My hot take (so some spoilers ahead):
Yeah, the juvenilia is real, and doesn't fully disappear. If you can't abide fart jokes and butt jokes, then this probably isn't for you (though it IS very reflective of basically every table I've ever actually played D&D at, to a degree that makes me wonder if it's kind of part of the D&D experience).
The violence also remains pretty brutal (but, again, also par for the course for D&D IMXP).
The story is pretty good, though. Character-driven in a way that sees people grow and change (at least in season 1).
Yeah, Scanlan is a walking bag of sex jokes, but this is not off brand for a gnome bard in D&D, and it pays off in a pretty character-driven way in late Season 1, where his ability to...command attention...leads to a pretty meaty solo mission for him. And in smaller ways where we see the bonds of friendship deepen in the characters.
Grog is another walking bag of jokes, but also not off brand for a Big Barbarian Guy in D&D. So far as I've seen (I'm a few eps into season 2), that hasn't changed much, but there's some signaling in the show that he's got some lessons to learn and a (partially) metaphorical beard to grow. I do like his relationship with Pike, and them leaning into the overgrown manchild thing.
And two walking bags of jokes could be too much for people who want things to be a bit more buttoned up and "epic." The show definitely leans into its comedy moments. Reminds me a lot of the Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon in how it tries to balance those with more dramatic stakes.
Pike also gets a little short shrift so far. Offscreen for a lot of Season 1, undergoes some struggle that doesn't seem super earned, and then kind of a deus ex machina. But it's a big ensemble, so I'm not too shocked that one or two out of SEVEN characters doesn't manage to quite lift off the ground. And, it's the kind of thing I could see easily happening in a real game when, say, someone needs to go on a prolonged leave of absence over the summer or something.
For context, I'm only judging the show. I couldn't watch Critical Role in part because of the sheer time commitment it requires, and the show moves along at a fairly brisk pace. There's some very good character moments in there (I am especially fond of the dynamic that arises between Vex and Percy that gets the latter to open up), and I am kind of wondering if this theme of "we are our own worst enemies because we're all traumatized and that's why we're adventurers and also friends" continues, because it's kind of a fun take on the idea of heroism and what is behind bog-standard D&D adventurers.
I like it a lot as a D&D show.
And I can say that the first two eps are more trash than the rest (after the dragon is dealt with, the series grows up a bit, and the character bits start to spark more). Fun trash, but not the tone the rest really strikes (though the return to that well a few times an episode).
