Arin Hanson, better known by his online pseudonym Egoraptor is an American animator, voice actor and YouTuber. He initially became famous for his flash animations posted on Newgrounds, in fact despite moving away from animating, he is still the third most subscribed user on the site, with 49,219 subscribers on the platform as of the date of this posting. His most popular animated series is probably the ‘Awesome Series’ which parodies various video game franchises such as The Legend of Zelda, Mario and Final Fantasy just to name a few. Another popular series he was responsible for creating was Lemon ‘n Bill which featured an anthropomorphic lemon and bullet who travel through various video game worlds. Arin as well as writing and animating both the ‘Awesome Series’ and the ‘Lemon ‘n Bill series’ also provided the voices for the characters, showing a broad skill set that he would utilise in other endeavours such as Girlchan in Paradise, which was a collaborative effort between him and Joshua Tomar (also known as Tomamoto) to create a parody of the popular Shonen anime they were both fans of.
Arin’s passions seem to be at the forefront of his creations, we see his interest and love of gaming present in the ‘Awesome Series’ and ‘Lemon ‘n Bill Series’ and his love of anime in ‘Girlchan in Paradise’, this trend is a consistent aspect of later projects. For example another popular Egoraptor project is his Sequelitis videos, where he provides a humorous critique on some popular video game series (and it’s sequels).
Perhaps his most popular project to date, and one which also incorporates his love of video games is his let’s play channel, Game Grumps, which he co-founded alongside Jon Jafari (also known as JonTron) back in July 18th 2012. This channel, is still running today, although Jon was replaced by Dan Avidan (also known as Danny Sexbang) the lead vocalist of the comedy musical duo, Ninja Sex Party on June 25th 2013 when Jon left the show to focus on his own channel.
I mentioned above that as well as animating, and hosting his YouTube let’s play channel, Arin is also known for his voice acting, this is not limited only to his own personal projects listed above, he in fact has many professional credits to his name, including but not limited to Bruce Banner in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, John Gore in Minigore, Scott Howl in Monster Prom, Super Guy in the Eddsworld episode WTFuture, Mugger/Kid Getting Mugged in the asdfmovie episode asdfmovie4, Crash Site Fed/Cobb in the linked Red vs. Blue episodes, Ted Bear/The Man Who Could Sit Anywhere in the linked Cyanide & Happiness Shorts and Omelette/Elder Squat Bird in Bee and PuppyCat, just to name a few. He has also acted, in a live action setting, most notably as Ryland Smith, in the 2017 webseries, Good Game, which I’ve actually reviewed and you can check that out here.
On top of all that, Arin co-founded a tour management company, alongside Brent Lilley (the manager for Game Grumps) called Real Good Touring which utilising the knowledge gained from having toured as Game Grumps and Starbomb to organise tours for internet personalities and independent performers. Lastly and most recently, Arin has created a new project called Shuffle Master, and much like his earlier projects, his own passions and interests are at the forefront of this endeavour, namely his love of card games such as Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon.
Now that I’ve introduced Arin, although I imagine that most if not all the people reading this will already be familiar with him, and most likely will be fans of his, let’s get to the point of this list. I’m going to break down my Top 10 Egoraptor videos, this will encompass all of his history as a content creator, although to distinguish it from the Game Grumps Top 10s, I will not include Game Grumps episodes, unless they focus on Arin specifically. So now that I’ve said that, let’s move on with the list.
1. Arin’s Scrapped Game: Puzzmosis – Game Grump
Okay, now I specifically said above that I wouldn’t include Game Grumps episodes, unless of course they focused on Arin, and I feel that this one certainly does that. I do have to add that when I first decided to do a Top 10 Egoraptor videos list, this one was in the back of my mind so that’s why it made it onto the list. Now let’s discuss why it took the top spot. Well first off, and this is coming as someone who is obviously biased because I’m already a fan, but a lot of the concepts and characters discussed in the video have merit and I would be incredibly excited for Arin to flesh them out and develop a full game based on it, especially after the success of Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator and Soviet Jump Game which were released under the Game Grumps banner. Additionally, Arin is noted by many when hosting for his bombastic funny man personality, but this video is just very chill, he still manages to be entertaining, but that’s largely because of his enthusiasm and nostalgia for this game. In addition it’s great to see despite his fame how modest and humble he can be, and how willing he is to discuss what did and didn’t work. So for all that, this video takes the top spot.
