Why exactly did this show gain the popularity that it did?

>>82027888
It was completely different and new to the target audience.

By being subversive, funny and pretty.

it had a new and unique art style at the time, was pretty funny and it got away with a lot of weird and questionable subject matter for being a kids show.

>>82027888
Fuck off claudia kapranos

>>82027888
because it was fun and original

if it wasn't original, it was because it was in the vein of Pinky and the Brain or Rick and Morty.

every single character was entertaining and had a fun schtick.

Because it was actually good.
https://youtu.be/2k0OLahG7ok?t=4m5s

>>82027888
Aside from the GIR bullshit the animation was good, like, constant CGI good, some of it's CGI is more better to look at than the newer CG shows on Nick/other channels

Plus the continuity in plot sometimes was new and gained attention.

>>82027888
Because it was so randumb lol

I'm not even kidding, this was the appeal to a lot of fans and it's what made them think that random is always funny. I know because I was like that when I watched this as a kid.

>>82029061
Mind you, this is also what caused the creator to hate his work.

>>82028594
>>82029061
GIR was mostly a smokescreen though. I doubt the show would have even existed as it did without that character.

>>82028594
Gir not making sense made perfect sense in the context that he is literally a bunch of garbage put together.

>>82029085
Bullshit, "Jhonen hates his fans/work" is one of the most overblown rumors on the internet.

Striking visuals and dark humor that could be read as social commentary by the determined.

>>82029130
Calling Gir a He has always triggered me, if anything besides an IT its a Girl....

All others were Sirs....This one is a Gir...what does the G stand for? "I don't know". Loves cooking/makeup and talks like a fucking girl.

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>>82027888

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>>82029200
jhonen vasquez: Rikki you talk like a fucking girl.

>>82027888
>90s were a leftover of WB cartoons and toy commercials with reruns and a spike of imported anime
>Zim comes along with a corrupted lolrandumb slapstick from 80s, the gross-out of late 90s, and new iconic visuals with unexplored color palettes.
It was funny to look at and listen to and you could get completely absorbed in it right away unlike a toy commercial where you need to watch for a couple minutes to understand what's happening.

>>82029200
So you think "Gir" is short for "Girl?" That's a bit of a stretch, yo.

He always sounded like a loopy little boy to me.

>>82029294
>>82029330
S1 ep 13 in mysterious mysteries the host refers to gir has a her.

>>82029345
...while in disguise or something?

It could just have been done as a gag to show how out of touch the host was.

>>82027888
It was literally the first of its kind on a major network.Not necessarily in the gross out department,that was taken care of by Ren & Stimpy,but the overall execution of such humor.

Invader Zim was fast,frenetic,and very unapologetic in its content,however,there really isn't a terrible episode of Invader Zim.Every character had chemistry with each other,even the background characters served their purpose and kept each episode going forward.

It built a weird and wonderful world that kept kids entertained,teenagers captivated,and most parents oblivious to what was going on.

The downside to Zim?

1.Expensive as fuck to produce
2.Jhonen was/probably still is a difficult edgelord to work with
3.Was the final Nicktoon that succeeded critically but was a victim of circumstance.Every other show airing around the same time was abysmal and continued to be losing even more ratings as time went on.The sharp decline of viewership eventually lead to every kid changing the channel before Zim even came on,I remember it being the final show of the night during its initial run before Nick at Night came on with reruns of Happy Days and shit.

>>82029345
I WAS THE CHUBBY LADY HIDIN IN THE BUSHES

It was dark in a completely safe way

>>82029610
It's so blatantly fucking obvious it triggers me.

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>>82029625
I wouldn't say "completely safe." Shit got dark, man.

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>>82029660
It really went some places you wouldn't think a Nickelodeon show would get away with.

>>82029660
This episode was pretty much the show at its most distilled.

The short answer is that the spastic absurdist humor caught on with kids who liked cute thingd and non sequiturs.

But critically speaking, this thread already covered it. Unique art style with fluid animation, unique story telling and occasional story continuity... Invader Zim was profoundly well done and holds up extraordinarily well, even to this day. And despite Jhonen having given his talent and skill to designing other shows since, nothjng ever has looked like Invader Zim. That alone is enough to impress me, especially right now, when there are maybe four distinct styles a show can be drawn in.

>>82027888

Because it was very unique, at least for its time. It was easily the darkest kids show on television. Back then you didn't have shit like Adventure Time pushing the kinds of boundaries it does today, Invader Zim was as "fucked up" as a non-adult cartoon got. And it was different than something like Ren & Stimpy because Ren & Stimpy was mostly grossout humor with boogers and slightly lewd references and stuff, whereas Invader Zim was loaded with actual violence (sometimes even gore and torture), cruelty, and just this general atmosphere and feeling that the whole world in the show was just so negative and sinister.

