Animated TV series
Neo Yokio
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Genre
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Created by
| Ezra Koenig
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Screenplay by
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Directed by
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Creative director
| Ben Jones
[a]
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Voices of
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Composers
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Country of origin
| United States
Japan
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Original language
| English
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No.
of seasons
| 1
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No.
of episodes
| 6 (+ 1 special)
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Executive producers
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Producers
|
- Matthew Chadwick
[a]
- Andrew Chittenden
[a]
- Kris Wood
[a]
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Animators
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Running time
| 22 minutes
65 minutes
[b]
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Production companies
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Network
| Netflix
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Release
| September 22, 2017
(
2017-09-22
)
?
December 7, 2018
(
2018-12-07
)
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Neo Yokio
(
Japanese
:
ネオ?ヨキオ
)
is an American-Japanese
adult animated
television series created by
Ezra Koenig
of American rock band
Vampire Weekend
, and produced by Japanese
anime
studios
Production I.G
and
Studio Deen
. The first season, consisting of six episodes, premiered on
Netflix
on September 22, 2017.
[4]
The
Christmas special
Neo Yokio: Pink Christmas
was released on December 7, 2018.
[5]
Plot
[
edit
]
Netflix's press release describes
Neo Yokio
as the "greatest city in the world", a modern-day
alternate timeline
New York where Magicians saved the city from ruin by
demons
in the 19th century, gaining a place in the upper echelons of society and becoming known as "Magistocrats". The series revolves around Kaz Kaan (
Jaden Smith
), a vain and wealthy Magistocrat and his
mecha
butler Charles (
Jude Law
), as he balances a vapid and decadent life as a fashionista in the city with his demon-hunting duties managed by his stern Aunt Agatha (
Susan Sarandon
).
[
citation needed
]
Kaz has taken to self-pity and "melancholy" after his recent break-up with investment banker Cathy (
Alexa Chung
) and only wishes to live a life of luxury with his socialite friends Lexy (
The Kid Mero
) and Gottlieb (
Desus Nice
). His rival is Arcangelo (
Jason Schwartzman
), an old money scion who belittles Kaz's "
Neo riche
" status, and the two are often in competition for the top spot on the Bachelor's List, a gigantic public billboard of Neo Yokio's most eligible bachelors. Former fashion blogger Helena St. Tessero (
Tavi Gevinson
) becomes re-acquainted with Kaz in the first episode after he performs an
exorcism
on a possessed Chanel suit. However, the possession leaves Helena disillusioned with Neo Yokio and the
capitalist
system, eventually leading her to become a
hikikomori
, an
anti-capitalist
critic and a foil to Kaz's vapid focus on fashion and social status.
[
citation needed
]
Cast
[
edit
]
Production
[
edit
]
Neo Yokio
was originally announced, without a title, at Production I.G.'s panel at
Anime Expo
in 2015.
[6]
The series was originally intended to run as part of
Fox
's
Animation Domination High-Def
late night block, which had just transitioned from the Fox network to sister cable network
FXX
earlier that year. No further details about the series were announced in the months following, and Animation Domination High-Def ceased operations in 2016.
[
citation needed
]
While the writing and post-production were done in the
United States
, the character design, pre-production and storyboards were created in
Japan
and much of the animation was carried out in
South Korea
.
Moved to Netflix
[
edit
]
On September 7, 2017,
Netflix
announced they had acquired the unaired
Neo Yokio
series to stream on their service, labeling it as a Netflix Original Series.
[
citation needed
]
Episodes
[
edit
]
Season 1 (2017)
[
edit
]
Christmas special (2018)
[
edit
]
On October 9, 2018,
[5]
Netflix announced that a
Neo Yokio
Christmas special
would be released on December 7, 2018.
[7]
[8]
Trailers were released in October 2018,
[9]
in November 2018,
[10]
and on December 3, 2018.
[11]
It was released on December 7, 2018 as an hour-long special titled
Neo Yokio: Pink Christmas.
[12]
Neo Yokio: Pink Christmas
features Kaz Kaan,
[11]
who must defeat a giant sentient
Christmas tree
threatening the city of Neo Yokio.
