Animation in the West is in a precarious position. On the one hand, the caliber of creativity and the range of storytelling potential in contemporary animation is staggering. Shows like Bojack Horseman, Invincible, and Arcane have raised the bar for adult animation both narratively and visually. At the same time, HBO Max's recent animation purge provides an insight into how studios view the field of animation. The fact that Warner Brother/Discovery could so flippantly destroy a slew of animated shows proves that cartoons are still regarded as disposable entertainment. However, some shows exude so much quality that they're impossible to dismiss.
The aforementioned Arcane from Netflix was the talk of the town last year, earning heaps of praise from fans and critics. Now the series can add Emmy award winner to its growing list of accolades. The win marks the first time an animated show from a streaming service snagged the award.
It beat Bob's Burgers, Rick and Morty, The Simpsons and Chadwick Boseman-voiced What If…? in the hotly contested category. Arcane co-creator Christian Linke picked up the award. "Thank you this. It's a big deal for us as we come from video games. It's been amazing to see the world embrace our characters and our stories so thanks to Netflix who believed in us from the beginning, thanks to Riot Games, who worked on the whole IP… and to all the people that have been with our game and League of Legends for the last 12 years or so who helped make it as big as it is now," he said.
