{ "id": "eprs5esrtg", "slug": "epithet-erased", "title": "Epithet Erased", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries", "label": "Comedy, drama, and general-genre web series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2017-2021", "label": "Premiered 2017 to 2021", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2017-2021" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2017-2021", "label": "United States · 2001 to 2020: Premiered 2017 to 2021", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2017-2021", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001", "label": "United States · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted", "label": "Unscripted, reality, and web-native series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_unscripted" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native", "label": "Web-native and streaming-original series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries", "label": "Comedy, drama, and general-genre web series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2017-2021", "label": "Premiered 2017 to 2021", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2017-2021" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Epithet Erased is a 2019 American animated web series by Brendan Blaber (JelloApocalypse) about people with soul-word powers called epithets; seven VRV episodes, continued as the novel Prison of Plastic.", "snippet": "Epithet Erased is a 2019 American animated web series by Brendan Blaber (JelloApocalypse) about people with soul-word powers called epithets; seven VRV episodes, continued as the novel Prison of Plastic.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_web_native.comedy_general_webseries.yr-2017-2021", "markdown": "# Epithet Erased\n\n**Epithet Erased** is an American animated action-comedy web series created by Brendan Blaber, known on YouTube as JelloApocalypse, in which characters wield powers derived from a single word, their \"epithet\", attached to their soul. The series premiered on the streaming service VRV on November 8, 2019, ran for seven episodes of about 25 minutes each through December 20, 2019, and was later uploaded to Blaber's YouTube channel, where each episode drew at least 200,000 views.[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/epithet-erased) • [2](https://thetvdb.com/series/epithet-erased)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Creator | Brendan Blaber (JelloApocalypse), who wrote, directed, and voiced characters in the series[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/epithet-erased) • [3](https://epitheterasedwiki.com/wiki/Epithet_Erased) |\n| Premise | A lucky few are born with an Epithet, a single word attached to their soul that grants power; examples include \"Fire\", \"Coupon\", \"Soup\", and protagonist Molly's \"Dumb\"[4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h97aI5SZHk4) |\n| Original run | November 8 to December 20, 2019, on VRV; 7 episodes, average runtime 25 minutes[2](https://thetvdb.com/series/epithet-erased) |\n| Setting | Sweet Jazz City, where thieves raid the Sweet Jazz Museum for the Arsene Amulet, rumored to steal an epithet from its user[4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h97aI5SZHk4) |\n| Origin | A loose adaptation of Blaber's Roll20 tabletop RPG campaign Anime Campaign[5](https://epithet-erased.fandom.com/wiki/Epithet_Erased) |\n| Animation style | Limited animation with RPG-style elements, excluding fully animated sequences such as the opening produced by Powerhouse Animation Studios[5](https://epithet-erased.fandom.com/wiki/Epithet_Erased) |\n| Continuation | The story continues in the light novel *Prison of Plastic*, funded through a Kickstarter campaign[3](https://epitheterasedwiki.com/wiki/Epithet_Erased) • [6](https://shapes.inc/fandom/epithet-erased/author) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise and setting\n\nIn the world of Sweet Jazz City, a lucky few are born with powers attached to their souls known as Epithets. An Epithet stems from a single word that can grant its user any kind of power; the official opening cites words like \"Fire\", \"Coupon\", or \"Soup\".[4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h97aI5SZHk4) The first season centers on a museum heist: a magical artifact called the Arsene Amulet, rumored to be able to steal an epithet away from its user, is said to be hidden in the Sweet Jazz Museum, and thieves burst in during the night while a little girl named Molly, whose epithet is \"Dumb\", is trapped inside.[4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h97aI5SZHk4) TheTVDB describes the show as an ensemble comedy about people with superpowers based on a random word attached to their soul, following Molly as she is stuck in the museum during the break-in.[2](https://thetvdb.com/series/epithet-erased)\n\nBlaber described the show as an ensemble comedy and adventure about farcical crimes and the characters committing them, with visuals and storytelling drawing on video games, anime, visual novels, crime thrillers, and westerns.[4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h97aI5SZHk4) He said he wanted the story to make viewers think about the idea of \"morality\" versus \"law\", taking after one of his favorite series, *Baccano!*, in that no single character is objectively a good guy; even Molly ends her arc doing things that are technically illegal.[7](https://nerdnewssocial.com/epithet-erased-first-look-and-interview-with-brendan-blabber/)\n\n### Episodes and structure\n\nThe first season consists of seven episodes. Episodes 1 through 4 form the \"Museum Arc\" locked inside the Sweet Jazz Museum with five lead characters, while episodes 5 through 7 change gears and follow a \"Western\" theme in a small town in a redwood forest.[7](https://nerdnewssocial.com/epithet-erased-first-look-and-interview-with-brendan-blabber/) Blaber chose the museum as a \"toybox\" to introduce the series: a small cast in a single location, an easy-to-digest setting for the show's experimental visual style. The original campaign's first story arc had been a shonen-style Tournament Arc, which he judged unsuitable for a character-driven show, and he found that crime was the series' biggest theme, with over half the characters being criminals.