Rick and Morty: The Anime Rant/Review
Series - Rick and Morty: The Anime
Air/Release Date - August 17 — October 20, 2024 (United States), December 24, 2024 (Japan)
Creator(s) - Justin Roiland, Dan Harmon, Takashi Sano
TV Network(s)/Streaming Service(s) - Cartoon Network, Toonami, Adult Swim, HBO Max, U-NEXT (via HBO Max), YouTube (shorts only), Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV
The original Rick and Morty series is full of irony and philosophy. From the very first episode, the original focused on faceless alien bugs, cogs in the federation who exist solely so the protagonist has people to kill and conquer. But Morty, one of the main characters, immediately questions the wisdom of these killings. And the series itself emphasizes that these bugs are living characters with their own attachments and personalities, and not just "soulless robots without feelings."
Of course, the original series features a lot of action and violence, but it's not a key element, more a given in modern cinema. The main characters themselves call the best movie of all time, in all the multiverses, the action series "Ball Lovers," which features nothing but incessant violence. Obviously, there's a certain amount of irony in this.
The anime fundamentally lacks the philosophical reflections and irony inherent in the original. More precisely, it's present, as in many other works, with a hint of pretentiousness, in the form of transparent, pathetic flair, like lines like "our existence is almost meaningless, but I also want to stay here, with you." The ornateness and ambiguity are meant to convey profound meaning, while the phrases themselves are essentially meaningless and incoherent, more like a means of emotional impact and are meant to add "depth" to the work.
Whereas in the original, questions of consciousness, the meaning of life, and so on can be explored in a short, humorous scene, insignificant to the plot, when, over breakfast, a robot asks "why was I created?" and is saddened to learn that the meaning of its life is simply to "pass the butter," which it has already passed. In response, it receives its creator's phrase: "Welcome to the club, buddy."
Irony or reinterpretation are also almost absent. In the original, the "galactic federation" that captured Earth provided certain benefits. Even the loser Jerry rejoices in his pile of medals and awards, the numbers and money that give him status.
In the anime, the galactic federation is simply "bad bugs." A few moments hint at the original, but it's more like fan service. At its core, the main antagonist is simply an "evil empire" with bad bugs. Although, the moment with the TV show's title "propaganda" was funny. But I still don't understand why nuggets were banned.
I'd also like to point out the constant grunting and moaning of the characters, which is typical of anime as a genre. Very often, the characters' emotional reactions are demonstrated through long takes and various moaning sounds. For example, when surprised, a character will inevitably open their mouth for a couple of seconds and loudly moan "Aaaah," like in a preschool cartoon. And this happens all the time.
Despite the anime being an unironic shonen action film, with constant violence and killing, the violence and killing itself is incredibly toothless. Death occurs either off-screen or very sterilely. For example, a bad bug gets hit by a laser beam and falls. It's very reminiscent of 90s action cartoons, which try to sell violence to children and teenagers and show how fun it is to kill, but there are no guts, blood, or severed body parts. everything happens as if it were a child's play. Even a blow with a huge sword feels like a foam baton.
The art is simple. Very simple, in fact. And even as a shonen anime, you shouldn't expect any revelations from this anime; it's usually simple: the important character hits and kills everyone, the stormtrooper bugs miss. Then an explosion.
There are no controversial themes like sex, addiction, politics, or religion, which are heavily explored in the original, or moral questions, they're also nowhere near them. Maybe a couple of sentences, as a nod to the original. Everything is as sterile as possible, with only a convoluted narrative and open, unanswered questions that should lend depth and meaning.
Soap. Drama. It's just there. And it's the key plot point. The narrative itself is confusing. It's further complicated by the fact that there are simply no answers to the questions the anime itself poses. And the events themselves are often illogically justified. At best, there's something 'scientific,' like antimatter, space warping, and blah blah blah.
For example, how could a race that can see the future be so easily destroyed? The answer lies in the pseudo philosophical thesis that runs through the entire anime: "There is no fate, we make our own choices." Yet, it contradicts the very principle of predicting the future. Is it fate that 1 + 1? In anime, it's used for melodramatic "depth" in a serious manner, nothing more.
Verdict: 5.5 out of 10. For me, despite most considering Rick and Morty: The Anime one of the worst anime series of 2024, I, as someone who watched the original Rick and Morty on Netflix, sincerely expected this anime to be incredibly cool. Unfortunately, my high hopes for this anime series were dashed! Let's do something new Warner Bros, we don't need this! it seems that Warner Bros is having trouble with making anime, and the red notice is proof of that, which is a shame.
Rick and Morty: The Anime Belongs to Justin Roiland, Dan Harmon, Takashi Sano, OLM asia Sdn. Bhd. OLM, Inc. IMAGICA Lab. Inc. Orange Co., Ltd. Studio Road LLC, Sola Entertainment, Sola Digital Arts Inc. Telecom Animation Film Co., Ltd. TMS Entertainment Co., Ltd. SEGA Corporation, SEGA Sammy Holdings Inc. Studio Deen Co., Ltd. Williams Street Productions, LLC, Toonami, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, The Cartoon Network, Inc. Warner Bros. Television Studios, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. And Paramount Skydance Corporation
