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I Want to Love Monkey Wrench...
2 years ago
General
But I don't yet. Reposted from my Tumblr
Off the top the biggest hurdle is that I don't like either of our main characters. Shrike is annoying, Beebs is very boring, and I don't love either design. I also can't help but see them as pale copies of Ren Hoëk and Jet Black respectively. They're just too on point y'know? In fact the premise calls to mind like three different anime (Bebop, Outlaw Star, Space Dandy) and MW hasn't done enough to set it self apart.
The writing really isn't doing it for me. The humor in particular. Is Ren-- Shrike's gag of getting words wrong and mispronouncing things supposed to be funny, charming? It's just not hitting. There's also this trend of saccharine characters with goofy, baby voices that feels like something from the early 2010s internet humor, it's a really weird choice. I don't think I've chuckled at the show yet which is a problem because it's clearly aiming for humor much of the time. Maybe it's the voice acting?
The music is also detracts from the show, imo. Not much more to add. It often feels out of place or used improperly which isn't what you want from a soundtrack.
It's not all bad of course. The animation is good overall, lots of fun little flourishes. Some quality direction too. The creator clearly has an affinity for hands to which is fuggin' #relatable. I never get enough of that.
Like I said I want to like this show, I'm always hungry for quality furry content, but it's just not there yet for me. I would really need to see some engaging, compelling writing for the main duo to get drawn in. There are a lot, a huge number, of broke, mis-matched bounty hunter shows and I hope Monkey Wrench can stand out.
# The waifu game is off to a banger start though. Sheeesh!
Off the top the biggest hurdle is that I don't like either of our main characters. Shrike is annoying, Beebs is very boring, and I don't love either design. I also can't help but see them as pale copies of Ren Hoëk and Jet Black respectively. They're just too on point y'know? In fact the premise calls to mind like three different anime (Bebop, Outlaw Star, Space Dandy) and MW hasn't done enough to set it self apart.
The writing really isn't doing it for me. The humor in particular. Is Ren-- Shrike's gag of getting words wrong and mispronouncing things supposed to be funny, charming? It's just not hitting. There's also this trend of saccharine characters with goofy, baby voices that feels like something from the early 2010s internet humor, it's a really weird choice. I don't think I've chuckled at the show yet which is a problem because it's clearly aiming for humor much of the time. Maybe it's the voice acting?
The music is also detracts from the show, imo. Not much more to add. It often feels out of place or used improperly which isn't what you want from a soundtrack.
It's not all bad of course. The animation is good overall, lots of fun little flourishes. Some quality direction too. The creator clearly has an affinity for hands to which is fuggin' #relatable. I never get enough of that.
Like I said I want to like this show, I'm always hungry for quality furry content, but it's just not there yet for me. I would really need to see some engaging, compelling writing for the main duo to get drawn in. There are a lot, a huge number, of broke, mis-matched bounty hunter shows and I hope Monkey Wrench can stand out.
# The waifu game is off to a banger start though. Sheeesh!
But after watching all three...I do have to be on your side, the main cast is not very fun, their moments feel either too long or just lacking of something else (Also yeah Shrike is so annoying like jeez dude)
The only thing that I liked was maybe the side characters and other hitmen from across different episodes but it's just not very worth rewatching as other animated shows
I don't mind Beebs' char... He's charming, definitely a Jet Black expy, but his char design does come across as unrefined... Especially in the wardrobe dept. BEARD.
Shrike... Feels more like a tertiary character, better taken in small doses. The Spanish butchering is hard to watch. It felt VERY satisfying to see him get punched in the face by Blue Lizard Queen's well toned meaty arms xD
I love the cats... OMG Scratch and Scritch are really fun villains - they definitely have something there. I love Scratch's affable wise guy characterization and little bro Scritch's sad-eyed "only a bad guy by association" demeanor.
I think it's 1 episode away from breaking out... But yeah, the writing and lead chars need to step up.