Netflix adult anime drama BoJack Horseman is back with its fourth season. And this time the series deals with some of BoJack's hardest personal challenges, as noted by Polygon.
Also read: From Rick & Morty to Bojack Horseman: Must-watch animation shows for adults
BoJack Horseman is a horse-faced man who was the star of the 90s hit TV show Horsin' Around. He lives in Hollywoo (it's basically Hollywood in which the 'd' is missing). BoJack Horseman exists in a world where animals and humans coexist without conflict.
The fourth season of the series consists of 12 episodes, all of which arrive on Netflix on September 8. Here's what critics have to say about the fourth season.
IndieWire
For those who might be expecting a jaw-dropping breakout episode on the level of Season 3's largely silent experiment "Fish Out of Water," know that rather than aim for one big moment of artistry, Season 4 instead plays semi-consistently across several episodes with animation styles and points-of-view, shifting through time periods on a level beyond flashback. More than once, the past, present, and future find ways to collide, informing each other even as they reveal buried secrets and tragic truths.
The New York Times
That material has the snap and the poignancy we've grown accustomed to, as does the story centred on BoJack's manager Princess Carolyn (Amy Sedaris), who's trying to have a child. While nothing matches the adventurousness of Season 3's underwater awards show episode, Season 4's ninth episode — narrated from the future by a distant descendant of Carolyn's — is a devastating example of what "BoJack" can do at its best.
Watch the trailer for Season 4 here.
Polygon
When it comes to BoJack's personal arc, the show shines. The fourth season includes two of the most haunting and devastating episodes the series has ever produced. One in particular focuses solely on BoJack's depression and how it affects his day-to-day life; rife with bleak honesty about how painful, constant and overwhelming living with depression is. Anyone who has ever suffered through a major depressive period will find it difficult to watch.
Den of Geek
BoJack Horseman is no stranger to featuring bold, stylistic departures in storytelling, like in last season's silent "Fish Out of Water." This year is no exception as one episode spends a good deal of time in BoJack's head, running through his interior monologue. The episode underscores just how vulnerable and full of doubt BoJack is in what's an extremely honest depiction of stream of consciousness.
Collider
As Raphael Bob-Waksberg's brilliant animated series has continued on, the writing has latched onto its darker emotional undercurrents with a stirring seriousness that doesn't scrub off its wry, unyielding humour and absurdity. It's a very funny show about some very serious matters, ranging from marital strife and addiction to depression and sexual identity, in a world populated by animal-people and humans.
