User Reviews

Gotta be my favorite of recent animation. Just watched the latest season finale and they really wrapped it up. No fat on this.

Great animation with a very minimalist story in a fun time period. But after a few episodes I found myself saying something that I thought I would never say. It's almost TOO violent. Like, every episode is just a few prehistoric creatures beating the living **** out of each other. That's it. I found myself struggling to start new episodes. So this is what critics like? Have a well animated show with ultra violence and throw in a couple long close ups up character's eyes. Anyone can do that really.

What a **** series! I thought every episode was incredible, the character and monster designs and the violence are insane.

Una obra de arte. Mucha calidad de animación y diseño y excelente desarrollo de personajes. La historia como tal no entra en juego hasta la segunda temporada; en la primera aparecen episodios más independientes donde se explora el fantástico universo de la serie. No le coloco un 10 porque hay partes puntuales que se hacen algo repetitivas.

I mean it's watchable, sometimes even entrataining, but mostly silly and dumb. The show starts with a good 2 episodes of worldbulding /characterbuilding and then devolves into an episodic television, no stakes, no change, no progress, no plot. You could watch the first 2 episodes and then skip to the last one (which tbh is just a setup for the next season) and lose nothing.

What a great show, amazing character development and story telling with our nearly a word spoken in the whole show.

"Primal," created by Genndy Tartakovsky, is a visually captivating and emotionally powerful narrative that relies on minimal dialogue to convey its story. Despite an initially unconventional animation style (my personal opinion), it quickly becomes a visual treat, effectively portraying complex emotions and action. The series tells a compelling story of an unlikely bond between a neanderthal and a dinosaur, exploring mature, dark, and often violent themes, adding depth to its emotionally charged narrative. "Primal" stands as a testament to Tartakovsky's storytelling prowess and is a must-watch for those who appreciate storytelling that transcends words.

It's remarkable how much emotion Tartakovsky (GT hereafter) is able to convey with virtually no words. "Primal" is a fitting title for this show because it plays to fundamental emotions like fear, love, and rage. GT has created a remarkably memorable character in Spear (the nameless Neanderthal protagonist). He's a veritable juggernaut who has learned how to survive in a very inhospitable world. He's such a likable character that you can't help but root for him even when he's being, uh, "unreasonable". The show plays fast and loose with time, which should be evident from the get-go since humans arrived on the scene millions of years after dinosaurs. But this becomes especially apparent when we see some things that didn't exist till just a few hundred years ago. That said, you'll enjoy it more if you just go with it -- it's a cartoon after all. And it's this playing with time that makes for some very interesting scenarios which truly test the mettle of Spear and his "pet" dinosaur Fang. Some of the events that occur are pure fantasy, i.e., they don't even try to be realistic, but, again, it's a cartoon, so just sit back and enjoy the craziness. It's a wild, engaging ride. I just finished season 2, and I was surprised by how emotional I got. GT really knows how to tug at those primal emotions. This show is absolutely worth the relatively small time investment. Check it out.

The animation and the sound are so well done that it transmits the emotion without the need for words. It describes the essence of the human being, and the difference of the cultural clashes of the civilization and the primitive era (which we call barbarian) The philosophical thought is similar to the book of Robert E.Howard : Conan of Cimmeria. It is necessary to know the Nordic mythology to better understand the end. In short : Brutal, heartbreaking, tender and warm.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Started watching the series because I just wanted a dumb show about a cave man and a T-Rex fighting a bunch of prehistoric monsters, but I got so much more. Primal is a beautifully animated series with little to no dialogue aside from primal screaming, and the occasional bits of dialogue an English speaking audience won't understand. Yet the story is still perfectly conveyed through expressions and actions and it managed to have me on the edge of my seat or on the verge of tears on more than one occasion. I highly recommend it! There's only some small flaws, such as wounds not carrying over from shot to shot. Or Fang's size fluctuating. But it honestly doesn't take me out of the story or the action.

Find my review on Letterboxd and Twitter @BB_Reviews1 ---------------------

This is the best show I've seen in a long time. The visuals, the music and the ability to weave emotionally rich moments in the midst of carnage is impressive.

I decided to watch this probably like many people did because they like Samurai Jack and of course the guy who did that did Primal. First of all the animation that everyone is going nuts over in their reviews is so '90s and simplistic. People must look at shows like Arcane, Love and Death and Robots or Invincible, which are a lot better animation. Since the series is hand-drawn, you can tell that it reuses a ton of drawings from scene to scene. People also say what a fantastic story Primal has. First of all Primal has no dialogue to help explain or move the plot along which a lot of people see as a huge positive, but I do not. There are only 4 plot elements in the series Run Fight Eat and Sleep So for instance, 1 episode is basically Run Fight Eat Run Run Sleep and then every episode after that is just a variation on these elements. Oh well, I have stopped watching this series and will not pick it up in season 2.

Someone confused primitive with primal unfortunately. The very sobre Franco-Japanese style of animation (it seems half of the drawings were made by French) is completely wasted on an inane plot. Samurai Jack was so playful, tongue in cheek and didn't take itself half as seriously as this arrogant drivel.

Good and alternative. Fast paced, episodial cartoon, for mature viewers, that follow everiday strug to surival of a "peculiar" pack in an anacronistic (and with fantasy elements here and there) prehistoric era. There are almost no dialogues, just music, some **** lots of gore. Some episodes are better than other but it s a joy for the eyes and for the heart. I'll waith for season 2 for sure. It remind me of Apocalypto movie in some way

Started off well, but the second half is full of magic and story elements that destroy the world building having established this was set in or around the Precambrian era. At one point I really though they were just going to add in aliens and mechs, and cannot be sure they did not.

Very unique show for being a catoon, very cautivating. Not all episodes are that good, tho.

Tartakovsky animation are always top class in story telling this is no different. Each episode will have you by the edge of your seat and the bond of the characters to each other makes it all the better highly recommended. The first episode will hook you, by the 3rd you'll love it

cArToOnS aRe fOr kIdS... This series is one if not the best western animated series that I have ever seen. I say western cause, you know... Anime exists. As someone who grew up watching Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League, Avatar, Teen Titans, and Samurai Jack (this series is by the same director as Samurai Jack) I was blown away by the quality and level of storytelling, even without dialogue. An absolute masterclass on western animation!

This series stands as a testament to the power of art direction and sound design. The direction and pacing allow for a connection with the characters despite having no "real" dialogue between our protagonists. The back drop is interesting and dramatic and everything plays together with a resonance on par with 'Wal-E'. If you've got HBOMAX you should absolutely check this one out.

This show is mindblowingly good. Utilizing great animation along with a lack of dialogue to tell a story that shows the depth of storytelling expected from a Tartakovsky product.

Una de las mejores y más emotivas series que he visto nunca. Cada capitulo es mejor que el anterior. Nunca un personaje me ha transmitido más con tan poco. Un 10

Incredible cartoon. Full of action and emotion. Beautiful scenery, music, art style, atmosphere. Everything is perfect. This is one of the best cartoons I have ever seen.

A genuine animation masterpiece, if you watched Samurai Jack before you will notice the same Tartakovskyesque facial expressions and movement animations that give it that special flare. The action is amazing, truly a experience of a show.

The show is a truly beautiful piece of art that show the power of loss, friendship and all life’s basic needs to survive and is further proof that actions can speak louder then words