Last week, the popular web series Critical Role, which features voice actors playing Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, partnered with Amazon Prime Video to release the first episodes of a new animated series, “The Mighty Nein.”
As fans may know, the show is based on Critical Role’s D&D campaign of the same name. Set in the fictional world of Exandria, the series follows a group of outcasts as they form a seemingly unlikely friendship, and unite to stop a powerful relic from destroying their world and starting a war. The show opens with a ritual, before a relic is stolen, leaving behind a trail of destruction and death for the characters to tackle.
While subsequent episodes introduce additional characters, in the first episode, we meet Beauregard, voiced by Marisha Ray, Nott the Brave by Sam Riegel and Caleb Widogast by Liam O’Brien. The first two characters of the core cast we meet are Nott, a goblin, and Caleb, a human. Both are living on the street, with vastly different approaches to survival. Meanwhile, Beauregard is a monk training to be an investigator of sorts when she discovers a clue left behind from the stolen relic.
Critical Role specifically created this series with viewers’ diverse interests in mind. One notable difference from the campaign is how the series introduces its characters. In the original campaign, most of the characters are part of friend groups that come together into a larger cast. Meanwhile, in the show, we meet each character individually, getting a sense of their backstory and values. This approach allows viewers the time to get familiar with the individual characters and the world around them.
The first episode also establishes the power of the stolen relic in a strong attempt at world-building. You get a good sense of Exandria and how the characters interact within it. Even though the series spans multiple, disparate settings, they all feel believably connected. The plot is incredibly intriguing, which sounds cheesy, but it’s true. There’s some political tension, corruption, espionage, friendship and so much more in the first episode alone. Since the show is based on an already well-loved campaign, where the voice actors created the characters themselves, there’s immense love and care poured into the performances and world of the show.
Critical Role shows have their own unique animation style, which makes them even more endearing. “The Mighty Nein” is a huge labor of love from everyone involved. Fans of the original campaign will enjoy the show’s elements that stem directly from the campaign, while people who are totally new, like me, can still enjoy it just as much.
As far as an animated adventure/fantasy goes, the show is a lot of fun. It’s an adult show with dark and mature themes, so it doesn’t feel boring or predictable. The episodes aren’t too long, being just under an hour each, which means you can watch them a bit more casually. Episodes are scheduled to come out every Wednesday on Prime Video, with the release schedule displayed on the platform, making it easy to plan a night around. Even if you’re not a Dungeons & Dragons person, this show is still a very fun watch.
