and plenty for anime & manga... books are still underrepresented. I don't mind the channel diversifying but hope books can remain a core.
Daniel still have a goodreads account where he rates books. So we still have that I think :)
I don't really think of Arcane as a game adaptation. To me they took the world of LoL and built an awesome story within that. One I enjoyed massively without having ever played the game
Yes and no the character dynamics and what they are in the futur like echo , Viktor, vi, powder/jinx has its roots highly deep inside the game even a glimpse of powder traumatic childhood and they manage to add more to them and the execution was stellar
@@chriscolombie4135 But at the same time, the game itself isn't about those stories. The lore is just flavor for the characters. So it's not really a game adaptation, but a lore adaptation. Which is a weird, possibly pedantry, difference, but I think it matters. A League of Legends game adaptation would be a show about Summoner's Rift. At least that's how I see it.
The biggest downside of Arcane is that it will get more people into League 😂
@@IntrusiveThot420 🤣
@@IntrusiveThot420 Not really a downside, more people are getting into something new they can enjoy
LOVED arcane last year. It’s weird the intro song is still riding the top charts
Its a fire track
Is it really weird? Its Imagine Dragons
@@kennywang171 I don't know. If the lyrics weren't so on edge, I could maybe get behind it.
Honestly daniel i started watching your channel beacuse of book reviews, and i am glad you are moving your career along i find myself coming back to the channel less and less when i see you dont review a book in months
You have helped my reading journey a lot and i appreciate that, thank you
It’s too bad that most viewers don’t share the sentiment. I also found him because of the book reviews but do enjoy his other content as well.
@@lemonz1769 mhm i didnt say it as a negative, i have had that opinion for a while now, i myself don't care for his other content that much but i am glad to see him grow and see that people love it, just a bit sad that my go too booktuber isnt reviewing as many books as he used to
yeah I'll miss his booktube roots days but I guess you gotta grow if you gotta grow
I feel the exact same
Why not just continue to do book reviews on a specific day? The algorithm may not like them, but a lot of your viewers do. Even if we don’t watch them immediately, if we read the book we come back to it.
He’s not doing this for us, he’s doing it for money (it’s his job) and happy algorithm means more money. It is what it is, it’s his channel to do what he wants with it. But trust me, there are many booktubers out there with awesome reviews that I have discovered precisely because Daniel wasn’t putting them out anymore so it turned out to be great in the end!
@@elenasreadingcorner could you please give me some recommendations for booktubers? I follow some but most of them don't post about scifi fantasy
@@gwenheppinstall3128 Sure! I am not only interested in fantasy and I'm not too big on sci-fi, but a couple of youtubers I enjoy that talk about them are Elliot Brooks, BooksWithEmilyFox (she reviews all kinds of books but reads at least two fantasy/sci-fi a month), Christy Ann Jones (different genres and also does vlogs - her positive energy is amazing), Peruse Project, Library of a Viking is new in the game and he relies solely on fantasy, and I also really enjoy Morgan Long (more whimsical and middle grade fantasy) and Cari can read (loads of YA and fantasy)
@@elenasreadingcorner Thank you so much!!! Ill definitely be checking them out!
@@gwenheppinstall3128 You’re welcome! Hope you find new favourites ☺️
Daniel - "It's a novella, you can get through it in an afternoon."
Me - "You under estimate just how slow I can read."
Thing that bugs me is that in Australia at least they are only available on hardcover and thus more expensive, to the tune of double the price in some cases, than full sized books and only one third of the size.
I was gonna comment that, I would need a loooooooooooong afternoon in the arctics to finish a book like that.
This channel's come such a long way. Hearing you say it isn't just books now but all kinds of SFF really cemented that in my mind all of a sudden, so onwards and upwards to the (bit late) list! :P
TL;DW:
Honorable mentions:
Spidermain far from home, Suicide quad (James Gunn), Invincible
10 Midnight Mass
9 Dune
8 Martha Wells Fugitive Telemetry
7 John Wgynnes Shadow of the Gods
6 The Green Knight
5 The Expanse
4 Adrian Tchaikovskys Shards of Earth
3 Joe Abercrombies The wisdom of Crowds
2 Arcane
1 Fonda Lees Jade legacy
Please continue your .book reviews.. I've discovered so many fantastic new worlds listening to you over the last four plus years.
