When Seerow arrives on this new planet, he discovers two sentient species that evolved and live in an almost symbiotic harmony: a highly-intelligent and slug-like parasitic species known as the Yeerks, and a host species with low intelligence and poor motor skills known as the Gedd. They also recently developed a technology that allows them to absorb the DNA of creatures they touch and morph into them at will. Andalites are a highly intelligent and advanced race of space-faring aliens that look like blue centaurs with no mouths that communicate with their minds using thought-speak. Prince Seerow was an Andalite scientist and researcher that led the first expedition to the Yeerk homeworld.

But before that there was Seerow's Kindness. Two alien species, the Yeerks and the Andalites, are engaged in a bitter war spanning the galaxy and humans eventually become unknowing pawns in this war. The story does not begin with Earth, humans, or the Animorphs. (Massive spoilers ahead) Seerow's Kindness Although I haven't read any of the books since I was a teenager, and the writing is very simple so my childhood imagination read between the lines and filled in the blanks, many quotes and situations throughout the story still evoke emotion and still make me think about them, and I want to share them with you. I don't think anyone who didn't engage with the series understands or cares to, and why should they? But oddly I feel like this important part of my childhood and myself is misunderstood as a result and I have a desire to get more people to understand what I felt.

War, morality, ethics, genocide, torture, psychopathy, love, betrayal, loss of innocence, and sacrifice are all themes that were explored in Animorphs. Animorphs was often disturbing, and no one got a happy ending. It's hard to imagine that anything but nostalgia that could make me make such bold claims about Animorphs being so deep.Īnimorphs was dark. I know what you're thinking - Animorphs, really? Those weird kids' books with the embarrassing 90s cover art? The low-budget, forgettable Nickelodeon show? The next generation of the Babysitter's Club? The rag-tag Captain Planet squad of kids? Maybe you read a few of them as a kid and it didn't really stick with you, or maybe you were too old or too young to bother. Despite the fact that I read through the series when I was in grade school, and despite the fact that it was written for children, the dark themes and situations, cast of complex characters, and moral quandaries presented within have stuck with me for my entire life. That got me thinking about Animorphs.Īctually, I never stopped thinking about Animorphs. Recently, after I watched the latest movie in the Avatar series - yes, the one with the blue people - it got me thinking about why I like the series so much, and I realized it's not the only 'blue alien falls in love with human ultimately resulting in inter-species transmogrification' story that I love.

Animorphs the alien