Currently on high-atus.
Major Lazer is an American animated television series based on the electronic music project of the same name, created by DJ and record producer Diplo, Ferry Gouw and Kevin Kusatsu. Quoth the AV Club, “Though it riffs on one of the crudest periods in TV animation, Major Lazer remixes the chunky outlines, washed-out colors, and fantastical content of ’80s Saturday-morning fare into something that’s psychedelic on purpose”. Basically, each episode is an animated, ten-minute music video.
The show is broadcast by FXX as part of their Animation Domination block. A sneak peek first episode aired October 27, 2014, while the series proper premiered on April 16, 2015.
Major Lazer provides examples of:
- Adventures in the Bible: Lady Rothchild’s attempt to become the mother of humanity takes her and Major Lazer to the Garden of Eden, where she holds Adam and Eve hostage.
- Advertised Extra: The head vampire in the opening credits dies in what’s technically the third episode of the series.
- All There in the Manual: The official website contains loads of information on the characters
(even those who have yet to appear in the series). - Anachronism Stew: Happens as a result of Major Lazer and Lady Rothchild’s era-hopping fight in “Throwback Thursday”.
- And Show It to You: Spooky Dookie’s M.O.
- Animesque: It's as if Toei co-produced it like they did with so many American cartoons back in the '80s.
- Arm Cannon: The Major himself. Also his nemesis General Rubbish, who has a buzz saw for a right hand.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: “But I’m here to tell you Spooky Dookie isn’t real, Rayray died of natural causes, and this will be the sickest prom ever” - Professor Doctor.
- Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence: Dr. Nerd during "Treble in Paradise". He's inside the music now.
- Asian and Nerdy According to the character sheets, Blkmrkt is Chinese-Jamaican.
- Back-to-Back Badasses: Major Lazer and Goosh do this while battling Suckoids at the climax of "I’m Gonna Git You Suckoid".
- Bland-Name Product: Splurt Soda (a Squirt Expy) seems to be popular in Jamaica.
- Buffy Speak: Invoked by Double Cup, who refers to the main (codeine-tainted) Splurt tank as "this 200 mile acre gallon of Purple Splurt". Seeing as how he's voiced by (and based on) Riff Raff, who uses such non-sequiturs regularly, plus the fact that he's probably high on lean when delivering the line, it's not surprising.
- But Now I Must Go: Goosh at the end of his introductory episode.
- Casual Time Travel: People with enough money can make “Throwback Thursday” a literal phrase - Lady Rothschild operates a time travel agency to take people back to the day/moment they want to relive.
- Catholic School Girls Rule: The school’s denomination is debatable, but Penny and her classmates definitely have the uniforms.
- Chekhov's Gun: Major Lazer helps a group of Penny’s classmates get to a concert after their car breaks down on the side of the road at the start of “K-POP!!”. The same car gets hot-wired in the episode’s climax to run down Evil Lazer before he kills Major.
- Dirty Old Man: In “Throwback Thursday,” President Whitewall spends his week of time traveling drinking and partying with hot ladies and doing pretty much nothing else.
- Dreadlock Rasta: Old Rasta and Major Lazer.
- Dystopia: According to press releases the main setting is a dystopian Jamaica. The state of the most of the world has yet to be seen, but Ibiza at least is inhospitable.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Part of Major Lazer's Powerful played in the background of Penny and Ryland's "Vampire Weekend" hookup nearly 8 months before the full track was officially released.
- Elaborate Underground Base: President Whitewall has one under mansion. He primarily uses it to get away from partying vampires.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Whitewall’s character bio notes that “somewhere deep down [he] probably loves his daughter, Penny”. Probably.
- Evil Counterpart: Evil Lazer, a robot who exists only to kill Major Lazer and looks disturbingly like his target crossed with General Rubbish.
- Evil Dictator's Beautiful Daughter: President Whitewall isn't much to look at, but his daughter, Penny, is pretty cute.
- Fantasy Kitchen Sink: Eleven episodes in, and we’ve seen robots/cyborgs, vampires, mammoth sand worms, zombies, and Adam and Eve (which hints at the presence of some sort of higher being)…
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: The newspaper Pres. Whitewall is reading at the start of “Vampire Weekend” explains the two-day eclipse phenomenon seconds before it happens on the show.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Blkmrkt cements his status as one in “Throwback Thursdays” by turning an MP3 player into a portable time travel device.
- Her Boyfriend's Jacket: Ryland gives Penny his jacket at the end of "Vampire Weekend" as he lays dying.
