X-Men: Evolution was the first real exposure that I had to the X-Men universe. The original animated series was way back when I was just a toddler, so I am not too familiar with it. Thus, I had a lot to thank to the Evolution series because it made me feel fascinated with the X-Men and eventually Marvel universe.
The concept of making the characters teenage high schoolers was a bit appalling, especially to the comic fans, but I guess it was intended to appeal to younger generations. In my opinion, making them teenagers aren't too bad at all. It allowed more character growth to happen for most characters whilst dealing with the anti-mutant issues, even for the notorious Brotherhood members like Avalanche and Quicksilver.
The story was a bit slow at first. Of course, it had intentions of introducing the characters that would later make up the X-Men team and the Brotherhood. It was good that it did this so that newcomers to the X-Men world would not feel lost when watching it. As the first season finale ended, I felt a bit empty, wanting more. But it satisfied my X-Men thirst, with enough action and character developments that made me wait for Season 2. As the series progressed, it did get better and more structured. More loved-by-fans characters were introduced such as Gambit and Colossus and added great dynamics to the conflicts and relationships (eg. the questionable bond between Rogue and Remy in the show).
The characters in the series are definitely fleshed out. They had opportunities to experience emotional and personal growth that changed them from the first time we met them in the series. In return, viewers will have certain opinions on most of them, be it love, hate or neutral.
The animation in X-Men: Evolution is of course much better and smoother than the X-Men: TAS (which is not to say the original animated series is bad or anything). The actions scenes excited me a lot, the showcase of the mutants' powers are made more subtle but still believable and the expressions on the characters are drawn well, making us believe in their emotions. Kudos to Steve Gordon for coming up with great character designs as well.
All in all, X-Men: Evolution is definitely a good series to try if you're an X-Men fan. The stories does not quite follow to the comics, but that's what makes it good, as it tries to tell the stories of the X-Men universe in a more relatable way, especially to the younger generations.
