The Anime Rick and Morty Didn't Need

Summary

Rick and Morty anime spawned from successful animated shorts with Takashi Sano as director.
Characters in the anime lack original identities, art style criticized for shortcomings.
Shorts captured essence of original show better than the anime, which fell short in humor and writing.

In the 2010s, the TV show Rick and Morty, created by Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland, became extremely well-known and highly respected among critics. It even gained a dedicated fanbase, transforming into a cultural phenomenon. Just after the seventh season wrapped up in 2022, it was announced that an “anime” adaptation of the show was being developed by Telecom Animation Film, Studio Deen, Sola Entertainment and Williams Street. This anime version premiered in August 2024, but it received mixed reviews with criticisms over its questionable art style and confusing storyline.

To some, the notion of a “Rick and Morty in Anime Style” may seem illogical as the show is already exceptionally animated. Therefore, one might wonder if an anime version of “Rick and Morty” was truly necessary.

Production Background, Staff and Cast Information

A Number of Shorts Spawned a Ten-Episode Series

The anime adaptation of “Rick and Morty,” titled “Rick and Morty: The Anime,” was produced by Telecom Animation Film’s team. Takashi Sano, director of “Tower of God,” took on the role of director and scriptwriter. Tetsuya Takahashi composed the music, while Arisa Matsuzawa from Telecom Animation Film Art Dept served as art director. Kōichi Iizuka handled the sound direction, and 2D work was done by STEREOTYPE’s staff. The Japanese voice actors from the original “Rick and Morty” dub reprised their roles in this anime adaptation; Keisuke Chiba voiced Morty Smith, Yōhei Tadano portrayed Rick Sanchez, Akiha Matsui played Summer Smith, Fuminori Komatsu took on President’s role, Hitomi Sasaki was Elle, Manabu Muraji voiced Jerry Smith, Takako Fuji gave voice to Beth Smith, and Takeshi Hayakawa voiced the Federation Commander. However, none of the original “Rick and Morty” cast members reprised their roles for this anime adaptation. The English dub cast includes Gabriel Regojo as Morty Smith, Joe Daniels as Rick Sanchez, Donna Bella Litton as Summer Smith, Joe Daniels as Jerry Smith, Luci Christian as Elle, Patricia Duran as Beth Smith and Space Beth, and Shawn Hamilton as the President.

Rick and Morty the Anime Shorts
Title	Writer/Director	Release Date
Samurai & Shogun	Kaichi Sato	March 2020
Rick and Morty vs Genocider	Takashi Sano	July 2020
Summer Meets God (Rick Meets Evil)	Takashi Sano	August 2021
The Great Yokai Battle of Akihabara	Naohiro Fukushima, Masaru Matsumoto	October 2021
Samurai & Shogun Part 2	Kaichi Sato	November 2021

The idea for an animated version of Rick and Morty known as “Rick and Morty the Anime” was born following the successful release of several animated shorts by director Takashi Sano. These shorts garnered significant praise, particularly from anime fans, who enjoyed them on Adult Swim’s YouTube channel during the gap between seasons 4 and 5 of the original series. The first short, “Rick and Morty vs. Genocider”, debuted in July 2020 and quickly gathered over 2.5 million views. The unique style displayed in these shorts sparked curiosity about a potential animated Rick and Morty project. Sano aimed to encapsulate his favorite elements of Rick and Morty, refine them, and infuse a “Japanese touch”. Unfortunately, the anime series’ endeavor to explore the world of Rick and Morty through the perspective of full-length “TV anime” fell short of expectations and failed to engage audiences as effectively as the shorter animations did.

Rick and Morty the Anime

A Missed Opportunity

Titled “Rick and Morty: The Anime“, this series focuses on the Smith family and “Space Morty” as he interacts with Elle, a time-traveling warrior. These interactions spawn separate storylines occurring between seasons 5 and 6, during a period when portal travel is restricted. Set in the final months of Space Morty’s life in an alternate reality, this anime was crafted by director Takashi Sano, just like many of the short episodes. The stories presented are highly creative, skillfully blending elements of the original plot, while maintaining a similar atmosphere, particularly in “The Great Yokai Battle of Akihabara”.

In contrast to his portrayal in the anime, Rick assumes a more conventional “granddad and grandson” role in relation to Morty here. Notably, Morty refers to him as “Jii-chan”, or “granddad”. Despite this shift, Rick’s character in these shorts leans closer to his usual persona compared to the anime counterpart, a trait also observed in the Japanese dub of the original series, which is intriguing.

To put it simply, the characters in the anime version of Rick and Morty don’t seem like their usual selves. For instance, Elle appears to be inspired by Jessica’s time-trap experience from the episode “Mort Dinner Rick Andre,” but the anime seems to take the concept of time seriously, which is unusual given that Rick typically views time as unfavorable and sees time travel as a misuse of his talents. The long island ice tea of science fiction, if you will. Summer’s character also undergoes a transformation, which could be acceptable if it added depth, but instead, she becomes a one-dimensional caricature of sci-fi characters who spend most of their time staring at screens and saying “hell yeah.” Summer is one of Rick and Morty’s most engaging and complex characters, so it’s unfortunate that the anime doesn’t maintain the authenticity of the characters, especially considering that the animated shorts did a better job of this.

What’s the Problem?

Alienated From Itself

In essence, the anime adaptation isn’t inherently bad due to being different from the original “Rick and Morty,” but it fell short in comparison to the quality and authenticity of the prototype. The shorts were not only more captivating with a vibe reminiscent of the original series, but they also surpassed the anime in visual appeal. The anime’s art style is unflattering compared to the original series, which is artistically vibrant despite not being hyperrealistic. The anime fails to deliver on several fronts: its color palette appears washed out, the animation lacks energy, the combat sequences are uninspired, and the plot is incoherent. The anime misses the mark by losing the nuance, humor, excellent writing, and the appealing aspects of the shorts, some of which were created by the anime’s director. Additionally, the voice acting falls short of expectations.

From my perspective, the shorts had managed to tackle what could be considered the most challenging aspect in their endeavor to emulate something like this – they delved into the realm of anime-inspired episodes, setting a precedent for an animated version of “Rick and Morty.” However, if an anime adaptation were to emerge, it would need to incorporate elements typical of anime, such as unique styles, narratives, and character traits, reminiscent of series like “PowerPuff Girls Z,” while retaining the original show’s essence.

If the goal were to attract more viewers to “Rick and Morty,” this might make sense, but the anime seems to assume that its audience is already familiar with the events unfolding in the original series. It lacks the depth that makes this prior knowledge valuable. The shorts provided a clever solution to the redundancy issue, but unfortunately, the anime falls short of capitalizing on what made the initial concept so appealing to fans of both “Rick and Morty” and anime.

Rick and Morty the Anime is available on Adult Swim.

2025-01-29 22:31

The Anime Rick and Morty Didn’t Need