As someone who really enjoys your book reviews I would love to see them make a comeback. Perhaps even a second channel specifically just for those kinds of videos. Though I understand why you would want to branch out into other media (which i enjoy as well, especially your manga and anime stuff).
It sucks to hear that book reviews don't do as well one your channel. It's what I'm subscribed for
As a huge sci-fi fan, this video makes me incredibly happy. Despite it being released in April🥴
how did you feel about Andy Weir's 'Project Hail Mary' not even getting a mention?
Oh man, I miss your book only top 10s 😔 You helped discover so many great authors!
Sad to hear that book reviews are hurting you.
Especially since you got me back into reading last year with all your hype in First Law related videos. I originally was reading grimdark for a homebrew DnD campaign, but after making my way through First Law it became more a joyous part of my day instead of homework for my DnD campaign. I have since read Kings of the Wyald, a book into the First Law stand alone stories, and had my brother buy me the Age of Madness trilogy for my birthday.
I sincerely cannot thank you enough for your amazing efforts. I have spent an unhealthy amount of money on book this year, and it's all thanks to you.
Sorry this is a little long, but I just wanted to let you know that you have been an integral part of getting me back into reading. Regardless if you decide to do more book reviews or not, I hope everything works out for you as your other content is also of quality.
I’m so sorry to hear about the algorithm not liking book reviews. I love them, and obviously like most people here, they were what brought me to the channel! You keep doing you boo! But I wouldn’t have gotten into the first law series without you!
I ended up watching Midnight Mass, Arcane, Green Knight, and reading the entire Murderbot series based on your recommendations.
Also, the Jade series is bought and on my audible list to listen to. I keep meaning to start watching The Expanse but it just seems like such a commitment that I just never get around to it, sadly
Funny story(s) about the Green Knight. I convinced my friend to go with me and he hated it while I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The women next to us was snoring halfway through and I think some folks got up and walked out at one point. About a month later I'm visiting a different friend, who is a church pastor, and he asked me what movies I'd seen lately. I immediately said "The Green Knight" and he just went off about how it didnt make any sense and it was stupid and he had no idea what any of it meant or what the message or metaphors were. I laughed at him and told him that its a christmas movie from Authorian legend that is inspired by the temptations, passions, death, and resurrection of Christ and how the hell did he, a church pastor, miss all of that? His wife then chimes in and says "Thats what I've been telling you!". She apparently loved it
A24 still continues to be the best studio and this movie needed to be nominated for best picture
Man, I only come for the book reviews! It’s stupid that it hurts the algorithm when that’s what you started as. Keep up the great work both on the Tube and in Literature bro
I'm really sad to hear that book reviews hurt you in the algorithm. I started watching you specifically because of the amazing book reviews, and I've been missing them a lot lately...which means I'm just not watching you nearly as much anymore. I know I'm only one viewer, but I would gladly fight the algorithm to get more book reviews from you.
I just watched all of Arcane this week and my god it's so good. My love for tragedy knows no bounds
For real though, I think I have a problem because I also love music with minor chords thrown in and Arcane's music is CHILLING
I enjoy your videos. I read your book “Breach of Peace.” I read it in one day and couldn’t put it down. Loaned it to a friend and she did the same thing. I have your second book, “Rebel’s Creed.” Looking forward to it. Keep the books coming. Thank you!
Arcane absolutely deserves the praise it got, damn that show was fantastic in every way.
I just finished the tv show of the Expanse and am more than curious to dive into the books now.
I only read book 1 of the Jade Legacy series so far. While I liked it, my mind wasn't blown or anything. But I liked it enough to see where the story will go in book 2.
I really don't get the hype about the Jade series. I liked the first two well enough to finish the series, but Jade Legacy was such a drag. I had to skim through about 200 pages in the middle, I found it repetitive and borderline boring. Obviously tastes are different and it seems that I'm in the minority with this opinion :)
I liked the premise of the Jade series, and enjoyed a decent chunk of it, but I honestly find it has really bad pacing issues. Every time the story builds up momentum, the author cuts and goes somewhere else, breaking the flow of the story.
The Expanse books are more than worth it!
