If I had to put in my two cents, I’d say TADC suffers from what I call “Pibby Syndrome”. When a piece of media that, whether intentionally or unintentionally, looks like it’s for kids but, in reality, isn’t, inevitably ends up attracting a fanbase mainly comprised of children. I especially feel bad for TADC just because of how quickly the content farm channels got to and consumed it. People have just assumed it’s Gen Alpha brain rot and it’s so much more than that. Just thinking out loud, but I also thought about what the opposite of this phenomenon would be and I figured it would be “MLP Syndrome” or, for a more recent example, “Bluey Syndrome”. The case where a piece of media that contains mature themes but is fundamentally designed as a children’s show, ends up attracting a sizeably large teen and adult fanbase.
The same thing sort of happened to FNAF and Poppy's Playhouse fanbases; people knew that it was initially supposed to be a horror exclusive thing, but it turned into a fanbase that became divided on the themes and meanings of the games through rampant content farming on both sides.
I've been a big fan of gooseworx for a while and although i didn't really like the aesthetic of TADC at first compared to the other stuff, the show quickly grew on me despite that. To me, it's just a festival of weirdness, weird humor, weird lore, weird characters, and that's why i love it.
I’ve been a gooseworx for like not a long time but not too short time aswell it was like a few months before gooseworx was confirmed to work with glitch for a show I loved pink city I want it back so bad
@@ANGRYYYYYYYYYit's not horror . it's a dark comdey it more/ of like fantasy / video game violence . it's like wreck it ralph but it's played on a deeper level .
Fascinating video. I’ve always hated the phrase “deserves/ doesn’t deserve to be popular.” It’s really not a deal of deserving or not, it’s just “is or isn’t popular.” A lot of it comes down to chance and marketing. It just happens. You either like it or ya don’t.
@@MxMothra I actually agree (it’s another reason I’m not a fan of criticizing things for being ‘overrated’) which is why I chose “reputation” for the title - TADC has a reputation for being good, but it also has a reputation as mascot horror, a reputation as gen alpha brainrot, etc.
Yeah, bit like that for Mesmerizer, a Vocaloid song that people started to be assholes about because it's very popular. It just is. It's a good song. Sure, too popular, but I love it still.
when i saw the screenshot of Goose saying she hated Lankybox, i was confused like "tf they do!?" & took a second to realize i was confusing Lankybox with Swankybox
Hmmm i personally don't think TADC is designed to be Tumblr-bait. Like you said, the show is too genuine to be a purely cynical commercial product. TADC being appealing to Tumblr users is probably cuz the creator is a Tumblr user herself and her interests will inevitably influence her work. Jax being a tumblr sexyman, is because the Tumblr sexyman is an extension of a pretty common character archetype - asshole young man with deep inner issues.
TADC might not be horror, but when it reaches into the dark elements, like Gummigoo being killed off... That's extreme existential horror for me, and I love it. Also Jax being an asshole is hilarious to me in the same way you've got videos of UA-camrs playing games together, and there's the one guy trying to get other people killed in the game (Like Phisnom and his friends with Lethal Company, he (especially early on) tried to mess with his friends and cause as much mayhem as possible "for the bit") Currently the way I understand Jax is that he's at least doing the same thing except instead of playing the game, he's in it, which is really inter to me.
There was video I watched that went into how the different characters can portray different ways people play games, and there they said that Jax acts like a murder hobo, and thats probably the best description for him.
@@kootunesscrewy I mean, I don't think TADC is for the same age range but I think I see where your coming from, haven't really watched any of that in a while
I think the reason jax acts like that is because he knows they’re probably ai so hes not actually harming a person, like at the end of episode 2 where he essentially killed all the people in the kingdom
I personally don't relate to Pomni like most of the community seems to do. I relate a lot more to Ragatha. Being trapped in there does kinda suck, but so does living the real world. It's more of a "pick your poison" situation to me. And living in a world where I don't have to find a job and make money and instead I can just go on adventures in fictional worlds where all of my fantasies can become "real" but without the consequences that would come with it being actually real... That would be cool. So I think I wouldn't mind being in the Digital World that much. Sure, there's the risk of abstraction, but it's only if you go crazy. If you enjoy your time there, it'll probably be fine.
To add to that, Ragatha's body is also the most human out of the circus cast and she probably didn't have to change her vision of herself nor faces problems due to her shape much when compared to Dangle, Gizmo or Kingler. Pommi and Jax also have very human-like bodies but unlike Ragatha, their physical characteristics are unlike anything a human could be, which might affect their psyche negatively (the first episode kind of implies that it does for Pommi specifically).
@@Ditidos Yeah I guess that if I was there I would still like to have a human-like face, with hair and stuff. But we don't know how their avatars are made. Maybe they created them themselves before being brought in the game, or their bodies were created from the things they like and how they are as people, so regardless they have a body that fits them. At least it's clearly not chosen from a limited roster of characters since no human has the same body as another in the Digital Circus.
@@Oceane1803 It's true, albeit I don't think there is a wattsonian explanation for the shows character's appearances other than they are toys of some sort. I just think it might be a representation of how affected by the circus the characters are, with the more human characters being closer to sanity than the less human characters. At this moment, Jax and Ragatha are the more understandable of the troup for me, and Pommi is the protagonist.
For me situations like this always come back to one thing that creator Jhonen Vazquez said, you don’t make a show from easily marketable demographic you make a show for a type of person, invader Zim isn’t for kids or adults, it’s for weird sci-fi nerds who like dark shit and good designs, same thing with digital Circus, it’s for video game nerds that like soft horror and an odd sense of humor
It's weird to see this show got so much attention. I wonder if this is because it has been a drought of "weird and wacky that looks silly, but get dark and existentia" given we have been waiting for deltarune chapter 3-4 and ena dream BBQ. Me personally I do like shows and wanted to see what happens next. Also I do like this "new wave web animation" era of animation channel and indie artist we having. Sure they may be people who may have some show that doesn't click towards them. but given "main stream" animation lately and especially adult, it nice.
I really don't mind the show being character focused. I've seen other stories tackle the "person stuck in a virtual reality" plot so I think it is key that Digital Circus sets itself apart in whatever way Glitch thinks is best.
Okay I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't care for Gummigoo's death. This video perfectly sums up my negative feelings about the show. But like u said, despite all it's negativites (yknow especially the serious moments) I still somehow enjoyed the show and I genuinely don't know why
Oh and this video also sums up why I don't like Caine AT ALL. I genuinely find him very annoying (which is funny because I absolutely love Sapmton and Four... Yknow Caine was based off of them)
Me too! I feel as though Gummigoo served his purpose, he doesn't need to stay for the rest of the series. I knew mid-way through the episode he was going to be snapped out of existence and I was glad that's what happened.
14:35 As a chronic Tumblr user and a TADC fan, I can confirm that Tumblr folk have found a way to turn every single male character in TADC into a Tumblr sexy man (Jax, Caine, Kinger, and Gumigoo).
Made me stop watching the video. Terrible editing. Its really not that hard to find a clip of some cheap mascot horror game and drag it on the timeline
21:18 apparently this was the original intent, Goose wanted it to look like 90s PC-ROM games (there's concept art of this) but settled on an 'idealised' version of it after advice that it could turn off a good chunk of the audience. If it's as simple as changing the rendering style, hypothetically they could do two versions of each episode if they ever made like a physical release or something - one normal and one 'period accurate' :)
aw that sucks. im sad super stylized stuff doesn't get popular. i would have so much more love for tadc if it went that route. wouldve made rendering times infinitely faster too.
@@Kedamohno I guess stuff like that isn't popular in internet animation, but I can think of a lot of varyingly popular internet-made games/assets with lighter or heavier retro 3D styles. Those things are Ultrakill (and other indie shooters inspired by Quake or Doom), horror games made by Puppet Combo Studios and similar indie studios, Vibapop's 3D FNAF models, Spooky's Jumpscare Mansion, the currently rather popular Lethal Company, and the formerly super popular parody horror game, Baldi's Basics.
I have enjoyed the amazing digital circus by characters, humor, and more!! By the way I have met one of voice actor in the show who is Kinger he was very nice in person
Judging any show based on the pilot episode isn't gonna work too well, since those episodes are known to basically be the show hook and that's why the 3 episode rule exists. Yeah if it's not your thing then you don't have to but if you like something then giving it a shot for 1 or 2 more episodes can't hurt. I think I liked the show more because I just didn't follow what the internet was discussing with the characters so all I knew of Jax was just "mean bunny character" and I could ignore stuff like him being a sexyman or fan favorite.
