The much-anticipated Rick and Morty: The Anime has finally dropped its first episode, and to put it bluntly, the show feels like a cheap YouTube fan project made by amateur artists. The animation looks painfully unprofessional, lacking the polish you would expect from an anime. The characters’ personalities are dull and lifeless, completely abandoning any semblance of humor and despite featuring some well-known voice actors from Funimation and Crunchyroll dubs, the show doesn’t look or feel like an anime, even though it may kind of sound like it if you close your eyes.
Developed by Takashi Sano and produced by Rick and Morty the Anime takes place between the fifth and sixth seasons of the main series, featuring alternate universe versions of the Smith family. The story follows Rick, Morty, and Summer as they embark on new adventures while portal travel is shut down, with a parallel storyline exploring Jerry Prime’s final months. Notably, none of the original English cast reprise their roles for the anime’s English dub. Different versions of the characters, including President “Evil” Morty Smith, appear across various dimensions, each with unique traits in this multiverse-spanning adventure.
The concept sounds awesome, right? Well, the show itself is anything but. In fact, it’s a total hack piece of sh*t. And trust us, the fans agree.
As mentioned above, the voice acting is strong, but it is completely overshadowed by the poor animation quality and the absence of any humor that Rick and Morty is known for. The show feels nothing like Rick and Morty, looks nothing like a legit anime (though this is rather subjective), and barely resembles the source material. This is especially frustrating because Rick and Morty: The Anime should capture the essence of both the original series and the anime genre, but it fails on both fronts so spectacularly it is hard to fathom how this iteration of the show made it passed the storyboard stage.
As fans of the original series, we were hoping for the same sharp wit, dark humor, and mind-bending plots that make Rick and Morty so iconic. Instead, we got a poorly executed imitation that lacks everything that made the original show great. The writing in this first episode is embarrassingly weak. The clever, layered humor that *Rick and Morty* is known for is completely absent, replaced with uninspired gags that fall flat. The biting social commentary, existential dread, and absurdity that make the show hilarious are nowhere to be found. The jokes feel forced, the plotlines uninteresting, and the characters are reduced to shallow caricatures of their original selves.
The animation only adds to the show’s problems. Rather than elevating the story or adding humor, the amateurish visuals make it feel like a low-budget fan project rather than a professional production. The decision to go for a rough, stylized aesthetic seems more like a cost-saving measure than a creative choice. This cheap look detracts from the experience and fails to capture any of the distinct traits of anime. The show looks like something you would find on YouTube from someone who doesn’t understand the essence of *Rick and Morty* or the anime genre.
Despite these shortcomings, the voice acting deserves some praise. The performances are fantastic, and fans of dubbed anime will recognize many of the English cast from Funimation and Crunchyroll dubs. The actors deliver solid performances, but they are let down by the subpar animation and lack of humor.
Ultimately, Rick and Morty: The Anime is a disappointment both as an anime and as an alternate universe featuring the title characters from the main story the show is loosely based on. The writing is weak, the animation fails to do justice to the anime medium, and the entire show feels like a soulless attempt to cash in on the popularity of the original series. If you’re a fan of Rick and Morty, it’s best to skip this one. The first episode alone makes it clear that this series is heading downhill fast.
