Hazbin Hotel Review

According to Youtube’s viewer count, 102 million people have viewed the Hazbin Hotel’s pilot on Youtube, and since it debuted on Amazon prime it has gained even more millions of viewers. Because of this, I decided to watch the entire series to see if it was as good as people say it is.

Hazbin Hotel is a comedic animated musical series on Amazon Prime. The pilot was released on Youtube October 28, 2018 and the full series released on January 18, 2024.

Hazbin Hotel was created by thirty-one year old Vivienne Medrano, also popularly known as her online alias “Vivziepop,” a Salvadoran-American cartoonist, voice actress and writer best known for her animated series Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss and her comic series Zoophobia. 

The show revolves around the daughter of Lucifer, named Charlie Morningstar. She is determined to redeem sinners using her rehabilitation-type hotel as an attempt to reduce Hell’s overpopulation. This would be a less violent alternative to Heaven’s yearly exterminations.

The show for sure has its moments but there are times where the comedy is misplaced. An example of this would be Sir Pentious’s death. Sir Pentious’s death was meant to be a noble sacrifice for his friends but instead it was made out to be a joke. The aftermath of his death felt out of place: one second it was all laughs and then the next second characters are sobbing over it? The show could have taken his death just a tad bit more seriously.

There’s also plenty of moments in the show that personally I think were a bit cheesy.  For example, when Alastor was showing off his power in episode five (“Dad beat Dad”) in the scene where he was confronted with the loan sharks Mimzy brought.  This along was a bit cheesy when he said, “I will devour each and every one of you!” It was meant to be threatening in some sense but instead it came off as goofier than anything.

In addition to this, another issue I have about the show itself was in the very first episode. From a new viewer standpoint, it looks like the show expects you to have already watched the pilot before having watched the official series. This could cause confusion as to how the characters themselves even ended up there in the first place.

The show did feel a bit rushed; the series could have used a lot more episodes to more smoothly connect the events and character development leading up to the finale. But other than that, the show itself is extremely well made. When first watching the Hazbin series one thing to note was the sheer quality.

The overall visual quality of the show is spectacular. The animation used in the show is smooth and the music used in the background showcases the emotions in the scene taking place. The musical segments in each episode are almost always so catchy. Great examples of this would be “Hell’s greatest dad” or “Stayed gone.” The settings and backgrounds are just as great, as the lighting and render style they used for the background I think was incredibly well done.

The characters themselves, design wise, had also improved greatly from how they were in the pilot. The characters now pop out a lot more and look a lot livelier and more vibrant than how they were previously, not to mention they look a lot simpler and cleaner.

With all critiques aside, I would rate the overall show an 8/10. Hazbin Hotel, despite its flaws, is definitely worth the watch and would definitely recommend watching the series especially if you enjoy musicals. I am looking forward to the second season and maybe these issues will be fixed next season.