Thanks for mentioning the different types of humor in the show - that’s the main thing that made me dislike episode 1, but allowed me to love episode 2. While I’m not talking about loud or quiet, I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment of “when this show misses, it misses hard”. Episode 1’s jokes bank so hard on you thinking they’re funny because the punchlines go on for ten seconds, so if you didn’t laugh you have to sit there awkwardly until the show eventually decides to chug along. When the update animation was released I noticed the hang time on jokes were extremely reduced, and I was actually laughing at the jokes this time instead of dreading them - because even if I didn’t find a joke funny, the waiting time of one joke from episode 1 is instead replaced with 2 more quick jokes. The sun’s “I’m gonna kill you” segment reminded me of episode 1 humor and single-handedly made me realize what was going on. I also found it funnier due to the jokes themselves changing a bit. I’m honestly unable to pin down what exactly is different but I 100% feel it. Different kinds of punchlines. I was really hoping that the second episode would do the same with the humor, and it did, and I loved that episode. This was a good video. I’m happy to find a genuine constructive critique of this show, as I’ve seen surprisingly little of that considering how big the show is.
To your last point, I agree so much. I've been searching for so long for people to actually _talk_ about the show. Not just make repetitive unfunny jokes and memes that are getting old. But to actually speak about the characters and more. That's the show's intention after all. Character exploration. Unfortunately, it's stuck with it's "HA HA FUNNI DARK" reputation which sucks. Glad to found this video as well.
Have you even rewatched episode one? The punchlines are quick, they don't go on for 10 seconds. If you're talking about Caine's internet modum sound bit, that is just meme/internet humor - maybe that's just not for you. The difference is that episode 2 has a true plot so they can write around that. The A and B plots are stonger and emotionally/tonely closer - which makes the humor even stronger because that's what good writing does. Pilots are hard, and it's known that season one of sitcoms suck because of it. While the jokes in episode one try very hard - I can see them as just funny, if a bit much. I don't think they are bad or unfunny.
@@lorettabes4553 You’re actually right, I hadn’t watched episode 1 since October. I did go back and rewatch both and I do admit it the change isn’t as clean cut as I remembered it as. Episode 1 has a lot more quick subtle jokes than I remembered, and Episode 2 still had some long drawn out ones. But I still do think Episode 2’s humor was way better - when I did rewatch them, I laughed once on episode 1 and like 10 times on episode 2. Maybe what I was really critiquing was the pacing of the episode as a whole, and shifted the blame onto the humor. But I still do stand by my point that Episode 2 was funnier, at least to me, and I’ll have to do some thinking on why Episode 1’s subtle jokes didn’t phase me while still laughing at Episode 2’s subtle jokes. (Subtle as in “character words something this way” or “carries out this action this way”) Thanks for calling me out on this, I would’ve kept saying this otherwise.
Said the person with 3 admittedly really good deltarune videos that are what I subbed for, but like come on. Sans is in it. Need I say more? Really though stuffed alpaca if you see this comment I mean it in good jest but really, glass houses and all
I'm still a bit perplexed at just HOW it became such a sensation, why it hit the nerve as well as it did, to the tune of 30-300x more views than most indie animations that are still considered successful and popular. Its such a dramatic difference and all the typical reasons for why don't feel like they quite explain such overwhelming popularity.
I’ve noticed in general indie cartoons get a lot of random praise most likely just because they’re indie, like The Amazing Digital Circus wouldn’t be anywhere NEAR as popular if it was a professionally made show by a proper studio, and as I’ve seen what there is of it, I think the hype has been overblown THROUGH THE ROOF. It’s pure hyperbole. Hopefully nobody tries to cancel me.
@@veebot75 this doesn’t explain the numerous indie projects that haven’t achieved remotely the level of fame Helluva/Hazbin and TADC have. So yeah, here’s your cancellation: You’re wrong lol
While I would prefer the more pixelated, old video game style over the more polished version, honestly that's not the biggest problem with it's style. The backgrounds are just so busy and not blurred that it is genuinely a painful watchful experience, I've tried to hard to watch it but it gives me headaches because the characters blend in with their surroundings and I have to strain my eyes. I feel this makes the show very inaccessible and I would rather I be able to watch it at all than have it be a special aesthetic.
the show I feel is definitely worth the hype and very much deserves the amount of praise and viewers it gets. that being said, I am not a fan of the humor, and the pacing is slower than I would appreciate, but I definitely if anything find the aniamtion simply phenomenal considering the team. it looks amazing.
I think a good reason why the show doesn't go with the whole grainy style from the very beginning is because that grainy style is how the audience is supposed to see it. But we aren't the audience. The audience would be seeing the whole adventure play out in it's wacky form, but... us? We see everything from the characters being real with eachother, able to go out of bounds from the map, having a more personal look at the characters. Plus, it helps us relate more with the characters and the fact that they are trapped in this colorful Hell for what seems like an eternity. We see what they see in their eyes.
I've been holding off on watching past the pilot but i think i will after this! I agree in the point that a lot of people seem to expect it to be mascot horror when it seems obvious it isnt and is more interested in using horror as an aid for humor.
I'm 18 I love digital circus my media is a mix of kid and adult shows on one hand I like my little pony and barbie even since I was a kid but I also enjoy Hazbin hotel Helluva boss I feel like Digital Circus in in the middle since Teens and Adults can both like it the Dark comedy can put them with the adult shows with the whole censored cursing in the show I enjoy Tdac the awful content farms making digital circus seem for “kids”
Part of the issue is everyone is arguing over and reading things into the show when it's only two episodes in. Like there are many elements seeded immediately that suggest the show could go down the route of severe horror very easily. But we don't know if that's really the writer's intent yet. An oddity of these indie funded online series is that their understandably slow pace of development and release encourages fans to fill in the blanks for months or even years in their imagination. The very anticipation for more of the series can turn toxic. Fans begin creating a version of the show in their head that was never planned to exist. Hazbin Hotel is a great example - years and years between pilot and series resulted in a lot of people developing very specific versions of the characters in their heads based on things they felt were indicated in the pilot. But that wasn't much to go off of. And a lot of people were disappointed by the series being different than what they imagined.
I think the root of the community's reaction to Jax is that his design is reminiscent of Sans so that's what people were primed to expect from his personality, when he's actually a lot more like Handsome Jack from Borderlands
what in the heck is similar about a tall lanky purple rabbit with yellow teeth to a short skeleton with pink slippers? oh what that his teeth dont open when he talks? are people really that surface level? one was an obvious asshole from the start while the other was a light hearted joker everytone thinks they like a mean character until hes actually mean
I just really like the show because it has intriguing story, great art, and good humor. I avoid the content farms like the plague, though. Those things steal from multiple artists.
It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that this show attracts so much younger viewers. I and many others grew up with gems such as "The Secret of NIMH" and "The Land Before Time", which arguably tackle even heavier themes than TADC. So, in my experience children can and happily do handle much more serious subject matters than people seem to give them credit for today.
I thought Gooseworx eluded that Gumnigoo wasn't actually dead he just got sent back to his relm and at worst maybe lost his memories of what he discovered
I remember when I saw the character reveals for TADC and I was HOOKED. I loved the aesthetic (probably because it reminded me of windows 7, so it played into my nostalgia lol) and couldn’t wait for the pilot! And then I saw the content farms and the bootlegs and the elsagate and… yep now i can’t talk about liking the show without either interacting with 8 year olds or people who hate in something because it’s popular
The only thing that really seemed odd to me was how commercially successful its been. The show has 2 episodes and they've done like, 3 or 4 different merch releases already. The brand alone seems to sustain it a great deal
i just found ur channel and i am absolutely in love with the way you edit!!!!! ur way of speaking just jumbled my mess of brain into something consumable!!!! instantly subscribed, keep cooking
the phenomena of digital circus attracting a younger audience reminds me of when i stumbled onto attack on titan for the first in when i was a 4th grader 10 years ago. i was no where near the target audience or maturity, but i look back at that show with fondness because it brings me a lot of nostalgia. if the studio of digital circus can leverage this phenomena well, they'll have a loyal generational audience regardless if it was aimed at them or not
Really glad you mentioned the 'loud' humor because I also find it particularly unappealing. Something about characters going on awkward mental health rambles always makes me cringe. I think the writing will continue to have the young adult "haha!! life awful!!! me crazy!!!" kind of humor interspersed throughout it but I'm confident the story will be fun regardless, if not a little childish at times.
