The Legend of Vox Machina is INCREDIBLE - Video Essay

The Legend of Vox Machina is an adaptation of Critical Role, which is by far the most watched livestream game of Dungeons and Dragons. I think this show is phenomenal, it succeeds in basically every single category, and everyone should watch it, if they are a fan of animation, if they are a fan of fantasy, if they are a fan of GOOD stories. Join me, The Rambling Man, as I ramble on about why I love this show.
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#criticalrole #legendofvoxmachina #dnd #dungeonsanddragons #animation #thelegendofvoxmachina
Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio: 2 Hour Synthwave MIX - L.A. Sunset

[@RamblingManYT]

Okay so who's your favourite character? 👀 Personally I'm a big Percy Stan

[@miafiolekova5817]

Hard to pick, i would go with Scanlan. He wears the mask of the funny man that chases sex like a horndog. And yet he is one of the more complex characters and during the campaign delivered some of the most emotional moments. During the show we only saw glimpses of that. But i cant wait for those heavy moments that will come.

[@Stefan-xt5sk]

I gravitate towards Pike and Keyleth, but I love all of them and who my favourite is changes depending on my mood.

[@dm_dude]

I love Pike and Grog. But Scanlan is right behind them

[@vaclavkapsa7394]

Honestly vax and vex - this season - they Are so cool

[@lagggoat7170]

Percy and Vex, but I love all of them. Percy already was my fav in the campaign, with Scanlan and Vax, but Vex only grew on me this much in the animated show and overtook them.

[@bandi138138]

Considering the budget for LoVM's whole series was equivalent to that of one episode of Arcane, I think the animation is absolutely stellar

[@RamblingManYT]

Yeah I think they did such a good job, some of the fight scenes are incredible Also love how they used 3D effects for the dragons, makes them feel larger than life Especially in the new series 👀

[@Hugo74390]

I don't think the comparison between Arcane and LoVM budget-wise is relevant. Both are incredible shows with awesome animation but they look nothing alike visually. Arcane is the most visually stunning animated series I've ever seen and its style is unique so I'm not surprised its budget is higher. LoVM on the other hand has fluid effective anime styled action but its far more "conventional".

[@shelleyseemayer]

Absolutely, and the writing is better than anything Disney has put out since they stopped making hand drawn animation. I’d say even before that but..I have a soft spot for Princess and the Frog.

[@bandi138138]

@@Hugo74390 Just mentioned it because the video did

[@sharmelfattakhov5041]

To be fair Arcane budget is kind of ridiculously high. Strictly speaking it’s just unprecedented and no sane company would try to replicate it. Riots decided to really go all out with arcane.

[@elbruces]

A lot of people talk about how much money they raised in the Kickstarter, but there hasn't been enough discussion about how well they *spent* it.

[@xelaander8429]

You forget that Matt Mercer voices a lot of the NPCs and Big Bad characters. Also, I like how some lines the characters say while they were playing the campaign makes it into the animated show too

[@RamblingManYT]

That is so true Don't wanna forget Matt Mercer his voice acting is also insanely good

[@Blue_Lunacy]

Many people of the animation studio who make the show, TItmouse, were fans of the show, including the owner. The whole cast praised them a lot about how they already know and understand the show right from the start. Matt often said that he didn't have to fight them over the designs of anything, because they already know his maps and designs from the show and already use them in their arts. Truly a blessed project.

[@pierluigidipietro8097]

Something similar happened for the first "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. A project where the most part of people working on it just knew from scratch.

[@mecha-kicksmetro7655]

This show was what got me into Critical Role after having sworn I would never get into it because of how long it was. I fell in love with the characters right away and now I’m 75 episodes in!

[@spiffymilkman]

i rarely cry over media. but each of the 3 batches of episodes in season 2 so far have managed to do it. and ive already seen the whole campaign. i already know whats going to happen. but goddam, the music, the voice acting, the visuals, the characters, the thinking how this all started. it gets me

[@cryofpaine]

I didn't expect episode 3 to hit as hard as it did. I didn't even cry in the live stream. Probably because it happened too fast. But here, every time I've watched that scene, I've teared up. The great storytelling, interweaving the backstory in, and the great acting just breaks me every time.

