benitosk8 Really nice! Serie. Great characters original story.

elliest_5 Please excuse the tone of this review, which is more of a love-letter rather than a descriptive evaluation, but I believe that "BoJack Horseman" is a high quality, unique, and groundbreaking show. Here's my ten reasons why, having watched up to season 4 at the point of this review:1. "Slapstick subtext" (not my term - look it up to see the original analysis): What this show does is that it gets the characters to casually drop bits of deep and highly conscious self-psychoanalysis in the most low-key/non-dramatic way. What normally remains in the subtext of a typical drama (e.g. viewers can infer deeper conflicts and emotions from subtle cues in the acting) becomes fully disclosed in the most explicit way and in the most unexpected moment (i.e. no drum-roll, no climax). It's slapstick because it's in-your-face, it's funny because it's unexpected, but it's also highly meaningful.2. It digs really deep. This show tackles the most crucial questions about human existence head-on and it unearths the deepest, most difficultly expressed, feelings/hopes and fears of the characters and of the audience.3. Attention to detail (part I). The creators have paid attention to every little bit of the background of each scene. An obvious rewatchability factor, this element is really impressive. There's hidden jokes and references almost in every frame.4. Attention to detail (part II): Continuity. It's just really well- planned and well-executed. In each episode you will find links and references to episodes even a season or two back, and you will struggle to find even the smallest continuity error (I don't think I've ever noticed any, despite multiple rewatches). They even add little bits of retcon to rectify implausibilities of older episodes and make the show's universe even more consistent. 5. The acting. It's top-notch, the main actors are totally nailing it and there's an impressive cast of guest/recurring actors who are doing an equally good job (I suspect more and more big names will guest star as the show's popularity keeps increasing).6. The music. The creators have an excellent taste, each song selection and each original piece is incredibly fitting and meaningful.7. The humour. (The very fact that I got to point 7 listing this show's strengths before getting to what would be the obvious main quality, is telling within itself). This show is hilarious.8. The tongue-twisters. People say this show is "very punny" and it does indeed include a lot of word-play, but its signature move is the Dr. Seuss-like rhyming tongue twisters. They just add to the show's uniqueness and they are funny and fun to try and repeat.9. The anthropomorphic animals. What I thought might be off-putting before I started watching this show (especially since I have a weird fear of horses) is actually incredibly cleverly done and adds a lot both to the characterisation and to the humour. You quickly get over the implausibility of the premise that this world consists of a mix of humans and human-sized/human-like animals when you think that a lot of people that you know - though not everyone, hence the selective animal...isation - actually remind you of animals (right? think of those Benedict Cumberbatch - Otter memes), not just in terms of physicality but also in terms of character/disposition. The added humour comes from the fact that the animal-like characters have real animal properties and reactions mixed in with their otherwise human behaviour.10. Its take on social issues. No matter where you stand on social issues/ politics (and I happen to stand with the creators on most issues, as far as I can tell) you've got to hand it to the show for throwing in references and making a point about a variety of issues in a low-key, non-patronising way that does not interfere with everything else going on in the plot/humour/character development.I could go on but I'll stop here. Just go watch this already!

sunriseinyoureyes This is a show for adults, and a great show for adults at that. BoJack is an anthropomorphic horse who, in summary, hates himself and takes it out on everyone around him. He was once a successful actor who achieved great fame and fortune after starring in a cheesy but successful 90s sitcom. Since that show's end, he's resorted to stagnating in his LA mansion, living off his seemingly bottomless riches and distracting/comforting himself from all his issues (loneliness, emptiness, mundanity, etc) with booze, philandering, indulgent nostalgia from the good ol' sitcom days, and basically cursing the world in as many ways as possible.Despite BoJack's cynical persona, over time he proves himself to be a thoughtful and incisive person intolerant of BS yet also someone who wants to care but is terrified to. He ends up being a character we're all familiar with: a hurt softy taking refuge from himself and society in the protected darkness of a hard shell.The story progresses in a number of ways, but is primarily hinged on the exploration of BoJack's psyche, which is incrementally revealed through his interactions with the many (fun) characters in the show, particularly with Diane Nguyen, a ghost-writer tasked with writing a tell-all autobiography of BoJack's life.The writing is great; it's clever, hilariously parodies TV and societal tropes, and it's unpredictable. The voice acting is spot-on for the characters. And although the animation is somewhat crude, it depicts the vibe of the show well. In all, I highly recommend this show. It's a trip.

qbi-51387 THIS IS A REVIEW OF SEASON 4 (MOSTLY) CONTAINS VERY MILD SPOILERSExcellent series that I fell in love with. Insightful jokes, dark humour, superb tone and pacing.It all ends with season 3 though.Season 4 is almost completely devoid of any humour. It's full of unnecessary and uninteresting story arcs, and in most of the episodes Bojack is basically a background character.The premise of this season takes a bit to establish, and while the premise itself is fine and could be eventually interesting, it takes too long and is not utilized in any way. Only way it IS utilized is the end its consecutive story arcs.Bojack-centered story arc is short and relatively minor compared to the screen-time given to other characters personal dramas. It feels like a show in Bojack Horseman universe, and not a show about its main character.It wouldn't even be so bad, if not for completely botched ratio of depressive / funny content. The best part of this show was exactly that - when the writers wanted to 'go deep' with Bojack story, they masterfully connected jokes and drama, so after watching an episode, a viewer was left with this 'tears of sadness mixed with laughter' bittersweet kind of emotion. It made the show unique, and true. Not every episode was like that, but the depressing/existential ones usually were.When the first seasons made me feel bad, it was for a reason, or at least it felt that way. Bojack, apart from being self-centered arrogant asshole on daily basis, usually TRIED to do the right thing when it came to deeper moral problems. Obviously he usually failed miserably along the way. It made the character easy to empathize with, and made him feel realistic in his eternal dilemma - do the right thing, or succumb to egotistical self-centered thoughts. A rather universal human predicament.Sure, Bojack struggled and complained a lot in previous seasons, but now? Now there's NO struggle, No dilemma, there's ONLY complaining (and not the comical one). Bojack was always an asshole, but his dilemmas were understandable - at least when they weren't entirely comical or sociopathic. Now, in place of real and universal human (horse?) emotions, we get toxicity and depression. And almost nothing else. Sure, toxicity and depression are common too, but they are certainly less comical than being pathologically self-centered.Bad analogy: You could say that before, it seemed that Bojack needed some serious therapy with a psychologist (like we all do to different degrees, right?) and there was still some space for humour. Now, it looks like he needs hospitalization, psychiatrist, and lifelong drug therapy. It's not funny at all, it's just sad.Watching 'current' Bojack just makes me feel lousy. Awful things are happening to characters for Non-Bojack related reasons (or for no reason at all), and it's a weak thing to do, narratively speaking. Really weak and lazy writing, sorry to say it. Weak, when compared to the quality of previous seasons. Feels like a first draft of a script, and whoever wrote it mistook cheap drama for depth. 'Bojack Horseman' seems like The Simpsons story all over again. After a great beginning with several excellent seasons, the show falls into mediocrity, with each new episode being a weak imitation of what made the show great in the first place. Did the original writing team walk off the show? It certainly feels like that.Sorry for my rant, but i used to LOVE this show up until now. A real pity.