Is This Just Me?

Is this just me, or does everybody secretly wish for an alien invasion? Or something of that ilk, the kind of situation where a person could credibly sacrifice himself against tremendous odds to save the world?

Where a man could carve a legend for himself simply by standing up to the powerful oppressors and saying no?

Where a population could rise up and unanimously tell the invaders "No more. I reject you. With a Molotov cocktail!"

No? Just me?

Yeah, I figured as much.

Saturday 6 October 2012

Autumns cartoons to watch-it's all kicking off.

Well, the wait is finally over. After months, literally months of nothing, finally, awesome animated shows are back, and my god this year we've got some killer shows coming up. So, as a result, I'm gonna be listing some of my top picks of shows to watch out for that are back this month.

Young Justice

Hailed as this generations DCAU, Young Justice won the hearts of many throughout it's first season, with strongly built characters, with compelling villians, excellent action direction and snappy dialogue. While the voice acting is good all round, stealing the show are Nolan North as the anger management challenged Superboy, and Jason Spisak as Kid Flash. Despite not one but two hiatus's during the first season, I was hooked and eagerly awaited it's return when it went on hiatus again, 8 episodes into season 2.
Despite a slightly shaky start to the second series, with an unexpected time skip and seeming cast change, within a few episodes it had grown back into itself, expanding the shows fiendishly intriguing myth arc and taking both new and old characters to places we'd not seen before. It's return post hiatus this month is now two episodes in, and my god someone kicked this show in the pants and into high gear. Crispin Freeman's performance is incredible, including one scene which really must be seen to be believed, but easily ranks among my favourite scenes in the entirety of animation.

Green Lantern

I'll come out and say it. I'm not a fan of Hal Jordan as Green Lantern. So when I found out about an entire series devoted solely to Hal...I was nervous to say the least. But it did have Kilowog in it, so I was willing to give it a chance. And boy was I glad I did. It used a curious form of animation, blending the classic Timm style with CGI graphics, which while not visually stunning, has a certain stylistic charm. But far more interesting and impressive then that was the scale of the show. I've often expressed distaste for the concept of a hero as powerful as Green Lantern spending so long on Earth. After all, he is supposed to take care of a sector of space. And, to my delight, the majority of this series is space based, lending the show a very cosmic feel which ensured that the entirety of the show had a true feeling of risk, it truly felt like the universe was on the line. The interpersonal drama of the primary cast is excellent, and once again, Jason Spisak steals the show, this time as the rage fueled Red Lantern Razer. And oh boy, has this show kicked up in scope. Where before the villains were removed from our sector to a degree, the first episode of the latest arc takes place on Earth. There is a tragedy brewing, and it's in our homes. Green Lantern easily secures its place in this list.

Dragons, Riders of Berk

A sequel series to one of my favourite animated movies of all time, Dreamworks "How to Train your Dragon", Dragons, Riders of Berk is...interesting. The only brand new show on this list, I feel like this show is only just starting to grow into its own. The show goes a long way to answer some of the lingering issues and questions of the film, especially regarding the natural consequences of a society changing from killing dragons to training them, with older members of the tribe complaining of the loss of traditions past, those who previously depended on fighting dragons to make a living and even the true fact that in the cold light of day, not all dragons are friendly, and idealism will only get you so far. Episodes 5 and 6, "In Dragons we Trust" and "Alvin and the Outcasts" form the series first two parter and really hint at the potential of this series. I'm honestly confident that this series can, if allowed to grow and mature just a tad, truly become something marvellous, emotionally brilliant like the film from which it spawned.

Tron Uprising
Last but not least, returning on October 19th is Tron:Uprising, a midquel between Tron and its sequel Tron Legacy. I am a huge fan of the original Tron, yes it's cheesey, yeah the plot makes no sense and the script treats computers like magic, but who cares? The movie was groundbreaking for its use of special effects, with action setpieces that still set the standard for sheer cool in movies. The sequel was a visual marvel, which despite a...shaky script, drew me in with its brilliant soundtrack and truly breathtaking design and aesthetic. Uprising takes a more...subdued and dark view of the world presented in the movies, examining things from a perspective never before explored, with a cast consisting solely of the programs from the computer world of Tron. No human protagonists out of place, no plucky heroes to develop superpowers. This is their world, these horrors are their lives now. We see on screen executions, people being rounded up into camps and generally showing the terrors that were merely alluded to in movies. Genocide, for kids! But really, this show has been great so far, and I eagerly await its return.

So, those are my picks for the cartoons to watch this season. If you disagree, or you feel I missed something, leave em in the comments and let me know.

Thanks for reading!

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