Oo, look, a missive from Ray Barnholt with a rather gorgeous announcement: "recently completed a project for my personal site, Crunk Games: an episode guide to the popular Japanese show Game Center CX. I'm not sure what else I can say about it that I haven't in the article itself or on my 1UP blog, but basically I'd love for the show to get more exposure."

I've seen this show available on DVD when I've been in Tokyo, but I never quite picked it up. Now that seems like a folly, as Ray explains: "Japan has given us a few television gems over the years. A lot of memorable anime series, sure, but a fair share of live action programming as well (what, you want me to make a list?). But for the country that redefined "game culture," not a lot of interesting game-related programming has come through. Can we blame them? Just like the rest of the world, most of the video game stuff that’s been produced are kids shows, a TV news story every so often or, these days, nerdy Famitsu DVD segments — nothing really, truly memorable."

"Game Center CX is different. It’s comedic, dramatic, even a bit mental, but altogether it’s an unforgettable show about what sounds like a forgettable concept: a guy trying to beat old Nintendo games. I was late to the party when I saw it, but once I did, I had to see all of it. After that, I decided I had to share it the best way I could, and this episode guide is the result. You could call it "spoiling," but I’ll gladly risk that if I can get anyone else to find it and love it as I have." A bit of a cultural phenomenon, and an awesome write-up.