User blog:Snail--day-and-night/Character Analysis: Teslo

Disclaimer
I should let people know that I'm not going to make this series of blog posts as something along the lines of my personal opinion. Sure, there will be a small part with my opinion on the character and what it seems the fandom thinks of them, but I'll keep these analysis as objective as possible. That way no favorite character gets left behind and stuff!

Today's character is Teslo!

Overview and appearance
Teslo is the leader of the Electroids, as he is resourceful and happens to double as a lookout (of Nixels I pressume).

Teslo's body is mostly yellow with some yellow-orange, black and blue details here and there. He has two asymetrical ear-like bumps on his head which are then followed by a black band-like coloring, but most of it is obscured by his large, cycloptic eye (the style of Mixels seems to make cyclops characters have cat-like pupils). He has a large underbite and the stereotypical 3 teeth coming from his upper jaw. His lower jaw seems to be adorned with a yellowish-orange... bone? That's all the seems to come to mind. His arms are short but they're rather stocky, and they have the steretypical claw-like hands at their ends, it also seems like he has another black band detail on his shoulders. His legs are super tiny, but his feet are very tall, and have two yellowish-orange toes each. His tail is long and slender, and it has a black tip at the end, where two light-blue lightning-shaped trendils join.

On his back, as shown in the episode Murp, he has a "Fun-o-meter" meter which has two ends, one being "Fun" and the other "Lame" with various degrees inbetween. When the meter is turned off, it's all black with grey details, but when it's on, the words and the levels are red.

Personality and abilites
Teslo has always been said as being a resourceful and clever Mixel. He also happens to have quite dorky tendencies, which actually make him quite endearing given how little screen time he has gotten where he was a main character.

So far, I guess I can't complain that much about the show not giving us what his description mentions. He sure has been resourceful, as shown in the episode where he was teaching his fellow Electroids how to be prepared for when they need to change a lightbulb, and how quick he was to look for a solution when their lightbulbs burned out. However, I have never seen him as the lookout of his tribe, maybe in the future we may see it, but I find it weird that they didn't show his job, since there are some episodes which are focused on the jobs of other Mixels who we didn't know have jobs (Zorch as a mailman and Lunk and Tentro as workers in the Hamalogna Factory). Another thing that the show hasn't let us seen is his fear of heights. Does he have vertigo? Does he fear to fly? Does he reside on the lower mountains of Mountain City? We can't know for sure, since again the show forgot to tell us.

Now, like I said in my Zorch analysis, I guess the reason as to why we barely see the characters interact with eachother is because the shorts aren't character-driven. That is, they don't focus on the characters, rather they focus on the stuff that happens to the characters. And I suppose the short running time affects this, too. However I find it saddening, because the Mixels are so colorful in personality, you could literally make an episode about each Mixel alone and you'd have tons of content.

But anyways, back on track. Teslo seems to have kinda funny and dorky tendencies, such as using 80's-tastic sports outfits when he's working out, or how he wore one of those graduation caps in Changing A Lightbulb. However, when I saw Electrorock, I was a bit baffled. When the Electroids were shown abducting Krader and latter zapping him, did they ask him if he could be tied up and then electrocuted? I mean, I guess they did because Krader was aware of what they were doing. However, I wonder if the ritual the Electroids make could really be considered sacrifice, since Teslo was the one who was zapping Krader even though it was obvious he was in pain.

Speaking of zapping, his tail seems to either work as a taser or as a flashlight. And as any other Electroid it seems he has fits of accidentally shocking himself. Also, take in count the "Fun-o-meter" I mentioned earlier, which also happens to have built-in sounds. Maybe Mixels are half-machine half-organic? Since Teslo is shown to eat food like any of the others...

My thoughts and other things
He sure is dorky, and I actually like Teslo, but not as much as other characters. I also find it kinda creepy how the Electroids' rituals involve zapping non-Electroids. I say this because he's the leader, and that huge single eye is kinda creepy if you stare at it too long.

It seems that the fanbase has a nice opinion of him, though along with other characters like Balk or Krader, he's SERIOUSLY underrated. Which is a shame, because he's one of the few Mixels who has got enough screentime to showcase his personality.

Conclusion
Teslo is quite an intresting character, and I'm glad that he has got enough screemtime to show the bare basics of his personality and then some more other things. I tell you guys, with these kind of characters, character-driven shows would have a BLAST. That said though, like Zorch (and all the others) he has a lot of room for growth and insight into his character, and what he likes to do, apart from using dorky outfits and organizing rituals that look like sacrifices.

What do you think about Teslo? Do you like him? Hate him? I'd love to hear why!

Which character should I tackle next?