X-Men

I am a big fan of Japanese anime and I also like the X-men universe, so I thought I would like this a lot. But after watching X-men there is no good thing about it I can think of.

The animation is obsolete, something I would have expected from animes in the 80's maybe. I was so confused, in fact, that in order to complete this review I went back a few times to make really sure I saw the 2012 version and not some knock off.

The story makes no sense, with insane and cardboard bad guys, ridiculous female characters and really boring and bad dialogue. The difference between the powers and behaviour of female heroes compared to male ones was immense and totally uncalled for. All of the Japanisation of X-men had the problem that they made all characters behave like Japanese people, actually, but this was the worst. Imagine that Storm got tired after each attack and the other two: Armor and Emma Frost, could do only defensive things and maybe give a punch or a kick sometimes. Even Jean, the character that dies in the start of the series, can only do one thing: die to protect her friends. Useless in almost any battle, they are there to be protected and talk about feelings.

What I think bothered me most, though, is the lameness of it all. After anime of terrible beauty and horror and others brilliant ones about friendship and camaraderie, after twisted tales of amazing character complexity, the Japanese think they could reintroduce X-Men to their country using this crap: empty dialogue, cardboard characters, stupid plot, stunted violence.

Conclusion: You want something Japanese with super powers, just watch Akira! This series is a stain on the anime community.

While I love these original comic book stories, straight from the source, even animation wise, these Marvel Anime segments aren't my favorite to watch, great X-Men story though!

Back in the late 1990s, every Saturday morning, I watched one of my all-time favorite cartoons, and read a lot of Wizard comic magazines. The X-Men theme song came and so I turned on the television and watched "X-Men: The Animated Series." I mean, they done it all from comics, 3 TV shows, 3 movies, a Wolverine spin-off, and a prequel called "X-Men First Class." But I've never heard of an "X-Men" anime before? Are they serious? Do we really want to see the heroes speak Japanese? Well, I think G4 did a little okay with Marvel Anime, but I'm not sure it will last long. The anime version of "X-Men" as disappointing as it sounds, I haven't gotten watched the episodes. I've seen the rebirth of Thundercats and Star Wars Clone Wars, but I don't think comic book shows should be as great as Witchblade or any comic that has "anime" on it. It should've have been written off as of consideration. I thought Marvel scrapped the anime thing for good, but let's sure hope the last Marvel anime series, Blade comes out on top or a frustrating departure to the film series starring Wesley Snipes.

Bottom Line: I think when Marvel Anime's done, I wish there will be no more anime on U.S. market. "X-Men" is good, but a decent photo finish. Probably, G4 should bring back shows from the dead instead of new shows instead.

Lately there are a bunch of almost classic cartoons being revived in Japan. English spoken but based in Japan.

X-men, Iron Man, Wolverine, Thundercats, maybe more? Not sure about the last one. All of these are OK to watch but it seems quite unlikely that Japan is suddenly the center of the world. That part of it is starting to annoy me because it's like the rest of the world hardly even exists. Also the drawing style (anime?) just doesn't really feel right not just because of the drawing style but also because classic characters are depicted wrongly. Wolverine in Wolverine for instance is very thin/slenderly drawn and has more feline features than wolf features. Beast in X-men has a doggy face, looks ridiculous. The slim/slender type can be seen in all characters which is just a tad off. Power wise things are off a bit as well. Especially Storm, she's quite weak now.

Typically Asian, the show is quite long winded. The story could be told 2-3x as fast. But on the other hand is does give a bit more room for deeper development. If you're into that. Personally I'm not and to me it ads to many boring parts to the story. And every episode is a cliffhanger, no one likes that and shouldn't be abused like this.

Then there is the problem of where exactly to put it in the X-men universes? Seems like it fits after the last stand movie but Cyclops and Xavier are alive and well. But Jane is dead, died similarly to "last stand".

I'm not really watching the show anymore but simply PIP'in it while doing something else. So listening to it for a big part in the background.

Surprisingly solid, especially after the severely underwhelming Wolverine anime. It's hardly breaking new ground and there's nothing especially new or original here, but it's solidly realized and feels true to the characters. It takes bits from the Dark Phoenix saga and The Brood, as well as others. Worth watching for what it is.