I've been struggling for years to get into new cartoons. Every time I start watching a new show, I pause it right when I find a red flag. Like, when the writing is telling more than showing, or when the characters don't use common sense to solve a simple problem that becomes the main conflict, or even when the character animation is stiff like they're cardboard cutouts come to life. One recent example of this is The Legend Of Vox Machina. I heard it was really good so I decided to give it a watch. It almost immediately turned me off with cringy edge humor, unlikable characters, stiff animation, and over abundance of unnecessary violence. Can't help but feel jipped because I really wanted to like this show. This is just one of many shows I couldn't bring myself to finish watching the first episode with because my criteria for a good cartoon was not met. Like, I want good storytelling, likable characters, impressive visuals and some funny humor, damnit! But lately, I've found that there are no new animated shows that even so much as make me curious to how it'll play out. There's an upcoming Netflix show called Long Story Short made by the same guy who made Bojack Horseman. I just don't like anything that's been shown so far, from the animation, the humor, the characters, and the main story just feeling like another lazy "adult" cartoon. I also never bothered checking out Iyanu, a new Cartoon Network show that's already developed a loyal fan base. Then you got new Nickelodeon cartoons which have gotten lazier with their concepts, like Rock, Paper, Scissors, Sharkdog, and Super Duper Bunny League. I've had my personal standards for cartoons questioned across multiple circle and I've stood my ground time and again that my standards are just. But after all the arguments and name calling, I'm starting to question if I'm asking too much from new cartoons. Like, maybe most of the new cartoons I've hated are actually good and I was expecting too much. Everybody loves Smiling Friends, but I couldn't get into it due to looking hideous, no being funny, and the storytelling being predictable. Maybe I expected too much from a show that like that. Maybe I just expect too much from shows in general. I don't know. I just don't know :/