The world in Invader Zim is/was really unique because it was very clearly some kind of dystopian future where technology and pollution had run rampant, it was a very creepy and mature envisioning of the world, and again no other kid's show was portraying these kinds of themes. Unfortunately all this "2edgy4u" stuff is part of what attracted its obnoxious older fan base.

The show also has a pretty unique art style and color pallate. Lots of dark purple, green red, black, it was very "gothic" and I don't think there's been anything like it since. But finally, the ultimate thing that is more important than all that, is that it was just plain FUNNY. People say it was "lolsorandumb" which is partially true but a lot of the humor tied into the lore and the characters and stuff. Johnen had a whole plan for the show's future had it not been cancelled, but I think it might be a good thing that it got cancelled because all we have know is a great show, we never got tons of terrible episodes like Spongebob or something.

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I remember always liking the Tallest

>Seize that guy and throw him out the airlock
>That was the wrong guy but I think everyone gets the point

>Once we erase the remaining organics on Blorch, paving the way for...I dunno, maybe a parking structure planet?

>We really should have sent Zim to a sun or a planet of broken glass or something

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>>82029200
>it
>loves cooking
>loves make-up
>talks like a fucking girl

Anon, you're reminding me of this retard I met when I briefly attended art school who boasted about how she wrote an essay in high school detailing that because of how Zim treated Gir, he identified as a poly-gendered asexual.

Please stop.

I was also retarded for the show while it was airing, but Jesus Christ. The most I did was wear merchandise, buy the DVDs, and own a few toys..

>>82032505
>And don't forget: LASERS

>>82029684
Why did Membrane make his son into a horrific abomination in constant pain instead of letting him die?

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>>82032782
Cause he was a scientist

>>82032782
Also reminded me of this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfH_bF2KR44

>>82032782
Science

>>82029200
Get triggered as much as you want.
>There’s no denying that Zim has been pinned with the whole “random humor” label. For me, it’s never been, “Hey, let’s throw that in there because it’s so random. That’s why it’s funny.” Especially in terms of Gir. Gir does what he does, and there’s no better explanation for what Gir does is the fact he’s made of garbage.
Jhonen Vasquez

>and there’s no better explanation for what Gir does is the fact he’s made of garbage.
>he’s made of garbage.
>he

The show was mean spirited (no matter if you rooted for Zim or Dib), but I kept watching because it was funny.

>>82029200
Gir's a fucking robot. you can't misgender it because it doesn't have a gender. and isn't real. mouthbreather.

>>82034324

Yeah the show was definitely mean-spirited but it wasn't mean-spirited in the same way Family Guy was, it wasn't as self-aware or ironic, it was that way because that's the way the world was in Invader Zim. They weren't trying to show the real world, they were showing a very disturbing version of the future.

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>>82027888
>tfw no show will ever use acid purple and zombie green color palette ever again

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>>82036254
I think some animes use those.

>>82032782
Opportunity to make crazy machines to help clone son go about his miserable life.

>>82029652
Holy shit, get a grip. You must have imprinted yourself on the character, because it sounds like you've got some gender issues of your own.

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>>82036598
That was intentional. Look at their little fucking dog thing for a moment.

>>82037854
In case of PSG yes, but they are not the only ones to use those color palettes

>>82037991
Have any other specific examples?

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Because of the shows high Tech animation

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>>82038011
In Halloween season we see those colors a lot. I can't remember of a show specifically using the exact same colors. Purple and green are common on kawaii horror stuff.

i think that this is a overreated show

>>82039874
>overreated show

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It was a show unlike any before or after.

Also, the lolrandom robot gained it a lot of the 'mainstream' popularity after it was canceled due to hot topic sales alone.

>>82027888
For one side: It had a unique style and dark humor unlike most Nick shows.

For another side: It was edge and lolsorandom. OMG Gir is so cute!
>Hot Topic: $$$

>>82044137
>>For another side: It was edge and lolsorandom. OMG Gir is so cute!
>>Hot Topic: $$$

I never really paid attention to that.

I paid more attention to Ms. Bitters. And Zim. And Dib's paranoia. And Gaz's gaming.

The funny bits were bonus

I think the only other Western animation that wowéd me as much as Zim was the Boondocks. And Avatar of course.

room with a MOOSE

>>82045371
You can't say that on a blue board, anon.

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>>82027888
Because GIR is SOOOOOOOO CUTE *holds up spork*

Though I enjoyed Invader Zim at the time, looking back I'll admit it's not as good as I remember. Not by a long shot.
I was a pretty conceited kid though, and I was always looking for things that were "different" and "dark", so maybe I set myself up for it. I don't know.

Though compared to other Nick shows at the time, including Fairy Odd Parents which premiered the same day, it did have some damn good animation, even for today.