Ejen Ali

Out of all local animated series that has been released, Ejen Ali's first 2 seasons is definitely Malaysia's best animated series to date in terms of storytelling & graphics.

The animation is impressive for a local production (which is why it takes so long for a single episode to be completed), it has good soundtrack, pretty impressive action scenes and the least cringy Malay script i have ever heard.

In terms of plot and storytelling, it feels like anime fans would be able to enjoy this series because of its mature storyline that doesn't talk down on its audience, which is a very rare thing to find in a Malaysian storytelling medium especially for an animated series.

I remember watching the first season on TV3 back in 2016 and had to endure the agony of waiting through repeated episodes each week while wondering when the next episode will finally be finished & aired. While the first half of season 1 had a simplistic storytelling, the second half of season 1 definitely had cemented Ejen Ali as an animated series with a mature-theme plot and deep storyline. This is the reason why Ejen Ali even appeals to teens & adults.

I love how the storyline of Ejen Ali feels deep & complex and yet not convoluted (like alot of animes or games or mangas these days), and i hope it stays that way in its future seasons to come. This series is well-known for its "plot twists" and it has been able to deliver them well in season 1, season 2, and as well as the movie.

To be honest, i am worried how the series will develop in the future because i have seen my favourite international series go downhill (western and also Japanese alike) but i am also looking forward to how Ejen Ali will move forward and eventually wrap up after the success of its first movie.

The reason i'm giving the first 2 seasons an 8 out of 10 despite liking it so much is because the English dub available on Netflix SERIOUSLY needs a total rework (Wait, General Rama's indian english accent is on point tho. Keep it. Actually, kudos to Azman Zulkiply who sounds the best & has diverse english accent while voicing all 3 of his characters; General Rama, Agent Rizwan & Viktor.).

Like...please... I know it's easy to either just reuse voices of the original Malay version (and they already did a good job in their original language) or get whoever is available, but if you want to make this series "appealing" to international audience, then for the love of God, please find a set of good english speaking cast. Please take this english adaptation business alot more seriously. No matter how good the series is, cringy english dub can totally ruin or turn people off from giving the series a try.

If local studios can't deal with making a good english dub, I hope a good foreign studio is willing to work on the english adaptation. OR, if dubbing in english is too much of a hassle & you can't afford to find a good english speaking cast, then just don't dub it in english at all and let people watch it in the original Malay language with english subtitles, because that didn't stop anime from being well accepted globally. :)

I'm writing this review after finally being able to watch season 2 on Netflix just after i had watched the movie with my kids (fantastic movie by the way).

I feel like this series NEEDS MORE ATTENTION & LOVE by the citizens.

It seems like director Usamah Zaid and the team has a good outline & overall plan for the story of Ejen Ali and I genuinely hope this franchise will have a good development and end with a bang in the future.

Malaysian folks, please support this amazing series.

---------- UPDATE (3 February 2023): Season 3 has finished airing on Disney+ and i had finished watching it in the original Malay language, then i found out an english dub was available too and decided to rewatch the entire 3rd season in english. Amazing work. The plot, new characters, music, story telling, graphics are top notched.

Also thanks to iyuno SDI group for doing an amazing job with the english dub for season 3. Although i miss some of the Malaysian english flavor the movie had with the supporting casts (this season's dub is definitely more westernize), the english dub this season is objectively the best one we have from the series so far. I hope McKenzie Atwood would be recasted as Ali for future installments (unless there's a time skip and Ali turns into a teenager or an adult?).

My only nitpick for this season would be that the new character designs look rather much more "realistic" instead of "cartoonish" compared to the rest of the original characters from season 1 and 2, so they kinda stick out and don't really blend well with the rest of the casts. I understand they probably have different character models & design, maybe that's why they look so different? But maybe that's just me.

But overall, i enjoyed this season so much so i increased my rating from 8 to 9 stars. Wish i could give a perfect 10 scores but i do have my nitpicks.

If you all are willing to rework the english dub for season 1 and 2, that would be great. But i understand it's probably alot to ask for.

Can't wait for the next installment of the series, whether it be a new season or a new movie.

This series has my heart.

I'm trying really hard not to be biased here.

Pros:

• soundtrack. EXCELLENT for an animated series.
• gripping storyline
• diverse, interesting characters

Cons

• graphic. maybe one of the best coming out of this region, but still lagging behind some recent western animations (then again i was thinking something like Trollhunters by Dreamworks, an animation giant..)
• characters and story while fun and colourful, are not all that original (you can see the inspirations here and there..)
• some episodes feel too rushed and minor characters lack development, but then there's only 13 eps per season...

Despite all the cons above, I still rate this show high. If you get immersed into the storyline, then be prepared for a roller coaster of suspense and emotions. There's one scene in season 2 that, in my opinion, showcased one of the best story telling that i have seen in animation.

If you are curious, good luck finding subbed episodes though. But if you happen to be in Malaysia, had a good grasp of Malay language, and love animation in general, then I suggest you watch this. The whole 2 seasons are currently on youtube. This show is targeted towards older children, but the story is enjoyable by teens and adults as well. One of the best Malaysia's production in recent years.

It's a story of a 12 years old elementary school kid who becomes an operative of a secretive intelligence body called MATA (Meta Advanced Tactical Agency) by accident. He's really clumsy but persistent in his struggle nevertheless. It's not your typical episodic spy cartoon but a planned world building with intriguing characters' arc; the story is progressive and the main character grows in attitude over the whole series. It contains some light humors and much cooler action sequences than The Incredibles. Furthermore, what makes this series stands out among the so many spy cartoons especially from the States (US) is their amazing cinematic visual especially during the fight scenes . Apart from that, I also love the character designs which are much more adorable and handsome than the typical Japanese anime figure. The voice acting is also excellent, cute and lovely. Plus, I love the native Malay language being used which sounds much softer and more pleasant than Japanese.

This series is must watch for anime fans.It is also available in hindi

For those who love Spy Kids but animated and episodic, this is the type of animation I recommend. It has a good character development, natural humour, and good graphic quality.