MLAndersen0
My review: 5/5 - dialogue heavy character study and absolutely worth it
Or: how I lost my mind trying to analyse a series by myself.
If you were to ask me what my favorite slenderseries is I'd probably say this one. It's not even a matter of which one I think is the best made or "the best". I just got really attached to this one and its characters so I spent hours trying to analyse it only to never really come to any solid conclusions.
Basic information
The MLAndersen0 channel was created on January 17th 2011, the first video "Video Journal #1" coming out the same day. The main character - Michael was just released from a psychiatric hospital after 16 years and decided to make a video journal for his doctor instead of writing one.
It's worth mentioning that "MLAndersen0" is an anagram for "Slenderman0".
The creator and main actor of the series is Dylan Sindelar. He also wrote the creepypasta The Showers (now available also as a paperback) and a short story named Twigs, adapted into audio form as well as a short film. All of his work is great in my opinion and definitely worth checking out!
Characters
Michael Andersen
Protagonist of the series. Michael is 24 at the start of the series (went to the hospital when he was 8, got out 16 years later.) He's a very unreliable narrator. Based on his medication he most likely has bipolar disorder, possibly also DID. On top of that he struggles with insomnia and nightmares. Some of this is as a result of the slenderman's influence on his life. Just as a fun fact, his birthday is also January 16th, making him a Capricorn :)
Patrick Andersen
Michael's "other personality." But it's actually a bit more complicated than that. If we assume the reiteration theory is real (which it most likely is) then certain characters reincarnate after their deaths, effectively being stuck in an endless loop of being tormented by the slenderman. Patrick is most likely the first of these iterations but for some reason he got stuck after his death and instead of being reborn he became a part of the new iteration - Michael. It is also said that Patrick remembers (at least to some degree) all his past lives. It's unclear how he really feels about the slenderman, on the one hand he seems to want to stop him and break out of the cycle but some claim he feeds people to it to protect himself. Creating a sort of symbiotic relationship. He's probably the most interesting character and my personal favorite.
Shaun Andersen
Michael's brother. I'd describe their relationship as very complicated. Shaun starts of as a bit of a "voice of reason", claiming Michael is just mentally ill and none of the things he sees are real.
Stormy
Michael's friend he met at the hospital. More of a side character but still relevant to the story. I'm pretty sure they might've had their own slender blog at some point but it has since been deleted so I'm leaving that out.
Content
The main series takes place over 3 years, spanning 38 videos on the MLA0 channel. There used to be 39 videos but the most recent, uploaded October 31st 2016, has since been deleted. More about the deleted video here.
Other appearences of the characters happen in crossovers with EverymanHYBRID in "Three's company" and Tape 3, and with Stan Fredrick in "Unsatisfied Customers".
It's not really clear how the series will continue, or even if it will continue. The creator has expressed interest in finishing the story and there has been activity in the community tab of the channel as of 2024 with songs and cryptic messages being posted. But until further notice the series remains unfinished.
ALSO!
In the description of the video "Eric/Documents" you'll find a link that used to host said documents. This link no loger works BUT I found a backed up version on an old slender forum the creators used to interact with so I am about 99% sure this is what they contained! CLICK HERE
My opinion
Like I already said I LOVE this series! I have been told by some people that they didn't finish it because it is a lot of talking and not as much "action" as other series. That's what I really liked about it though. I love how the series focuses on character dynamics and shows a complicated relationship dynamic between the main characters. It stops being just a story about a scary monster and becomes something deeply personal. I also found the series to be strangely enough a very accurate representation of dealing with mental illness and the strain it can put on your relationships.
It also isn't "just talking"! Especially towards the end of the series there are a lot of really intense and heavy moments that I'd say hit even harder with the buildup and development we watched at the start. The video "Brotherly love" is a perfect example. Man I just adore this series so much! ^_^