Showing posts with label cartoon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cartoon. Show all posts
Wednesday 20 April 2016
Batman Beyond: New villains, new suit, new Gotham, new Batman
Before getting to the big one, allow me to make a quick detour for a moment to bring you this spinoff. Set several decades after Batman the Animated Series, to try and make something akin to what the comics industry was doing at the time... and I'm sure comic book fans can already tell where I'll be going with this. So lets tackle Batman Beyond... or "Batman of the Future" as it was known here... not as catchy, is it?
Wednesday 13 April 2016
Superman: The Animated series: Now with 100% less bloom lighting
While there are more shows in DC's old animated universe, at the moment, I want to focus on the main shows, the ones that got the most attention, and the ones that people still talk about to this day. I do plan to cover the other shows, but they are for another time. In the mean time, let's take a look at Superman: The animated series, and see if it holds a candle to its predecessor. I should say though that due to time limitations, I haven't been able to complete a full season of the show at time of writing. I want to give this more time, but isn't meant to be, and thankfully, is a statement not shared by next weeks review and hopefully the week after. Feel free to consider this an Opening Impression if you want.
Wednesday 6 April 2016
Batman: The Animated Series: For reals this time, honest
I couldn't resist doing an April Fools this year, and I'm both sorry, and not sorry for the lame joke. I do however admit Rising Rainbow came out better then the Rick Roll. That one was last minute after all,
I've stated a few times now that I personally prefer DC's animated projects over their Live Action ones, and while I do plan to cover more in the future, for now, lets take a look at some that many remember from their childhoods... I don't because I was too young at their prime, but still. Up first, the one that started it all, and one of the cartoons that has probably helped inspire much of children's television to this day, Batman: The Animated Series.
I've stated a few times now that I personally prefer DC's animated projects over their Live Action ones, and while I do plan to cover more in the future, for now, lets take a look at some that many remember from their childhoods... I don't because I was too young at their prime, but still. Up first, the one that started it all, and one of the cartoons that has probably helped inspire much of children's television to this day, Batman: The Animated Series.
Wednesday 27 January 2016
Tiny Toon Adventures: Back to school special
As I stated in the review, I really liked Animaniacs, so when I herd that a show prior to it by the same team, with inspiration from the Loony Toons, I had to give it a look. How was it? Well, one way to find out. Shall we head to school?
Wednesday 21 October 2015
Steven Universes: Time for that follow up I promised
Back in July I did a mini marathon of Opening Impressions, tackling some of the pioneers of a new form of Children's TV show, and Log Horizon. Those being Adventure Time, Star vs. The Forces of Evil, Gravity Falls and Steven Universe. As stated prior, my opening impressions take the first 5 episodes, give or take as it depends on the franchise and how many episodes I have to work with at the time, and Steven Universe's first five episodes... sucked, they were awful. Well, both Falsely Profound and Keybug55 are big fans of Steven Universe and both wanted me to keep going with the show, they kept telling me that it gets better. Well, I caved and kept going, so this is my follow up review on Steven Universe. Now while I will say that a lot of my points from the Opening Impression do carry over, I will provide updates when needed. A link to the original post can be found here: http://blasterreviews.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/opening-impressions-steven-universe-ill.html for those curious.
Wednesday 30 September 2015
Avatar: The Legend of Korra: New Tech, same powers, and a very PC questionable post
With the success of The Last Airbender show, a sequel was bound to show up eventually. And with a sequel comes another chance to delve into the world of Avatar. But how has the world changed, as this is set 70 years after the fall of the Fire Lord. Time to investigate The Legend of Korra.
Sadly this intro only plays once
Labels:
avatar,
cartoon,
multi season,
Nickelodeon,
review,
tv
Wednesday 23 September 2015
Avatar: The Last Airbender: With inner peace comes the ability to USE THE PLANET TO BEAT EVERYONE...
No, this is not the movie.
To me, its rare to see something like this. A show that's 10 years old now, that many people has said it's aged well for its time, praise from everyone, viewers and critics alike, successful attempts at other mediums and a movie... that was awful, ok so it hasn't all been perfect. This is a show that has interested me more as I've grown up rather then at the time of its original air, as when I first saw it on live TV, it suffered from "Australian TV syndrome" and that it was nothing but out of order reruns, which to this day pisses me off, though that's more of the fact that people still insist watching them even though its a rerun they saw recently.... Moving on, let's see how this series is. Avatar: The Last Airbender.
