This show was a wild ride. I’ll start with non-spoiler remarks before going into spoiler territory. First of all I love this show’s art style, it’s really unique like a mix of traditional american animation with ligne claire (think Hergé’s works like Tintin). The environments are breathtaking and look like they’re straight out of a painting and that mixed with the simplicity of the character designs creates such a gorgeous contrast. Second of all, I love that the focus of this story is less so about the characters and more so about the planet’s insane ecosystem, that if you think about it isn’t too dissimilar from ours minus one telekinetic koala. The focus being on the ecosystem, however, can result in the characters being put to the wayside to service that. Definitely make it your next watch.
🚨SPOILER TERRITORY🚨
Assuming you’ve watched the show here are my thoughts. Not all storylines are created equal, and this show is a clear example of this. Kamen’s initial plot is by far the most interesting in the early stages of the show, but unfortunately the novelty of Kamen’s storyline is quite short-lived especially when he essentially became a vessel to explore the circumstances of the crash rather than the psychology of a guilt-ridden yet inherently selfish person. In addition to this, the decision for them to fuse is where his storyline comes to a grinding halt, he doesn’t really do anything after this and I believe he essentially becomes one with Hollow (the telekinetic frog panda), but then this results in his motivations being muddled to non-existent and it really spoils what could have been a great villain arc in my opinion. I think my favourite storyline was that of Sam and Ursula. They foil each other so well, an inquisitive explorer paired with an ardent man committed to returning home and hostile to any semblance of the idea of settling. This makes their storyline service the environment so well, as their foil necessitates an interaction with it. Ironically, Azi’s storyline began the weakest then evolved into the best, especially after her departure from Levi, who I think is a bit of cliché and something painfully derivative in this show that’s attempting something so fresh and nuanced. The storyline with Kris’ group is so excellently executed and services the best character development in the series even though I think Azi’s voice actor is the weakest of the bunch. Overall, whilst it does seem like I’m shitting on the show really hard I did enjoy it and these things didn’t really adversely affect my experience incredibly or anything like that hence my rating. Ultimately, the show isn’t about the characters, which is where my issues with the ending lie. The characters are shoved into the focus far too late into the series and it feels like a bit of a shock. That and I think it tries setting something up for another season (which won’t happen because it was cancelled) even though I feel like it could’ve ended where it did and be fine as an isolated experience.
This show was a wild ride. I’ll start with non-spoiler remarks before going into spoiler territory. First of all I love this show’s art style, it’s really unique like a mix of traditional american animation with ligne claire (think Hergé’s works like Tintin). The environments are breathtaking and look like they’re straight out of a painting and that mixed with the simplicity of the character designs creates such a gorgeous contrast. Second of all, I love that the focus of this story is less so about the characters and more so about the planet’s insane ecosystem, that if you think about it isn’t too dissimilar from ours minus one telekinetic koala. The focus being on the ecosystem, however, can result in the characters being put to the wayside to service that. Definitely make it your next watch.
🚨SPOILER TERRITORY🚨
Assuming you’ve watched the show here are my thoughts. Not all storylines are created equal, and this show is a clear example of this. Kamen’s initial plot is by far the most interesting in the early stages of the show, but unfortunately the novelty of Kamen’s storyline is quite short-lived especially when he essentially became a vessel to explore the circumstances of the crash rather than the psychology of a guilt-ridden yet inherently selfish person. In addition to this, the decision for them to fuse is where his storyline comes to a grinding halt, he doesn’t really do anything after this and I believe he essentially becomes one with Hollow (the telekinetic frog panda), but then this results in his motivations being muddled to non-existent and it really spoils what could have been a great villain arc in my opinion. I think my favourite storyline was that of Sam and Ursula. They foil each other so well, an inquisitive explorer paired with an ardent man committed to returning home and hostile to any semblance of the idea of settling. This makes their storyline service the environment so well, as their foil necessitates an interaction with it. Ironically, Azi’s storyline began the weakest then evolved into the best, especially after her departure from Levi, who I think is a bit of cliché and something painfully derivative in this show that’s attempting something so fresh and nuanced. The storyline with Kris’ group is so excellently executed and services the best character development in the series even though I think Azi’s voice actor is the weakest of the bunch. Overall, whilst it does seem like I’m shitting on the show really hard I did enjoy it and these things didn’t really adversely affect my experience incredibly or anything like that hence my rating. Ultimately, the show isn’t about the characters, which is where my issues with the ending lie. The characters are shoved into the focus far too late into the series and it feels like a bit of a shock. That and I think it tries setting something up for another season (which won’t happen because it was cancelled) even though I feel like it could’ve ended where it did and be fine as an isolated experience.
4
