I'm the Best Muslim is a Blender-animated Islamic Religious Edutainment series made by the Indonesian animation studio Free Quran Education, posted on their YouTube channel
. This series is the studio's first 3D animated production, as their animations are primarily 2D.
The series follows a man named Best Muslim, on his journey to become the best muslim, and encourage others to do the same by following The Prophet Muhammad's example. Recurring characters include a thuggish motorcyclist named Tubagus Punky, a Big Eater named Gen Bowl, a company executive named Bossman Bosque, and a Neat Freak lady named Alienwati.
Each episode note follows a formula in a video game-like style; a bad scenario occurs first, in which poor decisions lead to a negative outcome, followed by the exclamation "You're Not the Best Muslim!" and a Game Over screen saying "Let's Try Again!!!". Then the good scenario plays out which works in favor of everyone involved, by doing what's right, for Allah's sake. The goodness of the act makes the doer a literal shining example to others, which may lead to a "Muslim Level Up!" and a victory banner with 3 stars saying "You Are the Best Muslim!"
Episodes are of varying length (from less than 2 minutes to more than 15 minutes) and are posted periodically. The available seasons are Season 1 (2020 - 2021), Season 2 (2021 - 2022), and Season 3 (2023-). There is also a series of shorts.
More information can be found in the series' LaunchGood page and their social media pages.
I'm the Best Muslim contains examples of:
- A Cappella: All soundtracks are made by humming or other vocal sounds. Even some sound effects are replaced by voices. The words "voice only " appear in the title screen for Season 1 episodes in the bottom-right corner, as well as during other soundtrack-centered segments.
- Balloon Belly: Downplayed. In the 2nd episode's bad scenario, Best is hungry from a day of fasting, so he buys a lot of food for Iftar and scoffs it all down as soon as he hears the azan for Maghrib. Once it's time to pray, he groans about his distended belly and falls out of his dining chair.
- Disproportionate Retribution: The bad outcome of the first episode has Best punish Bowl for littering by scooping him up in an excavator, spinning him around, and launching him to the moon!
- Enlightenment Superpowers:
- After each episode, someone (usually Best) becomes a literal shining example from doing a good deed, which influences others to become a better Muslim.
- In the Season 2 finale, Best's Tahajjud prayer makes a golden spiral of Quran pages appear around him. Each of his friends are struggling with their own firey demon in their minds until they see Best remind them to stay steadfast. Even Best has his own demon telling him to give up, until his friends appear to help fight his demon in the mental world. They appear superpowered there, while they simply showed up to the mosque where he is in reality. When his friends' praise threatens to poison Best's intentions, he finally defeats his friends' demons by making Taubah (asking for Allah's forgiveness), which makes his friends glow in the mental world as they're touched by his pious words. Best's demon exclaims "The heart... is changing!" before all the demons are crushed into a light from above when the Muslims make Sujood Ash-Shukr (prostration of gratitude).
- Exotic Eye Designs: By default, people's eyes are drawn like Arabic letters (usually "ء", aka. Hamza), with eyelids but no scleras.
- Floating Limbs: Per the course of the studio's animation style, all humans are illustrated with no neck (although they do have wrists, unlike humans animated in 2D).
- Green Aesop: In the 1st episode, titled "Cleanliness", Bowl negligently tosses his juice box on the ground after finishing it. The lesson leans more on how to manage dealing with a litterer - not to act out in rage (as Best wanted to launch him to the moon for it), but to lead by example, as the good outcome has Best catch the juice box with his knee and kick it around like a ball before sending it into a recycling bin, which impresses Bowl into being a better Muslim like him.
- Hammerspace: Episode 4, "I Need Water!", has Best struggle with an automated urinal that won't activate the water to run when he wants it to. The urinal only works again after he's walked away, and he pulls a missile launcher out of nowhere, pointing it at the urinal in frustration. (He resorts to using a toilet instead.)
- Rubber Man: In episode 10, Best is too lazy to leave his couch, so he uses his foot to drag his TV remote. Things escalate when he still can't bring himself to make breakfast, so he asks his leg (which mildly behaves like an obedient cat) to fetch stuff from his fridge. He realises he's run out of cereal, so he stretches out his leg to the store to get some, which shocks bystanders and disappoints Bowl, who punches the extended leg. Best wakes up yelling, holding his normal-sized leg, and finds that Bowl has been trying to wake him up for a while.
- Shout-Out:
- Episode 2, titled "Ramadan Avengers", references The Avengers as an A Cappella of the Avengers theme is sung as multiple men are walking towards the mosque, shot like a Team Power Walk. In the style of the Avengers title screen are the words "You Are the Best Muslim".
- Episode 3 is named "Fast and Furious Muslim!" because the imam (leader of the prayer) is praying too quickly - so much so that the other people praying get fed up of him and throw him off the building!
- Episode 13 is titled "The Ramadan Avengers: Infinity Worship".
