Could have made the situation so much worse. Not only loosing yasha but capturing or even killing Beau and Fjord with the rest not having enough time or resources to break through that door again and face the laughing Hand.
@@vincentabramo7175 Agreed. Just watched it for the first time, and Mercer wasn't pulling punches. Especially Yasha's nat 20 on Fjord which dropped him to 1 hp (relentless endurance).
It's funny that I've mostly watched the show through animations and clips because I don't have enough time ever to start watching, but I still love these characters none the less.
Jester trying to snap her out of it, and Yasha having the flashbacks just crush my heart. Like a little sister trying to wake up a big sister, but the big sister can only watch as she’s about to hurt the family she loves
Fr, watching it makes me deeply wish c2 was animated, the fights go often untouched by the animation community for very understandable reasons, but when they do it OHHH BABY do they do it
I know he isn't the main focus here but Caleb can be such a badass. He fits his role as the bag of tricks wizard perfectly. Supporting his party by changing the battlefield and handing out clutch buffs.
WIzards gets a bad rep as peoples who only throw fireballs without care if it hits party members but caleb plays such a great support caster that sometimes does damage himself and mostly is helping groupmembers do dmg (haste etc) or prevent dmg against grp members (slow). Its makes him far more likeable then it would if he would just a pure DMG dealer
I live for those moments when Caleb gets that expression like at 1:49. All the cast have great moments, people say Beau or Fjord should lead the Mighty Nein, and Jester is obviously an absolute delight, but no one enraptures me in the story and immerses me in the world more than Caleb. I loved Vax and Caleb outshines him by miles. Liam inhales what Matt puts forth and add more to the world and story with every word. If I could sit down with one member of the CR cast to play dnd with Liam will always be my first choice, and second place is so far behind.
@@Deeplight32 I think that all I need to say is that Liam made me want to play a wizard. And I am a guy who always wants to be on the front lines, face to face with enemies.
Liam and Sam are why I took a Lore Bard when I played CoS, I had never played a support character before, but I had SO much fun doing it, it was gratifying really. Sure having FB in my back pocket was lots of fun, but being able to add two more Wizzy spells to my roster made my character so much fun to play! My only gripe was that I could only change my spells on level ups!
The clear emotion in Laura's voice, the way you drew Jester tearing up and shaking her head, really did me in. I started crying when Jester started crying.
The wide, unsettling smile that Yasha has during this whole thing captures the complete 'wrongness' that came from the session. Seeing this whole thing visualized, with the music, the emotion, the flashbacks, really magnified it all. Truly, you've mastered this. Keep it up!
I gotta say it feels like I've come full circle because your "Hi I'm Jester" animatic is what convinced me to start CR in the first place and I just watched this particular episode a few days ago. But still how dare you
That was the best take on Caleb's Wall of Fire I've ever seen. The closed eye, the "squelching" across the palm, incredible. Obviously everything else ruled too, but DAMN.
I went back and watched that moment three times. It was so unique, and so detailed to show how incredibly careful Caleb is to not hurt his fam with the wall.
Not gonna lie i feel like Caleb has a lot of the best moments. Jester definitely makes it a close and debatable competition but Caleb makes so many clutch plays
I know I’m incredibly late to comment, and you might not see it, but I love you included a quick slide of Mollymauk in Yasha’s montage of Jester. He really was one of the people that Yasha cared for the most, and his death hit her incredibly hard. “I know you lost your family” includes him as well.
"Hello, everyone, and welcome to tonight's episode of Critical Role, where a bunch of nerdy ass voice actors sit around and play Dungeons and Dragons..."
In addition to what I've seen others say, I love Beau's run into the burning room. That slow down to showcase the bond of friendship immediately followed up by the horror of the Laughing Hand.
God damn this is honestly one of the creepiest depictions of the Hand yet, those empty eye sockets some how make it worse...like it sends it rocketing even further into SCP territory.
It's not just the way it looks, it's also the way it acts, and the fact that it was immortal(?) Before they did what they did to get rid of it, as well as it being so insanely powerful, and what happened to it when it died. This thing is an amazing scp as far as I'm concerned
This is gorgeous. That ominous shadow cast over her during Jester's plea and the memories are heartbreaking, the Traveler taking the hit and flipping him off, Caleb being a boss, Beau hulking out to get Fjord free, the creepy Laughing Hand, Beau's eyes bugging out and her face in the doorway, and all the great music. Had to rewatch it at least 3 times when it was recommended to me.
The fact that people who have never seen Critical Role can watch this and go "That was amazing." really speaks to the presentation of the animation, and the brilliance of the cast of CR. You definitely did this scene justice, great work!
Yooo this animation got me to finally watch the streams. Usually i just watch animatics, im just new to dnd and its fun tk watch..but that "YASHA!!!" got me
It's scenes like this that got me listening to the podcast and I'm loving it. I'm taking copious notes for my D&D campaigns and how I DM (not copying, just taking some inspiration).
i absolutely love the traveler giving the double birds to the Orphan Maker like it was him saying "You will never hurt my Jester BITCH" PS This made me cryyyy like on the episode itself i was like oh shit but man im crying here
I don’t know why this was in my recommended since I don’t watch Critical Role, though I do love Dungeons and Dragons but man, am I glad it was. I saw so many emotions, so much happen without context and felt choked up during the flashback despite knowing none of the characters.
