5/3/2023 0 Comments The legend of vox machinaThe Legend of Vox Machina is not the first of these shows, but it is the one that made me realize just how wide the gap between Steven Universe and Rick and Morty is. Though we’ve yet to see a full tide of more serialized genre animation tailored toward adults, over the years more and more shows have stepped outside of the bubble. The words “adult animation” evoke a very specific image of episodic comedies like Family Guy and South Park. Yes, they can be enjoyable and entertaining in their own right, but it’s made the medium very limited in terms of genre and audience. Unfortunately, animated shows about people my age - at least the ones historically popular in the United States - are typically raunchy half-hour comedies. I enjoy a bildungsroman as much as the next person who grew up with YA fantasy novels, but at the same time I would also like to watch a show where someone my own age gets to fight dragons and explore dungeons, instead of being some sort of mentor or authority figure. It definitely fills the niche of young adult animated content that is severely lacking stateside. Still, the main characters are teenagers more often than not. The content tends to be more mature - there’s more blood and action and darker themes than in Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, and other all-ages animated fare. Image: DisneyĮven when factoring in anime that gets popular in America, most fantasy animated shows star teenage protagonists, with the occasional older characters in the background. But they are still primarily focused on young protagonists and coming-of-age arcs, which, while fulfilling, represent an age demographic I’ve grown out of. They’re amazing shows that tell compelling stories with interesting characters. That is not to say they’re not good I love The Owl House, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and other shows that fit this bill. The vast majority of animated genre shows in America are still mostly tailored for a younger audience. But with the second season finished, I realized that The Legend of Vox Machina was filling a specific niche that I didn’t even realize I was looking for: It’s an animated and serialized fantasy show about adults, for adults. Animation is, after all, my favorite medium, and the fact that hours and hours of gameplay and lore were now presented in an easier-to-jump-into way definitely appealed to me. Even though I’ve never watched an episode of Critical Role, I fell deeply in love with The Legend of Vox Machina, the animated series based on the actual play web series.
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