To me, its rare to see something like this. A show that's 10 years old now, that many people has said it's aged well for its time, praise from everyone, viewers and critics alike, successful attempts at other mediums and a movie... that was awful, ok so it hasn't all been perfect. This is a show that has interested me more as I've grown up rather then at the time of its original air, as when I first saw it on live TV, it suffered from "Australian TV syndrome" and that it was nothing but out of order reruns, which to this day pisses me off, though that's more of the fact that people still insist watching them even though its a rerun they saw recently.... Moving on, let's see how this series is. Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Labels:
avatar,
cartoon,
multi season,
Nickelodeon,
review,
tv
Friday 31 July 2015
Opening Impressions: Adventure Time: Time to get ready for round 2 of this
On Twitter, I mentioned that this post wouldn't be ready because of the fact that I didn't have the time to complete it this week, and that's partially true, however there's more to it. The other main reason is that, a lot of the problems I have with this go back to Steven Universe's problems, in by that just the lack of any world building. However, there are some unique things to this, so time to conclude this mini marathon with Adventure Time.
Friday 24 July 2015
Opening Impressions: Star vs. The Forces of Evil: I hope the magic you believe in isn't this magic...
Its not often I'm lost for words with content... but this... this... I can't...
Star vs. The Forces of Evil.
Star vs. The Forces of Evil.
Friday 17 July 2015
Opening Impressions: Gravity Falls: "Where's my phone? I need to call them"
I swear this wasn't intentional, considering as a 3DS game has been announced for this series recently.
Round 2 of the Adventure Time art style marathon, and today we travel to Disney. With the amount of stuff they've done, I don't think there's a person alive who hasn't seen a Disney show or movie in some form. So let's see what child friendly Disney does in this style, as we travel to Gravity Falls.
Round 2 of the Adventure Time art style marathon, and today we travel to Disney. With the amount of stuff they've done, I don't think there's a person alive who hasn't seen a Disney show or movie in some form. So let's see what child friendly Disney does in this style, as we travel to Gravity Falls.
Friday 10 July 2015
Opening Impressions: Steven Universe: "I'll take your word on this..."
So for those who saw the montage, you'll notice that there were a few cartoons and an anime in there. Yeah... this month is going to have a lot of Opening Impressions again, though unlike last time, this time it'll be paced out.
As the medium evolves, new technology and new styles arise, there was 3D animation... which looked awful at the time, Flash animation, which lead to a influx of awful cartoons made as quick and as cheep as possible to make a quick buck (something I wouldn't mind online, but they gained footing on national Television). While those were more of the tech and people behind them, now the trend is style, by way of "Adventure Time style". Smooth 2D imagery embracing the cartoons of old, but not afraid to pull some more mature humor, some more so then others, one of which I'm still contemplating putting in here, which is why it wasn't in the montage. I intend to do Adventure time last, due to its sheer popularity in comparison to the others, but for now, lets start with the one I got asked to do on camera, Steven Universe.
As the medium evolves, new technology and new styles arise, there was 3D animation... which looked awful at the time, Flash animation, which lead to a influx of awful cartoons made as quick and as cheep as possible to make a quick buck (something I wouldn't mind online, but they gained footing on national Television). While those were more of the tech and people behind them, now the trend is style, by way of "Adventure Time style". Smooth 2D imagery embracing the cartoons of old, but not afraid to pull some more mature humor, some more so then others, one of which I'm still contemplating putting in here, which is why it wasn't in the montage. I intend to do Adventure time last, due to its sheer popularity in comparison to the others, but for now, lets start with the one I got asked to do on camera, Steven Universe.
Friday 19 June 2015
The Animaniacs: "Now that's comedy"
So for those who saw the Square Enix coverage on Wednesday, there was a line there that didn't make a lot of sense then. So it turns out my plan may have backfired, and before Pinkie could do any harm, we sedated her to try and get her back to normal. And seeing as we have it out, may as well take a look at something that is sure to make her smile in a way that doesn't put The Joker to shame.
I think its time we go to the "American animation renaissance" of the 90's, where animation once again bloomed, and characters old and new found homes once again. It was a simpler time, where characters only had to be themselves, comical, serious, where all that mattered is the world and their interactions.
So for now, come in, pull up a chair, dance, mingle. Say hi to Christopher Walken, because.
I think its time we go to the "American animation renaissance" of the 90's, where animation once again bloomed, and characters old and new found homes once again. It was a simpler time, where characters only had to be themselves, comical, serious, where all that mattered is the world and their interactions.
So for now, come in, pull up a chair, dance, mingle. Say hi to Christopher Walken, because.
