Animation Block: Blackstar

 Dusting off an old feature.

Animation Block: Lupin the Third

Having heard of the passing of the famed manga creator Monkey Punch, and being on an old school anime kick, why not take a look at his famed creation?

Animation Block: Fist of the North Star 2

Like I said earlier, if Toei had stopped with the first five stories, I would have been fine with Fist of the North Star but they didn't.

Part 2 opens up some time later. Ken became savior of the century's end, reunited with Yuria and defeated Raoh. So, everything's going to work out, right?

Animation Block: Fist of the North Star

It's been a while, but I finally finished all 152 episodes of Fist of the North Star. Quite a bit to unpack here, but right now I'll focus on the first series.

Animation Block: Sherlock Hound/Famous Detective Holmes

Funny as it may sound, I was never a huge anime fan as a youth. Of course, back in my day it was called Japanimation, and the only things that came to mind were Voltron and Robotech. I wouldn't really get into the whole scene until the 90's, but even today my exposure and knowledge of the medium is sadly lacking.


So, when I heard that famed director Hayao Miyazaki did a Sherlock Holmes series in the 1980's, well, that's something you need to track down.

The show itself was a joint production between Tokyo Movie Shinsha and the Italian company RAI. Thanks to issues with the Doyle estate, Miyazaki left after six episodes by the time the issues were cleared up, with the rest of the series being handled by director Kyosuke Mikuriya.

As for the show itself, it isn't the most faithful adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. If anything it seems more inspired by the Universal series than the Doyle stories. Sherlock Hound is still the droll consulting detective, whereas Dr. Watson is clearly inspired by Nigel Bruce's Col. Blimp take on Watson. Inspector Lestrade similarly draws on Dennis Hoey's portrayal as the bumbling Scotland Yard inspector. Mrs. Hudson is probably the biggest departure, here portrayed as a young widow with a past as an aviator and quick with a pistol.

As for the episodes themselves, not terrible but nothing really stays with you. Hound and Watson usually get dragged into solving seemingly impossible crimes, usually carried out by Professor Moriarty, here seen as far more comedic than most portrayals. Thanks to Miyazaki though we do get to see plenty of light aircraft fighting over the English countryside.

A pity that Miyazaki didn't stay with the series, but overall not bad. The entire series was released on DVD, so worth a shot if you can get it from a anime standpoint. If you're a Holmes fan, it might be worth a rental at least.

Pirates of Dark Water

Sometimes a show comes along and changes everything. A show that reaches millions of people and produces a fanbase that continues on well after the show is cancelled.

This isn't one of those shows.

The Pirates of Dark Water was a Hanna-Barbara show that barely ran two seasons. The first five episodes ran on FOX, the next eight on ABC, then the rest in syndication. The year wait between season also didn't help matters.

So, what was the show about? The planet Mer is suffering from Dark Water, a semi-sentient oily mass from the planet's core that corrupts and devours everything it touches. Only the thirteen Treasures of Rule can halt the blight, but all thirteen are scattered across the globe.

Ren (George Newburn), prince of the ruined Octopon, is tasked with gathering the treasures by his dying father. Along the way he recruits the pirate Ioz (Hector Elizondo), ecomancer Tula (Jodi Benson), and the monkey-bird Niddler (Roddy McDowell, later replaced by Frank Welker). Complicating the quest is the pirate lord Bloth (Brock Peters), who desires the treasures for himself.

The episodes were decently written. The animation, especially in the opening episodes, was breath taking at the time. There was a rather decent sense of continuity, with past exploits being mentioned, even in passing.  The characters remain fairly unchanging(Ren's often too trusting, Ioz's greed, etc.), but the writers build with the characteristics and let the adventure flow from that. Serious topics, such as death, weren't glossed over either. The problem (scheduling aside) with the series, was also the characters. You had the Chosen One, the rouge, the Quest, etc. All cliches by this point, although the performances manage to elevate the show past that. 

