Artiswitch is ultimately about wishes and their consequences, both good and bad. It’s not the typical “be careful what you wish for,” type moral either. It boils down to what the character themselves wished for in order to be happy, and this is shown through both simple and extreme wishes. It leaves a lot up to the viewer to decide on, never outright stating the outcome of a wish as being right or wrong. It never comes across as pretentious either, with many of the issues raised being able to be tied back to real-life situations.
The CGI might not be for everyone, but it allowed for flexible animation and a number of visually impressive scenes when mixed with varying imagery and backgrounds. You can see the animators really using the CGI to their advantage and it pays off. Each episode brings something new to the visuals, and each one is great in its own way. It isn’t afraid to get experimental, and it pays off brilliantly. There is a decent amount of symbolism, and the visuals aren’t all for show. You can look into any episode and find a number of clever visual tricks that match the thoughts and feelings of each character. The music in each episode is just as great. You should’ve seen my surprise when they had a damn Moe Shop song start playing in episode 4.
Overall, Artiswitch far exceeded my expectations. I went in completely blind and by the end of the second episode I was really impressed by everything it offered. Anyone stumbling across this like I did should check it out, at least until the fourth episode. The 8-minute episodes make it easy to consume and it is always straight to the point without ever feeling rushed.
8/10 – I would highly recommend watching it at least for the unique experience it offers.
