So here's a rather bizarre show from my childhood that I didn't really appreciate until now. I don't think I'll really be able to do it justice in this description, but here we go, anyway.

Daria is an MTV animated series created by Glenn Eichler and Suzie Lewis Lynn. It ran for 5 seasons and 2 TV movies, and originally aired between 1997 - 2002. A (rather loose) spin-off Beavis and Butthead, the show revolves around the titular Daria Morgendorffer, a smart, cynical, somewhat misanthropic teenager and her hgh school experiences in the fictional American town of Lawnndale. Something of a spoof of high school life, the show is so rooted in the alternative counterculture of the 90's that it's hardly surprising that it's become something of a nostalgia show for that particular generation.

Aside from Daria, there are a handful of other character's that are thrust into the spotlight. You've got Daria's fellow alternative oddball and morbid artist friend Jane Lane, her shallow and self-centred sister Quinn, as well as character's based on various high school archetypes. You've got the dimwitted cheerleader and high school football player, the token black kids, overly angry or creepily mellow teachers, etc. I say archetypes over stereotypes because while the show does often mock these characters traits, the character development and the overall presentation makes it incredibly easy to sympathise with these characters, no matter how flawed they are. The show could very well have gone into a mean-spirited awkward teen sitcom "laugh at how stupid and cringe-y these teenagers are" kinda style, but rather than do that, it humanises the stereotypes and shows you why they are they way they are. The brainy and the asocial, the popular and the shallow, they're all explained if not quite justified in this show, and that's something you really don't see too often in teen-oriented shows. Especially on MTV.

Also, it's really not as edgy or pandering as the titular character might as first seem.

Trust me. It's not.

Watch it.

Man, I loved this show. Daria's characters seem never under-developed, they're all well rounded and 3 dimensional. But not many people on this site likes western animation, which is what makes me sad. I hope people will give this show a chance, even if it is a bit old.

I've seen that character a bunch and never knew what it was from. Weird. lol

Nice thread, m8

I remember seeing commercials for this all the time when I was younger, but I never gave the show a chance, assuming it was yet another terrible Western-style animation. After growing older and realizing that Japanese animation is not the /only/ good form of animation, I would like to give this show a shot.

Plus, reading your post makes it sound even more appealing! Thanks for the recommendation (especially on such an anime-oriented site). ^^



Cheers,

♚ Kirika

>>4 Glad I managed to convince someone, hope you enjoy the series. It's quickly become a favourite of mine.

So I've almost finished Daria and am way more depressed about it than I thought I'd be. I swear, the show captures so perfectly the the weird, hollow feeling that the last few years of high school had for me that it's getting me all reflective and stuff. It's really bizarre that this cartoony, badly animated sitcom can be so spot on that it actually makes me kinda uncomfortable. I think it might just be one of my favourite shows of all time.

And yes, I'm bumping my own thread. I had something to say, alright?

i just barely started watvhing this currently on episode 5.