@@shaunjohns5987 I watch UA-cam just because I have a 2 to 2 and a half hour drive two times a week. So I can listen to most of it during the drive and either watch the rest when I get to campus or when I have time throughout the week
Love all the small nuances Marisha freaking out from the door closing, Travis having a “wtf” after he bamfs without Ashley, and that scream from Laura at the end all animated very nice very nice
I loved all of the little additions, from the dramatic flashback to the Traveller insert. The Traveller insert especially, because I loved just how badass and _dangerous_ Jester looked before the Traveller revealed himself. That was so cool.
Now that the show has ended, I had to go back here to say that this is the animatic that got me into Critical Role! The way you drew everyone's emotions absolutely gets me every time. This work is absolutely amazing!
This made me actually cry you are so good with how you do emotions. The flash back with her and Jester made me just bawl, AND EVEN THE SUBTLE PARTS like Caleb being more or less the only one seeing Fjord back and just refusing to let anyone fall behind. Beau getting confident about The Laughing Hand missing her to cocky even leading her to get hit but also for Fjord to run towards Jester. THIS IS BEAUTIFULLY SHOWN BUT ITS ALSO PAINFUL. THANK YOU Edit: forgot to add that The Traveler being there right before she nearly hit Jessie and then just giving the middle finger was a great include
Ok, I love this entire thing. The artist encompassed the emotion of these scenes PERFECTLY. But can we freaking talk about their depiction of The Laughing Hand because DAMN this is exactly how I imagine it but I thought nobody else did!
This interpretation of mirror image is my favourite I have ever seen, I have been replaying it for like 10 minutes, the way it syncs with the music is just... *chef's kiss*
SO GOOD. Top 8 moments: 1) 0:59 The flashback montage - the selection of Jester moments, the POV perspective, and the music 2) 1:56 The tension I felt when Beau rushed back in to get Fjord 3) 0:55 The way we enter the flashbacks 4) 1:33 The way we exit the flashbacks 5) 1:51 The Wall of Fire, specifically the way the 'camera' moves 6) 2:42 Giving this moment of melodrama the cinematic treatment it deserves 7) 0:33 The slow walk of a new antagonist 8) 0:00 A creative way to warn about spoilers
that "Yasha!" at the end gave me chills bro. you did a great job on picking through the audio. also, that little animation during the credits of yasha dreaming of ellie and dina is super funny
I haven't got up to this in critical role, but this is literally the epidemy of and reason why I love fantasy. It's so awesome when they kinda go in 1 by 1 and distract her and try to escape their own way. This was so fking fantastic well done!
Thrills and Chills! The way you showed Yasha's change in demeanor... the way how she might've been before her encounter with the stormlord. And the flash back to all of her positive interactions with the M9 and Jester especially. think of the narrative throughline we could tie with her rolls. We've all been there groaning when Yasha couldn't roll higher than 10 so what if (for when we eventually get a M9 show/comic series) Yasha after her time with Oban, on an unconscious level was holding back in fear of reliving the memories she wants to repress. and those moments when she would wreck hell on the battlefield were her letting go out of a desire to protect her allies, her NEW family.
Still coming back to this animatic months after I've finished the Mighty Nein's story and it still hits just as a hard as when I saw this for the first time after watching the episode raw. I sincerely hope that this animator is doing great things in their life, and has a stable and lucrative career.
Everything about this is amazing! I love love love the way you interpreted Jester's double as a manifestation of The Traveler at 1:39! It is so in character that he would be kinda smug about blocking Yasha. He's protecting someone he cares about/ feels a bit possessive over AND defying the machinations of another powerful entity. You put so much detail and so much character into every moment! Really incredible work!
Ok, there are some good CR animatics out there. There are some great ones. But I think this one takes. the. cake. Incredible visual storytelling, beautiful artwork. You drove the emotion of this scene home so well. Incredible work!
I actually remember this episode a lot more than I'd want to. You captured so many little details. I remember that strength check Beau made to wrestle Fjord from the laughing hand's.....hand. I was on the edge of my damn seat. So many clutch rolls, just to retreat. And you can tell they are all massively confused...everyone except Matt 'no mercy' Mercer.
I genuinely thought they were about to lose half the party when I watched it. The Hand was fucking brutal, and Yasha unchained could potentially wipe the party on her own.
@@yooooo8600 You're not wrong, the struggles of a Barbarian lol. However she is capable of dropping just about any of the Nein with a semi lucky round of combat. She has about a 1/5 chance in any given round of combat to crit and it's lights out.
@@xenocide1307 1/5? Is that how the math works out when you have advantage? I'll take your word for it, but it seems a bit high. Yasha has no additional way to get crits so I'm assuming you're just talking about Reckless attacks. Of course if she used her skin gorger ability she would get a crit on a 19 or 20, but she has literally never used that ability, assumedly because Ashley doesn't even know it exists
@@yooooo8600 Yeah, two attacks with advantage is four chances out of twenty, reducing to 1/5. If she used the skin gorger ability it would be 4/10, so 40% up from 20%.
anytime i feel numb , i come back and watch this and it reminds me that I still have emotions. this is soo well put together and brings so much emotion to this scene. also laura yelling yasha with that much emotion in her voice is soul crushing. just brilliant.
been on an animatic binge now that I'm all caught up- this is by far the most well-executed, heart-wrenching rendition of this scene I could have possibly asked for! My GOD you did such a good job with the fight choreography, and smoothing out the chaos of the moment, and bringing in the flashbacks with jester for added effect was just- Ugh! What I'm saying is, I love this.
