This show was made in America, wtf? I first saw this on the Japanese version of the Disney channel a couple of weeks ago here in Japan. I had no idea it wasn't made here.
Japanese writing on the title. Campy theme song that sounds like it was recorded in one of those "you can be a superstar!" instant demo tape karaoke booths. Cheap 2-D animation. Title of random English words that makes absolutely no sense in either language and would be considered an entire sentence if it had any recognizable parts of speech. Mouths that flick mechanically between four positions - open, closed, gaping hole, and nonexistent.
The whole thing screams your typical daytime-TV Japanese animated show that come a dime a dozen over here. And not the kind they have out now that takes advantage of more creative plot lines and modern animation techniques. I'm all for international exchange of art forms, but instead of emulating the Japanese shows that actually have plot and style, this show emulates all of the horrible and campy things that the Japanese are finally beginning to get rid of in their own animated shows. It's like Engrish, except that Engrish is only funny if it's seriously created by someone who doesn't speak the language. When the Japanese do it, it's cute. When Americans do it, it's silly. It makes my head hurt.
That said, I can't hate it. The animation is clean and flows well. And the English version employs my two favorite voice actors to voice the main character and the main villain. Who can go wrong with Mark Hamill playing the bad guy? And while it doesn't bring anything new to television that the Japanese haven't been doing for the last forty years, it's still the kind of show that I would probably have watched and loved as a kid. Today's kids will like it.
Japanese writing on the title. Campy theme song that sounds like it was recorded in one of those "you can be a superstar!" instant demo tape karaoke booths. Cheap 2-D animation. Title of random English words that makes absolutely no sense in either language and would be considered an entire sentence if it had any recognizable parts of speech. Mouths that flick mechanically between four positions - open, closed, gaping hole, and nonexistent.
The whole thing screams your typical daytime-TV Japanese animated show that come a dime a dozen over here. And not the kind they have out now that takes advantage of more creative plot lines and modern animation techniques. I'm all for international exchange of art forms, but instead of emulating the Japanese shows that actually have plot and style, this show emulates all of the horrible and campy things that the Japanese are finally beginning to get rid of in their own animated shows. It's like Engrish, except that Engrish is only funny if it's seriously created by someone who doesn't speak the language. When the Japanese do it, it's cute. When Americans do it, it's silly. It makes my head hurt.
That said, I can't hate it. The animation is clean and flows well. And the English version employs my two favorite voice actors to voice the main character and the main villain. Who can go wrong with Mark Hamill playing the bad guy? And while it doesn't bring anything new to television that the Japanese haven't been doing for the last forty years, it's still the kind of show that I would probably have watched and loved as a kid. Today's kids will like it.