Welcome everyone to a brand new challenge for the blog – Mae’s 31 Day Series Challenge for 2024! Similar to what I did with my gaming posts last month, this will be more of a monthly celebration of all things – well series related. Originally I was going to focus it solely on my favorite TV shows but then…I kept thinking about the shows solely on streaming services, as well as web series on platforms like YouTube – all of which I watch regularly. So I decided to combine them all in this month’s celebration 🙂 so don’t be surprised if these posts go all over the place as I talk about some of my favorites, some that may have strong impacts on me, or maybe even some coming down the pipe. Who knows! We’ll see where the night takes us haha. I’ll likely revisit the gaming challenge at some point and continue talking about even more games but for now let’s celebrate series media!
Day Nineteen: Bojack Horseman
When Bojack Horseman first hit the streets on Netflix in 2014, I had to admit I wasn’t pulled in immediately. Don’t get me wrong – the animation looked pretty quirky and fun but there was something about the advertising, the strange proportions of the animal-people versus the people-people, and with the plethora of adult animation hitting the streets at the time that were just…meh when it came to story, I wasn’t too sure about this one. However, I knew I would jump on the train eventually….and after one of my friends told me I had to check it out, I finally put on the first episode of Bojack Horseman and began binging the first season.
The story follows Bojack Horseman – a literal horse man who is a washed up comedy actor who was once the star of the 90s sitcom Horsin’ Around. Now living in obscurity in the Hollywood Hills in his home, this alcoholic/drug addict wants to make his comeback into the world – and follows the urging from those closest to him (I’m hesitating to use the word ‘Friend’ here – and if you’ve seen the series, you’d understand why) Bojack decides to write a novel about his life…actually, he hires a ghost writer named Diane Nguyen…and thus the series follows those adventures of Bojack and those around him as he tries to stay relevant in a world that has no problem ignoring his life. Seems pretty tame right? Ha, if only it were.
This series is pretty damn funny in the writing but don’t be fooled by the comedy. Even the opening sequence can show you the darkness that hides behind this series (btw if you never noticed before, the opening changes in every season of the show and showcases what will happen within that season – there’s a lot hidden in plain sight in this series – definitely recommend you keep your eyes peeled). There’s trigger warnings for suicidal thoughts, heavy drug and alcohol use, physical and emotional abuse, explorations into mental illness…this is just scratching the surface of what is talked about here. And yes, like most American television series – it can seem like there isn’t a continuous story going on in this show but despite the separate adventures, there’s always progress in the main goals of each season happening in each episode. And things that happen in previous episodes LAST in this series. Something happens to a character in season one? You better believe that will be shown and possibly even explored more in later seasons.
Bojack Horseman’s story…is pretty tragic all things considering. And this goes for many of the other characters we highlight. There’s a lot of trauma within their journeys, a lot of mistakes they’ve made or made against them affecting them in huge ways. But I do feel that as we watch the show and see where storylines in, there’s a lot of satisfying conclusions for almost all of them. But let’s be clear – just because Bojack is the main character…doesn’t mean he’s someone you should necessarily root for or look up to. He’s meant to be seen as an antagonist for those around him. He’s meant to be seen as trouble. And even in his growth, which is TOTALLY FINE TO ROOT FOR, you should understand that Bojack is very self-centered and continues to make many of the same mistakes. And sure, it’s never too late for someone to make a change in their life to do better; however, that doesn’t erase mistakes they did make and how those mistakes affected people, especially those that cared about him most. People like Princess Carolyn, a literal cat-lady who spends a good deal of time as Bojack’s agent (and also on-and-off again girlfriend/sex buddy) and forcing her into disappointing situations regularly even though he knows what he is doing hurts her deeply; Todd, Bojack’s roommate who came to his house for a party five years ago and never left – and Bojack tries very hard to keep Todd depending on him so much and sabotaging his growth as a person on a regular basis (sidenote: Todd’s also excellent asexual representation – I salute this as an ace myself!); Diana, whom Bojack fully has a crush on despite knowing she’s in a relationship with someone who desperately wants to be friends with Bojack – Mr. Peanutbutter, a dogman and also a 90s sitcom star. There’s are just the four main pulls but there’s PLENTY OF CHARACTERS we could look to and see how much Bojack has affected them. But then…I want people to watch this series more than anything. Because damn, this show is excellent and portraying such real behaviors and how there are consequences to actions. I fully hope more people see this show since it’s already completed and ready to watch on Netflix.
Bojack Horseman can be a hard watch at times, especially the later you go into the series. I have contemplated doing a rewatch and honestly…I don’t know if I can handle it knowing where some storylines go. It’s dark and I hope more people understand that going in instead of just turning on a show because it’s bright and colorful. But all in all, this is one of the best adult animations in recent years in my opinion. And if you can make it through the darkness, I promise you there is some light in the end. Maybe not completely in the conventional sense you’re used to in a story tied off in pretty ribbons – but still, it’s a pretty real ending overall.
Thank you for reading today’s post! I really love this show and do hope people have been able to check it out. The designs can be a bit off-putting for some but honestly the story makes up for it. Lots of love and stay safe out there~
*~Mae's Corner~* 