It's kind of hard to recommend Amphibia in a way that gets across what I personally like about it, because the show doesn't demonstrate any of those qualities for a long time. Now don't get me wrong- the first few episodes of the show are good fun. The show plays its cards close to its chest, keeping the real implications of what's happening in the background buried for a good half of the first season. The audience may find it hard to see what all the hubbub is about under all the slapstick and Black Comedy gags, since animation has so many dime-a-dozen comedies these days. What makes this show stand out beyond the others?
Then Amphibia plays one of those cards, and its a real doozy.
Underneath all the humor, Amphibia is a solid action-adventure show with excellent animation and some fantastic Character Development. While the show never fully loses its comedic edge, the story slowly grows more serious over time until the final episodes are an all-out Animesque final battle. Strong worldbuilding, consistently great animation, great character designs and wonderful voice acting continually push the show forward through the three seasons before wrapping everything up in a great Grand Finale. Special note goes to the development of the main character Anne and her friends, who change subtly but consistently throughout the show.
If there's anything to criticize about the show, its that it tends to pull its punches. Amphibia will often allude to darker content than it is really willing to show or implement into the story. Granted... this is a kid's show, so I'm not expecting anything *that* dark, but the willingness of the show to have some pretty damn brutal/horrific shit happen only to walk it back feels a little disingenuous. The show will also often undercut the awful stuff that happens with humor, but that tends to be par for the course in a Black Comedy aimed at kids.
DisneyXD is really knocking it out of the park for children's animation these days. Between Gravity Falls, Tangled: The Series, and this show, kids are absolutely feasting on some good-ass cartoons. I really enjoyed watching this show for pretty much its entire run time, and I won't be surprised if viewers declare it a modern classic.
Finding Your Frog Legs
It's kind of hard to recommend Amphibia in a way that gets across what I personally like about it, because the show doesn't demonstrate any of those qualities for a long time. Now don't get me wrong- the first few episodes of the show are good fun. The show plays its cards close to its chest, keeping the real implications of what's happening in the background buried for a good half of the first season. The audience may find it hard to see what all the hubbub is about under all the slapstick and Black Comedy gags, since animation has so many dime-a-dozen comedies these days. What makes this show stand out beyond the others?
Then Amphibia plays one of those cards, and its a real doozy.
Underneath all the humor, Amphibia is a solid action-adventure show with excellent animation and some fantastic Character Development. While the show never fully loses its comedic edge, the story slowly grows more serious over time until the final episodes are an all-out Animesque final battle. Strong worldbuilding, consistently great animation, great character designs and wonderful voice acting continually push the show forward through the three seasons before wrapping everything up in a great Grand Finale. Special note goes to the development of the main character Anne and her friends, who change subtly but consistently throughout the show.
If there's anything to criticize about the show, its that it tends to pull its punches. Amphibia will often allude to darker content than it is really willing to show or implement into the story. Granted... this is a kid's show, so I'm not expecting anything *that* dark, but the willingness of the show to have some pretty damn brutal/horrific shit happen only to walk it back feels a little disingenuous. The show will also often undercut the awful stuff that happens with humor, but that tends to be par for the course in a Black Comedy aimed at kids.
DisneyXD is really knocking it out of the park for children's animation these days. Between Gravity Falls, Tangled: The Series, and this show, kids are absolutely feasting on some good-ass cartoons. I really enjoyed watching this show for pretty much its entire run time, and I won't be surprised if viewers declare it a modern classic.