Blood of Zeus is a new fantasy animated show based around Greek myth. It features Heron, a young man who is forced to come into his own as the son of Zeus when a faction of demons attacks Greece, led by the monstrous Seraphim. At the same time, he has to contend with the meddling of Hera, the Queen of the Gods, who wants revenge on her cheating husband and his half-mortal son.
Being someone who is a big fan of Greek mythology, I was intrigued by this show’s premise and how it would portray the classic Gods and monsters of the stories. I wasn’t expecting the show to be a 100% faithful adaptation of the sources, just to be as entertaining and respectful to the myths as it could.
Hera, Zeus and Seraphim are the most interesting of the characters here. Unfortunately, in comparison, Heron and the other heroes are very bland. Gods and Goddesses who you think would be important to the conflict, such as Athena and Poseidon, are strangely absent or don’t do anything notable. The series also shows Gods can be killed, but it’s unclear what can or can’t kill a God exactly. Also, small point, but Poseidon especially is really bad at his job. You’d think he would notice the demon faction repeatedly travelling his waters, and although the big MacGuffin is at the bottom of the sea, the villain has no trouble getting to it.
The first few episodes of the series are a bit slow and predictable, but by the time the major conflict kicks off, the series is a lot more gripping. The show could have benefitted from more episodes to develop the characters and the world. At the moment, the world-building isn’t very strong. What has been taken from the myths (Olympus, The Underworld etc) is fine, but the new content doesn’t feel cohesive. Mortals are weirdly uninterested in the Gods and have little reaction to portents, which feels very strange considering how much power the Gods have. In one scene, a group of armed mortal soldiers try and attack Zeus when they should be falling to their knees in terror and awe.
Come on, this massive, muscular guy is chucking thunderbolts everywhere and you think you can take him with a pointed stick??
The show for the most part looks pretty decent. The characters are well drawn and effects heavy scenes can look great. The frame rate sadly can drop at random times, so I can’t say the actual movement itself is amazing overall. There is also a heavy reliance on gore, lots of people getting stabbed through the head or cut in half. I personally found the gore a bit too edgy, even considering how brutal the myths can be.
Despite the problems, Blood of Zeus is a decent watch, it has a lot of action, but also some moments of warmth and humour that make it an easy sit through despite a lot of dark content. I think if the next season puts more focus into the human characters and the world, this could shape up to be a really solid new show.
WesternAnimation And then along came Zeus...
Blood of Zeus is a new fantasy animated show based around Greek myth. It features Heron, a young man who is forced to come into his own as the son of Zeus when a faction of demons attacks Greece, led by the monstrous Seraphim. At the same time, he has to contend with the meddling of Hera, the Queen of the Gods, who wants revenge on her cheating husband and his half-mortal son.
Being someone who is a big fan of Greek mythology, I was intrigued by this show’s premise and how it would portray the classic Gods and monsters of the stories. I wasn’t expecting the show to be a 100% faithful adaptation of the sources, just to be as entertaining and respectful to the myths as it could.
Hera, Zeus and Seraphim are the most interesting of the characters here. Unfortunately, in comparison, Heron and the other heroes are very bland. Gods and Goddesses who you think would be important to the conflict, such as Athena and Poseidon, are strangely absent or don’t do anything notable. The series also shows Gods can be killed, but it’s unclear what can or can’t kill a God exactly. Also, small point, but Poseidon especially is really bad at his job. You’d think he would notice the demon faction repeatedly travelling his waters, and although the big MacGuffin is at the bottom of the sea, the villain has no trouble getting to it.
The first few episodes of the series are a bit slow and predictable, but by the time the major conflict kicks off, the series is a lot more gripping. The show could have benefitted from more episodes to develop the characters and the world. At the moment, the world-building isn’t very strong. What has been taken from the myths (Olympus, The Underworld etc) is fine, but the new content doesn’t feel cohesive. Mortals are weirdly uninterested in the Gods and have little reaction to portents, which feels very strange considering how much power the Gods have. In one scene, a group of armed mortal soldiers try and attack Zeus when they should be falling to their knees in terror and awe.
Come on, this massive, muscular guy is chucking thunderbolts everywhere and you think you can take him with a pointed stick??
The show for the most part looks pretty decent. The characters are well drawn and effects heavy scenes can look great. The frame rate sadly can drop at random times, so I can’t say the actual movement itself is amazing overall. There is also a heavy reliance on gore, lots of people getting stabbed through the head or cut in half. I personally found the gore a bit too edgy, even considering how brutal the myths can be.
Despite the problems, Blood of Zeus is a decent watch, it has a lot of action, but also some moments of warmth and humour that make it an easy sit through despite a lot of dark content. I think if the next season puts more focus into the human characters and the world, this could shape up to be a really solid new show.