Look as someone who misery porn doesn't work on Arcane was just OK. Like I get it you feel sympathy for all these people, and turns out they're all kind of awful. Conflating emotions abound, but really the show was as much porn as anything on Xvideos. It's fine, but it's hardly one of Sam's "stories that really matter."
The expanse up until the scene where everyone meets up at the hotel is absolutely some of the best story telling I have ever seen. I feel like the show after that wasn't nearly as good.
Wow, no Wheel of Time. I'm surprised, but it's understandable. If 2 years ago you told me I'd like a screen adaptation of League of Legends over Wheel of Time, no way.
I love everything on this list that I've seen/read. Jade Legacy was my favorite read of 2021 as well. Just wanted to shout out a few great scifi/fantasy anime from 2021 that may have fell under the radar for some. Ranking of Kings was my favorite standalone show of last year. It started in 2021 and ended in 2022 so not sure if it would count for this list, but please give it a chance if you have the time. Some others I'd recommend are To Your Eternity and Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song. Love the channel and keep making great videos!
I second vivy and to your eternity, both have not so human mc that is actually very human like murderbot. Good action with emotional weight
Good call. They were really amazing.
The 3 part release schedule for Arcane was genius as well. A format that I would love to be more wide spread.
I always prefer "Best of" awards or videos to release in February or March because it gives some time for the new year to set in and we can look more objectively on the previous year.
Jade Legacy was amazing, Fonda Lee is a Legend
From the anime world we have
- mushoku tensei
- sonny boy
- 86
- vivy
- to your eternity
- ranking of kings
- odd taxi
- kobayashi dragon maid
- link click
- rezero
- shadow house
- wonder egg priority (except the final episodes)
- idaten deities
- slime anime
Still there are fantastic animes that i didn't watch yet
2021 was one of the best year for anime
I add Yuru Camp, Non Non Biyori, Jujutsu Kaisen, World Trigger, Dr. Stone, SK8, Fruits Basket, Zombieland Saga, Mashiro no Oto, Vanitas no Karte, Kageki Shoujo, Shiroi Suna no Aquatope and Heike Monogatari. I added sequels as well. Indeed, 2021 was GOATED for anime.
Talking about the best Fantasy & Sci-fi series of 2021, Arcane is excellent, but honestly, it just doesn't reach the level of Mushoku Tensei, 86 and Ousama Ranking *imo.* If it was in 2020, the only competitors would have been the first season of Dorohedoro and Akudama Drive, in that case I would have put Arcane as the winner.
Link Click is a Donghua (chinese animation) but yeah, it was great.
odd taxi is so good
All of them are amazing!
Arcane was such a surprise. Loved it and can't wait for season 2!
proud of you that you didnt even mention the WoT show XD
Would be nice if you split it up between books and the rest so books still have a dedicated section on the channel :)
Underrated series that came out last year, Superman and Lois is a family drama that explores the difficulties of raising children whilst being the most powerful creature on the world, the responsabilities of parenthood, education, duty, communication and love.
Superman and Lois is great! Love that show. Tyler Hoechlin is the best live-action Superman we've ever had, by a long shot.
I'm sorry to hear book reviews are bad for your algorithm.. I kind of noticed for a while now that a lot less book reviews were being posted. I am truly glad you have expanded your channel and by doing so I bet you get a lot of new followers as well. I understand it's your job and that your channel is growing and developing. That's good! But.. I am sad that I have to look for an other booktuber.. I really value your opinion on books (even though I know there are many good booktubers out there) 😔 I have read many of the comments and some have suggested two channels where one continues with book reviews.. Not sure if that is a possibility for you (I know you have a tight schedule).. but it would be a shame to lose the contend you started out with and that so many people enjoy. Anyway, wish you all the best- you're a great creator ❤ Love from 🇳🇴
I just finished Arcane yesterday. I checked it out since I kept hearing about it and I was not disappointed! It was well written and the characters were great. I love how broken Jinx is and how they don't shy away from that trauma.
Pretty much everything else is on my list of things to watch/read.
This is your reminder to watch the 2021 anime adaptation of To Your Eternity. Some of the best and most emotional character-driven fantasy I've seen last year.
im guessing i should probably watch arcane
Daniel I know you probably want to diversify your content I’ll greedily suck down on every tier list, ranking, or best off video you do. Go crazy. Do one a month
Maybe bulk book reviews? Like "Here's what I read in Fall 2022; here's what I recommend."
