Gwimbly: Definitive Remastered Enhanced Extended Edition DX 4k (Anniversary Director's Cut)

Smiling Friends continues to be what other "adult cartoons" fail and sometimes actively refuse to be.

Where other shows find edginess and intelligence in nihilism and negativity, this one works as an antidote -- partly in how its heroes endeavor to bring joy to an absurdist world (though they oft learn that some of its sadsacks only find joy/purpose in even darker places). Where other adult cartoons look ugly on purpose (supposedly to scare kids away), Smiling Friends is bright, colorful, and appealing to look at -- for all its grotesque and agonized-looking characters.

And of course, it's still a joy to behold for those of us who have followed its creators since Newgrounds, OneyPlays, SleepyCast, or wherever you might've discovered them. It was wild enough to see these people get a show on Adult Swim and eventually have said show on the HBO Max "Adult Swim" banner right alongside Rick and Morty. But to get an ad on the Las Vegas Globe for a "Season 2 premiere" that turned out to be an April Fool's Gag? Truly we live in the most blessed of timelines.

The show continues to combine the strengths of its creators. Zach "Psychicpebbles" Hadel has a knack for creating hideously cute critters in a quick moment and Michael Cusack has a way with big expressions. In this new season, we also get the best emulation of PS1 graphics that has ever been attempted, complete with bit-crushed audio for that particular character. An equal amount of care has been put into the old-timey video game promo.

The animation is better than ever and there's additional humor to be found in it if you know where to look, such as the way some random object will be over-animated and fluid while a little blob fella is zipping across the screen with a two-frame running cycle. The character animation -- the poses, the blink-and-you'll-miss-them tics/gestures, the simple yet expressive faces -- is brimming with detail, and we do get some off-model gags at the right times (once again, usually in a way where you'll barely notice them). Finally, it is still very funny that someone like Zach, to whom goblin mode comes so naturally, plays one of the most normal guys in the show.

Needless to say, I cannot wait to see what's next... in May.

Zach. Michael. We gotta talk bro. We just gotta talk about how you guys are absolute modern comedy powerhouses.

Nothing about this episode's plot should have worked and I mean nothing because it's borderline preposterous, but from beginning to end it is just a barrage of non-stop A+++ gags and commentary on video game mascot relevancy as a whole. Not a single second is wasted, not a single line is thrown away.

Gwimbly himself is a tragic figure; his fans are still alive, but his franchise unfortunately is not. His entire thing does not fit the modern gamer demographic. People have moved on. But he keeps going. He bends and somehow never breaks.

We should all be like Gwimbly.

Again, awesome premiere.

Smiling friends season 2 started off with a blast of an episode, this episode was definitely one of the episodes i laughed the most at while watching. I was a little bit nervous after watching multiple sneak peeks from season 2 because there was no clips where any of the characters would mumble and interrupt each other to make it feel like a real life conversation in a cartoon, which is one of the things that makes the show stand out the most to other cartoons and gives the show it's charm, but i was relieved after watching the episode as this episode not only kept that, but was extremely hilarious and had as much charm as any of the season 1 episodes has, and i even consider it to be one of the best episodes in the show so far. The episode doesn't do anything that makes it stand out from season 1 and i'm happy about that. Not that it wouldn't be cool for the show to try something new, but honestly i feel like the show does that all of the time.

10/10 episode, can't wait to see what the rest of season 2 is going to offer.

This episode is without a doubt one of the best episodes in the show (in my opinion at least). Watching it live on April Fools Day was a great experience, but even on rewatch, it's actually insanely amazing.

Every single joke in this episode hits. Every single gag, every single plot point, it's all done and paced out so well. The episode ends in a greatly satisfying way, tying all of the loose subplots. However, in a way, it's not about how it ends, it's all about the journey there, which is just so damn enjoyable.

Overall, this episode is an example of how to use the Smiling Friends formula to its full potential. The level of craftmanship of not only the video game animation, but the writing, deserves the praise this show is getting.

Ranking it at #2 out of the currently released 16 episodes.

This episode is everything I could have hoped for and more waiting for season 2 to release and it was worth it. If the rest of season 2 is this funny I'll be so happy and smiling and I'll chuckle and rub my belly. It's not just a show it's art in a way all the unique quirky and wacky character designs are something that I can only imagine in a show like this. The only other show that has multimedia character designs that I can think of is Amazing World of Gumball and that show too was amazing. Season 2 of Smiling friends may indeed go down in history as one of, if not the funniest show season ever seen, belly rubs and chuckles abound let's hope it delivers.