21:05 heres the thing though the debate of the show being less polished to fit the theme sounds cool in your head until you look at the other show glitch made and its artstyle. Sunset paradise while has simple animation was easier to do it was also a stylistic choice that received criticism from fans that it was bad yet when you look at the inspirations like mario sunshine, and it wanting to act like an older game it looks beautiful and fun with its bright colors and even relaxing. Its nice for what its trying to do. And while sunset paradise is probably more flawed then this one that played a factor into being the lesser known its not what im talking about tho Perhaps the audience would still appreciate the touch after all if its executed correctly as it has a lot of thought put into it more then sunset paradise but i didn't mind they still reference what the show is supposed to be while staying high quality and i appreciate that. Overall its a fair and understandable video i just think we need to see how the rest of the episodes will play out to see if its worthy of its popularity more. And i think it is popular for what it is too at least ive seen that from the glitch fans the first 2 episodes were setting up a lot up which is why it i feel it ended up with these issues too.
Great vid :) I think I agree with all of your thoughts. The worldbuilding is a little thin on the bone right now, and I'm not super convinced by the way the show explores nihilism and dissociation. I get more insight into the story's themes through those Tumblr ask blogs than the story itself. Your argument that you dismissed about the Ragatha clip is right on the money IMO. Unsubtle, a bit shallow, clumsy. Sums up a lot of my negative feelings about the show. That said, the show's still genuinely entertaining. Like you I'm pulled along by genuine character development and the occasional very funny joke. I love that Jax is an asshole and he regularly gets a laugh out of me. My only real disagreement is with Gummigoo. The shock and indignation I felt when you besmirched his name... He's my boyfriend and while his dialogue is kind of stilted and he is a corpse I will not tolerate this slander
at first I didn't understand the love for TADC, but when the second episode came out and people started comparing me to Gummigoo, i decided to check it out. I've gone back to rewatch them at least once a week because i love the series so much.
Well it deserves the popularity but the reputation sucks. People think of tadc and then think of lanky box, the weird fandom, the ships, the fanart, etc. The issue is the fandom, not the show
When I first saw the pilot, I thought it was cute but wasn’t that into it. Some of the jokes were funny and some were kinda cringy and I felt it was trying too hard. But then I watched it again after seeing some fan art of it and saw it in a different light. Even though the show itself wasn’t that great imo, it did touch on something I connect to. The world feels like a weird off putting place that I can’t escape unless ya know..I die. So now I love this show just for that and the clowny aesthetic (I love clowns). And also the music is amazing.
I was a fan for Goose for a long time and its clear that TADC is the kind of show she's been trying to make for a VERY long time (see Darly boxman and ghost of the year) and this is the one that finally got off the ground.
The comment about the style is something that also bummed me out, specially in the pilot, i would have LOVED if in the part where Pomni looks at her reflection, her reflection was less shaded and the background had some objects missing, like how old games used to optimize mirror reflections.
I subscribed for your Deltarune videos, but I think I'm just going to watch all your videos now, I'm really enjoying them. You analysis are ver well made and you express yourself very eloquently. Keep it up.
5:44 I mean... you're TECHNICALLY not wrong, since there are three characters that come to mind when you say that. Anakin Skywalker (the main and eventually secondary protagonist for a majority of the series) just wanted to see the stars and be the first to explore all of space, for him and his mother to be free from Watto, and to be the best star pilot in the galaxy; if it meant joining the Jedi Order to get all that, then cool blue glowwy sword meant a bonus. lol Ezra Bridger (the protagonist of the animated series 'Star Wars Rebels') and Luke Skywalker (the main protagonist that takes Anakin's place starting in 'Episode IV: A New Hope') serve as a better reference, since their entire stories legit begin with an experienced older man showing them that there is more to everything than what meets the eyes, and that leads to them getting lightsabers and kicking ass with them. We don't talk about the Mandalorian, Ahsoka, or the Acolyte; those shows honestly ruined the concept of lightsabers. As good as Mandalorian is, I genuinely believe they fumbled with starting that bullshit.
There’s truly very little chance they would be able to animate in REACTION to each episode, animation takes time. Even if it appears like a long time between them they’re still working on the next one. Helluva boss got this same kind of comment and Viv was like we literally already completed the season and working on the next…
I genuinely hate everything about Jax with a passion, his design, personality, voice. He just reminds me of some of the worst people I've meant in my life and the fact that anyone found him endearing in anyway from the start baffles me.
With video essays become so popular on UA-cam in the past year or so, I’ve seen a lot of newer creators video essays on things I’m interested but I often get turned off by awkward narration, poor editing, or the creator just reading Wikipedia & giving the barest bones of information. But I quite liked this video, it was really in depth & it’s also obvious you have some sort of background knowledge of fandom/online culture. I honestly hate the thought of tadc needing to have a random dark/edgy/gorey scene to scare off all the younger viewers. I actually want the horror of this show to be solely existential or eerie. Like watching the characters slowly start to lose themselves, or seeing stuff in the background that you aren’t sure is real or not. & I do have a hard time believing 100% that the crew behind this show didn’t know it would draw a younger audience. Even if this story was the exact same characters & was set in a dark edgy world, it would still draw a young audience-though perhaps not as big- just because kids today love stories that are dark with hidden lore.
Tbf, some people just like to do stuff like that, so it's not really bait, but just creating what they like. One of my characters also has Tumblr Sexyman energy and he had it before I even knew other people liked that stuff, because I just saw things that I liked and added them to my creations. It's only really a problem when the character it's *just* that, to an annoying degree, Ig.
after Gooseworx literally put a warning list of the show with not really very very childish things in it (if you know what I mean👀), I think that more than half of the content farms and channels for children will stop reacting to the series
@@MKO2D7 I wish that were the case but the thing about content farms is that they often target kids using inappropriate/sexual content so I doubt they’d care.
@@astuffedalpaca5365 yeah you right that's mainly why I hate them but basically I was talking about content farms or children's channels which don't necessarily use sex or anything related like Lankybox (which only do brainrot) which will not be able to react to the continuation of the series because even if there will be sexual implications there will be other things psychologically unbearable for children and sensitive people and that is why she said that it is for “weird people in their 20s” cause (in my opinion) the animated series is good for teenagers and adults but when she said that I think she meant “people in their 20s” (cause adults can stand the series psychologically) who still watch animations at their old age (that's why she calls them "weird") (but then it's always according to me) but in short, personally I'm 14 years old, I'm psychologically strong to literally watch gore (but I prefer not) but I still think that TADC is still for teenagers and adults if they are not sensitive and not for children because it is logical, even if some content farms will continue to destroy tadc(sorry for replying 4 days later, I was busy and tired XD)
Another part of how the audience has a lot of kids in it and the question of how/ if that reflects on the media is the flipside. TADC wasn't made _for kids_ but does have popularity among them, which is a result of it being just a good show in general imo. At the same time there's a lot of media that is explicitly made for children, but a great deal of it is not thought well of because it's not just "made for children" but "made so nobody but children would enjoy it", but this is not the only type of children's media; ATLA is possibly the most prominent example of a children's show which is written so well that it's still extremely popular even among adults. Well made children's media is still well made media, it doesn't need to be something only children would like for children to like it, and sometimes this goes the other way too. We get good shows that aren't made specifically for children but are popular with them nonetheless because even children can see the appeal.
13:15 I think this works very well as a set-up of tone. It's Ragatha showing that this world isn't that colorful. It funtions like a mini-version of the sad Gummigoo moment in the Dev Room. The scene after this is more focused on action and for the rest of the episode we don't see much of Ragatha anymore. Even from a character standpoint - it makes sense. Ragatha is always pretty positive, but a new arrival reminds her of herself when she first got there - and those burried feeling come back to the surface here. Subtle writing is great, we have shows that do that very well, but TADC isn't like that. They like to just put it out there and make things happen. Anything unspoken adds to the mystery.
I'm a gooseworx fan. Their sense of humor and weirdness is why I keep coming back. I feel the Digital Circus is a moment where they went mainstream, yet they didn't lose what made their humor special.
this video feels like it's digging into my brain, what you said about this explained EXACTLY how i felt about omori when it first came out, how it felt like a "trap" made specifically for me to like it, even though i genuinely did like it very much💀it felt like i was "letting them win" LMAO on the opposite side, with this show i was following the creator a few weeks before it came out and watched the pilot in the first day or two, and in ALL that time i didn't expect digital circus to have a big fanbase AT ALL i thought it would be a little obscure thing that finally gets popular like 6 years after it ends, so it's interesting to hear from someone who feels the opposite nice video
maybe im overly sensitive but i always though that pomni dismissing ragatha every time she attempts to show some kindness to her extremely rude… and yes i understand the situation is very difficult to process and pomni’s reaction to it is valid but ragatha is just trying to be friendly and welcoming 😭 i could get past it in the pilot but in episode one i thought it was so rude because at that point pomni understood ragatha was just trying to help
I honestly never got into TADC due to How colorful and bright it seems. Granted, that does kinda seem hypocritical of me cause I do like colorful and bright things. I don’t know but something about it just doesn’t click with me compared to other colorful and bright things I’ve watched
11:50 interesting, cuz for me (the exact target demographic for the show) all the humor hit. You can tell that episode 1 is trying super hard - the humor is sometimes a bit much, but it all hits for me. Especially Caine's randomness when he suddenly is loud being like 'JAX!' His dialouge is greatly written.
