Series Season 1 Review
Gudetama is a completely weird show that begins as a whimsical adventure and soon turns into a surreal fever dream. I appreciate that this is made for kids and you should definitely set your expectations accordingly. The animation is great and the voice acting is decent, even if it’s a little shaky at times.
The story begins in a sushi restaurant before gradually expanding as the 10 episodes progress. A lethargic sloth named Gudetama is hatched, he decides to just wait for his death and rest all day. Shakipyo, who wants to meet his mother and discover what life is all about, opposes it.
As a result, the couple leaves the refrigerator and goes into the wider world. These polar opposites get into all sorts of mishaps – they might even meet the Prime Minister! Real highlights are when Shakipyo and Gudetama meet like-minded diners, but the show runs out of steam before the final episode.
Normally we wouldn’t spoil the ending in a review like this, but it’s worth mentioning because the themes and messaging in Gudetama are… subjective to say the least, and that’s something parents should be aware of.
Gudetama wants to die (eat) throughout the show, and over the course of 10 episodes, he does little other than tag along for the ride and try to eat soy sauce. He’s also able to get out of trouble a lot thanks to his plot contrivances (as evidenced in episode 4 when he survives by leaping onto the sidewalk at the last second).
In the end, Gudetama is encouraged to kill himself and choose which way to do it. Eventually, he was swallowed and eaten by his farmer grandmother. It’s quite a strange sight, and I’m not sure what Gudetama is trying to achieve is glorifying death in this way.
In addition, Gudetama has a playful sense of humor and some of the jokes are really funny. There are many gags throughout the show and these work well against our central duo, especially since they are so different in their outlook on life.
Overall
There are several instances during the course of the work where the duo meet human friends and foes who seem to recognize them as sentient beings and other times they don’t bat an eyelid. There’s never a hard and fast rule about this, but ultimately they work to add some educational content to the show, even if it’s sparse.
Gudetama isn’t as exciting an adventure as it wants to be, but there’s enough charm here – despite a strange message in the final episode about death – that it will keep you watching until the end.