Upamanyu Biswas
The adult animated series ‘The Amazing Digital Circus’ follows the exploits of a group of humans who are trapped in a video game simulation from the 90s. Their AI ringmaster, Caine, tasks them with various quests and adventures through which they learn more about each other while also dealing with the personal traumas haunting them. The show’s first three episodes introduce viewers to the strange world and its protagonist, the most recent person to be brought into the digital circus simulation. After being transported in, she has to learn the rules governing its existence. However, she also probes into the dark foundations lurking underneath the Digital Circus and the tragic state of the entire cast who inhabit it. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Pomni’s Nightmare Trip Through the Exit Door
While performing a theme song, the characters of the Digital Circus are interrupted by the presence of a new member amidst the group. A young woman dressed as a jester alarmingly tells them that she is unable to take off her virtual reality headset, which was her entryway into the world. The other members tell her it is futile as they, too, are humans trapped inside the Digital Circus. The AI overseer, Caine, names the new jester girl Pomni and introduces her to the other members – Jax, Ragatha, Kinger, Gangle, Zooble, and Kaufmo. They all live together inside The Tent, where Caine also assigns Pomni’s room. He states that the group engages in adventure quests occasionally, and since it is Pomni’s first day, they should go out on one.
For the first adventure quest, Caine tasks the team with gathering creatures called Gloinks. While Kinger and Gangle are assigned to the task, Pomni, Jax, and Ragatha go on a quest to find Kaufmo, who has stayed in his room. The three find Kaufmo in a broken, jagged state known as abstraction. When creatures within the video game world lose their sanity and become psychologically conflicted, they get abstracted and turn into mindless beasts. Afraid of what she sees, Pomni flees from Kaufmo, who follows her into the Tent’s main lobby space. Meanwhile, Jax joins Kinger and Gangle in their quest to find the Gloinks. They enter the Gloink cave and meet its terrifying leader, the Gloink Queen. The Queen’s reign is abruptly brought to a halt when Kaufmo lands on her through a hole in The Tent. He subsequently beats her up.
In the Tent, Pomni comes across a mysterious door with an exit sign. Having seen one like it when she was transported in, she ventures through the door, hoping it leads her out of the simulation. Unfortunately, it does not, and she is trapped in a repeated loop within the same room. Eventually, she finds herself in the Void, a null outer space that exists beyond the Digital Circus. Traumatized by what she sees, she is teleported back to the Tent by Caine. He reveals that he created the exit door because everyone kept saying they wanted one. However, he was not sure what to put at the end of it. The AI ringmaster then locks Kaufmo in the cellar with other abstracted humans. As a reward for completing his quest, he creates a digital feast for the characters. Meanwhile, Pomni looks on with a haunted expression on her face.
Existential Crisis in Candy Canyon Kingdom
For the second adventure, Caine orders the group to travel to a new map titled Candy Canyon Kingdom, where they have to help retrieve stolen syrup from highway bandits. The princess of the Kingdom gifts them with a tanker of their own, which they use to chase down the bandits. During the ensuing battle, Pomni and Gummigoo, the leader of the bandits, glitch through the map and land in an out-of-bounds area where the assets of each Candy Canyon Kingdom character are stored. The pair happens across the character assets of Gummigoo and his bandit brothers, which triggers a deep existential crisis within him. They both share their vulnerabilities, and Pomni convinces him to stay at Digital Circus to understand his origins a little better, even if he is an NPC.
At the same, the rest of the group manages to find the tanker by landing in a canyon river. A mysterious monster named The Fudge tries to eat the tanker but is stopped by Jax. Eventually, the group persuades him to carry the tanker back to the Kingdom, where it might exact revenge for being exiled in the past. Halfway to the place, they reunite with Gummigoo and Pomni, who escape the asset storage space by flying in through a tanker. They return the maple syrup to the princess and leave through the portal. Jax informs her at the last moment that the Fudge is on his way to collect his dues, which spreads chaos among the ranks. Meanwhile, Pomni’s nightmare continues when Gummigoo is eviscerated by Caine the moment he steps into the Circus. Even attending Kaufmo’s funeral does not alleviate her growing trauma.
Kinger’s Tragic Past Comes to the Fore in Mildenhall Manor
After surviving two complicated adventures, the group has a seemingly straightforward task set for them in the third escapade. Their job is to head to the Mildenhall Manor map and survive the horror of the ghastly beings who haunt it. Unfortunately, the simple job takes a twist when Kinger and Pomni take the scarier route through the house. They face the horror of the Mildenhall Manor mystery through a series of recorded tapes left behind by the last inhabitant. Eventually, a skull-like figure with jagged teeth starts hunting them through the house. Kinger eventually arms himself with a shotgun and kills the creature. However, this proves to be the wrong move as the creature is actually an angel from heaven. Subsequently, Kinger and Pomni are dragged into hell as punishment for their sin.
While trapped in the realms of the dead, Pomni has a frank discussion with Kinger, stating how surprised she is by his state of lucidity. Usually, he is forgetful and lacking in any mental coherence. He tells her that it is because of the darkness and that his old clarity returns to him in dark spaces. Additionally, the pair talk about Kinger’s wife, who was abstracted in the game before Pomni came in. He also showers her with messages of confidence and tells her to believe in herself a lot more. After a little thinking, the pair manage to escape hell by holding their breath and climbing up some stairs. They meet up with the other group, who had taken the pacifist route and faced no trouble in the house. After returning, Kinger returns to his usual absent-minded self while Pomni watches him with a smile.
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