[@FilmTrippyX]

The main male characters all look gay and effeminate. Also, all the women are covered up all the time, no hot skimpy armors? Where's the fantasy man? This show looks like woke trash, but maybe I'm wrong. I like classic fantasy where the women wear skimpy armors and the men are men. I don't mind 1-2 gay or lesbian characters, as long as there are manly men and hot women, of which I don't see. Why does the dude look like Kratos from God of war? this show look kind of stupid to be honest.

[@motan7864]

I didn't expect much with this show, but wow, I was so surprised by the emotional intensity, but even more surprised by the metaphorical meaning of thoses scenes, besides being so masterfully done. I'm talking about Vax's story in particular, you know, about what it really means to become an adult IRL: to sacrifice everything for your loved ones, to carry all the burden for them, and to be willing to sacrifice some of your humanity for them. You can see Vax's subtle physical transformation as well, he died as a boy, he was reborn as a man. Very powerful and beautiful 😭🥲This season 2 is so good.

[@NPCLiam]

Been watching CR for 6 years. Coming from the “scruffy” C1 roots all the way to watching it as LOVM it makes me dang proud to be a fan.

[@RamblingManYT]

It's such an awesome achievement!

[@MidgetPally521]

So glad people are able to enjoy all these wonderful moments in a digestible way without having to watch 400+ hours. And we are getting a Mighty Nein show!

[@RamblingManYT]

I cannot wait for M9 Seeing Caleb's backstory in animated form is going to break me

[@pierluigidipietro8097]

"Light them up, pretty!"

[@T0NI_]

@@RamblingManYT with the little taste of Artagan we got from this week of the show, I’m definitely stoked for some jester shenanigans too. All those dicks 😅

[@Kadel___]

"I am of the Empire, but I am no friend to the Empire!"

[@barge489]

I have been saying it for ages. Critical Role Campaign 1 is my absolute favorite piece of fiction I have ever consumed, but I just cannot recommend it in good faith. I cannot just say "hey 360 hours into this awesome thing, this character completely changes the way I think about my own eventual death"

[@darrenl3289]

There is no reason to think the quality of the show will dip throughout the entire series. So barring some massive change, Vox Machina will go down as one of the top rated series of all time and will definitely be in my top 3. It is honestly jaw dropping how well they were able to condense hundreds of hours of game play into a tight well told story that is enjoyable to a first timer while still including so much fan service for long time critters.

[@sammiehopkins9408]

My boyfriend is a big dnd nerd but he was never able to get into critical role. But im forcing him to watch Vox Machina with me, and he loves it! He guessed who the biggest bbeg was immediately, and I had to try to keep a pokerface But yesterday, he came to me and said "I want to play a dnd game, but I know it won't be as cool as Vox Machina and I'm sad". He was describing the Matt Mercer affect without ever seeing the show!! Really a testament to how much the show feels like a dnd game and how much it feels like critical role

[@paulodavi9166]

Give the first campaign a chance. The beggining if kinda of rough 'cause of the quality of the production, but it gets waaay better. Still one of my all time favourite fantasy stories.

[@madelinehutchinson]

Funny story, the reason it looks like the DC super hero shows you mentioned is because the same guy designed the characters, Phil Bourassa. The full story of his work with the show is talked about in the BTS called “the legend of the design of the legend of Vox Machina”

[@RamblingManYT]

Yeahhh, the clip I used is from Justice League: War, if you haven't seen it, I would highly recommend watching if you are a fan of DC!

[@guyunderwood2297]

Phil Bourassa's work on this show is incredible. The livestream is all theatre of the mind and there are countless amazing fanart interpretations of these characters and yet everyone upon seeing his designs for the first time just said, "That's them. That's Vox Machina"

[@epicspacecow1779]

For me one of the most amazing parts is that its completely can stand on its own. You can have fuck all idea what this is about at its still kinda good. But with background knowledge its just so above and beyond with all the easter eggs alone you can make hours of content.

[@vitorossi7839]

Dunno. Watched S1, didn't find anything appealing. Mediocre show supposedly to be (mostly) a fan-service thing for CR fans. And since I'm not - it's kinda "meh" in every way. Not a single part of the show is "Good" for me. It is... Well, mediocre. But glad TA is enjoying it i guess.

[@rhaenatargaryen8061]

I find that it doesn't stand on its own at all. The writing is extremely heavy handed and completely lacks any sense of show don't tell. and im saying this as a fan of c1. the campaign is much better, objectively speaking.

