Critical Role does it again: The Mighty Nein is a spectacular blend of thrills and chills
- Camila Buck
- 11 hours ago
- 2 min read
If there's one thing Critical Role does exceedingly well, it's storytelling.
Get. Excited. The Mighty Nein, Critical Role's latest and highly anticipated adaptation, is arriving in just a few more hours.
This second animation adaptation of the crew's Dungeons & Dragons campaign of the same name is pretty on par with The Legend of Vox Machina - it's funny, exciting, and brutal. It's safe to remind everyone that while The Mighty Nein does happen years after the events of Vox Machina, you do not need to have watched Vox Machina to understand what's going on.
As far as the story goes, if you're a fan of the campaign, understand that this is an adaptation. This will not be the campaign you watched unfold on Twitch every Thursday night. There are plenty of creative choices and deviations from the source material, as well as some things that aren't explicitly played out during the campaign, making for some truly exciting storytelling and surprises. Much like in Vox Machina, the deviations are actually pretty damn cool and add a whole different layer to this beloved story.
The animation is, of course, top tier. The voice acting? Phenomenal. Laura Bailey brings Jester to life with such enthusiasm; it's lovely. Travis Willingham is the perfect southern-y gent, and he truly brings Fjord's charm into the forefront and center with his skills. Liam O'Brien will always sound like Vax to me, there's no escaping it. It can't just be a me thing, right? I'm not saying that's bad; it just sounds like the same person to me, and so does Taliesen Jaffe. Which, again, is not a bad thing - Percy is my favorite Vox Machina character and his voice is a part of the reason why. They just have very distinct voices. Sam Riegel nails it as Nott the Brave, to nobody's surprise. Marisha Ray does a complete 180 character-wise with Beauregard (whom my dog Beau is definitely not named after at all) and nails the attitude. Ashley Johnson also nails as Yasha, in another 180 from her Vox Machina character, Pike.
Official Pixigonal Rating for The Mighty Nein: 9/10
All in all, I think it has potential to dethrone Vox Machina for me as far as which is the best Critical Role show. The story was pretty solid, and the delivery was beautifully executed; it's a solid 9 out of 10 for us.
If you've seen the first episode (which you can watch for free on Prime Video - our friends at Nerdist will tell you how here), what did you think? Are you excited?
Let us know what you think in the comments below. The Mighty Nein season 1 comes out tomorrow, November 19th, on Prime Video.