After a rather abysmal decade, it looks like Nickelodeon is hitting the round running in 2020 with Glitch Techs.
The premise of the show is a solid one: Hector (High Five) and Miko are two teenagers who, through a surprisingly complex series of events, end up as Glitch Techs: soldiers who use high tech weaponry in order to battle rogue video game code (glitches) that manifests in the real world.
Right off the bat, the art style of this show is fantastic. It's vibrant, stylized, and really helps to convey the overall tone of the show. The animation fluctuates between smooth and intentionally choppy which helps to give it a very distinct and unique feel, and the electronic and glitchy music fits the show like a glove.
Next, there's our two lead characters, Five and Miko, who are a lot of fun to watch together. Five's analytical personality contrasts well with Miko's high-energy and excitable nature. Throughout the course of the first season (the only one available as of the writing of this review), Five and Miko grow and learn with and from each other all while battling cool-looking digital monsters via some of the best action choreography I've seen in an animated series in years.
The writing in the show is relatively simple and straightforward (aside from the double-length pilot episode) but manages to be engaging and character-focused without slipping into overly-childish or obnoxious territory. Both of the lead characters are well fleshed out and play off of each other extremely well.
Being a show heavily themed around video games, Glich Techs is especially fun for those who are avid gamers, containing fun references to everything from Pokemon and Castlevania to Metal Gear Solid and Street Fighter. The sheer passion that Five and Miko hold for video games is one that can be related to by anyone who happens to love them as well.
For Glitch Techs, it feels like the creators took elements from Danny Phantom, Ghostbusters, Men in Black & even Scott Pilgrim and rolled it all into one upbeat, eye-catching, action-filled romp that any animation fan, gamer or no, should be able to appreciate. In a way, I'm almost sad that Nick decided to relegate this show to Netflix. A series of this quality is exactly what their *actual* channel needs at this point. If there is any one thing I can fault the show for, it's that some of the dialogue can come off as cringy or trying a tad too hard to pander to the Gen Z crowd, but this is an extremely minor complaint.
To sum it up, Glich Techs is an extremely fun and satisfying watch and I cannot wait to see what Eric Robles and Dan Milano have in store for season 2.
