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clioseeker · 6 months ago

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Hazbin Hotel : an Honest Review

Hello everyone ! This took me waaaay longer than expected lmao

Yup I'm coming after everyone, I probably missed the Hype Train, but heh it's not a problem. If you're interested, here's my detailled opinion on the Season One of Hazbin Hotel ! Let's get started.

Before I just want to say that everything I'll say below is just MY opinion, it has the value you give to it. If what I say does pique your interest, I would be happy to discuss it with you !

1 - Qualities

➤ Concepts of the show

The beginning is very promising, to say the least. The idea of a DEMON, the PRINCESS OF HELL, caring about her people's fate is original. I like the idea that Charlie inherited more of her father's angelic side that the demonic one. Like a stain on the painting, you see ? In theory, Charlie has nothing to do in hell, and I thought after watching the pilot that it would be interesting to see her everyday life, how she's living to be in hell and how she can keep a nearly endless hope. There is also the question of redemption, is really everyone worthy of a second chance ? As an Undertale fan, Charlie's ideal of "you can save everyone" is quite appealing. I was sure at that time that Charlie would encounter big difficulties, make enemies and that she would struggle a lot to fulfill her dream.

Some ideas for Sinners are well-thought. I love that their appearance will change depending on their cause of death, their personality or their past. Each Sinner is unique in their own way, it also offers an absolute freedom for creators of the community. Creating you own OC is easier, you just have to listen to your imagination. Also, the idea of Sinners being sterile is coherent, because Hell is already populated and they're dead, we don't need demon children.

➤ Character's designs

My my, it's probably one of the things I love the most ! Most of them are quite creative and lovely. For some, there is a real difference between the pilot design and the official serie's. I share a thought for Husk who was a HELL to animate. To illustrate my opinion, let's comment some of the chara designs :

Let's start with the most controversial character, Valentino ! I LOVE his design, without lying it's one of my favorites. His dominant color is red, which can be refering to passion and love. The hearts on his wings and on his collar fur are also a clever reference to his powers and charisma. His jewelry is a nice little detail, because gold is precious and expensive, it shows his wealth without being too razzle-dazzle. And I don't know who in Vivizie's team had the idea to make his wings his coat, but he/she deserves an award.

My photo editing skills are amazing, indeed.

Also, I really like Zestial's design. He's an hybrid between a spider and a scarrecrow. The fear of spiders is common among people, and the web pattern on his cloak shows his patience. Zestial probably survived though centuries thanks to his intelligence. During the Overlord's meeting, he acted calmly and stayed collected. Being provocative isn't useful to his eyes, he prefers to think and trap his preys in the web. His dangerosity is also reflected by his green and dark color scheme. Green is a symbol of bad luck in some cultures, and the threats are often hidden in the dark. Finally there's his 'scarrecrow' side, another symbol of fear but also of disguise, maybe a proof of Zestial's deceit.

➤ The writing

By writing I'm mostly talking about character's writing. However, this point is mid, because it also contains several problems of the show, I'll say more below. On the bright side, most of the character's are well written and serves their goal well.

What's a "Character Goal" ?

It's the idea behind the character. A character is created for a reason, and most of Vivzie's fulfill it. They have different 'roles' for the story, as little gears of the world's machine. I'll develop that point in future posts, one character at time, but the most popular example is Alastor. He is loved by the fans and has all of a morally grey villain. He's selfish, brutal, violent, but was shown to feel genuine connection with other characters. Rosie, Niffty, Mimzy, Charlie, we can go deep into his relationship with them. It's clear that we can't ignore him, whatever we hate or love him we can't stay indifferent. The show also focuses on dynamics between characters, we know the nature through little details or focused episodes. For example, we can often see Keekee in the background cuddling Charlie, being annoyed by Niffty or showing affection to Sir Pentious. It is really tiny details, but it adds life to the hotel and a watchful eye can catch glimpses of lore and learn more about the main cast outside of the story. Viv is thinking about her lore and sometimes her little winks work very well, it's always very satisfying when we catch something in the background.

Most of relationships between characters have a really strong base as an hidden depth. We see how much Zestial secretly cares for Camilla, how much Angel is/was afraid of Valentino, how much the Vees are a band of chaotic gremlins. It's something that is very clear, plus character's dynamics never stay simple. Husker hates Alastor as much as he fears him, Alastor has pity for him as much as seeing him as a tool. It's never one-dimensional, there is several layers.

➤ Voice actors

Despite coming from Broadway for most of them, voice actors suit very well their character. Like many people I was disappointed that actors from the pilot weren't returning, but this new cast definitely do the job. They're talented and we feel all the passion they put into their roles. None of the characters sound false or artificial, I believed to their existence. In the Masquerade episode, I didn't hear Blake Roman recite his lines, I heard Angel Dust crying about his miserable life instead. I didn't hear Blake play his role, I heard the fear of an abused character. I felt that fear deep in my heart.

Erika demonstrated all Charlie's joyful nature and energy, Keith showed the face of an old man who lost all hope in his own redemption, Stephanie all the wrath of a fallen angel who just desires to protect the people she loves. Thanks to their work, Hazbin Hotel would have feel lifeless.

➤ Songs

They're pretty good in fact ! It was quite easy to sing along with the characters, plus most of the songs are stuck in my head since weeks. I'm often mumbling them when I'm bored. I find Respectless and Hell is forever quite catchy, while Poison is really lore relevant and go in depth in Angel Dust's character and his relationship with Val. Here's my personal ranking of all songs :

1- Poison (how original I am)

2- Out For Love

3- Loser Baby

4- Respectless

5- Hell is forever

6- Hell's greatest dad

7- More than anything

8- Stayed Gone

9- Ready for this

10- Whatever it takes

11- Welcome to Heaven

12- More than anything (reprise)

13- You didn't know

14- Finale

15- Happy Day in Hell

16- It starts with sorry

They weren't 'bad songs', there are really cool ones to mid, I listened to some numerous times and others just once or two times.