 The entire series was released onto a MOD-DVR, so you can enjoy the entire series.

Beware the Batman: Control

"Control" Beware the Batman  Cartoon Network, 21 September 2013

 -recap time. Remember Dr. Jason Burr and the whole cortex thing? It's going to play a part in this.

Beware the Batman: Allies

"Allies" Beware the Batman  Cartoon Network, 14 September 2013

Back again with another Batman episode

Recap, Katana is now officially part of the Bat family.

Beware the Batman: Family

"Family". Beware the Batman . Cartoon Network, 9 Sept. 2013

Back with another episode

Beware the Batman: Toxic

“Toxic” Beware the Batman, Cartoon Network 17 Aug. 2013

Back again and we see the debut of a classic Bob Haney character.

-Recap of previous episodes with a focus on Simon Stagg

-Couple making out in the dark, which to my knowledge has almost never worked out well for anyone in most forms of popular culture. The couple is Sapphire Stagg (Simon’s daughter) and security guard Rex Mason. More on him later

-She only loves the man inside and she’s sure her father will love him like she does. So they’ll make out in a darkened hallway?

Beware the Batman: Broken

“Broken”, Beware the Batman, Cartoon Network 10 Aug 2013

Back again as promised.

Beware the Batman: Safe

“Safe”. Beware the Batman. Cartoon Network 3 August 2013.

Back again and live blogging a taped show.

-We open with Bruce Wayne talking about something called an ‘ion cortex’. It was invented by Dr. Jason Burr (more on him later)

-The press conference is attacked by ninjas. Wayne gets inside his car and Tatsu is ordered to take care of Burr. She actually does a pretty good job of fighting them, although Batman shows up to make sure she doesn’t kill any of them.

-He also lectures her that there is always a choice. “You can save lives or you can take them”. Because wounding doesn’t exist?

-Burr is a bit of a hugger.

-Silver Monkey (had to look him up) is now contracted to take care of Burr.

-For some reason, Wayne Manor now has a security team. I’m sure this will never come up again.

-Burr is playing with toys and hitting on Tatsu. She is making it pretty clear she wants none of that, although Burr just keeps on talking.

-Batman at Burr’s lab when ninjas attack.

-Tatsu: “If I told you about my past I would have to kill you.”

-Pretty decent chase scene, but I just find it odd how empty Gotham is

-It turns out the security team leader Reese is the Silver Monkey. Huge surprise, but now Burr is kidnapped.

-Or so we think, as it turns out the kidnapper is actually Tatsu

-Batman is still being cashed by ninjas. Wayne Manor is apparently 100 miles from Burr’s lab. And one of the ninjas is named Wilhelm.

-Silver Monkey and Tatsu know each other somehow and I’m betting this is going to be the overall plot arch of the show.

-“The ones that can dodge bullets are always a bother” Alfred with a shotgun should have been a bigger meme

-Tatsu is finally called Katana and it seems that green sword is called the Soul Taker. That can’t be good

-Silver Monkey escapes (pretty clever use of an explosive) and reports to Lady Shiva, who seems to run the League of Assassins.  

-Burr is…somewhat annoying and frankly his love-struck mooning over Tatsu is already growing old.

-a note on our two new characters: Jason Burr was the twin brother of the terrorist cult leader Kobra who felt a psychic connection to him. He’s been dead a few times. Silver Monkey was a Chuck Dixon marital artist from 1995 who got blown up in War Games.

-next time we see the debut of Humpty Dumpty

Beware the Batman: Tests

“Tests”. Beware the Batman. Cartoon Network. 27 July 2013.

And so we start with the third episode and here is where we try something different. It seems the kids today are all about live-blogging, so we’ll give this a shot.

Beware the Batman: Secrets

“Secrets”. Beware the Batman. Cartoon Network 20 July 2013.

So, second episode and how does it manage? We’ve already seen the main plots established, but both (Gordon’s dislike of Batman and Katana’s training) move at slower pace this time so as to focus on the villain of this episode…and it’s an interesting take on an obscure foe.

