People are not surprised that Marvel is working on a different project with their best-selling character, Wolverine, from recent years. For likeable reasons, rather than because of the inability of recent films like Iron Man to draw crowds, I personally checked this out. Wolverine is one of the more endearing characters in the Marvel universe, and I've always liked him. Having watched almost every iteration of Wolverine that Marvel has released-in comics, films, and TV shows-I was interested to see how this one would do.
The plot tries to remain faithful to its origins, even though I don't find it that impressive. Wolverine and his entire attitude on life in Japan, along with the locals. Yes, he is in love with a Japanese woman named Mariko Yashida in this one. In order to be reunited with her, he essentially battles a group that has been holding her against her will. I initially found it difficult to accept this "storyline" because of the more recent iterations of Wolverine I had seen. Sure, it's quite sweet, but this kind of audience won't be pleased with romance in Wolverine. Wolverine, I want a rebellious attitude, like you just don't give a damn. This anime mostly fails to capture Wolverine's unpredictable personality.
Despite frequent fails to produce more gore or carnage from Wolverine's claws, the anime's art stays passable throughout. Though I think Marvel cheated in a few of these sequences, I don't think the artwork was ever genuinely deemed unsuccessful in the end. While it's not horrible, it's also not the best thing in the world. That's alright.
That's where Wolverine really starts to fall. This show has almost no or very few catchy songs. Marvel was able to think of something, but they chose not to. Themes for the last moments of episodes are appropriate, but they don't matter because they describe the series' dramatic conclusion. OK, but disappointing.
It was with the characters that Wolverine truly made a mistake. Yes, Omega Red is there (thank heavens), and the fight between him and Wolverine is definitely one of the best ones in the show. However, these are only weak justifications used by Marvel to place characters in inappropriate contexts. Omega Red could have had a whole different anime or storyline from Marvel, but they felt that "we gotta get him in there somehow!" I don't blame them for attempting to amuse us, but nothing seems to fit together perfectly. Is Kikyo meant to be the Samurai of Silver? When his sword emerges, why does it appear so innocent? Apart from being Wolverine's helpmate, what other roles does Yukio actually play? Sabertooth, where the hell is he?
The show is not without its shortcomings. While there are a few noteworthy bouts here, the majority aren't very noteworthy. Wolverine attempts to be someone he isn't in this incarnation. The program isn't a total bust; die-hard fans just don't think highly of it.
