Now for something a little different, new animation fit for Halloween!
The brand new show Fright Krewe is created for all ages. The show follows a group of junior high school kids in New Orleans who are pulled together to save the world from a demon that feeds on fear.
Soleil is the first character we meet and becomes the center of the plot. She loves scary movies and pulling pranks, much to the chagrin of some people. She loves her part time job of giving macabre tours around the city for tourists, taking them to reportedly haunted locals with set-up pranks to make their trip more memorable. She’s also rather conceited because she often acts without thinking of other people. She’s lost a good friend, Missy, because of this kind of behavior. Her other friends, the quiet Maybe and comic relief Stanley, have stuck closer to her. New kid Pat soon falls into their orbit. When Soleil accidentally wakes up an ancient evil, the spirit of Marie Laveau gives the kids the powers of the Loa, spirits of the Voodoo religion to fight back.
Really well written and animated, Fright Krewe is great for the entire family. It speaks to kids but it doesn’t pander to them. Each character has a lot of depth; they are distinct and dynamic, coming from different backgrounds and life experiences. Just because they are friends doesn’t mean they get along all the time. One of my favorite parts is from the first episode when Pat has to stand up for himself. “Pat. My name is Pat. And now that you know, could you all call me Pat instead of ‘new kid’? I’ve been at school for a month now.” It works, he asserts himself by establishing respect and becomes closer to the group, which leads to great things as the plot progresses. The friction between Soleil and Missy also means that everyone has to navigate that tightrope. Throughout the whole season, there is weight and agency given to each character.
Fear is a big aspect of the show, and not just from things that go bump in the night. The characters all have hang-ups and insecurities. Some they know of and keep secret, some come up as the stress and pressure mounts. The kids go through a lot together and learn how to respect each other and when to lend a helping hand.
I admire how the showrunners avoided using jump scares all the time. Abrupt yelling and orchestra hits are cheap and boring. There’s nothing creative about that. Since this is aimed at kids, they couldn’t do anything violent or gory either. So they went with neat monster designs, and excellent use of shadows and color in each scene to build tension. Plus, when you care about each character, you worry about them every time they are put in danger. I was also surprised by how grounded this fantasy world remained with all of the supernatural elements at work.
I hadn’t heard about Fright Krewe until I saw the trailer that came out not long ago (I was attracted to the art style first and foremost) and it turned into a pleasant surprise. I hope it does well enough to get another season.
Castlevania: Nocturne is the fantastic follow-up to the Castlevania series that ended in 2021 on Netflix. The brilliant execution of a Trevor Belmont story has been followed by this story headlined by Richter Belmont. Erzsebet Bathory replaces Dracula as the big bad. The so-called Vampire Messiah has big plans during the French Revolution. By first assembling and growing a night army of vampires and demons and then creating a permanent eclipse, she will march through Europe on a wave of blood to seize power. And then it’s on to the rest of the world.
This show just oozes style with every frame. Anime Castlevania was awesome on the first run and none of that changes here. The action scenes are fantastic (this is NOT for kids), the music is orchestrated beauty, and the character designs are to die for. Drolta Tzuentes is one of the coolest characters in any medium I’ve ever seen. She is absolutely vicious and wild looking. Her presence is huge even when she’s standing next to Erzsebet, which is saying something. I think she’s my all-time favorite vampire. I expect to see a lot of cosplay of her in the years to come.
The ending is a total cliffhanger and I cannot wait to get more.