Random TV Season Review - Hazbin Hotel (Season 1)

 

Having gotten so used to watching A24 films, I feel it's time I checked out a show of theirs, and this one was recommended to me by a friend or two. It's animated, it's a musical series (which I tend to avoid, but will make an exception this time) and it's created by fellow YouTuber VivziePop. Some of these songs and episodes have meaning, and it's all part of yet another shared universe of things, in this case, the Hellaverse. I will also check out the other series set in this universe that she has made, and I can definitely see that she was inspired by things like Invader Zim and others like it. So let's take a look and see if I will enjoy the weirdness this time:

The princess of Hell, Charlie Morningstar (voiced by Erika Henningsen), is set on opening the titular hotel in an attempt to rehabilitate sinner demons. Due to Hell's overpopulation, an annual purge takes place in which angels, led by a being called Adam (voiced by Alex Brightman) descend from heaven to kill sinners. Desperate to find a more peaceful solution, Charlie sets out her goal to have the hotel be a means for sinners to find redemption, check out as redeemed souls and be accepted into Heaven. She gets help in the form of her girlfriend and devoted manager Vaggie (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz) and the patrons that become attracted to the place. She also gets help from a powerful radio demon called Alastor (voiced by Amir Talai) who is only helping for his amusement among other things.

With a lot of vibrant colours, great animation and plenty of musical numbers that are emotional, fun and catchy, this is another great series to add to the already overstuffed adult animation genre. It's definitely one that I wasn't sure what to expect, as is the case with many A24 things I see. But while it may not be a traditional A24 thing to some degree, its definitely worth a watch if you like the idea of heaven and hell with some adult humour thrown in and great animation and musical numbers. Looking forward to seeing where this goes in the future. 9/10