The end of the year is rapidly coming to a close and with it, a decade as well. I decided it would be nice to look back at 2009 and reflect on what this past year has taught us. Below, I’ve compiled 10 things that we (or at least some of us) learned over the course of 2009.

1. The Japanese love them some Final Fantasy.
Despite twelve installments and a smattering of off-shoots and sequels, Final Fantasy craze continues to this day with the recent release of Final Fantasy XIII which sold a whopping 1.5 million copies in 4 days.

2. Cults bad, fire good.
Forget what Frankenstein’s monster says, fire is good. Cults on the other hand? Not so much. Recently released on dvd, the film 20th Century Boys showed us that cults want two things: to either rule the world or destroy it.

3. Two Words: Swine Flu.
No matter how hard you tried this year, much like door to door Jehovah’s witnesses, swine flu was one thing that just wouldn’t go away. Sure you could avoid watching the news, reading the paper, or if you’re like me - burying your head in the sand but at the end of the day, swine flu was in it for the long haul in ‘09.

4. Japanese people hate dolphins and whales.
South Park’s latest season this year showed us that japanese people despise everyone’s favorite bottle-nosed mammals and with good reason, they were the ones responsible for the bombing of Hiroshima along with whales. It’s no wonder the japanese want to wipe them all out.

5. Cat’s eyes are watches to Ninjas.
During our recent ninja extravaganza, I happened to do some research on these shadowy assassins and came to learn that ninjas were able to tell the time of the day by looking at cat’s eyes. Don’t believe me? Look it up yourself.

6. The Super Mario Bros. still got it.
This year was a good year for the plumbers extraordinaire with both a hit Wii game, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and a Nintendo DS title, Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. While both were excellent titles, Mario and Luigi in particular was a stand-out title for the DS among an already crowded library of quality games. Plus, it was nice to see the old Koopa King himself have a starring role for once.

7. Giant robots can and will be made.
This past year proved that the age of giant robots is rapidly approaching with the construction of Giant Torayan (above) and a giant gundam. Hopefully next year this trend of building giant robots continues. If there’s one thing above everything else that I want to cross off of my bucket list, it’s to pilot a giant robot before I die.

8. Mitsuko Kawai and Sadako Yamamura make for quite the cute couple.
Let’s face it, dead girls need love too. And with the recent launch of CrazySingleLife, I proved just that with a look at iconic Japanese characters that should be together. These two kooky killers made the list with their natural affinity for killing people, a similar choice of fashion, and matching hairstyles.

9. No country went unaffected by the death of MJ.
Just as America was in mourning when the king of pop passed away, so too was Japan with thousands of citizens as well as political officials affected by the sudden loss. Soon after, the world would be hit with a wave of Michael Jackson merchandise ranging from magazines, to keychains, to even authentic Michael Jackson suits.

10. Gundam + Unicorns = WIN.
Sporting some of the best Gundam designs in quite some time, Gundam Unicorn proved that the unlikely pairing of unicorn and gundam actually works quite well. Now if only they would make a Gundam Ligre, that’d be frickin’ sweet.