Labels:
90's,
Animaniacs,
cartoon,
review,
tv,
Warner Brothers
Friday 29 May 2015
M.M.M: Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow: It's surprising how much you take maturity for granted
I said I would be covering Ultron, but those of you who have been following my content for a while would know that I don't cover films while they are at the cinema. So when I said I'd be reviewing Ultron, I wasn't talking about Age of Ultron.
For the final review of the marathon, we're going back a few years, back to 2008, back to when the Marvel Cinematic Universe had just started. And yet, we go forward, to a time when The Avengers would have been old men and women, at least they would have if it hadn't appeared. The torch has been passed on, and its time for The Next Avengers to rise.
For the final review of the marathon, we're going back a few years, back to 2008, back to when the Marvel Cinematic Universe had just started. And yet, we go forward, to a time when The Avengers would have been old men and women, at least they would have if it hadn't appeared. The torch has been passed on, and its time for The Next Avengers to rise.
Labels:
Captain America,
cartoon,
Hulk,
Iron Man,
marathon,
marvel,
movies,
Next Avengers,
Thor,
Ultron
Tuesday 23 December 2014
Rescue Heroes: Thunderbirds are... wait... you're saying there's a difference?
You know the saying "with age comes experience", with it also comes confusion. Have you ever re-watched a show that you used to love when you were a child and go "I used to watch this?" It's a weird feeling isn't it?
When I was working on the schedule for content uploads, I had a spot free to which I offered the choice to my mother as today is her birthday. After several weeks of changing her mind, she "chose" this (by that I mean she suggested it and I said "I have to start working on it, no more changing your mind"... Of course there's another one which I turned down for now so... one review at a time...), forceful padding aside, lets see how this not Thunderbirds holds up, Rescue Heroes Season 1+2 (I'm having trouble finding season 3 somewhere I can obtain it to review).
When I was working on the schedule for content uploads, I had a spot free to which I offered the choice to my mother as today is her birthday. After several weeks of changing her mind, she "chose" this (by that I mean she suggested it and I said "I have to start working on it, no more changing your mind"... Of course there's another one which I turned down for now so... one review at a time...), forceful padding aside, lets see how this not Thunderbirds holds up, Rescue Heroes Season 1+2 (I'm having trouble finding season 3 somewhere I can obtain it to review).
Wednesday 24 September 2014
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Seasons 1-4... This is going to be a long week...
When I started this reviews site, I knew this would come up
sooner or later. This is one of the reviews that I’m not sure how it’s going to
be taken, not by fans of the show or by you who read this, but by people I know in real life. This is also something
that I have quite a bit to say so this is one of the reviews that are going to
be spread over several posts (five to be precise). I am willing to review other aspects of the franchise
at a later time if I get the request for them, especially while I look to see
what sticks and what doesn’t. But until then, let’s get this underway, to
whatever it gets, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Seasons 1-4.
Disclaimer: No, I am not a Brony and I'm definitely not a Pegasister (though I'm hoping that last one is obvious...)
I would insert a cover here, but I couldn't find a good one so...
Disclaimer: No, I am not a Brony and I'm definitely not a Pegasister (though I'm hoping that last one is obvious...)
I would insert a cover here, but I couldn't find a good one so...
Labels:
cartoon,
hasbro,
mlp,
multi film,
multi season,
review,
tv
Friday 1 August 2014
First Impressions: Sonic Boom
My apologies for that, I got my documents messed up...
Sonic Boom, the upcoming Sonic game for 2014 along with the new TV show based on the two games. And as usual for Sonic games, they get unneeded hate from the fan base. Why? I'll answer that at the end of this.
I'll start with the games. As with Sonic Lost World, a 3DS version and a WiiU version will be made, but unlike Lost World, the consoles will have a different version of the game with a different plot, playable characters ect. In Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, you can play as Sonic, Tails, Amy and Knuckles, the main 4 characters for the franchise.
And as you can see from this, all four of them have had a redesign. For a better look...
Before I get to gameplay, I'll go through the "controversial redesigns".
- Sonic: There is barely anything is different with him. I like the little bit of detail in his spines, yes the exsessive use of sports tape is a bit of a let down but the same thing applies to all the characters except the "new" character so I'm going to ignore it. I love the addition of the scarf as it adds that little bit of detail to the character that updates him properly for the first time since the Dreamcast.
- Tails: The short and sharp version of my opinions on Tails is that he actually looks like a engineer now, which I like
- Amy: Ever since the designs were revealed, I haven't had any thing to say about Amy spesifically. I like this design more so then her main design as it seems to be more functional then the main design in the main series (at this point in time, this is a spin off of the series). I like the update to the hammer, even though it will probably be as ridiculous as ever in terms of physics (Amy is the reason why "Hammer space" exists).
