The ‘Homestuck’ Pilot: A Revival of an Internet Epic Draws in New Viewers and Old Fans.
In early August, a surprise trailer for the “Homestuck” pilot was uploaded to the YouTube channel, Vivziepop, announcing it would release on September 27. Vivziepop belongs to artist and animator Vivienne Medrano. She founded the animation company, SpindleHorse, which would also be producing the pilot. “Homestuck”’s main comic ended in 2016, so the prospect of a revival of the story and exposure to a new audience was exciting.
“Homestuck” is a webcomic that originally ran from April 2009 to April 2016, created by artist and writer Andrew Hussie. In seven years and over 8,000 pages, Hussie forged a 2010s internet-based narrative epic. The story follows the main characters John Egbert, Rose Lalonde, Dave Strider and Jade Harley and their adventures in a game session of “Sburb,” an in-world mysterious game with supernatural properties.
Initial reactions to the trailer were mixed. While the announcement of the pilot was exciting, many fans felt the timing of the announcement disingenuous. Earlier that week the “Unofficial Homestuck Collection,” a fan-created browser for reading Homestuck and other works by Hussie, was taken down by his request. The official “Homestuck” website has been in shambles for years. The flash animations don’t work, there are multiple dead links, and numerous other glitches have made the story rather inaccessible. This project sought to address those issues. Although there are alternative websites that also host the story, the “Unofficial Homestuck Collection” was by far the most accessible. Fans felt that the announcement was attempting to distract from the controversy.
Some fans were additionally concerned about the pilot’s creative direction due to production of the series being overseen by Medrano’s production company. Medrano has a contentious presence in online spaces, having a number of controversies within her time as an internet personality. While Medrano created the successful indie animated series “Hazbin Hotel” and “Helluva Boss,” her work has amassed just as many critics as it has fans. Though she would only be credited as an executive producer on “Homestuck,” due to her divisive reputation, fans were concerned she might have more creative input than presented.
When watching the pilot, the first notable change was the pacing. If someone spent eleven minutes reading the webcomic, it is unlikely they would even make it out of the starting location of John’s bedroom. The pilot rectifies this by introducing the audience to the characters immediately through the visual depictions of their texts with John. This change of pace is welcomed, as episode-long character expositions would not be likely to catch the attention of a new audience.
However, many decisions made by creators in the episode ended up weakening the animation’s purpose as a pilot. This may be attributed to the episode’s limited runtime, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that it comes off as more of a fan project than a proper introduction to the world of “Homestuck.” Most scenes are fanservice rather than informative world building, such as the brief instance of Rose picking up a violin only to put it down immediately and walk over to her computer, or John’s connection with harlequins and clowns.
The animation, however, was the highlight of the project. The characters moved smoothly, the backgrounds were simple but pretty, and the brief glimpse into future events and characters in the story were all eye-catching.
The animation team made full use of the medium. It was nice to see a creative direction that didn’t shy away from the absurdity of the story, but embraced it. John’s depiction, from his exaggerated movements to the way he interacts with his environment, especially highlights his personality as an awkward teenager. One especially resonant scene featured strife between John and his dad, where John swings his hammer around and his dad manifests birthday cakes as their fight takes to the sky. It was incredibly fun to watch.
The strife scene features a fun callback to the original style of the comics, where John blasts through the wall and the hole is the silhouette of his sprite in Hussie’s style from the comics. Although the pilot introduces all the characters and where they live, choosing to only portray one of John’s friends, Jade, via simplified speech bubbles was a neat way to subtly hide information.
The pilot features an impeccable voice cast, with Colleen O’Shaughnessey standing out as Jade. O’Shaughnessey brings a genuine kindness in her tone that isn’t overshadowed by the mystery that surrounds the character.
The other voice actors do a wonderful job — Toby Fox, with his high pitched and nerdy voice, stood out as an especially great fit for John. It’s evident that Fox had plenty of fun in the recording booth. The actor and indie game developer has a long standing connection to the “Homestuck” franchise, holding credit on the original story as a music composer. Other standouts include Cherami Leigh, who delivers Rose’s sarcastic and witty voice pitch-perfectly.
Not all performances were made equally, though, as Adam McArthur’s depiction of Dave reads as underwhelming. Frankly, the whole pilot’s depiction of him fell short. Dave is a character who hides behind sunglasses and is overall restrained when it comes to displaying emotion. It’s a pivotal development when he begins to open up later in the original story, but the animated series portrays Dave as boisterous and loud from the start.
My perspective as someone who read the comic is very different from someone who hasn’t. While criticisms can be said about how accurately the pilot adapted the characters, what is more important is that the pilot catches the attention of prospective viewers. RJ Triozzi, a student at Emerson College, aside from being aware of the webcomic, went in completely blind. He gave his thoughts as a new viewer.
To him, “The immediate thing that jumped out was, aesthetically and stylistically [the pilot] was wild.” He noted that he felt these stylistic choices were prioritized above storytelling, describing the plot as “very convoluted” and “disjointed in a way.”
Triozzi said the chaotic creative direction didn’t take away any enjoyment of the pilot. “Considering its function as a pilot, I felt like there was a purpose in the chaos.” Some aspects of storytelling were done effectively, saying that the character dynamics were introduced “very clearly.”
As for what Triozzi would want to see in the future, he hopes the adaptation continues its creative direction. “I hope to see them keep the creativity,” he said. “If there was anything I’d hope for from a series, it would be to keep that energy up without it getting repetitive.”
Despite its flaws, as a fan of the original comic, the “Homestuck” pilot was an overwhelmingly positive experience. The same can also be said for Triozzi and others unfamiliar with the source material.
In just 24 hours, the pilot received over one million views on YouTube. For a franchise that was thought to be long irrelevant, this viewership posits a good chance for a fully-animated adaptation to be considered.
Regions: Boston