Xavier Renegade Angel: Bizzaro Neo-Psychedelia

Hello All,

Let me share with you my favorite television show of all time- Xavier: Renegade Angel, a bizarre 2007 animated Adult Swim show from the creators of Wonder Showzen

Xavier stars a monstrous looking creature named Xavier who spent his childhood studying under a rude, crass shaman and shortly after began his spirit journey to right the wrongs of the world using bad excuses for philosophy. It is without a doubt the most complexly written and stylized show I've ever seen broadcast on a national scale. The fact that it got picked up by a television station and lasted multiple seasons still amazes me, because the content matter is completely beyond what an average audience would find acceptable, let alone enjoyable. You'll see what I mean...

Watch an episode here. They are short.

So what happened there? I don't exactly know, but it's offensive, unpredictable and odd nature always seem to make me laugh boisterously.

On the surface Xavier: Renegade Angel seems to be just a "straightforward" Adult Swim show that only exists to confuse and bewilder but when you dig deeper and watch the series enough to move past the confusing premise and visuals some serious social commentary and philosophy become wildly apparent. And if you dig even deeper and watch more you can begin to notice some intensely layered and complex writing; most, if not all, of Xavier's lines are some form of word play that flows out his mouth in a way that are incredibly ignorant and stupid, but play on language and philosophical theories. Consider all of these qualities and then add on the mass amounts of psychedelia and try not to be impressed by the quality of writing. How do people think of these things?

Xavier: Renegade Angel sits firmly within niche media, not because of its obscure or underground nature, but because of how utterly unapproachable the content is to the average audience member; sure people can find this show easily, it's all over the place, but an audience member actually understanding and appreciating the show? I can only think of a handful of people that have seen and enjoyed XRA (and I've shown it to a lot of people. A lot of people.)

Intent- The creators of Xavier: Renegade Angel are members of the production company PFFR and also created the MTV show Wonder Showzen. They clearly had some kind of artistic intent in mind when creating XRA and as far as I can tell it was to offer social commentary through a psychedelic and offensively disarming aesthetic.

Oddness- Xavier: Renegade Angel is bizarre, insane and (for lack of a better word) "trippy". It utilizes philosophical quandaries, psychedelic imagery, offensive dialogue and layered plots to create one of the most jarring and confusing shows ever broadcast.

Findability-  XRA is incredibly easy to find. It was broadcast on television on Adult Swim and many of the full episodes are online. Xavier is not an underground show by any means and is easily accessible by anyone who wants to find it, the challenge is finding people that actually want to find and watch it.

Satisfaction- Personally, I find Xavier: Renegade Angel to be stunningly hilarious and a fresh take on the television format but I also understand the unapproachable nature of the show. Audience's satisfaction will vary greatly, but if you go in with an open mind and give it a chance, you will certainly have a new television experience.

Check it out and don't blame me if you hate it. :)

Thanks for reading,
Alex