- Knuckles: The controversy magnet for these redesigns... Where do I begin with Knuckles... How about the fact that he's not that bad. Even when I first saw him I didn't think he was that bad. Not great, I will admit that there are flaws but its not the end of teh world that people are making him out to be. I'm not a fan of his height, I do think he could be a bit shorter. I do like the fact that he has a lot more bulk to him now as he is supposed to be the muscle of the group, something that doesn't make sense in the current series. I will admit that the lack of a neck is more of a problem with Knuckles then it is for anyone else but I can learn to live with it.
- And finally, defiantly not Marine the Racoon, original creation do not steel... aka Sticks the badger: In terms of design, when its not screaming "I SHOULD HAVE BEEN MARINE", she looks ok. I'm skeptical about her character at this point in time i'm going to hold off on my thoughts about her, until I can see her in action.
Story wise: I'm going to directly quote the Sonic Wiki because news on the plot is scarce.
The Rise of Lyric (WiiU): "Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric follows Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose and Sticks as they do battle against the evil Dr. Eggman. The group find themselves arriving on an island where they encounter an ancient tomb sealed deep within the island. There, they come across a powerful snake-like villain from a race called the Ancients, named Lyric, who plans to power his army of war mongering robots with the Chaos Crystals and destroy the world. To stop Lyric's evil plan, the group must put aside their differences and find the Chaos Crystals before Lyric. The stakes have never been higher, and the only chance to overcome Lyric is to band together and work as a team."
Shattered Crystal: "In Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal, Amy discovers a secret ancient language and manuscript detailing the history and whereabouts of a Lost Crystal of Power. The evil and vile villain, Lyric, kidnaps Amy in his eagerness to get his claws on this long-forgotten power that has been hidden throughout the jungles and canyons of a mysterious new island. Sonic must team up with Tails, Knuckles and new friend Sticks to trace Amy’s footsteps and save her from the clutches of Lyric and his robot army. By trusting in their own abilities and working as a team, they will prove they are stronger together than they are apart."
Based on that, the plot for the WiiU version sounds interesting and I'm curious as to how it will be implemented. My only issue with the story is the 3DS version. Why is Amy being kidnapped? It doesn't make any sense based on her personality. The last time she was kidnapped was in Sonic Adventure and her kidnapper was the final boss in her part of the story so I hope something like this happens again.
Finally, the TV show. For the first time since Sonic X, we will be having another Sonic cartoon. from the two trailers we've seen, it looks like its going to have a comical side to it but I'm not sure how much humor is in the show. We've only had two trailers and they're being very vague as to what the show is about in my opinion. Only time will tell. The next impression will be Yoshi's Woolly world with Code Name S.T.E.A.M being the one after.
Sunday 6 July 2014
Transformers Marathon: After 30 years, how is this franchise still alive and popular?
I have one last part of the Transformers Marathon. It’s not
a review this time (though I’ll need a break from those as I said in my
Transformers: Prime review), it’s a editorial. One of the things that crossed
my mind as I’ve been going through the franchise is this, “How has the series
survived this long and is still going strong?” There were series of the
franchise that I didn’t look at in this marathon, I barely scratched the
surface when it comes to the games and I haven’t even looked at its other
mediums including the comics and the toys themselves, and even with those, the
question still stands, how did the Transformers survive the test of time?
It would be too easy for me to say that the fan base kept it
alive, and as such I won’t mention it until the end of this piece. There are other elements that kept this tale alive,
one of which I mentioned in my first review for this marathon. One of the
reasons I think that it survived is its overall simple plot. The classic Good vs.
Evil stories have been around since the creation of the story. However, as time
has gone on, the classic plot has developed, very few stories nowadays have
that clear distinction of good and evil, the line has been blurred as there is
always another side to the story, it’s a reflection of the world today. There’s
no longer a clear villain in society as everyone could have dark intentions and
it’s actually because of that, the classic tales of good and evil have kept
alive. People want to believe that it’s just black and white, that there’s
always a clear villain, so they cling to the stories that have that clear
distinction. It’s a reason why the Harry Potter books became so successful (not
the only reason, just a reason) and why they would likely survive the test of
time and why some reinterpretations of older stories won’t. At the same time
though, the story has to have differences to the concept and the way the
Transformers franchise has done this is by moral choices, the reason why the
plots of the episodes are more complicated then what they seem. Do you
sacrifice a world, a civilisation, a race of sentient creatures just to save
yours? Do you protect creatures you’ve
never met, that are probably afraid of you and will kill you just to protect
themselves and risk the safety of your own race, or do you destroy them so that
your race can thrive? When is something
going too far? These and other questions kids wouldn’t pay attention to when
they first see the show, its something for the parents to see and the kids to
notice when they are older and can understand the concepts and the consequences
of the actions. The story that has always been a part of the Transformers Lore
(not including Rescue Bots...) is a story that will be told in some form for
years to come, because it’s a story that everyone will hear somehow. It’s a
story that will never be dated due to human nature.