I do agree with most of your points I personally liked episode 2 more since the way gumingoo reacting to not being real connected with my own fears about being useless and unnecessary. I also am not a fan of the B plots so far. As it just feels kind of jarring to go from a very heartfelt or existential moment to something very lighthearted in comparison. Being trapped in a endless maze - now we're talking to a generic villian Questioning the meaning of life - now we're with a chocolate monster
i get pomni’s supposed to be haha relatable but as someone who has just as much anxiety/ptsd/depression as pomni got within the pilot alone, her character got annoying after the first minute tbh
There's possibility the show will get darker and darker as it goes on, like Murder Drones. We just have to wait and see. Shows like The Clone Wars and The Dragon Prince were also getting darker and darker as they continuing to the finale.
i think goose should have expected kids to like it and other than that idk if they mind the teens liking it but really should have expted that i think she should (idk if she does not) at least appreciate the more teen fans that are not as brainrotted as the young kids. i also really agree with ur comment about star wars! like thats the perfect comparison. i feel like goose is a lil to harsh on kids.
I genuinely thought this was targeted at kids when I watched the episodes. I feel like it's because the writing is treating the audience like they won't understand most of the concepts instead of letting them think on what things mean. I've seen shows for little kids that are less over explanatory about their lore or emotional scenes. Like, Lego Ninjago has a character sacrifice his life infront of his friends because as a robot he's the only one who can do it and it needed no words, just facial expressions and good music. I feel like this is a perfect example why the phrase "show, don't tell" exists. Telling can be useful if things would be boring to see, but here a lot of the stuff that's supposed to be intriguing is told to us before it's shown and it takes away the impact it could've had.
The main excuse that tadc haters say is “omg it’s so brainrot” just because there is some content farm elsagate shit that has no connection with the story/lore (other than Caine showing them to pomni in the episode 2 teaser trailer)
A little unrelated but lowkey if I got transported to a place like this I wouldn’t be complaining at all. Like I know they can’t remember how crappy the real world is but me personally, free food, no bills, going on adventures all day, room all to yourself, that’s so fucking fun. Caine omg zaddy pick me next pls
Finally someone said it, this show is not horror. I might have gotten chills in that one scene in ep2 but I wouldn't call it horror just for a single scene.
I used to avoid watching TADC because I assumed it was some kid's thing, but hearing people talk about it made me realize otherwise and now I've watched both episodes multiple times.
As a teen who hates brainrot/content farms and who prefers things that are still appropriate but still probably have an older target audience (ie Deltarune,) I suppose my initial reaction won’t hurt. I liked Caine in the beginning, but in hindsight his wacky gags went on for a bit too long. The abstraction monster could have been a little creepier. For me, Jax was funny, not irritating. Pomni was kind of annoying in the pilot. Ragatha was nice. Kinger, Gangle, and Zooble didn’t get as much attention as I would’ve liked. The humor was good, the animation was good, all in all it was pretty good. For Episode 2, I preferred it. The side plot was a lot funnier, and I think Pomni’s part was much more enjoyable than her just walking through the backrooms. As a Deltarune fan, I love meta elements, so GummiGoo’s crisis was enjoyable (not in a sadistic way.) Kinger, Gangle, and Zooble still felt underutilized, even to the point of me ofter forgetting Gangle’s name. The humor was even better this time. A good one I remembered was: ”You can have violence next time.” “How wholesome.” In summary, it’s not a “11/10 I’m addicted to this.” It’s a solid 8/10, for me at least. Note that this is a day after watching. Opinions can change. Two, I didn’t put insane effort into this comment. Some things might not be written very well. *TL;DR as a teen I thought it was enjoyable.*
I think that it isn't bad, per-se, but rather overrated. It overshadowed many more animations of the same quality, or even higher (for example, Emesis Blue is the same quality, but only has 10 million views compared to the TADC pilot). It is also designed to appeal to a wider audience than Emesis Blue. While Emesis Blue is only audience are people who are in to stuff like the shining or TF2, however, TADC's target audience are late teens to early 20's, as stated, which contains a lot more people than those niche categories. I mean I think VeggieTales is better, so I'm probably wrong. Sorry for the rant :(
Omg, I actually agree on the VeggieTales thing. I don't want to hate on this show necessarily, but I compare it to something like ENA which is very similar in setting and I'm baffled why Digital Circus is so popular in comparison because I just feel nothing while watching Digital Circus while ENA feels captivating throughout even though it's mostly incomprehensible videogame nonsense humor. Nothing in Digital Circus makes me want to know the answer to the mystery and that's not good for any show that has a mystery.
I’ve loved Gooseworx’s work for a while now and I feel like a lot of the comedy in the show and the style works a bit better and hits better if you have been a fan of her work or similar stuff to it. TADC is just a carnival of madness like her other animations and serieses. That’s why I love it. But also I love the premise, though it has a Pibby thing going on with unintentionally attracting kids
I literally agree with pretty much every single point you have here holy moly, I kind if put off watching this video when I see it popped up but I was pleasantly surprised LOL Also really with the show's aesthetic!! I havent really seen a lot people talk about it before and I'm glad someone thinks so too. It's nice that it's really high quality but I've also felt like it could've benefitted aesthetically with being less polished and sort of. old-video-game-y lol
"Independent" indie shows when "independent artists" got existing budgets, pre planned merch, paid cast and artstyle made to appeal to a wider audience rather than show something actually independent
If I had to put in my two cents, I’d say TADC suffers from what I call “Pibby Syndrome”. When a piece of media that, whether intentionally or unintentionally, looks like it’s for kids but, in reality, isn’t, inevitably ends up attracting a fanbase mainly comprised of children.
I especially feel bad for TADC just because of how quickly the content farm channels got to and consumed it. People have just assumed it’s Gen Alpha brain rot and it’s so much more than that.
Just thinking out loud, but I also thought about what the opposite of this phenomenon would be and I figured it would be “MLP Syndrome” or, for a more recent example, “Bluey Syndrome”. The case where a piece of media that contains mature themes but is fundamentally designed as a children’s show, ends up attracting a sizeably large teen and adult fanbase.
Thank the content farms for the “Gen Alpha brain rot” assumption.
Y e s
The same thing sort of happened to FNAF and Poppy's Playhouse fanbases; people knew that it was initially supposed to be a horror exclusive thing, but it turned into a fanbase that became divided on the themes and meanings of the games through rampant content farming on both sides.
Me being a huge fan of both mlp and tadc what syndrome am I 👁️
same problem with hazbin hotel
I've been a big fan of gooseworx for a while and although i didn't really like the aesthetic of TADC at first compared to the other stuff, the show quickly grew on me despite that. To me, it's just a festival of weirdness, weird humor, weird lore, weird characters, and that's why i love it.
i really appreciate it because of that! TADC gives a unique vibe that not many shows gives off
I’ve been a gooseworx for like not a long time but not too short time aswell it was like a few months before gooseworx was confirmed to work with glitch for a show I loved pink city I want it back so bad
Oh yeah, I agree!! It was surreal to see her pair up with Glitch at first but the series has blown my expectations out of the water :)
Oh yeah, I agree!! It was surreal to see her pair up with Glitch at first but the series has blown my expectations out of the water :)
@@ANGRYYYYYYYYYit's not horror . it's a dark comdey it more/ of like fantasy / video game violence . it's like wreck it ralph but it's played on a deeper level .
Fascinating video. I’ve always hated the phrase “deserves/ doesn’t deserve to be popular.” It’s really not a deal of deserving or not, it’s just “is or isn’t popular.” A lot of it comes down to chance and marketing. It just happens. You either like it or ya don’t.
@@MxMothra I actually agree (it’s another reason I’m not a fan of criticizing things for being ‘overrated’) which is why I chose “reputation” for the title - TADC has a reputation for being good, but it also has a reputation as mascot horror, a reputation as gen alpha brainrot, etc.
Yeah, bit like that for Mesmerizer, a Vocaloid song that people started to be assholes about because it's very popular. It just is. It's a good song. Sure, too popular, but I love it still.
when i saw the screenshot of Goose saying she hated Lankybox, i was confused like "tf they do!?" & took a second to realize i was confusing Lankybox with Swankybox
Apologise to Swankybox for making that comparison this instant
Still, show no mercy on hating on lankybox
@@Microsave2 TBH he made the reputation of Roblox even worse in the longer run, so you have an good point
I did that as well 😂
Broooo I thought I was the only one who did unintentionally did that 😭 I only know Swanky and his mario videos
Hmmm i personally don't think TADC is designed to be Tumblr-bait. Like you said, the show is too genuine to be a purely cynical commercial product. TADC being appealing to Tumblr users is probably cuz the creator is a Tumblr user herself and her interests will inevitably influence her work.
