Wakfu is a series that has been ongoing on French television since 2008, beginning streaming on Netflix in the West in 2014, and predates the MMORPG of the same name that it is based on by several years, both of which were created by French entertainment company Ankama. Development of the game began prior to the show, though the show premiered a good deal ahead of the game, which began development in 2006 and was released in 2012, and is still free-to-play today.
The series revolves around a young boy named Yugo who can control portals and who travels The World of Twelve with his loyal group of friends who represent the various races of the world as they attempt to uncover the secrets of his powers and people. On their journey, they fight off demonic living weapons called Shushus, uncover mysteries of the various cultures and planes of existence that surround their world, and fight off god-like evil entities and the immoral use of the all-powerful life force known as Wakfu.
The show has grown a major cult following over the years, which eventually led to a successfully funded Kickstarter for an official English dub of the show, and it is often viewed as one of the absolute best television programs based on a video game for many reasons. It has often been praised for being able to balance childish comedy with serious character arcs and dramatic tension very effectively for a children’s show, as well as emulating highly frantic anime-style action sequences through the use of Adobe Flash.
With the last update to the series being The Quest for the Six Eliatrope Dofus in 2014, fans had to wait until 2017 for the show to return to France, and Western fans will soon have easy access to it on Netflix. Wakfu the game is available to play for free on Steam, and Wakfu the series is available in its entirety on Netflix. You can watch a trailer for the third season below:
And for those of you who are uninitiated or interested in starting from the beginning, here’s a trailer for the series as a whole:
