With every month, Netflix releases new shows to keep their catalogue fresh. Amongst the many offerings, there’s one that catches my eye the most. It’s a tale about one unforgettable egg character, that is Gudetama in his new CG live-action hybrid extravaganza which premiered on the 13th December.
For those who don’t know where Gudetama originates, it’s a character created by the Japanese company Sanrio. The name itself is derived from the word gudegude that means lazy and tamago or egg. Therefore, Gudetama can be translated as “lazy egg”. First appeared in a TBS TV program called Asa Chan! (Morning chance!). It would then continuously aired until in 2017, Gudetama had nearly 1000 episodes.
In December 2022, the official Sanrio Gudetama Twitter account had over one million followers. It is the most out of all Sanrio characters. So, it would be no surprise that it’ll get a Netflix show made. However, the decision to make it a CG live-action instead of an anime is a surprise to me since the risk that it would be a bust is much greater. Surprisingly, I don’t hate the decision. Rather, I really enjoyed the heck out of this series.
It’s done so masterfully that I can’t list everything that is done right. The comedy is golden, the characters are kawaii and unique, the voice acting is superbly done. All of it is executed well and there’s nothing to hate. Except, there is one small thing.
The story.
It’s not horrible per se, but to say it’s a masterpiece is a bit of a stretch. It starts off with a straightforward premise. Gudetama and one other egg who called itself as Shakipiyo is trying to find their mother hen. The search commence even though Gudetama doesn’t believe that they’re born from a chicken. Nonetheless, Shakipiyo pushed on and brought Gudetama with it across a rigorous journey filled with conflicts and resolve.
And it will stay straightforward the whole time.
No plot twists, no drama, it’s like the story is made just enough so that the series has something going on. Something to keep the wheel going. You could see the plot from a mile away. I feel like they missed out on a potential by fleshing out more of the characters that they come across and introducing some character development to them. By not doing it this way, they’re more focusing on the interactions between Shakipiyo and Gudetama itself.
Which thankfully, is so good that it covers the lacking part of the story. The interactions are funny and interesting. They are showing their relationship with each other growing and growing every time a conflict arises. I absolutely adore when Shakipiyo wants to do something but Gudetama is too lazy to care yet Shakipiyo just does it and forcefully brings Gudetama. Especially in the later episodes when Shakipiyo is in trouble and out of nowhere Gudetama casually hands the thing Shakipiyo needed. Now that’s character growth!
Overall, don’t go in with too much expectations regarding the story in Gudetama: An Eggcellent Adventure. This show is not meant to mind blow you with twisting plots and huge conflicts spanning multiple seasons. No, this show is perfect to accompany you during a lunch break at work. Not to mention, each episode is only about 10 minutes so it’s definitely a perfect bite-sized watch.
Our Score (9.5/10)
Title: Gudetama: An Eggcellent Adventure
Original Creator: Sanrio
Animation Studio: OLM, L’ESPACE FILM
Director: Motonori Sakakibara
Casts: Shunsuke Takeuchi, Seiran Fukushima, Ishikawa Seiya, Soshina, Minagawa Sarutoki
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