Mad Saints

Saint Freaks is an American animated television series created by Geo Moreno which aired on from January 29, 2011 to March 28, 2015. Blending, , , and elements, the series follows four adolescents descended from supernatural and mythological beings as they protect Earth by battling threats from mythology while attempting to blend into human society. Its main characters are Jasper Dark (Baxter Adamson),  Ken Ochoa (Dominic Dominguez),  Michael Morningstar (Floyd MacLeod), and  Sebastian Blake (Joaquin Sanchez). Moreno describes the series' story as "starting out fine, then becoming increasingly entangled in ".

Moreno first conceived Saint Freaks as a graphic novel, but ultimately chose to turn it into a television series to avoid condensing the storytelling too much. He then developed the Brain Wave episode "Death of a Monster", which inspired him to make a full-fledged television series. He brought the pilot to in 2009, and the network subsequently greenlit it. Moreno and Jonathan Anderson were the series' original executive producers, with Steven Subaru, Steve Bergen, Tony Ferino, and Maura Morrow joining later in the series' run. Animated by Linkhouse and then Studio Memo, Saint Freaks was produced by Geo Pictures in association with.

Though Saint Freaks was never a Top 30 hit in the, the show drew in high ratings for The CW during its second through fifth seasons. The show has developed a large fanbase and received critical acclaim for its visual design, voice cast, worldbuilding, character development, storylines, music, and overall originality, though it garnered criticism from conservatives over its depictions of mythology and its violence, mild language, mature references,  rating, and primetime time slot have sparked a debate over whether or not it qualifies as. It has been nominated for several and other awards, and has been credited with launching the careers of its young voice actors. In 2020, the series was ranked #1 on MoonJump's list of the Top 10 Greatest Animated Series of the 2010s.

Setting
Saint Freaks takes place in the fictional city of Las Aguas, in a world where humans—initially unbeknownst to them—co-exist with the descendants of supernatural and mythology beings tied to numerous cultures. The city is based on cities like —where Geo Moreno grew up—and. Frequent locations shown to be in Las Aguas include West Bend Middle School, Las Aguas High School, the Food Palace restaurant, and the supermarket Sparker's.

and are also prominent locations in the series. As opposed to mythology, where they are simply abodes in the afterlife, Saint Freaks depicts them as full-on alternate universes existing parallel to what we know as reality. Moreno did this because—as stated in a 2014 —"one being in the sky and the other being underground makes no sense because [...] digging nor flying will help you find either place, so they might as well be alternate universes".

Characters
The series focuses on four teenage boys who are among these beings and are often referred to as "Freaks": "street smart" Jasper Dark, intellectual but short-tempered  Ken Ochoa, hotheaded  Michael Morningstar, and friendly  Sebastian Blake. Together, they form the "Saint Freaks", a team dedicated to stopping supernatural threats which harm both themselves and humanity and search for others like them, all while disguising themselves in an attempt to blend into human society and dealing with unusual problems in their personal lives stemming from their supernatural nature.

The series has a wide range of supporting characters and diverts from the usual "good guys vs. bad guys" formula through its character development. For example, the boys' high school principal,, is an antagonist when he first appears in season 2, but evolves into an anti-hero of sorts by season 4 as the series further explores him as a character. Furthermore, —a human boy introduced in season 1 as an antagonist planning to expose the main characters as "Freaks"—is revealed to have a traumatic past that resulted in a hatred of the paranormal and a mission to prove it exists.

Setting
Saint Freaks takes place in the fictional city of Las Aguas, in a world where humans—initially unbeknownst to them—co-exist with the descendants of supernatural and mythology beings tied to numerous cultures. The city is based on cities like —where Geo Moreno grew up—and. Frequent locations shown to be in Las Aguas include West Bend Middle School, Las Aguas High School, the Food Palace restaurant, and the supermarket Sparker's.

and are also prominent locations in the series. As opposed to mythology, where they are simply abodes in the afterlife, Saint Freaks depicts them as full-on alternate universes existing parallel to what we know as reality. Moreno did this because—as stated in a 2014 —"one being in the sky and the other being underground makes no sense because [...] digging nor flying will help you find either place, so they might as well be [lalternate universes".

Characters
The series focuses on four teenage boys who are among these beings and are often referred to as "freaks": "street smart" Jasper Dark, intellectual but short-tempered  Ken Ochoa, hotheaded  Michael Morningstar, and friendly  Sebastian Blake. Together, they form the "Saint Freaks", a team dedicated to stopping supernatural threats which harm both themselves and humanity and search for others like them, all while disguising themselves in an attempt to blend into human society and dealing with unusual problems in their personal lives stemming from their supernatural nature.