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historyhermann · 10 months

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Unicorn: Warriors Eternal Spoiler-Filled Review

Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is a mature supernatural fantasy comedy with steampunk elements. Genndy Tartakovsky, who is well-known in the animation industry, is the director and creator. He is best known for Dexter's Laboratory, Star Wars: Clone Wars, Sym-Bionic Titan, and Samurai Jack, and more recently, Primal. This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, being reviewed here, wouldn't exist.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the forty-first article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on July 24, 2023.

This series has a simple plot: a group of heroes are inadvertently awakened by Copernicus, a steam-powered robot, in bodies of three teenagers (Emma, Alfie, and Dimitri), rather than in bodies of adults, like in the past. These heroes are opposed by a mysterious foxlike woman (voiced by Grey DeLisle), who embodies evil.

Unicorn: Warriors Eternal drew me in as a person who enjoyed watching Star Wars: Clone Wars as a kid (and have re-watched it various times), and liked Samurai Jack and Sym-Bionic Titan. Voice actors like Jacob Dudman (voice of Edred) who voiced two characters in Primal, and DeLisle, voice of the mysterious woman and the original Melinda, strengthen this series.

Delisle is well-known for her work in animation, including voicing characters in Invincible, Kid Cosmic, The Owl House, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, DC Super Hero Girls, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Elena of Avalor, Star Wars Rebels, The Legend of Korra, Young Justice, and My Life as a Teenage Robot. In contrast, Hazel Doupe, the voice of Emma in this series, is unique. This is her first voice role, as she has only done live-action series before.

I wasn't as familiar with Jeremy Crutchley, Demari Hunte, Alain Uly, Tom Milligan, Ron Bottita, or George Webster, the voices of Merlin, Alfie, Seng, Lord Edward Fairfax, and Winston in Unicorn: Warriors Eternal. I say this even though Crutchley voiced Glad-One and One in Infinity Train, and Uly as Lieutenant Maylur and two stormtroopers in Star Wars: The Bad Batch.

Others, such as Hunte, Milligan, Bottita, Webster, appear to be new to voice work. Rosalind Ayres (voice of Lord Katherine Fairfax) previously voiced characters in video games while Robbie Daymond (voice of various one-off characters) lent his voice to the notorious Curious Cat in Volume 9 of RWBY! He voiced Jesse in Infinity Train season 2, Raymond in OK K.O. Let's Be Heroes!, and many other English dubs of anime characters.

The steampunk setting in Victorian London, in 1890, in this series, reminded me of Steamland in Disenchantment, the upper city in Arcane, or the similarly steampunk action anime, Princess Principal, which spawned a multi-part film series. The steampunk genre has even reached into indie animation and comics. It includes films like Snowpiercer, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and Howl's Moving Castle, along with animated series like Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water and The Legend of Korra. I am even reminded of an unaired 2001 pilot for Constant Payne, by Indigenous writer Micah Wright. It has a strong steampunk aesthetic.

Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is different than all of those previously mentioned. It is unique in its own way. Just as Samurai Jack was set in the future, with magic, robots, lasers, and the like, this series is set in an alternate world. Unlikely the haphazard and strange inclusion of futuristic technology in the far-too-short Yasuke, this series is much more complete. It draws inspiration from works by animators Max Fleischer and Osamu Tezuka, films by Hayao Miyazaki (like Howl's Moving Castle) and other steampunk aesthetics.

The show's character designer, Stephen DeStefano, worked on Sym-Bionic Titan, Primal, and other projects, with Tartakovsky. He pushed, as did Tartakovsky, to ensure the series had an "old aesthetic" but was told "in a very contemporary way". The studio producing the series, Cartoon Network Studios, has produced many of Tartakovsky's previous projects. Some of the same animators who worked on his previous projects may be working on this series.

These animators could not do their work without the writers. If a recently circulated spreadsheet is representative of Cartoon Network Studios as a whole, it would mean that, for animators, there is repetitive work, little opportunity for advancement, sterile environment due to the Warner-Discovery merger, disorganization, burnout, and overwork. There are two primary show writers: Darrick Bachman and Tartakovsky. While the latter is more well-known, the former is not, despite his work on Primal, Samurai Jack, Regular Show, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and many animated series, some of which he worked on with Tartakovsky.

If Glassdoor is accurate, each of these writers makes somewhere between $46,000 to $83,000 a year. I would guess that Tartakovsky is paid more than Bachman. In any case, the conditions the writers work in influences whether a show is "high-quality" or "low-quality". High Guardian Spice was said to be the latter, until it was revealed that the working conditions at Crunchyroll were horrendous. This does not appear to be the case for Cartoon Network Studios. The recent closure of the iconic studio's headquarters, with employees told to move to a sterile, lifeless Warner Bros. building instead, it does not bode well.

Even some predicted that under David Zaslav, it is difficult to "imagine a future in which the studio’s original animation output can match what it has been in the past," with a strong shit to reboots rather than original series. However, if the writers, and actors, are successful in their strike, these conditions may change for the better. On the other hand, the studios are doing all they can to burn down motivation of actors and writers, while stockpiling completed works and scripts before the strikes began.

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Coming back to the series, Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is a relatable coming-of-age story. The protagonist, Emma (who can transform into Melinda) is struggling to determine whether she is "Emma" or "Melinda". She loses control of her powers after any emotional outburst she has. Having one's powers tied to their emotions is not new. In the last half of Elena of Avalor's final season, the protagonist, Elena Castillo Flores, had to wrestle with the fact that her magical abilities were tied to her emotional moods. The same was the case for Steven Universe in the series of the same name, and in Steven Universe Future.

For Emma/Melinda, her anger and fury seem to be how she expresses her power, in a super saiyan esque transformation. While this expression of raw power can be effective in defeating enemies, it doesn't prevent her from hurting people, unintentionally, in the process. For instance, in the second episode, she uses this power to defeat a huge magically possessed elephant. However, her fiancé Winston is badly hurt in the process and the surrounding area is nearly obliterated.

