Xavier: Renegade Angel

I won't say as many words as others, but this is bizarre and deliberately weird, and brilliantly done

Surreal, bizarre, completely 100% nonsensical at times... but so, SO unbelievably consistently hilarious, intelligent, clever, and mindbending. This is an absolutely brilliant show, from top to bottom, and is probably way too intelligent for the average Adult Swim viewer. So, if you're the typical Hot Topic-shopping "oh man look how funny this is when I'm stoned!" Adult Swim fan, you may want to pass on this one...

...but if you're into the films of Lynch, Giuseppe Andrews, Jodorowsky, etc. or the music of The Residents, Harry Partch, Captain Beefheart... you know, the truly bizarre and "outside" part of the entertainment world... you will most likely love this exploration of existentialism and absurdity. This show is probably the most insanely and violently brilliant thing on modern television. Ever. So unbelievably packed with sight gags and clever quips, an 11 minute episode has more energy and ideas than an entire season of.. oh, I dunno.. Stroker and Hoop or whatever Adult Swim fans like.

So, yeah, this probably isn't for your typical AS fans, but personally I think it's the most brilliant thing I've seen in forever, and I've fallen so hard in love for it that it's ridiculous.

Don't worry, mattbromagin, I won't tell you you JUST don't get it. Because you went far beyond JUST not getting it.

The first brilliant thing about this show is that there isn't a bit of dialog that's throw-away. Every sentence, every word is carefully crafted in service of some point. Sometimes the point is as crass as a stupid wiener joke, sometimes the point is a genius bit of biting social commentary. Which brings me to the second brilliant thing about this show is that it is equally comfortable with the high brown and the low brow, recognizing that each has its place and that "smart humor" isn't about content as much as craft. It makes little distinction between the two and fluidly uses one in service of the other.

If you think the dialog is dumb or inane, you don't get it. If you think the content is pointlessly crude, you don't get it. And if you think the animation is crappy, you reaaally don't get it.

The title of this review should say it all. The people who created this are clever writers, appealing to an intelligent viewer by delivering what those who don't quite understand it think is absurd and unfunny. The truth is, it's anything but.

This is an intentionally poorly animated, comedically fast-paced glimpse into the twisted, surreal world of Xavier, an aesthetically (not to mention morally) objectionable wanderer, with delusions of philosophical grandeur. As Xavier lands himself in situations born almost completely out of his absurd incompetence and inability to reason, he attempts to further understand himself and nearly always fails.

Comedically, this is a real gem. The attention to detail elevates this from a 'weird cartoon' to something that has very obviously had a lot of thought and care invested in it. The show has many layers, from odd almost dream-like logic to conveying some very intelligent ideas (which unlike South Park it doesn't always turn into the main focus of the show). It's a show that can move dramatically in completely unexpected directions, often from just a turn of phrase or an internal after-thought. In that way it's very similar to Wonder Showzen, but Xavier takes the surreal humour to a whole different level! I'm loathe to say "if you don't like it, you don't get it" about comedy shows because it's invariably a cop out of a proper justification, but some of the criticism this show is getting is as a result of things (deliberately dubious animation, consciously offensive stereotypes, etc.) that the creators intentionally set out to portray. There's often a very tangible commentary on social responsibility to the show's sub-text and in amongst it's absurdity lies some pretty deep stuff, apparently lost on it's critics.

In summary, I haven't been this excited about a comedy show since, well, Wonder Showzen.

I decided to write this review as a counterpoint to the one star review which was obviously written by someone who didn't quite get the show despite their insistence on understanding it.

Xavier: Renegade Angel (from the creators of MTV2's Wonder Showzen) is a show best described as the TV show Alejandro Jodorowsky would make if he was obsessed with wordplay. Every episode (with the exception of two) follows the title character, who is voiced incredibly well by series creator Vernon Chatman, NOT Jim Tozzi, as he tries to help people who he believes need help while causing a chain of events that only harm and frequently ruins the lives of those he is "assisting" all while searching for his father's killer and his missing mother. He is a character that was purposefully made as ugly as possible in order to show his inner wretchedness. He speaks mostly in wordplay in an attempt to appear more intelligent than everyone else. The wordplay is, for me, the highlight of the show and is by far some of the most clever I have ever heard. A favorite line of mine is (in reference to the Mayan God Quetzacoatle) "Let's give this sadis-dick Sun God a taste of his own meta-META- sin, man". A common problem amongst people who don't enjoy this show is not being able to see the multiple layers of a single line like that. And that lines a simple one...

The animation is also not as bad as detractors like to ascertain. The first season was very choppy and a bit clumsy but by the second season the animation improved drastically. Like Xavier the show was purposefully made to be ugly as another way for the creators to challenge the viewers and our often shallow perception. Theirs a reason that the show's writing is so good and that because it's the star of the show, not the animation. If you can't look past the animation you simply shouldn't be watching the show and if you enjoy ANYTHING else on Adult Swim you are a hypocrite for saying the animation effects your experience as it's the best animated show on the network (tied with Superjail).

Xavier was described as "a warning to children and adults about the dangers of spirituality" by the shows creators though it's other main focus is displaying ignorance as one of mankind's biggest flaws. Xavier himself is possibly the most ignorant character on the show though he perceives himself as a gift from God and the answer to stupidity. This again ties into the shows look which only exposes the ignorant among us. Speaking of "ties in", another major aspect of the show is the fact that every episode is insanely well constructed (something the other reviewer said the exact opposite about and more so than anything proves he doesn't quite understand the show and it's structure). The show normally starts with Xavier walking through the desert and speaking to himself about the topics we will come across during the next 10 minutes. It's very important to pay close attention to this as everything he says here comes back up in more wordplay and metaphors/visuals later in the episode. Each episode is very tightly put together and references to important issues and jokes are spread throughout. How someone can say "there is zero balance" to this show is absolutely beyond me.

If you need any more proof of the other reviewers ignorance of the show go watch the episode "Shakashuri Blowdown" on AdultSwim.com. He claims Xavier simply plays the flute on and on and on. Go watch it and see if thats a correct statement or maybe you'll see that flute part for what it is... A brilliant piece of animation that marries music and image incredibly well. Hope this helps. And as I said before, if you don't like the show then that's totally fine but don't judge something if you don't understand it for what it is. This review barely scratched the surface of what this show is so give it a shot. The whole first season is up on Adult Swim though it's far more tame than season two which is my favorite season of any animated show ever.