If they made this series into an animated show, they better hit you up first.

I absolutely LOVE how twisted Michael looks. He doesn’t move like a human, he bends and twists. And the EXPRESSIONS. You managed to make his grinning skull of a face hold so many expressions! This is amazing! And I LOVE the way how when Michael says “ask me” at the end and he appears almost human. Perfect!

Michael: I'm going to kill you Jon: Growls of mild annoyance God I love this

Love this: so many people seem to forget that Michael is a monster born of pure fear. We have so many prettyboy Michaels, and not enough portrayals like this that I think would be closer to what he would look like.

BIBLICALLY ACCURATE MICHAEL

The way Michael is completely inhuman and distorted though out the whole short until the very last frame where he becomes something recognizably human because he is asking to be understood!!! the very antithesis of his nature as an avatar of the spiral so he changes physically to reflect that!!! The stunning nature of this animation?!?!?!?! I JUST CANT RN!!

I can’t help but think when he returns to normal it’s a piece of Michael coming to the surface and he wants John to know just how bad Gertrude was and how she screwed him over

this is, I feel, the most accurate depiction of the Distortion I've seen! The way it moves never makes sense, he's always changing, the physics don't match up... also, just the whole choreography of what he's doing the whole time is so interesting to look at! It's very hard to draw a being that can't even be defined properly, but this animation does it so well

This is how Michael should be seen. The Distortion isn't just a tall guy with weirdly curled fingers - *this* is the personification of someone that just doesn't work "right", and it is amazing.I would love to see this as a full series.

*HEAR ME OUT-*

The fluidity of micheal and how he moves here is DELICIOUS. I love how he solifidies when asking jon to ask him, guess the room cooled past his melting point.

i love the last bit where michael is just… so human. it’s like that little bit of Shelley peeks through and it really emphasizes that he really is going against his nature. he’s doing this just be cause he used to be human and he wants to be remembered.

This is possibly my favorite version of the Distortion that I have seen. Someone mentions above all the ways that it just works to articulate a being that just doesn’t make sense. He’s recognizable, but he’s so wrong, he makes no sense at all. But I also like how you have made him comical almost, but at the same time show off that he is sinister. He’s a monster. This is my absolute top in terms of how he’s been depicted. I’ve watched it over and over and I’m still finding little details you’ve added in. Bravo.

the body lotions on the floor, the details- i am speechless this is perfection. everything is so smooth especially when Michael grabs and turns Jon's face--

Oh wow, when Micheal reverted back into his human face, and his expression turned from a manic grin into a desperate look. Got the chills. ^_^

The two headed echo laugh at the beginning, and the coalescing into a more solidified Michael at the end? Chills. Chefs Kiss. A masterpiece.

Dude your design for Michael is hard as FUCK. The face morphing from one place to another at random and the extra pupils are extremely fucked up touches to add to hisI design and it rules. really appreciate that he’s definitively more monster than human here, cause so many people just make him hot

BIBLICALLY ACCURATE MICHAEL DISTORTION

The way Michael just deforms, twists, shakes and changes the whole time is SO perfect, refusing to hold onto a concrete form, right up until he says "ask me" and unifies just a bit

The lotion sitting on the table

Best depiction of The Distortion EVER. I hope I'm not the first person to notice (and gasp at) how his right pupil briefly turns into an infinity symbol. Absolutely incredible.

This is so fantastic. There’s so much to see, so many little details with the movement and the lighting and the expressions. I could watch this a thousand times. You captured the feeling of the moment and the characters so well….incredible.

I love how he looks more human at the end because it’s the human part of him that wants to tell Jon his story

Just coming back to this animation for to thank you for introduicing me to the Magnus Arcjives. Don't know how I got to it in the first place but glad I did. You are truly taleneted and hope you keep introducing more poeple to this fantastic series

when I listen to this podcast at work, i have it turned up kind of loud becaue i can't hear it otherwise. michael's laugh gives me such an instantaneous splitting headache that i can't even begin to describe, but the way youve animated him here is exactly what it feels like. great job!!

THIS! THIS is my favorite depiction of the Distortion ever! The way he starts to spill out from the door but then doesn't, the way his head moves with his eerie laughter, the constant shifting movements that sometimes move "correctly" but most of the time are just...off--THIS is the embodiment of Distortion. Its entire purpose is to make you doubt your perception of reality, to make you look twice and question your sanity. Didn't he just have two pupils in that eye? Wasn't his head just a bit more to the right? How is he talking to Jon on his left side when his body is on his right? Distortion doesn't escape perception, but twists and bends it to near madness, and you've done that here so marvellously! And the mostly human but still slightly off frame at the end? Beautiful!

I love everything about this, how Micheal twists and distorts. The way he moves is so impossible and truely fits the Spiral. And the contrast with the final frame, where he looks so human.

