Netflix series secreta collaboration between Riot Games and Studio Fortiche, is an animated program based on the popular computer game League of Legends. Science fiction author Zach Chapman Love secreteven though I’ve never played League of Legends.
“You don’t have to have any knowledge of the game,” Chapman said in Episode 536 of Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy audio file. “In fact, less knowledge of the game is even better. It doesn’t need those. It just works really great as a standalone program.
Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy host David Barr Kirtley was blown away by the show’s visual style, its distinctive blend of 2D and 3D elements. “I look forward to seeing more of this art style,” he said. “You can freeze any frame and it looks like a really good illustration from a Dungeons & Dragons handmade. So I think it’s great.
fantasy author Lara Elena Donnelly very excited to watch an animated series featuring complex characters and adult themes. “There are parts that are almost like you are watching a Scorsese no one is good at police movies,” she said. “Everybody has their own agenda, everyone thinks their way is the best way and they are all trying to play tricks on each other. It has a lot of sophisticated dynamics, which are very surprising in an animated video game.”
fantasy author Erin Lindsey I like it too secretbut warned that the series didn’t really hit the mark until Episode 3. “I think the first few episodes can give you the feeling that you’ve seen these plot beats before and that you’ve see this story before,” she said. “I haven’t. It will surprise you time and time again.”
Listen to the full interview with Zach Chapman, Lara Elena Donnelly, and Erin Lindsey in Episode 536 of Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy (above). And check out some highlights from the discussion below.
Zach Chapman on character design:
It is very clear that [characters] designed by a video game company. A lot of the characters look like Activision characters. To me, Jinx looks like Junkrat—although I’m pretty sure she came before Junkrat. And Ekko looks and acts like the DJ from precaution 2 … There is a beauty in the design down to the smallest detail that is truly impressive. There is a scene in Episode 5 where there is a street vendor who looks like this shark, and he gives Vi some food and some information. And that character’s design has more personality than any other design in the series Blood of Zeus, For example. He’s in a scene and he looks amazing.
David Barr Kirtley on the character’s death:
What convinces Victor that his experiments are too dangerous is that his lab assistant, who has a crush on him, has been burned down by his experiments. And I think that character might have had a scene before that where she made an impression on me. So when she died, my reaction was both horror and like, “Wait, who is that again?” So I feel like that character should have been developed a bit more or that some character we were more interested in should have been incinerated, in order for that moment to have the impact it should have.
Erin Lindsey on secret Season 2:
I really don’t know who will be alive. I thought Jayce must have survived, but I could totally see Mel die. It’s part of the brutal irony that she symbolically and literally rejects her family’s legacy as she sits there and removes the ring from her house, when her house is an overseas force known for its brutal cruelty. And her mother wasn’t in the room, so her mother definitely survived. And she’s likely to get cranky about it and use this as an opportunity to capitalize on her position and take over. And I could see Jayce—since we had determined that traumatic events would change his personality dramatically from minute to minute—I could see him also using his death. Mel as something that makes him the dark side.
Lara Elena Donnelly on Studio Fortiche:
I’m so glad this was done. I’m surprised it was made a bit, because there’s nothing else like it on television. When I watched it, I was like, “How did they say, ‘Yeah, let’s do this. Let’s make nine almost hour-long animated episodes of this non-children’s show, okay?” It was just amazing to me that it was done. I’m so glad it was made and I want them to do more. And they’re doing a lot more, and I’m 100 percent going to watch it. When they finish with secretI would love to see them do more TV shows and cartoons, because they just make absolutely breathtaking pieces.
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