The world already has seven seasons of Grownup Swim’s Rick and Morty, with an eighth and more on the best way. And even with the present’s mega reputation, is there actually the necessity for a spin-off? Rick and Morty: The Anime, created by writer-director and Rick and Morty superfan Takashi Sano, is right here to place forth its case—and from what io9 has seen up to now, the brand new sequence shortly justifies itself by being removed from redundant.
What’s extra, it has enjoyable doing it. Whereas sure elements of The Anime clearly really feel acquainted—it’s, in spite of everything, set in a world we’ve been exploring since 2013—Sano, whose anime background contains Tower of God and Lupin the third: Disaster in Tokyo, in addition to earlier Rick and Morty shorts, isn’t right here simply to play the hits. He and his crew craft a singular story whereas making good use of tweaked variations of characters and themes followers will simply acknowledge, in addition to bringing new faces and conditions into the combo.
io9 watched the primary two episodes, “The Woman Who Manipulates Time” and “Combating Mom,” in each the English dub and Japanese-with-English-subtitles variations, and the way you select to expertise Rick and Morty: The Anime appears like extra of a private desire on this case. The casts are equally interesting, an essential consideration because the important Rick and Morty sequence has been through the wringer with its personal voice solid. In each languages, Rick (Youhei Tadano in Japanese, Joe Daniels in English) is appropriately gruff and boozy, and it appears like an anime-correct alternative that Morty (Keisuke Chiba, Gabriel Regojo) is much more emotionally expressive than he’s within the common sequence.
A giant distinction up to now appears to be that The Anime is extra episodic; mainline Rick and Morty does have season arcs and canon parts, however it leans extra into standalone tales. “The Woman Who Manipulates Time” begins with Rick on the run from the Galactic Federation, which dearly desires his new gadget that makes time go backwards. Again within the Smith home, Summer time’s acquired her headset on as Rick’s anxious however useful tether to actuality; House Beth can also be a part of the motion crew, kicking ass in deep area whereas additionally retaining tabs on her dad. Much less concerned up to now are non-House Beth and Jerry, although from what we’ve seen up to now Jerry is likely to be even dorkier in anime kind.
In the meantime, Morty is obsessive about a Rick-created VR recreation that not solely incorporates his mysterious dream woman, but additionally seems to be a nebulous zone the place actual alt-world timelines have began bleeding collectively. “Actuality is handy on a regular basis, however I all the time get saddled with the job of creating it make sense,” Rick groans, however earlier than “Combating Mom” is over we additionally see that even Rick doesn’t fairly have a deal with on the present state of area time.
Very like the unique sequence, The Anime presents a rapid-fire onslaught of visuals—in line with its medium shift, the artwork type is acquainted but additionally distinctively completely different—as we zip between universes and variations of the characters. It’s propulsive and feels intentionally complicated at instances, significantly once we’re following Morty’s trippy, non-chronological journey. Not for nothing is the upbeat theme music, composed by Otonez, titled “Love Is Entropy.”
All through, creator Sano’s deep affection for Rick and Morty is sort of evident. You’ll be able to see it in The Anime‘s pleasure about inter-dimensional hijinks, outer area battles, and fan-favorite supporting characters that pop up right here and there. Additionally, right here’s a tip: identical to Rick and Morty, The Anime leaves one final scene on the finish of the credit that’s all the time price ready round for.
Beginning immediately, August 15, new episodes of Rick and Morty: The Anime premiere Thursdays at midnight on Grownup Swim; you’ll be able to stream them on Max and buy them on digital the subsequent day. Then, Japanese encore airings of every new episode arrive Saturday at midnight as a part of Grownup Swim’s Toonami programming.
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