I first heard of Fangbone back in 2017, and my first impression was that it was decent but little more than just Star vs the Forces of Evil with barbarians (something I originally included in the show's description when I created its TV Tropes page). However, I revisited the show several months ago, and I seriously underestimated it! Now, Fangbone is one of my personal favorite Canadian cartoons, and I am going to explain why I believe this show did not deserve to get canned after 1 season.
The writing is Fangbone's strongest point. While I can't really judge it as an adaptation of the books it's based on since I'm not very familiar with them, the show does a great job with its premise. Most episodes are enjoyable and creative, with their fun usage of fantasy tropes and excellent balance of silly and serious. However, the writing is surprisingly ambitious, especially later on, as the series' conflict with Venomous Drool is very well handled and there is some strong development too. There's also some fantastic worldbuilding with Skullbania, and the writers manage to make it a genuinely interesting setting that I wanted to learn more about, with its history, people, monsters, and environments.
The characters are great too. The main duo of Bill and Fangbone are well-done Bash Brothers with excellent chemistry that highlights the differences and similarities that make them a fantastic team. Venomous Drool is a great villain who fits very neatly with the tone of the show, being just menacing enough to pose a genuine threat to Fangbone and Bill while also being comedic enough that he avoids coming off as excessively dark and edgy for the show. The supporting cast is also pretty good overall, with my favorite being Cid (also my favorite character in the show overall).
Finally, we have the animation, which is solid overall. The backgrounds look nice and the artstyle is nice and appealing. And based on the little I have found regarding the books, it seems the show mimics the artstyle of the books quite well (Fangbone and Bill are practically identical to how they appear on the books' covers). The character movement is also quite nice and fluid, allowing for excellent action scenes that really show off Fangbone and Bill's combat skills against Venomous Drool's evil minions. The music is also pretty solid, with the theme song being quite good.
Fangbone is an awesome show that Needs More Love BAD. This show is far more than a clone of Star vs. the Forces of Evil and actually does a few things better than Stvfoe does. If you love fantasy or action cartoons that aren't too serious or want an extremely underrated cartoon that proves Canada's animation industry is seriously overhated, please check out Fangbone. Seriously, it's almost a crime how badly this show was Screwed by the Network in America.
A Fantastic Series I Highly Recommend
I first heard of Fangbone back in 2017, and my first impression was that it was decent but little more than just Star vs the Forces of Evil with barbarians (something I originally included in the show's description when I created its TV Tropes page). However, I revisited the show several months ago, and I seriously underestimated it! Now, Fangbone is one of my personal favorite Canadian cartoons, and I am going to explain why I believe this show did not deserve to get canned after 1 season.
The writing is Fangbone's strongest point. While I can't really judge it as an adaptation of the books it's based on since I'm not very familiar with them, the show does a great job with its premise. Most episodes are enjoyable and creative, with their fun usage of fantasy tropes and excellent balance of silly and serious. However, the writing is surprisingly ambitious, especially later on, as the series' conflict with Venomous Drool is very well handled and there is some strong development too. There's also some fantastic worldbuilding with Skullbania, and the writers manage to make it a genuinely interesting setting that I wanted to learn more about, with its history, people, monsters, and environments.
The characters are great too. The main duo of Bill and Fangbone are well-done Bash Brothers with excellent chemistry that highlights the differences and similarities that make them a fantastic team. Venomous Drool is a great villain who fits very neatly with the tone of the show, being just menacing enough to pose a genuine threat to Fangbone and Bill while also being comedic enough that he avoids coming off as excessively dark and edgy for the show. The supporting cast is also pretty good overall, with my favorite being Cid (also my favorite character in the show overall).
Finally, we have the animation, which is solid overall. The backgrounds look nice and the artstyle is nice and appealing. And based on the little I have found regarding the books, it seems the show mimics the artstyle of the books quite well (Fangbone and Bill are practically identical to how they appear on the books' covers). The character movement is also quite nice and fluid, allowing for excellent action scenes that really show off Fangbone and Bill's combat skills against Venomous Drool's evil minions. The music is also pretty solid, with the theme song being quite good.
Fangbone is an awesome show that Needs More Love BAD. This show is far more than a clone of Star vs. the Forces of Evil and actually does a few things better than Stvfoe does. If you love fantasy or action cartoons that aren't too serious or want an extremely underrated cartoon that proves Canada's animation industry is seriously overhated, please check out Fangbone. Seriously, it's almost a crime how badly this show was Screwed by the Network in America.