Okay, so I know I haven't been on in a while and I know I was going to do a review on "Everything Suck" (I which I might do at some point I haven't rewatched the show since then and I feel like my feels and views on it have changed) I made this blog to mostly talk  about stuff thats on my mind at the current moment and sometimes so things come in and out of interest. (Plus I don't think anyone's on the edge of their seat waiting for me to make another post like with all my other social media platforms) I'm going to try to post more on here. The reason why I don't sometimes is that I feel like my opinion may anger some people or I'm not qualified to give my opinion on certain topic, or I'm afraid I'm come across rude and a know it all. To combat that I decided that every opinion post will start of with a disclaimer like:

Disclaimer: This post is full of MY own opinion during the time, I'm typing this, and is subject to change. you're are free to ignore and disgerd my opinion if you feel that it's just wrong

Also 

Well, on to the post 

 

   On August 6, 2013 Channel Frederator's Cartoon Hangover release a pilot for a cartoon called "Bee and Puppycat". It was an 10 min short that manage to gain over 4 million views. The pilot was created by Natasha Allegri, who worked on Adventure time as a storyboard revisionist and came up with the concept for Fionna and Cake. 

 

   The show had a kickstarter that was launched at the same time the pilot was released, the campaign   gave a short summary of the show and promised a full series TV quality show with mystery, magical adventures, and sparkly transformations that  Bee hates. 

    The kickstarter managed to surpass it's original goal of  $600,000 and was fund with a whole $872,133 with 18,209 backers. I remember when the pilot first came out  I was only 14 at the time and everyone in the youtube animation community was talking about it. We were all hoping and waiting to see what the show would be like given a full released, and on Nov 6 2014 the first episode was released andddd.

 

    The first episode ( and the whole series) for the most part got tons of backlash from some fans, the first episode was dramatically different from the pilot and not in just the shift in artstyle but also the change in humor, characters, mood and overall focus in the show. What could have been a great show with clever humor, cutesy art style and a mysterious, relatable, interesting plot line turned into a show with a whole lot of nothing happening except near the end where they just drop a huge reveal (which was kind of similar to the whole pink diamond reveal in Steven Universe) It was completely different than the show that was promised in the kickstarter and I would like to go over some of the major changes and issues people have with the show in further detail...

ART STYLE 🎨

   

    One of the first and major changes anyone with eyes can see when comparing the pilot to the first episode is that the art style took a major change. While in the pilot Bee looked like an actual 22 year old, in the first episode most people compare to her looking like a 12 year old girl. People who love Bee & PuppyCat can write it off as a way to more a Bee's chubbiness due to her love of food (which again I'll get to later). but the others argue that in the older style she wasn't Disney princess skinny either.

     Some people say they really like the art style in the first episode than in the pilot saying that it doesn't have that thin line Adventure Time style, but then other say that the newer style looks more like Steven Universe (a show that also has thin lines!). Also people say that the pilot has better consistent  animation than the series, there are some points in the first episode and on where the designs go off model or just do some random weird things as a whole.

 

One thing that the art style does that really makes an impact on the show  that I've notice was the backgrounds. Specifically  the background for Bee's and Deckard's apartment:

Pilot:

Series:

      While these backgrounds do look gorgeous (and something I would only be able to draw in my dreams with my current art "skills") it's a little too over the top especially for a  room that belongs to characters that are hard pressed for money. I kind of understand with Deckard he's more responsible with his money, his sister is a  freelance programmer  and I would think his brothers would also pitch in to help pay rent so maybe that's why his room is the way it is. With Bee it doesn't really make any sense why her room is decked out if she's impulsive and immature with the way she handles her money. I also thought up another reason why the backgrounds look so detailed and mystical (but I'll get to that later). Another problem with the background being like this that it makes the fantasy space world seem no different than the real world where Bee is from. In the pilot when Bee is teleported to  the mystical temp job it feels different from the mundane real world, which still had a cutesy vibe without going to overboard with it. Now, both worlds are drawn so cute   that you couldn't really tell one from another besides that creatures that live there. 

