-i am not okay with this is a rather simple show on a small scale about how little things lead to big results. - Bryson saunders-beckles, grade 10
During quarantine, I’ve found several different shows, anime and movies. One I’ve found I’ve enjoyed very much is a show called I Am Not Okay With This (For the sake of the article, I will simply call it Okay.) The show follows our protagonist Sydney Novak, who’s a 17 year old high schooler who is just trying to fit in and find a sense of normalcy in her life, as well as figure out her crush on her best friend Dina, her feelings surrounding the death of the father, and her telekinetic superpowers that come out when she’s angry. Along the way, she makes friends and enemies and comes to a better understanding of herself. The thing I’ll start with first is the actual tone of the show. The show’s tone is just like the protagonist: It’s sarcastic, terse, angsty, and humorously dry, but it has a lot of heart and emotion underneath all of it. It’s usually really mellow and chill, so when something does happen that’s out of the ordinary, you notice right away, and it leaves a bigger impact as a result. It’s the kind of show about our protagonist who lives in a small rural town they hate that you’ve probably seen before, but what sets it apart from others like it is the characters, the emotional bases, and the ending. In terms of music, Okay has a 80’s/90’s pop style from years before and some music of their own from a band called Bloodwitch, which was created for the show.
Next, I suppose I’ll talk about the characters. Our main character is Sydney Novak, and she is an absolute joy to watch in the show. Her personality is that of extreme moodiness and angst, and sarcasm is practically etched into every part of herself. But behind all of that, she’s really broken up about where she is in life. Her dad committed suicide last year, her family doesn’t talk about it at all, and their financially struggling. On top of that, Sydney has telekinetic powers that come out when she’s angry, and she’s in love with her best friend, Dina, who is dating Brad Lewis, who is the school jock, and a huge jerk to boot. So it’s easy to say that Syd has a lot going on in her life right now. But it gets better when she becomes friends with Stanely Barber, the weird kid that she knows who becomes a really positive force in her life and someone who provides some of the comic relief in the show that is done really well.
Now to talk about the elephant in the room. The fact of the matter is that this show is based off of a comic book of the same name, and I would not recommend it to you. The show in general is better in almost every regard, from characterization, to emotional moments, tone and ending. The comic is somehow bleaker and more depressing and the original, and the ending is the same. The comic’s art almost looks like Charlie Brown, but with drugs and anxiety. So, I will definitely recommend this show to you and give it a very solid 9/10. You will find it on Netflix. Enjoy.
Next, I suppose I’ll talk about the characters. Our main character is Sydney Novak, and she is an absolute joy to watch in the show. Her personality is that of extreme moodiness and angst, and sarcasm is practically etched into every part of herself. But behind all of that, she’s really broken up about where she is in life. Her dad committed suicide last year, her family doesn’t talk about it at all, and their financially struggling. On top of that, Sydney has telekinetic powers that come out when she’s angry, and she’s in love with her best friend, Dina, who is dating Brad Lewis, who is the school jock, and a huge jerk to boot. So it’s easy to say that Syd has a lot going on in her life right now. But it gets better when she becomes friends with Stanely Barber, the weird kid that she knows who becomes a really positive force in her life and someone who provides some of the comic relief in the show that is done really well.
Now to talk about the elephant in the room. The fact of the matter is that this show is based off of a comic book of the same name, and I would not recommend it to you. The show in general is better in almost every regard, from characterization, to emotional moments, tone and ending. The comic is somehow bleaker and more depressing and the original, and the ending is the same. The comic’s art almost looks like Charlie Brown, but with drugs and anxiety. So, I will definitely recommend this show to you and give it a very solid 9/10. You will find it on Netflix. Enjoy.
