I threw together a TV channel for Animorphs if anyone is interested. It just plays episodes around the clock, so you can drop in whenever and see what's on.

When Jake says "Full emergency power to the engines. Ram the Blade ship." , how do you hear it? Is he scared? Confident? Calm? Shouting? Love to see what you guys think in terms of his tone, maybe it even changes over the course of his dialogue. No wrong answers here, just curious!

Convenient use of morphing power!

I'm genuinely curious here. There are no spoilers in this post for those who are still in the process of reading- would love to hear from you folks as well.

We got a synopsis of the premise of the series at the start of every book- this was something they committed to throughout the series- all because the authors/publishers were worried someone would start reading at, say, Book 27 without having read previous books in the series.

I'm wondering how real a concern that was- how many folks actually were jumping in mid-series or in general reading them out of order. I'll acknowledge that this subreddit isn't the most accurate sampling, as the people on it will slant towards the more "hardcore" fans. But still seemed like a fun exercise for people to share their point of access to the series.

Please answer these questions:

1) What was the first Animorphs book you read?
2) Did you read the books as they were being released or pick them up sometime later?
3) To what extent did you read them in order of release? How strict were you on that.
4) If you didn't read them in order of release, were there any issues associated with that? How clear a picture did you get of what the series was from reading the synopsis offered in Chapter 1 of pretty much every book?
5) Just for fun, what do you think the WORST main series book (excluding the final arc) to start the series would be?

For me:

1. I read book one first, within a few months of it's original release (yes I'm old).
2. I read up until the early 30s as they were being released, usually within a month of the release. I'd order them from the scholastic book catalog. I read the latter 20 plus books some years after the series ended.
3. I was always pretty strict about reading them in order of release, but am wondering how necessary that was. I didn't even start on the last 20 books until I had ALL of them.
4. N/A
5. Hmmm. I think any of the series-critical Marco books in the mid-later part of his arc hit the same if you aren't in his head for book 5.
   

Another thing y'all can do is to mischaracterise any character of your choice, I can't WAIT to see what you guys have cooked up once I come back from a family event yoyo!

(Edit: Was reading through the comments and I loved all of them OH MY GOSH?? 😭😭😭)

Aclaro soy hombre y tengo 15 años por si les parece raro mm marco no es gay la verdad no me tiene nada de gay y no me gustaría que lo fuera por qué parte de su esencia es no serlo no se que traducción tenga esto pero lo más probable que logré tal vez sea "jotear" espero y reddit sepa traducirlo pero es cuando los chicos heteros fingen de forma irónica a ser gays la verdad muchos de mis amigos hacen eso

POR QUE TODOS SON UNOS PUTOS INSENSIBLES bueno Tobías y Rachel no tanto PERO ESTOY SEGURO QUE HABÍA OTRS FORMA estoy llorando y nos volvieron a dejar con la incógnita si la madre de marco está viva o no que tal si erek se ponía abajo para recibir a la madre de marco y finguian su muerto y después Jake sometiendo a marco para que no haga nada todos son horribles ya quiero ver a Jake haciendo lo mismo con su hermano si no lo odiaré mucho ya había llorado antes con los libros pero definitivamente este es con el que llore más

https://www.tumblr.com/multishipperbish/818632538286424064?source=share

¿Cómo hizo marco para mandar un e-mail a visser uno si Cassie había dicho antes que no tenían módem

Marco — The Sinestro Corps (Fear)

On the surface, Marco uses humor as a shield, but beneath the jokes lies the most pragmatic, Machiavellian mind on the team.

Marco is willing to consider the grim, terrifying calculus of war—sacrificing chess pieces, striking fear into the heart of Vissers, and using psychological warfare to destabilize the enemy.

The Sinestro Corps harnesses fear to impose order and control. While Marco isn't malicious like Sinestro, his tactical mastery relies entirely on projecting absolute terror into the Yeerk leadership, proving that he knows how to weaponize dread better than anyone else.

Alt Lantern Ring — Indigo Tribe (Compassion):

Marco presents himself as the cold, heartless tactician, but why does he do it? Because he cares so deeply that he cannot afford to fail. His mother, Eva, is Visser One.

Every cold, ruthless decision he makes is driven by a deep, buried pool of love and compassion for his family and friends. Indigo rings are known to seek out those who suppress their empathy to survive.

Marco forces himself to be ruthless because his compassion is too painful to carry out in the open.

Tobias — The Star Sapphires (Love)

Tobias starts the series as a neglected, invisible kid with no family who loves him. Joining the Animorphs—and falling in love with Rachel—gives him his first real taste of belonging.

