The further they go, the more the gorgeously animated world integrates them into its environment as they learn to adapt to their new home, setting the scene for one of the best science fiction shows ever made.

When its immense beauty comes rushing in at key moments, Scavengers Reign creates something as utterly spectacular as it is sublime. Through every delicately crafted detail, it proves to be one of the most exciting animated series in recent memory.

So many alien worlds of similar films and shows feel dispiritingly limited in their imagination. Scavengers Reign, though, abounds with invention of the kind that only animation can bring to life. It has no illusions that its singular world is the real star, and what a star it is.

Scavengers Reign is brutal and violent but most frequently dreamlike and reserved in its dialogue, leaving a lot of room for the viewer to apply meaning to it. .... As long as Scavengers’s apparent list of influences is, its host of creatures and atmosphere are so bizarre that its identity feels wholly its own.

Expanded from short film to series, “Scavengers Reign” becomes less meditative and more of a gripping survival adventure; it also drags a bit in its last half. But the real attraction is less the plot than the immersive imagery and biological inventions.

While it won’t win any points for originality, its ambition, creativity, beauty, and slightly menacing tone will keep your attention, and its moments of “whoa!” deliver. You can tell from one episode that this is going to be a lot of people’s favorite animated series of the year, even if it’s unlikely to be mine.