I'm quickly beginning to realize the structure of blogging is quite different from other types of writing. By that I mean, I don't have to waste anybody's time with an introduction and am free to just jump right into things.
So I just began watching the new Cartoon Network series, Young Justice, after initially watching a bit of it at this past New York Comic Con. For the uninitiated, Young Justice centers around the sidekicks and relatives of some major members of the Justice League: Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Superboy, and Miss Martian (Eventually adding Artemis to the mix.) The basic premise is the group of sidekicks feels they are ready to go out on their own and fight crime as a team so, under the guidance of Batman, training of Black Canary, and constant supervision of Red Tornado, the "Jr. Justice League" (as Speedy mocks it) is formed.
As far as I can tell, the show has some minor flaws but as a series has the potential to be just as good as the other highly regard DC animations of the past. The voice acting and animations are well polished, the action sequences are aesthetically pleasing and there are more than enough cameos from major Justice League members to keep the fanboys happy.
Where the show begins to run into some trouble is with the character personalities. It's early in the series so these characters have room to grow, but Miss Martian is depicted as the headstrong girl who tries so hard to be a member of the boys team that she ends up screwing things up. Cliches aside, she ends up coming off as foolish and whiney and I swear if I hear, "Duh, Megan!" (which is seemingly her catchphrase for when she's thinking out loud) in that sing-songy voice of hers one more time I might go crazy. Superboy has some anger issues and Kid Flash (Wally) is a carbon copy of Teen Titan's Beast Boy. Aqualad and Robin are fine.
On a side note, in the darkest corner of my mind that is allowed to enjoy sexism, I love that Miss Martian bakes the boys cookies and that Superboy is constantly losing his temper and yelling at her. I can't wait for him to pimp slap that bitch. It's also a little silly that they're supposed to have secret identities but have no problem taking on baddies in their civilian clothes. And that even though they share a HQ together they don't know Robin's secret identity just because "Batman told him to keep it a secret." (He's always wearing sunglasses when not in costume.) A minor gripe but it's annoying nontheless.
On a different yet related note, I heard Netflix was going to be adding Anime to their instant stream catalog so I decided to check it out. Well, someone needs to inform the good people at Netflix that there is a difference between Anime and softcore cartoon porn. Personally, if I were Japanese, I'd be offended at the seeming assumption by American Incompetents that their animation is all about big-breasted women being violated by demons. Don't believe me, look at the catalog of Anime Netflix currently offers: Rin, Sekirei, Queen's Blade, I could honestly keep going but I think you get the idea. More than half their catalog is currently "TV-MA" rated shows that aren't getting that rating for their gratuitous gore and violence, which in our country would be perfectly acceptable (But that's a whole other social commentary for another day,) but rather for their intense sexual content. Where are the uncut versions of things like Gundam or Dragon Ball? Zoids? Hell, I'd even take Sailor Moon. It boggles my mind.
And I know I promised to reveal something about a certain "Sega fans dream come true" project, but the idea is still in the very early planning stages and I don't want to rev any engines before getting it off the ground. Stay tuned though, because it will be an awesome endeavor if myself and the guys I'm working with can all pull it off.
2 comments:
They're showing all that soft core stuff because that's mostly what anime is in Japan. I know you're a fan, but Dragonball isn't real anime. All the really good stuff leans more adult with the sexuality and violence.
Any comparisons between Young Justice and Teen Titans?
There are a few similarities between Teen Titans and Young Justice, yeah. For one thing, Kid Flash = Beast Boy (He drools all over Miss Martian and literally runs head first into walls.) Robin is once again the leader and never shows his actual face. There's tension between Robin and Superboy about who's really in charge a la Robin/Cyborg and they typically face B list villains just as the Titans did. But at the same time I liked TT so I'd say it's just as good, but I haven't seen enough to fairly judge whether or not it's better.
And I guess you're right about the Anime stuff but honestly I've watched plenty of Anime that's popular in Japan and none of this stuff is it. Usually it's a whole lot of action, bloodshed and either a whole lot of Magic or Advanced Technology plotlines/settings. The stuff on Netflix really doesn't fit the profile at all.
Post a Comment