 As for myself I more fond of the original style (if you couldn't already tell) it had a nice balance of cutesy art, but it was still very down to earth at times and Bee looked like an actual 22 year old instead of small humanoid blob like character. I know they went with the later art style because it's easier to animate and takes less time. I personally feel like people should have known  that since it was technically mentioned in the kickstarter, but then again one could think with more money that you still aim for a better art style, but oh well

 

Story 📖

OH BOI!....the story what can I say about the story...um, well to be honest there doesn't seem to be much of a story at least in the series.  In the pilot an underline story plotline was hinted at, you know other than the Bee looking to fantasy temp jobs just to pay rent storyline.  There was suppose to be a storyline with PuppyCat, who was hinted at at the end of pilot to be a space outlaw that got turn to a "monster". 

 

A situation like that would bring up questions like What happened to the princess that PuppyCat fell in love with, was she the one that really set up the trap, What made him a  space outlaw, what was he like before he was cursed, and why was he transported into Bee's world. It also seem to be a story about a young adult trying to make it by in the real world, it would have been interesting to see those to plot lines work off each other  or maybe there are some parallels within PuppyCat's past similar to Bee's life struggles. But alas, those questions are barely even answered or brought up until the very end of the  series. The series mostly consist of Bee and PuppyCat doing odd jobs with a vague storyline in some episodes. Oh, also the series adds more storylines  one really interesting one that may go along with PuppyCat's storyline and one that's just kind of there.

  The interesting one involves Bee's four year old landlord,Cardamon's mother, who has been in a coma for a long time and Cardamon misses her alot, making origami cranes, giving her plates of candy for food, and snuggling up with her when he feels lonely.  The show seems to suggest that Cardamon's mother is the princess from PuppyCat's story ( maybe), she was also the princess in another story about a octopus that fell in love with her hair and turned into a jellyfish. In  the last episode Bee gives Cardamon a donut from her temp job with a letter saying "if you eat it will make your wish come true", Cardamon doesn't believe it first but when he gives a piece of the donut to his dog and it changes colors, he runs to his mom's room to give her the rest of  the donut in hopes she'll awake. She remains asleep and Cardamon is upset but later while he's asleep his mother starts crying jellyfish tears.

  The other plotline involves Deckard deciding if he should go to cooking school or not. He doesn't want to leave Bee behind because she doesn't really seem like she can cook for herself that well, and also he really likes her (for some reason).  While I do like Deckard as a character his plotline isn't really interesting compare to PuppyCat's and Cardamon's mom's storyline, but I guess it's there to be the relatable part of the show. For the most part it feels like most of the show is Bee and PuppyCat doing things that don't really affect them or the world around them (apart from the last episode). Oh, and it's also shown that Deckard and Cass have a lot of brothers each with their own personality on considering on the way they  deal with Deckard leaving for school. It would have been interesting to see them interact with Deckard and Cass, and I feel it's kind of weird that they weren't brought up or mention until the last episode (it does explain where Cass's toughness and fighting spirit comes from), but I guess you can say the same for Toast.  

 

The Humor in the show  is also different in the series in the pilot it was subtle and clever. The series's humor is just your standard 2010 humor of So RaNdOm XD LOL!!! type of humor, funny faces, YELLING STUFF REALLY LOUD  and humor that tries way too hard to be weird.   It's kind of hard to believe some people think that this show is  a good  candidate for a adult cartoon.  There was one episode that had a crab obsessed with cleavage, which  I found more annoying and creepy than funny.  Also the show has a weird tone shift at points it well being wacky and light heart and the next it will try to be serious and sad.

 Another plot important thing that was not mentioned until the end was that Bee was a robot all along.

    I didn't really find the robot twist all that interesting, and most of the "clues" that Bee was a robot were of the "Tell Don't Show" Variety and especially near the end. Deckard mentions that she's so heavy it's like her bones are made of steel, and the giant Bee helps out during her temp job exclaimed "Wow, you're even stronger than me". . Bee also exclaims many times how she doesn't like water, and has a strong fear and hatred of it. Another hint was that Bee said that her Dad was always working on machines and even made a few arcade games for her to play when she was sick. He even made her a box that gives her a special candy on her birthday and even repairs her after she's broken from her temp job.