The use of her abilities in Unicorn: Warriors Eternal are complicated by her relationship with Edred, a warrior elf. He reincarnates in the body of a wanna-be magician named Dimitri. After Copernicus resurrects him, he rushes over to Emma/Melinda, and kisses her. While he has memories of their relationship, Melinda-as-Emma does not. Making matters worse, she still has some romantic feelings for Winston, who wants to "rescue" her from her "new" form.

This contrasts with Edred. He can effectively fight with a sword in manner which almost seems reminiscent of the sword-wielders in anime or those in Western animations like Amphibia, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and Steven Universe. Like all Tartakovsky productions, Edred has his own specific style. Every character is stylized in their own way. This is thanks to the aforementioned character designer, DeStefano, and work by many others at Cartoon Network Studios. The same is the case for their battle moves and attacks. It sets the series apart from others with similar themes.

The team of Emma/Melinda, a cosmic monk named Seng (in the body of a young Black ruffian named Alfie), Copernicus, and Edred, make an interesting combination. Each has personal issues they must overcome. Seng cannot fully comprehend the cosmic plane as a young child. Edred has a "clouded" mind despite having a largely intact memory and retains his power. Emma/Melinda has an identity crisis. She even tells Winston, at one point, that she isn't Emma anymore and that the Emma he knew is dead. This is a cold, hard truth which is hard for him to accept.

The complications in each character's lives make it an increasing challenge for these heroes, whose souls are tasked with protecting the world throughout eternity. With the scrambled memories, especially of Emma/Melinda, and the fact that only Edred remembers the most about their role in fighting evil, it makes the story that much more intriguing. The secretive villain is almost as devious as Shadowy Figure in O.K. KO!, but shares more characteristics with Kilgore in Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes and Huntsmen, Part 1. He aimed to change the Justice League into teenagers, so they are "vulnerable", are ripped apart by the world, and have to deal with emotions they ignore or regress as adults.

There is one major difference. The villain in Unicorn: Warriors Eternal never intended on awakening the Order of the Unicorn (Melinda, Seng, Edred, and Copernicus). Instead, she wanted to destroy Copernicus so the order would cease to exist. The villain exploits the situation for her own ends. She hopes that these heroes will be resurrected one final time. The heroes will do anything they can to stop this evil, with Edred declaring that the villain will "not succeed".

In future seasons, Melinda's insecurities may be exploited just as Invictus did with Ash Graven in Final Space. If so, she may turn against her friends. It is hard to say whether the series villain will be as devious as Aku, who had built an entire empire and dedicated many of his resources to track down Samurai Jack.

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By the show's third episode, there is a clear focus on discrimination, specifically how humans will "other" that which they don't understand. The response of the British police and Scotland Yard to a theft of priceless artifacts bound for the British Museum is to arrest anyone engaged in "magic" in London. There are mass arrests of soothsayers, fortune tellers, and anyone else on Mystic Row.

To make matters worse, they put up a Wanted poster for Emma/Melinda. Even when two spiritualists, Clarice Leydoux and Lao Xi Sheng, tell the police detective the reality, he doesn't believe them. Clearly, the police in this series, including Inspector General Hastings (voiced by Gildart Jackson), do not know how to deal with the situation at hand. People such as Agatha (voiced by Rosalind Ayres), another royal official, try and put in place more order.

Through it all, Emma/Melinda tries to figure out herself. She isn't sure of her connection with Winston, who she inadvertently injured. She even goes to a seance which separated her two identities, making her question whether she wants to be a hero or not. As a result, she declares that she hates the other part of herself. Her father even realizes that she is different, remarking "that is not our daughter". Winston remains in pursuit, even when he clashes with Edred on who "truly" loves her.

After the first two episodes, the series explored the insecurities of Seng. The villains cause him to be swallowed by a cosmic fox. The latter, known as a Lady Fox, attacks them. An amazingly animated chase scene on the rooftops follows, reminding me of similar scenes in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Samurai Jack. In the fourth episode, this is more apparent. Seng is unable to use his powers while he is trapped on an abandoned ship with other Unicorn team members. He even starts to become translucent! Although they escape this predicament, it could foreshadow more trouble for Seng in the future.

As Emma/Melinda learns more about the story of her Melinda side, with the child version of original Melinda voiced by Marley Cherry Hilbourne. She learns that her mother, Morgan Le Fay (voiced by Peta Johnson), was terribly injured, thanks to her. It is revealed that Merlin (voiced by Jeremy Crutchley) is her father. The conflict between the two halves of herself remains an important part of the story. This is especially the case when they all fight a big squid threatening to destroy the town. Her attempts at reconciliation do not go well, even though she is making some progress by the seventh episode.

At the end of the fifth episode, Unicorn: Warriors Eternal takes a bold step: it appears to kill off one of its protagonists, Copernicus. This is comparable to a similar "loss" of Octus in Sym-Bionic Titan. While Emma/Melinda is most distraught, she works together with Edred to find someone to repair Copernicus. They find an inventor named Otto (voiced by Jason O'Mara), thanks to a robot named Dashwood (voiced by Chris Butler). He works on a huge floating airship, which functions like a space station.

He remarks that Copernicus is like a robot he hasn't created yet, but he says it feels familiar. Copernicus cannot fully come back until his magical power is restored. He is a futuristic magical being. The power from an ancient magical stone is used by Merlin. He brings Copernicus back to life. Even so, this sequence implies that Copernicus can die, in certain instances.

The seventh episode of Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is a rollercoaster ride. It is revealed that Edred left his bride-to-be, in an arranged marriage meant to unite two clans, to be with Melinda. At the same time, it is further implied that Emma/Melinda somewhat remembers this. The quest to get the necessary magical power, the presence of Merlin, and restoration of balance, causes Edred's brother, Aelwulf (voiced by Jack Bandeira), to regain respect for him.

At the end of the seventh episode, the Unicorn team learns that they still have evil to fight, and that their time in this world has not ended. It is implied that Merlin will help they stop it. The eighth episode throws this into question. Out of nowhere, Merlin appears and tells them to come "quickly" to battle an evil machine killing the land. While they meet the mighty tiger Rakshasa (voiced by Sunkrish Bala), Merlin attacks Emma/Melinda, surprising them all.

