Geekscape Reviews: ‘Adventure Time – Stakes!’

With the growing popularity Marceline and  one of the better story arcs from last season, she was finally given a whole mini series, Stakes!, which originally aired back in November on Cartoon Network. The series takes a look at Marceline’s struggle with being a vampire in the Land of Ooo.

The Miniseries consists of eight episodes going over her constant internal struggles with being a vampire with flashbacks of her time as a vampire hunter and how it ultimately lead to her becoming one herself. Marceline decides that she no longer wants to be a vampire, and turns to Princess Bubblegum to make that wish come true. Just as PB removes the vampire essence from Marceline, five of her foes  that were thought to be long dead reappear. Marceline now must faces her old foes including her biggest nemesis, the Vampire King.

As a casual fan of  Adventure Time, I was always a big fan of any of the story lines that revolved around Marceline, especially if it includes Simon (a.k.a. Ice King). I thoroughly enjoyed the series and appreciate the overall message of self acceptance and the journey one must take to overcome it. Watching this with the kid, I asked her what did she take away from the series and her response was perfect. She understands that one doesn’t have to go through the rough times alone, and that friends and family will always be there to help.

Unlike the main series, the plot was kept very tight and forward moving without much of the usual random crazy antics. My favorite episode of the series happens to be “May I Come In?” Taking cues from classic vampire lure, the gang has to use its wits to somehow outsmart a shape shifting vampire known as Hierophant (Paul Williams) whose greatest weakness is not being able to enter any premises without permission.

The ‘Adventure Time: Stakes!’ DVD consists of the eight episodes of the series, animatics, song demos and an art gallery. All the bonus features that gives a nice look into what goes into making the show. The DVD was just recently released on January 19 and is currently available on Amazon.

It’s really a great overall addition to the show, and a great way to flesh out one of its most popular characters.