Jax being a tumblr sexyman, is because the Tumblr sexyman is an extension of a pretty common character archetype - asshole young man with deep inner issues.
HOW BA-A-A-AD CAN I BE! I'M JUST FUELING THE ECONOMY!
-the Once-ler
☝️ Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Exhibit A.
TADC might not be horror, but when it reaches into the dark elements, like Gummigoo being killed off... That's extreme existential horror for me, and I love it.
Also Jax being an asshole is hilarious to me in the same way you've got videos of UA-camrs playing games together, and there's the one guy trying to get other people killed in the game (Like Phisnom and his friends with Lethal Company, he (especially early on) tried to mess with his friends and cause as much mayhem as possible "for the bit") Currently the way I understand Jax is that he's at least doing the same thing except instead of playing the game, he's in it, which is really inter to me.
There was video I watched that went into how the different characters can portray different ways people play games, and there they said that Jax acts like a murder hobo, and thats probably the best description for him.
@@TheCubifyer yeah that's perfect
Basically it's a dark comedy type of show like Billy and Mandy.
@@kootunesscrewy I mean, I don't think TADC is for the same age range but I think I see where your coming from, haven't really watched any of that in a while
I think the reason jax acts like that is because he knows they’re probably ai so hes not actually harming a person, like at the end of episode 2 where he essentially killed all the people in the kingdom
Yes
Oh hello there, wasn’t expecting to see you here!
Blud thought it was a conversation
I personally don't relate to Pomni like most of the community seems to do. I relate a lot more to Ragatha. Being trapped in there does kinda suck, but so does living the real world. It's more of a "pick your poison" situation to me.
And living in a world where I don't have to find a job and make money and instead I can just go on adventures in fictional worlds where all of my fantasies can become "real" but without the consequences that would come with it being actually real... That would be cool.
So I think I wouldn't mind being in the Digital World that much. Sure, there's the risk of abstraction, but it's only if you go crazy. If you enjoy your time there, it'll probably be fine.
To add to that, Ragatha's body is also the most human out of the circus cast and she probably didn't have to change her vision of herself nor faces problems due to her shape much when compared to Dangle, Gizmo or Kingler. Pommi and Jax also have very human-like bodies but unlike Ragatha, their physical characteristics are unlike anything a human could be, which might affect their psyche negatively (the first episode kind of implies that it does for Pommi specifically).
@@Ditidos Do you mean Gangle and Kaufmo ??
@@Oceane1803 Yes, sorry, I didn't remember their names completely (or the spelling in Gangle's case).
@@Ditidos Yeah I guess that if I was there I would still like to have a human-like face, with hair and stuff. But we don't know how their avatars are made.
Maybe they created them themselves before being brought in the game, or their bodies were created from the things they like and how they are as people, so regardless they have a body that fits them.
At least it's clearly not chosen from a limited roster of characters since no human has the same body as another in the Digital Circus.
@@Oceane1803 It's true, albeit I don't think there is a wattsonian explanation for the shows character's appearances other than they are toys of some sort. I just think it might be a representation of how affected by the circus the characters are, with the more human characters being closer to sanity than the less human characters. At this moment, Jax and Ragatha are the more understandable of the troup for me, and Pommi is the protagonist.
For me situations like this always come back to one thing that creator Jhonen Vazquez said, you don’t make a show from easily marketable demographic you make a show for a type of person, invader Zim isn’t for kids or adults, it’s for weird sci-fi nerds who like dark shit and good designs, same thing with digital Circus, it’s for video game nerds that like soft horror and an odd sense of humor
It's weird to see this show got so much attention. I wonder if this is because it has been a drought of "weird and wacky that looks silly, but get dark and existentia" given we have been waiting for deltarune chapter 3-4 and ena dream BBQ.
Me personally I do like shows and wanted to see what happens next.
Also I do like this "new wave web animation" era of animation channel and indie artist we having. Sure they may be people who may have some show that doesn't click towards them. but given "main stream" animation lately and especially adult, it nice.
I really don't mind the show being character focused. I've seen other stories tackle the "person stuck in a virtual reality" plot so I think it is key that Digital Circus sets itself apart in whatever way Glitch thinks is best.
Fun fact, even Glitch Production's first show is already about a girl who warps into video games, difference is she can warp in and out voluntarily
Okay I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't care for Gummigoo's death. This video perfectly sums up my negative feelings about the show. But like u said, despite all it's negativites (yknow especially the serious moments) I still somehow enjoyed the show and I genuinely don't know why
Oh and this video also sums up why I don't like Caine AT ALL. I genuinely find him very annoying (which is funny because I absolutely love Sapmton and Four... Yknow Caine was based off of them)
Me too! I feel as though Gummigoo served his purpose, he doesn't need to stay for the rest of the series. I knew mid-way through the episode he was going to be snapped out of existence and I was glad that's what happened.
@@classicleafsterfair enough. Actually, maybe that’s part of why Ragatha doesn’t like him as much.
@@classicleafsterur so wrong
I was already done cosplaying as a waterfall after aot
14:35 As a chronic Tumblr user and a TADC fan, I can confirm that Tumblr folk have found a way to turn every single male character in TADC into a Tumblr sexy man (Jax, Caine, Kinger, and Gumigoo).
Tumblr user, am I a tumblr sexyman?
@@SpyDoTF2 Yes.
@@Miko-Works
My gratitude upon thee
Jax didn’t surprise me at all lol, as soon as I saw his design I knew what he was destined for
@@sketchycat6223my poo brain had the same thought when i saw AND heard him
Seeing DDLC next to the words “Mascot Horror” almost made me get into my washing machine and turning it on
Made me stop watching the video. Terrible editing. Its really not that hard to find a clip of some cheap mascot horror game and drag it on the timeline
TADC is nowhere near mascot horror wth
21:18 apparently this was the original intent, Goose wanted it to look like 90s PC-ROM games (there's concept art of this) but settled on an 'idealised' version of it after advice that it could turn off a good chunk of the audience. If it's as simple as changing the rendering style, hypothetically they could do two versions of each episode if they ever made like a physical release or something - one normal and one 'period accurate' :)
That sounds like a lot more of work than it's worth
aw that sucks. im sad super stylized stuff doesn't get popular. i would have so much more love for tadc if it went that route. wouldve made rendering times infinitely faster too.
WHAT COULD'VE BEEN.......
That wouldve been way better, and maybe itd be good if it made children not wanna watch it. There wouldnt be content farms.
@@Kedamohno I guess stuff like that isn't popular in internet animation, but I can think of a lot of varyingly popular internet-made games/assets with lighter or heavier retro 3D styles. Those things are Ultrakill (and other indie shooters inspired by Quake or Doom), horror games made by Puppet Combo Studios and similar indie studios, Vibapop's 3D FNAF models, Spooky's Jumpscare Mansion, the currently rather popular Lethal Company, and the formerly super popular parody horror game, Baldi's Basics.
Jax: I don’t even remember her name 🙄
Me knowing pomni means remember in Russian: *WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZE*
I don't Pomni her name
Lord this comment physically hurt was I transported back to 2018 or something
What does it mean in Russian?
@@Pastellera2videoremember, it says it in the original comment
@@r4in_o202 bro 😭😭😭😭
I have enjoyed the amazing digital circus by characters, humor, and more!! By the way I have met one of voice actor in the show who is Kinger he was very nice in person
That family Guy clip where Peter and you saying you just don't care for gummigoo... Chef's kiss
Judging any show based on the pilot episode isn't gonna work too well, since those episodes are known to basically be the show hook and that's why the 3 episode rule exists. Yeah if it's not your thing then you don't have to but if you like something then giving it a shot for 1 or 2 more episodes can't hurt.
I think I liked the show more because I just didn't follow what the internet was discussing with the characters so all I knew of Jax was just "mean bunny character" and I could ignore stuff like him being a sexyman or fan favorite.
Thanks for mentioning the different types of humor in the show - that’s the main thing that made me dislike episode 1, but allowed me to love episode 2. While I’m not talking about loud or quiet, I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment of “when this show misses, it misses hard”. Episode 1’s jokes bank so hard on you thinking they’re funny because the punchlines go on for ten seconds, so if you didn’t laugh you have to sit there awkwardly until the show eventually decides to chug along. When the update animation was released I noticed the hang time on jokes were extremely reduced, and I was actually laughing at the jokes this time instead of dreading them - because even if I didn’t find a joke funny, the waiting time of one joke from episode 1 is instead replaced with 2 more quick jokes. The sun’s “I’m gonna kill you” segment reminded me of episode 1 humor and single-handedly made me realize what was going on. I also found it funnier due to the jokes themselves changing a bit. I’m honestly unable to pin down what exactly is different but I 100% feel it. Different kinds of punchlines.
