I finished up watching the last episodes of As Told By Ginger today, and I just had to talk about it a little.

Wow.

For just a simple TV show that I started watching in middle school seven years ago, it turned out to be so much better than just that.

Although I could write my own a review of the show, I really think the review at DVD Verdict sums up all of my feelings:

“…a smartly written show that doesn’t talk down to its intended audience, and Ginger definitely delivers on that level. The show is a perfect blending of heartfelt teenage drama and witty, even bizarre, humor. The characters are interesting and memorable, the situations ring true but never seem forced or stale, and the animation is crisp and colorful…”

I think that sums up my feelings even better than I could say myself. The show is very appealing to younger girls (which was why I was hooked on it when I was in 6th grade), but it has wit and humor that you learn to appreciate as you grow older (which is why I can still like it even after seven years).

I could relate immensely to the situations presented in As Told By Ginger. The conflicts occuring in both middle school and high school (I guess you could say the cast of ATBG aged at the same time I did) were really familiar. The drama is the typical drama you’d find in pre-teens and teens which may be a turnoff, but ATBG makes it so that it’s something I can relate to and at the same time it makes it interesting enough for me to enjoy it.

I think ATBG hit dead on with me because of the age thing. As I was watching ATBG in sixth grade, Ginger and her friends were in middle school. Now that my high school years are coming to an end, I finally watched the last half of the episodes where Ginger and her friends are in high school. A huge coincidence, and a good one at that.

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The ending (The Wedding Frame) made me smile. Dr. Dave and Lois happy together. Macie (the girl is Asian, right? She and her mother always looked Asian to me) turned out looking really smart and cute. Dodie and CHET ZIPPER, baha. Hoodsey looking like a real pimp. Carl looking like a smart businessman (I always pictured him as one). Whenever a series ends, I LOVE it when you get to see what the characters are like 20 years from then (happened at the credits for Daria, too).

I saw everything I wanted to see, with the exception of one thing… One of the last shots is of Darren holding a baby that has his dark skin and Ginger’s red, curly hair. Hmm. Obviously a lot of time has elapsed since their conflict in high school (they’re adults now), but since the previous episode ended with Ginger and Orion, I don’t think it was a good fit for the series. The moral was to embrace life and not fear it, and to move on, and to jump into new situations, etc. It would have had more meaning if she ended up with Orion. Having her end up with Darren just kind of made the series feel like EVERYTHING ended perfectly, which included Ginger getting back with an ex-boyfriend that dumped her poor butt.
[/spoiler alert]

Nevertheless, I thought the overall series was great. Obviously it’s not going to get any fans that can’t relate and it’s definitely not going to get any fans that are immediately turned off by the presence of teen drama. But for me, it hits pretty close to home!

I never thought it’d take me seven years to finally see the ending of As Told By Ginger, but I’m glad I got to see it!