Tear Along the Dotted Line

Mini cartoon series that takes you and makes you laugh for its irony and for the criticism of an acute intelligence of the protagonist. The Roman accent is fun. The series suggests many things, especially the feelings of a typical asocial teenager. TV series to watch all in one breath, recommended!

It's definitely not easy to talk about this show without many spoilers about the main twists of the last two episodes but I'll try anyway, because I don't want to ruin the experience. This show was made by Zerocalcare (if you were wondering, his real name is Michele Rech) , an italian comic book writer with a pretty peculiar style. His narratives are autobiographical but surreal streams of consciousness full of irony, cyinism and self-pity, but also handling some very serious issues at times in a very deep and personal way. This show is exactly what you would imagine a show based on his comics would look like. It's funny, clever and full of detours that don't add anything to the plot but they get so hilarious you can let that slide. Zero dubs almost every character and that may sound ridiculous, but don't worry, it will make sense in the end. And then, in the last two episodes, you break down crying, when some great plot twists make you realize what Zero is really talking about. I won't get specific, but this is a story of regret, sense of guilt and of being scared of the future. Also trigger warning: there is talking of depression and suicide, so be warned if that disturbs you. I hope for the success of this show and that it could actually revitalize the almost dead industry of italian animation.

The show has relatable commentary on life and view it in a realistic manor. Plus a beautiful finale to end off season 1. Deserves another season & I would love to see what they'll talk about next.

I nearly cried like 5 times. One of the best things I've watched in recent years.

It's like the narrator's brain is a tiny glimpse into the sort of stuff that goes on inside my head too.

It's like paranoia, anxiety & depression in a cartoon. There was a few weird moments but pretty much all of it was relatable.

I could easily watch it over and over again. I've just finished watching it dubbed in English, but I will be watching it in Italian from now onwards.

Did not expect it to be so thought provoking.

Soundtrack was perfect too.

There's only 6 episodes, so it's easy to watch.

I had no idea where this story was heading until the very last episode. And that's a really good thing.

No spoilers. So all I can say is that the film-maker is brilliant. Beats most recent anime hands down (and I love anime).

And I think choosing the animated format was the only way to go - makes the story all that much more impactful.