Friedefeld

When I heard about "Friedefeld," I was initially skeptical. German animated series often face prejudice, but I was curious about this new attempt by ARD to present something fresh.

The animations are average, but by no means bad. In terms of content, the plot is rather random. More effort could be put into developing more complex plotlines to fully harness the series' potential. Another aspect that bothered me was the strong reliance on American humor in the dialogues. As a German production, this series has the opportunity to align more with German humor and address German themes more boldly. Nevertheless, there are many parts that made me laugh.

ARD has taken a bold step towards innovation. The show deserves recognition for its willingness to break new ground, even if it is admittedly not perfect. A promising future lies ahead if a more nuanced mix of German humor and daring themes are incorporated in the next seasons.

"Friedefeld" is a clear example of what's going wrong with German TV shows, especially animations. It tries to follow in the footsteps of successful American series but falls short. Right from the start, you notice the show's attempt to push a political agenda, but it's done in a way that's too simple and one-sided. This makes the story predictable and not very engaging.

What makes it worse is the animation quality, which looks like it didn't get much attention or money. This lack of detail makes the show less appealing to watch, especially when we've seen what good animation looks like in other shows.

The problem isn't just with "Friedefeld." It's a bigger issue with German TV not taking risks or trying to be original. Instead of creating something new and exciting, they often just try to make a safer version of shows that are already popular. This approach leaves a lot to be desired and makes "Friedefeld" feel like a missed opportunity to do something great. The show could have been a way to bring fresh and bold stories to the audience, but instead, it ends up being forgettable because it doesn't dare to be different.

A lot of things remind me of Bojack Horseman, like the animation style and the Asian assistant, but that's not a bad thing. There are actually some really good moments that made me laugh. I absolutely cannot understand why some people think it should be rated worse than 5, perhaps the meta levels and allusions are not obvious to everyone, you should assume a bit of brain and general knowledge. For a first attempt, I think this series is surprisingly good and I would watch season 2. I would like 5.1 sound, as the sound design is correspondingly complex, so you shouldn't skimp on it. Or does the series already have that, just not in the ARD Mediathek?

The german animation genre is a ruin, this show is a further proof for it. This is show is one of the worst things I had to see for a long time.

The art style (if one can call that art) is abysmal. If you think Brickleberry or Paradies PD was badly drawn, this takes the top of ugly. Soulless, bland and uninspired. It looks like a very late 90ies flash animation by some (talentless) amateur. Even if with a tight and limited production budget one can create a decent look, shows like Bojack Horseman (which they are clearly inspired by) are a good example for it.

The animation consists more or less out of talking heads, some janky body movements and camera tracking shots where they seem to have forgotten how to ease in bezier curves.

The audio sounds at certain times like voice actors recorded it via skype on low quality. A lot of standart sound bites where used (which would be fine) but were not properly mixed down.

I wont get into the "story". They try to copy current adult animated shows, which would be Ok for me. If done well like Stromberg, Die Discounter, etc., which where clearly copies or inspired by well known shows, but worked well on their own because they understood the source material and added their own spin on it. But with this show it seems that some producer had a field day taking the fun out and tone it down for the german state tv (at least I hope that's the reason for it). It tries to be edgy but in such a cringe way that I am ashamed to concider myself a german.

Whoever greenlight this should be fired and I seriously asking myself if this is not an attempt to launder public fundings. Germany has so few 2D animated productions, none of them dared to be for an adult audience until now and I am afraid this attempt will be the first and already final nail in the coffin. Germany has a lot of talented artists, animators and filmmakers, young and old - I guess none of them were involved with this production. Shame.

"Friedefeld" is really something special - an animated comedy that finally dares to be different. The series is not only mega funny, but also addresses a lot of topics without taking itself too seriously. You can tell that something new is being tried out here that hasn't often been seen in Germany. If you like biting, quirky and cleverly written animation, you should definitely check it out! What particularly impressed me: You can tell that the makers have done their homework - they know the international masters of the industry, they definitely know what's going on - but they still have enough self-confidence to trust in their own handwriting - and this gamble works out in the end, much to the delight of the viewer.