I'm seriously getting fucking tired of people saying "Indie animation is saving Animation", and Vaislkibum is one of them. As soon as I saw N from Murder Drones in the video, I paused it and thought, "This guy has no standards. I bet he's one of those people who think Murder Drones is a masterpiece just because it's Indie". I swear, "Indie" has become a label to justify mediocrity and avoid criticism. You're allowed to make a pretty mediocre piece of media as long as you're not tied to some evil corporation. This is what these people have been saying for the past two and a half years when they gush over some generic 20-minute pilot on YouTube that will be forgotten in a year because the creators didn't have the budget to continue beyond that pilot.
There's this project called Phantom Fun Arcade (no relation to the character designer of Friday Night Funkin'), and... it's just a Gravity Falls wannabe. In fact, the creator proudly admits to being inspired by Gravity Falls.
I don't mean to be rude, but after seeing the creator's Instagram, I don't think I like this project. Just look at this image. It tells you everything you need to know about this series.
That girl on the right looks like Mabel Pines, but shorter. Seriously, I officially declare Gravity Falls a bad influence.
Ok, so it turns out the creator of Amphibia is making an Indie show. It's called Clara and the Below. From what he's shown, it looks interesting. I was never into Amphibia, but I think it was alright based on the few episodes I saw. I don't know how this one will do. I'm going to wait and see. I have more faith in this series than in the Gravity Falls wannabe.
Look, I don't hate the Indie Renaissance, because every now and then I've seen pilots with potential, like The Art of Murder (no relation to the edgy robot show) or a pilot about dinosaurs whose name I've forgotten. Actually, the Indie Renaissance is very hit-or-miss. It's starting to resemble the Indie videogame scene, where for every FNAF or Undertale, there are 100 games that fail and fade into obscurity. Similarly, for every Digital Circus, there are 100 pilots that fail and fade into obscurity.
And then there's the problem that when a pilot finally becomes a full-fledged show, it falls apart due to the creator's lack of experience in writing and storytelling. Take Murder Drones, for example. Good animation, nice looking characters, a truly captivating setting and atmosphere, it had everything to be a great series, too bad the poor writing ruined it all. J.J. Abrams' Mystery Boxes, MCU-style humor, underdeveloped characters, FNAF-esque lore desperately trying to be theory bait, and tons of plot holes. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, these are the series that are definitely saving animation.
A guy called silverfox made a video on indie animation
Skibidi Toilet (sadly) and the Hellaverse are no longer Indie.