# This World Can't Tear Me Down (2023)

> A cartoonist hunts for the right way to help an old friend find his footing when he comes back to the neighborhood.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/135361

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 6
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: animation, comedy, drama
- Created by: Zerocalcare
- Network: Netflix
- Cast: Zerocalcare, Valerio Mastandrea, Paolo Vivio, Michele Foschini, Gianluca Crisafi, Ezio Conenna, Gianluca Cortesi, Alessandra Sani
- TMDB rating: 8.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27440006/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Tone: wry, melancholic, reflective, sardonic, bittersweet

## What critics say

Audiences rate this animated Netflix miniseries positively, praising its blend of humor, political engagement and emotional honesty.

## Synopsis

This World Can't Tear Me Down (2023) is an Italian adult animated limited series created by Zerocalcare for Netflix. Zerocalcare voices a version of himself, a comic artist in Rome who, when an old friend returns to the neighborhood, tries to help him find his place again. Armadillo, voiced by Valerio Mastandrea, is the friend whose return unsettles the old routines, and Secco, voiced by Paolo Vivio, is a familiar face from the same streets. The engine of the series is the question of what the right thing to do is, as the narrator weighs loyalty, guilt, and good intentions against the pressures of a neighborhood shaped by policing and precarity. Each of the six half-hour episodes moves through street encounters, memory-laden flashbacks, and sharp digressions, so the story feels like a single continuous arc told in a loose, conversational register. Shape and scale are compact: one self-contained six-episode season with no spin-off clutter. The series belongs to the tradition of Italian comics adapted for adult animation and carries the wry, self-aware sensibility of its creator's books. Its tone is bittersweet and reflective, mixing dry humor with melancholy and social conscience. Viewers who enjoy Persepolis, Bojack Horseman, and other autobiographical adult animation will find resonance in its blend of comedy and quiet ache.

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