I was really hoping that the second episode would do the same with the humor, and it did, and I loved that episode.
This was a good video. I’m happy to find a genuine constructive critique of this show, as I’ve seen surprisingly little of that considering how big the show is.
To your last point, I agree so much. I've been searching for so long for people to actually _talk_ about the show. Not just make repetitive unfunny jokes and memes that are getting old. But to actually speak about the characters and more. That's the show's intention after all. Character exploration.
Unfortunately, it's stuck with it's "HA HA FUNNI DARK" reputation which sucks. Glad to found this video as well.
Have you even rewatched episode one? The punchlines are quick, they don't go on for 10 seconds. If you're talking about Caine's internet modum sound bit, that is just meme/internet humor - maybe that's just not for you. The difference is that episode 2 has a true plot so they can write around that. The A and B plots are stonger and emotionally/tonely closer - which makes the humor even stronger because that's what good writing does.
Pilots are hard, and it's known that season one of sitcoms suck because of it.
While the jokes in episode one try very hard - I can see them as just funny, if a bit much. I don't think they are bad or unfunny.
@@lorettabes4553 You’re actually right, I hadn’t watched episode 1 since October. I did go back and rewatch both and I do admit it the change isn’t as clean cut as I remembered it as. Episode 1 has a lot more quick subtle jokes than I remembered, and Episode 2 still had some long drawn out ones. But I still do think Episode 2’s humor was way better - when I did rewatch them, I laughed once on episode 1 and like 10 times on episode 2. Maybe what I was really critiquing was the pacing of the episode as a whole, and shifted the blame onto the humor. But I still do stand by my point that Episode 2 was funnier, at least to me, and I’ll have to do some thinking on why Episode 1’s subtle jokes didn’t phase me while still laughing at Episode 2’s subtle jokes. (Subtle as in “character words something this way” or “carries out this action this way”) Thanks for calling me out on this, I would’ve kept saying this otherwise.
@@patcangy episode 2 is more consistent for sure
"TADC is targeted at weird people in their 20's."
Looks like I'm in the right place then.
“I can’t like him cuz he’s popular”
Said the person with 3 admittedly really good deltarune videos that are what I subbed for, but like come on. Sans is in it. Need I say more? Really though stuffed alpaca if you see this comment I mean it in good jest but really, glass houses and all
THE DELTARUNE PERSON!?!?!?
That was me seeing serial designation N
@@idrawstuff6971 Hi!
@@rotomfan63 You're so surface level.
I'm still a bit perplexed at just HOW it became such a sensation, why it hit the nerve as well as it did, to the tune of 30-300x more views than most indie animations that are still considered successful and popular. Its such a dramatic difference and all the typical reasons for why don't feel like they quite explain such overwhelming popularity.
kids
@@ehdontmindmedumb kids.
I’ve noticed in general indie cartoons get a lot of random praise most likely just because they’re indie, like The Amazing Digital Circus wouldn’t be anywhere NEAR as popular if it was a professionally made show by a proper studio, and as I’ve seen what there is of it, I think the hype has been overblown THROUGH THE ROOF. It’s pure hyperbole.
Hopefully nobody tries to cancel me.
Kids
@@veebot75 this doesn’t explain the numerous indie projects that haven’t achieved remotely the level of fame Helluva/Hazbin and TADC have.
So yeah, here’s your cancellation: You’re wrong lol
While I would prefer the more pixelated, old video game style over the more polished version, honestly that's not the biggest problem with it's style. The backgrounds are just so busy and not blurred that it is genuinely a painful watchful experience, I've tried to hard to watch it but it gives me headaches because the characters blend in with their surroundings and I have to strain my eyes. I feel this makes the show very inaccessible and I would rather I be able to watch it at all than have it be a special aesthetic.
the show I feel is definitely worth the hype and very much deserves the amount of praise and viewers it gets. that being said, I am not a fan of the humor, and the pacing is slower than I would appreciate, but I definitely if anything find the aniamtion simply phenomenal considering the team. it looks amazing.
I think a good reason why the show doesn't go with the whole grainy style from the very beginning is because that grainy style is how the audience is supposed to see it. But we aren't the audience. The audience would be seeing the whole adventure play out in it's wacky form, but... us? We see everything from the characters being real with eachother, able to go out of bounds from the map, having a more personal look at the characters. Plus, it helps us relate more with the characters and the fact that they are trapped in this colorful Hell for what seems like an eternity. We see what they see in their eyes.
I've been holding off on watching past the pilot but i think i will after this! I agree in the point that a lot of people seem to expect it to be mascot horror when it seems obvious it isnt and is more interested in using horror as an aid for humor.
I'm 18 I love digital circus my media is a mix of kid and adult shows on one hand I like my little pony and barbie even since I was a kid but I also enjoy Hazbin hotel Helluva boss I feel like Digital Circus in in the middle since Teens and Adults can both like it the Dark comedy can put them with the adult shows with the whole censored cursing in the show I enjoy Tdac the awful content farms making digital circus seem for “kids”
The exit corridors gave me way more Stanley Parable vibes than the backrooms
Part of the issue is everyone is arguing over and reading things into the show when it's only two episodes in. Like there are many elements seeded immediately that suggest the show could go down the route of severe horror very easily. But we don't know if that's really the writer's intent yet.
An oddity of these indie funded online series is that their understandably slow pace of development and release encourages fans to fill in the blanks for months or even years in their imagination. The very anticipation for more of the series can turn toxic. Fans begin creating a version of the show in their head that was never planned to exist.
Hazbin Hotel is a great example - years and years between pilot and series resulted in a lot of people developing very specific versions of the characters in their heads based on things they felt were indicated in the pilot. But that wasn't much to go off of. And a lot of people were disappointed by the series being different than what they imagined.
I think the root of the community's reaction to Jax is that his design is reminiscent of Sans so that's what people were primed to expect from his personality, when he's actually a lot more like Handsome Jack from Borderlands
Handsome Jax
what in the heck is similar about a tall lanky purple rabbit with yellow teeth to a short skeleton with pink slippers?
oh what that his teeth dont open when he talks? are people really that surface level?
one was an obvious asshole from the start while the other was a light hearted joker
everytone thinks they like a mean character until hes actually mean
I just really like the show because it has intriguing story, great art, and good humor.
I avoid the content farms like the plague, though. Those things steal from multiple artists.
It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that this show attracts so much younger viewers. I and many others grew up with gems such as "The Secret of NIMH" and "The Land Before Time", which arguably tackle even heavier themes than TADC. So, in my experience children can and happily do handle much more serious subject matters than people seem to give them credit for today.
wow probably my favorite tadc review I've seen very well made and honest!
I thought Gooseworx eluded that Gumnigoo wasn't actually dead he just got sent back to his relm and at worst maybe lost his memories of what he discovered
I remember when I saw the character reveals for TADC and I was HOOKED. I loved the aesthetic (probably because it reminded me of windows 7, so it played into my nostalgia lol) and couldn’t wait for the pilot! And then I saw the content farms and the bootlegs and the elsagate and… yep
now i can’t talk about liking the show without either interacting with 8 year olds or people who hate in something because it’s popular
The only thing that really seemed odd to me was how commercially successful its been. The show has 2 episodes and they've done like, 3 or 4 different merch releases already. The brand alone seems to sustain it a great deal
i just found ur channel and i am absolutely in love with the way you edit!!!!! ur way of speaking just jumbled my mess of brain into something consumable!!!! instantly subscribed, keep cooking
the phenomena of digital circus attracting a younger audience reminds me of when i stumbled onto attack on titan for the first in when i was a 4th grader 10 years ago. i was no where near the target audience or maturity, but i look back at that show with fondness because it brings me a lot of nostalgia. if the studio of digital circus can leverage this phenomena well, they'll have a loyal generational audience regardless if it was aimed at them or not
Very nice video also glad you got a better mic! the audio quality is a lot better which makes it easier to get into your vids!
HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY TADC IS NOT MARKETED AS A HORROR IT'S MARKETED AS A DARK COMEDY????
This video is clearly about how its *perceived.*
Nice we got Frieren appreciation in the first couple minutes :)
Trueeeee =w=
Really glad you mentioned the 'loud' humor because I also find it particularly unappealing. Something about characters going on awkward mental health rambles always makes me cringe. I think the writing will continue to have the young adult "haha!! life awful!!! me crazy!!!" kind of humor interspersed throughout it but I'm confident the story will be fun regardless, if not a little childish at times.
