Sounded intriguing and I didn't have anything better to do and gave this a shot.
Worldbuilding and exposition is a bit heavy on the nose at times in the first few episodes. But it speeds up the process for the audience to get to know all the important characters and the overall setting. Some things aren't explained, though, rather they are merely mentioned when necessary (Ezran understanding animals in dire need, for example, pretty much a Deus-Ex-Machina solution).
The main trio isn't as bad as I imagined them. It's your usual mix of characters, nothing special but it works. If I'd had to pick the most difficult character to like I'd say Ezran. He is a child holding back the story at times but gladly he also does help the story progress. He is kindhearted and his childish naivety helps building trust with Rayla, the "evil" elf and perhaps my most favorite character in this. She's basically a ninja using "magic" skills, like being practically invisible on full moon. She's a badass warrior with silly flaws making her pretty likable.
The humour is great in this as well. Sometimes I get the vibe of a parody of similar stories. I really like this ironic approach.
When you're a few episodes in, you will probably like the characters and the storytelling the most.
The animation is off, though. It often times just doesn't "feel" right.
There's a mix of 2D and 3D scenes looking surprisingly great, followed by low-detail characters in closeup. The characters have this feature of reddish areas just below the eyes, going over the nose (Because of the low details?) . I think everyone of them. This gives them a unique touch compared to other animation series but looks simply weird to me. Overall the low details on the characters bug me a bit. The backgrounds are sometimes more detailed - although still somewhat simple - compared to the characters.
An enjoyable series nontheless - for the characters and storytelling.
Animation and the drawing needs work.
The main reason I'm rating this so high is because the dialogue is extremely good. I really love Rayla's character. That Pitallest joke in the last episode made me laugh so I'm giving it a 9. Why not. I really enjoyed this show despite the annougness. Probably more like an 8 if I ever decide to change the score. Also seeing some complaints about the animation but I think it is good.
Really tired of medieval kingdoms being portrayed as insanely diverse (curiously only with blacks, no asians, indians, or any other races but blacks) and progressive with homosexual characters and all that. Also of course the black king is a great guy and the white guy and his family are evil. Truly shocking, Definitely a coincidence. Also most of the ridiculous crap that I mention below is at the start, and the end is mostly devoid of it.
Rayla and Callum have a great dynamic though. The female characters are written well (Claudia) which is really surprising considering how woke everything else is.
It took me time to get invested in the plot, but now that the team is assembled and started their journey, I can say that I enjoyed this season. Great plot with some good heartwarming moments like in Avatar! Hoping the animation will improve tho
As expected from the creators of Avatar, the show is top-notch.
The choppy animation did make things annoying though, hope it improves.
Shout by MBlockedParent2018-09-15T13:38:45Z
Amazing storytelling, characters and world building.
I will complain a little about two things:
- the clunky animation. In (I suppose) an effort to give a more "hand-drawn" feel and blend with the environment, it's mostly animated on the 3s or 4s, with some moments quicker or even slower - in layman terms, each character pose is held a bit longer than customary. This gives it a distinct feeling, and it does do the trick especially in more complex and CGI-heavy scenes; at the same time, it can be quite distracting or even seem cheap, jarring with the otherwise beautifully rendered scenery. It wouldn't even be much of a problem, but then there's a secondary character that uses ASL to communicate, and not having smooth movements hinders this brilliant choice.
- the scottish accents, quite thick and heavy, and often sadly not consistent or even performed too smoothly. Coming off from what Tennant is doing in DuckTales, it's a bit disappointing... and now you're reading this review in Rayla's voice, aren't you? :P
It's still a season (dare I say, "book"?) that I enjoyed a lot, and I'll eagerly wait for more.
The Avatar Crew always deliver the goods!