Anyone who has followed me on social media in recent months knows exactly how I feel about this highly unique Nickelodeon-produced cartoon known as Glitch Techs.
But as they say, first impressions can be everything. And in my opinion, Glitch Techs' first episode "Age of Hinobi" leaves probably one of the best first impressions of any cartoon in recent memory.
Not only does it expertly establish the core concept and provide a satisfying and empowering means to introduce our protagonists into this secret society, but the plot throws so much at us to keep things constantly engaging - family relationships, a high-tech VR tournament, possible conspiracies, and that's just to name a few.
But the real star of the show, at least for me, is the animation. Glitch Techs as a series was split between a few studios; Studio 100 did the primary work for the first 13-14 episodes, and Top Draw providing secondary work before carrying the remainder of the first production season. However, Flying Bark Productions was a heavy inspiration for the look of the show in general, being produced by the studio’s creative director Ian Graham, and for this pilot in particular, there are many scenes where their style greatly stands out, as will be described below alongside other attractive images.
Since this runs at 44 minutes, has so much eye candy to cover, and originally meant to air as two parts anyway, today we'll be looking at the first half of the pilot.
The very first thing we see past the Netflix and Nick bumpers is this picturesque nighttime city backdrop. The accompanying music sounds extremely out of Gravity Falls, and wouldn't you know, it's the same composer in Brad Breeck. Combined, these paint a really ominous picture, alongside the lone van driving down the neighborhood road once the screen scrolls down, which really builds up anticipation for what we’re about to see.
This family we cut to hosts probably the first real bit of animation that shows what kind of style this show opts for. Anyone familiar with Rise of the TMNT can easily pick up on the similarities. Very angular, a little choppy sometimes, but full of personality with consistently appealing keyframes.
The CGI on this impressive first look into the Hinobi console and the subsequent Tetris-like blocks spilling from their glitched game is both very effective on emphasizing it being on a different plane of existence from the civilians, but also surprisingly well integrated into the flat-looking 2D environment as well. Definitely one of Studio 100’s biggest strengths with this show.
Mitch Williams gets a fantastic introduction. Quietly attacking the VR Sword monster through the door, followed by him calmly opening it and confidently yet dramatically declaring “I’m with tech support”, not to mention the pose he settles on... So good. It also doubles at firmly establishing the tone of the show: slightly campy, but with a lot of passion and genuine amusement.
High-Five gets introduced in a truly fantastic bit of animation, going through an impressively wide variety of movements in just a few seconds with excellent line work. His energy is almost contagious here.
This establishing shot of the Kubota house, apart from being yet another phenomenal background, has a couple nice gaming-based easter eggs. There's 1337 (as in the gamer term 'Leet', short for elite) on the house and mailbox, and also a Space Invaders alien carved on the tree.
Miko’s introduction scene is full of purposeful fast cuts, revealing bit-by-bit the core of the character through bedroom and profile shots, before we get that tell-all declaration quoted at the top of my post. That second shot of her head-bobbing is really damn fluid, too.
Miko standing out from the rest of her family is illustrated pretty well in this scene, especially with how saturated her colors are by comparison, though it does raise questions about the genetics.
Nix and Zahra are considerably more eased in than the rest of the cast. They each get a couple lines, helping get Five prepped, and we don’t get much insight into their characters right away, but it’s cool that they’re in the picture long before we have any reason to suspect we’d see more of them.
Pretty funny and relatable image, but it’s a little odd how Five would keep encountering Mi-KO by chance, let alone in separate games like this.
Lots of really fun, energetic animation in this tournament sequence that especially brings Rise of the TMNT to mind. This is where Ian Graham's direction especially shines, and I originally thought Flying Bark themselves worked on this scene. I wouldn't be surprised if people from there helped contribute in some fashion, since they and Studio 100 are under the same roof. And this is far from the only time this type of animation pops up in this episode.
This shot really does nothing to forward anything plot-wise, but the animation on Miko is so incredibly fluid and dynamic, I love that it’s here anyway.
These columns and structure are another effective use of CG, really driving home the scale of this digitized environment and making it *feel* larger than life.
We saw hints of this earlier, but this is probably the scene that truly establishes that Mitch has a pretty big ego and questionable priorities, choosing to secure the win over making sure he gets out the glitched game safely. The low angle and lens flair is a nice artistic choice to further convey this part of his personality.
This scene of the three techs blasting the monster on the spot is full of images that look good enough by themselves, but hoo boy do they look awesome in motion. The movements are just so tight and brisk, yet every action remains clear as day. It makes a portion of the story relatively light on plot advancement so much more exciting to watch.
We don’t get a lot of super-cartoony bits in this series, so this easy-to-miss example stands out where Miko’s TV sort of ‘winds up’ before bursting the memory-wipe energy. Admittedly a little out of place, but it's hard for me not to appreciate the extra effort in these touches.
The Super Best Friends cameo in this shot, probably the biggest testament to how criminally delayed this series was in premiering.
Very interesting and subtle, yet surprisingly effective, transition where Miko’s bedroom door closes on the previous scene to keep the scene flowing despite the time cut. I remember the 2017 My Little Pony also did something like this, and it's the kind of visual flair I wish we'd see more of in the medium.
Probably the weakest bit of animation is this shot. The complete lack of a shadow makes Miko on her bike feel extremely plopped on. Thankfully the rest of this scene looks fine.
It gets a little distracting how virtually every time we see a TV in Five’s food van reuses the earlier shot introducing the tournament. Oh well…
And part 1 ends with both yet another wallpaper-worthy background and a nice little bit of VG-esque text. This pops up a handful of times in the episode, and it’s a good way to keep the atmosphere consistent. Some people may think this hammers it in a little much, but I think they’re brief and separated enough to not really come across as distracting.
Part 2 coming soon!
Good analysis. I was already planning to check GT once I get back to Netflix. Definitely one of the most promising cartoons of this year, wishing for its success.