I will prefix this by saying I had a pretty good time watching this. But only because I was watching it with a friend who is a fan of the show that I could dunk on it with. If I watched it alone I would be miserable.
The show isn't awful and I can get why some would like it. But in my opinion it's a show that dies by a hundred cuts, it doesn't excell at anything and is only dragged down by its flaws that I'm gonna list, and then some positives, and a couple mixed things.
Flaws:
- None of the characters hit anything for me, they all feel very one note and never seem to evolve. Some can be enjoyable like Adam and Lucifer, but adam can sometimes feel overdone and Lucifer I only liked in episode 5.
- I think it takles too many plots, it should have been focused on the plot of trying to redeem a character, and when a character does get redeemed, it feels unearned and sudden.
- I hate Alister (however it's spelt), like really he feels like a discount bill cipher who leans too hard into being threatening, and ironically in turn becomes less threatening, even less than bill.
- it doesn't feel like it's made for adults, the sound design, characters, and writing, it feels like it's written for teens who think it's adult.
- the sound design is almost insufferable, the background music isn't subdude and they play far too many sound effects
I could go on but it's mostly nitpicks beyond that. Let's cut to the things I did liked:
- a few background gags were actually good and 2 or 3 gags gave me a quick exhale
- some of the line delivery is really well done, the VA's usually just do a serviceable job at the characters and some just suffer from the voices they have to do, but some shine through
- the base concept of a hotel to redeem sinners in hell is good
- I like how characters are drawn when far in the background, the simplicity is charming
And last, the mixed:
- the animation is sometimes really good, mostly it's serviceable but in some scenes it hits well
- character designs are another very mixed batch, most don't really hit much for me, but some I really dislike
There's probably more I could've gone over, I might add it later, but that's the main stuff I wanted to say. If anything I wish this show wasn't a comedy or just focused on being more episodic, just picking a lane. I'm glad this show got greenlit it's a pretty decent step for indie animation, and I'd like to see it continue, but I'd be lying if I said it was anything I enjoyed or would ever recommend.
My conclusion is; can't wait for season 2 so I can watch it with more friends who are fans and dog on it in with them all over again. 2.5/10.
