'Adventure Time' Is the Kind of Show I Would Have Loved to Have Grown Up With

Adventure Time was the very first 2010’s cartoon that I got to like.  Though I wasn’t able to follow its later seasons closely, I liked the show so much at one point that when I listed down my all-time favorite animated series, it made the top 30.

However, I didn’t always have a high regard for it.  Early on its run, I thought its art style was too childish.  But I began reading praise for it that I gave it a shot.  Soon, I became invested.  I especially became fond of the great dynamic between main characters Finn and Jake and the complex worldbulding unfolding.

At the surface, Adventure Time is definitely a quirky show for the kids to enjoy.  But at a much deeper level, its meaningful character arcs, rich fantasy mythology, and surprisingly profound themes are particularly appealing to more mature audiences.

With the show bidding farewell after a 10-season run, I had to check out its recently aired hour-long finale.  Titled “Come Along With Me”, the episode starts with Shermy and Beth, the incarnations of Finn and Jake thousands of years into the future, who go ask the “King of Ooo” (who happens to be BMO) about an artifact they have stumbled upon.  BMO then proceeds to tell them the story of the “Great Gum War”, where Finn and Jake and the various other Adventure Time characters are participants, and how this leads to the “end of the world.”

The epic finale is layered with as much loss and heartbreak as much as triumph and sanguinity – a perfectly fitting way to cap such a show.  And as the characters face their greatest challenge yet, it’s quite satisfying to see them behave as they did, showcasing the significant character development and the relationships that arose among them through the show’s run.

Adventure Time is a modern animated classic.  And if nothing else, its bittersweet finale made me realize that it’s the kind of show I would have loved to have grown up with.