When he becomes a nothlit (trapped in hawk form), he loses his human identity entirely. What keeps him sane and grounded isn't willpower or hope—it's his fierce, devoted love for Rachel and his other bonds with the Animorphs.

Star Sapphires are famously protective and can be terrifying when their loved ones are threatened. His love is his sanctuary, but it’s also his sharpest weapon.

Throughout Taylor's mental torture in book 33 (The Illusion) using alternating pain and pleasure rays, Tobias clings to memories of Rachel and the profound joy their memo. When Taylor asserts that protecting friends is foolish because Tobias rejects her cynicism.

Taylor hated herself; her face, her identity was warped by her Yeerk, and she projected her self-loathing onto the ''Andalite bandit.'' She wanted to turn him into a hollow, broken shell just like her.

​Self-love became Tobias’s ultimate weapon of resistance.

Holding onto his sense of self when someone is trying to erase you is the purest form of self-preservation.

Ultimately, while the intensity of the torture nearly forced the secrets out, his love for Rachel and trust in his friends kept his spirit human, and his friends' loyalty ultimately proved Taylor wrong when they pulled off his rescue.

It was his bonds that kept him sane not willpower, Tobias character is more defined by love and hope than willpower.

When Rachel finally rescues Tobias and prepares to execute Taylor in retaliation, Tobias stops her.

Despite the horrific suffering Taylor inflicted on him, Tobias recognizes the tragedy in Taylor's situation and pities her, he begs Rachel to show mercy, refusing to let Rachel compromise her own humanity over Taylor.

Alt Lantern Ring — The Blue Lantern Corps (Hope)

Trapped in the body of a hawk, Tobias suffers the second most isolating fate of any Animorph.

He loses his human life, his family, and his physical safety, existing on the margins of society as a perpetual observer. Yet, despite his bitter cynicism and profound loneliness, Tobias remains the silent guardian angel of the group, a steadfast source of quiet encouragement when everyone else is ready to break.

Blue Lanterns are fueled by hope, and they cannot function without a Green Lantern (Rachel) nearby—mirroring how Tobias operates as Rachel’s shadow, keeping the flame of hope alive when the darkness closes in.

Aximili-Esgarouth-Isthill — The Star Sapphires (Love)

Ax's defining emotional struggle is his intense bond to his Andalite pride, his brother Elfangor, and his fiercely protective love/loyalty for his human family.

Star Sapphires are powered by the violet light of love—not just romantic love, but deep, unshakeable devotion and familial bonds.

Ax’s entire arc is defined by his love for his human friends, which eventually forces him to defy Andalite military law to save them.

Ax rejects the cold, dogmatic hierarchy of the Andalite High Command because his love for his human family has rewritten his world view.

Ax’s entry into the war is defined by love and grief for his late brother, Elfangor. His early motivation isn't just duty to the Andalite Military, it’s living up to the memory of the brother he adored.

He learns from other perspective, pushes against his own biases, and improves himself.

The Violet light ring seeks out those who have suffered deep loss yet choose to love boundlessly—which describes Ax perfectly.

Alt Lantern Ring — The Green Lantern Corps (Willpower)

Ax is stranded on a backwater planet, surrounded by "primitive" humans, having heard his legendary brother die. His entire survival is a testament to raw, stubborn willpower.

Green Lanterns are chosen for their ability to overcome great fear. Ax has to overcome not just his fear of the Yeerks, but his fear of failing his warrior oath, his fear of disobeying his military superiors, and the terrifying realization that the Andalites aren't as perfect as he was taught.

Pushing through those existential crises to forge his own path takes massive, unyielding strength of will.

Ax: The Orange Lantern of Avarice for Cinnabon

David – The Black Lantern Corps (Death)

In the DC universe, Black Lantern rings are fueled by death, reanimating the corpses of those who died with unresolved trauma, deep resentments, or unfinished business.

A Black Lantern ring doesn't just reanimate a body—it uses the resurrected person's corrupt memories to emotionally tear apart the people who knew them in life.

​David is defined by his deep bitterness. After losing his normal life, his home, and his parents to the war, he turned on the Animorphs, opting for self-preservation and spite.

​His ultimate fate—trapped eternally as a rat on a desolate rock (nothlit)—is a living death.

Whether he eventually died on that island or was mercy-killed by Rachel in The Return (#48), David died emotionally long before his physical life ended.

A Black Lantern ring seeks out souls filled with black hatred and an overwhelming sense of being wronged.

