Reddit AMA Recap: Maxime Simonet 2


We once again come back with Maxime Simonet who at this point is now an Adult Swim regular, French Native and creator of Gemusetto: Death Beat(s), and Machu Picchu with a new AMA where he talks about some big changes after the success of his show, answers fan questions and such as creative inspirations & parodies, and the thought process behind adding his show to the Toonami block at one point…


On the Inspirations behind Makasu, and the reasons behind his promiscuity?

he was literally based off an outfit I wore to work one day and had my intern draw me in. there are parts of him inspired by myself, stories of my grandpa, my own dad issues I ended up weaving in there, but they’re all exaggerated in the end and not really me. in the end, in season one he kinda represents an isolationist individualistic white imperialism. which might be based off my own secular and reclusive and western ways but taken to a huge tragic extreme. and season 2 I just really wanted him to have a flipped arc where everything is about self-improvement and the little dumb things you have to do to be happy and make friends and not hate everything. so that was definitely inspired by my own social anxieties and being a loser and sometimes bitter. but it’s more based on what I see is a human being is and less like “he’s me” though he’s definitely kinda me but also not. does that make sense? Makasu’s horniness has always been noncommittal. that’s part of his problem and reluctance to have long-lasting connections. he used people for a long long long time, because his own family is broken and because he’s just greedy for validation and attention and power. this is why the chance of him having future offspring had to be done as the vestiges of the Super Sportsman Project, IMO. because I would never see him settling down. he’s pansexual, possibly aromantic. shit like that.


How are you feeling about Death Beat(s) having been on Toonami now that you’ve had more time to digest it?

One of the big reasons id love to make more on Toonami, however, is to collaborate with Jason more and find out what he would think would work because the format of the show (serialized, nerdy lore, melodrama, and action) is more up his alley than just straight comedic premises for normal adult swim. After we did the adult swim summer showdown Matt Harrigan thought it would be fun to do it with Toonami too, and we had a regularly streaming Toonami show already. it was fun to do honestly because the conversations were really fun and enlightening to me and not just us laced in irony comedy nerds goofing around. I also act differently if im not trying to make matt laugh. that said the streams department has been cut down with many other web things by at&t in this last year. there’s some streamlining of the digital presence or something of those properties so because of that I can’t guarantee something like that will happen again 🙁

On his favorite part in making Season 2.

I specifically had a moment when I saw the first pass of animation on the final episode, which I revised a lot in the edit and rerecorded a lot of lines for, and I was nervous about (duh). and sure, it’s so fucking dense and sentimental in its own dumb way while also going too fast but the first time I saw it I teared up some at the finale and I felt proud of myself.

if you can’t make yourself laugh and cry at your own shit why do it ya know? and that was one of the few times I moved myself especially with something so silly as an episode where a dead sportsman fights a Christian scientist and his robotic screamo lemur.


On favorite songs from the soundtrack, and plans for releasing the soundtrack from seasons 1 and 2.

Season one, like a sports ball. season two might be the ant brain song about being a bitch it makes me rock out every time. There were discussions, but it’s not really in my hands. however, the composer of season 2 (and most of the theme songs in season 1) and I are maybe gonna make a Bandcamp of chill jazzy instrumental versions of songs called Gemusetto: Macchiato


On the possibility of doing cameos for other Adult Swim shows.

I’d love to if someone asks. I was in the last 12 oz mouse as pineapple cops but I didn’t think I did well 🙁


In a post-covid19 world would it be possible for you to make more public appearances for your fans to meet you, get autographs, and etc?

I like meeting fans, especially when we’d broadcast at comic con and stuff. someone saw me wearing a Makasu shirt an intern made me once and they were like “where’d you get that” and I said my intern made it and they were like “that’s the guy!” it was dope then we got married


On watching any sort of Anime for the inspiration behind the parodies including a recent Yu Yu Hakusho and a My Hero Academia Parody.

It’s super Jojo’s inspired in death beat(s). harkening to stands and pokemon with the musical robots. but, in the end, I started with just a character arc I wanted to pursue and parody came naturally from my instincts and influences! there’s definitely an inspiration from a lot of those main whiney boys. I remember I had a hard time watching my hero while working on season 1 because the delivery of Deku lines was exactly what I was kinda lampooning and it started driving me insane hahaha


On the possibility of seeing more games like Gemusetto: Machu Skichu?

if people haven’t played it ill link it here gemusetto.com I would … really like to I think. I got in some hot water for doing it (just scolded) cause I went on my own with some friends to make something that TECHNICALLY isn’t my own property. but it was really fun. if I could make it my full-time job for a while and I had people I could pay to code something cool I’d love to make something a bit more experimental like Undertale. I lack the chops especially on my own. but the world of my show lends itself to dumb video game shit.

On if his shows Tender Touches and Gemusetto take place in the same world?

No, they are part of a larger multiverse.

On the chances of reviving the Adult Swim Streams?

me too. I stream with my friend ty some times on twitch under twitch.tv/hamfreeze that’s fun but it’s not the same off the wall messing around cutting edge local access shit. but I still like it keeps me sane now that I’m suddenly not broadcasting every fucking day

Did you prefer working on the long-form episodes of Machu Picchu or the shorter format of Death Beats? Do you think we might see a return to longer episodes in the future?

I’m not sure what I liked more. season 1 becomes so weird in format and in the timing of making it (made over like 8 months at most) that different cool cheats and experiments and things are both necessary and possible. season 2 felt super rushed and dense in both good and bad ways to me- I like that it’s a complicated nerdy show that happens really fucking fast but also id love to try and slow down and get to the core of what I think I want to do with the show. id love to try 22 minutes next and focus on “vibe” if I get to make more. haha.

And finally, what’s the best way the fans can show their support for a potential season 3 of Gemusetto or any other project you work on? And if they’ll ever be a DVD Release?

Man, idk give good amazon reviews and send your bras to Jason’s house and say you’ll steal him from his life and show him what love is again, but I highly doubt the idea of it being on DVD but you can burn one yourself!