Supernatural: The Animation

First off, let's dispense with any sort of delusions and be up-front about something: It's nigh-impossible to review this series without comparing it to the live-action source. And given how many people are going to be coming to the anime series from the live-action one as opposed to the other way around, there's little good reason not to tackle this from the perspective they're probably wanting.

First off, the series is pretty solid, for the most part. For the most part, it captures the feel of the live-action show pretty well. And given that the individual episodes are half the length of the live- action episodes, that's pretty impressive. About 2/3 of the episodes are remakes of live-action episodes with some changes and tweaks made to maintain some mystery and surprise, and the rest are listed as 'original' but a few are clearly based off of specific episodes (with about as many changes as the remakes). The overall running plot is taken from the first two seasons of the live-action series, particularly with regards to Sam and Dean's search for their father and later the hunt for the Yellow-Eyed Demon.

While I personally was neither expecting nor desiring an exact word-for- word translation of the live-action show into the animated medium, I was admittedly a little disappointed that the animated series runs off of its own continuity. Changes to events are one thing; but at least one recurring creature from the live-action series clearly works under different rules in the anime. I fully acknowledge that this entirely a personal reference, but I was hoping for something a little more supplemental to the live-action series (like how some shows have novels and comics that take place in the continuity without necessarily implying an effect on the original series). A couple of episodes do this sort of thing pretty well, fleshing out the backstories of a couple of the other 'special children' that become more prominent as time goes on, but for the most part it's clear this is a different continuity altogether outside of the big events (finding John, chasing Yellow- Eyes).

The biggest adjustment to make is in the character designs. Some effort was made to make Sam and Dean's animated counterparts resemble Jared Padalecki (who also provides the English dub for Sam) and Jensen Ackles (who dubs Dean for the final two episodes only), and for the most part they succeeded. But other recurring characters (John, Bobby, Yellow- Eyes, etc.) are completely redesigned when they appear at all. And while I can respect that they wanted to be able to do their own takes on some of these characters, I personally feel that the series suffers for it. The animated Bobby, in design and portrayal, lacks all of the warmth and depth of his live-action counterpart and he fulfills no role on the series beyond simply being a source of information or a deus ex machina rather than a substitute father figure and confidant. The Yellow-Eyed Demon also particularly suffers from the animated portrayal, partially due to the lack of an actor capable of giving him nuance; his character design is so painfully generic they could have replaced him with a talking wooden doll. All he contributes in pretty much every scene in which he appears is a booming voice that reminds everyone that all is going according to plan.

But then, most of the characters who aren't Sam and Dean suffer a bit from the show's design aesthetic. You've got the animated version of Jared and Jensen and then everyone else (even characters adapted from the live-action show) is clearly pulled out of the 'generic anime stock character' filing cabinet at the animation studio. None of them are visually interesting with the exception of Missouri, and she's just too 'busy' design-wise. And overall, the contrast between the Sam/Dean designs and everything else is extremely jarring.

Also, while "Carry On My Wayward Son" is a good song, it's actually really easy to get tired of hearing it every episode as the credits music (where it pretty much kills the impact of its use in the season finale summary montages). And the fact that storyline-important details are left for a short scene after the credits is just obnoxious. Post- credits scenes are done in American television to add an extra punchline of some sort or what have you. But people who habitually skip ahead to the next episodes when the credits start are going to be left out of major plot points, and I'm honestly not sure why it has to be this way.

In summary: The series does a decent enough job of taking stories from the show, reworking them to fit in this format, and keeping things relatively fresh and surprising for people who've watched the live- action show. However, it does a crummy job handling pretty much any character who isn't Sam or Dean. Also, the pacing of some of the overarching story stuff is occasionally jerky and uneven. Unless you're a rabid collector of all things Supernatural, this is a rental at best. The people who enjoy the novelty of seeing reinterpretations of the show will find something to get out of this but hardcore canon purists are best avoiding it at all costs.

I'm only on episode 4, since I got the boxset for xmas but so far I'm pretty happy with this series. Obviously it's gonna be a bit different from the live action and although deans voice is slightly different it's still quite close. I personally am enjoying this series so far, even the episodes which I know the ending because I've seen the live action. The anime style is very well drawn and has a slightly cowboy bebop feel to the artwork. Although there are some mistakes (like deans eye colour) the art and the anime is very good and its not a bad dub either. I'd consider myself a die hard fan and I love the live action. Obviously the live action isn't going to be as good as the spin off, but it's still a pretty good anime. 9/10 would recommend

Enjoyed immensely all 22 episodes of the 2011 "Supernatural" anime DVD, which is based on Seasons 1 and 2 of the live action series shown on The CW Network (USA). Not only is the animation superb, but it goes beyond the usual Japanese anime conventions into some really cool and gorgeous visual effects. Episodes are introduced by Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, as a team or separately, depending on the episode. Jared does the voice of "Sam Winchester" for all 22 episodes; Jensen voices "Dean Winchester" in episodes 21 and 22 -- "All Hell Breaks Loose, Parts I and II." Although Andrew Farrar, who voices "Dean" in episodes 1 through 20, does a fine job (and on occasion does sound eerily like "Dean"), the episodes voiced by Jensen Ackles are "pure Dean" and superior because of his distinctive vocal gifts.

In addition the anime features a number of original-story episodes that fit well into the Season 1 and 2 canons. They are well written, absorbing, and really fun to watch. The graphics and animation are truly outstanding on two distinct levels: (1) a jaw-dropping feel of "bigness," complexity, angles of view, and scary gore; and (2) lyrically beautiful color/contrast, architecture, design, and appeal. Having a nightmarish monster lurking in front of a background as delicate as a Hiroshige drawing is breathtaking! The DVD also contains an extended interview with Eric Kripke as well as in-depth interviews with Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles (together and individually) that really explore how this unique "Supernatural" project developed, and what the principals think about it. Very interesting stuff, as is the back office look at the Mad House Team that put this wonderful project together and the diverse elements that went into it. The choice of a female director to do the emotional, sensitive story lines and a male director to do the gore-and-guts action sequences was quite interesting.

Buy the "Supernatural" anime DVD; as a fan of either live action or anime -- or both, you will love it!

Sure, it isn't Supernatural. But if you want more and some other point of views or a bit more back story...and if you like anime..then give it a shot.

It isn't 60 fps like other animes though, it is what I would call 'choppy' and the use of black/white a lot of the time and not being actually 'noir' might turn some people off, I found that bit of animation kinda cool. The fact Sam is actually voiced by the real Sam makes it a bonus and the voice actor for Dean sounds pretty spot on is good enough for me.

Don't expect to be blown away or anything but if you are a fan of SN and aren't going to judge harshly then definitely give this a try. If you like both than you will probably enjoy this show.

If you like Japanese Anime like I do you will enjoy this series, now I never miss a beat when it comes to the original series so when I heard there was a animated one I jumped all over it. Now the person who wrote the other review didn't know what they were talking about this anime was very entertaining and at times veered away from the original series so you wont get that i know what happens next feeling also its well animated. Now the cons are Dean is defiantly not like his self in the series he's represented to be more of a klutz and not really a good hunter, also the demons were not creepy enough for me guess they were aiming for a younger audience (joke) and don't get me started on bobby ughh bad representation. All in all it was bland for lovers of the original series but a must watch for anime and supernatural lovers like myself . Enjoy