In recent years, there has been an increase in indie animations, including on platforms such as YouTube. One of those series is the musical-themed Russian mature animation series, Metal Family. The action-adventure and drama series focuses on a Russian family of metal fans, each with their own personalities: there are Victoria and Glam, two metalheads […]
Author: Burkely Hermann
Booming LGBTQ Representation in Animation in 2021
In December 2020, I wrote that there is “hope in the future for diverse storylines and expanded representation,” adding that there is “a lot to look forward to in 2021 in terms of animated series…[which] will undoubtedly affect the ongoing war between streaming platforms for more subscribers, profits for themselves, and film distribution itself.” That […]
Arcane Season One Review (Spoiler-Filled)
As the streaming wars have picked up, there has been a push for more animated series than ever before, which includes basing these series on comics, like Dead Endia and Hilda, or on video games, like the upcoming Earthworm Jim series. The latter is the case for the nine-episode-long Arcane, a science fantasy and action-adventure […]
The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! Review
In recent years, demons have graced TV screens, from Vivienne Medrano’s two interrelated web series, Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel, to Castlevania on Netflix, and are set to premiere in the upcoming series Satina and Far-Fetched. One such series brings this to the fore: a funny slice-of-life Japanese anime series named The Great Jahy Will […]
The Indie Animation Boom and Crowdfunded Animation
On August 21, Vivienne Medrano happily promoted the newest episode of Helluva Boss, calling it the “most ambitious” episode they had done so far, thanking the Spindlehorse Toons team, and adding, in part, “Indie animation has POWER! Enjoy our hardwork!” Another indie animated series, EddsWorld, praised the episode, which garnered 800,000 views in a few […]
LGBTQ representation in animated series in 2020 and beyond
In the past year, various series have premiered on broadcast television and streaming platforms with LGBTQ characters and diverse casts. While there is still progress going forward, as every single major studio had failing, poor, or insufficient ratings for LGBTQ-inclusive films in 2019, according to the recent Studio Responsibility Index released by GLAAD, there were […]
Cleopatra in Space Review
The mythology and history of Cleopatra, pharaoh of Egypt, has often been a topic in popular culture, from Hollywood films, webcomics like Everywhere and Nowhere, and mature animated series such as Clone High. This year, a new show, titled Cleopatra in Space, tapped into those myths and stories and began streaming on NBCUniversal’s new streaming […]
Victor and Valentino Review
In U.S. popular culture, Greek and Roman myths have become prominent, whether spun into animations about Cleopatra or popular webcomics about the gods on Mount Olympus. However, there’s one show that tries to shift the focus toward Mesoamerican mythologies and stories, bringing it into the American mainstream: Victor and Valentino. This animated series is the […]