2. Arin’s Scrapped Game: Vlad the Impaler – Game Grump
Much like the previous entry on this list, I enjoyed this for the chill vibe and the really interesting game and concepts that Arin came up with, it’s really a shame that it never got developed further because it seemed really fun and/or interesting. It’s also really cool to see Arin talk about the development of the game and the mechanics that go into it, especially since on Game Grumps we get to see him play a whole host of games, it’s really great to see him, even if it was never completed, working on his own game. Also, and feel free to drop a comment below, but does anyone else think Vlad the Impaler would be super rad to play? Certainly less complex than that of Miss Osma’s Puzzmosis, although both, in my opinion, seem awesome.
3. Sequelitis – ZELDA: A Link to the Past vs. Ocarina of Time
I like this the most out of the other Sequelitis videos, not only because of the franchises covered, Zelda is my favourite, but also it’s just the funniest one, in my opinion at least. It’s witty, the argument is well constructed, it shows his personality clearly, and it’s also got plenty of that rage that makes him ‘The Grump’. Also I’ve enjoyed it each time I watched it, because it’s just an engaging and animated video that holds your attention.
4. Awesome Series – Awesome Rising
I think this was the first video from the Awesome series that I ever saw, that’s not the only reason it made it onto the list, there’s also nostalgia for the game it’s based on, Dead Rising, which is one of my favourite games, and the fact it’s genuinely funny. I also like that they referenced it, when they played the game on Game Grumps, and you can check that out here.
Okay now technically this links to several distinct videos covering various periods of Arin’s art, but I personally couldn’t pick just one but also wanted at least one to appear on this list. So instead I decided to treat them as one larger video. Now to why I liked it, again it has a nice, mellow energy to it, but you also get to see across the full series of videos, Arin’s development as an artist, illustrator and animator. I honestly, really enjoyed the whole series, because as much as it could be boring, because it’s just him talking about random pieces or art, it never does get boring, nor does it feel like showing off, but you do get the sense that he’s proud of his development across the episodes. It’s also incredibly rewarding listening to the pride and the joy he gets talking about the characters he’s created and the stories behind various pieces of artwork.
6. Mr. Literal
This is another video I saw early on into becoming an Egoraptor fan, and not only does it manage to set itself apart from other cartoons/animations he made at the time, while also showing his unique style, but also it’s funny in a very visceral, over the top way, that’s practically synonymous with Arin.
7. Before The Grumps – Brian Interviews Arin
Any video with Brian Wecht, noted theoretical physicist, and member of the comedy duo Ninja Sex Party is bound to be good, but what I like about this one is the back and forth between Arin and Brian. It’s also really honest as well, especially the early part where Arin is talking about being interviewed, it’s very real and reflects what it’s like to be an internet personality. But overall it’s just really cool hearing about Arin, right from the horse’s mouth. On a related note, to horses anyway, check out the Healing Horse Therapy Center, it’s run by Arin’s mother, and you can donate to help them out. Returning to the video, I think I liked this one the most out of all the interviews, although it’s closely followed by Barry Interviewing Ross, if you’d like to check out the whole series then click here.
8. Looking at a DECADE of old photos with my wife!
This is just so wholesome and sweet, I love videos with Arin and Suzy, because they so clearly love each other and that is injected into all the content they share together. It’s always interesting to see the development of a person, and in this case, a couple over several years and you definitely get that with this video. It’s really nice just listening to them chat and reminisce.
9. Lemon ‘n Bill – The Legend of Zelda
Like above, with the sequelitis entry, I think my love of Zelda helped decide this one for me, but to be honest this one is also legitimately hilarious. I Love the energy of this series, and love the Lemon and Bill characters. I will admit it does have an improv quality to it which can often be hit or miss, but I personally love it, and wish Arin had made more.
10. Sequelitis – Mega Man Classic vs. Mega Man X
So the Zelda Sequelitis, topped the list above, but I also loved this one. For the same reasons to be honest, from the sharp insight, the humour layered throughout to the clear opinions Arin has about the games in question. It’s just a strong and entertaining video that has replayability, and actually convinced me to return to the Mega Man series, one which I hadn’t really played as a kid.
Honourable mentions go to Avengers Cartoon – Thor’s Hammer, Awesome Series – Pac-Awesome and My Open Letter to Top Game Developers which I also really enjoyed but didn’t quite make the list.
So those were my Top 10 Egoraptor episodes and if you want to find your own, then subscribe to Egoraptor over on YouTube and Newgrounds. While you’re at it why not visit his website, or follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Lastly, why not have Arin star in your own personal video, check out his Cameo for more details.
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