Star Wars has been a worldwide phenomenon since A New Hope was released in 1977, creating a dedicated fanbase, many popular spin-off series and merchandise sold by the truck load. Myself, as well as countless others, grew up on the Star Wars prequel films that were released in the early 2000s, reigniting the spark for the series that had been waning in American pop culture.

When it was announced that Disney would buy Lucasfilms and once again restart the stagnant Star Wars franchise, I was ecstatic.

However, with the release of their first new addition to the Star Wars universe, Star Wars Rebels, my excitement quickly died down. The four movies released under the Star Wars title by Disney have each been good, if hollow, but did little to restore my interest in the franchise.

When Disney announced their replacement show for Star Wars Rebels, called Star Wars Resistance, the internet lost its collective mind. The first trailer for the show, posted on YouTube, currently has over 10 times as many dislikes as likes.

I expected it to be terrible and going into the first episode I was only ready to reinforce that idea. I’m happy to say that after catching up with the episodes aired for the show so far, it completely wiped away my negative opinions on it.

One of the biggest complaints I had seen was that this type of childish show wasn’t suited for Star Wars. After seeing the trailers released before the first episode, I completely agreed. The show seemed completely based around corny slapstick comedy. This issue, however, is isolated to the trailer alone.

Throughout the first four episodes, I found myself laughing out loud on multiple occasions, from the funny transfer of misinformation in the first episode that led to the main character, Kazuda, being called the “best pilot in the galaxy,” to the many bets placed against Kazuda’s chance of winning a race.

The comedic timing of the show is also very solid, with visual humor taking up just the right amount of time to be funny. While the show’s humor may seem have seemed out of place in one of the main Star Wars movies, the show is very clearly distinct from the films, taking place during a period of galactic peace in the Star Wars universe.

The animation of the show is also very consistent and well done, with nice scenery and well animated starships and interiors. Character expressions tend to be flatter in the show’s 3D animation method than in traditional hand drawn animation, but they are still solid.

The show also fixes one of the fatal flaws of its predecessor, Star Wars Rebels, by establishing itself as a comedy early on, rather than using the guise of a serious show.

The pacing of the first few episodes is also very well done. The director of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a show which is heralded as one of the best examples of Star Wars media, Dave Filoni, returns as the creator of Resistance, which is where I believe many of these positives for the show originate from. The hour-long first episode managed to hold on to my attention the entire way through, keeping a quick and consistent stride throughout the episode.

I’m also a big fan of the voice acting so far, with standout jobs by Scott Lawrence as Jarek Yeager, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, and Myrna Velasco as Torra Doza. The largest complaint I have so far is about the main character Kazuda Xiono. While much better than in the initial trailer, Kazuda seems to fill a common archetype of the annoying and cocky lead, but I have hopes that the character may grow out of this trope throughout the show’s run.

While the show may not be as good as much of the Star Wars’ Lucasfilms era of TV shows and movies, Star Wars Resistance has captivated me in the Star Wars universe once again. With good animation, great pacing and comedy, and well-done voice action, I would recommend Star Wars Resistance to any fans of the Star Wars series. The series airs every Sunday at 10 p.m. on the Disney Channel.