Review: Krapopolis “Woods-stock”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Tyrannis and the fam go to a music festival, where the family ditch him because he is a party killer. Luckily he gets close to a wood nymph named Daphne, not knowing she is from a group of nymphs that is secretly out to get him and the rest of mankind for their use of forests in their civilization. However, the party unexpectedly escalates when the god Dionysus appears and cranks the party up to eleven, saved only by Tyrannis using his vibe destroying abilities for good. Meanwhile, Stupendous and Hippocampus take some bean (drugs) that really mess them up, while Shlub deals with the possibility of Deliria getting in a threesome with a couple without him and realizing he is actually a little possessive of her, but in a good way.

OUR TAKE

Krapopolis as a show has thus far been a perfectly fine half hour of animation to fill a timeslot on the Fox animation block that I’ve had an okay time farting out reviews for, but it hasn’t really had much to dig deeper for or many memorable gags to keep in the brain hole. And while I’m not sure that has changed even this week, this is definitely the first time I’ve actually seen the show tap in, even if just the slightest bit, to its own specific setting and cast dynamic in a meaningful way. Tyrannis’…clan(?) is a pretty different model from the other families in the neighboring timeslots. While Shlub and Deliria are apparently married, they don’t try to force their progeny into the expected family things like Homer and Marge, Peter and Lois, or Bob and Linda might do with their respective three kids. On top of that, the two have separate kids from Tyrannis, giving opportunities for different bond formings between them and their step children (which we’ve seen a bit of in previous episodes). And beyond even that, the two are pretty hands off with their kids, who are adults, meaning we’re not confined by a school setting or them being too young to do certain things.

And then there’s what is the main thing that this show has that others don’t: a full ancient fantasy setting that is ripe for worldbuilding, much like Disenchantment or even like what Futurama does with their retro but timeless kind of future. Aside from meeting a few other gods and mythical creatures that are just hanging around, there hasn’t been a ton of use on the fantasy side of this until now, where we meet a group of wood nymphs who are militantly opposed to how mankind is progressing, which is a big part of what this show is about. I’m not gonna get my hopes up that this will lead to some ongoing storyline about a growing nymph resistance or getting the gods involved but like…would be pretty cool! Just saying! Might be a neat idea! Oh, and I’m not gonna be too on the nose with it, but if I’m right about Daphne, her design may be JUUUUUUUST horny enough to get some fanart going. Which, let’s be frank, this show kinda needs that sort of attention right now.

Also I should probably talk about how this is probably the most wholesome the show has gotten so far in terms of how the family is growing together. There’s usually a smug cynicism among the five that makes it hard to really connect with them, but this episode ends up showing us the more relatable flaws and strengths in Tyrannis, Stupendous, Hippocampus, and Shlub, the latter of whom meets another Manti-taur who has his own lax attitude about relationships (and same voice actor, it seems), which in turn helps Shlub realize he actually loves Deliria enough to not want her to have sex with other guys. Which is not to say that’s bad if you’re in an open relationship, but it shows that this detached party guy who seems to not care…actually cares more than he thought, and I look forward to seeing. The show hasn’t quite broken through yet, but I am seeing some scratch marks.