I keep coming back to this animatic. The sound editing. The flashbacks. The details. I legitimately bawled the first time I saw this and continue to tear up every time I see it. GOD. IT'S SO GOOD.
I have literally never shed a tear for any show or movie or anything entertainment based... Until now. I'm actually crying rn, you did an amazing job capturing what happened. Welp. On to ep 70 (Also love the traveler's double middle finger)
Wow, this is easily one of the best animatics I've watched for Critical Role. Everything from Jester's Mirror Image to Caleb's Wall of Fire was perfectly done! I got chills through the whole thing!! And I loved the little bits of humor too. Just wow, amazing
Idk how I got to this video but this scene is what got me into critical role. My husband showed me a highlight because he was trying to convince me that we needed to try D&D and after that I binged all of S2 until the pandemic hit the week I caught up. Now I'm all caught up and almost done with S1 and this scene still gets me. Such a good animation! Edit: I can't stop watching this and am now crying thank you, please send this to Art Dad
Oh my god! I’m sitting here in my car, with a rainy face because of this... the sword reflection/flashback transition, the random Jester screaming out, and the Traveler’s assist were all WONDERFULLY done!
Never seen Critical roll, but I understand exactly what’s happening, well done. The little elf’s reaction to her girlfriend getting mind controlled is heartbreaking
That’s actually really funny, because Yasha is a lesbian, but she’s dating the one that got enlarged (Beau). Jester (a tiefling, but she def looks like an elf) has more of a little sister role to basically everyone in the party.
@@hunterduncan1078 I’ve always interpreted it as this particular tribe of Kobold(Spurt’s tribe) lives in very very poor conditions and they either tire themselves out by exhaustion while digging, encounter terrible monsters or starve to death very easily, thus the shorter lifespan. And in spurt’s case, he’s probably seen some shit with his brother killed by a slime and having to collect all those items in ELEVEN DAYS.
Holy...shit.... THIS IS THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER WATCHED AND I AM CRYING! Gods, this artwork and animation is sooo freaking detailed with emotions and UGH! I CAN'T GET OVER THIS!
I do like how at 1:37 you showed the traveler protecting jester as she retreats. I also was astounded how you portrayed what happened as everyone was attempting to evacuate
I've just started watching the second campaign and finished this episode. Your take on this scene is FANTASTIC. Absolutely got goosebumps. Edit: Can't stop rewatching this! I love how you captured the desperate nature of the battle, incorporated the Jester/Yasha flashbacks, and made the Laughing Hand look SO AWFUL AND HORRIFYING. And the last, plaintive cry from Jester as the doors close on Yasha - perfection.
I have been holding off on watching this video until the moment, because UA-cam has been suggesting it to me for *weeks*. Just finished ep69 and came straight here. Absolutely amazing. Broke my heart with the Jester flashback bit, loved the whole Traveler-Jester-duplicate thing - that was really cool. And just the way everything was animated, loved it all so much, even if it made me want to cry again.
First time ive seen someone cut matts dming from the scene and i love it. Its how its supposed to be done, shown, not told. Beautiful work my dude, keep it up!!
I love this so so much! I finally started watching CR when they went on hiatus from the pandemic and by that time I've had a lot of the big events of this campaign unintentionally spoiled for me. But this episode I think was the first "big thing" that I had no prior knowledge about and it was such a shock. You captured the emotion and intensity of this battle so beautifully and I love the addition of the flashback! And then it was such a treat to find out that you also were the one who did the "Hi I'm Jester" animatic that made me want to start watching CR. Thank you for sharing this!
this is so good. im very struck by the way you interpreted jester's armor class with her duplicate taking the hit and it morphing into the traveller i watched that bit a bunch times i absolutely love it. and the montage of jester in yashas memories, i cried so good job.
I loved the details, even down to them mouthing words as they fled. And I especially appreciated the angles of Obann falling, that's a difficult angle to animate as fluidly as you did!
This is arguably one of the best animatics of Critical Role I've ever seen. The music, the Jester flashback, Yasha's face once she's turned, the Traveler cameo, the Laughing Hand... You absolutely nailed it. Damn.
You know how that thing that people do where they exaggerate their reactions when writing comments? Well, as soon as the flashback started, I was full on weeping. Good job, you absolute monster. This is SO fucking PAINFUL and I both HATE and LOVE it.
My. Favourite. Animation. AMAZING. Love the music, the way you did the spells, they way you portrayed the moments of levity (like Beau yeeting tf out, getting stuck in the door) THE FLASH BACK OH MY GOSH. I come back every now and then to rewatch this. It's honest to god, my FAVOURITE video in the entire fandom. Thankyou SO MUCH
I feel like, this was a down a path labeled “feelings!” And I was like oh yeah, sounds cathartic, feelings haha! And it was just you with a huge plank of wood with nails and barbed wire - named “FEELINGS” and ready to just knock me the fuck out. I was a fool for not being ready to cry. That was amazing. It nearly killed me and I just wanna see it again and again. Truly chilling and beautiful.
