Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Unicorn Warriors: Eternal’ on HBO Max, A Cosmic Adventure with Echoes of Genndy Tartakovsky’s Past

Genndy Tartakovsky is back with another adult-oriented series. Fresh from shows like Primal and the fan-favorite Samurai Jack, this time around Tartakovsky is introducing a series that was nearly two decades in the making. Unicorn: Warriors Eternal explores a group of heroes known as Unicorn as they’re reawakened in the bodies of teenagers in industrial revolution London. This motley crew must find a way to work together to understand their pasts and figure out their future before it’s too late. It’s an intriguing mixture of series Tartakovsky has worked in in the past, distilled into one satisfying series that already seems quite promising.

UNICORN WARRIORS: ETERNAL: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Somewhere in what appears to be deep space, a gorgeous bird flies by, followed by a bald man in garb like a monk’s. He floats through space and utters “I have found it,” upon reaching a neon green dragon-like creature. The insinuation is that this may have been in the past – but it’s hard to tell this early.

The Gist: In Ancient Egypt, three warriors known as the Unicorns managed to fight off an evil spirit, but not without having one of their own wounded. Their ally Merlin summons the robot Copernicus from far in the future to figure out a way to reincarnate each warrior for a centuries-long battle. Everything goes to plan, except when it doesn’t.

Now, further in the future, Evil is lurking, and the streets of London during the industrial revolution are no longer safe. Unicorn is here save the day — if they can figure themselves out first. Trapped in the bodies of teenagers instead of their adult forms, they’re dumbfounded when they’re awakened in this time period without all the powers and forms they’re used to.

Cosmic monk Seng (Alain Uy) finds himself in the body of an orphan named Alfie (Demari Hunte), who lives in an abandoned school. Sorceress Melinda (Grey DeLisle) is now Emma Fairfax (Hazel Doupe), the daughter of the wealthy Fairfax family. Elf warrior Edred (Jacob Dudman) now lives in the body of Dimitri (Tom Milligan), a street magician who still retains much of Edred’s memories as well as his powers. Copernicus is a steam-powered robot who manages to bring the heroes together.

It’s difficult, of course, for each warrior to learn how to fight Evil in their current form, but together the group must figure out a way to come together against Evil before it’s too late.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Fans of Tartakovsky’s brand of animation will undoubtedly find pieces of shows like Primal and Samurai Jack and even some of the classics like Dexter’s Laboratory nestled within. With its mystical background and Dungeons and Dragons-esque setup, Unicorn: Warriors Eternal resembles shows like Critical Role’s much less serious The Legend of Vox Machina, as well as shades of Dota: Dragon’s Blood and Castlevania.

Our Take: Unicorn: Warriors Eternal — not to be confused with the recent animated movie Unicorn Wars — is a breath of fresh air in the staid “animation for adults” genre. It presents an inventive and exciting adventure with stunning animation reminiscent of and inspired by old Max Fleischer cartoons, but the way it looks is hardly the best thing about it. There’s a story of substance here, a classic “find the rest of the gang” story with a time-traveling twist.

It’s easy to get behind Emma’s plight as she’s the first real member of the team we see becoming “someone else”. Not only is her wedding day ruined, but she’s left confused and ultimately terrified about what’s happened to her life all of a sudden. And things are only going to get stranger from there, especially for the rest of the heroes.

There’s so much to unpack in this first episode alone, and plenty of reasons to tune in for the subsequent installments. For once, we aren’t being assailed by raunchy humor and lore being thrown at us a mile a minute. The characters have time to breathe and evolve as the episode wears on, and now that Emma’s been essentially “transformed” into Melinda, it’s time to see how the other heroes deal with this off-putting mishap. And it’ll be fun to see how things shake out.

Sex and Skin: None at all here. Tartakovsky isn’t really known for that sort of thing.

Parting Shot: ​​Emma and Copernicus set off into the sunset, past oncoming barges, to figure out where the rest of the Unicorn heroes are. They zip between steam-powered crafts and off into the mist as the screen fades to black.

Sleeper Star: Don’t get me wrong. The voice cast does a great job, but the real star of the show doesn’t actually speak. It’s Copernicus, the robot, and you’ll understand this as soon as you start watching. Instead, Copernicus makes steam machine and steamboat noises. It’s hard not to love this boisterous robot, wordless as he is. He steals the scene every time he’s on-screen, and though you can’t understand him, his actions say it all.

Most Pilot-y Line: “What? That is me? How is this possible?” Emma asks as Copernicus tries to explain what’s happened during her wedding day, possibly in vain. “If I am her, and you found me, then where are they? Maybe they will know what’s happening…” From there, it’s obvious what she and Copernicus must do.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Unicorn: Warriors Eternal took nearly 20 years for creator Tartakovsky to bring to TV, and it’s evident as to why. This is a work that took serious care, worldbuilding, and a unique approach to animation and design. It has a little bit of everything for a variety of viewers, and serious drama that’ll undoubtedly keep us on the edge of our seats. If you’re ready for something a little different, you should absolutely give Unicorn a try.

Brittany Vincent has been covering video games and tech for over a decade for publications like G4, Popular Science, Playboy, Variety, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, GameSpot, and more. When she’s not writing or gaming, she’s collecting retro consoles and tech. Follow her on Twitter: @MolotovCupcake.