It was in 2020 when Adult Swim started releasing Rick and Morty shorts inspired by anime and animated by Japanese studios, with a Japanese cast and a completely different animation style than what we are normally used to. Takashi Sano, the director of Tower of God season 1, directed two of the shorts, Rick & Morty vs. Genocider and Summer Meets God (Rick Meets Evil). These two films gained critical acclaim quite quickly and due to their success, an anime spin-off was announced with a 10-episode order, also directed by Takashi Sano. The animation would also be done by the same studio that produced the shorts, namely Telecom Animation Film.

When the series was originally announced, I was extremely skeptical of the idea of ​​an anime based on Rick and Morty; it seemed unnecessary to me. In the lead-up to the release, we were given trailers and clips, and even during that, I didn’t have high expectations for this series. The trailers gave a mocking impression and tried too hard to be classified as an anime, but after watching the first two episodes of the series, that is absolutely not the case, and it fulfills its anime format well. One thing it doesn’t do well, however, is clarify certain aspects, and because of this, the first two episodes can be confusing, causing the series to feel too convoluted from the start.

Rick and Morty: The Anime is a 10-part anime series set in the world of “Rick and Morty”. Rick (Joe Daniels) relaxes in a pseudo-world between multiverses, Summer (Donna Bella Litton) helps Space Beth (Patricia Duran) fight the evil Galactic Federation, and Morty (Gabriel Regogo) falls in love with a mysterious girl who happens to be a timeless being.

Rick and Morty is known for being about these two characters who have these strange adventures across the galaxy and occasionally the multiverse. Within its sci-fi nature lies the comedy that is a strong and integral aspect of the show and what it is widely known for. Rick and Morty: The Anime takes a slightly different approach. It’s still infused with all of its sci-fi aspects, but the tone of this anime is completely different; it’s more grounded, and while that made it interesting to watch and offered something new to work with, it’s also a decision that hurts the show a little.

The first episode throws you right into an adventure with a Rick who is seemingly just a clone and is being used as a decoy while the real Rick does his job. Space Beth and Summer are also involved in the fight against the Galactic Federation while Morty is stuck in this VR game living this fake life. A big problem with the first two episodes of this series and its beginning is that they are confusing. There are several things mentioned in these episodes that make you think they might have a connection to the original series, especially since they deal with the multiverse. There is a single mention that the Rick we see in the series is Rick C-137, the same one from the original series. Since the multiverse is a big factor in the franchise and it is these particular episodes, it started to confuse me why this Rick wasn’t from an entirely new universe but the one we already know from the original series.

This series has nothing to do with Rick and Morty other than adapting some themes and events. It doesn’t take place in the same time period as the original series and is a standalone series. While that’s all settled, it doesn’t help that the writers throw us into the middle of an adventure without us knowing what’s actually happening. Additionally, there’s no attempt to introduce these characters to an audience that may not be familiar with Rick and Morty and it assumes you’re familiar with the IP. As someone who knows the series and has watched every single season, I was still left confused, wondering if I’d just watched two episodes from the middle of the season instead of the beginning.

As mentioned, I love the tone of this anime series. I actually prefer it more than the tone of the original series and could see myself liking this series more than the last few seasons of Rick and Morty. It feels like there are real stakes involved and the voice actors of the English dub of the series manage to convey this more grounded and serious tone perfectly. However, because the series is more grounded, some jokes don’t land or come across as flat and out of place overall. With the perfect balance of tone and humor, I can see this being one of the best spin-offs of an animated series.

The animation is again by Telecom Animation Film, and while I’m not used to the animation style yet, I can’t deny that it fits the world of Rick and Morty very well. The visual backgrounds are also vibrant, mostly resembling a tie-dye look for the scenes that take place in the pseudo-world. As expected, there is some action in Rick and Morty, which continues in this anime adaptation, and Telecom Animation Film does a great job of animating the fights and making them visually interesting to watch.

Rick and Morty: The Anime doesn’t have the best start due to its confusing story, but visually it is amazing. It has excellent voice work from a whole new cast that helps give this anime the Adult Swim signature. The new tone for the anime feels more fitting and befitting an anime adaptation of a show that is very serious and humorous, but unfortunately that means the humor doesn’t mesh well with the tone. Taking all of that into consideration, Rick and Morty: The Anime is still worth watching and with eight more episodes left, I imagine this will be one of the best animated spin-offs of all time.