Beware the Batman: Hunted

“Hunted.” Beware the Batman. Cartoon Network. 13 July 2013

Batman is one of those characters that fit into nearly every medium. I could spend the next fifty pages describing the character and his influence, but since that is Chris Sims’s bag we’ll focus our attention on the latest Batman show. Beware the Batman hit the airwaves in 2013 to some resistance. The preceding series, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, was a very well regarded program and the decision to end it annoyed more than a few fans. So, what was the selling point of the show? Would it be a wholesale re-imagining or a straight adaptation of classic stories? How would CGI compare to the tradition animation?

The chief selling point of the show was what it was lacking. The audience was told at the very start-No Joker, no Catwoman, etc. Understandable, given the iconic nature of the Rogue’s Gallery and the massive shoes left by Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Jeff Bennett, and the like, but the bar was set in a strange place.

Animation Block: Fireball XL5

Since we’re putting stuff on the blog again, I felt it was a good time to post a review on a series I recently watched:  FireballXL5. The series was produced in 1962 and ran on NBC in 1963. I always had a long admiration for the works of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, having watched Thunderbirds on TechTV and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons on the Sci-Fi Channel. FireballXL5, however, was utterly unknown to me. After watching the series in its entirety I am now wondering if I was better off not knowing.

Set in the far off year of 2062, the World Space Patrol safeguards Earth and all civilized planets with its XL spaceships. The XL5, captained by Colonel Steve Zodiac (Paul Maxwell) zooms through space with his trusty crew at his side. Dr. Venus (Sylvia Anderson) is second in command and medical officer, while Professor Matthew Matic (David Graham) handles the science and upkeep on Robert the Robot (Gerry Anderson) the robotic co-pilot and occasional radio. 

Thundarr the Barbarian

Animation Block: Thundarr the Barbarian

 

Going back to the well of the 1980’s, we find today a rare gem in the animated world. Jack “King” Kirby blessed the world with many characters, yet his foray into animation is often downplayed. Hired by Ruby-Spears in the early portion of the decade, Jack did the layouts for what would become Thundarr the Barbarian.

 

In the year 1994, a runaway planet hurtles between the Earth and the Moon, causing global upheaval. Mankind is cast into darkness. Our narrative begins two thousand years later. Earth is reborn as a world filled with sorcery and super science. Thundarr, a barbarian, escapes from his life as a slave alongside the Princess Ariel and Ookla the Mok.  With his Sunsword, a gift from Ariel, Thundarr and his companions ride the strange worlds under a broken sky.

Looking back at the show, I am amazed and disappointed it didn’t last longer. Airing in 1980 and before the FCC loosened all the rules meant the children of the era were spared Thundarr action figures, comics, and general merchandise. With Steve Gerber and Mark Evanier doing scripts, I am utterly dismayed that the show lasted as short as it did, finally ending production in 1982 with reruns on various networks after that.  Violence was never shied away from but it was never glamourized. The entire show had a fairly grim look at things to be yet there was also some degree of optimism. Princess Ariel deserves special mention as well. She was sassy but never obnoxious and her magic powers were consistent; or at least not used as a deus ex machina as much as other shows of the time period. She actually did stuff on the show rather than simply be the token female.  

What went wrong? Typical of the time the show was formulaic; Thundarr and company enter a ruined city or former landmark and encounter a wizard or other type of ne’er-do-well.  A battle is fought, hostages sometime taken and Thundarr and company leave much the same as they entered. But other shows were structured just the same and still lasted longer. Cost and ratings were given as the chief reason for the show’s cancellation, but unlike every other bit of 1980’s nostalgia, Thundarr the Barbarian seems to have been skipped by the retro toy companies and comic books companies, save for a few action figures made a couple of years ago.

The entire series was finally released onto DVD and is well worth the time to re-watch.