➤ The animation

Quick note, I don't have knowledge about the animating process. I'm a writer and barely an artist, I can't judge Spindelhorse's or Viv's skills. I just have my fan opinion.

The animation is really great, I didn't see any flaws (they have to be big as a house for me to notice it but whatever), moments with actions are smooth and pleasant to watch. My retina didn't burn, so I guess it's a quality.

2 - Flaws

➤ The humor

Unfortunately, the humor is unbalanced. I giggled most of the time, but I didn't have a real laugh. Sometimes, the 'adult jokes' seemed forced, artificial. The pilot was more efficient in humor. However, most of them were okay and brought a smile, it's always good to light up a bad day. Niffty clearly carried the humor tho, her savage energy was really funny to watch. Rip her face, she hugged the floor too many times.

➤ The pacing...

If the humor is totally subjective, the pacing is a real issue. The show goes way to quickly, the main plot is crushed in 8 episodes of approximately 30 minutes. 4 hours for a whole season, it's so short ! The consequences are massive, the story feels rushed and we have no time to breathe. Like, Lucifer and his problems with Charlie are introduced in one episode, then resolved in the SAME EPISODE with the song "More than Anything". It felt like the song was a replacement of dialogues and scenes INCREDIBLY important, and it's a severe problem that has the show. The story is so rushed that we never have the time to appreciate the conflict. I saw some people on Internet complaining about the non-existence of Charlie's 'daddy issues', and I mostly agree. The difference is that Charlie has problems with her dad, she's written this way, but we NEVER have the opportunity to see Lucifer act like a bad father. We only had one flashback where Lucifer was shown focused on his creations, Charlie said explicitely that she was 'impressed' by him, 'felt so small', but we don't have any proof that Lucifer was neglectful towards Charlie. In the pilot, it's implied that Lucifer showed disappointment in his daughter's project in the past, and it's never mentionned in the series. Charlie called Lilith, who is never responding, to share her thoughts. Her mother who disappeared for SEVEN YEARS was a better confident for Charlie than Lucifer was. And it's NEVER MENTIONNED. Their relationship is fixed too quickly, and it feels worse than a LeaderPrice-Disney scenario. it's such a waste because the ideas are really good and creative, but executed poorly.

➤ Ways the subject/themes are handled

It's an indirect consequence of the horrible pacing but it's true that some subjects are badly handled. The serie goes so fast that it creates great confusion. I've talked before of the 'daddy issues' of Charlie, so let's take the example of Anthony's abusive relationship with his boss Val.

The Poison song was great showing the complexity of their relationship and how it's difficult for Anthony to free himself from Val's claws (and I'm not talking about their contract) but for me it wasn't enough. It's like we just dig into the surface. I looked at the clip very closely, we have only a few frames when we see Angel taking pleasure with Val. The episode 4 should have been longer to show the 'good days' of their relationship. Don't get me wrong, Valentino is a total garbage and deserves to be in Hell more than anyone else, but a relationship is never totally black or white. I'm deeply persuaded that it existed by the past good moments between the two, and the show lacked showing it. By showing the beginning of their relationship, when it's all pink and marvelous, Valentino would less appear as the Devil himself and more of a really really twisted being. A flashback would be efficient !

The result is like a 'Disney scenario' : a bad guy very bad, the good guys very good and an issue resolution almost unreal.

Thanks goodness Angel Dust is quite well written or it'll be a massacre.

➤ Wobby worldbuilding

The worldbuilding feels uneven and unfinished. I really loved the Vee's building (especially Vox's office), it shows their personality and their specialty in Hell. Same for the Hotel, it was balanced between the decay state of the building and the life brought by the colors, the lights and the residents. BUT THE CITY-, it's appears empty at some places, weird at others.

For the lore, many of our questions are left unanswered while they're essential for the credibility of the show. What are the different quarters ? They are controlled by who ? What are the missions and responsabilities of the Overlords ? Why Sinners can't leave the Pride ring ? Who rules the first ring while Lucifer was absent, it is the Overlords ?

I would rather a slower season (with less action) who introduce the public to the codes of their universe than the rollercoaster we had.

3 - Quick summary

✔ Viv's ideas are good

✔ Character's designs are very good

✔ Characters are well written

✔ Voice actors are amazing

✔ Most songs are definitely enjoyable

✔ Animation is great

✔ It's very promising for next seasons

✘ The humor : "all or nothing"

✘ Awful pacing

✘ Lack of maturity, disturbing vibe of a "Disney story"

✘ Issues with worldbuilding

To summarize in a few sentences, Hazbin Hotel is a fantastic mess. It's far to be the TV show of the year but you can enjoy it quite easily. The first watching is fun, but I can't say it was worth the wait. 4 years for 8 episodes, a mashed lore, it's disappointing. I don't regret watching it tho, and I'll do it again with pleasure. Hazbin Hotel is overrated, and it doesn't make it a bad TV show. To be fair, I find Viv's pathway in the industry quite incredible and I wish her the best. The show has BIG FLAWS that need to be worked on. We'll see where the serie will be going in the future.

Thanks for reading !

#hazbin hotel #hellaverse #hazbin hotel criticism #hazbin hotel opinion

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