It's going to be inevitable that this will be compared to the original.
The world is under threat from pollution and extinction of rare creatures and with an alien race threatening to accelerate this destruction, five girls are infused with the DNA of rare endangered creatures with the power to battle the alien threat, leaving Ichigo to balance a magical girl mission with dating.
The new series follows all the same story beats as the original but with a much cleaner opening scene. It's also learned a lot from Precure's aesthetic of having vibrant colour as it's biggest selling point and with less stock scenes it makes for a much cleaner series all round, the minor changes to the fashion keep it fresh for the modern era as well however some of the elements that didn't age well look so much worse now than they did back in the original, which means there is very little new to offer in this series.
It's very pretty looking but really hasn't evolved since the beginning, at least this version hasn't got a dub.
Final Verdict: For how aesthetically pleasing it is, there's nothing really new about the new Tokyo Mew Mew, which is a shame really.
For the purposes of this review all character names will be presented in English because 1. I've been really ill recently and 2. It's late while writing this.
Based on the first three games, Inazuma Eleven is a full on shonen soccer frenzy. Centered around goalkeeper Mark Evans who inspired by his grandfather rebuilds the Raimon Soccer team from nothing into a powerhouse world beating force.
Season 1 is about taking the nationals.
Season 2 is about stopping aliens.
Season 3 is about competing against the world.
Along the way evil forces, corruption and yes I said aliens will never stop Mark from achieving his dreams.
Unconventional is definitely the word I'd use as the lead character is a goalkeeper not a striker, not something you see in any fictional soccer media not even other soccer anime.
That's kinda why I gravitate towards it, it's painfully aware that it's a shonen and really runs with it, when you see how super human these techniques are, it makes Beyblade look tame, but it can also be it's greatest weakness, Mark is the last of a dying breed of what I dub the Ash Ketchum archetype, plucky underdogs who seemingly succeed against all odds, and it runs a regular routine of whenever someone beats one of his saves he goes through the same feelings to learn a new save to win, it's not just him, Axel has a chronic leave and rejoin routine, Willy is literally there to name techniques. Repetition isn't really the shows greatest sin, it's dub casting is, pick which do you find worst
1. A carnival of bad accents.
2. Bad ass characters who sound off all the time
3. It's obvious they didn't even try to hire a proper voice team.
But it does contain some good traits.
1. The changing cast keeps things fresh, especially with how weak the original season 1 team were.
2. It's surprisingly kind to it's female cast.
3. It can be pretty brutal sometimes
So a mixed bag of all sorts of fun.
Final Verdict: It runs a familiar setup story wise and many of it's shortcomings is usually down more to the dub but I find the anime endearing in it's shonen cheesiness.
I'm in a better position to review more anime, time for viewers to pick what I cover next, keep in mind if I have already covered it, then I'll just do a more in depth expansion or a character deep dive.
Joey the chin demands it.
The list this time around
Deltora Quest
You're Under Arrest
Divergence Eve
Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers
Chargeman Ken
Love Hina
Rail Wars
Carole & Tuesday
Nobunaga no Shinobi
Umi Monogatari
Wish I was in less pain writing this.
Lupin Zero attempts to tell the story of how a young Lupin took up the title of the 3rd as well as his first meeting with Jigen, not content with following the path laid out by his father and grandfather, a number of encounters in traditional Lupin madness helps him decide what kind of thief the 3rd will become.
Only six episodes to work with so it feels rushed in a lot of places where a few extra episodes could easily flesh out Lupin better, it's not difficult, Lupin is one of the easiest characters to write about and Jigen is a great choice to play off, but with not much to work with in regards to side characters and content it leaves the viewer wanting more. No dub, one of the few Lupin series that doesn't use a dub.
Final Verdict: It's Lupin, it's fun and frolics as usual but as a story it's weak and needed more episodes to flesh out
A recent trip to the heart of Europe allowed me to pick up on a few French cartoons, yet with today's subject, you wouldn't think it was French by the themes.
Celebrating 25 years on air, Totally Spies stars Clover, Sam and Alex as international agents of WOOHP - World Organization of Human Protection while trying to navigate school as rich Beverly Hills teenagers, it presents itself as a very self aware spy show with nods to Archie, James Bond, Charlie's Angels and Inspector Gadget, you wouldn't expect it to be French as it translates so well into English.
The secret to the shows enduring success lies in it's ability to allow it's lead trio to be flawed and isn't afraid to morph them into anything the show throws at them, a long running joke of the show in the fandom is that it awakened quite a few fetishes, it helps that the girls have an unlimited wardrobe next to their regular spy colours, it plays all these elements perfectly into making it the most memorable of the 2000s, all the characters even antagonist Mandy is fully fleshed out.
It's not perfect by any means, it has the Inspector Gadget problem of spin offs and modern versions feeling out of place in the spirit of the show, and while it is written well, I really miss Jerry, he was replaced in the most recent seasons by his daughter Zerlina, British wit plays off well when put against Beverly Hills teenagers and the funniest moments are often between Jerry and the spies.
Totally Spies is definitely in the top ranks as one of the best cartoons of all time while it has faded out of public view in the last couple of years, it still remains a big part of millennial anime fans viewing.