[@thedomoking]

@@vitorossi7839 many of my friends who never watched cr love the show so I'm sorry it didn't do it for you. It can never be for everyone, but I think you can make an objective statement that newcomers are enjoing the show.

[@vitorossi7839]

@@thedomoking do they love it or did they find it "ok"? I think there is a big difference in that. Anyway, overall opinion in subjective. Different functional parts of the show (such as soundtrack, animation and so on) can be somewhat objectively. It's not that impressive, which is expected given the Budget. But again - my opinion.

[@thedomoking]

@@vitorossi7839 of everyone I know they love it. Nothing wrong with your opinion, everyone has different tastes. As with everything I enjoy, I feel a little sad knowing someone didn't, but I can't force anyone.

[@pierluigidipietro8097]

As a kickstarter contributor, I'm really happy they were able to pull this off so magnificently. Happy to see that you liked it, too ;)

[@TeroTheShortOne]

Taliesin’s last name is pronounced Jaff-EE. I didn’t know myself until watching one of the live shows from Campaign 1, so you’re good!

[@RamblingManYT]

Haha thanks!

[@StupendousMan.]

Facts some of my favorite television in years

[@RamblingManYT]

It's so gooood

[@thecrakp0t]

My favorite part of the show is the implied failed dice rolls. I recall a moment when Percy fell out of a window and it just screamed "Nat 1"

[@TsuchiGamer06]

As someone not into DnD nor CR, I love love love Vox Machina S1 and S2

[@kevinwheeler7427]

Correct, Castlevania was exquisite.

[@ATinyWaffle]

If you want to start watching Campaign 1 of the tabletop show, keep in mind they were just starting out as part of Geek and Sundry so the production and organization weren't to Campaign 2's level of quality yet. Also they had an additional cast member who, due to personality conflicts, left the show fairly early on around when the Briarwood arc begins.

[@RamblingManYT]

Yeah there is a reason they started thr story after Tiberius left 👀 I've heard the guy who played him wasn't the best

[@ATinyWaffle]

@@RamblingManYT That's also when the Campaign started to get particularly good with a tightly focused plot and objective. People will blow it up as if Orion was Hitler, but he was going through a rough time in his life that bubbled over into the game. He started to get passive aggressive with a power complex, doing things like complaining when he wasn't allowed to break the rules. It was the right choice to separate him from the game/show, but don't think of him as an irredeemable person.

[@your-destiny-awaits]

Probably all you guys know this but Ashley Johnson who voices Pike also voices Ellie from The Last of Us. Her voice is quite unique so most of you probably knew but I thought I'd mention it just in case 👍

[@Standaardnaam]

It's not just "holy" yellow, it's yellow from the sun, as the Everlight is the goddess of the sun.

[@vaclavkapsa7394]

This was so well put together, agree with everything you said THIS SHOW IS AMAZING!!!

[@Jujudeze22]

Percy and Vex are my favorites, but I also enjoy Vax and Scanlan then Pike, Grogg , and Kiki. There isn’t a bad character. If an episode emphasizes a different character it is still enjoyable and I like seeing how all the story elements come together.

[@RamblingManYT]

I also love how S2 is really diving into the backstory of characters like Grog and the twins

[@Jujudeze22]

@@RamblingManYT seriously, chopping onions. 🔪 🧅 😭 That Scanlan moment was so earned. I wasn’t even a critter or “cartoon” watcher. I decided to watch VM on a whim in November because Arcane was so good. That was a whim too. I had no idea animation was so compelling as a storytelling medium for adults. Outside of Disney. I’m in my 40’s now and grew up with Law and Order procedural police dramas. I’m really late to the party.

[@RamblingManYT]

What a great whim that turned out to be!

[@TheJCghost]

100% agree, I was scared it was to many characters but they have so unique personalities that it was easy getting used to.

