Japanese Animation Studio Madhouse & Marvel Entertainment collaborated on a series of Marvel Anime. Some of these series included: Wolverine, Blade, Iron Man, & X-Men. All these Animated series broadcasted on G4 and didn't receive as much attention, but that didn't stop me from taking an interest in it. Was it different? Yeah. This was the first X-men Anime and, growing up, I watched the original X-men series as well as X-Men Evolution. The character models were different, the voice actors/actresses were unheard of, and the animation was just stunning to look at. Now I'm not going to delve right into what the X-men is about, but let's just say it's a unique take. Of course there's going to be Japanese names thrown into the mix, but it doesn't change the fact that its still X-men. Wolverine is still badass (brawn), Cyclops is struggling to be a leader and is learning to cope with a loss, Storm is the maternal figure, Emma Frost is at ends with the fellow X-men, Beast is the brains, Xavier is their coach, and the new chick is learning to cope with the reality that she's a mutant. Does this Anime sound like Gold? Well, like I said above, it didn't receive much attention and only spawned 12 episodes. I think because of its little attention that it didn't expand or continue on with more episodes much like the others. I don't know whether it was due to low ratings, budgetary issues, or just wanting to experiment with combining Marvel & Anime, but for what it was at the time ~ I found it entertaining. Sure sometimes the Anime slowed down and the emotional moments wee overly dramatic, but again ~ it's a very different take on the X-men series. Growing up, the original and old school X-men had action, a catchy ass theme (you know what I mean), humor, and the dialogue (not going to die) was cheesy as f*ck. So why did this Anime rendition receive very little? Well, G4's broadcasting of Blade, Wolverine, X-Men, & Iron Man were very much retellings of their series w/Japan set as its setting. Maybe American audiences were belittled about its premiere and were unfamiliar with Anime. Anime, unfortunately to some, has become a stereotype ~ people assume that perhaps Anime is just over exaggerating character models and actions. However, I will openly admit that I find Anime to be more entertaining than American cartoons. Not saying they're all bad, but I think people fail to realize Anime is an art form ~ the creativity and ingenuity behind making Anime isn't all sunshine & rainbows. It's a very difficult and creative process, but the results are always on the audience's perspective if they are entertained. I know I'm going on a long rant on this (which will be a separate article post for another time), but this could be a reason why not many people were interested in Marvel Anime. I wished it garner more attention and I think fans will admit, it's either a welcome to the series (though it's a retelling set in Japan) or dismiss it on the basis that it's not American and its too different from we perceive as entertainment. To me, X-men was an interesting show and I would've like to see more. Before I end this, I will admit Storm in this version is EXTREMELY hot. Holy Crap, her assets stood out and I wanted to be with her. Storm is amazing!
I hope you enjoyed this week's Legacy post/rant on American vs. Japanese animations. Look forward to Legacy posts on Thursdays. Until then, you all stay classy now.
I'll make a Anime rant later on this month.
No comments:
Post a Comment