 

What makes me not believe that Bee was a robot is that it was handle really well in the personality department of Bee's character. Speaking of characters

 Characters👥

From the looks of this picture it would make one think "wow Bee and PuppyCat have a whole host of interesting characters" but it really doesn't most of these characters wenreeven introduce until the tail end of the show or are just one note characters that appeared for one episode and then gone. Which would be fine if it weren't from the show's biggest problem (which I'll get to later). The problem with Bee and PuppyCat's characters is that they all seem onenote, and don't have any defining personalities and we don't even get to know them that well.  Let's go through some of  the major characters....

Starting with Bee

Bee

 

   Bee's character seemed promising in the pilot she had more of a realistic and relatable personality, she seemed more genuinely quirky , she could be a little awkward sometimes but everyone can. She also seemed a little bit more caring of others in the way she tries to make food for Deckard in a way to say thank you for the casserole.  She  had a more realistic reaction to the whole temp job thing, she was freaking out because she didn't know what was going on. She didn't like her random outfit change because she wasn't expecting it to happen. She was also brave in the way she went and attack the monster that was attacking PuppyCat. She was a realistic depiction of a modern 22 year old trying to make it in the world as most fans would agree.

    But Bee in the series is completely different than in the pilot. She's more immature than childish, a lot  louder, and seems more chill with PuppyCat's temp jobs and she's suppose to hate the outfits but she seems pretty okay with the outfit changes, which I guess it's okay I don't think I could get used to going on fantasy adventures with a space cat-dog, but that's  just me. It also seems like she gets away with most  things or comes out of situations with little to no repercussions  apart of the end. It feels like other people clean up after her (particularly Deckard). Speaking of Deckard and Bee in the series I can't really understand why Deckard has a crush on Bee besides her being the main character. I feel like their relationship is more like him feeling sorry for her, or just a girl that happened to be  living in the same apartment as him and they talk sometimes.

   She can be super lazy like in the birthday episode where she plays a game from her childhood, ignores the hard big threat and instead goes for the easy side missions. I know that someone said it was supposed to be her not wanting the game to end but then she states "Oh no that looks way too hard, let me try an easy side quest" instead of "Oh, I remember that I have to complete some side quest before beating the final boss" and then it's revealed at the end of the episode she could have beaten  the final boss at anytime she was just stalling to stay there longer. Also in episode 3 I didn't understand why Bee couldn't just gone to Deckard's house to watch Pretty Patrick, I mean doesn't seem like he would mind in the first place.  Bee also doesn't seem to have any interests in anything but food,  but she doesn't seem to be interested in learning how to make food herself.  She doesn't seem to have changed from the start of the series to the end, still feels like the same Bee.  Bee's voice actress doesn't sound like a 22 year old woman, but more like an 30 year old (which the voice actress is in her 30's) but I think the one thing that makes Bee sound old (and annoying) is that she yells a lot, which in the pilot she didn't yell that much. She mumbles a lot of her lines as well but I think that may be a character thing.

She also doesn't act anything like a robot I know it was supposed to be a surprise, but it just seemed a bit lazy to me. The only hints that were given that Bee was a robot was that she's super strong and didn't like water. I don't feel that's enough to say "Oh yeah of course she's a robot". I know people in real life who are   strong and don't  like getting wet or having water on them and they're not a robot. Usually when a character's a robot is that they are alway questioning why people do the things they do, usually super smart, and always wanting to help. No one would make a lazy robot that just likes to eat food all the time, and also the robot character thrives to be normal if they around bunch of humans. The way Bee reacts and some of the stuff she does in the show is way too human to be  fully robotic.

