Ark: The Animated Series

The voice acting in this is abhorrent and makes my eyes roll, predictable dribble and lackluster screams that could've had some emotional resonance if someone else wrote it and said it. The themes are fine, the story is fine, but the execution, geez. Didn't expect to dislike the use of animals/dinos but damn did i hate the dinos, nothing but macguffins.

While i like the art direction the actual animation and camera work is pretty bad but as an animator i don't want to complain too much. There are tons of visual inconsistencies, floaty, choppy animation and as much as the camera shakes try to convey impact the action scenes lack any weight especially during contact.

The main issues I have with this involve the way characters speak to each other, how the emotional scenes seemed so ham fisted and quick that i ended up not caring for any character and how frustrating the protagonist is alongside these-

"you gave me an apple, now i am under your command forever" or "i am not an animal i am a tool"

creatures of the past.

I loved the idea of these people getting sent to this strange dinosaur filled island from all these time periods, but the show doesn't really do a lot with that idea. The bulk of the series seems to be focused on this native american group that I just didn't find very interesting for long. Loved the idea at first, but I think they should have included more interesting characters from different time periods and locations. I found myself staring at my phone and losing track of what was happening far too often. I think there is still potential there that the show could tap into, so I'm not going to give it a totally negative score, but I think after these first 6 episodes I don't plan to watch any more to find out. It's too bad, because I do think the animation is great, and I like that they seem to have attracted so many big name actors. Although maybe some of that money should have been spent on better writers.

The animation and voice acting is good.

Though it is a bit to cartoonish for my taste.

One time its shockingly brutal but the the next scene theres silly elements. Its just a weird mix, which is just too much of a contrast for me.

Most of the times the main character seems to just not act believable for the situation shes in.

Also the show mixes in the backstory of the main character into the story, which sadly is the flat stereotype used in every show today.

Some dinosaurs are just too smart and too tame what makes everything even less believable.

Overall the unreasonable way characters and dinosaurs behave killed the interrest in the show for me.

The setting, action, fight scenes, and characters are great, but everything they do right they follow quickly by attempting to virtue signal which feels like a betrayal to the existing fanbase.

The main character's flashbacks give nothing to the current storyline outside of trying to place her in a saintly position which makes her a less relatable character. She's a scientist at the top of her field, a professor at a prestigious university, she is a Lesbian who lost her partner to a foreign conflict, a first nations person from Australia and an activist with a criminal record. The list goes on and on and on and on, but none of it, not even her sexuality is at all important to the current events they put just as much effort into presenting how horrible the world is just for it to be completely overshadowed by how horrible the Ark is.

I don't know, I'll keep going because it is well made. It just seems like too much for zero narrative reward.

I am giving it a rating of 3 stars, and let me be clear that it only gets that much because of the Ark survival story implementation.

There are some major flaws that cannot be overlooked. The product is filled with cringe-worthy moments, stereotypical and clichéd characters that are nothing but annoying specially with that voice acting, and an overbearing sense of forced feministic themes.

This series falls short in so many areas and it's extremely disappointing to see. The heavy focus on the points above in the making made it drift away from the world of Ark.

Frankly, I won't watch any continuation of it if it'll be made of the same demonstration style.