Villainous

With the shorts it seemed that this was going to be a great dark TV show and that it would break the tradition of mexican animated shows being all about their culture, but it didn't. The show feels rushed with the plots centering on the characters traveling to some place to fight a hero (Which mostly are based on characters from other franchises) the characters aren't charismatic and are frustrating and cliché and everything feels like a Mexican Telenovela that somehow got turned into an animated show. Most of the lore of the show is not explored and the show itself just depends on references and cameos of other Cartoon Network shows. Black Hat is not even the main character like the shorts made it seem he was and he's just a comic relief character that has not relevance to the plot.

I first heard of this show 10 years ago and watched through all of its mini-episodes. The characters were absolutely fantastic. I remember having only one complaint: they were too short. A few days ago, I stumbled across this show again and decided to watch the six released episodes of season 1. It was amazing. This is a show you don't necessarily have to watch for the overarching story (yet), but the characters are SO GOOD that it doesn't matter that the story isn't that fleshed out (YET).

The concept of the show is rather original. Black Hat, the ultimate villain, has gotten rid of all of his own heroes, and now runs a company to help other villains destroy THEIR heroes. Black Hat sends out his three employees, Dr. Flug, Demencia, and 5.0.5., to get rid of these 'heroic problems'.

I absolutely adore Dr. Flug, the nervous paper-bag scientist. His character design is unique and his personality is surprisingly three-dimensional. He's a perfectionist, striving to prove himself. He's caring toward his cohorts, and quite jumpy when it comes to scary things (like Black Hat). At the same time, Flug's a villain who likes to create insane devices for his boss to cause mayhem. Flug has his own backstory and motivations for joining Black Hat Organization, and I can't wait for it to be fully uncovered.

Demencia is best described as a Harley Quinn-like character who's completely obsessed with Black Hat. She's very tough but not the brightest one around. I love her dynamic with Dr. Flug. Her character design is a real eye-catcher and I love the sound effects of a rattle snake when she slithers across the floor. She really doesn't hold anything back and just wants to maim and destroy. Her love for Black Hat is somewhat disturbing, which fits her deranged personality.

5.0.5. Is a big, blue bear who really doesn't seem to belong. He's very sweet and has the mind and naivety of a child, making him a cute side character who you feel sorry for when he has to witness horrific events. He's kind of a breath of fresh air among the evil things going on.

Ah, and then there the big boss himself. Black Hat. He's quite different from most cartoon villains I've seen. Most are comical and not that harmful. They have their weaknesses to be defeated in the end, or are even sympathetic. Black Hat... isn't like that. He is actually pure evil. It's no secret that he kills and tortures people on a regular basis. He takes delight in the suffering of others without holding anything back. He treats everyone pretty much with the same sadism, because that's just who he is. He makes any interaction with him as uncomfortable as possible. He has the essence of a horror movie villain in his behavior, constantly twisting physical appearance and cruelty. But of course, he's not actually the antagonist of this show. This villain is impossible to defeat, but he also just doesn't need to BE defeated. And it's so surreal to watch!

Needless to say, Black Hat is the star of this show. Whenever he's on screen, it's always ridiculously entertaining. But now that I've seen the sixth episode, I'm really curious to see where the story with the rest of the characters is headed. It has a LOT of potential and I just want to know more about them. The animation is also of very high quality and the visual gags are always a blast. The only thing missing so far is a musical number, but maybe that's just me. Can't wait to see more!

I loved every second of it, the character design and the humor are amazing, it remind me a little bit of ''mucha lucha''. Can´t wait to see more of this amazing universe.

Wow this was good. Disclaimer that it's been a bit since watching and writing this review. It reminds me a lot of hell of a boss in the sense that you have a cast of morally dubious characters who are fulfilling contracts. Where I think the show shines is its ability to make you care about the characters. There's Demencia, who's crazy good at what she does, leans wholeheartedly into being a villain, and has an unreciprocated crush on Black Hat. Her energy is just so contagious and I love it. Then there's Dr. Flugslys who's really smart yet shy and nervous. I love him 'cause he's such a goofy inventor. Then there is five oh five in here doesn't love an indestructible squishable bear. Smith combined with solid likable side villains let's this show shine. And there's something just so good about movies about villains (barring Despicable me > 1), likely because you can see the nuance in their lives, which is realistic to life. Eagerly awaiting more episodes but not too optimistic they're coming.

I recently watched the episodes and I like how the story flows through! My favourite episode is definitely the Pilot since it is really introducing us to the world of Villainous! Thanks AI Animation Studios!