#helluva critical

So then i checked IMDB...

Before i go on i wanna put some context because its kinda needed for what im about to say:

On IMDB there's a section of the cast and crew page labeled "Series Animation Department". This is the section meant primarily for animators and storyboarders among other jobs in the same vein.

Now. Can you guess how many animators/storyboarders Helluva Boss has gone through in less than 2 seasons?

444.

That is four hundred and forty-four individual credits, a majority of whom didn't stay for any longer than a few episodes. I have never in my life seen an animator turnover rate this skewed.

But i saw this and i went "well it cant be that bad right, what about other shows?" because admittedly i didnt know a lot about animation so for all i knew this was normal. So i went to the IMDB pages of other animated shows

RWBY: 164 credited animators over 9 seasons

Murder Drones: 11 Animators over 7 episodes

The Owl House: 88 Animators over 3 seasons

Amphibia: 73 over 3 seasons

Steven Universe: 44 over 5 seasons

And just to be fair let's include Hazbin Hotel, which had 62 in 1 season

If youve seen any work the cast has does outside of the Hellaverse shows, you'd know.

The cast of both of these shows are STACKED with massive Broadway talent. You got Jessica Vosk, Erika Henningsen, Kimiko Glenn, Patina Miller, Jeremy Jordan, Darren Criss, Barrett Wilbert Weed, etc...

CHRISTIAN BORLE???? DAPHNE RUBIN-VEGA??? LESLIE KRITZER??? JAMES MONROE-IGLEHEART????? Etc etc....

I fucking DESPISE Stolas with a burning passion. I have never EVER hated a character more. But Bryce Pinkham? Star of the Tony Award winning Broadway musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder Bryce Pinkham??? Voice of an ANGEL (no pun intended) (Go listen to Gentleman's Guide if you haven't it's WONDERFUL)

Adam was a complete waste of a character, Pentious is passable and Fizz is a character I don't hate in a terrible show, but Alex Brightman???? My man Alex Brightman was ROBBED in the 2019 Tony Awards for his performance as Beetlejuice (I saw him live, he absolutely deserved that Tony). And I cant think of a better pick for Dewy Finn for the Broadway production of School of Rock.

Not to mention the OTHER very notable names attached to this project. You got KEITH DAVID??? STEPHANIE BEATRIZ???RICHARD HORVITZ????

KE$HA????

FUCKING PATRICK STUMP????

And then you have the equally talented but much smaller names. Brandon Rogers, Blake Roman, Joel Perez, etc...

And that's not to forget about the pilot casts too. Elsie Lovelock, Mónica Franco, Michael Kovach, etc...

Unfortunately, the casts of both Hellaverse shows are DEVESTATINGLY talented.

And my point is that if it weren't for the ASTRONOMICAL talent of the cast, no one would think these shows are good.

The cast is so unbelievably good at their jobs that they can make any dogshit sound good. If they read a dictionary with as much effort and enthusiasm as they do the scripts of these shows, it would still sound compelling.

People like these characters and these shows because the talent of the voice cast makes it sound good. Their talent elevates these shows to such a degree that it has convinced a massive audience that the characters are well written and the plots make any sense.

But they're not. And they don't.

Helluva Boss has no plot anymore, it's just Stolitz toxic yaoi + pregnancy arc for the only female character the writers still pretend to care about.

Hazbin Hotel makes absolutely no sense with the Heaven vs Hell plot. Is Charlie even the main character anymore? Because Vox and Angel and Alastor have all gotten much more "development" than she has.

But the actors are just, too good at their jobs. They speak their lines with such conviction and earnestness that they make the characters somewhat enjoyable to at least watch. I don't like HH but Christian Borle is my FAVORITE Broadway white man. (I went all the way to NYC to see Tammy Faye on Broadway JUST to see him at the final performance). I can't help but at least enjoy Vox's presence on screen because Christian Borle is just such a good actor that he play the character SO WELL even when Vox being the main villain I'm s2 makes absolutely no sense????

And the cast believes in these shows so much because this group of professional theater kids managed to break into the mainstream and now they have millions of fans worldwide. It must be exciting, ESPECIALLY for the smaller names like Blake Roman and Joel Perez. So I honestly don't blame them for believing their own hype so much cause they're now accessing performance opportunities they didn't have before.

(I genuinely hope there was a casting director or something at the Hazbin Hotel live on Broadway event because Blake Roman ESPECIALLY deserves to be a Broadway leading man like Reeve Carney or Jeremy Jordan. If Blake Roman, with his GORGEOUS voice, doesn't get cast as Orpheus in Hadestown in the next 2 years I'm rioting. His performance as Angel Dust is so unbelievably good you'd think Angel was a well written character.)

Anyway, that's my rant about why I think the Hellaverse shows are as popular as they are despite being absolutely terrible

I AM ONLY GONNA TAG THE CRITICAL HELLAVERSE TAGS. IF THIS POST MANAGES TO BREACH CONTAINMENT AND HELLAVERSE STANS SEE THIS, JUST BLOCK ME AND THE APPROPRIATE TAGS. I AM NOT INTERESTED IN DEBATING THE QUALITY OF THE HELLAVERSE WITH DIE HARD STANS. THANK YOU

And, all i have to say is...

HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TO TEACH YOU THIS LESSON OLD WOMAN?

Like, why does she keep going after people who make valid criticism on a series she likes?

Like, why does she label people who make good criticisms on shows "haters"?

Really?

Like, are you serious?

Only now are they deciding to show that Stolas being tortured and almost killed by Striker traumatized him? Now that poor Stolas is a "commoner", powerless, without his position and daughter?

Now, it might seem like I'm being unnecessarily cruel and mean to Stolas, but I want you to think about it with me for a minute.

You all know how Helluva Boss uses Stolas's suffering, right? Stolas suffering from PTSD isn't going to be used to deepen his character, develop him, or anything like that.

No, no, it will only be used for one thing:

Make him suffer so the audience will feel sorry for him and to gather pity.

This is always how Helluva Boss's narrative uses his suffering, as in Mastermind and Sinsmans.

The loss of his power, position, wealth, and daughter was not used to hold him accountable for his mistakes or portrayed as Stolas' fault. It was only used to generate empathy and pity from the audience, so that they wouldn't have to address Stolas's real mistakes and hold him accountable.

It's just suffering for people to look at and say:

"awww poor Stolas ):"

And it's going to be the same thing here, his PTSD will only be used to victimize him and probably even to alleviate or justify mistakes he makes in the third season.

And damn, the worst part is going to be the fandom; they've been given an huge package now to victimize this damned bird, even more than they already did.

(Both are by GalXE!)

(Left one is by HezuReviews, right is by Autistic Swag!)

(Both are by Madeline Maye!)

(Both are by Cassidy Whiskey!)