it is a 'Ship of Theseus' situation. Over the years, Adventure Time has turned over directors, gradually shifting. For quite a while it would ebb/flow into/out of things I like, with seasons 1-4 being 10/10 all-around and further seasons now and again splintering into a lot of things I both don't care about and that even at times seemed to compete or contradict each other's plot lines, as naturally occurs when you start to have a faster turn-over rate and shifting teams. I've heard it famously wasn't fun to work on by the latter half. WELL. its less fun to watch....

I liked individual storyboard artists and voices in AT! I liked a philosophy to it. I'm not really a 'franchise' kind of person-- I don't like something just because it "is" a certain Intellectual Property, like Marvel, or Star Wars. I like individual artists or sense of direction! This is why I'm pretty openly harsh on like, book packaging franchises with 7 ghost writers under 1 name generating slop (cough)... it's sort of the definition of a kind of art I don't find value in. (<- AT is not this, just explaining a feeling I have for context).

I feel like in some dramatic cases people will grock this, like what is going on right now with Little Nightmares 3 no longer being produced by Tarsier. Some people value 'the World' and 'the franchise' more than Dave Mervick's writing. Most people admit the new game objectively is inferior. I think without Dave, it's just a mediocre horror game without anything to say-- it lacks a 'voice'. I wouldn't stick around just because it 'is Little Nightmares'. My love is conditional.

'Fiona and Cake' has VERY little in common with the series I loved, as much as someone watching the first Star Wars movies might strongly dislike a Spinoff series coming out NOW on Disney+. It's Adventure Time... in name only.

That said I fell off the wagon by Distant Lands-- I gave it a fair shot but it really, really didn't work for meeee. I enjoyed even quite later things like Stakes or Islands so I was optimistic but, ah, no. I would call it 'insufferable'... for me...

Fionna and Cake in particular though, what I see of it is-- -- I don't -- I don't know why anyone would think I would like it...? based on what I love in AT...? I'll see a screencap of like. "and here's turtle princess... as a normal human... and THIS normal human in a town.. that's... embryo princess! and THIS background human... is BMO!" its like, showing me a picture of a toddler in a red t-shirt and going, "look its Elmo!" a large bearded man "and THATS snuffaluffagus!" where am I, why would I want this ?? I've seen enough embarrassing screencaps... a lot of it makes me cringe gklfd;hfdh... like the most boring fanart made canon... OUUUGHH

The designs and world look... boring and not whimsical..? I don't need... older buff finn.... I do not like... the setting... I do not like Simon... the fundamentals about why I liked AT, why I liked Finn and Marcy particularly, are not here .... unlike a lot of people I very frequently completely rewatch the original series top to bottom!!! I feel kind of insane as a result like I'm the only person noticing It Is Nothing Alike... kind of ghoulishly at this point it feels like what I hate about a lot modern cartoons wearing the skin of a cartoon I liked