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The last three episodes of Unicorn: Warriors Eternal lay bare tensions between the group members. This is clear with the addition of a new member, Winston, who can become a werewolf. Predictably, Edred objects, as Winston has feelings for Emma/Melinda. All the while there is the fight against evil, which exudes dark magic.

This reaches a critical point in the ninth episode when the evil leaves Merlin and enters the cosmic realm. They meet an older Seng who has been fighting it for over 20 years, with no success. It is said that if the evil devours everything, the world will end. Merlin and Rakshasa remain optimistic until Emma and Melinda are split apart.

I wish Unicorn: Warriors Eternal had been longer. By the eighth episode, it appears that Melinda is coming to peace with the part of her who is Emma, and vice versa. This seemed too quick. Her struggle with her identity could have stretched across an entire season of 20 to 26 episodes. Take Cassandra in Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, for example. She is mentally manipulated by Zhan Tri. Even so, she tries to figure out her identity and how she feels about Rapunzel. Like that series, which ended with a bang, this series is burdened by compulsory heterosexuality. Tangled differs by featuring well-recognized gay vibes between Rapunzel and Cassandra, shipped by fans as "Cassunzel".

Much of the internal struggle that Emma/Melinda experiences is couched by a love triangle. Emma loves Winston, while Melinda loves Edred. However, Edred hates Winston and vice versa. Due to the propensity of male characters in this series, there isn't any character, female, non-binary, or otherwise, written for Emma/Melinda that would allow her to have a queer romance.

Even so, the struggle of Emma to reunite with Melinda, resulting in defiance of her by-the-book parents, is promising. Considering this series is set in the 1890s, it is no shock that Emma's parents try to hold her back. They think she is out of her mind and want to bring her to a doctor, who will commit her to an asylum. Her actions, including drawing on equations on the walls of the bathroom, akin to the oft-memed scene from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia in which Pepe Silvia goes on a conspiratorial rant, don't help her case. In her defense, she is desperate and wants to get back to the cosmic realm at any cost.

This episode goes off the rails when two huge men try to capture Emma and bring her to "the doctor". What follows is an intense chase scene in which Emma has many near-death experiences, and barely escapes those trying to get her, even riding a steam-powered tram to Mystics Row. Two mystic warriors (Clarice Leydoux and Lao Xi Sheng) offer to help her. With their assistance, she uses the Heart of the Forest to get to the cosmic realm.

The Unicorn: Warriors Eternal finale concludes strongly. Emma inspires everyone, reuniting with Melinda, and convinces them to combine their powers into one. They strike a decisive blow against evil forces. This is blunted by the surprising revelation: Morgan is trapped in the heart of the evil beast! At the end of the episode, the protagonists find themselves in a bizarre world in which "the evil" has changed everything. Emma/Melinda gets the last word, noting their determination to save Morgan and defeat the evil being no matter what.

The ending is not definitive, but is open-ended. The central conflict rings true, especially if seen as a metaphorical extension of Genndy Tartakovsky as a Jewish immigrant who faced pressure to support his mother and live up to the myth of a "model minority". A possible second, or even third, and fourth season, could expand upon these characters and their struggles. Possibly, the series may go an Infinity Train route, having different characters for each season.

I hope that any possible future seasons of Unicorn: Warriors Eternal would increase diversity of the cast. Surely, there are talented voice actors like a Black men Demari Hunte (voice of Seng) and Victor Alli (voice of Adult Seng). They are joined by a Filipino man, Alain Uy (voice of Lao Xi Sheng), an American actor of Tamil descent, Sunkrish Bala (voice of Rakshasa), and a British actor of Iraqi, Lebanese, and Indian descent, Brian George (voice of Darvish).

From the available lists of the cast members, I'm not seeing much diversity beyond the aforementioned individuals. A quick read of the cast list for Primal, indicates that the series has a much more diverse cast than this series! Perhaps, this is just reflecting the fact that historically, London was ethnically homogeneous, composed primarily of White British residents, until after World War II. By 1891, over 5.6 million were living in Greater London, a number which would grow in later years.

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Cartoon Network Studios president, Sam Register, is an executive producer, and Shareena Carlson is supervising director. Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is expertly animated thanks to Studio La Cachette in France and Studio Zmei in Bulgaria. Cartoon Network Studios is the aforementioned production company. This is reinforced by the show's music, composed by Tyler Bates and Joan Higginbottom. It is effective, connecting the action with the story. It makes you excited to watch each episode, and become more invested in the characters.

None of this is much of a surprise. Bates is a well-known producer, composer, and musician, primarily of action and horror media, including the John Wick franchise. He was probably chosen because he composed the music scores of Sym-Bionic Titan, the fifth (and final) season of Samurai Jack, and Primal.

Similarly, Higginbottom was a composer on the same season of Samurai Jack, Primal, and John Wick Chapter 4. Tara Billinger, known as the creator of Long Gone Gulch and a storyboarder, did production work on the series as well. The animators either worked on French productions not known in the U.S., or series such as Love, Death & Robots, and Primal. Even Tartakovsky did some storyboarding. The animation, background art, and set pieces are strong in this series.

Unicorn: Warriors Eternal may have been a passion project for Tartakovsky. However, it is incorrect that the plot is "humdrum". Furthermore, Emma/Melinda is not a "poorly written" character, nor does she have a "pat dilemma" or lack emotional complexity. Her struggles are at the series' center. On the other hand, this series, like Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Star Wars: Clone Wars, Sym-Bionic Titan, and Primal, is male-centered. In fact, Emma/Melinda is the only female protagonist.

The series has "urgent stakes" and the characters are intriguing. This accompanies amazing mythologies and some worldbuilding. It could be better, but it is not missing "the magic of Tartakovsky". Instead, this series is unique and different from other Tartakovsky series in the past. Surely, I'd love to have queer characters and even have a love triangle akin to the one between Hazumu Osaragi, Yasuna Kamiizumi, and Tomari Kurusu in Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl. Unfortunately, this series did not go that direction, instead having male-female couples, without any one-way crushes.

Overall, despite my criticisms, Unicorn: Warriors Eternal is an enjoyable series and I'd recommend it. I can hope that it improved to become even better, breaking out of the good-evil dichotomy, and other common tropes used in Tartakovsky's work.

