Cannon Busters

I hear what all the other critics are saying about this series being derivative of better anime but let's be real, all anime is derivative of the best anime, how can it not be? Personally I was excited to watch this series. As a hardcore anime fan I've seen everything and in recent years I've found fewer series that can hold my attention. So what's so different about this series? If you don't know, it's the brainchild of American storyboard artist Lesean Thomas who worked on great american anime series like Boondocks and Black Dynamite. I was super excited to see what he would do with his own project, I was not disappointed. What I responded to when I first started watching anime was that glimpse into Japanese culture but now that I'm older I'm ready to see what people like me, who are not Japanese but grew up watching Japanese anime have to add to this art form and apparently so does Japan. This summer Japan announced a program to expand anime production overseas. Japan wants more countries to get involved to expand this incredible art form to every corner of the globe. I feel that this inclusiveness will only make anime better in the long term. To be honest Cannon Busters is far from perfect but it's not bad either. I found that I really enjoyed the world that Thomas created and all the different characters, especially these diesel female fighters mixed in with robots, lizard people, cat people and to be frank, black people. This new anime world is what captured my imagination and got me to stay through all 12 episodes. My only major criticism is that I feel this 1st season really needed to be 24 episodes. I think the constrains of 12 episodes stifled the story. In 24 episodes we would of seen the prince grow more, his relationship with Hilda and Oden could have been explored more, and Sam, Philly the Kid and Casey would have had more time for their adventure. This was a great break for the series creator Lesean Thomas and from him I expect even greater series to come. I'm certain that before we know it American anime will be adding more and more titles to that greats anime list. We just need to give it time and nurture our homegrown talen. I think Cannon Busters is worth a look and I look forward to its maybe future.

This show is for people who dont usually watch anime or new comers. Its an adventure to save the kingdom following a mix of characters , some really annoying, across a wasteland. This anime combines the settings of Trigun and Cowboy bebop, The MC is influenced by Spike you can even hear the english voice trying to imitate Steven Blum, with heavy influences from Studio Trigger. This anime isnt for regular anime fans as it brings nothing we havent seen before and the execution is average its a story we all know.. The animation and 3D go really well together which we dont see often and the opening song is AWSOME. With the quality of anime being released in Japan i dont think this show stands a chance

The first thing I noticed from the trailer was just how diverse the characters were, I love it! There are black girls and other black characters in anime, but there are SO little of them, not to mention most have no real depth to them, as well as many play into racial stereotypes in general. Cannon Busters is VERY independent of these tropes and even manages to have so many qualities represented like natural black hairstyles, non-stereotypical differentiating fashion styles, skin conditions, short and tall, thick and slim, etc. The first thing I noticed upon watching however, was the opening and ending which tells a story with soft vocals and good beats. The writing is also exponential, especially for a project coming from one man. This series is immersive beyond belief, it's an entire world blooming with detail. I won't get into it for spoiler reasons, but once you watch you'll understand. Overall, as a black girl, I finally get to see representation in something I love, which honestly makes me so appreciative and tearful. Even if you can't relate, giving Cannon Busters a watch should do you some good! It's got a mixture of classic anime in it, but people seem to believe it's a blatant rip off of some manga/anime that weren't even around/popular/classic enough when this series was first published in 2005. This series was among others like Trigun and Cowboy Bebop, and many others the creator watched growing up, but far from a rip off in my opinion. Obviously inspired, but what anime doesn't take inspiration from elsewhere?

Defiantly enjoyed the six fi wasteland vibe and animations style. They action scenes were a little sporadic. I hope the series continues.

A few other reviews have tried to claim this series as being a "rip-off" of trigun or cowboy bebop, which largely comes from the art style aesthetic I believe. I've watched over half of this series so far and I feel that it is in no way a "rip-off" of these other shows. This is a review about Cannon Busters so I will focus on the show primarily, but it is important to understand that the plot was based on a comic series, the art style did change a bit from then but it is definitely a new show that has some great action scenes and a fantastic English dub as well. Overall, the series holds my attention and has interesting characters to follow. Sometimes the use of CG animation can detract from the aesthetic that I feel the show is striving for, but it is nothing egregious like some other recent anime shows. The dialogue in the show is not bad by any means, as the delivery from the voice actors is pretty strong, but the lines can feel as though they are there kill run time or set up for the next scene more than contribute to the show. In the end, I really like what I've seen from this show and I hope that others will give it a watch too. It's not an instant classic or anything but it is quite good and can be a fun watch depending on the kinds of shows that you may be into as it is action oriented.