Primal is Gendy Tartokovsky's magnum opus

Submitted by imrealtrustmebro t3_y2pq7j in television

I'm sure you know who this man is, but in case you haven't he is a legend in the animation industry making some of the classic Cartoon Network shows like Dexter's Lab and Samurai Jack. He also made the Hotel Transylvania movies which I honestly keep on forgetting he did. But his newest show Primal, for adult swim, is the best thing he has done so far.

I'll start by looking at Primal through the lens of Samurai Jack. Samurai Jack was built around show don't tell, there was rarely any dialogue, especially from our titular character but instead his feelings were shown through visuals. The way he moved, the expression on his face, or by his screams, you would know exactly how he felt without him saying anything. The show also focused heavily on action and spectacle.

Primal does all of these things but in such higher quality. The animation is breathtaking, with both beautiful landscapes and horrific creatures completely enticing you into this world. Also the show now relies completely on the visuals, instead of dialogue being sparse, there is none. But even though no words are spoken, it is one of the most emotional shows I have ever seen. I don't think a show has ever filled with such a truer sense of disgust and grief while also being insanely awesome and even funny.

I will say this show is not for the faint of heart, it is a lot, but it is an experience like no other, so please give it a try and become a little Primal

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Fritzkreig t1_is4as3s wrote

I had put it off, just was not into a show about a caveman and his TRex buddy. Then I watched one episode and was blown away!

The way the relationship between Spear and Fang develops with no dialouge..... just chef's kiss!

I have a few minor gripes about it, will keep them to myself; it is a masterpiece!

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Shrekt115 t1_is53p4p wrote

One of the best animated shows of the last few years

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SepluvSulam t1_iswg4oy wrote

While it's not the type of show I'd watch on my own, my SO has been watching it and it's soooooo well made. Even though I normally don't like the themes, it sucks me in everytime.

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Virata t1_is4lcqm wrote

Your average episode of Primal is a solid 8/10, with many episodes as incredible as a 9.5/10. There are only a few that're worse than that. Suffice to say I fucking loved Primal as I watched it, was always looking forward to the next ep, and never missed a premier day. Incredible art, animation, and especially soundtrack. So much is told through little to no actual dialogue.

'The Primal Theory' episode I thought was pretty good, but as I watched it I couldn't help but feel like "we only have a few more episode left, I hope this time spent away from the main storyline doesn't detract from the finale." And boy it did, bigtime. The finale was fuckin ASSCHEEKS. It was BAD. And not even in the main choices for what happens to the characters. They could have kept all the main plot decisions the same, but could have portrayed it about 7000x better. ESPECIALLY if they didn't waste a whole episode on some random ass non-related story. If they just made the final ep a 2-parter in length, and fleshed out the details, Primal would have been a complete masterpiece start to finish.

Unfortunately, a damn near perfect series ended on a complete shitstain note of a final episode. Still worth watching. Still pissed off about the ending

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CptNonsense t1_is5h722 wrote

> If they just made the final ep a 2-parter in length, and fleshed out the details,

Into what? The finale is about a Viking turned into a magma golem by I assume Sutr or just generally Satan on a magical revenge mission again Spear. What other details did you want? How exactly did you expect it to play out?

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openletter8 t1_is6uwia wrote

Exactly! Spear wasn't going to win this battle, and they did a nice job showing how Mira and Spear were close, but could never be fully together. Mira did a mercy and carried his story on when he couldn't.

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imrealtrustmebro OP t1_is758q3 wrote

Spear didn't win but he did still get one over on the viking. He showed him who the true hero really was.

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imrealtrustmebro OP t1_is753fx wrote

Yeah and how Spear took it like a fucking champ like his father and tackled him off the cliff while on fire in order to make sure fang was okay, so awesome. Probably one of the most badass sacrifices I've ever seen

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imrealtrustmebro OP t1_is74vjl wrote

I wrote like four paragraphs about The Primal Theory and its use and importance as well as touching on the finale and how it made perfect sense but could've been longer but was still absolutely epic and heartbreaking, but yeah agree to disagree lol

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russdb t1_is7kpsu wrote

How much is 'a lot' compared to Too Old to Die Young? because that shit was crazy AF but also thought provoking and visually stunning. The style is the substance.

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imrealtrustmebro OP t1_is818iw wrote

I've never seen Too Old to Die Young but I'd say Primal is both thought provoking and visually stunning. But I'd say its more emotional than thought provoking. Like the show makes you feel more than it does think but that's kinda the point, its Primal. It's supposed to get a visceral reaction out of you.

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russdb t1_ise0np3 wrote

Cool, thanks, I look forward to checking it out.

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