Catch-Up '22 - Renegade Animation #90
Captain Kaye and the Animation Guru review some leftovers from 2022, including Lookism, Dragon Age: Absolution, and Sonic Prime!
What’s going on, everyone? This is your Captain speaking, and we’ve got some unfinished business to take care of. 2022 was a stacked year for animation, and Cameron and I couldn’t possibly get to everything. Fortunately, we found some time to catch up with a few Netflix series that we missed back in December. Sit back, and enjoy our thoughts on Lookism from Studio Mir, Dragon Age: Absolution from Bioware and Red Dog Culture House, and Sonic Prime from WildBrain Studios and Marza Animation Planet!
Lookism
Based on the South Korean webtoon by Park Tae-joon, this series follows Park Hyung Seok, a bullied and unpopular high school student who transfers to a new school in Seoul, where he discovers he has two different bodies. The first half can be pretty uncomfortable to watch, especially during some rather graphic depictions of bullying. However, both Cameron and I can agree that the second half is where this show’s strengths lie. I particularly loved the way music was incorporated into both its excellent opening sequence and the series’ climax.
“Even though it can lean a bit much into the worst part of humanity in the first half, once the second half of the story gets going, the true beauty of the show thrives as it focuses on how people treat one another by visual appearance.“ -The Animation Guru
Dragon Age: Absolution
Full disclosure, this was my first real exposure to the world of Dragon Age. I had never played any of the video games, and yet I was immediately attached to these new characters! Because this series is set chronologically between Dragon Age: Inquisition and the upcoming game Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, it may not be quite as accessible as Arcane or Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. However, I still found the world building intriguing, the characters all memorable, and the story engaging from start to finish. Hopefully the cliffhanger at the end of this batch leads to more episodes, because I want to see this story continue.
“Despite it feeling like they are either building up to a bigger story for another season or the upcoming game, Dragon Age: Absolution offers fans of the franchise and fantasy shows an action-packed ride through complicated character dynamics and bombastic action.” -The Animation Guru
Sonic Prime
Sonic the Hedgehog has been around for well over 30 years, and in that time he’s been around the block in terms of adaptations. But I have no problem saying with confidence that 2022 has been one of the best years for the character, and this show is arguably the best Sonic cartoon since Sonic X back in the early 2000’s. If nothing else, it’s just fun to see all of the variants of Sonic’s friends throughout the “Shatterverse” over the course of these first 8 episodes. The voice cast is great across the board, but the highlights include Deven Mack as the titular blue hedgehog, Brian Drummond as Eggman, and Shannon Chan-Kent as Amy Rose. If you’re a Sonic fan, this series comes highly recommended!
“While also feeling like they are building up to something bigger for part 2, Sonic Prime spins a fresh story-focused experience out of the franchise and offers up some of the best TV CGI character animation the series has had in a good while.“ -The Animation Guru
That’s it for this episode of Renegade Animation! Thank you for joining us, and stay tuned for a preview of what’s to come in 2023!
