The animated series “The Legend of Vox Machina” is an animated series of the company and web series Critical Role’s Campaign One.
At the beginning of the series, you are introduced to the main cast through nothing other than a good old bar fight.
The group is made up of half-elven twins Vax and Vex, Goliath Barbarian Grog, Gnomish Bard Scanlan, Cleric Pike, anxious Druid Keyleth and the traumatized Gunslinger Percy.
The opening episodes spread shock value on thick. It’s rough, especially because once they finally veer off that course, the show suddenly gets really good.
The story was a very indulgent one; every one of the characters was very likable and if any of them were to bring up any part of their backstory, you would know that they were likely to confront it later in the series, either in this season or ones to come.
Even though the show started out with a shorter version of the traditional kill-an-evil-dragon story, it started to pick up in episode three when we are introduced to the homecoming and revenge story of Percy.
In Percy’s arc, we are introduced to the current rulers of Whitestone (Percy’s Home), Lord and Lady Briarwood, who both have a complicated past with Percy.
The arc is paced over three groups of three episodes, with a total of twelve episodes for the whole season.
The animation carries the plot quite well, albeit not perfectly. Fight scenes are fluid and functional; I was never really wowed, but I could always tell what was going on. The only time my sense of immersion was threatened was when 3D models were used to augment the animation.
Luckily, the 2D animation, by and large, makes up for any flaws, including one terrifying sequence where the entire party is attacked by murderous, body-invading wraiths.
Overall, the show was oddly wholesome for a show that starts so strong with the f-bombs and adult content, but I loved it! Critical Roll’s heart and good intentions overcame a lot of the initial problems with “The Legends of Vox Machina,” and by the time the season’s major arc kicked off, I was fully invested in the show.
In conclusion, “The Legend of Vox Machina” was a great representation of the start of Campaign One in the form of animation with jam-packed action and cliffhangers, leaving fans excited to see where Critical Role will take the series next and if they will be doing this with their other campaigns, as well.
