The Happiness Patrol (Season 1)

The first season of the British-Japanese dystopic steampunk anime series *The Happiness Patrol* aired from October 24, 2012 to March 6, 2013 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, Radiohead and The Cardigans. The first season's opening theme is "Amazing Dreams" by SWANKY DANK, and its ending theme is "Beautiful Morning With You" by The Pillows.

*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 first season follows the eponymous Happiness Patrol, fronted by their enigmatic leader, Adam, as they accept a variety of commissions in exchange for social points. The season follows an episodic format, and lacks a strong over-arching narrative, with the focus of the show changing every few episodes.

Influenced by western culture, the series' voice cast features high-profile actors such as Yuri Lowenthal as Adam, Jason Bateman as Zell, Thandiwe Newton as Eleanor and Alison Brie as Jess. The series takes inspiration from fellow anime series *Ergo Proxy* and *Cowboy Bebop*, as well as George Orwell's *Nineteen Eighty-Four*. The series aired on Wednesdays at 11 p.m. and consisted of 20 episodes.

*The Happiness Patrol*'s maiden season received generally positive reviews. The ensemble cast of characters, as well as the voice actors' performances, were praised. Critics noted the individuality and uniqueness of each character, whilst also defining their own perosnal goals and making them down to earth and relatable. The setting and concept of the show were also highly lauded. The show's animation and art direction was met with critical acclaim, many citing it as superior to *Elixir*, J-Animations' other airing anime series at the time. Despite the creativity of each individual story, reviewers criticised the episodic format of the show, fearing that it would be hard for characters to truly develop over a long period of time. The series' overt violence and gore was also seen as a negative, seen as "trying to hard to be [mature]" and ultimately detracting from the more emotional and raw elements of the season. J-Animations entered the season into the 2013 Anime Awards, after the season had finished airing, where it was nominated for a variety of awards, winning Best Art Direction and Best Voice Performance for Jason Bateman as Zell.

The season was a ratings success. Whilst not reaching the heights of *Elixir*, the series gained more than 10 million viewers per episode on average in the United States, more than 5 million in the United Kingdom, and worldwide garnered over 40 million viewers per episode. The series was renewed for a second season by the end of 2012, midway through the airing of the first season. 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 second season began airing in October 2013.