I've said in some of my other reviews that we're in a golden age of animation at the moment. "Archer", "Rick and Morty", and "Bob's Burgers" are just some of a plethora of top shows running at the moment. "Gary and His Demons" whilst not matching some of the best on offer at the moment, is still a fun and often funny addition to the genre.
Created, directed and starring Mark Little, "Gary And His Demons" tells the story of a once in a generation chosen one, imbued with special fighting skills - the chosen one is destined to live a short violent life fighting demons. Gary though has bucked the trend and did not die, indeed he's been fighting demons for 30 years and is now somewhat jaded by the whole experience. Desperate to retire, but unwilling to die and pass on his powers, Gary looks for any way to bring joy to his world-weary existence.
Animation wise, "Gary" is pretty good, it manages to differentiate itself from everything else with a combination of fine detail in some scenes and broad abstract stylings at other moments. Vocal performances are decent too and fresh, as the big hitters in animation vocals are largely absent and there are no cameos or guest performances. The episodes being around 12 minutes long also means that none of them outstay their welcome but gives enough time to wrap up each episode whilst pointing towards the overall season arc at times too.
The humour is usually pretty dark, with people being killed or injured all the time, though theres a rich vein of comedy in juxtaposing the demon hunting world with the trappings of real life, the bureaucracy of the demon hunting agency or Gary's issues with his family. It's the humour though, or perhaps the writing, that stops the show from hitting the very top echelon. It's a little too reliant on the belief that its core idea is funny enough or that Gary's exasperation on its own is sufficient to make you laugh, when that isn't always the case. It's a minor criticism but it stops the show from being truly great. This is just the first season though, so if there is a second season and the writing can improve just that little bit, we could have a truly special show.