"We spent our lives afraid of change. But after many years, I realized the beauty of life IS the change. And through it all, I had such wonderful memories of you. So, I'm begging you, my dearest friend, don't close yourself off. Open your heart and follow it."
It is quite wild that Disney would greenlight and air two animated shows simultaneously with the premise of "isekai with consequences", but now the decision is starting to make sense to me. While The Owl House is a much more grim and dark story of mystery, Amphibia is on the lighter side while also hitting when it isn't afraid to do so. This is more of a successor to Star vs. the Forces of Evil (while The Owl House is more akin to that of Gravity Falls), so the type of humor at play here is going to be subjective.
That being said, I think Amphibia is one of the most coherent pieces of animated storytelling I've seen on television in quite a long time. In a way, which is apparent from the heart that this crew put into the show, it reminds me a lot of an RPG; something like a Kingdom Hearts or a Dragon Quest. Hell, one could even compare it to The Lord of the Rings. (I'll get to why, later on in the review.)
The story revolves around Anne Boonchuy, one of three friends who is transported to a world full of talking frogs, toads, newts, and other creatures. Without spoiling much, the story slowly unravels itself to reveal Anne's two other friends have also arrived in Amphibia; the friends trying to figure out why. What begins as a fun and cute show about talking frogs eventually turns into an epic, anime-inspired quest of friendship and power, one that actually tackles the topic of how family and friends would react when these three girls just magically vanish to another world. It not only goes into ideas of friendship toxicity and "family not by blood", but also learning to change around those around you. Everything that seems "filler" during the first season all comes full-circle by the time you hit that final episode, including a surprising amount of foreshadowing and parallels through things like backgrounds and even music compositions. And if you're looking for dark imagery, don't worry...you'll get plenty of it. Mutilation, possession, you name it.
My absolutely favorite thing about this series, like I mentioned earlier, is in its coherent storytelling structure. This is the first time I've ever seen something done like this in an animated show: the commitment to a 3-act structure. This isn't a story that gets cut before it reaches its peak (Gravity Falls) or a story that branches too far out to warrant a satisfying conclusion (Star vs. the Forces of Evil). It's just three seasons, three parts of one grand story, right down to the title cards at the end of each season indicating the end of a chapter. No tease for a future series, nor any major plot holes left open. It's a single journey, making it PERFECT for a binge or rewatch.
As for the rest of the show, mainly the writing, it's a fun time. Like I said, the world of Amphibia is cute and times, and so it compliments itself with its adorable characters and quirky humor. One moment you'll be watching Sasha struggle to lead an army or Sprig learning about his family, and another moment you'll be seeing Marcy acting like an adorkable mess or Polly being unreasonably violent for a little kid. Oh, and if you love video games and/or nerdy media, you will absolutely get a kick out of all the little easter eggs and references thrown throughout.
Amphibia is one of the best Disney original animated shows to come out since Gravity Falls, and I've gone through a few myself since. It manages to tackle dark and emotional topics in a fantasy world that seems incredibly cute on its surface, while also being a perfectly-structured adventure. An amazing mix of the grand and creative from the past decade, backed up by some wild animated sequences and setpieces. And to top it all off, it's one of the few shows that has made me cry during its finale.
I will be shocked if this show isn't binged by the mainstream within the next decade. It's just that incredible.
9.25/10
loved it so much. all the characters were so god damn adorable and the story was incredible, it had me laughing so hard and crying just as hard i love them all so much like every single character I would die for. and like even though the whole first season was basically filler episodes and the plot doesn't really get good until s2 i don't care the episodes were good enough that I loved it just as much.
I cried three times during the end, enough said
Very good show, highly recommend for anyone who enjoyed Gravity Falls or The Owl House.
Shout by Clobby ClobstersBlockedParent2022-05-15T07:01:03Z
This is my favourite TV show of all time.