[@callmev3531]

2:58, With how well they portrayed these character's distinct personalities, appearances and abilities, especially in terms of making each mage's powers distinct in capabilities and theme, then the team behind this series is probably going to have a field day with the upcoming Mighty Nein sequel series, where the members of group are even more colorful and different from each other, along with adding more unconventional takes on established archetypes and species (at least in terms of general pop culture), such as Caleb being a hobo wizard rather than some wise sage with a pointy hat (a trend that also follows other types of mages like Fjord, a warlock who isn't scary or evil, and Jester, a cleric who's power comes a near-religious devotion to mischief and to Artagan The Traveller rather than to an actual deity) or there being orcs, tieflings, goblins and other traditionally "monstrous" species treated as regular people in this more civilized version of a fantasy world. In terms of just plain good Dungeons & Dragons-related media, I'm just hoping that this element of character distinctiveness

[@commanderblaze9gaming397]

For someone who didn’t really care for playing dnd I really loved this show.

[@laurahart1337]

Whether you've only watched one episode of the animated series or have been watching since the original campaign aired, if you enjoy this show and want to be called one, you are a Critter. Period.

[@emmathomas2832]

I think the really cool thing about the group nature of the show is that it benefits from originating as dnd, but especially in critical role. They've all got their own colours, yes, but most of those colours existed already in the stream because they needed to be able to tell their minis apart on battle maps. It's not fun to have multiple people using the bow all the time, but having the only guns in the world that have their own mechanics? Thats different enough that it still feels fun. Of course scanlan's magic feels different to Pikes, his magic is arcane, hers divine. This isn't to deny the absolutely incredible character design done by Titmouse of course. But they already had the pieces laid out for them by the mechanics of the game and i just think that that's really cool

[@shelleyseemayer]

Amazing show so far, can’t wait for the next three episodes! Love all the developments

[@Anuca]

Been keeping up best I can with C3 but miss episodes every so often on accident. Getting close to the end of C1 though and its been pretty cool getting to learn coxtext. Like the show though, but I like to stick with already established lore personally.

[@smurfylad7145]

Love the analysis man, haven't watched any critical roll but have started the show and it's great 🙌

[@RamblingManYT]

🙌

[@qcrew2938]

What a great show! I hope they do 5-6 seasons

[@joelgermany1236]

This video is correct.

[@roninbelle804]

i just love the little details throughout the episodes cuz even if you're not a critter, when the character does something, it's not uncalled for.

[@justpassingthruskdjb]

such a well-done video essay 👏🏼

[@LoveReacts]

Was thinking about if there were any video essays for this show yet and I'm glad yt showed me yours!

[@RamblingManYT]

I hope you enjoyed 🙌

[@jakemaxgross]

Can’t wait for Jester to be animated…enough said.

[@kevinobill4818]

I’ve just watched the whole season 1 which I find it really good as a Fantasy series and season 2 hits me differently especially with my new favorite current villains, Chroma Conclave and Dragons are my main attention.

[@danthefool21]

Bravo! Also thank you for jumping right in to your video and putting the "youtuber" stuff at the end.

[@RicLora]

Agree 100% with this video. When I saw the thumbnail on Amazon, I had originally dismissed it as a generic fantasy kids' cartoon. Then I saw a preview and heard "fuck" mentioned, which immediately piqued my interest (i.e. clearly not for kids). Gave it a go and ended up watching most of season 1 in one insomnia-induced sitting. Amazing show, especially considering it was basically written by dice rolls and improv.

[@vincentd.2284]

40 episode of s2 and a few of s3? You have barely scratched the surface!

[@amyrenaud7589]

Lucky for you the M9 are getting their own show. ;)

[@RamblingManYT]

I am so excited for it!

[@leonielson7138]

FYI, Taliesin pronounces his last name with the 'e' heard.

[@Figgy5119]

My take may be a hot one. But as someone who started Critical Role with campaign 1 and still considers it their favorite of the 3, I'm not a huge fan of the Legend of Vox Machina. Don't get me wrong, I'm still watching, it's fun to see a visualization of classic moments, but I think it's one of those "the movie doesn't hold a candle to the book" kinda things. The characters are quite different, main and supporting alike. It feels like for the sake of the show, everyone was boiled down to a character trope, and although they are trying to have them grow as the series goes on, it still falls rather flat for me... there's only so much character development that can happen in a 12 episode season with 30 minute episodes and a large cast of characters and a very involved and action-heavy plot to contend with.

[@Volkrad]

0:19 dude, you gotta watch Castlevania, man

[@spentheplug]

The show is great, I just finished the first season.

[@raybombs]

I love this show

[@hiirozero3623]

And ourr little bard who have the shittest charater sheet in the group slow become the best charater that carry the whole group.