It might prove to grab people more, because it's essentially a grab bag of books, rather than "Oh, here's what I think of that one Star-Wars book." People probably don't click on the single-book reviews for the same reason they don't pick up a book in the bookstore: the cover, genre, IP, or title just doesn't interest them.
Though, I suppose that is more or less what you are doing at this point. I definitely find myself clicking on reviews most, whether they're bulk, retrospectives and tier-lists, or single reviews.
The expanses space battles are like nothing I have ever scene before on screen. Amazing!
Notice how Wheel of Time didn't even make honorable mentions.
I was worried when I saw that, because I thought that might put it in the top 10.
You know ya fucked up when you make WoT content that the OG WoT channel doesn't like.
This is an awesome video, glad Jade Legacy takes the top spot. Though I have to say it’s sad your reviews aren’t getting the attention they deserve. The best stuff I read the past two years all came from reviews I found on your channel!
I watch your book reviews, so I don't watch your videos as much. You helped me rediscover my love of sci-fi & fantasy, and I miss watching you.
I disagree on a couple of points, but this is one of best videos you've had. Love it.
Would you ever in a million years have guessed around 2018 when your channel was starting up, and the big premise was that you were a fan of the wheel of time and the upcoming Amazon adaption was going to be your GOT, that on the year of its release it would not even get a mention in the best of?
Not blaming you, I don't think it deserves a place, but it shows you how much times change and our perceptions with it.
I mean mainly I think it just shows how shit that adaptation was, lol
Yeah, there was a point when the show was going to be the future of his channel.
WOT was going to do for fans what GOT did and add hundreds of thousands of new subscribers and now it has been memory holed.
Times havent changed that much, the show was just mediocre 🤣
@@Staticaster hahah exactly!
or how bad the show is lol
I was sad to hear that you aren’t as focused on the book reviews. Your suggestions have opened my reading/listen to new epic fantasy series. I learned about Brandon Sanderson and Brent Weeks from you and one of my favorite of your videos was the best audiobooks lists. Please keep the book reviews coming. Thank you for your efforts.
Arcane has a surprising amount of depth. I didn't really catch it myself until another youtuber's videos showed up in my feed where they just constantly pulled depth out of characters, symbolism, plot that I didn't catch in my viewing. The writers did a phenomenal job of giving every character meaning and backstory without slapping you in the face with it. It's really easy to miss how much care was put into the story and characters. Just look at how well the writers avoided the negative weak/strong women tropes.
Was that the guy that made a video about moral ambiguity then didn't talk about moral ambiguity for 30min?
Pls ignore. Just a note for myself as a reminder for what shows and books I have to catch up on. Still helps the algorythm I guess.
- The expanse
- Green Knight
- Fugitive Elemetry
- Joe abercrombie in general
- children of time and shards of earth
- spiderman animation movie
- (shadow of the gods) maybe
- The hole jade Legacy triologie
It sucks to hear that book reviews do not go well in the algorithm. Thier my favorite videos.
My favourite scifi media would be Sonny boy.
Probably the most unique piece of media I've ever seen. The visuals - Top tier,
The music - Godly,
The story - beautifully bittersweet.
This is going to be something I will remember for the rest of my life which will age better with time.
I haven't heard enough people talking about it
It's such an amazing anime. One of my favorites
ED song is so good
@@anananana one of my top EDs
Sad to hear that book reviews don't do well with the algorithm, it is what originally attracted me to the channel.
Can’t believe Daniel liked Space Jam 2 better than anything else.
Arcane was such an awesome surprise. I was so late to the party on that one.
I understand that you need to feed the algorithm but I really do enjoy your book reviews and tbh honest you have rekindled my appreciation for reading actual books. Heck I have even started to rebuild my library. Many of which were from your channel.
As I have said before, I found an enjoyment in book hunting in the used book sections of the second hand stores.
Glad to see you include Shards of Earth. One of my favorite books from the last year.
I'm enjoying the little snippets of media you are introducing into the videos. For how small they are, they add a lot.
