Season Review: Your One Nikita

 

 

Overview:

Nikita is living her best life as far as being a financially struggling twenty-something female in Dublin, Ireland can be. Living with her overweight and over-ambitious co-worker, and a boyfriend who is easily influenced, Nikita has everything she needs. That is until spray tan becomes a commodity or there are free tickets to Coachella to be had. When living in impoverished Dublin, a ruthlessness is needed for survival.  

Our Take:

Before we get into this review, I should be honest about my ignorance when it comes to Your One Nikita. To start off, I have zero context for Irish animation, never mind Irish multimedia in general. I would be surprised if I could name one film… I can’t.

Additionally, that makes me oblivious to Irish culture and society. Aside from partaking in St. Patrick’s Day festivities, I have no idea what life is like in Dublin. I mean, I am to understand that it involves plenty of leprechauns, clovers, and gingers, yeah?

With that all said, Your One Nikita is unique to my uncultured Canadian self. It offers a glimpse of what daily life is like in Ireland. As much as Corner Gas opens the world up to life in my own country. Hardly at all, that is. But it is my first exposure to Irish comedy and animation. The perspective just happens to be from the mind of the hilarious writer, Aoife Dooley. Please, don’t ask me to pronounce that.

Aoife Dooley is an Irish influencer, author, illustrator, and public speaker. Needless to say, she is a big deal. She is a major advocate for autism awareness having been diagnosed herself in her adult life.  Your One Nikita is the animated version of books she has released starring the same characters.  

Again, I have zero context for how important or exciting this show was for her fans on the island. But the series was released on RTE, which is Ireland’s version of Britain’s BBC or Canada’s CBC. Culturally, the show must have some significance, as these networks are how international countries combat the Americanization of our media.

At the risk of sounding insensitive, I loved watching the thug life of ne’er-do-wells in Dublin. The accents alone are entrancing for me. But I have always been a fan of conversational British style comedy. It makes for a clever and unique little show. “Planet Coolock” was my favourite episode as it is narrated like a nature channel documentary, showcasing what it’s like for a girl being propositioned on the streets of Dublin. But, Kanye West’s appearance in the latest episode “It Ain’t Easy Fightin’ Yeezy” was a highlight moment.

Unfortunately, this season is limited to 6 episodes with a running time of 5 minutes or so. Not nearly enough to get a full feel for what this show could be. However, the animation is impressive for being limited in its resources. The three-colour tone and simple illustrations help to make the show feel more like the original comics. There is a smoothness that you wouldn’t expect, though, with realistic head turns and movements that higher budget animations struggle to achieve.

This is the part of the review where I normally make my recommendations. As far as this series goes, I would say it is worth a watch.  Especially for international viewers such as myself. Considering the lack of Irish media available, it is always worth trying something that you usually wouldn’t think of. There is no denying that Aoife Dooley is hilarious, and she puts her characters in the most unexpected circumstances. Worth half-an-hour of your time for a unique view of the world we live in.