im a little surprised that not a lot of people on tumblr talk about this show other than the fact that it like the epitome of 90s cartoon adult swim nostalgia. With its thick lineart, stylistic use of shapes and classic color scheme yk. also new york, so i guess its really nostalgic.
While that is amazing and all, my favorite part of this show has to be the animation and characterization!
When y2k started getting popular again i think around like 2023, one of the artists online who somehow introduced me to this show was brujo ari. who i think if you are part of the instagram artist community of gen z-ers, you’ll know them by their characters kate and alex.
I really love what brujo does with their characters, and I’m really similar when it comes to making my own ocs. matter of fact i was very inspired by them. so i characterize my characters similarly! and also because of them i gained an interest in more vintage things. like the landscape of the 2000s and the 80s is just so charming. in their earlier work their artstyle really resembled mtv downtown. ANYWAY LET ME GET TO THE POINT!
point is, is that mtv downtown is just so creative. despite depicting the common life and with subjects being very mundane and realistic, most of the action and interestingness of the show plays into the character’s inner minds. Like my favorite parts are when the characters are having a normal conversation, and are trying to express a viewpoint, then it suddently the scene transitions to a little skit or interpretation of what that scenario might look like from their perspective. its so brilliant!! Like Serena here, above, this is just one of the few scenes where this type of thing happens. but in this scene, its not literal at all. This scene is a figment from alex’s imagination. Or honestly i forget which character it might be one of his incel friends. but idk!
I think its just so cool. Because its just so much more playful and experimental compared to modern animation now. Often times modern cartoons show absurdity and uniqueness through the plot and character dialogue. here, in mtv downtown, the uniqueness and absurdity lies within its visuals while the dialogue and plot might be something completely mundane and normal.
Like for example eating a box of cheerios. mtv downtown would probabaly animate that through like a wonky perspective like the inside of alex’s mouth or something. I just find it really special even if it might not seem like a lot.
idk it like it reframes everyday life to be something insane and crazy, even when it might not be to our eyes. I think the very message of mtv downtown is that life is so much more insane than we give it credit for.
Also side note here but the chillest character is matt imo. like i love him, hes just no fuss, hes an artist, and he seems really comfortable with himself. good for him. least problematic character.
but most intersting character for me is probabaly alex. The problem with him is that hes an incel inside and out. Theres nothing wrong with having nerdy interests and being nervous around people of the opposite sex per se. Its just that he doesnt do anything about it. He doesnt own up to himself, he isnt proud of being the way he is, and hes too scared to get out of his comfort zone. He really is a loser, but the issue is that he just accepts that and doesnt try to uplift himself anyway. It kills him to be uncomfortable for just a second, thats why he got stuck in that loop about lying about who he is to serena, and why he didnt try and talk to her sooner. The guy has no self confidence and is too weak and comfortable to put in the work. He just sulks and wallows about how he gets no girls. funny thing is though, he did meet a nerdy girl who seemed to like him. but for some reason he just didnt vibe with her at all. cus hes probably too fixated on goth girls and probably only sees women for their looks and the satisfaction they can bring him. yeesh. the cookie monster girl was cute man idk why he was so miserable. what a loser.
Alex really shouldve just put in the work to decide on what he really wanted to do in life. He shouldve just gone to college and worked on his brains, build his self confidence and stop envying what other people have. He shouldve just pursued his nerdy interests with no shame, and thought “yeah this is who i am, i dont care if i end up some kind of lady repellant, i dont need to create a fake version of myself so girls can like me” like dude. Also on that last episode, his friends rlly shouldve just helped him with chaka. idk why he had to go all big brother mode at one of the most crucial moments for his love life in the series. i suppose that just shows that he’d rather just do what hes used to instead of going out of his comfort zone to meet with serena and try to accept the fact that she might not fit into his goth girl fanatsy anymore. he truly did fumble.
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