David’s burning hatred for Jake, Rachel, and the rest of the team makes him the ideal vessel for the Black Light of Death.

​Black Lanterns are uniquely dangerous because they do not just attack physically; they torment the living by weaponizing their target's deepest guilt.

​David is the Animorphs' greatest moral sin and their shared nightmare:

My name's David. I was just a normal kid, until one day I found that blue cube at the construction site. That was the day my life changed forever.

Because of that cube, I lost everything: my house, my parents, my pets.

The animorphs took me, and pretended to be my friend. But they were afraid of me, and jealous of me too. They couldn't see what I could see.

That's why they betrayed me, and trapped me in a morph. They left me alone, on that island. I was driven mad by my pain and fear, and then.. I died

David... Rise.

part 1

Cómo que ya tiene 15 años significa que ya pasaron 2 años desde la invasión no me gusta esto del paso del tiempo siento que no se nota suficiente también significa que ya casi se gradúan d ella secundaria o tal vez no se graduen ojalá hicieran el paso del tiempo más evidentemente un cumpleaños o navidad o algo haci

Cassie has been a source of contention for the fanbase since the original run of the series. While there absolutely are a great number of fans who love the character, she's also the character who gets the most, shall we say, criticism from diehard fans of the series.

Just to put all cards on the table here, I fall firmly within the camp of people who disliked Cassie when I was first reading the books, yet gained a better appreciation for her as I got older. She still isn't my favorite character among the core group, but I am not in any sense of the word a Cassie "hater". I think she played an essential role in the series and the books would have been worse without her. Her desire to avoid violence while often having to commit it to save earth is very compelling, and while her moralizing does sometimes feel like it's slowing things down, I think we needed that perspective from her.

Her beliefs weren't always particularly consistent or well formed, but that felt very expected for a teenage girl with a strong moral compass thrown into the situation she was thrown into. All of that is to say, I don't have a problem with the character. I didn't title this post "fixing Cassie" or the "problem with Cassie" because I do not accept it as a given that she "needs fixing".

And now for the dreaded BUT that I'm sure many people saw coming:

I think the way the authors chose to use her, particularly in her POV books, warrants some unpacking. While many will disagree on the merit of her as a character, there does appear to be some statistical basis against, at the very least, the POPULARITY of her POV books, if not their quality.

This poll shows a full ranking of all of the main series titles. Full credit to user KingDAW247 for doing a bit more analysis here- he had the average and median ranking for the books by narrator. I was going to do this analysis myself until seeing that KingDAW247 had already done it:

1. Tobias- Median 15, Best 2, Worst 27. Average 14.333.
2. Marco- Median 23.5, Best 8, Worst 41. Average 23.8.
3. Ax- Median 27.5, Best 12, Worst 45. Average 28.
4. Rachel- Median 32, Best 3, Worst 52, Average 31.364.
5. Jake- Median 35, Best 1, Worst 54, Average 29.455.
6. Cassie- Median 37.5, Best 5, Worst 53, Average 32.3.

Her books were by median the least popular among the core group, and by mean she was very close to tied with Rachel, who's average was torpedoed by 3 very unpopular books all deep in the ghostwritten era.

My takeaways from this:

Cassie had more books that feel like "filler" than anyone else. Books that feel skippable, not just because of their irrelevance but their stakes. Everyone got filler books later in the series, but for Cassie they started earlier and more often. There are multiple times in the series where it feels like you had a string of absolute classics followed by a Cassie filler book.

Why is this?

I'm...not sure the authors consistently knew how to tell compelling stories using Cassie's perspective. Cassie had her empathy and her unique way of valuing life, but it feels to me that the authors never managed to leverage that in a way that consistently lead to great stories. Cassie never had a "golden goose" story element. Whenever the writers needed a great book for Marco, they could go back to the Visser One well. Ax needs a plot? Lets bring in some Andalites and make Ax interact with them. Tobias coming up? Time for some existential dread with his identity as a human. Cassie never reliably had anything like that- and I'd argue that's WHY her books struggle in these rankings. Jake and Rachel sorta have this same problem, but they still managed to get some solid stories out of Jake's struggles with leadership and Rachel coming to grips with her violent nature. When it came time to decide where exactly to place David's arc in the sequence of narrators, it was clearly decided that Jake and Rachel were the right choices to tell that story when it reached it's darkest. They could have structured it so Cassie/Marco/Jake or some other combination got the David trilogy, but they didn't.