[@Kubanrey22]

Amazing 🤩 I love it

[@user-lp3ew1xb5u]

Do you listen to Nerd Poker (D&D podcast)?

[@RamblingManYT]

I don't 👀 I'll have to check it out

[@pinoyjona]

Shows like Vox Machina is why I can’t laugh at the “Western Cartoon vs Anime” memes when it just shows an image of Big Mouth or something.

[@RamblingManYT]

100% 🙌

[@robertabugelis3962]

Critter Hugs

[@diddowning2012]

Great videoooooo

[@RuviGaPo]

😍😍😍😍😍 I came here to gush and am not disapointed

[@arlyssstewart3040]

Comment 4 algorithm

[@Graavigala85]

the issue with this show is that it feels rushed. They dont let things simmer but just rush from fight to fight

[@cryofpaine]

Sadly that's inevitable when you're trying to compress 400+ hours of game time into (hopefully) 30 hours of animation. Season 1 had a slower pace than season 2, but honestly I think season 2's writing has been tight enough to make it work.

[@Graavigala85]

@@cryofpaine I know, and Its not ruining the show. I just wish to see all the extra juicy bits and slow build up to dragon chomping guys dick off :D And yes, Season2 has been amazing, better than 1st one, and I loved 1st season

[@RicardoPM777]

👏👏👏

[@chloe59k]

Best show I've seen in years. Season 2 is somehow better then season 1. It's great writing with no forced political agenda made by people who love the characters and the passion shows. Every character is likeable and the villains aren't made to be empathetic or sympathetic too and the heros are heroic and are flawless and have to grow. Heros journey

[@amyrenaud7589]

S1 was scripted to be just the one character arc, because when the Kickstarter happened, they figured they would only get one shot to tell one story, and the Briarwoods are a pretty compelling villain. S2...covers a lot of ground, but they also have killed their darlings quite a bit to keep the pace. If you watch Travis talk about it, he says that they put the storyboards up, scrambled them, took things out... From what it looks like, it was an intense process.

[@RamblingManYT]

I do like how S2 has turned out tho, it has more of an overarching narrative but with little vignette's that allow us to explore the various backstories if our main cast

[@bcn1gh7h4wk]

LVM and the original campaign are nothing supernatural. you get to know the characters from LVM going blind, *BECAUSE* the original campaign *IS* the original actors building those characters then and there for the first time. them succeeding at a certain task or challenge was the good side of the dice turning up right then and there *AS* they tried it, not some almighty intervention of a writer behind the scenes decreeing that it should be so for the benefit of drama, watch time, or potential publicity contracts. is the concept of "something original" so alien to people now that they're surprised that it exists?

[@purplepotato2612]

The animation is fantastic and the show is glorious. The atmosphere it can build and the quality of the voice acting is nearly always top notch. BUT. I absolutely despise the cgi used for the dragons. It makes sense why they did it. Horses are hard to draw and dragons are even harder, let alone 5 of the bastards. But seriously. It hurts me every time I see umbrasyl and raishan. Vorugal looks good and the lighting on Thordakk makes him horrifying. Brimscythe was pretty good. Yet compared to anything else that isn't cgi, it hurts/

[@bobbobbing4220]

2 years of TTRPG? time for you to stop playing d&d and play.. ANYTHING else.

[@ehabolas9338]

Normal dnd campaigns dont last that long, but cause this is a live show, they can call it "working" and keep playing every week, Critical Role is truly diffrent from any other ttrpg show out there, the story just kept getting better until 2 years where they literally couldn't keep playing with these charcterscause they reached max lvl, which btw never happens in any normal campaign between friends

[@crystallxix1493]

Psssht you should see my campaigns

[@vitorossi7839]

@@ehabolas9338 I mean... Court of Swords was on par If not better and they had similar air time IIRC. Shame what happened with it. Also, d&d is kinda stale IMO, especially in such a Generic setting as Exandria, which is basically a little more than a reskin of Forgotten Realms. IMO they at the very least should try different types of settings or a whole another system to focus on different types of dynamics in general. To be not so... D&d-ish and "tropey"

[@aenorist2431]

"Now"? This has been out forever, why do you phrase it as if the first episode had just launched?

[@RamblingManYT]

Yeah that's a fair point But S1 did only come out a year ago so it's relatively new, but that's bad phrasing on my part