Stream It Or Skip It: ‘This World Can’t Tear Me Down’ on Netflix, a Surprisingly Heartfelt Comedy Follow-Up From an Italian Cartoonist

This World Can’t Tear Me Down is the follow-up to the Netflix original series Tear Along the Dotted Line, starring Italian cartoonist Zerocalcare. While the first series dealt more with his character Zero’s crippling anxiety, this one is more political and at times poignant as it centers around a group of Nazis, as they’re referred to, who have targeted a refugee center. Zero welcomes an old friend back into town and ends up becoming part of a protest and fight against the Nazis to protect the refugees and take back the peaceful community.

THIS WORLD CAN’T TEAR ME DOWN : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Men walk by a window as one sits in an alleyway. The screen cuts to a poster that reads “No invasion, no ethic replacement.” A hand pushes a locker shut as the scent shifts to police vans careening down the street as “I Fought the Law” plays in the background.

The Gist: At the beginning of the series, Zero himself is apparently being dropped off at a police station for questioning. The entirety of the first episode is the statement he’s offering the authorities. He recounts spending time with a friend as they go and tear down threatening posters on the street, encouraging the city to push back against refugees from Libya, spearheaded by Nazis.

With Zero’s seemingly unaffected attitude seeping into the story happening in the town around him, we’re lead into a story, firsthand, about the effects of fascism and racism on innocent people who are just trying to live their lives. There are some seriously funny moments interspersed within, but most of it is mixed with urging to respect the people in the series who are just looking for a home but end up being treated like mere pests, less than garbage.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? In many ways, This World Can’t Tear Me Down is a fairly unique experience given its subject matter, but fans of series like Daria, when it attempts more serious subject matter might feel at home here — or at least the more mature fans. There’s plenty of self-deprecating humor to go around.

Our Take: There’s a lot to unpack in this seemingly silly series. On one hand, it’s a casual adult animated series with quick, dry wit that feels perfectly suited to its art style. Zero is a young man who’s self-deprecating and seemingly quite anxious. He’s not shy about telling us how he really feels or illustrating every moment to help us understand exctly how it happened. And for that reason, the politically-charged segments about the struggling refugees hit that much harder.

It’s easy to empathize with Zero, his friends, and the tyranny from the Nazis that have affected every corner of life from getting ice cream to daily hangouts. And with the story picking up from the beginning with Zero’s apparent arrest for taking part in a revolt against the Nazis, it goes a long way to show how everyday life in tumultuous times can turn into normal people fighting the good fight for the disenfranchised in the blink of an eye. It’s biting, it’s funny, and it’s real.

Parting Shot: The very fight that Zero was concerned about has broken out. People toss grenades at each other as a fiery haze takes over the screen. There’s screaming as they run away off-camera.

Sleeper Star: Secco (Valerio Mastandrea) is hilariously nonchalant, with the same monotone voice that seems to bug Zero. Mastandrea gives Secco the perfect mix of indifference and whininess he needs as a character.

Most Pilot-y Line: “This is really bad, Secco,” Zero pleads with his nonchalant friend. “I told you there’d be a fight,” Zero says of how he tried to tell his friends that the menacing posters around town would lead to something more dangerous, and they have.

Our Call: STREAM IT. This World Can’t Tear Me Down is an interesting twist on the typical cavalcade of adult animation that has nothing to say. It manages to be equal parts touching while entertaining and funny at the same time. While there are fun vignettes from Zero that comprise some seriously fun and introspective moments, there are plenty of other surprisingly touching and heartbreaking situations that hint at what’s to come. It feels like eating a sweet treat that’s actually good for you, but the packaging would never come clean about. And that’s much of its appeal, which will likely carry on throughout the rest of the episodes.

Brittany Vincent has been covering video games and tech for over a decade for publications like G4, Popular Science, Playboy, Variety, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, GameSpot, and more. When she’s not writing or gaming, she’s collecting retro consoles and tech. Follow her on Twitter: @MolotovCupcake.