I look forward to the hopefully inevitable day when campaign 2 gets it's own cartoon series and we get to see the episode that commemorates this epic moment. Until then, this animatic does animatic will tide us all over. Brilliantly done!
This is an INCREDIBLE bit of animation!! The whole emotional scale of it along with the music is too perfect! You’ve captured the emotions and mannerisms of each character and created the exact tension and loss that I certainly felt in this scene... truly amazing!! 🤩
I think that was my favorite interpretation of the Laughing Hand yet! You made him so spine chilling and creepy, and the way he moved like he was a hunter was dope. It was absolutely perfect! I love this so much!
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO MAKE ME CRY TODAY it’s too good, especially the flashes of Jester memories. I literally just finished watching the actual episode and I can’t take this rn
This is so beautiful and so emotional and I LOVE how you made this really sad moment into something even more heartbreaking. You are so talented. And the "YASHA!!" at the end was so great!
When are we gonna talk about just
“I thunderstep with Yasha.”
“The creature is not willing.”
Fkn broke me
Up until that moment, I had never been so afraid for the M9.
++
It's so easy to forget how close Beau and Fjord came to being on the wrong side of that door
Could have made the situation so much worse. Not only loosing yasha but capturing or even killing Beau and Fjord with the rest not having enough time or resources to break through that door again and face the laughing Hand.
Plot armor
@@johnathanbrandt2526honestly, I disagree. Matt has let the dice speak for themselves in moments of high stakes.
@@vincentabramo7175 Agreed. Just watched it for the first time, and Mercer wasn't pulling punches. Especially Yasha's nat 20 on Fjord which dropped him to 1 hp (relentless endurance).
Is no one going to talk about the traveler showing up like a ballah
Edit: Thanks for the likes critters!!!
I literally went back to make sure that was him who saved Jester and then flicked off Yasha. Perfect moment
The traveler the lord of jesters and gangsters
I didn't notice that the first time around! Prince of Pranks! That was ballah as heeeck!
After he saved Jester he showed both middle fingers LoL
Love that that's how the mirror image was interpreted
That transition from duplicate Jester to the traveler giving the double birds was very elegant XD
I rewinded to see it again like, three times.
Yep
It was actually her last mirror image.
That was epic.
Water tribe....
The flash back scene made this hurt even more
but an amazing touch
@@3SmoothYoda3 god damn , did it hit my heart to the core
I didn't know this *could* hurt more, but it did!
She even included molly!
It's funny that I've mostly watched the show through animations and clips because I don't have enough time ever to start watching, but I still love these characters none the less.
“I’m fine, but it’s a terrible day for rain”
“But, it’s not raining”
“Yes, it is. This is rain”
*points to teary eyes*
Is that a reference to FMA, because one of the people in that scene was voiced by Travis Willingham who was one of the people in this campaign.
@@meloneatingwolf1882 That was not intended but I had no idea thanks
@@65melody17 Eh, nice to be reminded of good fiction.
Travis actually voiced the very character who said this quote.
I love how at the beginning of the stream everyone was joking about the episode number 69 but during battle everyone was spamming “not nice”
True tho
Come for the sex jokes, stay for the trauma
690 likes, nice
@@Equirah It's like high school.
The talking cabbage was very upset
Jester trying to snap her out of it, and Yasha having the flashbacks just crush my heart. Like a little sister trying to wake up a big sister, but the big sister can only watch as she’s about to hurt the family she loves
yo... this legit might've been the best critical role animatic I've **ever** seen. and I've seen a LOT.
I agree.
Fr, watching it makes me deeply wish c2 was animated, the fights go often untouched by the animation community for very understandable reasons, but when they do it OHHH BABY do they do it
Agreed
I fully agree
Absolutely. It’s the best.
That "YASHA" at the end always gets me.
Fucking hell, Laura really got the tone of despair on point there.
I know he isn't the main focus here but Caleb can be such a badass. He fits his role as the bag of tricks wizard perfectly. Supporting his party by changing the battlefield and handing out clutch buffs.
WIzards gets a bad rep as peoples who only throw fireballs without care if it hits party members but caleb plays such a great support caster that sometimes does damage himself and mostly is helping groupmembers do dmg (haste etc) or prevent dmg against grp members (slow). Its makes him far more likeable then it would if he would just a pure DMG dealer
I live for those moments when Caleb gets that expression like at 1:49. All the cast have great moments, people say Beau or Fjord should lead the Mighty Nein, and Jester is obviously an absolute delight, but no one enraptures me in the story and immerses me in the world more than Caleb.
I loved Vax and Caleb outshines him by miles. Liam inhales what Matt puts forth and add more to the world and story with every word. If I could sit down with one member of the CR cast to play dnd with Liam will always be my first choice, and second place is so far behind.
@@Deeplight32 I think that all I need to say is that Liam made me want to play a wizard. And I am a guy who always wants to be on the front lines, face to face with enemies.
@@MrKalasznikov same
Liam and Sam are why I took a Lore Bard when I played CoS, I had never played a support character before, but I had SO much fun doing it, it was gratifying really. Sure having FB in my back pocket was lots of fun, but being able to add two more Wizzy spells to my roster made my character so much fun to play! My only gripe was that I could only change my spells on level ups!
This was AMAZING, somehow you managed to make Jester’s “YASHA” more heartbreaking than it already was. Great job!
Agreed. Her voice acting is stellar.
