Adult animation always seems to have an interesting impact on a person’s life. Whether it’s a few laughs of "Family Guy", or the biting satire of "South Park", everyone has different reasons to tune into these shows.
I believe in "BoJack Horseman", the Netflix original adult animated show.
Within the first few episodes, you get introduced to the characters. The work-a-holic ghostwriter, the slacker crashing on BoJack’s couch, the ex-girlfriend agent, and of course, the star of the show, BoJack Horseman, a washed up 90’s sitcom star. You get used to their interactions, and for a moment, you feel like you’re watching just another show. That is, until halfway through the first season.
Eventually, it begins to show the show’s true purpose. Every character in that show has some symptoms of depression. Every character deals with this in various ways. Diane, the ghostwriter, and Princess Caroline, the ex-girlfriend agent, toss themselves into their work for BoJack, trying to help him improve his life. Todd, the slacker crashing on the couch, seems to have just given up on life and does not wish to amount to anything more than eating and sleeping. He tries to create a rock opera, but it doesn’t take off. Mr. Peanutbutter, the lovable frienemy, tries to keep a positive outlook on life, despite the place he is in with his relationship.
And then there’s the titular star of the show, who numbs his loneliness and depression with alcohol, drugs and anonymous sex with 20-something year old girls he meets in bars.
As the show continues, some characters make progress identifying where their depression stems from. BoJack reveals that his home life growing up wasn’t the best, and that his mother was emotionally abusive and manipulative. The first episode of the second season shows BoJack attempting to be in a better place.
Diane, after admitting that she wasn’t happy, takes strides to make herself a better person, volunteering to go to a war-torn country to write for a philanthropist attempting to give back to the world.
Princess Caroline dates two men who she believes to be good for her. The first is Vincent, who is actually three kids stacked on top of each other while wearing a trench coat. The second is Rutabaga Rabbitowitz, a fellow agent. Princess Caroline eventually is ready to move on, and agrees to open a talent agency with Rutabaga.
The second season seems to be changing everyone. For a while, they seem to be turning over a new leaf. And for a few episodes, everything is great for them.
Then it’s not.
BoJack, with his newfound positivity, gets a call from his mother, which takes him down to the level in which he was at the start of the show. Diane still isn’t happy writing for someone she thought was doing good for the world, who turned out to be a rich person who only wanted his ego stroked. Princess Caroline breaks up with Rutabaga because she realizes she needs a man that loves her, and she shouldn’t settle for anything less.
It mirrors real life struggles with mental health, where you can be on top of the world in the eyes of everyone, but still just as unhappy. It shows mental health in a new way that television hasn’t really done before.
We all deal with these struggles in our lives, the moments that we believe that we can do better, when we think that we’ve changed. Then something comes along and you feel like you’ve reset all the progress you’ve made. Television shows don’t normally show that. They show the hardships, but cleanly wraps it up in the half an hour allotted for the episode.
And for this reason, I believe in BoJack Horseman.
