Review: Ballmastrz: 9009 “Infinite Hugs: Cold Embrace of the Bloodless Progenitors!”

 

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Season two of Ballmastrz: 9009 begins with those eternal underdogs, the Leptons, finally getting to taste a little success and know what it feels like to be one of the big shots. Efforts on the field may suddenly be positive for the Leptons, but this new success causes certain characters to look inward in surprising ways. Ace becomes especially vulnerable when he laments the fact that he can’t share his team’s victories with any kind of biological family. Ace has learned to value the friends that surround him, but the absence of a real family becomes too much for the emotional boy. Eager to end Ace’s pain (and to also silence his yammering), Gaz and Babyball concoct an elaborate scheme to give Ace the family that he’s always wanted. As noble as Babyball and Gaz’ intentions may be, the new family that they construct for Ace becomes very complicated very quickly and the lot of them all learn an important lesson about family.

 

Our Take:

During the first season of Adult Swim’s woefully under-discussed, Ballmastrz: 9009, the mere concept of victory seemed like an impossibility for the plucky Leptons. Yes, they gained a ringer of a player in the form of Gaz Digzy, but the bulk of the first season of Ballmastrz looked at Gaz’s reluctant integration into the Leptons, while also slowly introducing audiences to this insane universe and the characters that populate it. By the end of that first season, the Leptons are more united than ever before and they’ve finally gotten to suckle upon that sweet teat of victory. This newfound success doesn’t immediately go to the Leptons’ heads, but it does give them a slightly different drive this season that is evident right from the season’s premiere.

Season one of Ballmastrz: 9009 ended on a cliffhanger of sorts with Gaz’s future with the Leptons up in the air. “Infinite Hugs: Cold Embrace of the Bloodless Progenitors!” doesn’t try to milk out that conclusion and instead returns to the status quo and better serves this time on a new outrageous obstacle. It may be back to business as usual for these Leptons, but Ace learns that with this newfound sense of confidence that he actually feels lonelier than before in some major ways. Ace has become eternally grateful for the makeshift family that he’s been able to cobble together with his fellow Leptons. When matters become hard (or when they’re down points in a game), the Leptons will have Ace’s back, but he finds himself hungry for further stability and encouragement. Ace becomes sensitive to his orphaned status and pines for a real family that he can share his accomplishments with and who will be proud of him.

The lack of a biological family in Ace’s life isn’t a problem that’s as simple as making a phone call and ending some arbitrary estrangement. Since Ace’s biological parents are gone, Gaz and Babyball come up with the equally clever and selfish plan to create a new family for Ace that will not only be there for him, but also help absorb some of the needy kid’s desire for acknowledgement. Because this is Ballmastrz: 9009, of course Gaz and Babyball’s plan spirals wildly out of control and Ace’s new guardians turn into a much more volatile situation that they expected.

Gaz and Babyball resort to “weird science” to create Ace the perfect parents, but because Gaz and Babyball are behind this scheme Ace is kept in the dark regarding his parents’ true nature and is protected by a heavy layer of deception. While these two may look like ideal caretakers for the boy, these automatons quickly take their immense love for Ace too far. Ace is thrilled to have a family, but he begins to learn that love can hurt, both figuratively and literally, as his new parents dote too much affection on him.

Ace goes through a difficult process as he grapples with these new feelings and the episode effectively builds an increasing sense of dread as the love from Ace’s parents becomes more extreme. This culminates in their attempts to push the calculated, eternal love of robots onto Ace and turn him into one of them, but thankfully Ace’s fellow Leptons are able to show up in time. At this point the premiere breaks out into a sprawling battle, but before things get this far “Infinite Hugs” does some impressive work with Ace’s odd parents. Their “rage theme” that continually intensifies is a great touch and all of the allusions to Terminator don’t hurt either.

In spite of how these new guardians were created to care for him, he understands that Gaz and Babyball are strangely greater parental figures for him. The Leptons are the real family that he needs. It may take an extreme, roundabout way to get to this point, but it’s a nice message to hang the season premiere on. Even though Ace doesn’t end the episode with anything more than what he starts it with, he now feels more confident and proud of the scrappy life that he’s built for himself.

Ballmastrz: 9009 is one of the few television shows out there that can be enjoyed nearly just as much if it’s muted. The series features fun, weird characters and unique storylines, but one of the greatest assets of Ballmastrz (and much like Superjail! that came before it) is the eye-popping animation. Christy Karacas has assembled a phenomenal team at Titmouse that are living proof of why traditional, hand-drawn animation still has its merits. It feels like every thirty seconds of Ballmastrz: 9009 is from an entirely different cartoon. This premiere episode rapidly swaps between animations styles as if it will die if it doesn’t. There’s an undeniable adrenaline that drives this series forward, which is all to say that the show’s second season looks even more polished and impressive than what came before.

Ballmastrz: 9009 is a show that never slacked off, but this premiere makes it obvious that this season will operate on an even higher level. Moments like the Leptons’ success montage that begins the episode or Ace’s adventures with his parents (complete with his numerous fatalities) are glorious achievements. Additionally, the giant battle against the laser spiders that caps off the premiere literally made me shout out in excitement and shake my head in disbelief over what I was watching. The episode may rush through many of its action sequences, but between the sports sequence that starts things and the fight scene that ends everything there’s just a ton that’s fit into these eleven minutes. Ballmastrz: 9009 is pure crack for animation junkies and this season is going to make everyone overdose so hard.

“Infinite Hugs: Cold Embrace of the Bloodless Progenitors!” wisely begins the season with an emotional story that doesn’t just focus on Ace, but how he’s also the glue that helps hold together the whole Lepton family. This makes for an exceptional start to the second season of Christy Karacas’ Ballmastrz: 9009, which already looks like it may be able to top the heights of its freshman year and turn into even more of a spectacle. This is absolutely what Ballmastrz should be doing and this new level of fearlessness holds great possibilities for the storytelling and scope of this season.

Now get started on that awkward, oversexualized Lepton fanart, everybody! Flypp and Bob the alien aren’t going to ship themselves!