OK A.U.! Alternate Universe
There’s a lot of potential for exploring a creative concept with this cartoon. For the most part though, it doesn’t feel like it goes as all out as it can and ties itself down to basic plot archetypes. Still, that doesn’t mean that what’s offered isn’t fun, because there are some interesting things to take from the setup.
On another busy day at Gar’s Bodega, K.O., Rad, and Enid are faced with a seemingly endless list of tasks needed to be completed around the store. When they’re suddenly interrupted by an attack from the Boxmore robots, they turn out to be more annoyed with them than ready to fight. It’s at this point where all robot brawls are treated like a routine as opposed to a legit threat. With decent compatibility they were shown to be capable of having in the last cartoon, their encounter is more like a meeting the bodega heroes don’t have the time for. As the robots claim they have a lot of stuff to do as well, this attracts the attention of a being known as an alternate universe warlock. Feeling both groups aren’t appreciative enough of the lives they live, he follows the typical story beats of having them switch lives and see how hard the other groups have it. That’s not a bad excuse for exploring alternate universes, but this does mean that the ones to be explored are limited.
Most of the time is spent on one alternate universe the warlock creates. There, K.O., Rad, and Enid are robots who work at Boxmore, and constantly make the point that they’ve always been robots. Since this is a different reality, I don’t see much point for the repetition of this. Also, it does get hard to watch to see them at the mercy of Lord Boxman. I know he’s typically villainous and hard on his robot children, but here, he really seems to go too far, delighting in rebooting and firmware updating them for every little thing. At least his spurts of anger are still reasonably funny. As for the actual robots, they now fulfill the bodega employees’ roles in the form of bratty humans. Somehow though, they still have robot characteristics, particularly Darrell still having one eye. When the employee-turned robots are sent to attack the plaza, it plays out the same way it did before with everyone wanting to get the fight over with. I guess this can count as insightful on the torments the Boxmore robots face on a regular basis which showcases the lack of health in their role at the company.
While this is insightful character building, when the Warlock shows up to turn things back to normal, everyone acts like the way they live now is normal. The result is a chase through the alternate universes that offer a lot of variety the cartoon mostly lacks. Seconds are spent in a world of babies, Little Mermaid caricatures, and even one to explain the existence of “Let’s Watch the Pilot.” If they explored these universe longer and maybe even went through more, this cartoon would be much satisfactory. In the end, the warlock settles for a universe where the heroes and robots are their normal selves, but Lord Boxman and Mr. Gar have swapped roles because it’s close enough. I suppose it might as well be with things normal besides that. Only, what does that mean for the supporting heroes?
I
really do feel like the alternate universe angle could have been supported more
as opposed to a standard look at what other sides go through. For what the cartoon is though, it’s still
fine and entertaining enough as it is.
A-
Season 2
Rankings
1. Your World is an Illusion
2. T.K.O.’s House
3. Final Exams
4. CarolQuest
5. All in the Villainy
6. GarQuest
7. Dendy’s Power
8. Crossover Nexus
9. Lord Cowboy Darrell
10. Bittersweet Rivals
11. Beach Episode
12. Red Action to the Future
13. My Fair Carol
14. Are You Ready for Some Megafootball?!
15. Boxman Crashes
16. Wisdom Strength and Charisma
17. Gar Trains Punching Judy
18. I Am Jethro
19. Mystery Sleepover
20. Super Black Friday
21. Point to the Plaza
22. Project Ray Way
23. Special Delivery
24. Seasons Change
25. The So-Bad-Ical
26. Monster Party
27. Sidekick Scouts
28. Whacky Jaxxyz
29. Plaza Film Festival
30. OK A.U.! Alternate Universe
31. Let’s Watch the Boxmore Show
32. Be a Team
33. Plaza Alone
34. Soda Genie
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