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Professional’s Score
Our Verdict
The Mighty Nein is a worthy successor to The Legend of Vox Machina, placing a darker spin on the lowbrow excessive fantasy adventures that Essential Position does greatest. You’d be silly to say “nein” to this one.
Finest Pricing At the moment
The Mighty Nein aren’t precisely mighty — not at first, anyway — they usually quantity lower than 9 for that matter too. But the fandom behind this rogue celebration of seven could be very mighty certainly, as it’s for just about all the pieces created by Essential Position nowadays.
Ten years into their reign, the Dungeons & Dragons troupe are again with a second animated collection primarily based on their tabletop escapades. Set twenty years after The Legend of Vox Machina, The Mighty Nein marketing campaign introduces an entire new staff who’re very totally different from the celebrities of Prime Video‘s hit present, even when they’re voiced by the identical actors.
…you don’t want any prior information of this world and even The Legend of Vox Machina to get pleasure from it
Whereas The Mighty Nein additionally embody numerous fantasy archetypes, they don’t play good with it. For each quirky character like Jester Lavorre, a prankster who conjures pink hammers and the occasional dildo to combat with, there’s additionally a homeless fireplace wizard who smells like shit and isn’t afraid to burn his enemies to ash. Beau, a detective monk from the Cobalt Soul isn’t kidding when she says, “This group is fucking wild,” as they combat off an enormous demonic toad.
The Legend of Vox Machina isn’t afraid to get darkish when it must — who can neglect that season three demise!? — and it’s fairly sexy for that matter too, however Essential Position’s first animated enterprise is nearly a child-friendly romp compared to the place The Mighty Nein will take you.
In a single significantly distressing collection of flashbacks, a personality we’ve been rooting for casually melts a person’s cranium in half and forces one other to disembowel himself. Loveable rogues these usually are not. Nicely, not on a regular basis. Characters like the sexy tarot reader Molly swish in with a swashbuckling appeal and the remainder of the staff are nonetheless loads of enjoyable to be round too, even when they aren’t outright heroes like Vox Machina.
It takes a short while longer for The Mighty Nein to determine how you can have enjoyable with one another. The introduction of every forged member is staggered over the primary half of this season, so some bond shortly whereas others inherently mistrust and even dislike each other. These tensions are mirrored by wider battle between the Dwendalian Empire and the Kryn Dynasty, which drives the broader narrative of the season that brings everybody collectively.
In each instances, the result’s messy at instances. That’s very true of the staff’s seek for a strong arcane relic generally known as The Beacon, which seems in matches and begins, typically within the type of cutaways to different shady characters who’re infinitely much less fascinating than our primary gamers. The world of Exandria feels extra expansive right here consequently however typically The Mighty Nein will get twisted up in its ambition, juggling too many character arcs and origin tales without delay.
Even with a barely longer runtime – every episode clocks in at round 40+ minutes – it’s nonetheless not sufficient to craft a transparent, direct by way of line that brings all these transferring elements collectively. It’s telling that one of the best episode is actually one lengthy dive into the previous which is way extra targeted in its plotting.
Vox Machina was extra streamlined in that regard, delivering a a lot tighter tempo. However it will have been boring for The Mighty Nein merely to repeat what got here earlier than, and there’s one thing to be mentioned for the way it prioritises character-driven developments between numerous pairings inside the group at massive. That lengthier episode runtime additionally permits for brand new scenes that depict occasions that occurred “off-screen” within the unique table-top marketing campaign.
Crucially, The Mighty Nein excels in all of the methods you’d anticipate a Essential Position adaptation to excel in. Superstar visitor stars together with Alan Cumming, Mark Sturdy and Anika Noni Rose impress, however it’s the unique voice forged who could have you rooting for our “heroes,” regardless of how morally doubtful they are often.
Particular shout out to Sam Riegel who brings heartfelt pathos and humour to an alcoholic goblin named Nott the Courageous, simply as he did for Vox Machina’s raunchy gnome Scanlan. Candid traces like “Aren’t you a bit previous to odor like shit?” could have you laughing out of the blue out of nowhere with that signature Essential Position humour, whereas threads of queerness organically woven all through additional reinforce this as one other outsider story, the type this staff does greatest.
Vox Machina was extra streamlined in that regard, delivering a a lot tighter tempo
In a first-look interview with EW, showrunner Tasha Huo defined how they “actually attempt to deal with the present like a live-action present” to mirror “extra mature, extra elevated storytelling”. It’s essential to not undersell the animation, nevertheless, which stays visually fascinating all through, whether or not a magic teddy bear is stitching a wound or physique horror transformations deliver sudden shades of grotesqueness. That’s particularly essential for a marketing campaign that’s largely existed within the creativeness of followers up till now.
The fights are rather less flashy and the tone is extra downbeat, so your bandwidth for The Mighty Nein could very nicely rely on what you preferred and didn’t like about Vox Machina. However that’s to not say there can’t be room in your life for each. Consider them as totally different flavours of the identical factor. One may cater to your tastes extra, however each supply up a mighty good time in their very own manner.
Must you watch The Mighty Nein season 1?
Adapting a 141-episode, 600-hour tabletop collection isn’t any small feat, however in doing so, Essential Position have made this present a blast for newbies and diehard followers alike. And crucially, you don’t want any prior information of this world and even The Legend of Vox Machina to get pleasure from it. All you do want is an open thoughts, a love of fantasy, and a smidge of persistence when issues get a bit convoluted.
The Mighty Nein season 1 drops on Amazon Prime Video on 19 November 2025 with the primary three episodes. You possibly can join a 30-day free trial of the service right here, with the positioning’s Black Friday sale beginning this Thursday.