FEBRUARY24_UNIKUM_WEB

Hazbin Hotel (Season 1)
Review
REVIEW
Photo: IMDb
Tobias Klausen
Writer
Four years ago, “Viziepop” casually
dropped the YouTube video “Hazbin
Hotel (Pilot)” and immediately it gained
humongous attraction for its animations,
characters, style and writing as an adultthemed
cartoon. But people were only
left with a half-hour video and unless
you religiously followed Viziepop, there
wasn’t much information regarding the
Hazbin Hotel universe. But then Amazon
Prime announced that it had picked up
the series, and on January 19th, 4 years
after the pilot release, it finally released,
with the last two episodes of season 1
airing February 2nd. But has the wait
been worth it, and for those that haven’t
followed this phenomenon, is it worth your time?
The story follows the princess of Hell, Charlie Morningstar
(Erika Henningsen) as she and her girlfriend, Vaggie (Stephanie
Beatriz), attempts to redeem the sinners of Hell to save them
from the extermination that the angels execute once a year.
Together with their band of misfits at the Hazbin Hotel, they
try to figure out what the road to redemption is. But there is
the mystery of where Lucifer and Lillith are, what the Radio
Demon’s ulterior motives are for helping Charlie, and why
exactly Heaven is dead set on killing the inhabitants of Hell.
I will note, the show expects you to have watched the pilot on
YouTube before watching the first episode, it picks up right
after it. You can most likely catch up without having watched
it, but it will be a whiplash in the beginning with the lack of
explanation of certain aspects and characters presence.
Season 1 does a lot of groundwork in terms of worldbuilding
but never feels like a season dedicated to simply that, it has
intrigues and fun in of its own.
The story and concept of Hazbin Hotel seems simple on the
surface, but it’s clear that there’s a deep lore here that is ready
to be explored, and although this season doesn’t have the time
to dig into every cavity of it, there’s enough presented to keep
you interested and intrigued for where it will go. The season
is only 8 episodes, each lasting approximately 23 minutes, so
the show sometimes suffers from a rapid pacing, where some
conflicts get resolved hurriedly to jump unto the next plot
point. It’s not off-putting, but definitely something noticeable.
But as I watched the final episode, I felt myself already being
excited for season 2. Season 1 does a lot of groundwork in
terms of worldbuilding but never feels like a season dedicated
to simply that, it has intrigues and fun in of its own.
It may be an adult cartoon, however, one thing to note before
throwing yourself headfirst into this show, it’s technically a
musical. There are two musical numbers in every episode,
and despite my hesitance when I initially heard this, they have
completely won me over. I have already listened to multiple on
repeats, and most of them are delightful and different enough
that there is most likely something for everyone here. And the
voice cast absolutely nails every single performance!
Erika Henningsen captures the hopeful glee of Charlie,
and Amir Talai plays the sadistic yet charismatic Alastor to
perfection and the rest of the cast follow suite
Speaking of the voice cast, most of the original voice cast of
the pilot have been replaced by Broadway names or people
affiliated with musicals. After the first trailer dropped, the
internet was buzzing with discourse, some enjoyed the new
voice cast, while others missed the old. But after watching the
whole season, there is not a single miscast here, and everyone
does a fantastic job in their respective roles. Erika Henningsen
captures the hopeful glee of Charlie, and Amir Talai plays the
sadistic yet charismatic Alastor to perfection and the rest of
the cast follow suite.
The animation is just as excellent as it always was, with vibrant
colors and vivid character expressions. A big shoutout to the
immaculate character designs of everyone, some designs have
been updated from the pilot and they all look great. They’re all
visually interesting to look at and brimming with style, much
reflective the rest of the show. Even during the big musical
numbers, they throw in some creative imagery, giving the vibe
of an adult-themed Disney musical, further heightening the
enjoyment of these musical features.
Verdict
Hazbin Hotel (Season 1) is an absolute blast in every aspect,
from the fun end engaging story and the brilliant musical
numbers to the excellent voice cast and fabulous animations.
The story may be slightly fast paced for some, with character
development and stories that doesn’t get time to breathe before
heading onwards to the next. But this doesn’t overshadow
the terrific basis the show has established, and it’s worth
dedicating your time to. And for fans of the pilot, rejoice, it
has been worth the wait. Hopefully it won’t be four years until
season 2 (which has been confirmed to be in development).
Season 1 of Hazbin Hotel has been a blast of a performance,
and I cannot wait for an encore.
FEBRUAR 2024 UNIKUM NR 2 39