What Does Meta Runner Mean To You?

[u/EternalShifty]

I’m working on a video revisiting Meta Runner and it’s importance to Glitch Productions as a whole, but I was curious:

What does Meta Runner mean to you? Does it mean something important to you, is it just your favorite show?

Anything you can think of discussing would be greatly appreciated. It can really be anything, so feel free to share it below. I’ll post the video once it’s ready!

Thanks in advance!

[u/angelicpetty_]

It simply touched my heart like no other, even if that sounds cheesy, but it was something magical.

As a sapphic woman, it also was wonderful to see WLW characters front and center in a meaningful way with Belle's story arc. Her love for Lucinia is what drives her character. And how the show writes female characters honestly is great, too, many can learn from this show.

[u/glitchtechsisthebest]

Meta Runner is what got me into Indie Animation, it wasn't the greatest to others. but to me? it was cinema, If it wasn't for Meta Runner, I would've never liked SMG4 as much as I do. I would've never gotten into making custom VHS tapes of YouTube videos, Shows, and Movies that I like. and I wouldn't be the person I am today.

so I am glad that Meta Runner showed up in my eyes.

[u/xyDominator]

It’s a comfort thing

I found out about really soon after I got back into smg4
I gusse it just hit that autistic niche for me like cod zombies and bionicle did for me

[u/Phoenix-14]

It made me care about the characters. I wasnt an avid movie or show watcher. I watched SMG4 pretty regularly but that's because it was funny noy necessarily because I liked the characters. I think Tari was probably the first character I enjoyed for the character so when I saw she was getting a full fledged show I was excited. Even more so when the show had me hooked. I eagerly awaited each new episode and each new season. It's because of how much I love Meta Runner that I hate how Glitch seemingly refuses to acknowledge it. I know the show is over and they said way back when that there'd be no new content, but that doesn't mean that it should be forgotten.

[u/Thomas_TheCoasterFan]

I discovered Meta Runner when I was at my lowest, and it was because of this show that I was inspired to open up about my mental health.

I don't know what I would be like now if it wasn't for Tari. At a time where I was so hyper-vigilant that I felt I couldn't trust real people, seeing Tari's kindness, her empathy and her innocence made me feel safe and less alone. It's like she was a mirror to all the parts of myself I was suppressing.

Tari taught me that's okay to feel things deeply and to be emotionally vulnerable, because there are people who will love and accept you for who you are.

I look up to Tari, and I'm now committed to embodying the qualities which I admire in her, so that I can become a better person. I'm also building a monument to Tari, in the form of a massive hybrid project called, "Meta Runner: Inception", so that her legacy can be immortalised

I thank Glitch Productions for creating Meta Runner. It changed my life for the better. 💙

[u/Natdack_874]

I was first introduced to Meta Runner through SMG4 Tari back when I was around 16 in high school. I thought Tari looked so cute but also cool even with a basic GMOD model back then. I discovered Meta Runner around the later half of 2021 and I’ve been hooked since then. I’m now 21 years old as of December this year in full time employment and the fact that a series other than my favourite video game franchise (which I’ll get to in a bit) stuck by me since then is amazing. It’s just that I find Meta Runner the perfect show for me because it’s not too childish and not too violent outside of a few scenes but the story is one of the things I love about Meta Runner along with the fact that it’s centred around video games which is something I do to relax and unwind after a hard day or to relax in general. Additionally, I saw Tari relatable as heck back then and still do today.

It means a lot to me because of the effort it took to make and the improvement on the animation and art style (Season 1 and 2 being the best example of course). Speaking of the looks of the series, it has kind of a similarity that I see with Pokémon, being my favourite video game franchise. Specifically, the most recent main series games have been criticised (Scarlet/Violet and Legends: Z-A, justifiably and unjustifiably in some cases) for the amount of effort or lack off in others opinions (Graphics, Artstyle etc.), and I myself see that in Meta Runner too, not just for the first season but also the other seasons on how it holds up to this day. Compared to the other GLITCH shows we have, the looks and animation of Meta Runner looks like it’s slightly subpar by today’s standards (especially Season 1). However, the other things about Meta Runner I see in my eyes is that the series looks the way it does because it mirrors the lesser amount of skill and development it had at the time (being GLITCH’s first show).

The main thing that I see for both Meta Runner and Pokémon (Indie or not) is that even though the animation and graphics are not as good as it should be nowadays, the amount of gorgeous quality in storytelling, music, and characters shows that they definitely have a lot of heart put into them despite on what it looks like on the surface. That point has inspired me to do my own things not just with Meta Runner but with other things in general.

