Originally Reviewed on Serializd On March 29 2020 Adult Swim premiered a short on their channel known as Samurai Shogun before then uploading it to YouTube the following day with the short in question being an alternate take on Rick and Morty where Rick fights off a bunch of other Ricks as a samurai while trying to protect a Shogun Morty. It wasnt anything too special for what it was but it was a nice little piece of bonus content for fans of series as well as having some pretty decent action and kills to go along with it. However little did Rick and Morty fans know that that was only the beginning of what would become the next step the next evolution if you will of the Rick and Morty franchise. From there on out from 2020 all the way to 2021 the series would get several more different shorts to go right alongside it each one taking on the form of something you would typically find in an anime while also switching up art styles from time to time as well and again for what they were people ended up enjoying them quite a bit. They werent anything too spectacular but they were interesting enough takes on these characters that people had grown to love over the years and the different styles were also pretty interesting to look at too. But of course that in itself also isnt where it ends as several of these shorts that Adult Swim did release on their YouTube channel ended up garnering them MILLIONS of views even going into the double digits and becoming some of their most highly watched videos on the channel which led to them getting an idea. From there on out they then worked with one of the anime studios that helped make a couple of the shorts we got here to take Rick and Morty and properly turn it into a fullon anime just as an extra form of content to further expand the already massive Rick and Morty franchise and thus in the middle of 2024 fans were given this extra form of content whether they liked it or not and it was known as Rick and Morty: The Anime. Before watching this series for this website I myself had never actually seen this show nor any of the anime shorts that preceded it beforehand but I did certainly hear about the series around that time and like with many people at the time there was only one thought that crossed my mind when seeing that this was going to be a thing: why does this even exist?. Now thats of course not to say that I cant see Rick and Morty being an anime of some kind but at the same time who was really asking for this? Did anyone watch back on those original anime shorts and said to themselves Aw hell yeah I wish we got a full show of this stuff.......... ok someone probably did but still nobody else did And yet alas we got the show either way and let me tell you people were NOT happy with it back then giving it negative reviews across the board and even going as far to say that it was one of the worst shows that Adult Swim had put out in a long time. That was crazy to hear for me especially considering that this was Rick and Morty we are talking about a franchise that while certainly not quite as popular as it once was back in the day is one that is still said to be good at the very least in its current stages so to see a spinoff show be hated this much by fans and critics alike was kind of..... astounding. Either way though since I had just recently finished rewatching and covering the entirety of the main Rick and Morty show on this website I figured it was about time I doubled down and got to this anime too just to see if it really was as bad as many were making it out to be a year ago and now that I have seen the whole thing........... I dont even know what to make of it. I dont wanna say that it is flatout terrible as there are some genuinely good and charming elements to it that make it seem like somebody cared about what they were making here but everything else about this show from top to bottom is a complete fucking mess barely resembling the show it is supposed to be based on and having very weird choices elements and fundamentals all the way throughout to where I can only say that this show is ok at best and nothing more easily being the worst thing we have ever gotten from the Rick and Morty franchise so far. The story is all over the place to where by the time that you do reach the end of the show you can put together a lot of the pieces that are laid out to you but the way that the show does lay said pieces out has got to be in the most infuriating way possible making it incredibly confusing and boring to watch a lot of the time which ends up taking away from the experience alltogether and the story we do get after putting said pieces together isnt that much better the characters are whatever where all of the returning characters from Rick and Morty like Rick Morty the rest of the Smith family and several others dont act ANYTHING like their original counterparts to where they may look and sound the same but they act completely differently to the point where they become hollow shells of their previous selves and the replacements that we do get here really arent anymore interesting likable or entertaining as the originals and as for all the other new characters they are fine I guess with Elle being the most noteworthy new face here being one of the new main characters that ends up forming a relationship with Morty and she is pretty likable in a lot of cases but I dunno something about her gives off this selfinsert OC Mary Sue kind of character that just makes it so that I cant genuinely really care too much about her the voice acting is not very good where when it comes to the returning characters none of the original cast reprised their role and instead got replaced by a bunch of newbies who may try their best to sound like the original voices but you can clearly tell just by listening to them for a couple of seconds that these arent the Rick and Morty VAs even if they do a...... fine enough job in their roles even if everyone does have a HUGE case of dubitis that doesnt go away anytime soon the animation is a mixed bag with the show primarily using the art style that was featured in Rick and Morty vs. Genocider and Summer Meets God Rick Meets Evil and the art style in question is......... certainly something to where I cant say I hate it and it does kinda fit right in