The Mighty Nein's Introductory Sequence Chose the Wrong Critical Role Track
The Mighty Nein, the most recent animated adventure by the beloved role-playing group, revealed an exciting opening credits. It features the beloved cast of misfits, outcasts, and criminals fighting hard and taking names, while also hinting at several heart-wrenching backstories for characters including the voice actor's wizard Caleb, and another actor's orc warlock, the character Fjord.
All in all, the intro appears amazing. However, I felt that something was lost in the song choice.
The intro uses "Welcome to the Continent", an exceptional song composed by producer and singer the talented musician. It's a track from the official score of that title, the second one released by Critical Role Productions LLC's music division Scanlan Shorthalt Music. It's a great nostalgic choice, and I believe that fans of the sequel series will love its presence.
But for me, The Mighty Nein's opening doesn't quite capture the excitement and excitement that accompanied the show's actual-play adventure. "It's Your Turn", written by singer-songwriter Jason Charles Miller, became an immediate hit for me when it was first revealed in that year, and it improved further when co-founder Sam Riegel added lyrics to the tune for the series' animated intro in the later year.
Including singing from one actress, another performer, a co-star, as well as Riegel himself, the song was catchy and enjoyable. Back then, I hadn't even watched the follow-up series yet, but this was such an earworm that I kept it on my device. It's a song that knows how to get you pumped before you dive into an installment of fantasy hijinks.
The show's opening with "Welcome to Wildemount" doesn't strike the right notes for me. It's a grand piece of music, but based on my understanding of this party, I can't help but feel that its tone is somewhat mismatched.
Of course, Critical Role has already said that the animated show will have a few changes and differences from the original live sessions. A tonal change for its intro seems to be one of them.
This animated adventure will be released on Prime Video from November 19. For those eager before that, or wish to prepare to get to know the personas of the second series, the actual play are accessible on Spotify and YouTube.