Some will argue Cassie herself is the problem, but I never personally bought that. Why? Because of the two books she had that ARE classics- 19 and 29. These are the two books that are consistently regarded as among the series best. And you know what? Cassie really isn't different (IMO) in those books. Sure, she gets a capability buff in book 29 when she can perform brain surgery on Ax, but she's still the same overly idealistic, impulsive, and hyperempathetic person that she is in every other book. The traits folks sometimes don't like about her are very much still there. And those books don't succeed despite those characteristics, but BECAUSE of them. Number 19 and its follow up form a story that only Cassie really could have told, IMO. This character CAN carry stories- the authors just struggled to find the right stories for her consistently. The result? She ended up with a lot of the B-list subplots that didn't fit clearly with any POV characters (think Andalite Toilet and Helmacrons).

What do folks think about this? Is there a world where Cassie had a core storyline like Marco or Tobias? What might that have looked like? Could the Peace movement subplot have been expanded upon in an interesting way? Or am I dead wrong about this and the issue really was Cassie?

I'm writing a fan fic called Esplin's Journal, and I commissioned an artist to make cover art for it. This is the work in progress stuff she's been sharing with me. Oil on canvas.

I've been aching for Visser-3's perspective on things FOREVER, and I was a little disappointed that Visser was really focused on Visser-1's backstory, despite the cover.

I'm writing every word of it myself, 'cause fuck AI.

Hard to get a good pic since it’s wrapped around my arm. But here he is.

Rachel — The Green Lantern Corps (Willpower)

While Rachel is famous for her bloodlust, her true defining trait by the end of the series isn’t just anger— it’s an unbreakable, resolve.

Think about her final stand in book 54 (The Beginning). She knows she is walking into a meat grinder, she knows she might not survive, and she does it anyway with cold, clear-eyed acceptance. To matter even a little.

A Green Lantern ring doesn’t choose you because you lack fear; it chooses you because you can push past it and act anyway.

Rachel's "willpower" is dark, heavy kind, and has the grim determination to do the ugly, necessary work so no one else has to.

Alt Lantern Ring — The Red Lantern Corps (Rage)

Rachel’s arc is one of the most compelling descents into the necessity of violence. While she starts out merely impulsive, the war hollows her out, turning her into the team's designated executioner.

She embraces the cruelty required to win because she believes someone has to bear the moral stain so the others don't have to.

A Red Lantern ring is powered by white-hot rage, blood, and a burning need for vengeance against those who inflict suffering.

Jake Berenson — The Blue Lantern Corps (Hope)

In DC lore, Blue Lanterns are the rarest and most powerful, but they have a catch: their rings are completely powerless without a Green Lantern nearby. They cannot create hard-light constructs of destruction; instead, they inspire, heal, and supercharge others.

This is a poetic description of Jake and Rachel’s relationship. Jake’s entire burden as leader is that he has to be the beacon of hope. Even when he is falling apart inside, he projects the belief that they can win, that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If Rachel is out on the front lines acting as the unstoppable force of will, Jake is the one providing the hope that keeps them tethered to humanity.

Without Hope, Rachel’s willpower would curdle into pure, unbridled destruction (or a Red Lantern rage).

Alt Lantern Ring — The Green Lantern Corps (Willpower)

Jake didn't ask to be a leader; he was thrust into a brutal, unwinnable war and forced to carry the crushing weight of every decision. A Green Lantern ring chooses those who can overcome great fear.

Jake’s defining trait isn't an absence of fear, he is terrified constantly of failing his friends, his family.

Yet, night after night, he steps up, pushes past the despair, and commands a guerrilla resistance against a superior empire. His sheer, unyielding willpower to keep going when all logical options point to defeat makes him a textbook Green Lantern.

Cassie — The Indigo Tribe (Compassion)

Cassie is the moral compass of the Animorphs, often struggling with the dehumanizing (or de-morphing) compromises of war.

She hates violence and tries desperately to preserve her humanity, yet she possesses a radical, terrifyingly deep empathy—even for their enemies.

The Indigo Tribe is unique; their rings force empathy onto the wearer, often rehabilitating criminals by making them feel the pain of their victims.

Cassie already carries this burden naturally. She understands the Yeerks, the Hork-Bajir, and the Taxxons as living beings trapped in a cycle of cruelty, making her uniquely suited to the wielder of profound, transformative compassion.

Alt Lantern Ring — Sinestro Corps (Fear)

Cassie is the gentlest Animorph, but when Cassie decides to fight, she is terrifying.

She is the one who came up with the idea to trap David as a rat forever and used psychological dread against her enemies.

Cassie knows the human (and alien) heart so well that she knows exactly how to strike terror into an enemy's soul when pushed to her limit.

part 2