Thoughts of a First-Time Viewer

So I'm 3 episodes in (about to start episode 4) and so far this series seems really cute, pretty lighthearted. I've heard it gets a bit dark, but so far the animation is breathtaking and the characters are adorable that I can't imagine anything bad happening lmao.

I'm not gonna check this thread until I've finished the series, so spoil away in the comments lol.

EDIT 1: OK I said I wouldn't update till I finished but I have thoughts. I've reached the part where riko and reg fight ozen. Firstly, those corpse eater things were really creepy, and so was the cube ressurecter thing. Also, there's like FAR too much child nudity in this show it's really weird like why have 3 different people been threatened with "being strung up naked" these guys are like 12 😭. Anyways, so far so good, im still not reading any of your comments lol. It still seems cute ash

EDIT 2: OK they've just been left in the forest by Ozen (just finished ep 7) and I'm worried now. This is the exact kind of set up that invites fucked up scenes lol. Also ig I should tell ppl how I've stumbled on the show. The first time I ever heard of this show was when Emily Rudd (live action Nami) mentioned it was her fave, and ppl in the comments were saying she had good taste. I asked a friend about it and he said I should watch it but that it gets dark, so here we are lol. I've kinda pieced together that this show's a LOT darker than I thought, so now I'm really nervous. I don't think anything will happen to the riko and reg, but maybe some side characters get the axe?

EDIT 3: life is pain and suffering...srsly wtf was that....who made this bruh.... I've only just finished episode 10, so who knows what the consequences of this will be going forward but holy shit talk about whiplash 😭. I felt SO relieved once they finished the survivor trial unscathed only to be launched into this so suddenly. It can't get worse than that right (???) There's still a lot left so I'll press forward for now but I'm a lot more uncomfortable watching lol l. Also shout out to episode 9, underrated king. When riko was crawling through the caves trying to escape i actually felt uncomfortable physically, and it gave her a good chance to shine. So far, it's felt like the reg show through and through, so it was nice to see something from her.

EDIT 4: Been a while, but I finally finished season 1! Thannks to u/Odd_Plastic1810, I'll be watching the movie before moving to Season 2. The end of season 1 was my favourite stretch of the show so far. Mitty was a heartbreaking character, I didn't expect I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream tones here, especially not for a small girl, but I suppose that's my naivety speaking. Also excited to see more of Bondrewd. He seems like the kind of piece of shit who'll be morbidly fascinating to watch. While to a much greater extent than I anticipated, the Mitty incident kind of reaffirms some of my expectations going in - the horrible shit happens to side characters to maintain the status quo. Not a criticism, mind, just the structure I'm picking up. On to the movie!

EDIT 4: finished da movie 🫠🫠🫠. Definitely my favourite stretch by far. Thrilling from beginning to end. Many shows lack tension because you know the main characters won't die, while the side characters who will die have major red flags above them. I think it's the same with MiA - I know the main trio will survive, and I figured Prushka was dead. The way it maintains tension is by inflicting pain on our protagonists, which is crazy effective.

Bondrewd left me with a feeling I've never felt before. He seems completely inhuman - devoid of emotion. I found it difficult to get angry wth him because it would be like blaming an earthquake or tsunami for taking lives. Reg's torture scene might have been the most harrowing moment yet, not one I'd soon forget. I've already made a start on S2, so I'll update later.