New Adventures of the Lone Ranger

The New Adventures of the Lone Ranger (1980)

 

With the passing of famed producer Lou Scheimer, I felt it right to look back on one of Filmation’s lesser known properties. The Lone Ranger, also known as the New Adventures of the Lone Ranger, began properly with the Tarzan/Long Ranger Adventure Hour on CBS in 1980. With reruns of the animated Tarzan series, viewers would see the animated adventures of the masked rider of the plains.

With William Conrad as the Lone Ranger and Ivan Naranjo as Tonto, viewers could tune in and see the Western duo fight bushwhackers, mad scientists, and encounter such historical figures such as Nelly Bly. The animation was slick, although since this was a Filmation production it also meant we would endlessly see the same close-up of Tonto’s face and the same shot of the heroes mounting their horses. With the concerns of various parents groups and before the loosening of rules regarding advertisements, the focus was mostly on education. There was plenty of action, but every so often it would stop so our heroes or someone else could lecture on new-fangled things like refrigerators or hot air balloons. There would also be a short public service announcement after every episode.

None of the episodes were interconnected and the plots only lasted as long twenty minutes long. The music, consisting mostly of the famed William Tell Overture, was used to great effect. 

A DVD was released last year, but it only contains most of the series. A possible second volume would solve this, but with underperforming Long Ranger reboot it appears that would be very unlikely.

Animation Block: Exo-Squad

by: Jesse Baruffi

In Western animation, most shows are episodic. This is logical, because the target audience is kids, who aren't exactly known for their ability to keep up with long, intricate plots. Hence, there were very few sagas that require paying attention to them from beginning to end. Even shows I quite enjoy and have mentioned here, like Mighty Max and Conan the Adventurer (which I like even more than Dave does) have a meta-plot that pops up sometimes, but most of the episodes have a small core cast and are perfectly easy to follow one to the next. This brings me to Exo-Squad, which has none of that. It is a 52-episode saga, with an ongoing story, a large cast, and a definitive beginning, middle, and ending. It was ballsy to make such a show, but the result was something unique and enjoyable.

Exo-Squad is a series that takes place in the 22nd century, after humanity has colonized Venus and Mars. Through genetic engineering, humanity has also created a servant race called Neo-Sapiens, who are stronger, tougher, and more intelligent than humans. Naturally, treating a race with all these advantages as slaves led to an uprising, and though it was put down, the Neo-Sapiens were eventually granted their independence, though were still generally treated as second-class citizens. The military of the core worlds, known as Exo-Fleet, keep the peace, and use personal mechs called E-Frames (you guessed it, the toys!). It is neither a particularly optimistic or pessimistic future, with a fair share of good and bad traits.

This all changes when the majority of Exo-Fleet is called away on a grand mission to wipe out pirate clans who live in the outer worlds of the solar system. Phaeton, governor of the Neo-Sapiens on Mars, using ships and E-Frames he had been building in secret, stages a massive coup and conquers Earth and Venus. Phaeton and his generals reduce humans to slaves as payback for their mistreatment. Exo-Fleet, marooned in space and facing three planets with entrenched Neo-Sapien armadas, are forced to find a way to retake their homeworlds.

The point of view from which we see this is Able Squad, a group of E-Frame pilots often sent on the most dangerous and important missions of the war. The entire squad is fleshed out and filled with likeable characters, including their leader J.T. Marsh, a philosopher and strategist, and Marsala, a Neo-Sapien who is highly conflicted about fighting his own people, but loyal to his human friends nonetheless. The war was said by the creators to have been modeled on World War II, and we follow the moves and countermoves of Exo-Fleet and the Neo-Sapien Order from beginning to end. Despite being a cartoon, Exo-Squad portrays war realistically, and people die quite frequently. The show deals with themes of war, loss, and prejudice in a way that is not ham-handed. While we want the humans to win, it is easy to sympathize with the Neo-Sapiens, who were horribly mistreated and harbor understandable resentment. Indeed, while Phaeton and most of his inner circle are ruthless and power-hungry, not all the Neo-Sapiens, perhaps not even most, are evil. Phaeton himself is a fascinating character. He is charismatic and brilliant, and probably would have been easy to like before he became a supreme dictator. As time goes on, his sanity wanes and he becomes extremely paranoid and irrational. It seems likely the series creators based him on Hitler, and perhaps other dictators of similar stature.

