Bass X Machina puts a father with a cyberkinetic arm in a lawless steampunk West, where his pursuit of justice threatens his family. The animated series is on Netflix, and Nerdist recommends it for four reasons: its protagonist, its creative team, its manageable length, and its action paired with sharp dialogue.
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The premise and protagonist are incredibly cool
The story takes place a couple hundred years in the past, in a West overrun by outlaws, machines, and supernatural horrors. Bass Reeves takes justice into his own hands, even as his decisions put his family’s safety at risk.
His cyberkinetic arm has several tricks, which the review leaves for viewers to discover. For a glimpse of the series, check out the Bass X Machina trailer.
Behind the fantastical hardware is a historical connection: the character is based on the real Bass Reeves, who escaped slavery and became one of the first Black U.S. Deputy Marshals in the West. Brian Tyree Henry voices this animated version in a performance Nerdist praises as brilliant.
The team includes Janelle Monae
Janelle Monae voices Glory, Bass’s wife, and performs the opening theme, “Honor Killing,” which the review describes as epic. Nerdist sees her involvement as a natural fit, pointing to her distinctive style and personas, along with her love of Halloween, horror, and science fiction.
Tati Gabrielle, known for playing Prudence in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, voices Dana Starr, an aspiring engineer who fights alongside Bass. Voice-acting veteran Cree Summer is also part of the cast.
LeSean Thomas is involved, too. Nerdist points to that connection when recommending the series to viewers who enjoyed Black Dynamite or Yasuke. The steampunk setting isn’t its only draw.
It’s an easy watch and a limited series
Bass X Machina runs for six episodes. It’s also a limited series, with a clear ending rather than a cliffhanger whose resolution depends on another season getting made.
Nerdist illustrates the appeal of that short run with a joke about finding time for 758 episodes, with an exception for One Piece fans. The number is part of the joke, not an episode count for Bass X Machina or a current tally for One Piece.
More stories in the Bass X Machina universe are still possible; the limited-series format doesn’t rule them out. Nerdist argues that a defined ending is the right approach when cancellations feel so frequent. Viewers can finish this story without waiting for a resolution that might never arrive.
The action is incredible and the dialogue is razor-sharp
Nerdist finds that the series rarely has a dull moment. Big, funny one-liners punctuate the action, inviting a comparison with The Boondocks and making the dialogue as much a reason to watch as the fights.
The review also praises the show’s look and steady pacing. There are plenty of fight sequences, delivering the kind of spectacle that, for the reviewer, makes anime so satisfying.
One example makes the appeal clear: Bass, a tortured hero, can take down a moving train car full of people using his cyberkinetic arm. The review compares it to Bucky Barnes’ arm, a reference point for the physical force this version of Reeves brings to a fight.
