Cannon Busters

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?

This show takes me back to fond childhood memories of anime. The transforming Cadillac is just fantastic, definitely my favorite character. Fun song, fun characters, and a fun story.

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

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 pretty entertaining, and I look forward to another season. From episode 1, it drops you right into the action, and catches you up on the backstory as it goes along. The character arcs are interesting, and the various parts come together to an eventual reckoning. Although, the final episode of season 1 wasn't quite as good as I was anticipating. The way some things were resolved (or unresolved) could have been better. Overall, it's a solid anime. If you're an anime fan looking for a loose description, it comes off somewhat like Trigun, but a little more outrageous and over the top. I look forward to future seasons.