Young Justice: Season 1

The series starts with Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash getting fed up with their mentors treating them like sidekicks. In an attempt to separate themselves they go on an unapproved mission to Cadmus headquarters in response to a fire. While there, they discover Superboy (a secret cloning project of Superman) and free him. Together they form a team of young superheroes (later adding  Ms. Martian, Artemis and Zatana to their ranks), and cover missions that the league hands them. During their missions they start noticing a trend of unrelated supervillians working together, and investigate who the masterminds are behind a recent string of crimes. Who is the light?

*SPOILER WARNING*

Just in case you missed my last issue it is impossible for me to go fully in depth with my feelings towards a series without covering all of it. So, if you haven't seen Young Justice and don't want to be spoiled please seek another article.

Now that we have that unpleasantness out of the way, Young Justice is a series that seems to mature more and more as the episodes progress. In the first couple of episodes the characters are a bit cut and dry. They don't really have any back story so the creators have to rely on gimmicks, and catch phrases to get the audience emotionally invested. Robin's questioning towards grammar starts to feel played out after the first couple of times you hear it. Superboy's laughable dialogue seems less like rage induced blather and more like lazy writing. Aqualad is pushed aside for the more notable (likable) characters, even though he seems the easiest to understand. All of the story line seems cliche and half-assed. Fortunately enough, the creators start to get their act together relatively early in the series. You can notice that the creators stop treating the people (most likely children) watching this series like idiots, and recognizing their faults. It all comes together when Artemis joins the team, and her back story is introduced in episode six.

As soon as Artemis get's introduced we see a character with depth, and that depth seems to be contagious because the other characters come down with it too. Artemis being the product of a family of criminals was an interesting addition to the collective backstory of the team. When that happens, we notice Aqualad start to realize the weight of leadership, and see his heart get broken by his first love. These arcs not only give him depth, but add a layer of relatability that none of the characters match. Yes, I know that some people can relate to the "neglectful father" story they were going with for Superboy, and there are other arcs that some people can relate too; but, Aqualad's is universally shared. We all have that one first love that either broke our hearts, or shaped our future in romance. The weight of leadership can be understood by people of all ages. You are either the leader of a team, in some sort of management position at a job, or the ring leader for your friends. Hell, even kids that play video games can understand the weight of leadership story, and it is unfortunate that we don't see more of that in cartoons. It is not only a relatable storyline, but an educational storyline, preaching confidence and how to deal with the calls you make.

Superboy is the next on my list. Superboy started off just being the angry bastard son of Superman, but turned into an overly protective boyfriend, and an addict. Let me explain. Eventually, when Ms. Marian and Superboy get together there is an episode where the team finds out that Aqualad had been keeping the possibility of a "mole" on the team a secret. During this time, Superboy shows signs of being overly protective in regards to his new girlfriend. They address his issue to be sure, but there are still those moments where Superboy has to catch himself before he falls back into the trend. That is what I like about the overly protective boyfriend arc, it shows us a character that tries to self improve. The addict thing was just fun. Not only does it show one of the negative effects of steroid use (anger), it shows that Lex Luthor would make his "son" an addict if it meant the destruction of Superman.

Ms. Martian gives us that time old tale of segregation, but shows the lengths someone would go through to hide it (if they had the ability like she did). Many people within the LGBTQ community can relate to this, with having played it straight for so long, but can other minorities relate to it? Would African Americans do the same during segregation? Asian Americans during WWII? Even if it isn't a minority aspect there are all things that make us want to put on a new face. Whether we are to heavy, got made fun of in school, have acne, etc. What really strikes me is when she insists that the body she is posing in "is who she is." She says that her outward appearance reflects her inner thoughts.  That can easily be compared to a social comment on gender identity, or cosmetic surgery; but, before I ramble on let me wrap this up. Ms. Martian shows us the segregation aspect, as well as the prospective of someone who can start fresh somewhere new in a more appealing body, which all make her one of the most fascinating characters on the show.

As much as I love Ms. M, she wasn't my favorite. As you could probably deduce from my praise of her before, my favorite character of the show was Artemis. Yes, I can relate to Ms. M, and yes I love that they made her character a symbol of empowerment; but, I have to appreciate the solid writing that went into the character creation of Artemis. She proves that we can be more than the some of our parts, and turn out better than our surroundings. I may love being able to relate my outsider feelings with Ms. Martian, but that feeling will always pale in comparison when I can relate to someone like this. When you grow up poor, you know that (odds are) you will be poor until the end of your days unless you work twice as hard as the people that had things handed to them. From the day we are introduced to Artemis we see her struggle twice as hard for acceptance. That may have had something to do with Speedy being pushed aside; but, we are constantly reminded of trust issues regarding her. Just think what she would have had to go through if the entire team knew of her relations from jump street. We see her struggle for acceptance, prove herself time and time again, until the point when the time comes for her to tell the team it is not as big of a deal as it would have been from the start.

In the end, this season was great and I still have another season to talk about in coming issues. Warner Brothers doesn't often disappoint with their animated programming, and this is just one in the amazing line that they have produced. Give it a look see, but I have to warn you that it has been cancelled so try not to make the mistake I did getting emotionally invested in the series. As of right now we are only getting two seasons out of those heartless bastards.