with a lot of other Adult Swim shows that have very weird and strange art styles but it does clash HEAVILY against the original art style this series is known for making it not too great to look at a lot of the time and the movement itself is also what you would expect from a show like this being very cheap in a lot of cases that doesnt make it too great to watch and the humor is completely nonexistent as there are some funny moments to be seen here or there throughout the whole series as well as some attempts at gags at times but the series as a whole tries to take a much more serious and sincere approach to these characters and the story that they are telling here compared to the original show which I guess I can appreciate the effort into doing that but at the same time this is fucking Rick and Morty and I am literally incapable of taking anyone of these characters seriously after all the shit they do and say in the main show so none of this ends up working at all...... for the most part. I mentioned this back when I reviewed the last episode of the series but this entire series pretty much feels like one giant Rick and Morty fanfiction and you can really tell whenever you go into the show with that mindset. This series is apparently supposed to take place inbetween Seasons 5 and 6 of the actual TV show but that in itself should be physically impossible considering Rick and Morty were currently dying in an emergency escape pod during that time but trust me that is the least of this shows problems when it comes to story with bad story being one of the many aspects you can find from a fanfiction. From the beginning the show clearly shows no proper care towards its audience as it presents to you a bunch of different events that happen in seemingly no order at all with you being able to put some things together by the end of Episode 1 but you will most certainly leave that episode with more questions then answers. Thankfully as the season goes on a lot of these questions are answered and you can put together the story on your own to figure out what is really going on here and what everyone is doing but even by the end of the show there are still plenty of other questions that need answering. It also doesnt help that none of the characters act like their original selves at all showing a lack of understanding what makes these characters who they are yet another bad trend of fanfiction while also completely shifting tones from being funny and sometimes intense to incredibly serious and emotional which isnt necessarily a bad idea per se but it doesnt even attempt to balance it out with Rick and Mortys signature style which ends up making it boring again another bad fanfiction trope. At least I can give the series some sort of credit for trying something new for this franchise and giving fans a different take on these characters that they had never seen before but needless to say they failed miserably when carrying out this task and it certainly shows in the final product. With all of that out of the way though to give this show some credit I will say that I didnt end up thinking it was all that bad. Yes there are many MANY things wrong with it that make it so that I dont think I will ever go back to watch it again but there are definitely some genuinely good elements to be found in this show. For one thing while the story may be told to us in the most bassackwards way imaginable by the time you reach the end of the series it does start to make you care about these characters and everything that they are going through even at the points where it can get pretty emotional which does show that the people behind the show were at least trying with what they had here and the episodes do get better and better as the series goes becoming more focused and likable in numerous ways even if it is still a mess at the end of the day. Not to mention if there is one thing that I can say that I genuinely loved about this show more than anything else its the intro. While the intro itself also is a pretty poor representation of what Rick and Morty is supposed to be it is a joy to watch play out what with it being very colorful wild vibrant and stylistic with all of it being accompanied by a main theme that also slaps too making it definitely the most fun thing in the entire show to watch over and over again. Hell I would even go as far to say that it is even more appealing to me then the actual intro for the main show which may get me killed but I will STAND by that decision. But of course neither of those things really do enough to save what is ultimately a mishandled and pointless mess at the end of the day doesnt it? Overall despite getting better as the series progresses and having an intro that is way too good for what it is Rick and Morty: The Anime has to be one of the most pointless spinoffs for a show that I have ever seen in my life having very little redeeming qualities for what it is and it just not being that good of a show at the end of the day what with it having a story that is told in the most disjointed and poor way possible a set of characters that arent bad per se but feel almost nothing like the original counterparts for me to like while also being paired with voice acting that tries way too hard but gets none of them anywhere animation that while I wouldnt say is outright bad definitely takes some time getting used to and can be pretty ugly/cheap at times and a complete lack of humor present whatsoever to bring everything together into what I can only really call some big Japanese fans overbudget fanfiction at the end of the day. I would only recommend this show for those that LOVE Rick and Morty like its their favorite show that can never be ruined for them no matter how much they tried but for everyone else there are definitely plenty of other better shows out there even ones that are based on other shows out there too over this one to choose instead. It just makes me wonder though..... now that we have gotten Rick and Morty: The Anime what other kinds of Rick and Morty alternative shows are we gonna get in the future? Are we gonna get Rick and Morty: LiveAction? Rick and Morty: The Musical? Rick and Morty: Muppet Edition?.............. actually that last one sounds hilarious I would watch that and I may even like it too.