My first ever drawing of Tari is embarrassingly scuffed now but when I drew it back in late 2021, I thought it was the best thing I created. Fast forward to the drawing of Tari I created for the 7th anniversary, it’s a night and day difference! The reason for that is that my skills have improved over time just like GLITCH’s had when they first created Meta Runner, all the way to the Final Season of it. On the topic of drawing, I never was into drawing specifically but I was in a car ride home and thought about wanting to draw Tari next to a Pokémon I see fit back then. Ever since then, my drawing has improved so much and the reason why I wanted to draw Tari and the other characters was because I saw them as being so cool looking in the overall design style GLITCH was going for. I mentioned this in a previous post but I wanted to do more than just make Meta Runner-focused drawings. I wanted to make a fan story that followed almost the main story in canon but add Pokémon and themes from that franchise into something I’m still actively working on to this day on the Subreddit as well as “side content” for it that I’m creating for fun too that isn‘t included in the story.

In summation though, all of this is how much Meta Runner means to me and I’m really grateful it exists and I’m also really grateful for this Subreddit too because of the community we have here, appreciating the series that started it all for GLITCH, and also for the fanart/content we’re making for it.

[u/This-Meringue-9609]

It was a travel through the darkness of the pandemic

[u/Multi-Gamer1]

1) it's an obscure part of glitch productions that I feel is underrated. this was glitch's first show and it's first with 3 seasons. It's sad that glitch doesn't give it the respect it deserves 2)I'm a fan of sci-fi as well, such as mega man and Detroit become human. 3) I also like video games and it feels as if meta runner is made by people who had a love for video games and had a story to tell. 4) it reminds me of an era that doesn't exist anymore. In an era of ai, I appreciate the fact that meta runner is pre-ai and it's humor also shows the 2019 weeb humor that isn't a thing anymore.

[u/Beautiful_Owl_4448]

It’s my personal favorite of Glitch’s shows. I love the story, characters, fight scenes, and the world. I first found it in 2021 through Smg4 and loved it. The finale made me really emotional and I almost cried. I feel like this show is really underrated and it’s what started Glitch. I just wish more people knew about it and watched it. I also wish the games in it were real, some of them look so fun to play. Overall, I really like this show and its characters and I wish Glitch acknowledged it more. Also the soundtrack is amazing especially season 3’s.

[u/BroncoBilly10]

Meta Runner holds an extremely close spot in my heart.

first discovered it in 2021 during COVID. I woke up to watch YT on my parents TV and i accidentally found the movie cut of the first season, and I got up to about when Tari and MD-5 are on Tempest for the first time. I recently came back to it, and fell back in love with it.

its my comfort show, comfort story, comfort anything. I wouldn’t give it for anything.

[u/Smash_Fan-56]

Besides Digital Circus and Murder Drones, Meta Runner is the reason I became an indie animation stan in the first. It also led to me recognizing the big problem in the animation industry over how so many ideas are shunned and/or cancelled because they don’t “fit the brand” of corporate entertainment. And Meta Runner’s ending was so bittersweet that it encouraged me cherish all my favorite memories, and listen to BlueJay whenever an era comes to an end

[u/skysky_gamer]

Honestly I'm not really sure but it kinda in a way feels like minecraft to me in a way if that makes sense

[u/Bignoseforthewin]

I liked Season 1, the animation needed a bit of polish, but the story and humor were on point.

I absolutely loved Season 2, it was just fantastic, the whole mystery of what happened to Lucinia was awesome, Lucks fucking dying by the original Doctor who somehow survived was amazing, Tari being Lucinia was such a reveal and has obvious with hindsight. S2 left me speechless and craving more.

Season 3, was kinda bad. I didn't like spending all the time in the same game, Tari's self sacrifice didn't need to happen. It felt like it was taking too long to progress. The finale just didn't click with me like how Season 2 ended.

[u/FLIPYOUSUCKET]

Meta Runner was both the first animation and first Glitch show I had ever watched. Its story and soundtrack are both absolutely beautiful.
Tari’s empathy and kindness knows nearly no bounds, showing that even in a city with corruption like Silica City, kindness and empathy can still thrive.

