Dungeons & Dragons is back in a big way—and nerds everywhere could not be more excited. From the beloved Dungeons & Dragons movie starring Chris Pine that absolutely deserves its own sequel, to the game being front and center in Stranger Things, and the massive success that actual-play series Critical Role has achieved, along with not one, but two, adaptations of their campaigns, D&D is here to stay. And one of those adaptations is currently boasting a 100% review score on Rotten Tomatoes.
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The Mighty Nein, the animated adaptation of the Critical Role campaign of the same name, premiered last Tuesday, surprising fans with the first three episodes at once. And they were not disappointed. Centering around the theft of a powerful relic known as The Beacon, a ragtag group of emotionally lost outcasts, all with their own personal baggage, are forced together to shoulder one another’s burdens and stop the world they know from unraveling. While it differed from the origins of the actual-play, it condensed an intro that had been criticized as boring and overly drawn out into something much more streamlined and easy for viewers to invest in. And both audiences and critics agree—it’s a damn good show.
The Mighty Nein Has More Than Earned That 100%
“The Mighty Nein don’t arrive polished or heroic. They arrive complicated, wounded, and magnetic. And in giving them the space to be exactly that, The Mighty Nein Season 1 finally delivers the adaptation their story has always earned,” says critic Adrian Ruiz of But Why Tho? This isn’t a show about perfect heroes working toward a happily ever after—it’s a group of broken and bent individuals, each without a place in society, who have to come together to save not only themselves, but the world. Far-fetched? Sure. But also endlessly relatable and entertaining.
Some think it lags behind its predecessor, The Legend of Vox Machina, but they would be wrong. The Mighty Nein hit the ground running in a way that lets us get to know the characters and want to invest in them, taking itself slightly more seriously than Vox Machina, and therefore allowing the audience to do the same. Kelcie Mattson of Collider agrees, saying, “The Legend of Vox Machina hit the ground running and has improved season-to-season, and The Mighty Nein benefits from that experience with assured construction, vibrant animation, and a smattering of Easter eggs for good measure.”
Do you think that The Mighty Nein deserves that 100% Rotten Tomatoes score? Let us know in the comments, along with your favorite moments from the first three episodes. And don’t forget to head over to the ComicBook forum to see what other fans are saying.
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Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