The robot twist left a lot of viewers  unsatisfied with the ending, and some even thought that Bee was the only grounded and down to earth thing in the show full of wacky universes. It took away the human part  to her, because she's not human anymore, and with Bee being a robot that really doesn't change much to the story as a  whole, and it doesn't really mean anything because you could rewatch the show knowing that twist and it doesn't change anything.

 

   

PuppyCat

 

In the show PuppyCat seems more grumpy and rude for no reason. I could understand if he was mean and rude because he wants Bee to help him turn back into his original state, but she was just being lazy and goofing off, but he seems pretty okay with his current situation, he doesn't seem has worried as he should be to get the "curse" lifted from him. He seems just as lazy as Bee at times, but during the temp job he is more focused than her. PuppyCat acts way more like a cat than dog (due to his grumpiness) there's nothing that he doesn't that is dog-like or  fall into dog mannerisms. Someone could argue that he's an alien and technically not a earth dog or cat but the show's called Bee and Puppycat and also in his design there's nothing that really says "Dog", the only instance is that when Deckard says that PuppyCat smell like a Dog (there goes that good ol' Tell Don't Show) . The "voice actor" for PuppyCat is a vocaloid named Ollie. Sometimes when PuppyCat talks too long it can be kind of headache inducing (Especially when he yells). PuppyCat also doesn't really help Bee grow as a character.

Deckard

Deckard is one of the characters I actually like but that doesn't mean he doesn't have flaws. Deckard is shown to be sweet, quiet, but he's a bit of a pushover (especially with Bee), he's very caring and  protective of  Bee.  He really reminds me of a character that very young artist make who solely exist just to be shipped with their main OC. He does alot for Bee, but Bee doesn't seem to do alot for him back. It would be better if the series show flashbacks of him and Bee working at their old job at the cat cafe, that would at least make the relationship feel more real, or at least have her try and fail to do something for Deckard, like she could have spend those 10 episode trying to learn to make a meal for him or even just a cake, and when she finally made it he went off the cooking school, leaving her feeling alone. It would also would have been nice to see the banter he could have had with his brothers. It's also said in the last episode that he has depression, and it would have been interesting to see how it affect his feelings on himself and his skills as  a cook. Similar to Bee's VA his character mumbles and tumble over his word I know that's just apart of his character, but a lot fans notice the amount of mumble the VAs do in this show. 

Cass

Cass is a type of character that seems to have her life put together, she has somewhat of a stable job as a programmer. She seem to have quite an interesting past as a wrestler and was pretty good at it until she had to choose her job over her passion. She worries about Deckard and him babying Bee too much. Other than that there's not much to say about her. I feel like she would be a better straight-lace character of the show (the one that  balances the craziness that Bee and PuppyCat bring) if she got enough screen time and interacted with Bee more.

Cardamon & his mom  

Cardamon is a serious and business-like character. Although he's a serious child, all he really wants is for his mother to wake up. It would be interesting to see Cardamon interact with the other characters besides Bee, and (I know this a long shot) maybe to see what his mother was like or how he was like before his mom was in  a coma. 

 

Toast, and the Wizard Bros

 

I put Toast and the Wizard bros in the same section because I think they would be interesting characters if they were introduced earlier and I also feel like they were  add into at the last minute. I really think the show would be more colorful and metaphorically speaking if these character had time to interact with Bee and the others, but also feel like they could be removed from the story and nothing much would change. I find it hard to believe that none of  the brothers got a chance to interact with Bee, or were brought up in any conversation.

Overall, I feel like the show added more characters just make it more interesting, but I would presonailty think the show would be okay with just Bee and PuppyCat and Deckard. 

 

Japanese/anime influence 🗾🌸🎌

I couldn't really find a gif that would do this category justice, but I do have a video that does it perfectly....ROLL THE CLIP, RALPH!

