Æon Flux

Having first seen Aeon Flux as MTV shorts I was instantly captivated, breaking free from the constraints of the "standard" method of story telling, so much is left in the mysterious and unknown, with very imaginative and surreal atmosphere, in some cases one feels like they have just been dropped in the middle of a story with no real explanation of what is going on, its not needed it adds to effect. An interesting format that the heroine is killed off only to be reincarnated in the next short, almost like a video game in some contexts.

This format was eventually abandoned and a more story like series followed, which might lead one to believe that the initial shorts might of been proof of concept or tests? These episodes are very similar in the same surreal atmosphere but with a little more story line and plot driven in to make them more durable.

A highly imaginative animation series that is worth inclusion in anyones collection especially those seeking something a little off the beaten path.

Too be honest, I never cared that much about MTV: The programming of that channel seems to keep getting worse year by year...However, I really liked some of the animated shows produced by that channel, such as "Liquid Television", "Beavis and Butthead", the excellent adaptation of Sam Kieth's comic "The Maxx", "Daria"...And this show.

Stylih, surreal and unique "Æon Flux" is possibly one of the most original and daring cartoons ever made in America, being like nothing ever made before, not only in the visual aspect, but also in the stories and the characters: Instead of the typical battle of "Good vs Evil" that was so common in the cartoons of the time,"Æon Flux" had an ambiguous tone, where the "heroine" and the "villain" had strange and vague motivations(And even weirder ways to accomplish their objectives) What's even more, despite their antagonistic ideologies, both characters had a strange love/hate relationship, an element that worked as a sub-plot in most of the chapters, and worked incredibly well.

This deliberately ambiguous tone of the story, joined to the grotesque, but at the same time beautiful imagery of each chapter showed how mature and artistic Western animation could be, despite the prejudices of some part of the public against this genre, considering that cartoons are only "kiddy stuff", despite the existence of incredible works such as this.

"Æon Flux" was ahead its time, and maybe for that reason, I didn't get the recognition it deserved...However, a few episodes (and shorts) were enough to appreciate the full quality of this animated masterpiece, being one of the most original and artistic TV -shows ever made, such as "Twin Peaks", "The Maxx" and "The Prisoner".

Oh, yeah,there was also a terrible live-action movie made in the 2005, but that film lacked of every single one of the great elements of this excellent series. The less said about that lousy film, the better.

It's a futuristic "White Rabbit" that comes to mind whenever I recall any episode of this "Liquid TV" born legend. The style wasn't bubbly or cute like 75% of the Anime you witness, it's lines were crude, bodies were awkward but it's feel was seductive.

I personally feel that the creators wanted to give the audience a constant view into the side of what we don't see all that often. Such movies as "Total Recall" and "Blade Runner" danced just outside of those unseen elements using them as sight-gags, AF exploited them in an incredible way....if you didn't understand what you were watching, it was only a matter of a partial storyline before you understood it.

When it was originally created, Aeon herself was silent, an occassional moan, groan or sigh - the TV series added new elements giving that much needed dialog and shedding evil light onto an already unimaginable world.

The action is intense, the storylines are fluid and entrancing, the voice acting is top-notch and it's lifespan was cut short to make way for the new generation clot with teenie-boppers, hip-hoppers and wannabes. If AF proved anything, aside from it's jaded stance on a futuristic world that puts "Mad Max" to shame - it's that MTV DID INDEED SELL-OUT....for those of us who spent countless hours trying to get the station to even rekindle just ONE MARATHON of "Liquid TV", know the heartache.

Peter Chung is definitely one of the most creative minds in animation today. This is his groundbreaking work he is best known for.

Originally a recurring short for MTV's Liquid Television, Aeon Flux combined the flash of the sexy heroine and action movie violence with extremely surreal and bizarre scenarios. MTV later commissioned 10 half-hour episodes. Obviously the more high profile placement of a scheduled program lead to more network restrictions. Not quite the same surreal vision as the original shorts but definitely interesting in themselves.

A lot of people saw it as some kind of anime rip off. It's nothing of the sort. While without a doubt drawing influence from Japanese animation the more apparent influences are European fantasy illustrators like moebius.

I bought the TV episodes and shorts on a VHS several years ago. I'm not sure if it has made it to DVD. There's a live action movie based on the characters of the animation series coming out this winter. It's extremely doubtful they'll be able to pull off any of the weird stuff. It will probably be just another boringly ordinary Hollywood sci-fi/action movie. One of Peter Chung's ideas with his animation is to create something you can't do in live action.

First of all I have read the other reviews...these were done by tired no brain idiots who fail to appreciate the HOST of creative subtleties that made this show entirely unique. There is no material-biting , or boring skeletal sketches; everything in the series is done for a reason: these characters are drawn to make you think on a symbolic level, they act to make to you think on a symbolic level, their complicated idiosyncrasies are complicated, and repellent and sensuous at once...you HAVE to watch them more than once, that's why I LOVE them..Peter Chung worked extremely hard to fit so much meaning into so short a time frame. I have never seen anything like this series and likely never will again. One of the best things ever shown on MTV!