That...was hard in the original campaign...this animation just hurt
The clear emotion in Laura's voice, the way you drew Jester tearing up and shaking her head, really did me in. I started crying when Jester started crying.
Laura’s voice acting is some of my favorite.
The good thing about voice actors role playing is that, when they do role play, it’s really immersive.
I've watched this so many times now, I literally cry every time ;_;
Same! That moment makes me tear up every time!
I hate ittttt
The wide, unsettling smile that Yasha has during this whole thing captures the complete 'wrongness' that came from the session. Seeing this whole thing visualized, with the music, the emotion, the flashbacks, really magnified it all. Truly, you've mastered this. Keep it up!
How dare you. 11/10
I gotta say it feels like I've come full circle because your "Hi I'm Jester" animatic is what convinced me to start CR in the first place and I just watched this particular episode a few days ago. But still how dare you
@@crosswiredcrafts XD I'm glad it was so perfectly timed!
0:50 & 2:44 , these are both such amazing facial shots of Yasha. Really capture the "someone else is piloting this Aasimar" feel.
100%
Not to mention just haunting stares. Absolutely creepy
That was the best take on Caleb's Wall of Fire I've ever seen. The closed eye, the "squelching" across the palm, incredible. Obviously everything else ruled too, but DAMN.
Yes that was so good
I went back and watched that moment three times. It was so unique, and so detailed to show how incredibly careful Caleb is to not hurt his fam with the wall.
To be fair Liam did this hand gesture in another episode when he explained his wall of fire, it was the catalyst of many great pieces of art
Not gonna lie i feel like Caleb has a lot of the best moments.
Jester definitely makes it a close and debatable competition but Caleb makes so many clutch plays
I know I’m incredibly late to comment, and you might not see it, but I love you included a quick slide of Mollymauk in Yasha’s montage of Jester. He really was one of the people that Yasha cared for the most, and his death hit her incredibly hard. “I know you lost your family” includes him as well.
I don't even know these characters, but the way that the one girl said "Yasha!" at 2:42 is chilling.
It was that way when it was streamed as well. This was so well done. Really paid homage to the spirit of Critical Role.
"Hello, everyone, and welcome to tonight's episode of Critical Role, where a bunch of nerdy ass voice actors sit around and play Dungeons and Dragons..."
@@mythomagic1771 "WE PLAY DUNGOFJDHUFBDNGANDDRAGOOOOOOONS!!!"
That was Jester calling out to her just as the door slammed
Today is a good day. Today Hansenfmly discovered that Jester exists.
In addition to what I've seen others say, I love Beau's run into the burning room. That slow down to showcase the bond of friendship immediately followed up by the horror of the Laughing Hand.
Also, the chop through Fjord showing how dire things were.
God damn this is honestly one of the creepiest depictions of the Hand yet, those empty eye sockets some how make it worse...like it sends it rocketing even further into SCP territory.
For real! I always pictured him as like an undead roadhog or something. But this depiction actually made him the nemesis that he is
St. Bigfoot, I did not realise that, the Laughing Hand does look like a SCP. Thanks for saying that the design does look like something in SCP.
It's not just the way it looks, it's also the way it acts, and the fact that it was immortal(?) Before they did what they did to get rid of it, as well as it being so insanely powerful, and what happened to it when it died. This thing is an amazing scp as far as I'm concerned
That's what I thought too! Reminds of SCP stuff
@@jatomeer9605 and with it’s wounds turning into laughing mouths is also pretty terrifying.
the way Obann blinds her after the flashback is perfect! Also, sprinkle!
*Me watching this* "Oh damn, this is great"
*Flashback scene hits* "Wait no, what are you doing, please stop, this hurts too much already"
A comment I relate to and a radical Edward pic? Hell yeah.
This is gorgeous. That ominous shadow cast over her during Jester's plea and the memories are heartbreaking, the Traveler taking the hit and flipping him off, Caleb being a boss, Beau hulking out to get Fjord free, the creepy Laughing Hand, Beau's eyes bugging out and her face in the doorway, and all the great music. Had to rewatch it at least 3 times when it was recommended to me.
The fact that people who have never seen Critical Role can watch this and go "That was amazing." really speaks to the presentation of the animation, and the brilliance of the cast of CR. You definitely did this scene justice, great work!
Yooo this animation got me to finally watch the streams. Usually i just watch animatics, im just new to dnd and its fun tk watch..but that "YASHA!!!" got me
It's scenes like this that got me listening to the podcast and I'm loving it. I'm taking copious notes for my D&D campaigns and how I DM (not copying, just taking some inspiration).
Why do you think I started watching it. It's like a novel being written live
i absolutely love the traveler giving the double birds to the Orphan Maker
like it was him saying "You will never hurt my Jester BITCH"
PS This made me cryyyy like on the episode itself i was like oh shit but man im crying here
I don’t know why this was in my recommended since I don’t watch Critical Role, though I do love Dungeons and Dragons but man, am I glad it was. I saw so many emotions, so much happen without context and felt choked up during the flashback despite knowing none of the characters.
Yeah, Jester is everyone’s favorite. For every NPC, Player Character, and viewer watching
@@BrianHall33 well, not completely true but it is impossible not to love her
If you have an excess of free time do check it out, it's a lot tho, I usually watch the episodes in three parts unless I can catch the stream.
