I was debating starting a topic about this, but I'm bored so f*ck it-- rant time
When I first heard about the show I was kind of hyped. Like, "wow, another major streaming service is finally getting into animation!" Then I heard it was an adaptation of a (apparently pretty violent) comic I'd never heard of before, which made me more curious. Still, I held off on trying it for a while, until a sibling told me they were watching it, and since I didn't want to get spoiled I figured there was no time like the present to start.
...Unfortunately, it SUCKED
I think that first episode was probably the worst animated series pilot I've ever seen. '_' It's definitely the worst one in recent memory...halfway through I honestly wanted to quit watching and had to force myself to finish.
For me the major problems were:
-Writing: Poignant conversations drag on forever, casual ones are just cringeworthy (I swear the high school scenes were written by a bot), and the episode/main character arc as a whole has very little flow, which is pathetic considering the subject matter has been done to death both in and outside of animation. "I can do this; let me prove it" is one of the oldest superhero stories in the book, and they somehow managed to make it staggered and confusing.
-Pacing: Basically, the episode feels padded to fill out the hour in multiple dimensions. And yet, they manage to waste all that time on the most boring stuff...honestly, if they had just invested some of it in humor (assuming the little humor they did attempt wasn't the best they can do...) it could have been decent.
-Storyboarding: I have never seen a professionally-made series with this problem before. o_0 Like, even when you take cheap kids' cartoons into account. I'm concerned about who they have on their staff...
From the very beginning, when they did the 'vomit scene' (an EASY comedic visual) as basically a still shot with no character expression whatsoever, I knew something was wrong. And throughout the episode they continue to choose the least interesting shots possible, resulting in a show that just isn't fun to look at 80% of the time.
In particular, they seem to struggle with facial expressions and body language...all the characters look robotic in most of their scenes, except maybe the mother. It's crazy...
Voice Direction: I'm on the fence about this one...personally, I think the VA's did a great job considering what they had to work with. =/ But the voice acting as a whole wasn't really cohesive...basically, it sounded like each actor was individually responsible for delivering their lines to the best of their ability, without any overseeing authority to guide them.
This showed up in the longer speeches, where it sometimes seemed like the actors were kinda just reading, unclear about what emotional energy they were supposed to bring (again, with the lines they were given, I don't blame them...but a good director is supposed to catch that and help out).
If they did the recording during the height of the pandemic, I can forgive it (and honestly, I suspect that they did...there were some subtle audio issues). If they didn't, though...yikes
I had some minor pet peeves as well:
-Token gay character with a voice that makes your ears bleed (he had like 6 lines total and still managed to be the most annoying character in the episode)...and that 'straight stuff' line still bothers me for some reason. =_= Like, it felt unnecessarily self-deprecating in a very suspicious way...
-More clunky hero designs...maybe this is just the trend now, and I should shut up (I had the same complaint about BnHA...) but I really don't care for the dull color schemes and overall rejection of dynamic shape language. Call me basic, but I like triangles and starbursts and body contours, and I want them back. :c
-WHY DIDN'T THE GREEN GIRL ESCAPE
...I'm trying not to spoil. That last scene as a whole was pretty haunting (I think maybe the only decent animators/boarders they had were reserved for that scene and that scene only) but if anyone should have been able to get away, it's the one who can become intangible at any time AND confer that ability upon others if she chooses.
It wasn't RWBY levels of "character forgets how to use their own powers", but it did bug me a little.
-Speaking of the last scene, I was furious that I had to watch that after such a complete blah-fest...I mean, the cliffhanger aspect. Like, now if I want to find out WHY that happened, I have to watch the rest of the series, which I clearly do not want to do. >_<
And I won't. They're not gonna get me with that audience manipulation...I'll read about it on Wikipedia if I have to; there's a principle involved here. T_T
...Well, there you have it. Reason #181349 why I don't try new things...fortunately, I have the new season of Infinity Train to help get the taste out of my mouth, and remind me of what a good animated series is supposed to be like. u_u