 

(Thank you, Ralph)

 OH BOI...I've been waiting to do this section I have so much to say about this topic that not only applies to Bee&PuppyCat  but also Star VS The Forces Of Evil, Steven Universe, and Owl House (even tho that has yet to come out)  and any other show where the creator states they got some or all their inspiration from Sailor Moon/Magical Girl anime in general.All these show seem to have similar issues, and I'm probably going to make a whole nother post about Anime *cough*"Influence"*cough*and how none of these show (safe for Owl House) seem to get right and why feel like that a western animation will never be able to have same feel or gain the same attention as Sailor Moon and other magical girl shows. For now I'm going to try to keep this only about Bee&PuppyCat.

 

Like a lot of shows nowadays Bee & PuppyCat's creator Natasha Allegri took a lot of inspiration from anime specifically Sailor Moon. Now having an inspiration is fine and dandy (even tho  still think the whole "I'm inspired by anime thing is kind of getting a little old" but that's another post for another day) but the problem is that the inspiration really doesn't shine through that much at all. I mean the show itself talks about "Sparkly transformations" but it's nowhere near as in depth and detailed with it as other magical girl anime (believe me I've seen a lot of them)

 

It's lackluster compared to Sailor Moon not to mention they only wear the outfits like once then they're done with unlike with most magical girl anime it's like used all the time, and they do it to save money too.  Moving forward, In Sailor Moon Usagi gets called out for her laziness and lack of trying by not only Luna, but her teammates, and her crush Derin (a.k.a Tuxedo Mask ) while Bee doesn't really get confronted about her laziness or lack of trying by anyone.  In the series,  Bee doesn't really have any epic fight scenes ( like in Sailor Moon) apart for the one in the pilot and maybe at the end.  Usagi was also the chosen one to be the moon princess which is why Luna chose her, but with Bee and Puppycat, PuppyCat just happen to fall on Bee. Usually in most magical anime there is a serious epidemic going on the world or a big bad villain trying to take over the world for the heroin to fight. In Bee and PuppyCat's case there is no villain (granted Magical Girl anime do have a monster of the week thing but usually the monster is working with the bad guy or has been affected by the epidemic.) In Bee and PuppyCat there is no looming threat the characters have to fight, and that usually paramount in the story driven show.   

Another, anime thing the show does is Bee being embarrassed when guys look up at her skirt. In most western animation you don't see many female characters care if boys look up their skirts or that being a thing pointed out in general.  In Japan, girls wear skirts more often than girls in  the US so guys over here don't really care if a girl's skirt is hit by the breeze, girls wear revealing outfits here all the time ( I mean booty shorts are a thing here)  especially at the beach and summer time.

 

The show also has a Japanese approach to food, the way Bee talks about how she wishes she could dream about food, how in some episodes there detailed drawings of food before the show starts, the guy Bee's crushing on is a chef, there's an episode titled food, food is used as  a magical element, and Bee's favorite show is about a guy eating food. While the show does have a food theme to it, the theme falls flat because in the show the food isn't really detailed, and you would think since Bee likes food and visits other places she would sneak away to try the food in the different world. Japanese people have strong passion for food which is why it's showcased in so many animes and movies, and will take time out of an episode to show the process of making said food item. Most Ghibli movie food people try to replicate in real life are just ordinary everyday japanese food. In the West, for a food item to be actually fantastical looking it has be fantasy food . Like, there's no distinct signature Bee and PuppyCat food (Ironically) I mean there is a Bee and PuppyCat Cookbook but none of those recipes were ever mentioned in the show. The characters talk about food, but it's not like if the show didn't show or mention food, it would really be any different. 

Here's how the food looks in the title screen:

 

Here's how it looks in the show:

It's also mention that Bee and Deckard used to work in a Cat Cafe, which is oddly specific. I feel like the show just went with the cat cafe because it's cute and japanese. They wanted to give bee a cute job, but just working at a little small cafe is cute in of itself. 

The creator didn't really seem to understand what made Sailor Moon special it wasn't just transformations or the fact that she fought in space. She was just a normal, lazy girl until one day she was given  powers and had to save the world, and even when everyone was pointing out her flaws, they still supported her. Usagi didn't give up because saving the world was hard and people didn't seem like they were believing in her, she kept going and it made her a strong woman at the end, but with bee she was still the same person at the end, she didn't seem to learn anything. Sailor Moon is like "You know everyone says I'm lazy and a crybaby, but I'll still do my best to save the world" while Bee is like "Oof, yeah I'm lazy and whiny but that's just me I don't need to change or  grow, what are you going to do about it?!"

