Unicorn: Warriors Eternal Review: Genndy Tartakovsky Finds Depth in Unexpected Places

The show’s true resonance lies in its exploration of the Chosen One trope.

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Unicorn: Warriors Eternal
Photo: Adult Swim

Genndy Tartakovsky’s work brilliantly reinforces the mantra of “less is more.” Samurai Jack uses the trials of a time-traveling samurai to create an aura of loneliness and desperation, while Primal explores the unexpectedly moving friendship between a dinosaur and a caveman. More broadly, Tartakovsky’s focused ambition lends itself well to the at once mythic and intimate odysseys that he takes viewers on.

Tartakovsky’s new animated series, Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, centers on a group of magical beings—sorceress Melinda (Hazel Doupe), cosmic monk Seng (Demari Hunte), warrior elf Eldrid (Tom Milligan), and steam-powered robot Copernicus—tasked with fending off a monstrous evil through the ages, which means that they’ll need physical hosts to travel through time. So begins a dogged battle, with host body after host body thrown at an ageless villain that doesn’t require flesh to wreak havoc. Oh, and there’s one other complication: This time, the “warriors eternal” reawaken in teenagers rather than grown adults.

On a visual level, Unicorn: Warriors Eternal pulses with boundless energy and infectious whimsy that we expect from Tartakovsky’s work, but the show’s true resonance lies in its exploration of the Chosen One trope. Tartakovsky concocts a magic system that’s as ostensibly simple as it cosmically cruel: Rather than stumble upon an otherworldly object or emerge from a freak accident with flashy new abilities, the show’s heroes are straight-up possessed by immortal warriors who must take new hosts whenever their old ones perish.

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The series uses Melinda to explore and expand upon this interplay between magical ability and consent. Emma, the young woman whom Melinda possesses, is a bright-eyed bride-to-be with doting parents and a loving fiancé. All of this is ripped away when Copernicus, her spirit-dispensing guardian robot, crashes her wedding ceremony and shoots a warrior ghost at her mid-vow. Across the first five episodes made available to critics, Melinda/Emma wrestles with this burden, setting the groundwork for what’s shaping up to be one banger of a character arc.

The archetype of the reluctant hero practically defines the high fantasy genre. Hell, even most superheroes fall into this category. Between the acquisition and the refinement of those powers is a choice: Use them for good, for evil, or not at all. In Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, the answer comes in the form of a salient question: What if these heroes didn’t have that choice at all?

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 Cast: Hazel Doupe, Demari Hunte, Tom Milligan, Grey Griffin, George Webster, Alain Uy, Jacob Dudman, Ron Bottita, Jeremy Crutchley  Network: Adult Swim

Hayden Mears

Hayden Mears is a freelance entertainment journalist with work featured in Starburst Magazine, TVLine, The Playlist, CinemaBlend, and others. When he's not waxing poetic about Pixar, Venture Bros., or comic books, he enjoys people, fitness boxing, and writing bios in the third person.

1 Comment

  1. Not one mention of the awful, straight up offensively bad voice acting, on all fronts. Ruins what could have been a 8/10 show.
    Genndy should have got back to finishing Sybionic Titan instead of this messy nonsense.

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