The Mighty Nein

I went into The Mighty Nein with zero background in Critical Role. I've never watched the streams, listened to the campaigns, or seen Vox Machina. I only knew "those famous D&D guys" existed. With that context, I'm genuinely surprised by how quickly this series pulled me in.

What caught me the most off guard was the emotional weight in the relationship between Caleb and Nott the Brave (no comma!). Their early dynamic is messy, fragile, and quietly intimate in a way I didn't expect from a fantasy adventure animation. There's a particular scene early on that hit much harder than I thought it would, and I had to pretend I wasn't tearing up since I was watching it with a friend. Watching these two reluctantly take care of each other, becoming this strange and beautiful little pair of broken souls, was honestly moving.

The animation itself is strong and consistent. It isn't groundbreaking, but it absolutely does its job: expressive character acting, clear fight choreography, great visual atmosphere. It feels like the kind of art direction that supports the story rather than tries to overshadow it. As someone who plays D&D, it's delightful to catch little familiar touches: spell components, dice logic hidden in scenes, and that unmistakable "party of weirdos who barely know each other" chaos.

What makes the series feel fresh is that it doesn't follow the usual Western fantasy formula. It's messy, morally grey, and character-first. It reminded me a bit of certain Japanese anime in the way it balances humor, trauma, and emotional depth, but without ever feeling derivative. It has its own identity, and that identity leans into vulnerability and flawed humanity more than heroics.

Three episodes in, I'm honestly impressed. This feels like fantasy storytelling with personality, heart, and a willingness to go deeper than expected. If the rest of the season maintains this balance of humor, mystery, and emotional honesty, I think I'm in for something special - even as a total newcomer.

The character development is just... wow. You watch these flawed, broken people grow, form bonds, and face their demons (literally sometimes), and it's so inspiring and real. There are epic battles, heart-wrenching moments, and plot twists that keep you on the edge of your seat.

If you haven't dived in yet, do it! The Mighty Nein will make you laugh, cry, and cheer-it's glowing with creativity and heart. 10/10, would watch again and again!

Don't get me wrong-I love Vox Machina-but this series was a huge surprise for me. I decided to give it a try without knowing any details, only because my friend, who is a big Critical Role fan, told me this was his favorite DnD campaign. Honestly, I expected to be disappointed, because I was already so attached to the Vox Machina characters that I didn't see the point of introducing new characters and stories.

But man... these characters are amazing. Their emotional depth is incredible, and the way each of their stories unfolds and is directed makes it hard to look away. Another thing I love about The Mighty Nein is that, unlike Vox Machina, who were already a group of friends when we first met them, here we actually get to see how this collection of completely different people meet for the first time and gradually form bonds. It's so satisfying to watch their relationships develop. Not to mention the fact that the voice actor who plays my favorite Vox Machina character-the sassy, optimistic bard-now voices an alcoholic, depressed female goblin. Genius!

I probably cannot describe all the things I think but this show has probably everything you wait from a show. I'm normally a hard picky person; the source of powers, personal background building of every person in show, the quality of illustrations... everything in this show is absolute. Do not think and consume this show.

Series starts introducing characters where fans hadn't seen before session 0. There's a few changes here and there that I'm sure would have been argued about behind the scenes about including or removing for time limits etc. This review is after the first three, I can see a lot of passion in this work and high hopes moving forward. I feel like any issue or criticism will be lost content as the series tries to truncate hundreds of hours of game time into 10 40min episodes.