Megas XLR

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...?

I have never been a big fan of mecha cartoons. Sure I'd watch MS Gundam with my brother-in-law when staying at my in-laws house, but I was just NOT interested. When first saw the commercial for this 'toon, I bemoaned "Oh no! Not another one!" But one Saturday night, while half asleep, the show started. I was too tired to reach the three feet for the remote, and I was too comfortable to just roll over. So I watched the show. There was this one line (I can't remember for the life of me what it was, but it had something to do with video games [of course]), and It reminded me of something my husband would say and I started laughing so hard, I woke up and started watching the show. I've tried to watch it every Saturday ever since.

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!

I've only been watching this cartoon less then a week but already I love it.I watch it on Toonami every day.When I first seen it I was like "OH great another crappy japan-amation-mech crap.But I watched it and couldn't stop laughing.The humour is fantastic.They rip-off everything imaginable(especially MTV)but also McDonalds,Mario Brothers and many more.The action is top drawer.Wall-smashing and buildings crumbling and general devastation prevails.Destruction is top-drawer here(We're looking at least 20-30 buidlings been destroyed every episode)The two main characters,two teenage wasters by the names of Coop and Jamie cause farce after farce.They end up saving the planet but always destroy a large portion of their home town or cause a nuclear fall-out or something(The episode with the REGIS Mk 5 had me in bits,some of his lines are hilarious"This planet shall return to the Cosmic dust from whence it came"and stuff like that.A very,very funny cartoon and has a surprising amount of substance.Id recommend this to any cartoon fan,it will have you laughing your ass off.

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.