21:05 heres the thing though the debate of the show being less polished to fit the theme sounds cool in your head until you look at the other show glitch made and its artstyle. Sunset paradise while has simple animation was easier to do it was also a stylistic choice that received criticism from fans that it was bad yet when you look at the inspirations like mario sunshine, and it wanting to act like an older game it looks beautiful and fun with its bright colors and even relaxing. Its nice for what its trying to do. And while sunset paradise is probably more flawed then this one that played a factor into being the lesser known its not what im talking about tho
Perhaps the audience would still appreciate the touch after all if its executed correctly as it has a lot of thought put into it more then sunset paradise but i didn't mind they still reference what the show is supposed to be while staying high quality and i appreciate that.
Overall its a fair and understandable video i just think we need to see how the rest of the episodes will play out to see if its worthy of its popularity more. And i think it is popular for what it is too at least ive seen that from the glitch fans the first 2 episodes were setting up a lot up which is why it i feel it ended up with these issues too.
how can you say such things about my beautiful Gummigoo…
I feel so bad for Goodeworx for the content farms:(
13:55 THANK YOU so much for saying that
Yes! That scene never quite sat right with me but I could never put into words exactly how. That's precisely why I didn't like it.
as soon as you brought up frieren i knew you'd have a good take. i love frieren so much, what a special show. great video!!
I have a secret, shows are 1000x more enjoyable if you only watch the show, and ignore the community.
Great vid :) I think I agree with all of your thoughts. The worldbuilding is a little thin on the bone right now, and I'm not super convinced by the way the show explores nihilism and dissociation. I get more insight into the story's themes through those Tumblr ask blogs than the story itself. Your argument that you dismissed about the Ragatha clip is right on the money IMO. Unsubtle, a bit shallow, clumsy. Sums up a lot of my negative feelings about the show.
That said, the show's still genuinely entertaining. Like you I'm pulled along by genuine character development and the occasional very funny joke. I love that Jax is an asshole and he regularly gets a laugh out of me.
My only real disagreement is with Gummigoo. The shock and indignation I felt when you besmirched his name... He's my boyfriend and while his dialogue is kind of stilted and he is a corpse I will not tolerate this slander
at first I didn't understand the love for TADC, but when the second episode came out and people started comparing me to Gummigoo, i decided to check it out. I've gone back to rewatch them at least once a week because i love the series so much.
Does digital circus deserve it's reputatio- *YES*
Well it deserves the popularity but the reputation sucks. People think of tadc and then think of lanky box, the weird fandom, the ships, the fanart, etc. The issue is the fandom, not the show
Pre teen detected
@@ballmunch6714 how??
When I first saw the pilot, I thought it was cute but wasn’t that into it. Some of the jokes were funny and some were kinda cringy and I felt it was trying too hard. But then I watched it again after seeing some fan art of it and saw it in a different light. Even though the show itself wasn’t that great imo, it did touch on something I connect to. The world feels like a weird off putting place that I can’t escape unless ya know..I die. So now I love this show just for that and the clowny aesthetic (I love clowns). And also the music is amazing.
Id be interested in your thoughts on Murder Drones since that show does a lot of things opposite to Digital Circus.
0:01 is the fastest i've laughed out loud after clicking on a video in a long time. you're really great at visual gags.
I like TADC and Glitch Productions shows, but I can see where you’re coming from.
I was a fan for Goose for a long time and its clear that TADC is the kind of show she's been trying to make for a VERY long time (see Darly boxman and ghost of the year) and this is the one that finally got off the ground.
The comment about the style is something that also bummed me out, specially in the pilot, i would have LOVED if in the part where Pomni looks at her reflection, her reflection was less shaded and the background had some objects missing, like how old games used to optimize mirror reflections.
I subscribed for your Deltarune videos, but I think I'm just going to watch all your videos now, I'm really enjoying them. You analysis are ver well made and you express yourself very eloquently. Keep it up.
i didnt think the premiere would be this late im so tired
I appreciate you staying up and also apologize because I was so sure I’d set it to noon and not midnight…
Probably timezone stuff
I'm really a grandpa. I have no idea what "content farm" is and I'm just learning today that TADC is watched by kids?
5:44
I mean... you're TECHNICALLY not wrong, since there are three characters that come to mind when you say that.
Anakin Skywalker (the main and eventually secondary protagonist for a majority of the series) just wanted to see the stars and be the first to explore all of space, for him and his mother to be free from Watto, and to be the best star pilot in the galaxy; if it meant joining the Jedi Order to get all that, then cool blue glowwy sword meant a bonus. lol
Ezra Bridger (the protagonist of the animated series 'Star Wars Rebels') and Luke Skywalker (the main protagonist that takes Anakin's place starting in 'Episode IV: A New Hope') serve as a better reference, since their entire stories legit begin with an experienced older man showing them that there is more to everything than what meets the eyes, and that leads to them getting lightsabers and kicking ass with them.
We don't talk about the Mandalorian, Ahsoka, or the Acolyte; those shows honestly ruined the concept of lightsabers. As good as Mandalorian is, I genuinely believe they fumbled with starting that bullshit.
There’s truly very little chance they would be able to animate in REACTION to each episode, animation takes time. Even if it appears like a long time between them they’re still working on the next one. Helluva boss got this same kind of comment and Viv was like we literally already completed the season and working on the next…
I genuinely hate everything about Jax with a passion, his design, personality, voice. He just reminds me of some of the worst people I've meant in my life and the fact that anyone found him endearing in anyway from the start baffles me.
With video essays become so popular on UA-cam in the past year or so, I’ve seen a lot of newer creators video essays on things I’m interested but I often get turned off by awkward narration, poor editing, or the creator just reading Wikipedia & giving the barest bones of information. But I quite liked this video, it was really in depth & it’s also obvious you have some sort of background knowledge of fandom/online culture.
I honestly hate the thought of tadc needing to have a random dark/edgy/gorey scene to scare off all the younger viewers. I actually want the horror of this show to be solely existential or eerie. Like watching the characters slowly start to lose themselves, or seeing stuff in the background that you aren’t sure is real or not. & I do have a hard time believing 100% that the crew behind this show didn’t know it would draw a younger audience. Even if this story was the exact same characters & was set in a dark edgy world, it would still draw a young audience-though perhaps not as big- just because kids today love stories that are dark with hidden lore.
I feel like the popularity is well deserved because it's a very well done production.
Season one isn't even fully out yet so we'll see
This is making me self-conscious about my characters being tumblr bait lol (specifically Wormie, she’s too androgynous to be mainstream)
Tbf, some people just like to do stuff like that, so it's not really bait, but just creating what they like. One of my characters also has Tumblr Sexyman energy and he had it before I even knew other people liked that stuff, because I just saw things that I liked and added them to my creations. It's only really a problem when the character it's *just* that, to an annoying degree, Ig.
The main reason I clicked on this video was cause of the Nao pfp
after Gooseworx literally put a warning list of the show with not really very very childish things in it (if you know what I mean👀), I think that more than half of the content farms and channels for children will stop reacting to the series
@@MKO2D7 I wish that were the case but the thing about content farms is that they often target kids using inappropriate/sexual content so I doubt they’d care.
@@astuffedalpaca5365 yeah you right that's mainly why I hate them but basically I was talking about content farms or children's channels which don't necessarily use sex or anything related like Lankybox (which only do brainrot) which will not be able to react to the continuation of the series because even if there will be sexual implications there will be other things psychologically unbearable for children and sensitive people and that is why she said that it is for “weird people in their 20s” cause (in my opinion) the animated series is good for teenagers and adults but when she said that I think she meant “people in their 20s” (cause adults can stand the series psychologically) who still watch animations at their old age (that's why she calls them "weird") (but then it's always according to me) but in short, personally I'm 14 years old, I'm psychologically strong to literally watch gore (but I prefer not) but I still think that TADC is still for teenagers and adults if they are not sensitive and not for children because it is logical, even if some content farms will continue to destroy tadc(sorry for replying 4 days later, I was busy and tired XD)
Another part of how the audience has a lot of kids in it and the question of how/ if that reflects on the media is the flipside. TADC wasn't made _for kids_ but does have popularity among them, which is a result of it being just a good show in general imo. At the same time there's a lot of media that is explicitly made for children, but a great deal of it is not thought well of because it's not just "made for children" but "made so nobody but children would enjoy it", but this is not the only type of children's media; ATLA is possibly the most prominent example of a children's show which is written so well that it's still extremely popular even among adults. Well made children's media is still well made media, it doesn't need to be something only children would like for children to like it, and sometimes this goes the other way too. We get good shows that aren't made specifically for children but are popular with them nonetheless because even children can see the appeal.