@@shaunjohns5987 I watch UA-cam just because I have a 2 to 2 and a half hour drive two times a week. So I can listen to most of it during the drive and either watch the rest when I get to campus or when I have time throughout the week
A sign of good animation too!
Love all the small nuances Marisha freaking out from the door closing, Travis having a “wtf” after he bamfs without Ashley, and that scream from Laura at the end all animated very nice very nice
I loved all of the little additions, from the dramatic flashback to the Traveller insert. The Traveller insert especially, because I loved just how badass and _dangerous_ Jester looked before the Traveller revealed himself. That was so cool.
The "fuck you" was awesome too
Whenever The Traveler protects Jester it’s always my favorite.
Now that the show has ended, I had to go back here to say that this is the animatic that got me into Critical Role! The way you drew everyone's emotions absolutely gets me every time. This work is absolutely amazing!
This made me actually cry you are so good with how you do emotions. The flash back with her and Jester made me just bawl, AND EVEN THE SUBTLE PARTS like Caleb being more or less the only one seeing Fjord back and just refusing to let anyone fall behind. Beau getting confident about The Laughing Hand missing her to cocky even leading her to get hit but also for Fjord to run towards Jester. THIS IS BEAUTIFULLY SHOWN BUT ITS ALSO PAINFUL. THANK YOU
Edit: forgot to add that The Traveler being there right before she nearly hit Jessie and then just giving the middle finger was a great include
I also loved all those little moments!
Ok, I love this entire thing. The artist encompassed the emotion of these scenes PERFECTLY. But can we freaking talk about their depiction of The Laughing Hand because DAMN this is exactly how I imagine it but I thought nobody else did!
This looks great! The flashback scenes are so evocative, and the facial expressions are awesome. Good work Danica!
Thanks love!
Okay but The Traveler as Jester's Mirror Image and Caleb's Wall of Fire? This animation is freaking amazing!
This is why I never, EVER dump WISDOM.
Correction: This *is* why you dump wisdom.
Both
I dump wisdom because this, story wise, is an awesome thing to happen and so fun to play, cause I gotta dump something.
Even so, I think she rolled something like a 2 or a 3. There wasn't any escaping the charm on that roll.
You gotta dump something... Sadly Barbarians usually dump Wisdom and Intelligence... and this is what you get...
This interpretation of mirror image is my favourite I have ever seen, I have been replaying it for like 10 minutes, the way it syncs with the music is just... *chef's kiss*
The Traveler giving the double middle fingers...chef’s kiss. Made me chuckle in a such tense moment.
SO GOOD. Top 8 moments:
1) 0:59 The flashback montage - the selection of Jester moments, the POV perspective, and the music
2) 1:56 The tension I felt when Beau rushed back in to get Fjord
3) 0:55 The way we enter the flashbacks
4) 1:33 The way we exit the flashbacks
5) 1:51 The Wall of Fire, specifically the way the 'camera' moves
6) 2:42 Giving this moment of melodrama the cinematic treatment it deserves
7) 0:33 The slow walk of a new antagonist
8) 0:00 A creative way to warn about spoilers
You missed the best part of Artigan saving Jester
that "Yasha!" at the end gave me chills bro. you did a great job on picking through the audio. also, that little animation during the credits of yasha dreaming of ellie and dina is super funny
The shot of the laughting hand walking through the fire is amazing and terrifying. I love it!
I'm still laughing at the traveler flipping her the double bird.
I haven't got up to this in critical role, but this is literally the epidemy of and reason why I love fantasy. It's so awesome when they kinda go in 1 by 1 and distract her and try to escape their own way. This was so fking fantastic well done!
Thrills and Chills!
The way you showed Yasha's change in demeanor... the way how she might've been before her encounter with the stormlord. And the flash back to all of her positive interactions with the M9 and Jester especially.
think of the narrative throughline we could tie with her rolls. We've all been there groaning when Yasha couldn't roll higher than 10 so what if (for when we eventually get a M9 show/comic series) Yasha after her time with Oban, on an unconscious level was holding back in fear of reliving the memories she wants to repress. and those moments when she would wreck hell on the battlefield were her letting go out of a desire to protect her allies, her NEW family.
Still coming back to this animatic months after I've finished the Mighty Nein's story and it still hits just as a hard as when I saw this for the first time after watching the episode raw. I sincerely hope that this animator is doing great things in their life, and has a stable and lucrative career.
Everything about this is amazing! I love love love the way you interpreted Jester's double as a manifestation of The Traveler at 1:39! It is so in character that he would be kinda smug about blocking Yasha. He's protecting someone he cares about/ feels a bit possessive over AND defying the machinations of another powerful entity. You put so much detail and so much character into every moment! Really incredible work!
The traveler:🖕😂🖕
Ok, there are some good CR animatics out there. There are some great ones. But I think this one takes. the. cake. Incredible visual storytelling, beautiful artwork. You drove the emotion of this scene home so well. Incredible work!
I actually remember this episode a lot more than I'd want to. You captured so many little details. I remember that strength check Beau made to wrestle Fjord from the laughing hand's.....hand. I was on the edge of my damn seat. So many clutch rolls, just to retreat. And you can tell they are all massively confused...everyone except Matt 'no mercy' Mercer.
I genuinely thought they were about to lose half the party when I watched it. The Hand was fucking brutal, and Yasha unchained could potentially wipe the party on her own.