 

Also in the later episodes the characters do a lot of anime-like emotions and expression (especially the character toast).

 

(the one Japanese thing I actually thought was okay was how Cardamon made paper cranes for his mom, so he could have enough to wish she would wake up).

Natasha is half-japanese but the way she puts Japanese themes and quirks in the show is a very surface level and weeaboo way of implementing those themes in the show.  Some one also pointed out in the reddit that Natasha made Bee a robot to reference astro-boy.

 

The Biggest Problem With Bee and PuppyCat

 

 

The biggest problem with Bee and PuppyCat is  a similar problem shows like StarVs. and Steven Universe have, and that problem is not knowing if it wants to be a serialized or episodic show. Most of these type of shows start out with just chill slice of life episode with character facing no major threat, until something big happens that seem to come out of nowhere and the  show tries to be serious. This big moment makes the show to be more than it seems and giving the show more lore and depth.  If you include Bee and PuppyCat in with the others (StarVs, and Steven Universe) this format rarely works out well. It just ends up being needlessly confusing and alot of subplots are picked up but near any are really resolved. Shows like these  also add more characters that the shows really could do without just fine, and they actually slow down the  plotline with their subplots (Steven Universe is the biggest offender in this situation). The problem with serialized shows at least on TV if someone were to jump into a random episode unless it just so happens to be the first episode, they will most likely be lost and not want to follow the show (in theory at least), but with a episodic show you jump in anytime and still enjoy and understand whats going on which is why shows like Teen Titans Go is more favorable to a network than  a show like Steven Universe.

Bee and PuppyCat have a special case though it was an online show to begin with funded by kickstarter, by people who were actually interested in the storyline. So it was kind of disappointing to have only 4 out of 10 episodes actually have lore in it. In my own opinion, I feel like Bee and PuppyCat should have stayed  a show about  a girl and cat-dog thing going around having fun adventures in space, the episodes could just be  a chill  slice of life thing,  it probably wouldn't have been will received but I could see  people warming up to it as time goes on.  The show is really good at being aesthetically pleasing  to the eye, and you could have the characters just do cute things just cause instead of being called out for filler episodes and ignoring the plot line. At the same time tho' I feel like shows like Bee and PuppyCat often have a eerie feel to them, like they pretend everything is cute and happy, but then there is an underline creepy and fakeness to it all that just rubs me the wrong way.

  

 Conclusion 

Overall, I think Bee and PuppyCat could have  had the potential to be great the talent was there, and the audience interest was there but it all kind of turn into a big mess.  With major changes to art style, tone, characters, and focus on plot it didn't sit well with some fans. I don't know if the show will be picked up for a second season it's hard to say because the show was first presented on youtube for the  first few episodes then when quiet for a bit then was announced it went to a streaming service called VRV (Which, many couldn't pay for due to the fact they were only minors, it was also only available in america, and  people who backed the show felt jibbed that they had to pay again for a show they already gave money to before) then switched studios in between the radio silence , but I saw the episodes on a foreign site and most of the later episodes are just floating in the space known as the internet.

I feel like  Bee and PuppyCat would probably have the same amount on fans as Steven Universe if it wasn't behind a paywall and the communication between the fans and  show creator/studio was better.  Then it would probably have more seasons, which is why I called this show the most unlucky beautiful show in the world, (it's  a little bit overboard, but it's also a quote from one of my favourite magical girl anime) . I kind of feel like that this show was kind of  wish fulfilment for the creator because she's very similar to Bee in many ways, and the fact Deckard seems to love Bee unconditionally is kind of telling but that's neither here nor there.  I actually wouldn't mind to  see another season of this show and who know maybe they  do fix the issues I have with the show and actually try to focus the plot more. 

Well until next time