Do you ever watch something that blows away your expectations completely? When I was watching this short series, I was blown away by how something so simple can be so complex at the same time. When I watch a flash cartoon, I expect something funny, silly, and sometimes downright vulgar. Typically, flash animation is not very provocative...however, this series stepped into that fray and did what most flash animators fail to do...tell a captivating story.
The story primarily revolves around a female rabbit named Doki who meets a male cat named Nabi at a vending machine. She immediately becomes infatuated with him while he tries to avoid her knowing that it's socially unacceptable for a cat and rabbit to fall in love. In theory, it's a pretty simple story, but the societal issues of the story really pull at the heart strings when it comes to their relationship and really give the story life.
Here's what I think makes this a great story...
First of all, the entire series has zero dialogue. All that is shown are voiceless, animated characters in motion to the sound of music. It's the classic example of how a picture tells a thousand words because each episode is 3-5 minutes, has no dialogue, and tells a beautiful story of romance, friendship, and societal views and change. The music plays an integral role as it essentially tells the story with no dialogue. Even if you can't understand the music, the tone it sets along with the flow of the story helps set the mood.
Secondly, I was absolutely stunned at how it approached the topic of intercultural/interracial relationships in society. While I'm not sure how it is viewed in Korea (the origin of the cartoon), in the United States, intercultural and interracial relationships were taboo for quite a period of time. Among some cultures and societies, it still is, but generally speaking it is more socially accepted now. While it is more socially acceptable now, there was a time when it wasn't and you could argue explains in some nice detail about how that sort of society works.
With that being said, I could argue that there are some pretty minor flaws. The series really didn't go into much detail as to WHY these relationships are taboo. In most cultures, there's usually a good reason...some reasons being because of a superiority complex...some being political reasons...and so on and so on. Here's a really minor complaint for me but I really felt like this was too short. There really wasn't that much "character development" between Doki and Nabi...as well as with the side characters. It's so vague in parts that I had a difficult time trying to connect the Jjinta Set (the three thug rabbits) and their relationship to Doki. However, I will say this...the character development that is there...is FANTASTIC. I'm not sure if this was only 5 episodes equaling 23 minutes in length because the story ended there...but I can assure you there's more to this story that can be told in more than 23 minutes. A minor complaint that I had that I didn't use to affect the score is I really wish there were English subtitles for the songs. Perhaps there are and I haven't found them but it really would help out in regards to understanding the minor nuances within the story.
I'm going to come out and say this right now. Of all the flash animated cartoons I've ever watched, this series is the best flash animation series...EVER. I enjoy my share of flash animation cartoons, mostly for comedy. However, I've never seen one that's had such a captivating love story with the addition of social commentary. I will admit, I shed a few tears watching this and considering that was done by flash animation, that's impressive. I will admit, the first two episodes tested my patience a bit. I liked them, but didn't necessarily love them. The third episode is when the ball really got going for me and by the fourth and fifth episodes, I was in love with this series. I would recommend this series to anyone that's ever found themselves in an intercultural/interracial relationship, whether it be love, friendship, or even on the political spectrum to give this a watch. It's deep despite it's simplicity and it really shows how the power of love can change friendships and how it can change society for the greater good.
