Geek Kingdom : Hazbin Hotel Review
by Liam Lavoie
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My name is Liam Lavoie, and I’m here to bring you another issue of…
GEEK KINGDOM!
GEEK KINGDOM!
CONTENT WARNING!
This issue of Geek Kingdom will be talking about a show that contains nudity, sexual content and gore. If any of this makes you uncomfortable, feel free to skip this issue and come back next month.
In the last couple of years indie animation has become massively popular, with shows such as Murder Drones and The Amazing Digital Circus garnering millions of views on YouTube while creating large dedicated fanbases that support these projects so they can flourish to their full potential. Yet out of all of these indie projects that came onto YouTube, none are more well known than Hazbin Hotel, the passion project of Vivienne Medrano, also known as Vivziepop on social media. In 2019, a pilot for the show launched on YouTube to massive appeal, starting off the indie animation scene as we know it today. After spending almost 5 years in development, surviving the Coronavirus pandemic and being picked up by the production company A24, the full release of Hazbin Hotel finally appeared in February 2024. While the show has a large following, there are also a large number of detractors who decry every aspect of the show. Now that a month has passed since the release of the season 1 finale, it’s a good time to take a look at the show to see if it did what it set out to do.
What’s the plot?
The story of Hazbin Hotel revolves around the princess of Hell and the daughter of Lucifer himself, Charlie Morningstar, a young woman who dreams of opening a hotel meant to redeem those who were damned to Hell and give them a chance to go to Heaven. With her girlfriend Vaggie, along with the carefree stripper Angel Dust, the tired bartender Husk, the psychotic housemaid Nifty and the powerful overlord Alastor, Charlie sets out on a quest to achieve her goal and save the sinners from the yearly extermination done by the angels. Unfortunately her plans quickly fall apart as Adam, the first man and head of the extermination, rejects Charlie’s proposals and makes plans to move the extermination up from next year to six months. Now Charlie and her friends are thrown into a race against time to prove to Heaven that sinners can be redeemed before the largest extermination that Hell has ever seen kills everyone there…
Overall the plot is done really well, but there are several issues which really bring down the quality of the story. The show only has eight episodes which severely limited the amount of time the writers had to advance the plot and develop all the characters, leading to some loose threads which hamper the experience. Adding on to this is the fact that far too many ideas and characters were introduced without being properly fleshed out, leading to half-baked arcs that go nowhere due to the episode count and also limits what could be focused on throughout the show. Finally, there was a lack of subtlety in the character’s personalities and plot development as the audience is essentially told about these things instead of being shown through actions and dialogue.
While these issues do lessen the impact of the story, the show does manage to do a lot of things right and weave together a cohesive, albeit very rocky, narrative that is worth checking out.
What about the characters?
Although the plot does suffer from having too many ideas with little time to do something meaningful with them, the characters are able to pick up where the story falls flat with great arcs and wonderful personalities. One character who manages to perfectly demonstrate how great Vivziepop is at making interesting, dynamic and relatable characters is Angel Dust. At the beginning of the show, he’s a sleazy creep who cares only about sex, drugs and alcohol. Yet we quickly learn that his entire persona is a coping mechanism used to drown out the pain he feels as a result of his toxic and abusive relationship with his boss and soul-owner, Valentino. With emotional help from Husk and an amazing duet, Angel slowly begins to take off his mask and try to better himself, aiding in Charlie’s quest to convince Heaven that sinners can be redeemed.
Good characters are important in telling a good story. If the characters are boring or the audience can’t empathize with them, then the quality of the story will be drastically reduced. Fortunately, Hazbin Hotel manages to have an amazing cast of characters, each with their own arc and memorable moments which render them truly great.
How’s the music?
One of Hazbin Hotel’s biggest draws are the musical numbers, which have garnered millions of views on social media, as every number is absolutely stunning in terms of animation quality and catchiness. I highly suggest that you go and listen to them yourself, as even if you don’t watch the show, you’re bound to like at least one of the show’s songs.
How’s the animation?
When the pilot first aired on YouTube 5 years ago people praised the fluid and dynamic animation which gave a sense of life to the characters. In the full release of the show the animation loses a bit of that fluidity demonstrated in the pilot, yet it is still amazing. Each character has fluid, smooth movements that convey their personalities with every step they take. The musical numbers do a really good job at this, a great example of this being “Hell’s Greatest Dad” as Lucifer jumps around in various crazy antics, representing how he ignores his own depression through being goofy and making rubber ducks. Vox in “Stayed Gone” is another showcase of great animation which also encapsulates the personality of a character, with Vox playing various caricatures of stereotypical trashy television programs, fitting right in with his role as a kniving conman in charge of a media conglomerate tasked with controlling the masses of Hell.
Every single frame in the show is bursting with energy and passion which isn’t normally seen in mainstream animation, bringing the characters and their over the top personalities to life, making the overall experience a treat to watch.
Should you watch Hazbin Hotel?
Hazbin Hotel is a truly amazing show with wonderful animation,
relatable characters and catchy songs, but does have some major shortcomings in its story that does make the experience worse, but everything else manages to make it something that is worth watching by those who enjoy musicals with a surprising twist.
Verdict: 7.5/10
Anyway, my name is Liam Lavoie. Thank you so much for reading the article, and I hope to see you soon on the next issue of…
GEEK KINGDOM!
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