Hey all! Just giving some of my thoughts on the adaptation in general, some specific moments I absolutely loved, and some things that I'm curious about. These are just my thoughts and if nothing else, I'm just curious what other people think so far!

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RIGHT OFF THE BAT

The intro is just beautiful and stunning in so many ways - I love that they aren't letting the '"facts" ruin a good story' with this first episode/initial plot. They are telling the story of a rag-tag bunch of assholes who are good at some things but generally a bunch of really strange and dysfunctional people. It's interesting because it feels slightly new to me as someone who has listened to Campaign 1 more than once or twice. There are definitely some key quotes throughout the first episodes from the game, but they seem to be taking a lot of care in adapting minor characters and plots in a way that makes sense and gets the feeling/theme of the story

ANIMATION

The animation in general seems to be a little hit or miss from scene to scene. This isn't to say it's bad - there are many moments that are BEAUTIFUL and incredibly well done. I think this has been discussed at depth by many already. But yes, the "blue" dragon has some strangeness to it and some awkward angles, there's a moment or two when Uriel teleports to sitting rather than standing, and small things like that. I'm not supremely bothered by this, and there is great hope in my heart that Amazon will see the success and fund the HELL out of Critical Role to make the rest of Campaign 1 and beyond.

The battle scenes were the parts that I assume they focused on. I LOVED almost every single one, and it was so cool to see how well they came together. All of their powers are beautifully made and every character has a look and feel to their powers, which I really love.

PACING

One of the other common criticisms I've seen that I think is warranted. I'm largely looking past this as I think the initial writing for these first episodes were likely made when the cast was hoping beyond hope to just make ANYTHING. I think they were eager to cram as many beautiful/funny/quirky/awesome things into every moment they could. I do really love the character moments in the first parts of these episodes, and I think they do a really great job of showing these characters off for who they are - it is really difficult with 7 distinct protagonists and a MYRIAD (lol) of other main characters to express in such a short amount of time.

BRUTALITY/VULGARITY

Wow, this show is cartoonishly brutal and bloody from the first moment. (LOVED the LOTR reference to the first scene btw). Also was not expecting actual nudity with the Scanlan scene with the tiefling woman. No complaints here haha but they really went for it with the blood and homo-eroticism (Gilmore scene was great, and it's crazy how similar the shop looks to what I've imagined).

CHARACTERS

Something I really really love that they're doing with the characters, or a few at least, is that they are giving them arcs that I think can account for and add to the hundreds of RP moments that the show can't really incorporate. I LOVE what they're doing with Keyleth, and I think her character so far is one of the best done with her anxiety and quirkiness. The other huge stand out is Vex with her Dragon-spidey senses and backstory drop. I think that not only is this a fantastic interpretation of Primeval Awareness, but it really sets up the Chroma Conclave arc later and gives a lot of character to Vex, Vax, and their mother. I think Scanlan and Grog were just great as they are lol - always fantastic when they in scenes together. I think they are making the great decision to space out their development as characters later (A Bard's Lament). Finally Percy, who I think has some of the best characterization and dialogue so far. I really love how episode 3 started with a flashback of his past and how the episode focuses on him as a character (more on some of my favorite moments further down).

Lord and Lady Delilah are really cool cartoon evil characters, but a little bit disappointed by how straight terrible and evil they are off the bat without really any mystery or ambiguity that made the dinner in the game so great. Obviously we know they're terrible based on Percy's explanation of his family, but Lady Delilah intentionally being REALLY insulting and humiliating of the De Rolos in front of the entirety of the the lords of the land was a little strange. I understand a lot of this might be a time thing, and maybe it's not a big deal, but I think the slow burn of the evil of the The Briarwoods was something that I really really loved about the Percy arc in the game.

Pike's "I'm not a great cleric or very holy, but I really care" is just great. I love when she attempts to bless the house and the moments where her divine magic wavers. It's really dramatic, and you really feel how heartbroken Pike is when she can't help someone.

PLOT/ADAPTATION

I think the plot of the the first arc was not great but not terrible - I think it being simplistic was somewhat of a given and I am really not upset with it at all. I am curious what those who weren't aware of what would happen thought about it. It was essentially them foreshadowing/red-herringing the dark elf Lord Fince as DEFINITELY working with the dragon and surprise-surprise it was Krieg the whole time. I was definitely really really happy to watch this plot unfold, but not overly engrossed in the villain/plot itself so much as other elements of the first three episodes.

I really liked seeing things like Desmond (episode 3) carrying the chest upstairs to serve as a narrative element for Vax to investigate and introduce Desmond as a character was cool.

WRITING

The general feeling I get watching these episodes is this up and down of complete awe/joy/love and slight moments of not being super into it. I think there are some elements to some of the humor that makes the show feel childish at times. It's difficult to explain some things, but one example is some over-explanation. Ex. Grog saying "So we're here to ask around about the monster?" Those types of things - not a huge deal, but I think I felt a slight bit too much hand-holding at times - wondering if that's just because I have watched Campaign 1 more than a few times.

I think there are so many moments of pure hilarity, and I had so much fun watching the antics they got up to. I LIVE for the moments when Allura is face-palming at Vox Machina.

BRILLIANT MOMENTS

There's something about this show so far, that even with the slight problems, there are these BRILLIANT moments of character and writing.

The first moment where I was awestruck was the moment the party saw the home of the villagers they had just spoken to. The grave feeling of them entering and witnessing Pike's healing magic falter, the child dying in front of them. That moment hit HARD, and it's just not something I have seen in an animated series before. Very brutal, but SO powerful. I can't stop thinking about how much heart is in this scene.

The next moment that I just love is the illusion/tricking the Blue Dragon General Krieg and then just pure badassery taking down the dragon. JUST AMAZING. The only comparable experience I can think of are some of the very best moments from Naruto fights where I was so invested in the outcome. That was something that I think the scene with the loss of that child fueled so well. I desperately wanted them to win, and it was so satisfying to see all of that unfold. Amazing.

The Grog vs. Sylas Briarwood with Kraven Edge was pretty amazing. I liked that they made Sylas so powerful that he was able to knock down Grog, the GIANT guy that no one messes with. It was a fantastic fight and set up how powerful the Briarwoods really are.

Maybe my favorite moment, No Mercy Percy. Putting on the mask, yelling at Keyleth in anger, the camera following Percy loading his gun, the INCREDIBLE voice acting by Talesin (this is a given for all of them obv lol but this was exceptional). The "Your soul is forfeit" was just amazing, and the brutality there with the smoke and shooting off Desmond's hand captured that moment in the game perfectly. I don't have enough time to say ever thing about how great this was, but I just loved it so much.

The fucking Scanlan auto-tune with the hand introducing himself - that was just brilliant xD

The guards petting Trinket ;'D omg

Mercer as the doorman and other cameos - I think this is fantastic.

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OVERALL

Overall, I HUGELY enjoyed all the episodes so far and I'm so excited for the Briarwood arc!! I think the animation has great moments and the show itself touches on things I haven't seen in any animated series. So happy this exists, and grateful they put so much love and care into this series.

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Thanks for reading :) curious what you thought, can't wait until next week!