@@xenocide1307 Technically they could cast anything with a wisdom or intelligence or charisma save against yasha and she would basically auto fail
@@yooooo8600 You're not wrong, the struggles of a Barbarian lol. However she is capable of dropping just about any of the Nein with a semi lucky round of combat. She has about a 1/5 chance in any given round of combat to crit and it's lights out.
@@xenocide1307 1/5? Is that how the math works out when you have advantage? I'll take your word for it, but it seems a bit high. Yasha has no additional way to get crits so I'm assuming you're just talking about Reckless attacks. Of course if she used her skin gorger ability she would get a crit on a 19 or 20, but she has literally never used that ability, assumedly because Ashley doesn't even know it exists
@@yooooo8600 Yeah, two attacks with advantage is four chances out of twenty, reducing to 1/5. If she used the skin gorger ability it would be 4/10, so 40% up from 20%.
anytime i feel numb , i come back and watch this and it reminds me that I still have emotions. this is soo well put together and brings so much emotion to this scene. also laura yelling yasha with that much emotion in her voice is soul crushing. just brilliant.
been on an animatic binge now that I'm all caught up- this is by far the most well-executed, heart-wrenching rendition of this scene I could have possibly asked for! My GOD you did such a good job with the fight choreography, and smoothing out the chaos of the moment, and bringing in the flashbacks with jester for added effect was just- Ugh!
What I'm saying is, I love this.
I keep coming back to this animatic. The sound editing. The flashbacks. The details. I legitimately bawled the first time I saw this and continue to tear up every time I see it. GOD. IT'S SO GOOD.
The way the laughing hand moves his head first when running is very creepy for me somehow XD
Absolutely, reminds me of the way Hollows move in Bleach
I have literally never shed a tear for any show or movie or anything entertainment based... Until now. I'm actually crying rn, you did an amazing job capturing what happened. Welp. On to ep 70 (Also love the traveler's double middle finger)
Wow, this is easily one of the best animatics I've watched for Critical Role. Everything from Jester's Mirror Image to Caleb's Wall of Fire was perfectly done! I got chills through the whole thing!! And I loved the little bits of humor too. Just wow, amazing
Yasha's face when jester touches it is what got me jesus
The sudden shift in music punched me in the gut.
Idk how I got to this video but this scene is what got me into critical role. My husband showed me a highlight because he was trying to convince me that we needed to try D&D and after that I binged all of S2 until the pandemic hit the week I caught up. Now I'm all caught up and almost done with S1 and this scene still gets me. Such a good animation!
Edit: I can't stop watching this and am now crying thank you, please send this to Art Dad
Oh my god! I’m sitting here in my car, with a rainy face because of this... the sword reflection/flashback transition, the random Jester screaming out, and the Traveler’s assist were all WONDERFULLY done!
I cried. Well played...
Never seen Critical roll, but I understand exactly what’s happening, well done. The little elf’s reaction to her girlfriend getting mind controlled is heartbreaking
That’s actually really funny, because Yasha is a lesbian, but she’s dating the one that got enlarged (Beau). Jester (a tiefling, but she def looks like an elf) has more of a little sister role to basically everyone in the party.
LOL
@@dweebicusmaximus "sister to everyone in the party" fjord is right there?
It’s very funny that you call Laura’s character “the little elf” if you’ve seen campaign 1
@@christiandeepe6414 "You there! Little elf girl!..." xD
Everyone: makes meaningful comments
Me who has only watched animations of critical roll: um 11 days?
This guy knows some C U L T U R E
ElEvEn DaYs
*ELEVEN D A Y S*
Kobalds can technically live hundreds of year but subterranean Kobalds don’t have a good sense or idea of time.
@@hunterduncan1078 I’ve always interpreted it as this particular tribe of Kobold(Spurt’s tribe) lives in very very poor conditions and they either tire themselves out by exhaustion while digging, encounter terrible monsters or starve to death very easily, thus the shorter lifespan. And in spurt’s case, he’s probably seen some shit with his brother killed by a slime and having to collect all those items in ELEVEN DAYS.
Holy...shit.... THIS IS THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER WATCHED AND I AM CRYING! Gods, this artwork and animation is sooo freaking detailed with emotions and UGH! I CAN'T GET OVER THIS!
I do like how at 1:37 you showed the traveler protecting jester as she retreats. I also was astounded how you portrayed what happened as everyone was attempting to evacuate
I've just started watching the second campaign and finished this episode. Your take on this scene is FANTASTIC. Absolutely got goosebumps. Edit: Can't stop rewatching this! I love how you captured the desperate nature of the battle, incorporated the Jester/Yasha flashbacks, and made the Laughing Hand look SO AWFUL AND HORRIFYING. And the last, plaintive cry from Jester as the doors close on Yasha - perfection.
this video had me crying for 2:50 and then laughing my ass off when the traveler showed up and flipped double birds for a hot second
Right there with you omg what a torrent of emotion!
I have been holding off on watching this video until the moment, because UA-cam has been suggesting it to me for *weeks*. Just finished ep69 and came straight here. Absolutely amazing. Broke my heart with the Jester flashback bit, loved the whole Traveler-Jester-duplicate thing - that was really cool. And just the way everything was animated, loved it all so much, even if it made me want to cry again.