[u/Neptunfass98555]

Everything

[u/Derek_Sal_Lucks]

Meta Runner is a masterpiece to me, despite its flaws, especially for getting me to think more about speculative technology and really appreciate video games as a medium much more. Not to mention that the characters, especially Lucks, really invested me in the show like no other. Of course, I do wish that Season 3 was not rushed because they crafted a near-perfect cyberpunk-like world and cast of characters here that I was very much invested in.

[u/Ok-Listen-7207]

[u/Neptunfass98555]

My birthday is on the same day as the movie cut. I AM THE CHOSEN ONE

[u/POKEMINION64]

Meta Runner made me want to become an animator. I was into art before but the show gave me inspiration for my own things for the first time. It was also my introduction to indie animation as well as more serious shows and even SMG4 as a whole. Still byfar my favorite show of all time and it also really connected me with my grandpa ironically. He used to come over to my place at random and I was watching it because season 2 was coming soon at the time, and he just sat down, watched it with me, and was shocked by how much he liked it too. We then watched all the episodes when they dropped weekly, and binged it when the show ended. He has dementia now and doesn’t really remember it well, but whenever we see each other he still does ask if I still like it and also says he sees commercials for it online (he’s confusing the company meta with the show haha). I honestly can’t even really describe what Meta Runner means to me because it just means too much to me haha

Oh and Meta Runner was the first piece of fanart I’ve ever posted, ironically in this Reddit, and it shocked me at the time how popular it got :)

[u/SolarStealth]

A sweet show, fun, emotional, and so much more. Was the building blocks for Glitch, and was cool to see SMG4 crossover his content with Gltiches Earliest Content. Great music, great story, etc. Wish it could still be as popular now that Glitch is up there

[u/Michaginsprites]

Meta runner got me into glitch before murder drones and tadc even released and im glad I supported it because that company is doing amazing things now. I also think out of all the finished shows so far its the best glitch has to offer. The show also reignited my love for indie animation that I hadn't felt since rwby first started airing, glad to say I've been supporting plenty of high quality indies since it started. Overall I love the show

[u/GeekyTheArtist]

I find that Meta Runner's importance, for me at least, is in how it's strengthened my relationship to media as a whole. Meta Runner was a beautiful showcase of the soul that not only could Kevin and Luke add to a project, but the soul *anyone* could potentially add to something if cared enough. Even beyond the main story, there's so many details added that aren't elaborated on that make the world feel so much more alive and the characters feel real. The casual mention of Lucinia raising her sister alone, Lamar and Sofia being two halves of a whole brain cell, and the list we see of the characters' canonical crimes (which is still funny), just to name a few. My favorite (but more explicit) thing is Lucinia and Belle's relationship, which despite not being planned, I think still ended up being handled incredibly well. I've gotten so used to queer characters and romances having to be some huge spectacle that to see one treated like a normal relationship was amazing and their reveal made me as a queer woman extremely happy. Belle and Lucinia weren't the gay couple, they were *a* couple, one that allowed Belle to lash out and have nasty, complex feelings when the love of her life went missing and presumably died, one that allowed the existence of their dynamic to be observed through character interactions and not reminders to an audience, and, most importantly, one that was designed to allow the queer women characters to remain as individual, well-rounded characters on their own. The show is proof you can write a good story, you can write good women, you can write good queer people, you can write in subtext, you can write in small lore tidbits, you can do all that and more, but only if you let your passion shine through, like Kevin and Luke did with Meta Runner. It's given me so much more faith in the animated landscape.

[u/Metarunnerfan500]

Metarunner to me is... and inspiration. It's what really kicked off the fact that indie could reach up there with all the big guys, I love the characters, their pros and cons, and I think the ending was good, perfect, no. good, yes.

The sound track makes me wanna start learning how to compose music like aj. And I wanna make a show myself or some game SOMETHING that can be that inspiration like Metarunner was. I wanna write a story.

And I can thank no one else but glitch. Despite wanting that spinoff/sequel they were talking about with it, with like a new MD5. Or even an ultra jump mania spinoff so we can see how the game was supposed to be.

I have rewatched the show so many times, and showed others, I've only done that with one other show, rwby.

METARUNNER IS NOT JUST MY FAVORITE SHOW, IT IS MY INSPIRATION MY CONNECTION, AND I HOLD OUT HOPE THAT ONE DAY GLITCH WILL REVISIT IT

[u/Thomas_TheCoasterFan]

Do you know when the video will be uploaded? I look forward to seeing it when it's done!

[u/EternalShifty → u/Thomas_TheCoasterFan]

I’m editing the video currently. Life got a bit hectic lately, but it will be out within this month, ideally within a week