Gotta disagree on themes of arcane, they are as deep or deeper then a lot of full length novels I have read. Great list, keep doin what you do because I love it.
Listening to Daniel talking about the Jade series the only thing I thought was "Yep, Daniel adores the Yorknew City Arc, he should probably watch/read HxH"
- dunno if he actually did, but I saw Merphy is doing it, so he probably atleast heard about it
I'm still waiting on the Wheel of Time readalong D:
Even if most people don't read as fast as you, at least those that do don't have to wait to get to them, and those that don't can always come back at a later date.
I don't see the drawbacks in releasing them sooner
Thank you for this. My son loves Dragon Fantasy. I know what to get him for his birthday now
What a shame that your book reviews don't do well. These videos are my nr. 1 inspo for what to read next. Just know that I really appreciate them
Well damn. I heard people talking about Arcane, but I didn’t realize people were THAT high on it. I’ll have to watch it
I hadn't realized the Expanse series was finished. Might actually pick it up now. I was leery of starting such a long series without hearing if people liked the ending.
The first 6 can actually kinda be read on their own. I stopped at 6 until the last one came out.
I didn’t even realize that this was a 2021 list, my trust in you is boundless Daniel
Anyone else feel like Daniel struggling a little? Someone give my mans a hug!
I’m only halfway through and you’ve listed four things that I hadn’t even heard existed/were released. Sorry about the algo-loss, but I’m now a huge fan of your list premiering in April when we aren’t overwhelmed by all the other lists!
I wish book reviews did better; I watch them all at least once, usually multiple times.
I like content about taste and genre, book reviews satisfied that in a weird way.
Oh someone else that watched midnight mass, absolutely loved it, and it's great to see it getting some recognition
Behind Arcane, my favorite show of 2021, is a rather unorthodox pick. Bare with me…. CentaurWorld. Yes, I am well aware that this show really depends on your taste and how you feel about the medium of animation and musicals. Even I understand this show is extremely niche, weird, and to quote a character from the show, “a lot,” but…
My god! This really is a fantastic, surprising, surprisingly dark and layered 2-season (mini?)series if given the chance. But again, it’s entirely up to tastes.
Watched Arcane based on your recommend. Fantastic show!
I completed the expanse series in about half a year, one of the best sci fi books i had read. glad to have come across it.
idk why but hearing that book reviews hurt daniel's channel algorithmically made me kinda upset lol
for me they're my favourite videos on the channel!
If book reviews hurt your algorithm, can you start a second channel (for book reviews) for us old timey fans?
I will say that, as a guy that doesn't watch very much movies or TV shows, The Green Knight was excellent. So was Arcane. I did like the Netflix adaptation of Leigh Bardugo's Shadow & Bone, too!
I know your just getting into anime and probably didn't watch a lot of it, but I recomend to you two animes that come out last year Mushoku Tensei (a wonderful isekai) and Eighty Six (an sci-fi dystopian world) and they are excellent at least they would have an honorable mention ;)
Shame book reviews are killing your algorithm because I really enjoy them 😔
As a league of legends ex-player ( 3 years ago) I could tell you that the story of Arcane is actually from the game's Lore many of those relationships and events we knew about through vocal interactions between the characters in the game or by reading the Lore. Also the world is so big that the characters shown there aren't even 10% of the total (+130 main playable characters each with their own lore and story)
Great choices, now I'm really curious about your 2022 update on all-time favorite SFF book series!
Hit us with those audio drama reviews. Wolf 359 is the basic starting place, but I also like the Amelia Project
i love these videos. i get to see my favorites here and find stuff that got under my radar
I’m not sure if they would come under the banner of sci-fi/fantasy, but I would highly, highly recommend the works of Tatsuki Fujimoto, namely Chainsaw Man, Fire Punch, Look Back, and Goodbye Eri. Fujimoto is a mangaka, and his works are (to me at least) deeply powerful, and I think you might like them. I would advise reading Look Back and Goodbye Eri first, as they are much shorter one-shot manga, and they give you a taste of Fujimoto’s bizarre but brilliant writing style. Fire Punch and Chainsaw Man are longer-form stories, and I would say that you have to get 20-30 chapters into them before the genius of them starts to come to the forefront.
TL;DR : I liked the video. I recommend the manga works written by Tatsuki Fujimoto.
