The void

Take yourself back to watching that one animated show you enjoyed most. Did it have likable characters, great storytelling, beautiful animation?Watching the same show again won’t give you back that feeling of watching it for the first time, you need something new to scratch the itch.

That one cartoon leaves you with a void when it inevitably ends. It’s a bittersweet feeling that gets more difficult to experience every time you feel it. The conditions for this sentiment are quite specific and hard to replicate, but if it’s done well it really pays off.

First of all, the pacing needs to be just right with a perfect balance of comedy and conflict. Second, the show needs relatable characters that go through personal growth, experiencing this with them makes you root for the characters, this works especially well in stories where even villains are relatable. (Think of Zuko in Avatar: The last Airbender or Light Yagami in Death Note) Third, the creaters need to know when to end the show, end it too soon or with an anticlimactic ending and it can ruin the entire experience, drag it on too long and people will lose interest.

There are two types of storytelling in cartoons, they can be either episodic or serial. Episodic means every episode has a different story, this often requires characters to not go through any change and episodes typically follow a formula, The Powerpuff Girls is a good example of this, note that almost every episode ends with the narrator saying “And once again, the day was saved thanks to the Powerpuff girls” This is why I think the cartoon can’t fill the void, but that doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable. I can turn it on any time and laugh at the absurd humor the creators had. Episodic cartoons are easier to make because it can produce as many episodes as the creator likes without having to change the characters.

Serial cartoons have a beginning and an end, the characters progress through a story and experience growth, every week you wait to see what will happen in the next episode. There are exceptions though, Pokémon for example has a new story every season, but in the end he always loses the Pokémon league and flies off to the next region only to start the same journey again but with different creatures and companions. I wouldn’t dare to say this formula isn’t enjoyable, but as a cartoon connoisseur who still enjoys the Pokémon games I feel like I have grown out of the animated series. I won’t judge anyone my age who still watches it though, who am I to judge you based on the shows you watch?

What animated series did you enjoy the most? Feel free to leave a reply ;)