Honestly, I'd have to agree with you to some extent. I'm not really enjoying the new season, and it's not exactly due to the new animation style or the lack of violence or anything like that, though that can twist the knife at times. It's that it doesn't feel like Superjail. You can tell it has the shell of the original show is present, and that the new animator and writers are trying, but it feels like they're missing some crucial points.
The biggest problem I have with the new season is where they took the writing for the Warden. Most of his dialog and actions seem really out of character from the first season, especially in episode three. The Warden, when we first saw him, was spontaneous and childlike, but you still knew that he was in control ("His controlled chaos" ) and every thing was in his plan from the start. It's that power holding and lusting side of him that caused an emotional blend of fear and admiration, and you just don't see that with him in this new season. Yes, he's still insane and acts upon will, but it doesn't appear that he has that charisma and command that he had in the first season, which is where I draw problems with in episode three.
Remember that the Warden has nearly conquered the world, invaded the dreams of thousands of people, turned an entire prison against each other twice, entrapped five inmates in a snow globe for his amusement, sent one of his closest friends into a suicide mission, ordered to have a live child cremated, and later killed her himself, and created a wager with another warden at the risk of his entire prison.
And yet, he was pushed around by a guy in a cape, because he was lonely one afternoon.
No. Just . . . no.
The twins are also a problem in the new series, but I feel they've been touched upon enough as it is.
The animation for me is a little irregular. Not superjail irregular, mind you, just that it hasn't exactly defined its character style yet. I don't have a problem with the change in animation, as long as it is somewhat recognizable. In certain scenes, I would actually even commend the animators for their work i.e. Episode 1,where the Warden wakes up and calls Jared. The animation was smooth and regular, and it felt natural in its own sense. It felt as though the movement was proper and contained enough to where it was still fluid and wild, but not so much that it went beyond the boundaries of haminess. At other times however, it just looked lazy or off cuff, like they threw it together in a rush. i.e. Episode Four, when he talks about the hunter. It was still good animation, but it looked too exaggerated and sloppy.
The violence isn't really that much of a problem for me, as I didn't watch the show specifically for that. The sequences were amusing and eye catching, but I was more enticed by the characters and story. I do see, however, that they cut down on this quite a lot, and even though it's not a problem for me, I still can see it as an insult to the fans. Violence was pinnacle in the series for some, and to remove that aspect was disappointing.
The only reason why I'm writing this ridiculously long review now is because this has really been bothering me since the start of the new season. It took me a while to pinpoint what was missing for me, but after some analysis, these are my results.
I'm fine if you respectfully disagree with them, but please don't flame me for having an opinion, and I won't with you.
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