If GLITCH keeps making content, we just may have a new streaming service on our hands.
Cocreated by brothers Luke and Kevin Lerdwichagul (the former of whom also created the popular YouTube channel SMG4), GLITCH proudly presents all the animated efforts of GLITCH Productions. Right now, that includes four different stories, each of which comes with its own storyline and content concerns.
The most prominent story on the channel is The Amazing Digital Circus, an ongoing tale about a group of people who have been trapped inside digital bodies with no discernable way to escape. They’re stuck there under the unhinged guidance of AI ringmaster Caine. He hopes to run a good circus show, so he compels them to go on wacky adventures.
Most of the humans there have given up on ever escaping—save for Pomni, the newest person of the group, who still hopes to see the real world again. But still, she—and every other person—is on borrowed time, since they’ll eventually lose their sanity and “abstract,” which turns them into glitchy monsters that must be defeated.
On Aug. 23, 2024, the channel wrapped up its second-most-popular series, titled Murder Drones. In this story, humans are a space-faring race, and an interstellar parent company known as JC Jenson produces sentient worker drone robots to mine resources on a distant planet. However, the human overseers on that planet accidentally wipe themselves out when their experiments collapse the planet’s core, leaving the worker drones to do whatever their sentient minds want. That is, until a group of disassembly drones—murder drones—arrive from corporate and begin slaying all the rogue worker drones. Now, the worker drones hide in a colony behind impenetrable blast doors. But Uzi, self-described as an “edgy teen” robot, longs to fight back and reclaim their lives on the broken planet. So Uzi looks to take revenge on the humans who sent the murder drones there.
The first series on the channel was Meta Runners, which focuses on a futuristic human society that revolves around video games. The best gamers, called Meta Runners, replace their limbs with artificial ones to boost their performance. They become famous celebrities, while the worst gamers are forced to live in a society that doesn’t care for them. It’s also a society into which Tari wakes, suffering from amnesia. And it’s not long before she discovers that for whatever reason, she has a strange ability to enter into video games, letting her master them faster than anyone else. This catches the attention of an evil CEO named Lucks who wants to study her in order to profit off of her unique ability. And that ominous turn of events prompts Tari to escape and learn how she might fight back.
The final series on the channel is Sunset Paradise, which stars Meggy Spletzer. She hopes to relax at popular vacation spot Port Aurora, home to the famous Phoenix Festival. The event is sacred to the inhabitants of this tropical paradise and only occurs once a year. Fortunately for Meggy, it’s only one week away. Unfortunately for Meggy, the festival has also attracted the attention of a large number of criminals, and the local sheriff is a mere child hoping to keep his community safe. Meggy can’t just sit back and watch these criminals take over, so she and the sheriff team up to take this crime syndicate down.
The makers of GLITCH hope to provide an accessible platform and publicity for indie creators who otherwise wouldn’t be able to get their stories out there.
Indeed, the stories on the channel are impressive, and they come with many likeable characters. Some story arcs focus on helping others through difficult times, and characters put their lives on the line to protect others.
[Note: Content concerns described below are separated by each story.]
The Amazing Digital Circus was inspired by the short horror story I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, which depicts a sentient computer that tortures the remnants of humanity for eternity. The GLITCH version of this story contains creepy characters, the most notable being Caine himself. Violence is generally of the slapstick variety, though the characters seemingly do die if they abstract, as we see one person do in the first episode. We do hear other unsettling comments, such as a monster who asks, “Is it really murder if it’s delicious?” One character doesn’t remember her own gender, and some NPCs refer to Caine as “god.” Crude language is censored (apparently part of Caine attempting to program the circus as appropriate for children), and characters who try have black censor bars appear over their mouths. However, God’s name is still used in vain.
Murder Drones is arguably the most adult of the four short films. Though the main characters are robots, they’re still sentient, and we see a lot of them decapitated, shot or gutted. When they’re dispatched, the robots bleed black oil; the murder drones take pleasure in killing worker drones. We hear the unsettling screams of worker drones, paired with grim lines of dialogue such as, “Don’t feed me my entrails in front of my family.” We also see some human gore, too, as well as grotesque monsters made out of flesh. A church, pentagram and cross all come into play, too, as do eldritch creations. And the robots use words such as “a–” and “h—,” and misuse God’s name.
Meta Runners contains animated violence and explosions that can scratch up its subjects and cause them to bleed. Characters use magic while playing certain video games. The occasional sexual joke is cracked, and two lesbian characters share a kiss. Foul language includes “a–, “d–n,” “h—” and “p-ss.” God’s name is used in vain, including instances followed by “d–n.”
Sunset Paradise is more child-friendly than its counterparts. The threat of violence and death are still present, but the story’s slapstick style makes it less threatening—especially when some of its villains are sentient potatoes. Still, one potato is choked; there’s also some gunfire and explosions. Another potato gets kicked in the crotch, making another enemy utter a comment about potatoes not having critical bits.
GLITCH just may be the newest way that indie animators can put their stories in front of millions of people. Based on the sizable fanbase behind The Amazing Digital Circus, there may be merit to that idea.
But don’t be fooled by the child-like look of that story. While wacky, it likewise contains plot points and humor better suited for adults. The other releases on the channel, to varying degrees, have similar content problems.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
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