[10]
[13]
He also has to handle a
Secret Santa
competition, a visit by his Aunt Angelique, and plotting from Arcangelo.
[14]
The special includes
Jamie Foxx
as a voice actor,
[15]
[16]
while recurring characters are voiced by Jaden Smith, Susan Sarandon, Jude Law, and Jason Schwartzman.
[17]
Pink Christmas
includes an original new song by Koenig, "Friend Like You".
[12]
It appears several times in the episode, and at the time of the premiere, had not appeared as a song elsewhere or for download.
[18]
Reception
[
edit
]
The series received mixed reviews, with a common criticism being the main character Kaz Kaan. Mike Toole from
Anime News Network
called the show "nigh-unwatchable codswallop", expressing issues with the bad voice acting of its cast, and with its poor animation and writing.
[19]
Julia Alexander of
Polygon
called the show a poor attempt to bring Jaden Smith's Twitter persona into a series as Jaden's character Kaz is annoying, self-centered, narcissistic and infuriating rather than likable.
[20]
IGN
gave it a negative review, with reviewer Miranda Sanchez criticizing the artwork, calling it humorless, and saying that it "feigns sincerity in any serious issue it tackles".
[21]
Dana Schwartz of
Entertainment Weekly
gave the first season a positive review, saying it was "both deeply ironic and entirely deadpan and we should be so grateful that this vanity-project-cum-genius-conceptional-art-piece somehow exists in the real world".
[22]
Among the more positive reviews was Clio Chang's in
The New Republic
, who described Smith's performance as "exquisitely deadpan [..] that serves to heighten his detached snobbery" and that
Neo Yokio
"mostly feels like an introduction to what could be a really groundbreaking show", while also calling out its "cringe-worthy moments".
[23]
Mike Hale of
The New York Times
praised the show's satire, stating, "The show derives a lot of its humor from Kaz's earnest attempts to belong, which occasion some reasonably subtle mockery of the city's social stratification and of a certain strain of tragic millennial mopiness", while noting, "if [watchers don't stick around], it may be because they find the humor too precious."
[2]
Ryan F. Mandelbaum at
Gizmodo
compared the show to "a six episode long
dril
tweet" and "
Gossip Girl
as told by a stoned
Tim and Eric
fan", praising its
surreal humor
and finding the show's depiction of contemporary urban life "far closer to reality?albeit a ridiculous one?than its premise may suggest".
[24]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Now streaming: 'Beauty and the Beast,' 'Wonder Woman,' 'Gaga'
"
.
The Seattle Times
. September 20, 2017.
Archived
from the original on August 13, 2018
. Retrieved
August 13,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Hale, Mike (September 21, 2017).
"Review: An Anime New York in Netflix's 'Neo Yokio'
"
.
The New York Times
.
Archived
from the original on September 26, 2017
. Retrieved
September 27,
2017
.
- ^
"The cast list from Netflix's new anime series Neo Yokio is incredible"
.
Radio Times
. September 21, 2017.
Archived
from the original on August 13, 2018
. Retrieved
August 13,
2018
.
- ^
"Netflix Reveals Neo Yokio Animated Series Collaboration With Production I.G, Studio Deen"
.
Anime News Network
. September 7, 2017.
Archived
from the original on May 23, 2018
. Retrieved
September 10,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
"Neo Yokio Animated Series Teases Christmas Special for December 7"
. June 18, 2023.
Archived
from the original on October 10, 2018
. Retrieved
October 9,
2018
.
- ^
Samantha Ferreira (July 4, 2015).
"Anime Expo 2015: Production I.G. Producing Fox ADHD Project"
.
Anime Herald
.
Archived
from the original on September 11, 2017
. Retrieved
September 10,
2017
.
- ^
Engelman, Nicole (October 11, 2018).
"Netflix Announces Christmas Special For Ezra Koenig's 'Neo Yokio' Show"
.
Billboard
.
Archived
from the original on December 10, 2018
. Retrieved
December 7,
2018
.
- ^
Holub, Christian (October 9, 2018).
"Netflix announces Neo Yokio Christmas special"
.
Entertainment Weekly
.
Archived
from the original on October 20, 2018
. Retrieved
December 7,
2018
.
