The Happiness Patrol (Season 9)

The ninth season of the British-Japanese dystopic steampunk anime series *The Happiness Patrol* aired from October 21, 2020 to March 10, 2021 in a variety of regions, notably TV Tokyo in Japan, BBC One in the United Kingdom, and NBC in the United States. The season was written and directed by the series' creator, Jay Stevenson, and produced by J-Animations. The soundtrack was composed by Susumu Hirasawa, Shiro Sagisu, and Joe Hisaishi, and features insert songs from a variety of Japanese and Western artists, including L'Arc-en-Ciel, Spitz, The Pillows, Shikao Suga, and Suede. The ninth season's opening theme is "Hey Kids!" by The Oral Cigarettes, and its ending theme is "We Just Won't Be Defeated" by The Go! Team.

*The Happiness Patrol* takes place in a dystopic society where industrialisation has turned planet Earth into an entirely man-made industrial site, wrought with pollution, overpopulation and crime. The government responsible for this are overthrown in a coup in the events leading up to the series, and the new government's solution to the issue is to reduce overpopulation. A social ranking system is introduced in which every citizen is given a card with their total social point score: the higher the score, the more access and therefore freedom one has. Every three months, the bottom 1 billion in the ranking system are executed. The ninth season of the series follows the Happiness Patrol members planning, and eventually executing, a coup on the government with the assistance of the state's army and civilians. This takes place following a power struggle between the military and the government, who each have differing morals and goals, as well as public anger when innocent civilians begin to be killed. Eventually, Mister is publicly executed by Zell, marking the end of the government's reign, and the public decide to make the Happiness Patrol the new government.

The season was announced in December 2016, during the airing of the fifth season. The series' voice cast reprise their roles, including Jason Bateman as Zell, Thandiwe Newton as Eleanor, Alison Brie as Jess, Nicole Kidman as Jara-Kan and, for the final time, Keith Silverstein as Mister. The series aired on Wednesdays at 11 p.m. and consisted of 20 episodes.

The ninth season of *The Happiness Patrol* received negative reviews from critics, who described it as rushed and anti-climactic. Many felt underwhelmed by how the uprising was portrayed and paced, with many comparing it to *Elixir*'s "Two-World War" arc, stating that whilst the latter managed to handle dynamic power struggles and conflict well, *The Happiness Patrol*'s attempt felt half-baked and short. Many disliked how central the eponymous organisation had become in the grander story, stating the appeal of them being "ordinary outcasts" had been lost when making them the faces of a revolution. Mister's characterisation was praised as being sympathetic and multi-layered, whilst ultimately showing his danger and ability to truly become evil. Zell's character received criticism for his willingness to risk the lives of other characters, notably Jess, as one reviewer stated, "it's an action we'd never see Adam do, and we didn't think Zell would do it either." The series' art direction was criticised as being uninspired, but the animation was praised, as was the soundtrack. At the 2021 Anime Awards, the season was nominated for a variety of awards.

The ratings for the ninth season averaged at 50 million viewers per episode. The series was collected into two 10-episode DVD and Blu-Ray volumes. In 2023, the season was released internationally on Netflix for streaming, as did the rest of the series. A tenth and final season was announced in April 2021, and began airing in October 2021.

## Accolades

 Best Animation
 Best Direction
 Best Continuing Series
 Best Opening Sequence - "Hey Kids!" by The Oral Cigarettes
 Best Ending Sequence - "We Just Won't Be Defeated!" by The Go! Team
 Best Soundtrack
 Best Drama