Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Gumball's back. Am I gonna talk about it?

There's unrest in the streets. The planet is on fire. War, famine, Grok waifus. Em dashes are apparently a sign of AI writing now. And yet one question is on everyone's mind: will there be new Mattalamode Gumball reviews? 

It's an interesting question, and it's an interesting time for media in general that I'm not sure to how feel about. All of these shows that were so formative to me, and such a part of my life to the degree that they sort of shaped the person I became and what I've chosen to do with my life, are randomly coming back. Gumball is back. Regular Show is back. Adventure Time is on their twentieth spin-off. SpongeBob never left. There's a grimness to the notion that nothing ever changes, and I don't place any of that blame on the creative voices that have accompanied these shows' rebirth and continuations; it speaks to the depressing state of the industry, especially within animation. The value of new IP is at an all-time low. We've seen brilliant shows like JG Quintel's Close Enough and Guillaume Cassuto's Elliott From Earth get unceremoniously shitcanned, sometimes even leaving behind questions that will never be meaningfully answered. I'm not happy that this is seemingly all that these brilliantly gifted people can do, to resuscitate projects beyond their intended shelf lives and keep them going as if nothing ever happened—artistic freedom has been superseded by financial viability.