Phenomenal. Absolutely immaculate, the way you've portrayed Michael perfectly encapsulates a being called "The Distortion". I write pretty words in my spare time, and yet, I find myself unable to find those to properly convey what an amazing work you've created.

i love it so much!!! i love how he goes back to looking more human at the end, that is a fantastic touch! I would love to see the flashback sequence to pre-distortion Michael as he tells his story. ive always wanted to see this episode done justice with an animatic and you did it so well!!! you did fantastic work on this!!!! im majoring in Visualization in college and this looks like a professional storyboard. its goals!!!

I have never listened to the Magnus archives at all, never even really seen any fan content of it either up until now, but MAN AM I TEMPTED TO NOW THANKS TO THIS Christ I love so much about this, the just realistic enough artstyle, the way the warped figure walks across the room and the expressions of the Archivist. IT’S SO GOOD Edit: I have just finished the first episode and I have the feeling I’m gonna enjoy it!

My god this is gorgeous, from the light and shadows to the terrifying yet beautiful look of Michael to even the sudden small falling of the glasses and the fading faces as he laughs! I’ve never fully listened to the podcast but I know these two characters and there lore from other videos/post I’ve seen and by far this one animation makes me now definitely want to go and listen all the way through this podcast. I’m gonna go do that now meanwhile please make more!! I’d love to see!❤❤❤

I can't get over this clip. Not only is this my favorite TMA animatic, this might be my favorite animatic of all time. I can't tell you how many times I've rewatched this - you captured Michael so perfectly, his moves are so creepy and creative. I love this so much.

This is the best depiction of Michael I have seen. I literally went, “That! All of that!” His motions make my brain hurt in the best way possible. Also love how he solidifies towards the end indicating his will is at that moment more Michael’s than the Distortion’s. Expertly done.

Dude. Dude I'm still insane about this. I'm gonna be insane about this until the end of time. The fucking expressions in your art are always on point, and communicate the EXACT emotion displayed in the audio!!!! Agh!!!!!!!!

i absolutely adore how distorted michael’s movements are, like trying to make out distorted figures in footage filmed in the dark. the way michael moves is so confusing and disorienting but in such a good way, it’s so fitting for something called the distortion! i love this so much!

That laugh...wow!

This is the scariest Michael I've seen so far

I straight up have never seen a better animated Michael, call RQ this minute, they gotta create an animation department just for this, just for you

This is the single best interpretation of Michael that I've seen so far. This is Canon as far as I'm concerned

i don’t know what this is, but i like it

Whoever the bad guy in this is, it AMAZING! I live for his design and the way you animated him ❣️❣️❣️

my squeals of love for this are coming out as high-pitched white noise.

I've watched this video hundreds of times now _(absolutely capivated by Micheal)_ and jave just noticed that the shot opens ups with bottles of stuff such as hand sanitiser! I love the little details 😭👁💚

This is the animatic that pushed me to watch the podcast. Finished it the other day and I just can't stop watching this over and over again. It is so well made

WOWWWW this is maybe my favorite tma animation ever its SO GOOD!!! I love how parts of Micheals body seem to stay in place while the rest moves. It's such a shame you can't add shorts to a playlist, i would love to hoard this like a dragon along with all my other fav tma animations

Good god that’s the best depiction of Michael I’ve ever see.

Everything about, every single frame, every single sound and voice, nothing but perfection 🤩

I love that little, almost reassuring pat Michael gives John 0:31

the artistic vision on this is so crispy oh my gods

Finally a micheal drawn right

Love how Michael's body, face and eyes shift and distort in nightmarish proportions, especially one where his expressions become masks that disappear which pretty much embodies his inhuman nature since the Distortion is simply the Spiral wearing the human form.

Holy shit. I absolutely LOVE the way you draw Michael. From the twisting, to the way his eyes sometimes have two irises, it’s terrifying and fantastic

This was legit terrifying to watch, well done

His muffled "ugh" when he was like "im going to kill you" is giving "not with this shit again😒" 😂😂

This is insanely fantastic. I love how he moves! How he warps! And that final shot of his human face is A+.

You animated him in a way that he moves like smoke despite being flesh & I *_LOVE_* it! It feels like what you'd expect him to be like, especially so close to his curtain call.

Your shading is immaculate.

This has to be one of the best TMA animatics I have ever seen. The way you portray Micheal is phenomenal!! Everything from the body movements, to the twisted expressions and anatomy is just perfect!

i love how twisted and eldritch Michael truly looks, i feel like a lot of artists don't go far enough with making him creepy

AAAAH this is so good! This is the video that got me into TMA, I'm about halfway through season 3 now!

even without the distorting, this is IMO the best Micheal design. all the other's I've seen make a human matching micheals description, and then distort it, and nothing wrong with that, there are some real cool ones that follow that principle, but this isn't that. this is something that has the same basic anatomy of a human, arms, legs, head, torso, and also has the same physical characteristics as Micheal Shelly. I remember a moment where someone is describing their encounter with micheal, and jon begins to realize what it is and says "micheal? long blond hair, laugh like a headache?" and what else would a being that laughs like a headache be like.

this is FANTASTIC. I love the way you animate Michael, the way The Distortion's face contorts between more human and more monster, it's so impressive. the expressions and body language overall are so so good like how Michael taps Jon's shoulder or the way Jon just looks irritated rather than scared when Michael says he's going to kill him, which perfectly matches his displeased groan, it just says 'I'm so over this' lolol

THE CHARACTEE DESIGN! The movement, the way he fits the voice, the way he just owns the room like he can be literally anything! A FRIGGIN MAZING

This is the best representation of Michael I’ve seen. That animated laugh has completely changed how I imagine the character and made him even more scary. Thank you for this!