- ^
Hussein, Wandera (October 9, 2018).
"Watch a new Neo Yokio Christmas special teaser"
.
The Fader
.
Archived
from the original on December 9, 2018
. Retrieved
December 7,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Cho, Stephan (November 30, 2018).
"Netflix Shares Trailer for Ezra Koenig's Neo Yokio: Pink Christmas Special"
.
Paste Magazine
.
Archived
from the original on December 9, 2018
. Retrieved
December 7,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
"Merry Christmas from Neo Yokio, Netflix's weirdest cartoon"
.
Polygon
. December 3, 2018.
Archived
from the original on December 9, 2018
. Retrieved
December 7,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Daramola, Israel (December 7, 2018).
"Hear a New Ezra Koenig Song in Neo Yokio's Christmas Special"
.
Spin
.
Archived
from the original on December 7, 2018
. Retrieved
December 7,
2018
.
- ^
Sheridan, Wade (December 3, 2018).
"
'Neo Yokio: Pink Christmas': Kaz fights a Christmas tree in new trailer"
.
UPI
.
Archived
from the original on December 9, 2018
. Retrieved
December 7,
2018
.
- ^
"Netflix shows to kick off the festive season"
.
iOL
. November 30, 2018.
Archived
from the original on December 9, 2018
. Retrieved
December 7,
2018
.
- ^
Strauss, Matthew (October 9, 2018).
"Ezra Koenig's Netflix Show "Neo Yokio" Gets Christmas Special"
.
Pitchfork
.
Archived
from the original on December 7, 2018
. Retrieved
December 7,
2018
.
- ^
Noel Kelly, Autumn (October 23, 2018).
"Jamie Foxx Joins Jaden SMith in Netflix 'New Yokio' This December"
.
Newsweek
.
Archived
from the original on December 6, 2018
. Retrieved
December 7,
2018
.
- ^
Keene, Allison (November 30, 2018).
"
'Neo Yokio: Pink Christmas' Trailer Brings Elegance and Demons"
.
Collider
.
Archived
from the original on December 7, 2018
. Retrieved
December 7,
2018
.
- ^
Thiessen, Brad (December 7, 2018).
"Ezra Koenig Pens New 'Neo Yokio' Christmas Song"
.
Exclaim
.
Archived
from the original on December 9, 2018
. Retrieved
December 7,
2018
.
- ^
Toole, Mike (September 19, 2017).
"Neo Yokio Review"
.
Anime News Network
.
Archived
from the original on September 26, 2017
. Retrieved
September 26,
2017
.
- ^
Alexander, Julia (September 19, 2017).
"Neo Yokio is a bad, attempted homage to Jaden Smith's strange Twitter persona"
.
Polygon
.
Archived
from the original on December 29, 2017
. Retrieved
September 26,
2017
.
- ^
Sanchez, Miranda (September 19, 2018).
"NEO YOKIO: SEASON 1 REVIEW"
.
IGN
.
Archived
from the original on December 9, 2018
. Retrieved
December 7,
2018
.
- ^
Schwartz, Dana (September 25, 2017).
"Neo Yokio: The best out-of-context quotes from Jaden Smith's new animated show"
.
Entertainment Weekly
.
Archived
from the original on December 9, 2018
. Retrieved
December 7,
2018
.
- ^
Chang, Clio (September 26, 2017).
"Is Neo Yokio a Satire of the One Percent? Or a Loving Tribute?"
.
The New Republic
.
Archived
from the original on September 26, 2017
. Retrieved
September 26,
2017
.
- ^
Mandelbaum, Ryan F. (October 3, 2017).
"I Lived
Neo Yokio
"
.
Gizmodo
.
Archived
from the original on October 6, 2017
. Retrieved
October 6,
2017
.
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Season One only
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Pink Christmas" special only
- ^
co-executive producer, season one only
External links
[
edit
]
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First
released
2012?2014
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First
released
2015
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First
released
2016
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First
released
2017
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First
released
2018
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TV
| First released
2013?2015
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First released 2016
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First released 2017
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First released 2018
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First released 2019
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First released 2020
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First released 2021
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First released 2022
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First released 2023
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First released 2024
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