#far-fetched

"The Joker" [Does violence with a smile]: a character who commits murders/violence while grinning, laughing, and otherwise being oddly upbeat as if the violence doesn't matter. "I'm really messed up because I think violence is fun! XD I commit murders while Laughing in a cute way!"

Nostalgic Art Style: Deviantart, Disney, 90s anime, other 90s-2000s art references.

SINGING: the characters sing a lil song. Bonus points if the series is a full musical.

Furry character: any kind of anthro animal, not necessarily a stock "furry."

Indie Networking: Indie creators often know each other and support each other's work. Check this box if your indie animated pilot has connections to other well-known indie creators [Ex: Gooseworx doing music for Hazbin Hotel, The Art of Murder featuring Starkid, etc]

Animation Industry Veterans??: Disillusioned by corporate studio politics, veteran animation directors have arrived to make their own personal passion projects. Everyone is mildly surprised they are really here.

Tone whiplash: The show swings between wildly different tones. Can be intentional/well-written or accidental/messy.

"Confirmed Canon on Twitter": The things the creators say on social media is treated as canon even if it is never mentioned in the show; there's a lot of 'paratext' & additional material that someone will not get if they watch the show without paying attention to its presence on social media.

"Pilot" is episode 1: In a corporate 2D animation environment, a pilot is used to pitch the show but is not "canon" or the "real" episode 1. it is where you experiment, make mistakes, and pitch the general concept of the show that you can then workshop into something better. On YouTube, a "pilot" is generally expected to be a polished canon episode 1.

Pacing Issues: A common problem facing smaller studios that don't have the budget to plan out polished 22-episode seasons. Plot beats happen too quickly without enough build up. Not anybody's fault, but a common thing.