The series had a few small missteps, particularly when new breeds of Neo-Sapiens began to appear. The Neo-Warriors were inexplicably immune to blaster fire, which makes one wonder why they didn't build ships, E-Frames, or at the very least armor out of the material used for their skin, and why this immunity seemed to vanish later on in the war. There is also the sad fact that the series ended with an apparent presumption that there would be another season, and as such, a massive cliffhanger. Much to my chagrin at least, that season never came, and what was to come will likely never be known.

Still, for all that, Exo-Squad is an amazing series, with lots of combat, strategy, characterization, science fiction, humor, and thought-provoking drama. The first 13 episodes are available on DVD, but sadly, the rest does not seem to be. Luckily, the show is available in its entirety on Hulu, so if you've never seen this underrated classic, go there and watch it now!

Animation Block: Conan the Adventurer

 “Conan! The Adventurer!”

“Conan! Warrior without Fear!”

The 1990’s were a strange time for American animation, perhaps more so than the 1980’s. The stalwarts of the previous decade were changing with the times, or at least trying to; G.I. Joe had been taken over by DiC and retooled to focus on the new toys, Transformers first had Transformers: Generation 2 (mostly just old episodes with new CGI openers), then Beast Wars. Sunbow’s fortunes had declined, thanks in part to the disastrous flops of G.I. Joe: the Movie and Transformers: the Movie. The nineties saw an influx of anime and a new cable system primed to change how networks did their shows.

Conan the Adventurer was one of those new shows. Created in a joint effort by Sunbow and Graz Entertainment (for the first season), the series told the saga of Conan and his allies as they fought against the evil wizard Wrath-Amon and his followers of Set. Because when you watch Conan the Barbarian or read the Howard tales, you immediately think of a cartoon.

And that was an odd sticking point for many fans of the Howard character, Conan was not exactly a character that could be put in the confines of a children’s show (what with the wenching, drinking, fighting, etc.) so many of them took a great deal of umbrage at the character being softened.

Granted, Christy Marx and Jean Chalopin did reduce the character by removing the harder aspects of the character, but the overall core was still the same. Conan was very much a barbarian, he distrusted magic, etc. Surely the character is more than being an oversexed pirate?

The series, for those not in the know, told the story of Conan’s quest to free his parents from a spell placed on them by the wizard Wrath-Amon. Along the way he picked up a small group of allies to aide him in his quest. The addition of the new characters actually made some sense, since the show lacked monologues we the audience weren’t privy to Conan’s thoughts. Giving him a cast meant he could explain things to them, or have them explain things to us through him. Using their magic star-metal weapons, Conan and his allies waged a war against the Serpent Men, which actually brought up another complaint by the fans, i.e. the use of violence.

In keeping with the broadcast standards of the day, Conan’s weapons didn’t actually kill or maim the Serpent Men, but rather banish them to another dimension. I know, Conan without decapitations is hardly a Conan at all, especially when compared to other shows that featured death like Mighty Max or E.X.O. Squad, but this was Sunbow. I’m not going to justify it, and I lack the knowledge to explain why they did what they did. Holdover from the 80’s perhaps?

One thing of note about the series was the story. There actually were plot arches and callbacks to earlier episodes. The writing and voice acting was excellent, with even a few Howard stories being adapted. The animation was sometimes less then perfect, with characters moving far too stiffly or sometimes going off model.

By the standards of the era, Conan was trying to be a mature show, but still pulled its punches. The series has just released onto DVD by Shout! Factory. It’s worth a rental at least.

Now, Conan and the Young Warriors? Now that show sucked.