Every story needs its characters and while I might not agree
with the decisions made with some of them, the personalities of each of the
characters are distinct and memorable, even if sometimes they were poorly
written. You remember Gears, Ironhide, Wheeljack, Bumblebee, Perceptor,
Cyclonus, Demolisher, Override and many more. You even remember the Human
characters: Spike, Rad, Alexis, Kicker and Coby, and I’m only mentioning the
humans from the seasons I’ve reviewed here. And its actually for that reason
why I hate the direction the Bay films are going. While I will openly admit
that I like the first one (see review for why people wouldn’t like it) but from
Revenge of the Fallen onwards, this includes what I’ve heard of Age of
Extinction, the characters are turning into more emotional versions of the
character in a M. Night Shyamalan film, bland and boring to watch.
The cartoons have always been a promotion for the toys, and
the toys have helped in the popularity of the show and the franchise as a
whole. The Transformers toys have been, and always will be, the fusion of a
puzzle and a action figure. As time’s gone on, the toys have developed, become
more complicated, harder to transform but does more in both vehicle and robot
mode while still maintaining the core design of the character (some more
obvious then others). I could show you 3 different versions of the Optimus
Prime figure and you would be able to tell that they were all Optimus Prime
because they always keep the core features of the original (they always have a
red truck transformation, the head design is always the same and when the
trailer is included, the trailer always has a transformation of its own (this
isn’t including his Beast wars design but some of these also apply to Optimus
Primal)) Megatron would be harder to distinguish but all of his designs have
been offensive (a gun, to a cannon, a tank, a fighterplane, a batmobile esque
car along with a plane ect), Starscream has always been some sort of fighter
plane, Red Alert and Ratchet have always been ambulances as just a few other
examples but over time, they’ve become more complicated. It would take less
time for anyone to transform Optimus’s Generation 1 design then it would to
transform his Evasion mode from the new Age of Extinction line of toys, even
though they’re the same truck. As a result, kids still love playing with the
toys and they watch the show to add to the experience, to use their imagination
to make new stories for the characters.
The Michael bay films might be making more money in a week
then most people will ever see in their lives, but its the cartoons and the
toys that will keep Transformers going. It’s the Generation 1’s, the Unicron
trilogies’, the Animated’s and the Prime’s that will keep the franchise alive
long after the movies have finished. On top of that, it’s the fans that have
grown up with the franchise since Generation 1 exposing their kids to the newer
seasons and playing with their kids’s Transformers toys that keeps the name
alive. It’s the lessons it teaches with characters that you want to be. It’s
been 40 years, and let’s hope it lives for 40 more, or until all are one.
Friday 20 June 2014
Transformers Marathon: Transformers: Cybertron. Why? Because "OUR WORLDS ARE IN DANGER" and we must protect them "Till all are one"
Now to a personal favourite of mine, while Armada might have
been my first season of Transformers and this my last because they weren’t
shown on Free to air TV here, Transformers Cybertron will always have a place
in my heart. But does it still hold up when I look at it as a reviewer? This is my review of Transformers Cybertron.
Labels:
anime,
cartoon,
hasbro,
marathon,
multi season,
review,
transformers,
tv
Monday 16 June 2014
Transformers Maraton: Transformers Energon. Let's mine with Transformers
After the Unicron saga of Transformers Armada, the people at
Hasbro, combined with the writers of the show believed that there was more that
could be done in this continuity. It’s because of this reason, Transformers
Energon is this review. Do note that it’s recommended that you see the finale
of Transformers: Armada as this review will contain spoilers.
Monday 9 June 2014
Transormers Marathon: Transformers Armada. Lets build up a army of robots that are smaller then our enemy to help take down said enemy when they could be crushed. GENIUS!!!
And now it’s time to look at the series that got me
into Transformers, Transformers: Armada. This was a “return to roots” series
for Transformers as the last English series was Beast Wars and its sequel. The
issue it has however is that it retreads old ground with a new concept. I’ll be
comparing Generation 1’s four seasons to Armada a lot in this review but not
taking the movie into consideration (it’s unfair to compare a movie to a TV
season, regardless of the age).
Labels:
anime,
cartoon,
hasbro,
marathon,
multi season,
review,
transformers,
tv
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