I loved these picks. I'd probably rearrange a few though. Ones I haven't seen or read are getting added to my list.
Invincible was so good. Amazon is carving their own identity with comicbook shows like The Boys and Invincible. I just wish we didn't have to wait so long for the second season.
Midnight Mass was one of the best series to come from Netflix.
The Green Knight flew under the radar, I got it as soon as it became available because a A24 fantasy epic is what I need in my life. It was epic in scale, slow and steady in pace, the main actor deserves a lot of credit. The gloomy and oddly uplifting world was the most intriguing part.
I need to read the Expanse books, the series on Amazon was fantastic and just got better each season. It might be the best modern sci-fi show of the past few years.
Dune is self explanatory, Dune is godly, Dune is spicy. It's probably my best movie of last year.
I still need to read Abercrombie. All these rants DG does about how great his work is is finally getting through. I think I need to hear a few more rants to really know for sure
Thanks to your recommendation I downloaded all 3 books of the green bone saga on audible. Finished the first two books and working my way through the third. Really enjoying the story and glad I followed your advice and gave it a shot.
I know Daniel don't like wrap ups but they do well in the algorithm unlike book reviews but they are also book talk and they are fun, they also don't have to be monthly
I disagree with almost all of this but it's great to see how far the channel has come Daniel, congrats.
A really good manga that’s recently finished, one that is heavily underrated and not talked about enough, is Hell’s Paradise. With only 13 volumes I honestly think it’s in my top manga ever. Not counting the latest chapters of One Piece I think I enjoyed Hell’s Paradise as a whole more than the vast majority of Wano.
Top manga ever? Dont get me wrong I love Hell's Paradise, Gabimaru and co. are incredible characters... I just find it a weird pick hahaha but I totally respect your opinion, it is an awesome series!!!! And I cant wait for the anime 🔥🔥🔥
Hell's Paradise is arguably better then even Chainsaw Man.
@@bendover7841 I’m only on volume 7 of CSM so can’t say yet but I will say that I personally prefer HP over AOT. That might be a hot take but AOT is kinda overhyped imo. Still very good though.
HP is good but definitely not better than CSM
@@eyereid AOT is better than HP if you pretend the final volume doesn't exist lmao. The ending is one of the worst things in fiction. And let me just say, CSM volume 9 will make your heart stop for a couple seconds.
Thanks for praising The Expanse, it had to be said. It is so criminally underrated and I'm so upset it's not being spoken of by everyone everywhere. I'm halfway through that series now and it's made a huge impact on the way I read sci-fi and the way I think about the future of humanity.
Curse your goblin self for giving me more books to read that I have been sleeping on!! AGHGGHHG ... but I love you for it.
Favorite RUclipsr by far
Could not agree more on the Green Knight! A perfect old school fantasy
Thank you for the leads. Now I have some leads on fresh fantasy books to read.🙏
I don't really think Arcane lacks depth or anything. The fact that people argue all the time if Silco was a good influence on Jinx or not is evidence enough.
Also, if you want a great high-fantasy manga, I recommend Houseki no Kuni/Land of the Lustrous. The anime is maybe even better, but isn't caught up to the manga.
Also, also I read "Breach of Peace". Really good start for your first published book.
I personally like Invincible more than Arcane but only because I finished and loved the comic series so I have a little bit of a background on it. I loved Arcane though it was fantastic
Arcane was a fantastic show. I absolutely adored it
How about a Top 10 Worst SF & F of 2021? Or Biggest SF & F Disappointments of 2021? WoT Season 1 deserves to be there somewhere.
Cant think of what to comment other than i loved this video and here you go daniel, have three hearts in the colours of the green bone saga books>>💚❤💙
Arcane shocked me with it's quality. Never thought something based on League of Legends would be that good.
That final though couldn't agree more 🤣
Arcane has a phenomenal story, but the animation is the single most stunning thing I've ever seen.
So glad muh boi spidey made the honorable mentions
Hey Daniel! probably not the first to recommend this, Commonwealth Saga by Peter F. Hamilton aught to be right up your ally, epic scifi. for us who love Wot, and everything Brandon Sanderson has written.
Glad to see Daniel Greene making a cameo on celebrity Rich Evans' show.