Chozen

I hoped that this would be similar to Archer, but it is quite different, both in good and bad ways. It is the same style as Archer in the way it is animated, so that is working out nicely, but the thing that is different is the humor, this is not my kind of funny in many ways. There are many good points, but it is maybe more of a teenage show, then the more adult version that Archer delivers, it is by no means bad, but you have to be into the place and the way this history evolves and for that I might be getting too old :)

But you should check it out, it has many great scenes, the story is very up to date and there are many "issues" that are handled with special care. It is very enjoyable in many ways.

So many people hated this show. I wish people gave it a chance. There are many reasons why the show flopped. I'll give my review and maybe it will answer a few things. First- I love gay subculture, specially the bear culture. So having an animated show about a gay bear was awesome! Then, I don't mind Rap- but not immersed too much into the lingo at all or even recent people. Hey I listened to Eminem and Insane Clown Posse- what do I know about Rap and Hip-hop? Nothing. So maybe I'm coming from the demographic this show is meant to be for- Gay people who sort of like rap. I have no clue. I loved this show the first time it aired. However I knew a few of the jokes they where trying way too hard. The animation was hot- damn they made Chozen sexy as hell. I can see that it was meant to be a satire on rap/ hip-hop culture by using a WHITE, GAY, maybe even Jewish/Italian guy doing rap. The show was trying too hard to be offensive in some parts- but it really did have a heart. Somewhere, it had a nice message but it never got time to really truly develop it's characters and when it just got good. Bam, cancelled. I personally give this show 8 out of 10 because of it's effort. Sometimes it hits the mark... other times it doesn't. But I loved it!

Every episode is great - it's funny as hell,quite brave in its premise, characters are very wisely mixed, unlikely collaborations abound, and it's full of very useful psychological insights and lessons to learn and apply to life. It's the best metaphor I have ever seen on TV: how to understand complexities of life in the US today, how to not take it too seriously,and to have balls to face anything and to resolve problems through courage, being honest to yourself, and with help from very unlikely collaborators.Everyone I ever showed this to (gay or straight) loved it and they laughed more than I have ever seen them laugh - it's brilliant!

I had very high expectations for this show given that it comes from the creators of Archer (which I love) and Eastbound & Down. Unfortunately the flow of the show is very uneven. The production value of the songs is actually very good (Method Man is quite talented), but the storyline presentation and characters fall flat and becomes somewhat boring in places. But what turns me off most of all is the voice work. ChoZen's voice literally began to give me a headache to the point where I almost flipped channels. And someone please explain to me why a great actor like Michael Pena has such an excessive "accent" to his voice. It also becomes very annoying. I realize his character is Hispanic, but he should use his normal speaking voice. It has enough of the Latino accent to make the character work well. They should have ChoZen speak normally in general and play up the rapper voice only when talking to fans, or something along that line. In an animated series the voice work is EVERYTHING. That is one of the reasons Archer works so well because Jon Benjamin is a genius with excellent comedic inflection and timing. I gave it a 5 because of the songs quality (particularly the one at the Student center) and for the shining star that is Danny McBride. His character has the potential to become a Principal Lewis or Krieger. Much potential here to be sure; this could become a hip-hop version of Metalocalypse, but quite a few things need to change.

I swear this cast of characters reminds me of my younger life. I do have to make one correction, someone posted that when Chozen went to prison, he became gay...that is not TRUE...I just read the interview with the creator of this show....Chozen was already Gay before he went in Prison... That may explain why he came out of prison and was able to adjust to the outside world again....

Back to the cast of characters....I have so many stories in my life I only hope I can send to the creator...They need to bring Troy back into the show...I think Troy should make some prison visits while Chozen is locked up, the reasons for him to be back in prison instead of county jail,...that is if that is where he is going....Chozen violated his parole..on all kinds of levels...I have so many stories visiting my ex- partner (he passed away) in prison....lol..ha..some funny stuff...

Anyways, the Characters reminds me of living in SF...Ricky, mission Street..in the mission district..Latino district.....Crisco...Fillmore, and Bay View Hunters Point..heavy African American District.....The sister....Polk Street, and Troy as we all know..reminds us of the Castro District....lol..ha...The stories I would love to share....

I hope season two is just as funny as season one...I love this Character and story line. I also notice the creator is from LA West Coast so we both share the same age and demographics of being in the West Coast....

I love it....