Unicorn: Warriors Eternal can be watched on Adult Swim or streamed on Max, DirectTV, and Spectrum. It can be purchased through Prime Video, Google Play, Vudu, or Microsoft Store.

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galaxy-sundae · 28 days

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Holy Shit, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts was Awesome

I watched all three seasons of KATAOWB, and oh my God I love it!

Just everything about it was incredible. Well written characters, a fascinating world (with impressive world building), and that's about it honestly.

It was a 10/10 show in my opinion.

#kipo and the age of wonderbeasts #dreamworks kipo #galaxy talks

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rederiswrites · 2 years

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Okay okay soliciting cartoon suggestions for the boy and I to watch next.

In the last however long, we've watched (rewatched) She-ra and loved it, tried to rewatch Voltron and were like "wow uh maybe it's because we just watched She-ra but this is not holding up to our memories", watched Gravity Falls and though I wasn't much on the first season I did really enjoy it by the end, looooved Kipo and the Age of the Wonder Beasts, and Adventure Time became a root part of our mutual identity by the end of season ten.

Since then, we tried Rick and Morty (hard no, after giving it three episodes, absolutely not for my kid), Futurama (enjoyed for a dozen episodes or so but then agreed that it kinda didn't go anywhere much), and a couple episodes of Cowboy Bebop--I couldn't him into the melancholy feel of it.

Anime is fine but should probably be dubbed. Gotta be at least a little funny, and it turns out we're totally down for the bizarre and surreal. A fair bit of violence and some sexual references are fine.

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boy-above · 6 months

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Now I don't know if the first episodes of these shows are actually good or if I'm just really easy to impress, but back when I watched Netflix, I really loved the first episodes of a lot of Netflix original animations like Kipo and the Age of the Wonderbeasts, Kid Cosmic, Scissor Seven, The Midnight Gospel, Love, Death & Robots, etc.

I loved Kipo so much I finished the whole show in a night (it's three seasons).

that's fun! i never did finish kipo unfortunately but i thought it was interesting :3

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hoagmaster · 6 months

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Another Month, Another Sunset

Well I did say I would return to the subject of shows I’ve watched ending since Mario Kart 8 dropped back in 2014, so this is the continuation of that dropped point.

I have watched television animation for as long as I have conscious memories. I grew up with it. I define the stretches of my life based on the big show I watched during each of them: Rugrats, Hey Arnold, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom, The Mighty B!, Gravity Falls, Steven Universe. I was mostly a Nickelodeon kid as you can see, because that was largely the only channel we had around here when I was growing up.

I’ve dabbled in many other shows that aired at the same time as these, but there was always the one I focused on. But each of these shows either ended, whether by its own accord or not, or frankly went to pot and I jumped ship. It was the time when things were stewing in the latter show in 2018 when I decided maybe I’d have my fun elsewhere.

There were several months when I didn’t latch onto any show out of lack of interest, I might say. I watched some but I wouldn’t say I engaged with them.

That all changed in October 2018, when, at the suggestion of someone I used to know along with a forum I frequented, I checked out Hilda on Netflix. I’d never read the comic it was based on, nor did I have much experience with a show designed for streaming.

But despite all that, I loved it. It felt like a rejuvenation into a medium I’d followed since youth. It opened my eyes to the potential of a series made for an online service.

Perhaps as a way to fill in a void left by season one ending, I decided to see what else I’d missed in my admittedly narrow-minded viewing. This led to my current favorite (remaining) show, Big City Greens.

My slate grew to those two. And then there was She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Carmen Sandiego, Amphibia, Victor and Valentino, Infinity Train, It’s Pony, The Owl House, Glitch Techs, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, The Midnight Gospel, Kid Cosmic, Centaurworld, City of Ghosts, Invincible, The Ghost and Molly McGee, Inside Job, Arcane, Tear Along the Dotted Line, Maya and the Three, Dead End: Paranormal Park, Hamster and Gretel, Bee and Puppycat, Pantheon, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Kiff, Hailey’s On It!, and a couple others I’ve checked out some clips of.

Granted, I like some of these shows more than others. I wouldn’t call any of these perfect because with enough time I can find things in each of them that irk me. But I certainly feel I have a stronger awareness of shows that have aired in the past five years than I have for the rest of my life. Gaining a lot more online awareness probably also helps in that regard. I feel like I’m learning more about myself as an artistic person and writer by thinking about these and wanting to write about them.

With the end of Hilda, I feel it also marks the end of an era. Nearly every show I mentioned above has ended, whether by its own terms or not. Some have questionable conclusions, some were cut short, and a handful are ongoing or even just begun. But 2024 will mark the first year in some time where the big show that got me to get further into animation watching will not be on the horizon.

Now, I don’t think Hilda is going away forever. We’ve likely all seen Luke Pearson is already writing a prequel comic. There are more supplemental and side books being released faster than I can keep track of. Most of the shows I mentioned that have ended are still with us in a bevy of ways. With some networks looking for the next big hit they feel content to keep on reminding people about the stuff they already love to keep them engaged. For instance, for all their corporate shenanigans, Disney is doing a good job at keeping people aware of Amphibia.

I think the process of shows going away has been made easier by maintaining a broader range of shows to watch. Even with Hilda finished, I have the remaining episodes of Big City Greens along with the shows that just premiered and have more episodes on the way. Then there are all the upcoming shows that could grab my attention in the ways many of the previously mentioned have.

It does feel bittersweet, knowing we’ve all watched this show and came together for it and may be left wondering where we go now. I regret not engaging with you all more in the past, but who’s to say that can’t change now? At the end of the day, a show like this and many others extend far beyond what’s on the screen.

We’re all here to celebrate a show that we enjoy and that inspires us to create, to tell stories, to meet new people, to reflect on who we are and where we can take ourselves. Looking back, I have mixed feelings on the last season of Danny Phantom, but it was the first show where I talked with folks online about it and looked at fanart and read stories, and it is in this way that I met some of my oldest friends. Some of the most genuine, wonderful people I’ve known for over 15 years. That’s the beauty of an artistic creation like this or any other show.

