“The Mighty Nein” is an Amazon Prime TV show released on Wednesday, Nov. 19, by animating company Titmouse (whose credits include “Haunted Hotel” and “Everybody Still Hates Chris”). The show follows seven very powerful adventurers trying to stop a war from breaking out between the Dwendalian Empire and the Kryn Dynasty.
“The Mighty Nein” is an action-packed fantasy animated series based on the second Dungeons and Dragons campaign run by the web series “Critical Role.” “Critical Role” also made another animated series on its first D&D campaign called “The Legend of Vox Machina.”
“Critical Role’s” web series has hosted four different campaigns in total, with the fourth still ongoing. The first three campaigns were led by Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer and played by Ashley Johnson, Travis Willingham, Marisha Ray, Taliesin Jaffe, Sam Riegel, Liam O’Brien and Laura Bailey. The fourth campaign is being led by “Dropouts” star Brennan Lee Mulligan. Bailey, Jaffe, Johnson, Mercer, O’Brien, Ray, Riegel and Willingham all voice their own characters in the show.
Episode one of “The Mighty Nein” revolves around the Kryns Luxon beacon being stolen by mysterious thieves. The stolen beacon is the reason the Kryns Queen, Empress Leylas Koryn, wants to start a war with King Bertrand and the Dwendalian Empire.
Episode one is action-packed at the start, engaging the watcher with a major fight and chase scene. The rest of the episode isn’t as loaded as the first couple of minutes, but the plot is very easy to follow. The pace for episode one is also good, not moving too fast or too slow through the scenes and giving time for viewers to take in each detail. The characters are also really fun and show a lot of depth from the start.
“The Mighty Nein” gives enough information about the characters to get a slight grasp of their shtick but not enough to know everything about them, leaving room for viewers to grow with the characters.
Episode two introduces Fjord Stone and Jester Lavorre into the plot. It has a great plot and balances introducing the new characters and checking back in on the old characters. The opening scene of episode two is really fun, specifically the scene where Marion Lavorre, Jester’s mom, performs on stage while Jester keeps the rest of the show together. Just like episode one, the animation style is very pleasing to the eyes and the storytelling makes sense. It doesn’t give too much detail so that viewers are confused while providing enough detail where you aren’t wondering what is going on.
The pace in episode three is a little bit faster than the previous two episodes but is still done in a way that’s not too fast to keep up with. The storytelling, just like the previous episodes, is high-quality. From the backstories of characters to the events so far, everything makes sense. The storytelling makes it so you get everyone’s point of view and backstory in simple bite-sized pieces. The scenes for certain characters aren’t too long and aren’t too short. Just like the first two episodes, the animation is superb, as the characters and background have a lot of detail, making it an engaging watch
The first three episodes of “The Mighty Nein” are an enjoyable viewing experience. The storytelling is well assembled and provides a lot of information, but not enough to make watching the show daunting or confusing. The animation style is really nice thanks to the inclusion of a lot of detail in the background and characters and is very pleasing to the eyes. The pace is really well done, with there not being many dull moments in the show.
In addition to its new show, “Critical Role” is currently airing its fourth campaign for Dungeons and Dragons on Twitch, YouTube and Beacon on Thursdays at 7 p.m. Pacific Time. “Critical Role” also has a life show called “Echoes of Exandria” and it has shows upcoming in Atlanta, Berlin, Edinburgh, London and Fort Worth.
“The Mighty Nein” is releasing one episode a week for the next five weeks, for a total of eight episodes ending on Dec. 24. The show will release these episodes every Wednesday on Amazon Prime Video.
Rating: 5/5