It really is our time! It really is our year!
Dropout’s Dungeons and Dragons actual play series, Dimension 20, premiered in 2018 with the first season of Fantasy High. Since that first campaign, Fantasy High has had two sequel seasons, a series of spinoffs, and the most unsettling yet adorable plushie of a balding elf with an affinity for yogurt. The series has become a cultural phenomenon both in the established world of D&D and with teens who like fantasy and are looking for a bit of a giggle. Now it has been revealed that Webtoon is adapting the actual play series into its own comic run, and that announcement has been met with nothing but excitement and delight.
According to that announcement, this comic is set to release 61 episodes, making audiences believe it will depict the events of freshman year, or season 1 of the series. Personally, I hope the response is good enough they’ll renew for seasons 2 and 3, because if I don’t get to see Ayda Aguefort or Fabian’s Big Day, I’m going to be so sad. I’ll take what I can get, but I want it all.
The Fantasy High visual adaptation we have waited for
Fantasy High won’t be the first actual play series to get a visual adaptation—the Critical Role series The Legend of Vox Machina premiered as an animated show on Amazon's Prime Video in 2022, having released a full three seasons of the show at the writing of this article. The visualization of what otherwise was almost entirely a theater-of-the-mind storytelling experience was really special, and to be able to actually see the characters act and interact made for a more approachable project for the audience. An animated show was definitely the right choice for Critical Role—all of the players are voice actors—but the players on Dimension 20 are comedians and definitely thrive better in an improv setting—like at the D&D table. I’d kind of given up hope for an animated adaptation of a Dimension 20 show. A comic, however, can be just as good!
The setting of Aguefort Adventuring Academy might not be fantastical in and of itself, but the imagery of students of all different sizes and creaturedom all attending what’s otherwise kind of a normal high school will, I’m sure, lead to a comic experience that’s both engaging and deeply silly. I mean, just in our main crew, we’ve got Gorgug and Riz: a half-orc and a goblin, respectively, and the height difference is just going to be so funny to see on the page.
There are things you forget about when it’s a theater of the mind. Siobhan Thompson wears glasses, so viewers often imagine her character, Adaine, with glasses, even though her character art doesn’t have them. And that’s just character description! There’s also the jokes! Adaine’s arcane focus is a massive crystal ball she just carries around for a good portion of the year. That’s a funny visual gag; we’re actually going to have a visual for it! Gorgug’s parents are gnomes. I am so excited to see the Thistlesprings with their large half-orc son on my screen; it’s gonna be amazing.
The Fantasy High comic series is expected to premiere on Webtoon this spring. I wish I could use chronomancy to get there faster, but for now, I think I'll just rewatch the series while I wait. (The first two seasons of Fantasy High are avilable to watch for free on youtube, if you want to join me.)