The 2020s have so far been a pretty fantastic decade for independent animation. Thanks to animation software reducing the barrier to entry for many users, and the viewer-base for online content only really going up, a lot of people are taking a stab at creating their own animated series, this isn't new to the 2020s, people have been making online animated web-shows since the 1990s and it has become much more popular with channels like Eddsworld, Mondo Media, and the Disney of the internet, Rooster Teeth, and no that is not mean as a compliment. Honestly, it's kind of because of this that I've stepped a bit away from internet animation, save for the shows I'm already a fan of like Death Battle or Red vs Blue, it's kind of that we're spoiled for choice and short on time so we have to pick and choose what we want to give our time to, we all have our preferences to what we want to spend our time on. Yet, something drew me into The Amazing Digital Circus, and if I'm being frank, it was entirely the response the pilot has received, people are going crazy over this show, excited about the amount of views it's gotten in three weeks, already making fan theories and so much Rule 34 art already... just so much.
To be fair, I absolutely see why people have been going crazy over this, because this is such a fantastic pilot. It advertises itself as, if I may quote the video description, "A psychological dark comedy about cute cartoon characters who hate their lives and want to leave", and frankly, I don't think I can sum it up better than that. It's kind of like a cuter, and funnier version of The Gregory Horror Show, a cult anime that is also a psychological dark comedy, but it's a very different kind of show. The Gregory Horror Show is very much shrouded in metaphor and symbolism, and it is very dark. The Amazing Digital Circus, as of now, isn't as full of metaphor and although it definitely has a darker edge to it, visually speaking it is very bright and colourful. It also reminds me a little of one of my favourite video games, The Stanley Parable, which also has a bit of a psychological edge to it.
Speaking of the visuals, let's start there, because the animation is absolutely amazing. When people talk about stylized CG animation, this is the kind of stuff we're talking about. It gives off the vibes of an old uncanny computer game, the kind of games that stuff like Baldi's Basics took inspiration from, but a lot more polished. Which is amusing, the opening splash logo look like a PlayStation One title screen, and the whole pilot could have looked like that, honestly the fact that they chose not to go that route is very respectable. Anyone could have made it look like an old PC or PS1 title and claimed "Stylization", but that trick doesn't really work for animation like it does video games, and even then it doesn't work all the time for video games. I think where the visuals really shines is the character design, each character looks distinct, unique, and memorable. I've been watching MrEnter tear into High Guardian Spice, and for the life of me I can't remember which character is Parsley, Sage, Rosemary or Thyme in that show, I just remember them as "Pink", "Blue", "Elf" and "Dwarf". Not here, I can easily put a name to the design of Caine, Jax, Pomni, Ragatha, Gangle, Zooble, Kinger and Bubble, and can list of personality traits, like Kinger being a nervous and unstable wreck, and Jax being an unapologetic jerk... I think he's my favourite.
Which is a perfect segue into the comedy. I think my main issue with dark comedies is that they focus a lot more on the "Dark" than they do the "Comedy", though honestly this one kind of skews in the opposite direction, but there are two things I have to keep in mind; Firstly, this is a pilot, more episodes are potentially on their way and we may get some much darker episodes in the future, and secondly, even if we don't, the show is still funny. Jax is probably my pick for funniest character, but Kinger and Caine both had equally hilarious moments. Pomni herself is a great protagonist, I do want to follow her as she tries to escape the circus, or slowly becomes consumed by it. Ragatha is probably my favourite non-humourous character though, that is my favourite character beyond how funny I find her, you can tell she is clearly as sucked into this world as the others, but she still tries to be kind and friendly, I hope nothing but good things happen to her, they say knowing full well nothing good is going to happen to any of the characters in the future. It also helps that the voice acting is perfect, all the characters were perfectly cast. Lizzie Freeman as Pomni, Michael Kovach as Jax, Amanda Hufford as Ragatha, and Alex Rochon as Caine? Alex Rochon, former Countdown YouTuber, formerly known as The Autarch of Flame, was Caine? Well that is just point number "Okay I've lost count of how many points this bloody pilot has" to add to why this pilot is awesome. All the cast did an excellent job, absolutely disappearing into their characters.
The Amazing Digital Circus is a wonderful show with loads of potential, I really want to see where this show goes. Will it get darker? What is in store for the characters? What is Caine's deal? Very much, this is a show I will have to keep my eye on, and the fact that it's an independent internet series, allowing it to have few restrictions, means that it is bound to be a very unique show. I'm really hoping this series becomes the next big piece of indie animation, it was funny, dark, had wonderful characters, fantastic animation, there really is nothing bad I can say about it, I mean I guess I could nitpick, but you know what, I don't really want to. I want to see more of this show, I want to see a home media release in the future, and I want to have one of those Pomni plushies... I know what I'm going to pester my family for Christmas for. I'd say "Go see it", but at 78 Million views on YouTube... you already have! If you haven't, this pilot gets a High Recommendation from me. I eagerly await more, MORE!
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