For one thing, the art and character design is great, it feels like adventure time without just being a carbon copy. I loved the look for adult finn, and the different worlds they visit throughout the series each feel distinct and brimming with character just from the visuals. I also thought that the animation in all of the winter king's episode was delightful, not only his song, but also the action and designs for the new characters.
The music is definitely a mixed bag, but there were a few songs I really enjoyed and find myself revisiting now and again, namely "Baked with Love" and Marshal's rattlesnake song.
I also was a big fan of Donald Glover, Tom Kenny, Felicia Day, Olivia Olsen, and of course Ron Perlman. They all made the dialogue (one of my biggest issues) charming and enjoyable with their great acting,
Sadly, those are the only things that come to mind as net positives for the show. I think my general issues are mainly the plot and the characters/dialogue. The show felt very millennial, and at points out of touch. Now from being offensive, but rather the way most of the characters speak and interact was reminiscent of the worst of tumblr from around 2016. Something I love about the original series is that the dialogue feels timeless for the most part, but when I hear Fionna talking to Gary, fighting with cake, or on the bus, it's just a load of second hand embarrassment and feels like I'm scrolling through tiktok.
In general the character writing felt very weak and hamfisted, and I felt as though the show didn't trust my intelligence. For a project that is supposed to be more adult than the original series, the characters and lessons are incredibly on the nose, and the show feels the need to explain what the characters are thinking by having them explain it to another character in immense detail. That writing strategy lacks a crucial amount of subtlety, and it takes me out of the moment.
The biggest moment like this was when the lich explains to Simon how he feels like he has no purpose. When The Lich, the last scholar of Golb and the end of all life explains how he feels purposeless to Simon, it made me have to pause the show and come back to it in fifteen minutes. I found it interesting that the Lich won, and of course he would feel empty without his goal, but the way the writers communicated that with the audience was just terrible.
Also this is a side note, but I hated Prismo in this, for what I assume are obvious reasons. (Mainly voice acting, out of character dialogue) #notmyprismo
Other than the lackluster character writing, the plot was aggravating and made little sense. To properly explain why I'm so sour grapes about it, I think that I need to explain why I hate Simon being in Ooo.
Over the course of the series, Ice King basically went through a reverse flanderization, and by the time elementals came out and he told Betty that "Simon sounds great, but I'm Ice King! I'm a special person, and I deserve respect!" I was in tears. It's a small moment for most, but I found the metaphor of the person you used to love (Simon) being unrecognizable now, yet still finding a way to accept and love this new person, beautiful and unique. Then the finale came, and Simon was brought back, undoing the amazing character work that series put into Ice King and those who were close to him.
So when Simon explains that he must turn back into the Ice King, I genuinely rolled my eyes. Not only have the writers butchered one of the most tragic and complex characters, but now they treat him as nothing more than a plot device.
So with the main goal being to make Fionna's world more magical by turning Simon back to ice king, and then going back on that, it just felt like the show went nowhere. Also the scarab being held back by humans just made zero sense.
Rick and morty is better.
Gumball is better.
This serie is the worst qualified.
This series is either unnecessary or forgettable. It does not contribute anything that has not been seen. It's of no use to me. I hate this series even more for one reason: most people naively overrate it. It is easy to say which series are the most incredible and iconic: Rick and Morty, The Amazing World of Gumball, Bojack Horseman, Adventure Time (the classic series), even My Little Pony, even with few episodes that are not only just good.
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