When the bugs are big enough, you're the pest.
Humans-B-Gone! by Rev Storm is a 3D animated sci-fi horror comedy about intelligent giant bugs, and the bizarre world of plant-based technology, mutated animals, and messed-up physics that they inhabit.
The webseries can be found on YouTube here
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This series provides examples of:
- Action Girl: All the Hivers (humans who venture into macrovolute territory in search of treasure) are female and capable of handling themselves against giant arthropods.
- Ambiguously Human: Commander Vera looks quite different from the other Hivers under her command and seemingly possesses superhuman strength and speed.
- Art Shift: There are two art styles seen in the series. One is a more cartoonish (but mostly biologically faithful) style that Professor Gregorsa uses to translate things to human sensibilities, the other is a more realistic style that depicts how things would actually look from a human perspective.
- Artistic License – Biology: Discussed by Professor Gregorsa, notably in episode 4 where he admits most of the inaccuracies seen so far (Such as Sophodra, a mantis, being able to make expressions with her eyelids, which as an insect she wouldn't have) were deliberate choices on his part to help the human audience understand and relate to the arthropod characters.Professor Gregorsa: We're not protocules, but to you, we are just...big bugs. We can't speak in a way that you would understand. Like our protocules, we do not communicate with sound. Instead, we use smell—pheromones. So, I've been translating. And for some things, I've had to take some pretty big liberties. Faces made of chitin do not squish or sag. Eyes without eyelids cannot narrow. And it would be extremely impractical for a cockroach to stand on his hind legs and cross the rest behind his wings, to say the least.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: From the humans' point of view, the macrovolutes are giant bugs taller than a building.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: Exaggerated. Macrovolutes are sapient arthropods that are so big that humans are to them what normal bugs are to us.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Professor Gregorsa's whole thing is addressing the viewers directly. The "Ask Gregorsa" videos even go as far as having him answer audience questions about bugs.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Every main episode contains a fragment of text that only shows up for a couple of frames towards the end of the video.
- Humans Are Bastards: Discussed when Sophodra gives an overview on humans:"Molecular evidence shows that they are the sole surviving members of the genus—and knowing them, I can venture a guess why."
- Humans Are Not the Dominant Species: Tricularia is dominated by giant insects & arachnids who, for the most part, regard "firegubs" (their slang for humans) as nothing more than pests.
- Intrigued by Humanity: Sophodra encourages this viewpoint - "If you're going to do [pest control], you need more of an appreciation for creatures like humans!"
- Meaningful Name:
- Sophodra's name is a reference to the genus of praying mantises Sophodromantis.
- Rose has a flower pattern on her body, sleeps in a bed of flowers, and likes floral scents.
- Organic Technology: Most technology used by macrovolutes is based on plants and fungi. For instance, fungal hyphae are used as the equivalent of cables to hook their "machines" together, while Sophodra uses a modified sundew to capture humans alive.
- Shown Their Work: Each episode include notes by Gregorsa on the various bugs, plants & fungi seen on screen. The creator even goes as far as citing the scientific papers they've used for their research.
- Translation Convention: The macrovolutes communicate via pheromones, not unlike their real bug counterparts, which Professor Gregorsa translates into English.
- World Tree: Tricularia, where the story is set, is a giant mutant bladderwort plant growing out of the planet Angion and into space.
