My thoughts on The Amazing Digital Circus, as a 24 year-old (mostly a rant)
I had high hopes for this show, I really did! Seeing how it turned out now, I am deeply disappointed. This is one of the most disappointing shows I have ever seen in my entire life, the definition of wasted potential.
First Impressions: I loved it! It felt very refreshing and cozy. It felt more like a surreal adventure series, like something that both adults and children will end up enjoying. I honestly saw it as very family-friendly.
Now: You could tell that Gooseworx was starting to give up, as the episodes progressed. The last few episodes were especially a shitshow, and I realized that the people criticizing the show on TikTok were right.
Where Gooseworx fell short: She focused too much on Jax and Pomni's dynamics in the last few episodes, and not the others. She did not give the characters room to grow, heal from their trauma, or in Jax's case, suffer from the consequences of their actions long-term. There are not enough confrontations, serious talks, or teachable moments, and the few that exist are quickly rushed over in order to further the plot. The show should've given love to all of the characters equally, but had Caine as the main character instead of Jax. This should've been a multi-season or 26-episode series, 9 episodes is WAY too short for a show like this.
Pomni: Her writing began to decline as the show progressed. I liked her the most in the middle episodes. I do not hate her as a character, but her existence is highly disappointing in terms of writing. I wanted her to be the peacemaker of the group.
Gangle: I think that Gangle had a lot of potential, but she came off as very flat, stereotypical, and Fluttershy-ish but without the character development. The fact that she was always shy and crying and was a frequent target of Jax's bullying made me deeply uncomfortable and almost frustrated with her. I was waiting for the day that she would snap at Jax, but it never came. In these dynamics, the shy characters usually have an arc where they learn to assert and defend themselves, but not in Gangle's case.
Zooble: I felt as if their character was unfairly flat as well, even though I admired them when they stood up to Jax several times. I liked their therapy sessions with Caine.
Ragatha: My favorite girl, and I wish she received better treatment from both her crew and from Gooseworx.
Kinger: My favorite guy. He comes off as a very warm, safe, and wise person. He deserves to be one of the most liked characters in the fanbase. I wish there was a way to reverse the abstractions so that he could finally be with his wife again.
Jax: Poorly written, one-dimensional bully character who eventually snaps because of his trauma. What ruined the show was the fact that Gooseworx claimed to show favoritism towards him because he was apparently her favorite. He gets no redemption or character development arc, nor does he gain a change of heart the way a lot of former bully characters do in these types of dynamics.
Caine: The most entertaining character, simply because he is unhinged, erratic, and just does not listen. He sends the crew on these crazy adventures without actually listening to their input, then when they finally snap at him and confront him for his behavior, he goes into a mental breakdown.
Bubble: Bubble is Bubble, that's all I can say.
What TADC should've been: A thriller, or surreal horror, or have stronger elements of thriller and horror. Think of the farmhouse arc from TMNT 2012, or Courage the Cowardly Dog. The female friendships should've been equivalent to those you would find in Winx or My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It should be at least 20 episodes long-- 9 is WAY too short, especially with this type of pacing. Gooseworx should've planned to have her series be a limited series if she was only going to make it 9 episodes, but this is her first cartoon, and she quit due to extreme stress and harassment (not saying that I am on her side because she is not clean either, given her Twitter/X/Tumblr history, and because I have learned to no longer idolize content creators). This had the potential to be a full-fledged, all-ages and family-friendly animated series. Also, a movie should stand alone on itself, and not be a combination of two episodes.
What I will be watching instead:
Glitch Techs, instead of Gameoverse, because I do not want to support Arin Hanson, JSchlatt, or that poorly-made pilot in general, and because the plot of Gameoverse reminds me of Glitch Techs.
Any old cartoons that I used to watch, such as Ever After High, Rise of the TMNT, TMNT 2012, or My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
Any decent cartoon on Netflix, such as The Hollow, Arcane, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Tales of the TMNT, or Pantheon. I will NOT be watching slop like Mating Season or Big Mouth.
Any other animated pilots or series on YouTube. I have already watched Para Not Normal and Dungeon Flippers and loved them both.
For Glitch Entertainment: Meta Runner, The Gaslight District, and maybe Knights of Guinevere when they become full shows.