Looking at the upcoming slate of shows and seeing just a bunch of stuff I don’t recognize does add to the hesitation. It’s easy to think that nothing new could live up and this empty feeling will persist. The strongest sense of “emptiness” I felt recently was when Amphibia ended, but this one is also up there because of what its end brings with it. But looking ahead, who’s to say we won’t all find a show that will enrapture our senses and inspire us the way our past favorites did?

I certainly didn’t think I could move on from Danny Phantom or Gravity Falls or Amphibia at those moments. But with some time, I’ve been able to keep moving forward and find new things that inspired me in all new ways. It may take time, but I think many of us will do the same here.

I’m sure I’ll keep reading the stories, and seeing the fanart, and thinking of my own ideas of stuff to share. To paraphrase Star Trek II, it’s not really gone so long as we remember it.

Here’s to the future, y’all. Cheers.

#hilda netflix #hilda the series #cody writes stuff

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kellodrawsalot · 1 year

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so about Sonic Prime

Finally, finished Sonic Prime, and it was disappointing to say the least, maybe next season it picks up but, god it was just very boring in many places. You think with the creativity of alternative universes you think they would have gone crazy or do something different then re-use the same 90′s tropes

(but WHAT if they were PIRATES?)

Don’t get me wrong 90′s cartoon tropes could be fun but the way it was executed in Prime feels like it’s holding itself back to do something really refreshing with the characters.

‘‘Nine’‘ did become a source of entertainment for me and my friends as the entire Doc oc, bad boy look and sharing the name of a friend’s OC of hers was pretty funny.

Also I still don’t like how Western takes on Amy Rose is by still downplaying her crush on Sonic and her more girly traits. As if being girly is a bad thing or a form of weakness.

What I do like: Animation is fine and I love what they do with Rouge, it’s pretty cool to see her have a role. Having Rouge sleep like a real bat, very nice detail.

I know it’s a kids show but hey so is Dragon Prince, Kipo and the age of Wonderbeast, The Cuphead show and Maya and the Three. If you have time to spare to watch a kids show maybe just try one of these shows. They blow Prime out of the water in terms of quality, writing and characters.

I won’t write Prime completely off, maybe it improves, but with so many people saying it was good I hoped it would be but nah. Not for me.

#Sonic prime #opinion #sonic the hedgehog #sonic

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laughterfixs · 1 year

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Can you draw fanart of your favorite series? I don't care what you draw.

My favorite series huh? How about some Kipo and the age of the wonderbeasts?

I actually really loved this show and I'm sad it only got three seasons but my god was the story absolutely beautiful. I recommend if you havent seen it! It's on netflix!

#answered ask #askbox #kipo and the age of wonderbeasts #non tickle art #this was actually extremely refreshing to draw lol #I had to stop and think what I oughta try to draw for this ask #thank you your ask :3

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crypticnerdsociety · 1 year

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ITS BEEN REAL OWL-FAM. I will never forget what this show has given us. It was a breath of fresh air and a warm welcome to the world of animation. I will forever cherish every single moment, adventure, romance, heartbreak, angst, etc. I love this show sooooooooooo much. I never thought the world Bye could actually break my heart. It’s been an emotional journey and one I am forever thankful for. I remember back in 2020 seeing the promos for this show and having no idea what this “strange owl show” was. I didn’t watch it when it first came out. No I didn’t get into it until August 2020, the week before my birthday. I had seen an article about Enchanting Grom Fright and wondered “huh, seems cool I’ll check it out.” The first episode I ever watched of The Owl House was ‘The First Day’ and Oh My Titan that one episode was enough to get me hooked. So I recorded all of season one and when I finished it, I was in love with the show. I have been through every single good and bad thing with this show and I regret none of it. I am still pissed we didn’t get a full season three, but I wouldn’t mind a comic series. Or hell maybe we could get books like we did for Gravity Falls. I will watch this show every time it’s on. I will still cry, laugh, and smile when needed. Watching this was the most fun I have ever had while watching an animated show in a very long time. It was everything I wanted in a show with the monsters, characters, duels, magic, LGBT representation, and so much more. I know there are other shows that have that, like She-Ra, Kipo, Steven Universe, Adventure Time and many others. But none of them hold a flame to The Owl House. I will always be a part of this fandom forever. I will recommend this show to anyone who ask. I found a family in people who aren’t even real. The Owl House was a welcoming experience and I was so lucky to be able to see it.

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iwillhityouwithachair · 10 months

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OMG I JUST FINISHED ALL THREE SEASONS OF KIPO AND THE WONDER BEASTS IN THREE DAYS

GO WATCH IT. GO WATCH IT GO WATCH ITTTTTTTTTTTT

#i command you #ramblings #shitpost #kipo netflix #kipo and the age of wonderbeasts #its sooooo good

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historyhermann · 8 months

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My Adventures With Superman Season One Spoiler-Filled Review [Part 1]

My Adventures with Superman is animated superhero series which mixes the romantic comedy, action-adventure, and sci-fi genres. It's the latest adaptation of Superman, a DC Comics character. DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation produce the series. Studio Mir was contracted for animation services. Studio Mir, a South Korean animation studio, is known for its work on The Legend of Korra, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Dota: Dragon's Blood, and Harley Quinn season 3. Jake Wyatt, Brendan Clougher, and Josie Campbell developed the series, with Campbell as producer. Wyatt and Clougher are executive producers along with Michael Ouweleen and Sam Register. This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, My Adventures with Superman being reviewed here wouldn't exist.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the forty-ninth article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on September 21, 2023.

The first episode begins with a bang. As a little kid, Clark Kent (voiced by Jack Quaid) discovers he has superpowers. In the present, he tries to be "normal." He and his his friend Jimmy Olsen (voiced by Ishmel Sahid) go to The Daily Planet. Along the way, he meets Lois Lane (voiced by Alice Lee) and develops a crush on her. As it turns out, Lois is also applying to be an intern. All three get the job. Their boss, Perry White (voiced by Darrell Brown) shoots down Lois' ideas for stories. Lois ignores this. She meets her "source," a newspaper girl named Flip Johnson (voiced by Azuri Hardy-Jones). The reality is more terrifying: Livewire activates robots which Clark barely defeats. He only survives due to his powers and Lois's quick thinking.