Omg I love this so much, the tiny details and everything! *Now make them kiss.*

I have not seen a single animator convey michael as amazingly as this

I like how Michael shift into human and it so accurate. Fun fact: When I search the cast of The Magnus Archives, I was surprised and impressed that the dream cast/VA behind Michael was "Matt Smith".

JDBDJDBJ I LOVE HOW MICHAEL IS ANIMATED???? Like HECK he must have been a headache (heh) to draw, but it pays off so well as something that can’t be comprehended

HOLY SHIT YOUR MICHAEL IS AMAZING

I can't even beggin to explain how much i really love this, i've never seen michael animated like this and i just love it it really fits him i had to stop the vídeo multiple times to take in each frame with just how much i was surprised you really are an inspiration to animation to me

Oh my goodness. The way you drew Michael is so perfect, he really looks like a creature of madness and distortion. And then at the end, when he looks much more human... I love this.

holy shit this is one of my favorite episodes and i’ve never seen someone animate it! this looks incredible!!

I LOVE HOW MICHEAL MOVES YOURE A F*CKING GENIUS Another Twist has always been one of my favourite episodes and you just improved it

Why am I only watching this now??? It's so amazing! And absolutely terrifying! I can't stop rewatching this!!!

Your depiction of Michael is really a testament to your strength and skill as an artist, because I’m sure animating those twisted and inhumane movements was CHALLENGING. Seriously so amazing. Also I kind of need Jon here LMAO

!! I've been looking for this ever since it showed up in a TMA tiktok comp I watched, so stoked to have finally found it! I absolutely love everything about Michael in this scene, incredible job!!!

Oh my goooooddd ive seen a lot of different artists' renditions and versions of Michael and The Distortion, but this is the first one ive seen which has properly creeped me out. The way that the pupils split and move around the eyes, the way the masks fall around his face, everything about the way he moves is just really off and i love it

I don't want to be mean to Jon here but... had Michael killed him then the world would have (possibly) carried on without an Eyepocalypse. BTW AMAZING ARTWORK & ANIMATION! 👏

No idea what this is but i need it

The was Michaels face, in the end, looks so sincere as he tells jon "ask me" in the final frames. You could so easily forget that Michael is the distortion. Until you look closer, look longer. Then it's impossible to forget just hpw inhuman he is. It's AMAZING!

I'll never get over how incredible your art is.

That seriously does look like a monster with the vaguest idea of what a human looks like

This is one of my favorite episodes. I love the way you animated Michael! They’re just a weird elongated figure constantly falling into itself.

This is insanely amazing to watch. Michael is hard to COMPREHEND how did you DO that in this format? Breathtaking stuff.

This is absolutely insane. I love it.

This is AMAZING. Your art is canon now.

this is hands down probably my favorite tma animation out there. especially a huge fan of when he reverts back to michael shelley’s face. it’s spinechilling and exactly the way i imagine michael distorting and twisting around!

The way my jaw dropped at seeing Micheal move, this is amazing

Boy i love how Jon just seemed annoyed at the fact that Micheal is gonna kill him

the way you draw michael is so deeply unsettling, it's honestly perfect! keep up the great work!!

This is beyond perfect. There's so much potential in the podcast's descriptions of the avatars and it's indescribably satisfying to see you tap into all of it. Michael peeking at Jon from behind his own arm, coming at him from both the right and left, slipping back into Michael's human face when he asks to be asked...!! You understood the assignment perfectly.

AHHH, this is literally my favorite episode, I didn’t a whole comic for my art class on Nikolas part in this, and ended with Michaels line of “I’m going to kill you” best thing I’ve ever made 😌

Michael's VA is incredible. It's beyond believe how much spite and fury he can bury behind an amused smile.

The most accurate depiction of The Distortion I’ve seen since Shoocharu’s last Game Grumps animation. So wonderful I can’t stop watching it!!! 👁️👁️👁️

Obsessed with this Michael design omg

Fuckign AMAZING ANIMATION oh my god, I’ve maybe never seen a better interpretation of this scene. And the lighting?? The way his face kinda clears up at the end?? Jon’s body expressions? Holy shit

I love Jon's expression when Micheal tells him he's going to kill him. Not terror or fear just and expression of pure "I'm so done with this sh*t"

Oh my, your Michael Distortion was amazing. He moves so unnaturally yet fluid. It's the feeling of watching a twising spiral but as a humanoid. And that he looked like human Michael at the end there was such a good touch. This short is gonna live in my brain rent free

THE LAUGH THE WAY HE SPLITS INTO MORE HEADS WITH EACH LAUGH its so perfect i love the way he twists and contorts its amazing

The way you animate Michael is SO good and also terrifying I love it