Amphibia: One of The Best Shows on TV Right Now
Amphibia just finished up its season two run with the gut punching finale “True Colors.” This series is easily one of the best animated shows on television. It’s going to find a long-lasting place up on a pedestal in the Disney animation pantheon.
Amphibia focuses on the character of Anne Boonchuy, a Thai-American teenager. On her birthday, her friend Sasha pressures her into shoplifting an item from a store. Little do the ladies know, the item is a magical box that transports them, along with their third friend Marcy Wu, to the world of Amphibia. The friends are separated, and Anne is found by a family of frogs called the Plantars. Hop Pop is the grandfather, and the kids, Spring and Polly, instantly bond with Anne. The show is about Anne finding her friends and getting home.
I’m enjoying this modern trend of animation that mixes in slice of life with epic storytelling. Not every show is doing it, as there is nothing wrong with more linear storytelling either. But I started noticing this trend with series like Star Vs. the Force of Evil, Star Wars Resistance, and Steven Universe. While Steven did have its plot heavy arcs, so much of that series emphasized the importance of the slice of life format.
Slice of life is a great way to focus on character development and world building. It’s especially affective with fantasy settings, because the creators can emphasize establishing the rules of the series. Amphibia succeeds at both of these. The world is so vibrant while being lived in. The background artists and animators put so much effort into making sure that every frame feels like people have always lived in the world. It’s clear that the characters have relationships prior to the show which is great writing.
This also leads to fantastically written drama. One of my favorite things about Amphibia is it allows the characters to be emotionally messy. These kinds of series live in the morally grey which makes this show about talking frogs quite anchored in our real world problems. Each character has their own journey as Amphibia is not afraid to make them flawed. In the original press-release of the show, Anne is described as “self-centered” which makes her a little unlikable in the first few episodes. I don’t mean that as a slight either. It gives her a clear direction for her character to grow. Sasha is manipulative, which gives her a fine line between being toxic and a great leader. Marcy is highly intelligent but insecure and has difficulties making connections. None of them are perfect which makes for the best writing.
This is so refreshing too. It’s still rare in a lot of media, not just animation, to let female characters be flawed. What makes me care about Anne is the fact that she actually has a journey. At the end of season one, it’s clear that she’s made huge strides as a person. She always cared for others but it’s a more matured version of her prior self. This is because of the changing narrative of the story.
Amphibia, I feel, has perfected the animation shifting of tone and narrative with each season. Star Vs. kind of started it. It too began with a more of a slice of life atmosphere. If that didn’t work for you, it moved into a dark fantasy season, then the rebellion season, and I guess they fixed prejudice at the end of the final season. The chaotic nature of Star Vs. sometimes made certain plot elements come out of nowhere. It was almost too unfocused to work well. Star Wars Resistance’s season one is incredibly close to Amphibia’s with the formatting of the storytelling. Both of their season one finales are uncannily similar to each other. Sadly though, Resistance lacked time, ended after two seasons. It went from slice of life to on the run war story to nothing. Amphibia having a third season to finish its narrative gives it a tried and true format:
It starts with a lighter opening season that’s fun and bright, then it gets its darker middle season, and it probably going to end with the heroes fighting for their victory with season three.
I guess if you really wanted to focus on the plot only, you could probably skip a lot of Amphibia’s season one. But that’s actually pretty dangerous in this kind of story format. This takes away the dreaded F-word: FILLER!
Take the season one episode “Wally and Anne.” At first, it seemed like Anne had a fun little side adventure with the town’s rapscallion, Wally, to go cryptid hunting. At the end, they both learn a little lesson. It’s a lot like many Amphibia episodes. Then in season two, there is a plot development. “Wally and Anne” is now suddenly thrust forward as an important episode. It’s hard to tell what is and isn’t a filler episode until the show is actually complete. I love this style of storytelling, because every episode has equal weight of importance as it is being told.
Also if you skip the non-plot episodes of season one, you’re sort of missing the point of Amphibia. Some shows are heavily plot driven, and that’s totally fine. The first season of Amphibia is not that show. I feel like we sometimes get so wrapped up in the “plot” that we don’t realize that the character journey is plot. It also gives time to build the world. Wartwood is home base. It’s where Anne starts her development. What would Steven Universe be without Beach City? Both show the main character’s humanity, gives them a place and people to care about, and adds stakes to the narrative. Amphibia’s first season slower pace establishes that.
Amphibia works because the story changes with the characters. Season one is charming and bright just like Anne. With Sasha more prominently added to the story in season two along with Marcy, the narrative becomes more complicated. The tone darkens as the girls’ friendships struggle against the backdrop of a possible impending war. I love that Amphibia doesn’t pull its punches either. Any animated show that doesn’t talk down to its young audience is fantastic in my book. Gravity Falls creator, Alex Hirsch, emphasized this in a Twitter thread praising Amphibia’s season two finale which had a content warning for younger audiences:
“Ever since Snow White and Fantasia, ‘Disney’ has included devils and witches, betrayal, fear and death- creating drama, thrills and entertainment. What makes something ‘Disney’ isn’t that its sanitized, it’s that it hits ALL the emotions, light and dark- in service of great storytelling. When I worked for the Disney Channel, the craziest thing in the world was having them tell me to soften and dumb things down, because anything that might raise the audience’s pulse 1.5% or elicit any surprise ‘wasn’t Disney.’ Needless to say, this GIF [of the devil from Fantasia] got a lot of use.”
Matt Braly, Amphibia’s creator, trusts his young audience that they can handle mature storytelling. Now with season two complete, he had delivered on the characters, worldbuilding, and story.
Amphibia is a wonderful show that you should be watching. I haven’t even mentioned the BIPOC cast and creators along with how they blend in Anne’s Thai heritage effortlessly into the story. Season two is now on Disney Plus. If you want to support these kinds of series, streaming is so important. To quote Matt Braly:
“I am asked daily about what the best way to support the show is… this is IT. I've never felt passionately about telling people to watch the show on Disney Channel because the truth is if you're not a Nielsen family, your vote doesn't really count. Streaming is different. Every single view counts now. So help us spread the word! …Help let Disney know that this is the kind of content you'd like to see more of!”
Go watch Amphibia. Get caught up on one of the best series on television.
Amphibia is streaming now on Disney+