Prediction Blogs 2024 wrap-up & 2025 Announcement

 

And that's a wrap! 2024 was fun, and I somehow managed to squeeze out 13 prediction blogs in it (yes I know Diana vs Herc released in 2023 but shush), which basically means I made one prediction blog a month. Huh.

Although everyone and their mom are doing these nowadays, when I first started planning to do it, I don't think as many people did... or I was just blind to it, but who knows? Regardless, despite the fact that there are so many other blogs to read, I'm happy so many people decided that mine were worth their time. It really warms my little stone heart to think about.

I'll be honest in saying that my first few blogs weren't... great. I don't think they're bad, but I definitely could have done things differently, like how did it take me until Bridget vs Bulleta to add a "before the verdicts" segment? Shadow vs Mewtwo especially could have used one of those. But I do definitely think that once I got the hang of it, my latest few have been pretty solid.

Anyways let's get on to the qna. Stick around till the end, there's suprise!

Or you could just scroll to the bottom I guess I'm not your mom

Q: How do you decide what matchups to do?

Well, the easy answer to begin with is just "I like the matchup, I consider the blog". From there, it's a mixture of how fun it would be to research / write, and how interesting the verdicts would be. I've done a few "stomp" matchups, like Cuphead vs Hat Kid and Kaneki vs Shinichi, but most of the time I prefer doing ones that doesn't have a clear victor going in. I also really like complicated series like Metal Gear and Sonic, as well as ones that really don't have a great versus documentation online, such as Darkstalkers. 

And, of course, how many people will be interested in reading it is always a consideration as well.

Q: How do you research for your blogs?

Well, it depends on the matchup. If it's one where I am super familiar with both characters, I'll just write it based on the information I know and then scout the internet for anything I may have missed. 

Otherwise if it's a matchup featuring a series / character that I know the g1 blogs have covered, the first thing I do is usually check what they've written, as I consider them one of the most dependable sources. Of course, I recommend actually going through the series that you are planning to research yourself too, but it's a good starting point. (If you do that, remember to give credit to them! Same with other sources! Don't be a dick!)

For stuff like calcs, VS battles wiki is a good place to check. They get a really bad rep because of how they categorise character power levels on the actual articles, but the calcs in the blog posts there are usually really good, just make sure they've been approved. If there's anything you're unsure about, check with someone you know in your friend group who's more familiar with the series.

Q: Are there any tips you have for blog writers?

Make sure to present everything as clearly and concisely as possible, remember that not everyone will be as familiar with the subject you're writing on as you are. Stuff like series terms in particular (there's a reason why Death Battle explains what Chakra is every time Naruto is on the show).

When it comes to series you aren't familiar with, don't be afraid to research them! As long as you take your time to try and properly understand what you're working with, you can definitely get something good out. Just remember, the end result matters less than the effort put in. Get out of your comfort zone! Have fun!

Also, get several people to write different verdicts, not just one for either side. It's infinitely more interesting to read specific people's thoughts on each and every advantage instead if a disembodied voice vaguely summarising stuff. I don't know when that became the standard for blogs, but if any blog writers are reading this... uh, I'd like for you to change it ig.

does that count as a rant?

Q: Are there any blogs that you cancelled?

There's quite a few, actually! Most of the time, it was simply due to someone else getting to it before me, such as with Annihilus vs Larfleeze (done by Bang's blogs), Sonic.EXE vs RED (done by Axpire VS Blogs), and Toga vs Neo (done by the g1 team). 

Of course, just because someone else got to a blog before you, it doesn't mean you're not allowed to do it, but I prefer doing fresh matchups.

There are also a few blogs that I planned on doing, such as Ruby vs Tanjiro and King Boo vs Gengar, where I just kinda fell off the matchup. My preference for not wanting to use characters that haven't gotten anything new since Death Battle used them also kept me away from the likes of Akame vs Killua and Sauron vs Ganondorf, both of which were planned for a bit.

Q: Whats your favourite blog you've made?

It's kinda hard to not say Bowser vs Eggman to that, right? Like, it's by far the biggest and most detailed one I have, and the fact that I got to make it with my best friends means I have an unmatched attachment towards it.

For runner up, Henry vs Markiplier was always one of my favourites. Despite being just the third one I made, I think it holds up pretty well, and the debate around that one was insane. I also have to give a shout out to Wolverine vs Raiden, which I'd probably say is my best solo work to date? A LOT of struggle went into that one, and I'm super proud of the end result.

Q: Could you please do [MATCHUP]????

Not if you ask like that. I did actually think about holding a poll or form where other people could submit matchups they want me to cover, but like.... eh, probably not.

(Inform me if you want that shit)

Q: What were some of your favourite 2024 blogs by other people?

Oh, I have a few! I think that almost everyone else who makes prediction blogs makes them like... way better than me, so I try to read as many as I can in order to find out what stuff I can improve on. I'll leave a list of some of my favourites from the year below.

• RED vs Sonic.EXE by Axpire vs Blogs
• King K. Rool vs King Pig by Spidey's secret blogs
• Sinestro vs Morgoth by the g1 team
• Ryu Hayabusa vs Strider Hiryu by ThoseGuysThatQuitVSBlogs
• Slenderman vs Sadako by Bang's Blogs (the biggest validation of my life btw. I argued outer Slender FIRST in this community)

Q: What did you think of the '24 Death Battle episodes?

