Being an internet user I have heard of this show for some time now but never had watched it until recently when I decided to try the first season. At first I didn't think I would care for it because at first glance it seems to be simply ticking boxes for the audience who are not quite at the Adult Swim stage but who love the references to other animations as well as the imaginative content – it just seemed so very constructed for this that the deliberateness of it annoyed me. The second thing that hit me was that I wasn't even sure who it was aimed at; the humor occasionally seemed too mature for children and yet not subversive enough for older people. It didn't help that the stories mostly involved fighting and a very loud child who solves problems with his fists. However, these were all initial impressions and it didn't take long for the show to win me over.
The stories all take place in the world of Ooo where characters range from princesses through to monsters and in the middle of it all is a pre-teen boy dressed in some weird headgear and a dog with magical powers, both of whom are sworn to protect justice through adventuring. The plots are mostly weird and random but yet engage and entertain; I found most of them to be interesting and, although there is not often a very clear "message" at the end, there is generally a sense of positive lessons in terms of how the characters act and resolve things. The violence element is not really what I though and indeed it is more like an adventure game in its tone and delivery. The characters are colorful and inventive and there were none of the regulars that I didn't love. The animation was also a continual delight. It is heavily influenced by many things but not in a way that seems derivative so much as just being influenced. Miyazaki is in there but at the same time so are shows such as Ren & Stimpy and other such contemporary shows. It is wonderfully simple in some ways but then in others it is filled with imagination and vision and I loved how the whole thing looked.
It is a great family show thanks to the solid moral lessons embedded into the plots and characters but also thanks to the humor being based mostly in the tone of the show and not specific lines for adults and some for kids. There is a bit of this but not much – you will be watching the same thing as your younger viewer as opposed to some films etc where the approach is more one for me and one for you in terms of content. It should also be said that while the show is influenced by pop culture and is very much of its time, it is refreshingly free of pop culture jokes or references – a pattern I hope it keeps in the rest of the seasons.
It is a show for older children but it is very well crafted and delivered that it will work for most ages to provide entertainment. Despite my initial reservations I look forward a great deal to watching the next seasons.
The stories all take place in the world of Ooo where characters range from princesses through to monsters and in the middle of it all is a pre-teen boy dressed in some weird headgear and a dog with magical powers, both of whom are sworn to protect justice through adventuring. The plots are mostly weird and random but yet engage and entertain; I found most of them to be interesting and, although there is not often a very clear "message" at the end, there is generally a sense of positive lessons in terms of how the characters act and resolve things. The violence element is not really what I though and indeed it is more like an adventure game in its tone and delivery. The characters are colorful and inventive and there were none of the regulars that I didn't love. The animation was also a continual delight. It is heavily influenced by many things but not in a way that seems derivative so much as just being influenced. Miyazaki is in there but at the same time so are shows such as Ren & Stimpy and other such contemporary shows. It is wonderfully simple in some ways but then in others it is filled with imagination and vision and I loved how the whole thing looked.
It is a great family show thanks to the solid moral lessons embedded into the plots and characters but also thanks to the humor being based mostly in the tone of the show and not specific lines for adults and some for kids. There is a bit of this but not much – you will be watching the same thing as your younger viewer as opposed to some films etc where the approach is more one for me and one for you in terms of content. It should also be said that while the show is influenced by pop culture and is very much of its time, it is refreshingly free of pop culture jokes or references – a pattern I hope it keeps in the rest of the seasons.
It is a show for older children but it is very well crafted and delivered that it will work for most ages to provide entertainment. Despite my initial reservations I look forward a great deal to watching the next seasons.
