Wakfu, like Avatar: The Last Airbender, but French!

Winky

Wakfu is a French television show based on a tactical turn-based MMORPG of the same name.

The first season of 26 episodes began airing on 30 October 2008, and new episodes will continue to air into January 2010 on France 3. Like the video game, the show is animated with Adobe Flash software; all the production is done in France except the episode 22 "Rubilax" and the special episode "Noximilien", both produced in Japan.

The show follows the exploits of young Eliatrope Yugo who has the power to open up short range portals as he investigates what happened to his biological family. He's joined by a money-grubbing old man named Ruel, a dim-witted knight named Sadlygrove (Tristepin), the princess of the tree-loving Sadid people named Amalia and her archer bodyguard Evangeline. Together they face off against a time-altering mage named Nox who intends to drain as much of life force (Wakfu) from the planet as he can in order to reverse the flow of time.



The show is notable for the fact that (1) it's totally adorable and (2) it is perhaps the most beautiful thing ever animated in Flash. An example of which from the first episode is shown here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2JrWJfdoqk

I've seen all of the first season and most of the second and I have to say: I heartily recommend this show to anyone who's a fan of animation. It's totally worth taking a look at. Also worth seeing is the special episode that details the back story of Nox, which is animated in an entirely different style from the rest of the show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgAsKMNN18M&feature=related

I don't know much of anything about the game that it's based on, but if anyone has anything to share about that I'd be plenty interested.

skippydumptruck

I am downloading the game now because you keep talking about the cartoon

skippydumptruck

this panda

has a bamboo in his butt?

Aldo

skippydumptruck wrote:

I am downloading the game now because you keep talking about the cartoon

Dofus or Wakfu? I thought Wakfu wasn't out yet, or am I confused again?

At any rate: this franchise is ridiculously popular in France, but I've never seen any mention of it here in The Netherlands. Is it even possible to get this shit legally? Has it been subbed or dubbed?

skippydumptruck

wakfu is in open beta, it would appear

Aldo

Open, huh. Guess I should update the spreadsheet!

Esh

This is fucking gorgeous, and it'll help me practice my French. Thanks!

skippydumptruck

so the link they gave to the client in my confirmation email was wrong

so I googled, found the NA client link, downloaded that

and now it tells me I cannot access the current beta test

so, done with trying that!

Aldo

skippydumptruck wrote:

so the link they gave to the client in my confirmation email was wrong

so I googled, found the NA client link, downloaded that

and now it tells me I cannot access the current beta test

so, done with trying that!

So it's not in open beta!

Guess I gotta update the spreadsheet again! :P

Winky

Aldo wrote:

skippydumptruck wrote:

I am downloading the game now because you keep talking about the cartoon

Dofus or Wakfu? I thought Wakfu wasn't out yet, or am I confused again?

At any rate: this franchise is ridiculously popular in France, but I've never seen any mention of it here in The Netherlands. Is it even possible to get this shit legally? Has it been subbed or dubbed?

There's a lot of fan-subs, also apparently they made versions of the first two episodes with English voice actors but there aren't any announced plans to release the whole series in English.

I can't seem to just find it on youtube like you can with other shows that don't have plans to be localized yet. I've been told you can watch some of the newest episodes in French on the Wakfu website.

Besides that, well it's not hard to get a hold of.

Esh

Why is the animation in the first clip so much nicer than in the second one? It's as if they were done by two separate studios.

Winky

Esh wrote:

Why is the animation in the first clip so much nicer than in the second one? It's as if they were done by two separate studios.

They were.

But also I don't like "nicer" as the second is going for a distinctive style which is really awesome in the episode that it's used. The first style is what the majority of the show is like, the second is only a single special episode that is really pretty great. Ironically enough, most of the show is animated in France, but that single episode which arguably looks the most "French" was done in Japan.

Esh

Winky wrote:

Esh wrote:

Why is the animation in the first clip so much nicer than in the second one? It's as if they were done by two separate studios.

They were.

But also I don't like "nicer" as the second is going for a distinctive style which is really awesome in the episode that it's used. The first style is what the majority of the show is like, the second is only a single special episode that is really pretty great. Ironically enough, most of the show is animated in France, but that single episode which arguably looks the most "French" was done in Japan.

Yeah, I guess I should have said "crisper" or something. It's definitely still good.

Aldo

Btw, for those wondering where the names come from: mirror them and they're regular words. Like the old guy called Enutrof.

Falx

...

That's... not actually his name. It's his race, or specifically speaking in the world of Dofus/Wakfu, everybody is actually human, but depending on the god you choose to worship dictates your appearance. Sadida aren't tree people, they just worship Sadida. Enutrof is the merchant/money/greed god. The old guys name is Ruel.

Winky

Falx wrote:

...

That's... not actually his name. It's his race, or specifically speaking in the world of Dofus/Wakfu, everybody is actually human, but depending on the god you choose to worship dictates your appearance. Sadida aren't tree people, they just worship Sadida. Enutrof is the merchant/money/greed god. The old guys name is Ruel.

Wow, that actually makes so much more sense.

I couldn't figure out if Iop was Sadlygrove's race or profession, likewise with Cra and Evangelyne.

