Star Wars: Rebels Season 1 (2014) Review

 After watching The Clone Wars all the way through I have decided to go through and watch the sequel show all the way through, starting with the first season of Star Wars Rebels, here is my review for this season. The premise of the season sees 15 years after the death of The Republic a group of misfit rebels come together in order to stop The Empire's hold on the planet Lothal.

Main Character

A new character is introduced on this show and that is Ezra Bridger voiced by Taylor Gray and I really liked this character. He feels like a young kid bought into this crazy world and you do sympathise with him. He has a really interesting story and has a real personal reason to get involved in the story of the show. They leave some mysterious things to be revealed later and it makes you interested in the character and I did end up caring about him. 

Supporting Characters

The best part of this show is possibly the supporting cast, the great thing about the crew is that they are all so different and you grow to really like them all in there unique ways. Freddie Prinze Jnr voices Kanan Jarrus and he was a great part of the show, there is a big reveal early on about his character and it leads to a really interesting dynamic between him and Ezra, there characters go through alot during the season and you see Kanan really face his reality and be made into a better person. Hera, Sabine & Zeb are all great characters, the chemistry between the crew is a real highlight and it works, they all even have small story arcs to themselves to flesh there characters out and give you a reason to care about them. The Inquisitor is the main villain and I thought he worked for this season, he is a great foil especially for Kanan and feels like a perfect first season villain and he feels like a natural villain. 

Story

This show is often compared to The Clone Wars and one thing this show does better is that of its characters story as it feels much more focused. It focuses on its crew and develops them well and doesn't try to do too much, all the characters are given interesting stories and pretty much every episode contributes to the main plot so it all feels like it has to be there. Also the finale is a truly great episode with two twists at the end that makes you really want to keep watching and gets you even more excited for a 2nd season. 

Script

The script actually has some suprisingly touching and dramatic moments that was a nice suprise considering this show was made as a kids show. These characters have real problems and the show does a truly great job of showing that effectively. One of my issues is that the humour doesn't quite work, it is here where you notice the childish elements of the show and that it feels a bit more kid friendly and not a way to make the characters more interesting. 

Style

The action scenes are pretty exciting, they keep you interested even though they don't do anything to push the boat too much in this first season. The season has 15 episodes and this was a really good length as I said the episodes are pretty much all interesting and important to the plot which makes it move by very quickly in the right way. However, this show's animation isn't particularly strong, it works for a childrens show but for me it doesn't quite do enough to hit the darker tone The Clone Wars, I know they are different shows but this show does it sometimes but not enough to really hit the levels it needs to. 

Overall

Overall, this is a great first season of the show, it is a fun show to watch with a great selection of characters that you care about. Definitley makes you want to watch a 2nd season and that makes it very affective. 

Rating - 8/10