Why stop talking about internet shows now. Let’s find another one that I bought merch of. I will be writing this while I hug my Pomni plush… if you haven’t watched the show and don’t know why I would do that, well prepare to learn.
The show, like Bluey, is Australian, though unlike the adorable story of the heelers that I so often have had to use this year to cheer myself up, it doesn’t come up much… in fact until looking it up I didn’t know… anyway this is not for kids. Directed by Gooseworx and produced by Glitch Productions, who also produced Murder Drones, it deals with some… existential horror surrounded by bright colours… but when a major inspiration for the show was “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream”… you kind of have to have that existential horror aspect.
It starts off with a cute little musical number in a CG world introducing us to the characters, though it does have a bit of a dark undertone at the end as it repeats “again” over and over, and then Pomni appears seemingly from nowhere. After ruining the opening bumping into people, she starts pulling at her own head, not sure how to get the headset she put on off.
Well ok, she isn’t called Pomni yet. Anyway cute blue and red jester girl, if you have seen any pictures of the show, it’s probably her. Caine the character with two floating eyes in a large mouth as a head wearing a ringmasters outfit does a quick introduction to the setting that she is now in a digital plane. Pomni is soon shocked to find she can’t remember her name, something common to all the humans currently trapped in the Circus and Caine rolls a machine, eventually coming up with Pomni.
Pomni is set on trying to get out especially after seeing a red door marked Exit. The episode has lots of trippy elements that work since it’s a digital realm so physics need not apply, in fact the other characters wouldn’t work if they obeyed the laws of physics.We get some nice touching moments like when Pomni stops for the first time upon seeing her reflection, no words are spoken, with eyes wide she gently strokes her own face. Pomni has a very expressive face (mostly for the horror and madness that’s going on) so you can tell from it alone what’s going on in her head. Pomni goes through a lot even though it’s her first day, really makes you want to comfort hug the lady. The first episode is very much Her episode, her introduction to things, and while we do see what’s happening with other characters, Pomni is our window into this world.
So that existential horror part… Well there’s the small issue of the risk of their eternal entrapment driving them mad, one of the characters Kinger is kind of very spacy and personality flaws seem almost exploding at times… but we do find out what happens when someone does snap, and it’s not good. You find yourself in a body that was not yours, could be barely human looking, find you trapped forever and you need to hold onto your sanity or…. And this is just the Pilot, which then became known as Episode 1, ( at the time of writing there are 7), not counting shorts or the shorts that are related to merch drops, that are still rather entertaining. There are some deep heartfelt moments later in the series but for a first episode it’s more the maddening to almost breaking point stuff, which is seen clearly at the end of the first episode, a happy tune playing while the rest of the cast have a lovely meal, all the while Pomni is left with just a thousand yard stare, a made smile forming on her face, all to jolly music, before things zoom out and out and out. It’s a good opening to the show and introduction to its characters. They get vastly more development in the rest of the show of course, but their stand out designs will make it so you remember them long before that.
So yeah, its mad, surreal, uses the fact its a digital world to help explain designs for characters and the location. There isn’t really any lore titbits to gleam from the pilot for people wanting to try figuring out the deeper story… sure you get bits about what characters do and what can happen. But those details help work out backstories and are held for the later episodes. This is an introduction and with nice animated and expressive characters that once again makes you want to comfort hug Pomni, it’s one you will remember and lead you to the next few episodes.
Rating: 🎅🎅🎅🎅