At the end of the episode, Lois declares she wants an exclusive interview with Superman, where she will expose all his secrets, terrifying him. That's only the first episode! In later episodes, Clark tries to find out more about his past. He talks to Jor-El (voiced by Jason Marnocha), who speaks Kryptonese. Despite the fact he is Superman, he works with Lois and Jimmy on an investigation into Superman. He even has a magical transformation sequence. Some said it was inspired by magical transformations in Sailor Moon. Other fans argued it resembled Pretty Cure.

Storyboarder Diana Huh confirmed that Superman's transformation sequence was based on the part of Kaido Minami's transformation into Cure Mermaid in Go! Princess Pretty Cure, "specifically the part in her transformation when her back ribbons and hair were formed." She noted that she watched it on "repeat for inspiration." As for Clark, he grows closer to Lois. In fact, she even gives Superman his name. Clark's adopted mother puts together his superhero costume. All the while, those who call themselves "good guys" torture people.

This focus on identity is not unique to My Adventures with Superman nor is the relationship between Lois and Clark. The latter is key in many Superman series, including Justice League Unlimited. In that series, their romance is even known by other superheroes. They never kiss in that series, from what I remember, but the closeness between them is apparent. Another difference is that Jimmy is a Black man and Lois is a Korean woman. She also calls Clark by the nickname "Smallville."

Clark struggles with his powers. In other depictions he is older and fully aware of his superpowers. In this series, his identity struggle is complicated when Lois calls Superman a liar. It weakens Clark's resolve to tell her the truth about himself. Clark continually tries to cover his tracks that he is Superman, even ripping out a key piece from the tabloids. After she tells him that she hates being lied too, he chickens out, again, in telling her the truth. Their relationship development is better paced than dragging it out across the season. It gives them more time together.

The push-and-pull between Lois wanting to find out about Superman, and Clark's determination to ensure that Lois doesn't realize the truth defines the early part of the first season. Both have identity crises. In fact, in the second episode, he is traumatized by his adopted parents almost being killed when he visits a spaceship which is supposed to show his origins. They face challenges along the way. They fear that The Daily Planet's star reporting team (Steve Lombard, Cat Grant, and Ronnie Troupe) will scoop their story. These characters are voiced by Vincent Tong, Melanie Minichino, and Kenna Ramsey respectfully. Even so, Lois is persistent. She swipes the keycard of the warden (also voiced by Minichino), allowing them to see a prison cell.

At first it seems that the fifth episode might not be the big confrontation between Lois and Clark. He shows Lois his "murder board"/investigation board, and plans to say he likes Lois. She even goes to the extreme and chains herself to him, but he breaks free. This is dashed quickly. Later, she falls off a building to see if he will catch her! While this generated some online discourse about how she was "wrong" and Clark was "right," the truth is simple. Clark was lying to her and her reasoning makes sense. At the same time, Clark understandably held back, as he was afraid.

Social media has a key role in the series. Jimmy has a secret YouTube channel named Flamebird which covers conspiracies in Metropolis and beyond. This comes to a fore in the fifth episode: Jimmy gets a response video for every single video he has posted. Some internet troll attacks him, and it turns out that star reporter Steve is behind it all! This focus also gives Jimmy character depth, as a sort of social media influencer, and makes you sympathize with him when Lois and Clark leave him behind.

There an interesting secondary plot in My Adventures with Superman. Mist/Kyle (voiced by Lucas Grabeel) and Rough House/Albert (voiced by Vincent Tong) break out Mist's sister, Siobhan/Silver Banashee (voiced by Catherine Taber), the leader of Intergang. They accomplish this thanks to weapons Livewire (voiced by Zehra Fazal) and are able to escape. Using these weapons, they rob Metropolitan City Bank. Superman saves them all when one of their machines goes haywire. This is interlinked with the tech plan of Ivo (voiced by Jake Green), the founder of Amazo Tech. He creates a super suit named Parasite and markets it as something which turns people into their own personal Superman. Of course, this doesn't work, since the prototype is unstable.

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Superman takes extreme risks to protect those he cares about and support justice. Often, he saves people across Metropolis. He fights villains like Heat Wave (voiced by Laila Berzins) and supposed "good guys" like Agent Wilson (voiced by Chris Parnell). The latter only stops at the urging of Amanda Waller (voiced by Debra Wilson). The General (voiced by Joel De La Fuente) wants Agent Slade Wilson / Deathstroke (voiced by Chris Parnell) to eliminate Superman once and for all.

While writing this review, I can't avoid comparisons between My Adventures with Superman and previous series, like Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. The latter's end marked the end of the DC Animated Universe (DCAU). Some fans call DCAU the Timmverse, after animator and director Bruce Timm. It comprised eight animated series, four feature films, four short films, and two digital series between 1992 and 2006. While I haven't watched all the series within DCAU, I see some similarities, especially with the two Justice League series, when it comes to Amanda Waller. She's a Black woman who's continually skeptical of superheroes. She even partners with Lex Luther to fund a research center supporting a superhero-hating metahumans.

In this series, Waller gives Task Force X one mission: to take down Superman. This differs from the two Justice League series, where her goal is broader. She intends to ensure that Earth can defend itself if the superheroes go "bad." Waller, in this series, along with the General and Agent Wilson, believe that Superman will bring the end of the world. They remember how someone like him killed many during an event they call "Zero Day." This military slang means a day in which a Basic Combat Training company "picks up Soldiers." I think The General meant it to be equivalent to a D-Day or "Invasion Day." The General is misguided. Superman is not like the marauding Supermen he (and Lois) sees on a record from the League of Lois Lanes.

In another major difference, My Adventures with Superman depicts Cadmus more positively. Lois and Clark go through the forest to save Jimmy. He was kidnapped by Monsieur Mallah. The latter is an intelligent ape, voiced by Andre Sogliuzzo. He is working with Brain (voiced by Jesse Inocalla). Like the two aforementioned Justice League series, Cadmus is a secret government project. In this series, it was begun 20 years before. It is where Mallah and Brain fell in love. However, Task Force X came to eliminate them. The Task Force believed that no one survived the unstable Black hole.