[7](https://nerdnewssocial.com/epithet-erased-first-look-and-interview-with-brendan-blabber/)\n\nThe credited starring cast includes Dani Chambers, Kyle Igneczi, Lindsay Sheppard, Anthony Sardinha, Zack Maher, Sandra Espinoza, William T. Sopp, Dawn M. Bennett, and Cyrus Rodas.[3](https://epitheterasedwiki.com/wiki/Epithet_Erased)\n\n## Origin and development\n\nThe concept began in *Anime Campaign*, a Roll20 tabletop RPG campaign Blaber streamed with his friends starting about three to four years before the show. It was a series of episodic adventures loosely based on different genres, including a western, a whodunnit, and a magical girl adventure, with a rotating cast of characters. Blaber liked the concept of epithets and many of the characters, and carried over elements into Epithet Erased while cutting what did not work.[5](https://epithet-erased.fandom.com/wiki/Epithet_Erased) • [7](https://nerdnewssocial.com/epithet-erased-first-look-and-interview-with-brendan-blabber/) Some characters are, as he put it, almost a decade old, since the campaign served as an idea dumping ground for earlier projects.[7](https://nerdnewssocial.com/epithet-erased-first-look-and-interview-with-brendan-blabber/)\n\n**Character creation.** In the original campaign, characters received their epithets from a random word generator: the power was rolled first and the character developed afterward. That is how Molly, Giovanni, Sylvie, Indus, and Mera were made. A few voice actors, including Zack Maher as Sylvie and William T. Sopp as Ramsey, still played their original characters from the campaign.[7](https://nerdnewssocial.com/epithet-erased-first-look-and-interview-with-brendan-blabber/)\n\nBlaber began drafting the script as early as fall 2018, pitched it to VRV in October 2018, and estimated that official production began around March 2019; voice actor auditions closed on May 29, 2019. The series was developed and produced at Sound Cadence Studios and Powerhouse Animation up to the airing of episode 7 on December 20, 2019.[5](https://epithet-erased.fandom.com/wiki/Epithet_Erased) While in production, Blaber referred to the series by the pseudonym \"Sugar Cookie Jazz\" because he was under a non-disclosure agreement and could not reveal the actual name.[3](https://epitheterasedwiki.com/wiki/Epithet_Erased)\n\nThe limited animation style, similar to Blaber's earlier web series, was a deliberate choice. He explained that he chose it partly by following the surge of \"Draw My Life\" style vloggers, and that the tabletop-inspired look suited the show's quirky tone.[5](https://epithet-erased.fandom.com/wiki/Epithet_Erased) • [7](https://nerdnewssocial.com/epithet-erased-first-look-and-interview-with-brendan-blabber/)\n\n## Reception and online presence\n\nThe series found an audience quickly. The official opening video, published on YouTube on October 25, 2019, reached about 2.5 million views with 65,000 likes.[4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h97aI5SZHk4) After the YouTube premiere two weeks after the VRV debut, the first episode gained over 650,000 views, and each episode drew at least 200,000 views. The show has a dedicated [TV Tropes](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-tropes) page and fan wiki, an official Twitter account with over 2,600 followers as of December 2019, and a sizable fan art community on Tumblr.[1](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/epithet-erased)\n\n## Continuation as a novel series\n\nAccording to the Epithet Erased Wiki, a second animated season would have cost around $550,000 for 8 to 9 episodes, with a possible [Indiegogo](https://www.edgepedia.org/indiegogo) campaign considered, and a [Kickstarter](https://www.edgepedia.org/kickstarter) was instead run for the book continuation.[3](https://epitheterasedwiki.com/wiki/Epithet_Erased) The opening installment, *Prison of Plastic*, is an officially released light novel follow-up penned by Blaber that picks up Molly and Lorelai Blyndeff's storyline where the animated series left off.[6](https://shapes.inc/fandom/epithet-erased/author) Fanlore also records Blaber's announcement that he planned to continue the next segments of the story in novel format.[8](https://www.fanlore.org/wiki/Epithet_Erased)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Epithet Erased, Know Your Meme](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/epithet-erased)\n2. [Epithet Erased, TheTVDB.com](https://thetvdb.com/series/epithet-erased)\n3. [Epithet Erased, Epithet Erased Wiki](https://epitheterasedwiki.com/wiki/Epithet_Erased)\n4. [Epithet Erased - Official Opening, JelloApocalypse on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h97aI5SZHk4)\n5. [Epithet Erased, Epithet Erased Wiki (Fandom)](https://epithet-erased.fandom.com/wiki/Epithet_Erased)\n6. [Epithet Erased Author & Creative Team Guide, Shapes](https://shapes.inc/fandom/epithet-erased/author)\n7. [Epithet Erased - First Look and Interview With Brendan Blaber, Nerd News Social](https://nerdnewssocial.com/epithet-erased-first-look-and-interview-with-brendan-blabber/)\n8. [Epithet Erased, Fanlore](https://www.fanlore.org/wiki/Epithet_Erased)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Web-native and streaming-original series › Comedy, drama, and general-genre web series › Premiered 2017 to 2021*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/epithet-erased", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/epithet-erased.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Epithet Erased\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/epithet-erased. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Epithet Erased](https://www.edgepedia.org/epithet-erased)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/epithet-erased](https://www.edgepedia.org/epithet-erased). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Epithet Erased\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/epithet-erased. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Epithet Erased is a 2019 American animated web series by Brendan Blaber about people with soul-word powers called epithets; seven VRV episodes, continued as the novel Prison of Plastic." }