13:39 I'm so glad that I wasn't the only one that didn't like Ragatha's mini breakdown. 😅
13:15 I think this works very well as a set-up of tone. It's Ragatha showing that this world isn't that colorful. It funtions like a mini-version of the sad Gummigoo moment in the Dev Room. The scene after this is more focused on action and for the rest of the episode we don't see much of Ragatha anymore.
Even from a character standpoint - it makes sense. Ragatha is always pretty positive, but a new arrival reminds her of herself when she first got there - and those burried feeling come back to the surface here.
Subtle writing is great, we have shows that do that very well, but TADC isn't like that. They like to just put it out there and make things happen. Anything unspoken adds to the mystery.
I'm a gooseworx fan. Their sense of humor and weirdness is why I keep coming back. I feel the Digital Circus is a moment where they went mainstream, yet they didn't lose what made their humor special.
I liked this video and did not hate this video and I think nondeltarune content would do great if more people gave it a chance
would you rather have a digital circus movie or a tv show gets a well deserved movie.
this video feels like it's digging into my brain, what you said about this explained EXACTLY how i felt about omori when it first came out, how it felt like a "trap" made specifically for me to like it, even though i genuinely did like it very much💀it felt like i was "letting them win" LMAO
on the opposite side, with this show i was following the creator a few weeks before it came out and watched the pilot in the first day or two, and in ALL that time i didn't expect digital circus to have a big fanbase AT ALL i thought it would be a little obscure thing that finally gets popular like 6 years after it ends, so it's interesting to hear from someone who feels the opposite
nice video
maybe im overly sensitive but i always though that pomni dismissing ragatha every time she attempts to show some kindness to her extremely rude… and yes i understand the situation is very difficult to process and pomni’s reaction to it is valid but ragatha is just trying to be friendly and welcoming 😭 i could get past it in the pilot but in episode one i thought it was so rude because at that point pomni understood ragatha was just trying to help
I honestly never got into TADC due to How colorful and bright it seems. Granted, that does kinda seem hypocritical of me cause I do like colorful and bright things. I don’t know but something about it just doesn’t click with me compared to other colorful and bright things I’ve watched
Can we even classify digital circus as a horror show? It’s much more of a thriller than actual horror.
I think Pomni might be a/the developer or maybe a hacker. She just needs to remember what she can do.
Caine is the developer
@@jennyhateseverything he's an ai, but not the person that made the game. He could be generating stuff, but he did not create himself
This is a really good video that made me think about TADC a lot more.
11:50 interesting, cuz for me (the exact target demographic for the show) all the humor hit.
You can tell that episode 1 is trying super hard - the humor is sometimes a bit much, but it all hits for me.
Especially Caine's randomness when he suddenly is loud being like 'JAX!' His dialouge is greatly written.
Humor is so subjective. I’m glad it all seemed funny to you, but I was rolling my eyes a few times during the pilot😅
I do agree with most of your points I personally liked episode 2 more since the way gumingoo reacting to not being real connected with my own fears about being useless and unnecessary. I also am not a fan of the B plots so far. As it just feels kind of jarring to go from a very heartfelt or existential moment to something very lighthearted in comparison.
Being trapped in a endless maze - now we're talking to a generic villian
Questioning the meaning of life - now we're with a chocolate monster
i get pomni’s supposed to be haha relatable but as someone who has just as much anxiety/ptsd/depression as pomni got within the pilot alone, her character got annoying after the first minute tbh
Short answer: despite it being another edition to the content farm curse, yes it does deserve its fame
There's possibility the show will get darker and darker as it goes on, like Murder Drones. We just have to wait and see. Shows like The Clone Wars and The Dragon Prince were also getting darker and darker as they continuing to the finale.
IT MUST BE SO HARD BEING SO CORRECT ABOUT EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME I HOPE YOU GET A BREAK……………………
i think goose should have expected kids to like it and other than that idk if they mind the teens liking it but really should have expted that i think she should (idk if she does not) at least appreciate the more teen fans that are not as brainrotted as the young kids. i also really agree with ur comment about star wars! like thats the perfect comparison. i feel like goose is a lil to harsh on kids.
I genuinely thought this was targeted at kids when I watched the episodes. I feel like it's because the writing is treating the audience like they won't understand most of the concepts instead of letting them think on what things mean. I've seen shows for little kids that are less over explanatory about their lore or emotional scenes. Like, Lego Ninjago has a character sacrifice his life infront of his friends because as a robot he's the only one who can do it and it needed no words, just facial expressions and good music.
I feel like this is a perfect example why the phrase "show, don't tell" exists. Telling can be useful if things would be boring to see, but here a lot of the stuff that's supposed to be intriguing is told to us before it's shown and it takes away the impact it could've had.
The main excuse that tadc haters say is “omg it’s so brainrot” just because there is some content farm elsagate shit that has no connection with the story/lore (other than Caine showing them to pomni in the episode 2 teaser trailer)
Here's the thing, I hate for being annoying/unfunny, content farms have nothing to do with it, I hated it before it got infected with content farms.
A little unrelated but lowkey if I got transported to a place like this I wouldn’t be complaining at all. Like I know they can’t remember how crappy the real world is but me personally, free food, no bills, going on adventures all day, room all to yourself, that’s so fucking fun. Caine omg zaddy pick me next pls
Finally someone said it, this show is not horror. I might have gotten chills in that one scene in ep2 but I wouldn't call it horror just for a single scene.
I used to avoid watching TADC because I assumed it was some kid's thing, but hearing people talk about it made me realize otherwise and now I've watched both episodes multiple times.
As a teen who hates brainrot/content farms and who prefers things that are still appropriate but still probably have an older target audience (ie Deltarune,) I suppose my initial reaction won’t hurt.
I liked Caine in the beginning, but in hindsight his wacky gags went on for a bit too long.
The abstraction monster could have been a little creepier.
For me, Jax was funny, not irritating.
Pomni was kind of annoying in the pilot.
Ragatha was nice.
Kinger, Gangle, and Zooble didn’t get as much attention as I would’ve liked.
The humor was good, the animation was good, all in all it was pretty good.
For Episode 2, I preferred it. The side plot was a lot funnier, and I think Pomni’s part was much more enjoyable than her just walking through the backrooms. As a Deltarune fan, I love meta elements, so GummiGoo’s crisis was enjoyable (not in a sadistic way.)
Kinger, Gangle, and Zooble still felt underutilized, even to the point of me ofter forgetting Gangle’s name.
The humor was even better this time. A good one I remembered was:
”You can have violence next time.”
“How wholesome.”
In summary, it’s not a “11/10 I’m addicted to this.” It’s a solid 8/10, for me at least.
Note that this is a day after watching. Opinions can change. Two, I didn’t put insane effort into this comment. Some things might not be written very well.
*TL;DR as a teen I thought it was enjoyable.*
I think that it isn't bad, per-se, but rather overrated. It overshadowed many more animations of the same quality, or even higher (for example, Emesis Blue is the same quality, but only has 10 million views compared to the TADC pilot). It is also designed to appeal to a wider audience than Emesis Blue. While Emesis Blue is only audience are people who are in to stuff like the shining or TF2, however, TADC's target audience are late teens to early 20's, as stated, which contains a lot more people than those niche categories.
I mean I think VeggieTales is better, so I'm probably wrong.
Sorry for the rant :(
Omg, I actually agree on the VeggieTales thing. I don't want to hate on this show necessarily, but I compare it to something like ENA which is very similar in setting and I'm baffled why Digital Circus is so popular in comparison because I just feel nothing while watching Digital Circus while ENA feels captivating throughout even though it's mostly incomprehensible videogame nonsense humor.
Nothing in Digital Circus makes me want to know the answer to the mystery and that's not good for any show that has a mystery.
"only 10 million views" thats still insanely good, even with compariston to tadc
I’ve loved Gooseworx’s work for a while now and I feel like a lot of the comedy in the show and the style works a bit better and hits better if you have been a fan of her work or similar stuff to it. TADC is just a carnival of madness like her other animations and serieses. That’s why I love it. But also I love the premise, though it has a Pibby thing going on with unintentionally attracting kids
I literally agree with pretty much every single point you have here holy moly, I kind if put off watching this video when I see it popped up but I was pleasantly surprised LOL
Also really with the show's aesthetic!! I havent really seen a lot people talk about it before and I'm glad someone thinks so too. It's nice that it's really high quality but I've also felt like it could've benefitted aesthetically with being less polished and sort of. old-video-game-y lol
to be honest, the digital circus is a good show. i just dont think the fandom should be full of 5 year olds
Big video to answer one simple question!
Short answer is YES it deserves it reputation better than TV shows we get these days
"Independent" indie shows when "independent artists" got existing budgets, pre planned merch, paid cast and artstyle made to appeal to a wider audience rather than show something actually independent
Corporate Indie