The reality, obviously, is very different. Mallah and Brain are almost trapped. A nearby minefield, drones, and a protective bubble stop anyone from leaving, or reaching, Cadmus. Task Force X wanted to ensure that no one could discover Cadmus. At one point, Lois and Clark are chased by robots. They are only saved when mutants, created by Mallah, attack. Thanks to Clark's actions, the black hole maintains its power and a containment field stabilizes it.

In a heart-felt scene, Mallah and Brain step through the wormhole, wanting to reach a world where they can live freely. The Brain warns them that once the person who is trying to get Superman (The General) sees him as a threat, they will never stop. This is clear from a final scene, in that episode. The General asks Ivo to help him figure out where the technology is, and to help him take down Superman. The Brain nor Mallah is evil. The former is exclusive to the continuity of this series and is an adaptation of a character which first appeared in Volume 1 of the comic book Doom Patrol.

The sixth episode of My Adventures with Superman is one of the strongest not only because of the action-packed sequences or the romance between Lois and Clark, with Clark saving Lois from dying. It shines because Clark tells Lois the truth. He admits to her (and Jimmy) that he didn't want to reveal his true nature due to a fear that Jimmy and Lois would see him as an "alien" and treat him differently. Instead, he wanted to be "normal." Jimmy, who already knew Clark was Superman, reassures him they are friends because of who he is. Lois says they want to be open with him. In the next episode, he declares there will be no more secrets, so he brings them to a spaceship, the same one which brought him to Earth, which surprises Lois and Jimmy.

By the seventh episode, it seems that the romance of Lois and Clark, is moving forward. Both lose their minds over a date, having charts, maps, and other ways to ensure it goes perfectly. These plans never come to pass. A so-called international "peacekeeper," Mxyzptlk (voiced by David Errigo Jr.), asks for Clark's help and declares that Clark is a Superman is in every universe. Meanwhile, the aptly named League of Lois Lanes, peacekeepers tasked with saving the Multiverse, come to save Lois. They declare that Clark is in danger, and Jimmy comes along. In the process, Lois and Jimmy become skeptical of the League. Clark realizes that Mxyzptlk lied to him and only wants chaos. Clark tries to do the right thing and stop Mxyzptlk from stealing.

The episode focuses on what Lois sees on a computer screen: a restricted file about Superman only accessible at League headquarters. Not only is this suspicious, but the centrality of a classified record drew me into the story. I say this is a person who indexes such records for my day job and someone who has written about archives and archivists in popular culture for many years. I liked how Lois even works with Mxyzptlk to get to the League headquarters, despite being wary of him. While there, she accesses a mainframe and gets the restricted record. Of course, her temporary ally-of-sorts is only there for his own benefit. He gets what he wants, allowing him to villainous "again." On the whole, the episode is so absurd, it's a bit funny.

The League sees Superman as evil, shooting him with guns filled with kryptonite. In some ways, the episode ends well. Lois, Jimmy, and Clark work together to take down Mxyzptlk. However, he later escapes prison. He sees Lois looking at the file which has the "truth" about Superman. He soon leaves, declaring it will be "more fun" to watch her figure it out. Lois doesn't consider possible manipulation of the record or that it only shows one "truth."

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The eighth episode goes a different direction. It begins with Ivo collecting former villains and saying they need to fulfill their "debt" to society. Lois and Clark both face villains of sorts. Lois meets a reporter she idolizes, named Vicki Vale (voiced by Andromeda Dunker). She soon sours on Vale. It is revealed that Vale has an anti-Superman bias. Clark becomes obsessed with finding The General, thanks to his new power of super hearing. He ignores the pleas from Lois and Jimmy, going off on his own to face "the evil." In a local park, he takes a beating. He is kidnapped and The General calls him the "end of the world." Due to the splintering of the typical friend squad (Lois, Jimmy, and Clark), the ending sequence is different. It features the cityscape and none of the characters.

In the ninth episode, everything goes off the rails. Lois and Jimmy enlist the help of the Newskid Legion to find Superman. In actuality, he is in custody of The General. Falsely, The General believes that Superman is the enemy. He tortures him with electricity and declares that he won't let any more of "his kind" invade Earth. While Superman tells him what he knows, this isn't the "right answer." There is a powerful scene in this episode in which Clark sees what happened on Zero Day, 22 years before, as The General terms it. Many of Superman's kind come through, attacking people on Earth, until a light shines and the attack ends. Due to this incident, it makes sense he, and Waller, created Task Force X, and used the tech left behind to create new U.S. government weapons.

Superman empathizes. He realizes that not all Supermans are good, and asks why Supermen would do this. His responses takes The General back and makes him realize that he is making the wrong call. He begins to ask if Task Force X is wrong. Arrogantly, Waller shows her commitment to the task force: she claims that it is never wrong. As The General even admits, Superman was too young to be part of Zero Day and implies he is innocent. To make matters worse, Waller deactivates a camera, encouraging the villains to get out of their cells, including Ivo, who wants to "finish off" Superman, in revenge for what happened in the past.

He somehow escapes in a weakened state. He makes his way back to Lois and Jimmy. Thanks to assistance from his two friends, he defeats the Ivo Kaiju monster, which is attacking Metropolis. They call on everyone in town to turn off their power so that Ivo cannot suck in any more electricity. As a result, Superman is victorious. Jimmy lets Lois and Clark have time alone, together. Clark proceeds to carry Lois into the sky and kiss her. The General stands against Waller. She relieves him of his duties. Waller becomes head of Task Force X. The General gets a new mission: to track down and terminate Superman.

The season one finale of My Adventures with Superman goes further than showing Superman as the immigrant, "the adoptee living in a world that says being different is bad." He embraces his differences every day, with his weirdness and strangeness as his strength, as Campbell put it. Everything comes full circle. Clark becomes a full-time reporter with Lois and Jimmy. He dreams about being an evil Superman and learns something about The General: he is Sam Lane, Lois' dad! While Clark is, understandably, nervous about telling Lois this reality, Jimmy pushes him to do the right thing, causing Lois to come to his aid.

