While BoJack Horseman is one of Netflix’s best original productions, unfortunately, it has yet to reach the popularity of productions such as Stranger Things and Narcos in USA. This may be about the frequent prejudices of the viewers about the animations. But don’t worry, we’re here to change people’s minds! We have listed 7 reasons to watch BoJack Horseman, so you can have your friends tending to throw you away by saying, “Well, I don’t like cartoons very much.”
1. BoJack Horseman is more successful than most TV series at handling serious and deep issues.
Don’t be fooled by the animated format of the series. The characters may have been created in a virtual environment, but the emotions they give the audience can’t be more real. BoJack, to which some critics have categorized as “Dramedy,” both can make you laugh with its clever jokes and show the necessary sincerity when handling sensitive subjects. The series blends elements of both drama and comedy with one another in a highly professional manner, without agitating even serious subjects such as depression, alcohol and drug abuse, women’s rights, gun control, and fatal illnesses.
2- Most sitcom characters are created one-dimensional to prioritize the comedy element. In BoJack Horseman, by contrast, comedy is glorified through highly qualified and identifiable characters.
The characters in BoJack Horseman are rendered differently than in traditional sitcoms. Each character’s own private lives, hopes, dreams, and anxieties are portrayed in enormous harmony, including elements of comedy. In particular, we learn by digging into its past through flashbacks why the Bojack character behaved in this way and chose to express himself in that way. A rather dysfunctional family order, a domineering father and a downright disinterested mother; the negative effects they can have on a child (and future adults) are realistically addressed.
The life of the main character BoJack is looped throughout the series, almost like a psychotherapy session. Even in episodes with plenty of fantastic elements, characters can draw important and profound lessons from their journeys to their inner worlds. There are significant reasons underlying BoJack’s every behavior, and throughout the series, we watch BoJack overcome his problems with the help of his environment by gaining awareness of these causes.
3- Character development is not only limited to BoJack in the leading role, but the evolution of the side characters and their interaction with each other also adds quite enjoyable depth to the series to watch.
Diane, the idealistic intellectual of Vietnamese descent who was hired to write a book about BoJack’s life; the pink Persian cat Princess Carolyn, the ambitious, hardworking and quite a sincere manager of BoJack; Tod, a naive but well-intentioned lucky cube who stayed at BoJack’s mansion after a crazy party and didn’t leave for five years, and Mr. Peanut Butter, BoJack’s colleague an optimist and devoted Golden Retriever, are some of these well-treated characters… In addition to BoJack, who gave the series his name, the other characters also face wounds of their past and try to get to know and understand themselves better in the process. So the story doesn’t just end up being BoJack’s story. Fiction affects all characters.
4- In contrast to the “episode-driven” streams of popular animations such as South Park, The Simpsons, and Family Guy, created for adults, story continuity stands out in BoJack Horseman.
In addition to the twenty-minute side stories on BoJack Horseman, stories with sequels and continuity run through the season. As the story has continuity, we can witness how events throughout the season change and improve the characters.
5- Let’s not skip the important point. BoJack Horseman is a really funny show.
In Bojack Horseman, witty dialogue and jokes are endless. The nice part of the series is that the jokes here offer much more than superficial comics accompanied by a fake laugh effect… One of the strengths of the series, which can somehow emphasize its funny aspects even when handling serious subjects, is that it can handle the ultra-magnificent lives of Hollywood from outside sarcastically. The mind-boggling absurdity of the show world and the consumerist focus that brings human psychology to the point of destruction are portrayed both in a funny way and quite brilliantly in the series.5
6- The main cast and guest stars are composed of many of the famous comedy world masters and familiar names!
There are famous names and celebrities who have voiced the main cast, including Will Arnett, Alison Brie from Mad Men and Community, comedian and writer Amy Sedaris, comedian Paul F. Tompkins, and Aaron Paul, whom we know from Breaking Bad. Guest actors are also famous! Olivia Wilde, Lisa Kudrow, Stephen Colbert, Anjelica Huston, J. K. Simmons, and Kristen Schaal are just a few of them… In the latest season of BoJack, even Rami Malek, who played Freddie Mercury, the even more legendary lead singer of the legendary rock band Queen, in Bohemian Rhapsody, makes his name known to a very large audience! The music for the series is also performed by Patrick Carney, drummer of the band Black Keys…
7- So many things are hidden in detail that you can discover new things by watching each episode over and over again.
Each episode is packed to the rim, mostly from animal-related word games, to the existence of existential crises through tragicomic dialogues. References to various popular culture icons, books, and people don’t go unnoticed.