Daria: Season 1

This show brought me back in so many ways.

I knew one day I was going to watch Daria, and I didn't fully know what the show was about. But I've picked up on bits and pieces and quickly decided it was the kind of show for me. Dear God, is that an understatement. I love Daria to an absurd degree, this really and truly would have been one of my favorite TV shows ever when I was a teenager so instead it's one of my favorite shows now. And I can pinpoint it on the writing alone, it really and effortlessly captures that dry and usually apathetic humor found in teens at that time and really has only grown since. This is a very funny show, it doesn't make your gut bust but it catches you off guard with how funny it is. The story centers around Daria and her family who just moved to a new town as she and her popular sister Quinn contend with high school life, and Daria keeps being awesome. Now I will say the humor and situations will not work with everyone but to an individual like me who is very cynical, a realist, and appreciates good satire of society, while somehow still identifying with high school students in the late 90s it's difficult not to enjoy it. I was kinda curious how obvious the time period of the show is but truthfully the show could run on TV today and not seem that out of place. The animation style is very basic and no frills but still conveys expression with good color use. I honestly, genuinely, cannot decide who I love more between Daria or Jane. We're talking Oswald and Edward levels here folks, it is that close of a race! Another point I wanted to make is it brought that teen sensibility back to me, because I've had friends like Daria and Jane and got their sense of humor so it was a true joy to watch. But not only that, it kinda got me back to the 90s more than any film has ever achieved, yet it isn't dated despite the Nirvana references and choice of soundtrack which by the by is friggin' rad, it inexplicably made me think of my early childhood years in a different light with the culture, music, and situations that were nothing short of oblivious to me at that moment in time. Good shows, good movies, whatever, can really set you in a specific period of history even if you maybe weren't grown yet. The real shame is I haven't been able to find Daria on any platform throughout the interwebs, having to resort to various websites just to watch full episodes and it's only 13 episodes per season. But that led to even more nostalgic throwbacks cause some of the episodes were taped off TV, so you see MTV and The N logos and I even saw an announcement on MTV about showing a new Garbage music video. Holy shit. Is this what being ancient feels like? I know, I'm a relic from a bygone age and too old for the world right now but dang it, you should track this show down. It is nothing short of a blast and I proudly consider myself a fan as I make my way through the rest of the series. 4 stars, 8/10! I will revel in my melancholy nostalgia until I die young and content.