REVIEW: ‘My Daemon’ Offers Heart and Fun Creature Designs

To its credit, My Daemon doesn’t look like any other animation production currently airing. A visually distinctive story with fabulous creature design and smart worldbuilding, its strongest asset also becomes its greatest stumble. Because as strong as the animation can be, especially in background details and landscapes along with the design of the many daemons we meet, there’s no denying the clunky nature of the human characters whose movements harken back to an older style of animation. It’s a shame because there’s plenty here that’s worthwhile and it’s nice to see Netflix continuing its trend this year of releasing animated films and television series that highlight skills from around the world, from Nimona to Pluto and Blue Eye Samurai. That said, the result of My Daemon is a mixed bag — it’s packed to the brim with good ideas but lacks the finesse to execute them. 

Created by Thai production company Studio Igloo, the series follows Kento (Miyuri Shimabukuro), an elementary schooler, and his daemon, Anna (Kokoro Kikuchi). The series, based on the original story by Hirotaka Adachi, is set shortly following a nuclear blast that causes Earth to briefly overlap with hell, polluting the air with sandstorms from hell. Anna is a result of this overlap, along with many other daemons that have arrived on earth, much to the dismay of most of the population who see them as threats and abominations. It’s what makes Kento such a striking, if naive, character as he only seeks to protect Anna, unable to understand the vitriol she and the other daemons face. Following a devastating accident with his mother, he’ll come to learn more about daemons and people called “daemon users” who wield the powers of the creators by shocking them in submission, and the greater horrors of the world. 

My Daemon improves once we get through the first episode which is too involved in Kento’s story. He’s a likable enough protagonist and believably ignorant of the greater evils of the world, but that naivety makes for a frustrating watch as we know all of the many missteps he’s making. The world outside of his home is increasingly treacherous as he meets friends and foes but also illuminating as he meets others who don’t treat their daemons’ harshly, who don’t just see them as a tool in their own individual plights for wealth. 

The relationship between humans and daemons and the eccentric, ever-changing designs of the daemons make the Pokémon comparison inescapable. Considering the bloodshed and gruesome deaths, it’s certainly Pokémon for an older audience. It’s as if the series looked at the story and the general blueprint and injected it with a sense of realism. Human nature is prone to self-destruction and greed, and My Daemon suggests that harmony between the two species would be hard-won, if not impossible. Add to that the themes of nuclear war and there’s a parallel to Godzilla stories as well as the “monsters” we make and the hubris of attacking creatures born from our own error. Things are further complicated as we come across as many kindly daemons as there are bloodthirsty and violent ones.

Directed by Nat Yoswatananont, the series confronts these ideas confidently. There are genuine thrills in seeing the many designs for all the daemons, with even Anna possessing a grotesque design that settles in the further we move into the season. This perception changes as we begin to view her through Kento’s eyes as the cute and loyal creature she is. Her powers make smart action that doesn’t rely on her or Kento’s abilities so much as their ability to survive no matter the cost. Able to store items in her body, acting as both a container and a portal, Anna’s ability to consume items around her and then use them as either a tool of defense or offense is a clever way to justify their continued survival. The story’s series and ambition only grow as the season moves forward, becoming a bigger, all-encompassing story as the threat of further destruction ramps up. 

It comes down to the animation and whether the stiff movement of the human characters is too distracting. Despite the vibrant backgrounds and creative creature design, there’s no escaping the fact that the human characters fail to engage because of the rote design and animation that lacks the fluidity of movement. It will come down to personal preference and unfortunately, it’s enough of a presence that it’s hard to overlook. 

My Daemon delivers impressive world-building and creature designs despite some distracting, dated animation. That said, the series offers a lot of interesting ideas that both build off of existing tropes while solidifying itself as its own singular story. The corrupt nature of the human condition, post-apocalyptic disarray, and the story of a boy and his pet are all explored with curiosity, just about making up for what it lacks in visuals. 

My Daemon Season 1 is streaming now on Netflix