Aldo

Oh huh, hadn't noticed that. I was semi following spoken text and trying to read the subtitles. Basically: I'm glad the story is p straight forward.

Asiriya

Not sure how much I like the series. It's definitely amusing in the same way as TLA but I've found the episodes drag quite a lot. I've just gotten to Oma Island so things are feeling a little more involved. I just don't find any of the stories they are using outside of the main arc interesting, they feel very much like filler.

Whereas for me, TLA always seemed to be moving towards something at a decent pace, and mythology was being built on at a decent pace.

That said, the animation is awesome, and I hope that there will be upgrades to peoples powers as the show progresses (as with TLA), to properly stretch the teams skills.

Winky

Asiriya wrote:

Not sure how much I like the series. It's definitely amusing in the same way as TLA but I've found the episodes drag quite a lot. I've just gotten to Oma Island so things are feeling a little more involved. I just don't find any of the stories they are using outside of the main arc interesting, they feel very much like filler.

Whereas for me, TLA always seemed to be moving towards something at a decent pace, and mythology was being built on at a decent pace.

That said, the animation is awesome, and I hope that there will be upgrades to peoples powers as the show progresses (as with TLA), to properly stretch the teams skills.

The series gets a lot better as it goes on, in my opinion. The second season so far has been lots of fun, even the little 'detour' episodes. Enjoy the Oma Island bit, once Grougal starts fighting Nox shit gets real.

One of the things it does to make the episodes feel less like filler is that it will start to reference them or return characters from them over time. In the second season I've gotten to the season's Boufbowl arc and Kriss la Krass returns but this time he's on Yugo's team, which is awesome. I will agree that the show overall feels more directionless than TLA, and the overarching plot isn't very strong.

Also, their powers do develop over time. All of the characters except Amalia change in some way by the second season (Yugo develops his powers, Ruel gets a familiar, Sadlygrove gets a tan and turns into a total badass).

Alucard6986

The show dragged like fuck until right after the unbearable three part soccer thing. Then it finally got down to business.

Arch

Aldo wrote:

Btw, for those wondering where the names come from: mirror them and they're regular words. Like the old guy called Enutrof.

That only works for a few though, like Enutrof= Fortune

Cra= Arc

Uh eniripsa=aspirine

Iop=Poi?

sacrier =reircas?

sadida= adidas?

feca= acef?

Sram= Mars?

Xelor= Rolex is pretty witty though, I have to admit

Thor1590

http://dofuswiki.wikia.com/wiki/Class

At the bottom of that page is an explanation for each name.

Edit:

Off of that page: Sado-Maso, a term for people who enjoy using whips recreationally.

Lol

Winky

Arc as in French for bow. I don't know about the rest.

Edit: Looks like someone beat me.

DasUberEdward

Esh wrote:

This is fucking gorgeous, and it'll help me practice my French. Thanks!

Arch

Thor1590 wrote:

http://dofuswiki.wikia.com/wiki/Class

At the bottom of that page is an explanation for each name.

Edit:

Off of that page: Sado-Maso, a term for people who enjoy using whips recreationally.

Lol

Yeah, saw that after I posted

Absalon

I'm real interested in the game, but most of all I want season 2 to get going again. Wakfu and ponies. I've apparently been a real good boy.

Quid

I am sad I can not find this anywhere at all. They should be streaming this excellence to more people.

Rhan9

The episode where Tristepin gets a tan is great. Pretty significant episode, and cool to watch. The animation in this series is great, even though I was slightly disappointed with the ending and how the plot isn't terribly dynamic around that Boufball or whatever arc.

Tristepin and Evangeline were probably the most interesting characters in my opinion, followed closely by Ruel. The series is a far more entertaining way to practice my french than digging up old school books or something.

Oh yeah, I forgot. Nox is a fantastic character, what with the combination of backstory, voice, mannerisms with all the odd ticks and such, as well as the visual design. Just a very memorable character in my opinion.

Asiriya

I do really like the characters and think the relationships are a little more grown up than TLA. Nox's back story was more than I would have expected from a kids show.
Another issue I have though; TLA is grounded in some kind of realism, there are limits to peoples powers and they have to work to get any better. Wakfu basically just lets anything happen; hundred foot falls, crushed by rocks etc. There seems to be some kind of plot mana going on, with people being able to do anything for as long as it is serving the plot.
S1 finale

The whole thing with the blue guy in the last episode saving them at the last minute was ridiculous, where the hell was he before that.

Winky

Asiriya wrote:

I do really like the characters and think the relationships are a little more grown up than TLA. Nox's back story was more than I would have expected from a kids show.
Another issue I have though; TLA is grounded in some kind of realism, there are limits to peoples powers and they have to work to get any better. Wakfu basically just lets anything happen; hundred foot falls, crushed by rocks etc. There seems to be some kind of plot mana going on, with people being able to do anything for as long as it is serving the plot.
S1 finale

The whole thing with the blue guy in the last episode saving them at the last minute was ridiculous, where the hell was he before that.

....blue guy?

EDIT: Oh, you mean the Bonta guy. Yeah I don't know about him, I think it's part of them just building him up to be a total badass. Presumably he was helping the Sadida fight on the other side of the forest which is why he didn't show up until then, but yeah, totally just a set up for x3 epic save combo.