saintbeacon

Easily one of strangest and most experimental GOOD shows ever made. This show is odd, challenging, unsatisfying, and utterly beautiful. Anyone without an imagination or a huge interest in animation will likely find very little to enjoy here, but for those who do, this is a goldmine. I find it somewhat miraculous that Gainax even took the risk of putting money into something like this. Let's see what we can find.

Visuals: This is some of the best animation that you are likely to see in a TV series. Due to the fact that this is a six-episode mini- series, the animators have no reservations and throw whatever they want at us. The animation can be atmospheric and reserved at times, but many scene become so wild and spastic that they must be viewed several times in order to be digested properly. This is what I call an "Expressionist" show, where the characters frequently go off- model or have extreme movements and contortions for the sake of expressing an emotion. The animation here is absolutely entertaining. It never gets boring or repetitive. In addition, the colors and lighting details look very good and give the show it's own atmosphere, really capturing the feeling of the town that it takes place in. In fact, if the visuals weren't so immersing and entertaining, I might not have stuck with the show to figure it out more.

Characters: I really like these characters. I would have a difficult time explaining exactly why, but I really do. They all have confusing personalities and back-stories, but there's enough characterization put into each of them that they all feel distinct and entertaining. Haruko herself brings so much insanity and entertainment to the show, what with her snidely high-pitched voice and hyperactive personality, that she quickly became one of my favorite character in animation. I feel like, in the end, they don't reveal as much to us about these characters as most shows would, and its hard to find someone "relatable" to grab on to, but they are still very enjoyable.

Storytelling: Here's where the show gets interesting to talk about. Ask anyone what FLCL is actually about, and there is a good chance they will draw a blank. The reason for this is that this show does not follow conventional exposition or storytelling at all. Each episode has its own internal conflict that is resolved with an epic climactic battle, but that's as close as the show will get to being like a "normal" animated series. There's a clear plot about Naota and Haruko that we are following, but there are things going on the background that are barely explained, and even the final episode, which makes few things clear, still opens the show up to a lot of questions. I used to think that Adventure Time had a challenging, low-conveyance style, but this show takes that concept even further. The dialogue and communication between characters is often confusing to the viewer, especially if the viewer isn't Japanese, and things often go by at a breakneck pace. I found myself re-watching each of these episodes several times after seeing the finale, and I found a lot of dialogue and exposition that I totally missed. I actually approve of this experimental style, as it requires a lot of thought and attention from the viewer, and makes it more re-watchable than most shows. The show uses it's insanity for the sake of art, and is open to interpretation. Two people could watch the same episode, and come up with two different descriptions of it.

Audio: This show uses a lot of punk-rock music in order to help carve out its own immersing feel and style. The music can get a bit too loud and grating during scenes where I feel it isn't needed, but the soundtrack itself really stuck with me, haunting me long after I finished watching the show. It's certainly distinct. The English dub of this show is also worth talking about. The line delivery is often strange, both for the sake of fitting to the animation and trying hopelessly to recapture the meaning of the original delivery. That being said, for a show that is so difficult to translate, the American actors did a really good job of capturing the way I want these characters to sound. The performances from Walhgren, Goodson, and the rest are very fitting.

All in all, this is not a show for everyone. Anyone who wants an animated show that is more challenging and experimental, but still has great production values and doesn't lose the immersion and beauty that a good animated show should have, DEFINITELY needs to check this out. There is nothing else like it.

Much like Uncle Grandpa, this is a simple, wacky, optimistic show that is driven mostly by the desire to tell jokes and make the viewer smile. There isn't much to it, but there's really very little bad to say.

Visuals: This show uses as style of animation similar to Craig's previous show, "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends". The animated acting and characterization is pretty good here, and the characters are free to express themselves. They don't go over-the-top with it as much as something like "Ren and Stimpy", restraining themselves to something similar to classical rubber hose cartoons. Wander's Smile is infectious and Felix-the-Cat-like. The main difference between this and Foster's is that the characters have very thick, slick-looking black outlines. The color scheme is very simple, but it looks decent. The movements of the characters tend to follow a rhythmic pattern with sounds effects that takes advantage of Flash, but not as much as possible. I really like Wander's design, but not all of the characters are so blessed. The style here isn't my favorite, but I can see people liking it.

Characters: This show is mostly driven by the strong, simple personalities of the characters. None of them are too complex or fresh, but none of them are too annoying or unlikable. The sympathy is usually where it should be.

Storytelling: Very simple and straightforward, as well as being fairly energetic. It can be somewhat predictable and follow patterns we've all seen before, but it works.

Audio: The music is distinctive, consisting mostly of folk tunes and banjo plucks. It helps give the show an identity. The theme song is so heinously catchy and smile-inducing that you will never get it out of your head, and I really like it for that. The voice performances also work pretty well. Wander has that "Nice-Guy" sound that he really needs.

To sum up, there really isn't too much to talk about here. This is just a show that wants to have some fun with you and make you smile if you'll let it. It's almost like a midway point between the typical Craig McKracken style and some sort of classical rubber-hose cartoon. Strangely, I think that "Mickey Mouse" fans might enjoy this, as will fans of Craig and Lauren's other shows.

As far as I'm concerned, this show is something of a "leftover" from Cartoon Network's darker years. Allow me to make it clear that think CN is at a new high when it comes to their shows, thanks to the likes of "Adventure Time", "Regular Show", "Steven Universe", and "Clarence". They also have "Teen Titans Go", which is awful. This show and "Uncle Grandpa" fall somewhere in the middle for me, and I will explain why.

Visuals: The visuals are probably the only interesting thing about Gumball. The use of mixed-media on this scale is rarely seen in animation, and will likely impress anyone who enjoys graphic design. There are numerous styles integrated here. Some characters look totally flat and flash-animated, others look hand-drawn, others are 3D models, and others look like puppets. The backgrounds are enhanced, photo-shopped images. I dislike the designs and animation on the main family, and I feel that the show has no coherent or immersing atmosphere the way that I think good cartoons should, but that doesn't stop me from being impressed. It's certainly a lot better than the Photoshop integration in "Breadwinners".

Characters: I personally don't like these characters very much. Gumball and Darwin are your typical wacky, naive, mediocre screwball protagonists that we've seen in a LOT of cartoons, and don't bring anything new to the table. They aren't the worst examples of this, but they aren't the best either. Most of the characters feel like stereotypes or archetypes that we've already seen numerous times. The dad is a typical man-child dumb dad (he even has a Homer-Simpson accent), the mother is a typical aggressive mother character, there's a grumpy neighbor who doesn't like the main characters even though they think he does, ETC...

Storytelling: Again, this show follows the basic "Spongebob Squarepants" style of writing and humor that every single comedy show on Nickleodeon (and a few on CN) have been using for a long time. There isn't really a unique style of writing at play here. Cartoon Network is thankfully growing out of this style, but Gumball is one more reminder of how prominent it is. There isn't much to say about the writing.

Audio: The voice-acting and delivery in this show is mostly shrill and cliché. The actors are very concerned with screaming and yelling. Ms. Simian has one of the most intolerable voices out there. I'll give them credit for giving each character a memorable voice, at least, and for getting actual children to voice the two leads.

All in all, this show can be watched, but it isn't necessarily recommended. If you really like the modern screwball style of humor, I'd recommend watching early "Spongebob", "Chowder", or "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends" over this. Thankfully, there's nothing heinous about it, it just feels a bit too corporate and commercial for my tastes. The visuals are at least worth a glance.