This all happens during Thanksgiving. There's family drama between The General and Lois. Clark's adoptive parents are also there. This all falls to the wayside when kryptonite inside the record weakens Clark. Although none of them are entirely sure what kryptonite is, Jimmy rightly realizes that the rock is causing the problem and puts it back. The entire scene echoes part of the She-Ra and the Princesses of Power series finale. Clark risks his life to ensure that the portal can be closed. He puts the kryptonite on the ship core, causing it to explode, and Jor-El saves him. Lois also saves his life, after he ensured that she (and everyone on Earth) wouldn't die. She stands in front of her dad, stopping him from killing Clark.

While The General listens and follows the pleas of Lois, he does not stay for Thanksgiving. It is only Lois, Jimmy, Clark, and his adoptive parents. In a funny scene, Jimmy announces that he sold Flamebird to the Daily Planet for $5.6 million and is "super rich now," surprising them all. The series ends with one final scene:, a kryptonian warrior declares they have found a new planet (presumably Earth). One commander tells him that it doesn't matter whether they destroy the ships and close the portals, saying they will kneel ultimately. That sets the stage for a season 2, which Campbell confirmed.

My Adventures with Superman somehow survived corporate fuckery. It had an uncertain future through various corporate mergers, the pandemic, and a thin budget. But, the passion of the writers and crew showed through, as Campbell noted. Such a message can't be more apt, considering the continued twin strikes by writers and actors, regardless of efforts by some to break the strike and fill their fat pockets with wads of cash. Previously, Drew Barrymore withdrew her plan to restart her show after intense criticism. Bill Maher sneered at the strike by writers. Thanks to backlash, he decided to put his show on pause. He has made Islamophobic and anti-Chinese statements, supports NSA surveillance, dislikes critical race theory, and opposed accepting Syrian refugees into the U.S., in the past.

A second season will include more moments between Clark and Lois, shipped by fans as Clois, generating fanart and fanfics. In fact, many of the over 130 stories on AO3 focus on this ship. In the words of Campbell, the second season will "blow people's minds." It will consist of 10 episodes, like Season 1. It is likely that the Kryptonian warriors will attack Earth. Spider-Man, Lux Luthor, and Lana Lang might appear. Hopefully, a second season has more outward LGBTQ+ representation in the main case. In this season, there is only, directly, a lesbian couple helped by Superman (he returns their child) and a gay couple (Mallah and Brain).

Fans who enjoy Clois are undoubtedly looking forward to another season. As for others, they may believe that the second season will reveal the truth behind Clark's birth father or infuse strong sci-fi elements "with heart," and make viewers love Superman all over again. Whether viewers see Lois as adorable, enjoy the fluid animation, humor and character designs; see Superman for gays and girls, or compare Lois with Luz, there are many reasons to enjoy this series, especially for those who like shonen action or shojo romance. Furthermore, it is relatable that Superman has been training, but doesn't have hold of his powers.

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My Adventures with Superman is very animesque, from opening and closing credits which resemble anime series in more ways than one. Clark's voice actor, Jack Quaid, described it as "some anime influence...that is just so fun." Along with the aforementioned magical transformation of Superman, some said there was a reference to Ouran High School Host Club opening sequence ("Kiss Kiss Fall In Love") in the title of the seventh episode: "Kiss Kiss Fall In Portal."

As part of a thread on X/Twitter, producer Josie Campbell confirmed this. She noted other influences on the series from Pokemon's Team Rocket, the anime Gurren Lagann, and many other media. While Sailor Moon likely didn't influence the series, the fact that a Pretty Cure transformation influenced Superman's transformation has caused interesting results. For instance, some social media users called on people to watch series within the ongoing anime franchise.

In a strange coincidence, this series is airing at a time that a character, Sora Harewata-ru, in Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure, transforms into Cure Sky in a manner which resembles Superman's transformation. Cure Mermaid's transformation likely inspired both. The My Adventures with Superman ending sequence is meant to resemble "old anime EDs with the softer palette and slow pan while time passes." In Crunchyroll News, Briana Lawrence wrote an article about the similarities between Usagi Tsukino in Sailor Moon and Clark. Others pointed to Dragon Ball and Kill la Kill references, and anime tropes.

The anime influence isn't the only factor influencing My Adventures with Superman. While fans have pointed out that some of the Crew-Ra, the name for the crew of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, worked on the series, this was more limited in reality. Campbell, a co-producer, was a story writer and staff writer on She-Ra. Writer and co-executive producer of one episode, Brendan Cougar, was a storyboarder on She-Ra. He also storyboarded on Young Justice and on The Legend of Korra. Storyboarders Jasmine Goggins, Karen Guo, Diana Huh, and Jessica Zammit all worked on She-Ra.

More of an influence on this series could be, in some manner, Harley Quinn. 17 crew members of this series worked on that series, including animator Yew Yung, writer's assistant Sari Cooper, production executive Audrey Diehl, and executive in charge of production Jay Bastian. In addition, nine crew members did work on Young Justice, including prop designer Austin Reinkens and storyboarder Chris Palmer. Another eight worked on DC Super Hero Girls. The latter included effects animator Jason Plapp and storyboarder Michael Nanna. Other crew members worked on Dogs in Space, The Casagrandes, Glitch Techs, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, and the Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes and Huntsmen Part 1 film.

The co-executive producer for My Adventures with Superman, Jake Wyatt, was a background designer for Steven Universe. Art director Jane Bak was a background designer on the same series. Bak did the same on Steven Universe Future and Adventure Time: Distant Lands. Animator Edward Artinian worked on Steven Universe too. Online listings show that some crew members were part of the crew of Pantheon and Final Space. Series composer worked on Nomad for Nowhere. Others contributed their time and labor to series ranging from Chicago Party Aunt to Invincible, Unicorn: Warriors Eternal to High Guardian Spice. The title sequence animator, Yves Bigerel, better known as Balak, is the director and writer of Peepoodo & The Super Fuck Friends.

Continued in part 2

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