You know that awesome series where Mark Hamill plays a reclusive hermit who is really a former soldier that takes it upon himself to train a new apprentice, to teach them the ways of a powerful group of magical warriors? I'm of course talking about "Kulipari: An Army of Frogs."

"Kulipari" is a relatively new animated Netflix series that's based off a book series by Trevor Pryce, who's a former NFL player. Go figure. It's set in the Amphibilands, home of a village of anthropomorphic frogs protected by a magical veil that blocks them off from the rest of the world. They are also protected by the Kulipari, a group of elite poison dart frog warriors. The main character, a frog named Darel, wants to become one of these warriors, but as he is a plain wood frog, he ultimately cannot join them. Meanwhile outside the protective veil, an army of scorpions and spiders are plotting to destroy the shield and take over the Amphibilands.

Sounds kind of silly, right? I will be honest, I was not expecting much when I first clicked on it — I just needed some background noise while I worked on homework, and this was the first thing I saw. To my surprise, I ended up watching all of the first season — thirteen whole episodes — in one day! I feel this show sort of got passed over due to the craze of Stranger Things, so here is a little time in the spotlight for it.

However, I feel like we should start with some of the cons of this show. To be frank, a lot of it is rather cliché. Here is a shot of two of the main characters, Gee (left) and Darel (right).

Darel is the typical hero: he is well-built and good-looking (for a frog, at least), somewhat arrogant, and tries to be the best but ultimately has a good heart. He also has a dead father who was a Kulipari, so he tries to be like him. Gee, his best friend, is the bumbling funny fat sidekick that likes to eat. That basically is all that needs to be said about him.

Arabanoo (left) and Coorah (right) are also predictable; Arabanoo fills the role of the jerk jock that always picks fights with the hero. Coorah is a little better, since her arc is focused on her becoming a medic, and it helps that she does not have a romance with Darel. However, she is still the typical girl that exists to roll her eyes at the crazy antics of the boys.

And as stated before, Mark Hamill plays Jir, the typical crotchety retired old warrior that everyone assumes is crazy but still acts like a mentor to the main hero. There are other characters, of course, but these five stick out the most as characters the audience has definitely seen before. The only thing that makes them different here is that they are frogs. The designs of the frogs bugged me at times as well; for some reason, the designers thought it was necessary to give the female frogs a pronounced chest and therefore they have to be more covered up with clothes. Meanwhile the male frogs can get away with only wearing a belt and cape at most.

It's a tired trope that's been used for animal characters for ages, and in this case, it's even more ridiculous since these characters are not even mammals.

The show also starts out very slowly, as it takes most of the first few episodes to establish this world and the characters. So, a lot of it is focused on Darel and his friends getting into crazy antics and not so much moving the plot forward. The actual Kulipari do not show up until about halfway through the season — and even before then, it takes a while before anyone explains what they actually are.

So what is so good about the show that I would sit through all thirteen episodes? Well, the animation is flat out gorgeous. It's animated in Flash, so some of the characters can move a little stiffly, but they are drawn and colored so cleanly you can almost look past that. The backgrounds should be given special mention, as they are probably some of the best art I have seen in a show for a long time. Just take a look at the first shot of the frog village:

Also, as it is with most shows, the villains are just a joy to watch. The main focus is given to Lord Marmoo, leader of the scorpions, and Queen Jarrah, leader of the spiders, and their tenuous relationship. Watching them work together while simultaneously hating each other is just so much fun. It helps that their designs are excellent, too.

"Kulipari" boasts an all-star voice cast, so you can pick out some familiar voices as you watch: again, there's Mark Hamill as Jir, Josh Keaton as Darel, Phil LaMarr as Arabanoo, Cree Summers as multiple minor characters, and Keith David as Lord Marmoo, just to name a few. Everyone gives it their all and gives their characters solid believability. As for the slow pace, things do start to pick up once the Kulipari are introduced and — spoilers — the scorpions and the spiders launch their attack on the Amphibilands. Several important characters are killed off throughout the course of the series as well, so there is plenty of emotion to be found here.

So all in all, I give Kulipari a solid seven on a scale of one to ten. While things start kind of shaky in terms of plot and character development, it's still a fun, colorful ride with plenty of action and some sadness sprinkled here and there as well. Definitely check it out if you want something entertaining and not taken too seriously.