If there is one thing I have learned about animation, it's that interesting stories and characters can come from any walk of life. You don't need to be a part of a big studio like DreamWorks or Disney in order to make memorable stories that will entertain countless people. If the heart and passion is there, stories can come from anywhere.

With this in mind, many people who have been following online animation have been excited for the release of Hazbin Hotel's pilot episode. Created by YouTube animator "Vivziepop" many of us watched as she developed and worked with her characters over years. With such interesting character designs and a cool premise about a hotel in hell that desires to rehabilitate sinners, this animation promised to be a wild ride. So many animation and art fans buckled in and waited for the ride to fully take off. After years of work and the efforts of a talented production team, the pilot episode was finally ready to share with the public. All these years developing the story, the characters, and setting where about to fully unfold on our laptop screens.

With the pilot finally, hitting YouTube, we have to ask the big question: was it any good? Luckily, as an avid admirer and lover of cartoons and storytelling, I am absolutely delighted to say that there are many things that this pilot is doing really well.

First and foremost, in my opinion, I have to give absolute credit to the beautiful use of color in this animation. Lovely characters and settings are wonderful, but they don't get to shine if the colors blind our sight. This pilot makes full use of its color and creates a wildly colorful yet unified aesthetic feel. It's not afraid to push the lighting and feel of the color tone and it really pays off in giving us some absolutely lovely visuals. Sometimes, I think color is a bit overlooked in the animation world and I think it deserves to be appreciated, especially when it creates such a lovely and cool look as seen in this cartoon pilot.

Of course, color is wonderful, but colorful and wonderful DESIGNS are completely different. Personally, I have watched these characters come to life and develop over the years, changing in their overall style and appearance. However, if there is one thing that Vivziepop excels in, it's creating memorable and uniquely designed characters and settings. Personally, I adore the art style found in this animation from its characters to the overall hellish world. It works so well at attracting our gaze and keeping our visual interest. I honestly could stare at these interesting designs all day and never grow tired. For me, the art is absolutely stunning.

On top of this, the animation is absolutely stunning as well. The expressions and fluid movements of all the characters are absolutely love to witness. Given that the animation worked with many hands, you can tell when you shift from animator to animator, but all the animators are talented which more than makes up for any slight inconsistencies. I have a great admiration for all the effort that went into each frame. I was already expecting a lovely finished animation, but this exceeded my imagination.

Of course I have to talk about the overall pilot's story. Like I mentioned previously, I think the idea of a hotel in hell to rehabilitate sinners is a fun and unique idea. It certainly invites a lot of future plot happenings and ideas. Plus, the comedy and character acting do well to emphasize the story's strong points. The actors go above and beyond to bring the characters and the story to life. The story had always been in place and strong, but the comedy and use of voice actors made the story's world explode onscreen. I know I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more.

With all of the good, there is honestly, from my first watch, I can say negatively from a cohesive and strictly storytelling perspective. Personally, the one thing I saw was the pacing between scene transitions. I know that the pilot was strangely timed due to the 30 min-based timeline (as opposed to the traditional show of 22 or 44), but sometimes the cuts between scenes or actions felt a little jarring. It's definitely not enough to detract from the overall piece, but it's something I noted as I watched the pilot in its entirety. Other than that, perhaps a shift in the story ordering to cohesively set up the plot and this show is right as rain.

Overall, this pilot has been something I have been watching develop for years and years. To see the hard work that came from the pilot is awe inspiring and I can't wait to see what comes next.