A new string of Netflix originals introduces a new animated series “The Cuphead Show.” Unlike some other video game-based series, this one is funny and great to watch with the whole family. 

 The first season of “The Cuphead Show” was released on Feb. 18 and has quickly moved into the “Top 10” on the streaming site. The show is based off of the equally popular game made by Studio MDHR “Cuphead,” and follows the adventures of named character Cuphead and his brother Mugman. As of now, only the first season is out with 12 episodes at about 14 minutes long. 

There is very minimal plot to the series with only a few episodes here and there pushing the game’s base ideas. The plot that is established follows as the two brothers go to a carnevil which, unknowing to them, is owned by The Devil. Here Cuphead plays a skee ball game and gains a winning streak. Eventually The Devil shows up, which startles Mugman who then bumps into his brother and makes him lose. By Cuphead losing, The Devil now owns his soul, but before he can take it Cuphead and Mugman are able to run away. The other episodes that follow this plot consists of The Devil trying to catch Cuphead. 

Unlike the show, the game has a very different plot to it, with The Devil instead owning a casino and the brothers gambling their souls away. Insead of Cuphead winning at skee ball, he is winning games of craps. The Devil then comes and decides to up their stakes for them, if they win they will get all of the money in the casino, but if they lose The Devil gets their souls. 

With such a contrasting plot from the game to the show this has caused some unhappy fans of the game expecting the show to be similar to the game. Honestly though it works well for the show. This show is rated TV-Y7, and was made for a younger audience, so not sure gambling is something for kids. Some more plot would have been nice, but it doesn’t really affect the show.  

The way they wrote the character interactions and the handful of adult jokes spread throughout made it similar to shows like Spongebob. Along with it being an episodic comedy (each episode has its own stand alone plot), which is sort of rare in modern animation, with many being serials (follow main story arcs that span over the entire run).  

One thing that makes this show stand out is the fact that they use some real sets. If unclear what that means, it means that they built a little set and filmed that for the background then animated the characters over the film. This is really cool, the show’s design looks really nice with that aspect. Another thing is the fact that there is an old camera filter over the whole thing. 

With such a cute story and family friendly content this is truly a great show. It’s animation is smooth and keeps viewers engaged throughout the short run time. Though if it’s plot doesn’t live up to the game, new and old fans alike should appreciate the fact that now there is this cute show to watch to see more of these characters that they have come to love. Even if you have never played the game and know nothing about it, still give this new show a watch if you want something funny and simple to get your mind off things.