Caleb's spells look incredibly detailed. Love it!
I love how the Traveler was part of this animation, and the flashbacks. I am so happy you did this with hard work and passion. Loving this content!
jester's desperate "YASHA!" gets me every time
I think the only emotional shout to top it is "FIX HIM!"
legit started bawling when u did the flashbacks with jester it made it hurt so GOOD
I totally cried. Good job guys. I just finished episode 71, so this is still fresh.
First time ive seen someone cut matts dming from the scene and i love it. Its how its supposed to be done, shown, not told. Beautiful work my dude, keep it up!!
I love this so so much! I finally started watching CR when they went on hiatus from the pandemic and by that time I've had a lot of the big events of this campaign unintentionally spoiled for me. But this episode I think was the first "big thing" that I had no prior knowledge about and it was such a shock. You captured the emotion and intensity of this battle so beautifully and I love the addition of the flashback! And then it was such a treat to find out that you also were the one who did the "Hi I'm Jester" animatic that made me want to start watching CR. Thank you for sharing this!
this is so good. im very struck by the way you interpreted jester's armor class with her duplicate taking the hit and it morphing into the traveller i watched that bit a bunch times i absolutely love it. and the montage of jester in yashas memories, i cried so good job.
This is incredible. You really told the story fantastically, that flashback was great. It was like watching how I felt when watching the show.
Agreed!
Ooooooh shit that was so good. That montage of Jester memories omg. And that grin on Yasha's face was so unsettling it was perfect
I loved the details, even down to them mouthing words as they fled. And I especially appreciated the angles of Obann falling, that's a difficult angle to animate as fluidly as you did!
This is arguably one of the best animatics of Critical Role I've ever seen. The music, the Jester flashback, Yasha's face once she's turned, the Traveler cameo, the Laughing Hand... You absolutely nailed it. Damn.
Damn dude, just saw the "Hi i'm jester" vid, and now I see you uploaded less than an hour ago
Friggin best I've seen so far. I'm not crying you're crying
Holy Sh!t....damn that was storied so well. The music, the flashback, the grim smile. Wow! Thank you for sharing this with everyone.
You know how that thing that people do where they exaggerate their reactions when writing comments? Well, as soon as the flashback started, I was full on weeping. Good job, you absolute monster. This is SO fucking PAINFUL and I both HATE and LOVE it.
Omg I'm CRYING! The expressions, the flashback, you conveyed the emotions of this moment so well! I love the way you draw everyone too.
My. Favourite. Animation. AMAZING. Love the music, the way you did the spells, they way you portrayed the moments of levity (like Beau yeeting tf out, getting stuck in the door) THE FLASH BACK OH MY GOSH. I come back every now and then to rewatch this. It's honest to god, my FAVOURITE video in the entire fandom. Thankyou SO MUCH
That 👏🏼 flashback 👏🏼 scene 👏🏼 though 👏🏼 😍
I remember she rolled an 18 and the Hand rolled a 16 and somehow you made me nervous about the contested strength check. Amazing work.
I feel like, this was a down a path labeled “feelings!” And I was like oh yeah, sounds cathartic, feelings haha! And it was just you with a huge plank of wood with nails and barbed wire - named “FEELINGS” and ready to just knock me the fuck out.
I was a fool for not being ready to cry. That was amazing. It nearly killed me and I just wanna see it again and again. Truly chilling and beautiful.
Holy shit It's been so long this this all happened but your animation made me tear up a little
Here I was thinking the Laughing Hand couldn't get creeper but it was so COOL!
I look forward to the hopefully inevitable day when campaign 2 gets it's own cartoon series and we get to see the episode that commemorates this epic moment. Until then, this animatic does animatic will tide us all over. Brilliantly done!
This was PHENOMENAL. You can tell you put a lot of thought and energy into this, thank you so much for sharing.
one of my favorite critrole animatics ever but also the reason why I got spoiled of Yasha's "betrayal" super early (the thumbnail and title)
Saaaame, really annoyed me
@@Renesmechen if the title (and writing in the thumbnail) would have been kings Cage instead, it would have been better :/
This is an INCREDIBLE bit of animation!! The whole emotional scale of it along with the music is too perfect! You’ve captured the emotions and mannerisms of each character and created the exact tension and loss that I certainly felt in this scene... truly amazing!! 🤩
I think that was my favorite interpretation of the Laughing Hand yet! You made him so spine chilling and creepy, and the way he moved like he was a hunter was dope. It was absolutely perfect! I love this so much!
Just watched the episode, and now this. It hurts. It really hurts. Absolutely amazing work, made me tear up, 12/10 would cry again
wow nothing has made me burst out in tears sobbing faster than that flashback sequence. this was beautiful
Oh my god.... I just started crying oh my god.... the flash back just stabbed me in the heart
Loved the part where the traveller shielded Jester
THIS I'D AMAZING??? THE EMOTION AND MUSIC AND EVERYTHING, IT'S SO GOOD!!!
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO MAKE ME CRY TODAY it’s too good, especially the flashes of Jester memories. I literally just finished watching the actual episode and I can’t take this rn
Hngg wow 👏👏 Laura Bailey with how hurt you draw Jester is a instant tear combo.
This is so beautiful and so emotional and I LOVE how you made this really sad moment into something even more heartbreaking. You are so talented. And the "YASHA!!" at the end was so great!