How is it that a cartoon about a talking horse is able to be the most realistic in its portrayal of depression, anxiety and the human condition in general? Its even more impressive when said horse is a washed up Hollywood superstar, which isn’t exactly relatable for most people. Its a strange one, but in one of the boldest and most original shows to ever come out of Netflix, Rafael Bob-Waksburg’s anthropomorphic comedy hits in all the right ways and its the tragedy that stays with you afterwards, not the comedy.
That isn’t to say of course, that BoJack Horseman isn’t funny. BJ is a comedy first, a unflinching look at the gamit of human emotion second. Watching the first few episodes of the first season, you would rightly be asking “what the fuck is Lines In Wax talking about?”, but like any TV series worth its salt, BoJack needs to set up the pieces before knocking them down.
But don’t just take my word for it. I write about death metal, grindcore and weird electronic music. I don’t have the verbal capacity to adequately convey this show’s themes. All I’ll say is, that for a cartoon, BoJack Horseman is astoundingly well written, and absolutely gut-wrenching as much as it is funny. If you’ve ever watched a loved one succumb to dementia then you’re going to be in for a hard time during season 4.
TLDR: BoJack remains one of my favourite TV series of all time, and I cannot recommend it enough.