Megas XLR

I'll admit am not a person whose into mecha cartoons. Sure watching giant robots pummel each other may appeal to some, but am partial on the genre itself. Mainly because the ones I watch are always too serious or have a deeper meaning to tell. Well finally comes mecha cartoon thats purely about saving the world...in the most unorthodox methods possible.

Megas XLR (called Lowbrow when it premiered) is a about Coop, a lazy video game, food munching slacker that finds the robot Megas one day while hanging around at his local scrapyard. Unknowest to him that its a tool in saving the future that accidentally got blown to his timeline. After a bit of a paint job and some modifications (inculding ripping out the part that allows time travel) Coop fixes the bot and renames it XLR. No sooner then his first test drive with his long time bud Jamie. The real owner, a rough yet cute female warrior of the future named Kiva, comes to claim it with a evil alien force known as the Gloof right behind her. Since Coop remodified the robot's controls, he the only who knows how to pilot it . Thus he, along with Jamie and Kiva as support, becomes the Earth only hope in defeating the Gloof as well as other intergalactic baddies that come around. Heaven help us.

The series is very unique, its a breath of fresh air that the hero is is a person who goes by his own methods, even if they tend to to backfire (and they often do). Jamie is a good comic relief, the usual woman chasing coward yet so quick to point out the flaws in Coop's plan. Kiva brings a good balance to the two slackers always complaining yet has to agree that whatever works works. Thankfully they didn't over blow her seriousness. Of course the real star is Megas, the souped up machine that will save the future with its truckload of firepower. It never ceases to surprise me what kind of weapons it'll pull out next. Which what make the show so fun. And lest not forget references to countless movies, video games, anime and general pop culture.

The animation is colorful, fluid and of course anime inspired (though thankfully not all out anime i.e: The route Teen Titans took). Love the models for the villains Megas encounters too.

Soundwise, a nice display of music cues. Usually cutting off when the characters comment on something weird or an attack fails giving the jokes extra flavor. The music itself okay, usual guitar licks and over the top dramatic pieces but it fits the action well.

Overall, Cartoon Network has really got a winner on their hands with this original piece. So if any one wants a starting point in watching mecha cartoons or just don't want a serious mecha toon in general. Look no further, Megas XLR has your ignition.

Megas got its start as a sort of You Pick short, and while it didn't make the final cut as I remember, it must have made a good impression. The suits in Atlanta wisely decided to run with Megas, one of their most brilliant decisions since the creation of Toonami and Adult Swim.

Absurdity is the key to humor these days, at least for me. And what could be more absurd then a couple of burned-out 20somethings in control of their own Mecha? And in Jersey, no less! Throw in a token Anime-style chick, insane villains, monsters, interplanetary hijinx, and (most importantly) a killer mock-metal soundtrack - These are a few of my favorite things... Whoops. Sorry.

And how about the details on the Megas! What geek WOULDN'T pimp out their own Mecha with flames, nekked chick reflectors, an 8-Ball gear shift knob, and Playstation Controllers? It's every nerd's dream come true.

You have GOT to love this toon. If you don't... Well, then, heck with ya. Mindless fun for everyone, Mecha destruction for the Anime geek in a lot of us, and oh, the METAL!

Wow. I used to LIVE for Saturday Mornings. Now I LIVE for Saturday Evenings. How corny is that...?

At first when I saw some commercials for Megas XLR, I thought it was a Transformers rip-off. But then I changed my mind about the show and watched a few of the episodes and it was pretty cool and it's funny too. The show is about two teenage slackers named Coop and Jamie who discover a giant robot in a New Jersey junkyard He attached his car to the top of the robot. But...then evil aliens called Glorft land on Earth. Now 3 total opposites named Coop, Jamie, and the robot's creator Kiva must team up to stop the Glorft(and many other evil forces) from obtaining "Megas XLR"! I think the Glorft character is a little weird but yet one of my favorite sci-fi villains! My favorite characters are Coop and Jamie. This show first aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami back in May 2004. This is one of my favorite shows on Toonami!

User Rating: 9/10

BOTTOM LINE: I DIG GIANT ROBOTS!

Ah, Megas XLR. Despite the TV-Y7 rating, in many ways it felt a show aimed at older audiences, not only because all the characters were adults, the sarcastic humor and the somewhat obscure references probably totally would get over the heads of the kids watching it back then.

I guess that was the reason of why the show was unfairly cancelled, despite the high ratings: It wasn't as "marketeable" as Ben 10, and (As the cancellation of Young Justice can confirm) the executives care more about toy sales than audiences liking a show, which is why so many terrible series are still on air.

But even if Megas XLR was never destined to become a super-marketeable franchise, it will always remain as a beloved cult-classic from the 2000s which is always fun to rewatch, like Drawn Together.

Cartoon Network could give it some love, instead of acting as if this series never existed.

The premise of this sounds just like any 'giant robot' (or cartoon sf) show - battle robot needed to save the (future) world, agent sent back to retrieve it from the past to which its been banished. OK, fine. But the makers take this and turn it into a weird, fun, crazy parody of such things.

The robot has been obtained by two new-jersey lamers, who turn out to be a super-robot- pilot and well, a lamer (sorry, Jaime.) The future-agent is stuck here (acting alternatively as the fish-out-of-local time-water, and voice of reason, and super-fighting-chick). OK, fine. But the makers take this and use this basic parody to parody pretty much every cliché in the genre (and some other genres) with a gusto that is just plain fun to watch! If you know stuff about Japanese animation stuff, you'll appreciate the parodies of plots, characters, and even scene stylings. If you don't, its still funny enough on just a joke-level (Coop dreaming of smashing the DMV to tiny bits, for instance) to make it fun. Keep your eye on button labels and general sign age, there's good cleverness there.

All in all, a great, high-morale program -- people having fun making a good show. Nice!