Omni-Man vs Bardock - Really good reintroduction to Death Battle, even if it was for a matchup I could not care less for. I've seen S1 of invincible and I don't really have any want to watch S2, but I do love Nolan. Meanwhile, Bardock is a bum. Sorry db fans but I just cannot for the life of me bring myself to care about this guy. He is and forever will be "goku dad - the character" in my head. So, it shouldn't be a suprise that almost all of my enjoyment from the episode came from Nolan, to the point where I don't really care to look into wether the result is correct or not. I got to see a cool fight where a character I like killed one I don't. Good times! Funny sun disc.

Joker vs Giorno - The announcement of this was kinda perfect because I had just finished JoJo Part 4 a few months earlier, so it was easy for me to continue there. I already knew a fair bit about Joker, so I was decently excited for this episode. And yeah, it was pretty good! Not much else to say, but I liked it.

Bowser vs Eggman - this is the best thing this channel has put out

Among Us vs Fall Guys - The weakest of the batch, but still a good time. It's not at all how I wanted the matchup to be handled.... but that'd also imply I wanted the matchup. For what it's worth, it's a fun watch.

Q: What's your opinion on the Kickstarter matchups?

I'll breeze through these a little quicker since there's quite a few.

I'm very excited for Kratos vs Asura, Kyle vs Simon, and Aang vs Traveller. I love Kratos, Asura, and Kyle as characters and I'm a huge fan of those matchups, and while I haven't watched TTGL or ATLA yet, I plan on doing it before the episodes come. And yes, I am one of the people that genuinely unironically likes Genshin. Sue me.

Ash vs Yugi and Mahito vs Shigaraki are... fine. I don't care much for them, even though I have a lot of nostalgia for the early Pokémon anime and I quite like Shigaraki as a villain. Gru vs Megamind is fun too, I like both movies but I'm not super hyped for the episode.

Master Chief vs Doom Slayer is disappointing. I've played a little of Doom and none of Halo, and I do not care for this matchup. I really do wish that Shadow vs Mewtwo had won, but oh well. At least this happening means Chief vs Samus won't.

Ruby vs Maka is a matchup that... I like. But the way this community treats anything related to RWBY (a series I like a lot) made this one sour for me over the years. All hype I could have had towards this has vanished, and Fire Force was the final nail in my coffin of enjoyment.

Tom vs Wile is whatever.

Hulk vs Godzilla I do not like. If it was Legendary Goji vs Movie Hulk, I'd be excited, but I really do not like the idea of compositing Godzilla. It's not like other characters that are different adaptations of the same one, every version of Godzilla is a canonically different character. Not a fan.

I'm not watching Light vs Columbo. You can't force me to.

Q: Has your opinion on any blog verdicts changed?

There's one, being Shadow vs Mewtwo. In the blog, I said that I wasn't able to figure out who won and thus went undecided... but nowadays I think Shadow takes it pretty handedly. The Bowser vs Eggman blog kinda set in how cracked Sonic top tier stats can be.

As for the others, nope. The only verdicts I was in the minority in are Henry vs Mark and Wick vs Jacket, and yeah, I still think Mark and Wick take those debates. But, yknow, the majority rules.

STATISTICS 

Just for fun!

Mediums Used

• Comic Books - 5 (Wonder Woman, Hercules, Deadshot, Bullseye, Wolverine)
• Web Original - 3 (Metallix, Betty Noire, Markiplier)
• Video Games - 14 (Henry Stickmin, Cuphead, Hat Kid, Wriggle Nightbug, Shadow, Mewtwo, Doomfist, Sundowner, B.B. Hood, Bridget, Jacket, Bowser, Eggman, Raiden)
• Anime/Manga - 3 (Shino Aburame, Ken Kaneki, Shinichi Izumi)
• Movies - 1 (John Wick)

Series Used

• DC Comics - 2 (Wonder Woman, Deadshot)
• Marvel Comics - 3 (Hercules, Bullseye, Wolverine)
• Super Mario Bros. Z - 1 (Metallix)
• Glitchtale - 1 (Betty Noire)
• Markiplier - 1 (Markiplier)
• Henry Stickmin - 1 (Henry Stickmin)
• Cuphead - 1 (Cuphead)
• A Hat In Time - 1 (Hat Kid)
• Naruto - 1 (Shino Aburame)
• Touhou Project - 1 (Wriggle Nightbug)
• Sonic the Hedgehog - 2 (Shadow, Eggman)
• Pokémon - 1 (Mewtwo)
• Overwatch - 1 (Doomfist)
• Metal Gear - 2 (Sundowner, Raiden)
• Darkstalkers - 1 (B.B. Hood)
• Guilty Gear - 1 (Bridget)
• John Wick - 1 (John Wick)
• Hotline Miami - 1 (Jacket)
• Super Mario - 1 (Bowser)
• Tokyo Ghoul - 1 (Ken Kaneki)
• Parasyte - 1 (Shinichi Izumi)

Death Battle Returners: 8 (Wonder Woman, Shadow, Mewtwo, John Wick, Bowser, Eggman, Wolverine, Raiden)

Death Battle Series: 11 (DC, Marvel, Naruto, Pokémon, Sonic, Overwatch, Metal Gear, Darkstalkers, Guilty Gear, John Wick, Mario)

Males: 19 (Hercules, Metallix, Henry Stickmin, Markiplier, Cuphead, Shino Aburame, Shadow, Doomfist, Sundowner, Deadshot, Bullseye, John Wick, Jacket, Bowser, Eggman, Ken Kaneki, Shinichi Izumi, Wolverine, Raiden)

Females: 6 (Wonder Woman, Betty Noire, Hat Kid, Wriggle Nightbug, B.B. Hood, Bridget)

Mewtwo

Aaaaaaaaand I believe that's it! Thank you everyone for reading the stupid things I put out these past months, and I hope you look forwards to continue doing it next year!

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Oh, right, speaking of next year...

See you soon~