- Hologram: Major Lazer’s club is called Dance Hallogram, so naturally his stage dancers are digital.
- In Their Own Image: Lady Rothschild’s goal in “Throwback Thursday”
- In Touch with His Feminine Side: Blkmrkt’s “feminine sensibilities” lead to him being one of the few boys to get brainwashed by K-Pop’s music.
- Karmic Death: Spooky Dookie, who killed teen girls by ripping out their hearts, gets his own heart ripped out by Penny.
- Made of Explodium: Poor K-Pop…
- Marijuana Is LSD: Or it is when it's been laced with acid.
- Meaningful Name: According to his bio, General Rubbish "fails at every evil thing he does, making him not just a bad guy, but a bad employee". His cybernetic parts are also made from trashcans.
- Mushroom Samba: Happens to Penny as a result of smoking the aforementioned acid-laced pot in "Bad Seed".
- '90s Anti-Hero: The Major Laser's character design certainly has elements of this.
- Odd Job God: At the end "Escape from Rave Island", we are introduced to the DJ God after the island is destroyed.
- Our Presidents Are Different: President Whitewall has shades of President Scheming and President Jerkass.
- Our Time Machine Is Different: Lady Rothschild’s is a pocket watch; Major Lazer’s is an iPod-looking MP3 player.
- Our Zombies Are Different: The zombies dress like punk rockers. According to Major Lazer, they were all killed in the Zombie War of 1984. Lady Rothchild's interference with the time stream brings them back.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Fizzy gets another mention just for being so dang adorable.
- Ridiculously Human Robots: K-Pop, who is capable of feeling love and sadness.
- Sandworm: The Suckoids are a variation.
- Shaped Like Itself: According to Old Rasta's character bio, "He's old, he's a rasta".
- She-Fu: Lady Rothschild in "Throwback Thursday"
- Shock and Awe: The head vampire uses it to fight Major Lazer at the climax of “Vampire Weekend”.
- Ship Tease: Penny/Blkmrkt. He seems to have a crush on her, and they go to prom together at the end of "The Legend of Spooky Dookie".
- Shout-Out:
- "I’m Gonna Git You Suckoid" is this to the film Tremors.
- "Double Cup" had one to Sailor Moon, of all things.
- In “K-POP!!” General Rubbish tells Dr. Acid to “Move bitch, get out the way!” (a nod to the Ludacris song of the same name)
- Naturally, the episode "K-POP!!" and its eponymous character are shout outs to the Korean popular music scene.
- The episode, "Vampire Weekend", is a reference to the band.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: In stark contrast to the rest of the cast, President Whitewall drops at least two F-bombs per episode.
- Sleeves Are for Wimps Major: Lazer. Somewhat justified since one of his arms is a frickin' laser cannon.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: In “Throwback Thursday” Major Lazer starts his morning routine to a rather mellow tune. The track keeps playing through an ensuing zombie horde attack.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: “OK, your homework for tonight to go to sleep like normal. Because everything is normal”.
- Take That!: In "I, Killscreen", the titular villain wants to be paid in Bitcoins for killing Major Lazer. General Rubbish agrees since "it's not even real money".
- The Tragic Rose: Spooky Dookie carries one around. The one he carried around back when he was still alive was more Something about a Rose.
- Time Travel Episode: “Throwback Thursday”
- Time Travel for Fun and Profit: How Lady Rothschild makes a living
- Transformation Sequence: Penny gets an odd, magical girl-esque transformation in “Double Cup”. She gains a Leotard of Power and a mohawk.
- The Quincy Punk: Zombies dress like this.
- Vampire Variety Pack: The ancient race of Vampire Vampires are a theatrical, cape-wearing, European-accented bunch, while the young, sexy Vampire race acts like scene/rave kids. The two sects have been fighting since the beginning of Vampire Time.
- Villains Out Shopping: When Major Lazer breaks into Double Cup's HQ, he finds Double Cup in the middle of ordering some seafood takeout.
- Vocal Dissonance: With 23-year-old John Boyega playing 11/12-year-old Blkmrkt with basically his natural speaking voice, this was bound to happen.
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Pres. Whitewall bluntly asks Major Lazer why he doesn't just kill him when they finally meet face to face in the past. Major Lazer tells him that getting him back to present (apparently alive) is more important.
- Would Not Hit a Girl: Major Lazer says as much in “K-POP!!” when he refuses to physically fight Penny's classmates.
- Your Head Asplode: Major Lazer and Penny to the zombies at the start of “Throwback Thursdays”
