I really enjoy Adventure Time, especially the more freestanding episodes. Unfortunately, the show has been leaning a lot more heavily on continuity lately, and I haven’t had as much time to follow the show closely, but when I do watch it I’m absolutely floored by the writing. Take this snippet of dialogue from the recent episode “The Pajama Wars”:
Princess Bubblegum: I have been trying to be more chill about [ruling] … like being more sort of OK with everyone making mistakes around me. Like mind my own stuff more. You know what I mean?
Finn: Yeah, kind of like how I’ve been thinking about my dad and how I want him to act more like daddy, but maybe acting like daddy just isn’t what he does. Maybe my dad’s not a dad, but a kid stuck in a dad’s body.
Damn! That strikes to an emotional core that a bunch of great novels can’t get to!