A quick guide to the series and its Western appeal
Bass x Machina is a Netflix animated series that combines a steampunk frontier, family protection and supernatural threats. This overview explains its premise, early Rotten Tomatoes score and how that score compares with selected Netflix animated series.
Bass x Machina follows a father whose attempts to protect his family risk damaging the relationships he wants to preserve.
Story premise: The series sets a family-under-threat story in a lawless West shaped by machinery and supernatural danger.
Voice cast: Brian Tyree Henry voices the central father, with Tati Gabrielle and Cree Summer also in the cast.
Early reviews: The series began with a 100% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, based on seven reviews at the time of writing.
Score comparison: Its listed score matches Arcane’s in the selected comparison, but review counts and series averages matter.
If the appeal of a Taylor Sheridan series is a man insisting that everything he does is for his family while making their lives more dangerous, Bass x Machina offers a related kind of family-under-siege story. Its steampunk Western adds machines and supernatural threats to the familiar struggle of protecting loved ones where the law offers little reassurance.
Bass x Machina brings that family-under-siege premise to a steampunk frontier. Brian Tyree Henry voices a father whose efforts to keep his loved ones safe threaten to damage those very relationships. The connection to Taylor Sheridan-style family conflicts is clear, although the dangers outside this home call for more than a stern conversation about property boundaries.
The animated Netflix series launched with a 100% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, based on seven reviews at the time of writing. That early score places it alongside acclaimed Netflix animated originals such as Arcane, but the limited number of reviews means the score may change as more critics weigh in. Bass x Machina premiered on the streamer on November 3, introducing a lawless West populated by brutal outlaws, machinery and supernatural terrors. Its central father becomes judge, jury and executioner in his effort to protect his family. Tati Gabrielle and Cree Summer join Henry in the voice cast.
Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which Western Icon Are You Most Like? No Name · Doc Holliday · Wyatt Earp · Mattie Ross
Choose your name, gun, horse and plans for a night in town to discover which legend of the Old West you resemble. Four icons await: the stranger who never gives his name, the gambler who would die for a friend, the lawman who never wanted the badge and the girl nobody has ever talked out of anything.
No Name(Dollars Trilogy)
Doc Holliday(Tombstone)
Wyatt Earp(Tombstone)
Mattie Ross(True Grit)
01
The town is about to learn your name. What do people call you? In a Western, what people call you tells them half your story.
02
What are you carrying? Out here, even what you carry says something about you.
What are you riding? A hero and their horse share one of cinema’s oldest bonds.
04
You have one evening in town. How do you spend it? In Westerns, the saloon quietly reveals who someone really is.
05
A stranger offers you money for a job that sounds dangerous. What do you do? Someone always turns up with a full purse and a bad idea.
06
Someone is waiting for you in the street. What does the town see? Two people, an empty road and everyone else watching from behind the shutters.
07
What is one thing you will not do out here? A code of conduct is about the only thing west of the river that holds.
08
The job is finished. Where does the story leave you? After eight questions, this is the answer that decides your icon.
The Dust Has Settled Your Western Icon Is…
Four icons offer four different ways of walking into trouble.
Here is the one you resemble, why it fits and what it might cost you.
The Dollars Trilogy · 1964–1966
The Man With No Name
You never explain yourself because you have never needed to. People quickly realize you are the most capable person in the room without you having to say so.
Eastwood shaped the character through what he left out, stripping away the backstory, speeches and reassurance until only competence remained.
You keep your own counsel, and although other people may find that unsettling, you see little reason to change.
The Dollars films work because he appears to be acting for himself until the moment he is not, and he never explains that change.
You would be gone before anyone had the chance to thank you.
You are the funniest person in most rooms and the most loyal person in all of them. You would be genuinely insulted if anyone suggested those qualities were in conflict.
Doc has no reason to join the fight except that his friend is in it, and that is the only reason he needs.
You lead with wit, which helps hide how deeply you care about a small circle of people.
Val Kilmer’s performance is widely quoted, with jokes that grow sharper as the situation worsens.
You would spend everything you had on this and still call it a good week.
Wyatt Earp · Tombstone · 1993
Wyatt Earp
You never wanted the job, but took it because watching someone less careful do it badly was not an option. That is a distinctly Western reason to step up.
Earp is a reluctant authority figure who came to town hoping to be left alone and somehow became responsible for everything.
You are protective by instinct, so when something goes wrong you first ask who is in danger, not who is to blame.
These films show that keeping order can cost more than breaking it, and that the person holding the line is rarely thanked.
You would do it all again, while complaining about the whole thing.
Mattie Ross · True Grit · 1969 & 2010
Mattie Ross
Nobody has ever talked you out of something you decided was right, and plenty of grown adults have learned that the hard way.
Mattie is one of the Western genre’s most relentless characters, relying on argument, paperwork and refusal rather than a quick draw.
You dislike being managed, so you negotiate, check the details and show up exactly when you said you would.
True Grit places its moral centre in the youngest person on screen, while the adults around her struggle to keep up.
You would get what you came for, and the film is honest about the personal cost.
How does Bass x Machina compare with Netflix’s animated hits?
Netflix has a substantial collection of animated action and fantasy series, from the vampire warfare of Castlevania to the revenge story of Blue Eye Samurai. Bass x Machina joins the selected comparison with a 100% critics’ score, matching Arcane in the table below.
The listed Rotten Tomatoes scores show the comparison at a glance, while review totals and season-versus-series averages add important context.
Rotten Tomatoes critics’ scores are review-based percentages, not a direct measure of which series is best.
Netflix animated series
Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score
Arcane: League of Legends
100%
Bass x Machina
100%
Devil May Cry
98%
Blue Eye Samurai
97%
Castlevania
94%
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
87%
The selected series are ranked by average Tomatometer score as of November 3, 2026. Scores may change; the Bass x Machina score is based on seven reviews.
The difference between a series average and an individual-season score matters. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners has a 100% score for its first season, while its current series page lists an 87% average. Castlevania also has two individual seasons at 100%, despite an overall score of 94%. These scores reflect different groups of reviews, rather than a straightforward verdict that one show is better than another.
What should viewers know about Bass x Machina?
Bass x Machina is a Netflix animated Western about a father trying to protect his family in a dangerous frontier setting. The available details include its premise, voice cast, release date and early critics’ score.
Sarah Parker is a research analyst and content contributor with a strong interest in business strategy, organizational behavior, and social development. With a background in sociology and public policy, she focuses on exploring the intersection between research and real-world application. Sarah regularly contributes articles that bridge academic insights and practical relevance, aiming to foster critical thinking and innovation across sectors.
