‘Adventure Time: Season 2’ DVD Review
Adventure Time is very easy to love, it’s like bite sized doses of pop culture candy with an extra coating of sugar just to keep you on an energy high. Now that Adventure Time: Season 2 is coming out in the UK we can almost overdose on the tales of Finn and Jake.
This season of Adventure Time is very much a case of more of the same, and that is not a bad thing. With battles against the Ice King (who shaves and becomes the Nice King), Party Bears in monster’s stomachs, ninja adventures and even a trip into a video game. More importantly we even get a hint that there MAY be more humans out there with an introduction to Susan Strong.
Everything happens so fast in Adventure Time that you could blink and miss it, but there are times that important aspects of the cartoon stick, this includes Finn and the humans. At this point he believes he is the only human in Ooo, but don’t mention it to him or he’ll get all emotional and depressed. It’s interesting that when he finds he may not be the only human alive he is really hopeful that this is the case, something that is worked on in the future (but not much in this season).
Adventure Time is good at balancing both being a cartoon aimed at kids and still catching the attention of the adults. An example of this is Mystery Train, an episode where Finn has a party on a train where murders are taking place. Obviously based on the Murder on the Orient Express this would go straight over most kids heads, but adults pick it up pretty fast and also work out just what is happening in the episode. As always there are plenty of jokes and innuendo for the adults, giving the older watchers a knowing wink just to make sure they are catered for.
As with many good shows Adventure Time: Season 2 is an example of the show really hitting its flow, even though this was arguably managed in the first season. Now that people know the characters now though and know what to expect from them just the inclusion of the character gives the hint what the episode will be about. Marceline is a good example of this, as she pulls in the darker side of Ooo and generally steals every scene she is in. The best part of the show as always though is the friendship between Finn and Jake, even when they are fighting they are still inseparable.
For fans of Adventure Time I don’t even need to recommend this to them, but for people who haven’t entered the world of Ooo yet? What the hell is wrong with you? When released on DVD this is a perfect way to get into the show and see just what the fuss is about. Adventure Time: Season 2 just as with the first season is harmless fun that runs at such a frantic pace. You’ll make it through the discs and every episode and have a thirst for more. Luckily for us there are plenty more episodes to come, now get watching.
[UPDATE: As I was made aware of missing episodes on this release I felt that I should update this review. The missing episodes Mortal Folly, Mortal Recoil, Death in Bloom and It Came from the Nightosphere are important to the plot of Adventure Time, and are strangely missing from this release. Based on the importance of these episodes I found that it is important to highlight this. I am updating the score based on this and while I originally gave it a 5, I am giving it a generous 4. The episodes included in the release are good, are still as enjoyable but to miss out such important episodes means it makes no real sense to keep the 5 star review.]
**** 4/5
Adventure Time: Season 2 is available on DVD from October 20th, courtesy of Warner Home Video.
