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I totally needed a minute to process this one before writing, not gonna lie.

So, Nimona. One fighter of a movie that was almost cancelled due to Blue Sky being closed down before they could finish it, before being saved by Netflix. Based on a webcomic-turned-graphic-novel which ND Stevenson, the showrunner behind She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, created back when he was a student and first posted on Tumblr. A fucking inspiring story all way around, holy shit.

And in the center of it all, of course, Nimona herself. A rebel, a punk, a shapeshifter and an awesome nonbinary representation.

She's not a girl, she's a shark >:)

This movie is a wild one. It starts with a plot twist(tm) right from the get go and then just dives in crazy action, funny jokes and an overall colorful and brash chaos. Which, you love to see it.

Nimona is bold, loud, in-your-face, full of michief and murderous intent (which she never acts upon, but that's for you to analyze once you see the whole story). She's the beautiful chaotic gremlin representation which we sorely needed. She bites, she kicks, she flies, she breaks stuff and she's overall full of pent up (or, more accurately so, just infinite) rage and frustration, but she's also goofy and cheerful and snarky about it. An overall joy.

And you, like, totally settle into the drive of the action and the dope soundtrack and the chaotic duo that is she and Ballister, the poor knight who got set up as a queen killer and is struggling to clear up his name ("Because once everyone sees you as a monster... that's what you are.") She says "murder", he says "hide", he says "we can't damage people's faith in the establishment" and she says "holy shit my dude you're so brainwashed", he's sneaking around and she's knocking stuff over like a disgrunted cat because he said no to causeing havoc. It's great.

And then very suddenly - or, in hindsight, not at all - the movie suddenly punches you in the gut and from there on it's a very different story, masterfully made still.

No spoilers on that part, you have to see it for yourself. I'll just say, I'm surprised that they went there. And I'm also glad that they did.

Nimona has cemented herself in my list of favorite characters and I haven't been able to stop thinking about her for weeks now. Gender-wise, 'cause a lot of stuff clicks for me personally, but also very much character-wise. Holy shit what a well-written character. And I know she's different from her comic counterpart, but I think both iterations deserve to exist alongside each other and both were sorely needed for their own reasons in their own time.

I love Nimona. And if you're here, I'm sure you'll love her too. Go see the movie if you still haven't, you won't regret it.

Also, while I generally focus on women (and nonbinary people hitting close to home), I simply must say that Ballister and his boyfriend Ambrosius are amazing and if you're starved for good mlm couples in animation - definitely go watch Nimona. I won't say that they're like, healthy, because plot, but they've made the best of it, all things considered.

Badass woman for a protagonist: She's not a girl, she's a shark! So, uh, yes-ish? A queer person!

Badasness: Oh HELL yeah.

Bloodiness/fighting: Some occasional blood, although rare and more for comedic effect - it's a kid cartoon, after all. The fight scenes are mighty fun without it, though.

Romance: Awesome mlm romance for the other protagonist, but as far as Nimona goes - that's not part of her current story.

A child: Definitely adopted and cried over.

Recommend: ABSOLUTELY.