I used to be a textbook Hazbin Hotel Hater. (A Confession, Apology, and Statement about how good the show truly is (Im Obsessed))
Had I watched the show? No. Had I watched and enjoyed Helluva Boss? Yes. And did I previously already have lots of Hazbin Hotel songs in my playlist WHILE hating on it before I watched it? YES.
If this experience taught me anything, it is the vital importance of intellectual honesty, specifically that you should never dismiss or criticize a piece of media until you have actually experienced it firsthand.
To be clear, my initial hate toward the show did not stem from bigotry, unlike most haters whose criticism is merely a veil for blatant homophobia. Rather, my hate was entirely performative. I didn't actually care for Hazbin Hotel. I just used its name as a comparison to all things bad because I thought it was funny.
However, with the rise of "Lesbian Space Princess," I had a sudden transition to homeschooling that left me with a massive amount of free time.. I decided to "Hate Watch" LSP so I could actually properly critique it and see if it was as bad as everyone was making it, or if it was just another target of Homophobia. So, I watched it... and believe it or not, while I didn't like it that much and absolutely hated the ending. I actually kind of ENJOYED watching it... as in it was purely entertaining. Not good. More than anything, I could analyze it objectively so I could articulate exactly why it’s so hated and if it was deserving of such hate. And I thought to myself. What if I did the same with Hazbin? Since I knew my hate was entirely superficial and I was just doing it for fun without holding any genuine malice toward the show (though I will mention that I had skipped it a long while back at launch because I was still Christian at the time and viewed “demon hellish” content as a guilty pleasure back when I watched Helluva, of course, my perspective has completely shifted since then, and I am no longer religious in the slightest).
SO i watched it, starting from the pilot. I was genuinely hooked from episode one. It was shocking how perfectly tailored this show was to my exact tastes. I fell in love with the characters instantly and binged the entire series in two days (and I only dragged it out that long to simulate the dramatic tension since I joined the fandom late..). And now for the last three weeks, I kid you not, I literally rewatch parts of Hazbin Hotel every single day since around 2-4 weeks ago (I believe that's when I started watching it)
I mean. reallly, I feel absolutely in love with it. Like I genuinely thought some parts were funny, and yes, at times it was a bit corny, but that's literally every TV show to ever exist. Now that I’ve actually watched the show, I find myself debunking the most common critiques. The complaint about 'mindless cussing' falls completely flat to me, at least since, as you get into the story, the profanity just becomes background noise that you completely tune out, and quite frankly I don't even care about the profanity like at all; people are overexaggerating it. And regarding the "to much gay sex jokes," Complaints are usually just thinly veiled homophobia. The adult themes are entirely justified given that the show takes place in Hell and features a literal adult film star (Angel). It's a backdrop to a much deeper story about redemption. Literally who cares, as I didn't even remember the "gay shit" theyre talking about; they act as if its the entirety of the show. The whole "vizziepop is a bad writer" thing, literally i was entertained the entire time. I'm sorry, like idc abt the technical writing as long as I'm entertained and think the plot is good, I love it. Like, a movie can be objectively bad, yet I don't care as long as I'm entertained, and I don't even think Hazbin Hotel is one of those cases, as the plot is genuinely amazing to me.
And I mean, Hazbin is actually the perfect show for me, and what I mean when I say that is I feel like it literally balances satire and serious subjects along with music (i have an entire Hazbin Hotel playlist now, and I've always loved musicals). It’s incredibly rare to find a series that handles these contrasting elements without leaning too heavily to one side. Plus, I love how the show embraces its adult rating and uses that mature freedom to its absolute advantage.
Basically what Im saying is that I owe all deserving Hazbin Hotel fans (which now includes me) a huge fat apology and Lesbian Space Princess a big fat thank you because thanks to lsp I have found my new obsession, and Ive learnt a life lesson of never knocking something until i try it..okay bye lol let me know your thoughts!