Season Review: Feride vs the World Season One

HBO Max certainly has some interesting animated content for us to endure amidst the service’s animation purge.  With most of our favorite childhood cartoons no longer in existence, our focus seems to be on the latest adult animated shows on this streaming service.  Some of the selections are surprisingly good, as far as I’m aware, while others are either forgettable or just plain crappy.  However, there were also a couple that made us ask ourselves, “Why did it exist?” or “How did this get approved by the service?” “Velma“ has been the prominent example of this catalog regarding the adult-rated direction of the Scooby-Doo IP, even before the series premiered.  But this year, I may have found another series that fits snuggly into that particular category, though whether it’s worse than “Velma“ would depend on the viewers’ perspective.

The series I’m referring to was “Feride vs the World”, or just “Feride“ in Turkey, the latest adult animated sitcom, which showcases that living an independent life can be pretty messy.  But at least it’s better than enduring all eight episodes of this unfunny, bland animated sitcom.  “Feride“ functions similarly to other animated sitcoms, in which a fiercely independent woman named Feride faces the daily challenges of her life, including her coworkers, her estranged relationship with Ismet, and her family.  Of course, it isn’t without a few bizarre circumstances that affect her quest for independence, such as the aliens in its seventh episode.  It’s obviously a copy-and-paste routine seen in other adult animated sitcoms like The Simpsons and Family Guy, but what matters most is the execution of these tropes.  It not only needed to deliver some entertainment value in its sitcom-like premises, but also differentiate itself from similar concepts through humor and heart.  

Unfortunately, “Feride“ severely lacks those traits, offering a tedious, mostly unlikable impersonation of other animated sitcoms that handled their respective plots better.  The series is presented in a multi-story format that showcases Feride facing dilemmas similar to those we’ve encountered.  However, as the season progresses, the mini-episode structure becomes more interconnected, with one example being Feride getting back together with her ex-boyfriend, Ismet.  It also underscored its social commentary on our daily lives, particularly in its fifth episode, which highlights how modern businesses affect people’s mental health, including social media influencers.  That episode represents the show reflecting mature themes in a satirical manner. Yet, it fails to inject levity into its all-too-familiar adult humor, including the characters’ perspectives on the COVID-19 pandemic.  Its comedy is not only familiar by design but also lacks the charm and wit to be as fun and weird as it wanted to be.  It’s pretty much a bland retread of these meta jokes that’s neither charismatic nor enjoyable.  In fact, I’d say it’s surprisingly depressing.

It also doesn’t help that its protagonist, Feride, is one of the most unlikable characters I’ve ever seen in adult animation since Mindy Kaling’s take on Velma.  She’s not just boring through her mannerisms and arcs, but she’s also rude and downright despicable through her actions, particularly how she treats Ismet in specific episodes, including the seventh episode.  Most characters like Feride can get away with their insufferable traits because of the direction of their comedy and appeal, but it’s never easy to pull it off.  Feride proved that point by lacking the appeal needed to excuse her actions towards others and her attitude.  I’m also not a fan of the way she sounded in the English dub.  The Turkish version has the series’s creator, Emir Saglam, voicing Feride, but I couldn’t find the actor who voiced her in the English dub.  Based on her voice, it’s probably another male actor who didn’t even try to make her sound like a woman regarding the weak voice direction.  All I know about its English cast is that Mario Joseph D’Anna Jr. voiced Feride’s overly strict father.  I’m assuming it’s to prevent the other actors from being bullied in case viewers didn’t approve of the dub, but even if that’s the case, it’s still pretty annoying to have no information about the dub’s cast.

I’ve seen plenty of animated sitcoms that were either entertaining or just okay.  Despite their formulaic tropes being recycled across different scenarios, they still deliver enough comedy and character moments to make them watchable.  “Feride vs the World“ tries to be like those types of sitcoms, but wound up being beaten to death by the world in the process.  It carries many of the ingredients we’ve often seen in other adult animation projects, including its sitcom premises, social commentary, and adult humor.  However, its execution of these familiar elements falls extremely short in its entertainment value, as well as the wit and heart stemming from its narrative tropes and messages.  It’s a tedious, humorless, and downright insufferable sitcom bogged down by its lackluster English dub and Feride’s unlikable personality, which is another poor example of making a mean-spirited protagonist likable.  There have been a few moments that showed potential in its concept, but they’re not enough to keep the series from being the most forgettable and boring piece of adult animation ever to be released by HBO Max.