Sword Art Online: Season 1

Welcome to my new blog! I was going to wait on public opinion to see if anyone would actually read these reviews, then I decided to say screw it and write the reviews anyway (since I honestly love doing this). Plus, this Anime I just watched lit the fire under my ass to start. You can expect these reviews to be done at my discretion since most of these series have many episodes, and I will take requests for this as well considering the series is not too long (I can't watch hundreds of episodes of Bleach or Naruto and write a review on that). These reviews will always be on Tuesday, and will cover series of Anime or Animated American series. You can expect that I will make no comparison to the source material if there is source material (just assume I didn't read it). One last thing. Everyone of these reviews will most likely have spoilers, because there is no way for me to go fully in depth with my feelings unless I am allowed to cover all of the series. That is basically it. I hope you all enjoy this new addition to the Dustin line.

Gamer's wet dream, Feminist's cold shower

Our story begins with Kirito booting up a brand new virtual reality game called Sword Art Online. He goes through the game on it's first day of release with minimal problems, and meets a friend named Klein. After a full day of gaming the pair attempt to call it a day when they realize that the log out button (to bring them back to the real world) has disappeared.  A voice comes over the world claiming to be the game's creator, stating that if the players attempt to log out in any way they will die. It states that if their character dies in this game, it will also kill them in the real world. The only way to get back to the real world is to beat the game's final boss on the hundredth floor. Kirito takes it upon himself to find a way out of this game and help release the other players. 

The first season is split up into two parts, so I will be stating my opinion on both. To start, the first part of this was brilliant. A unique concept that gives a very real edge to the world of gaming. There are some obvious call backs to things that happen while in an online game (like a man playing a female character or gaming lingo) that make the experience hit home a little more. There are subtle character developments that deal with the psychology of the players after being held in the game for over two years. There are characters that get introduced with intriguing and grasping story arcs. The protagonist is a bad ass, and is dating a bad ass female character. All of these angles lend themselves to creating a memorable, and lasting experience. The plot is original, the characters are either relatable or heroic, the small (seemingly insignificant) stories always hold at least a small amount of weight and development. The only part that seemed a bit on the worse side came when the lead gets together with his MAIN love interest, sending the relationship into overdrive. Within two episodes they are married, have a house (with two beds because....Japan?), and adopt some random kid. Also, the fact that I couldn't stop asking myself how their real bodies were surviving without sustenance until about fourteen episodes into the series was distracting.  

Now we get to the second part....OY. I say "Oy" because I know I am going to get backlash on this, and I have to ask people that are unfamiliar with foreign countries to broaden their mind to insest. Yes, insest. Apparently, foreign countries have some different rules when it is applied to cousins. I have an Italian friend (from Italy, not one of the schmucks you see on "Jersey Shore") that tells me about crushes he has on his cousins, so I guess I am used to the talk. Don't let that distract you from the obvious downward spiral this series takes after the first part. When Kirito clears the game and finds himself back in the real world, only to be brought back into another virtual reality game where his life is not on the line, the series' gripping nature takes a nose dive into uninteresting territory. Yes, I know his "love" was still in mortal danger. Yes, I know the final boss fight made it so he could experience real pain. Color me uninterested when I am being constantly reminded that Kirito is not actually putting his life on the line. I always hear someone in the series say "it's not like we are really going to die," and it makes me want to pull my hair out. Not to say the the entire second half was a complete bust. The love angle with Kirito and his "sister" was generally intriguing, and added an air of taboo that I loved seeing. The new game seemed more interesting then Sword Art Online.... because magic, and fairies, and shit. The new villain was less complicated than the original villain, but easier to hate. There was a little too much rape for my taste (like a scene where the Japanese just had to put in some tentacle porn). Overall, the second part was good, but the first part was fantastic. I wish that this would have gone in reverse somehow so they could have saved the best for last. It was like getting to the top of Mount Everest, seeing the world in all of it's glory, then realizing you still have to make the trip down. It was a great time, but damn I wish I could have just stayed on the top. 

Let's talk about something that will probably have you all running for the hills. Feminism. For those of you that frequent my other review articles, you will take note that I don't usually make comments on things like this. I never really take social stances on things in my articles because I honestly don't want to hear from the two people that read these reviews on "how I am being preachy." When something is just sitting there, staring me in the face like this I have to comment on it. Why in the hell would you take one of the strongest characters in one game and make her a princess to save in the next? Asuna was a bad ass in the first part of this series. Yes, she cooked but let the woman cook, she still kicked all sorts of ass, even more than the male characters. The creator of this could have easily made Kirito the one that needed to be saved, or Yui; but no, for some reason it had to be the strong female role model. I know there is something to be said (due to all the rape scenes) about how even the strongest woman is susceptible to sexual assault; but no, I want my strong female lead. 

There is something else that I feel deserves comment. I finally got to see the main guy get the girl. There are so many Anime series' out there where a guy is surrounded by women who throw themselves at him, and for some reason never gets laid. If he isn't in a harem, he is constantly trying for the girl's attention, and getting shot down. It is just a bit refreshing to see the guy finally get some.

Since I won't be making any comments on voice acting for Anime, or art, I will leave it specifically to story; now is where I tell you my favorite character of the series (you can expect this in the blogs to come). My favorite character of this series was Yui, and the only person that gave her a run for her money in that area was the game creator, Kayaba Akihiko. I love a man shrouded in layers, but Yui was just fascinating. She had an unnatural ability to put a player at ease, but the more pain she saw the worse she felt. She saw Kirito and Asuna being happy, was intrigued and basically adopted them as her parents. In part two of the season she kind of got pushed off as a more helpful Jiminy Cricket, but even her as a helpful conscience was interesting. Constantly cock blocking her father because he belonged to "mommy," and commenting on his racing heart beat around girls. Being created for a purpose that ultimately became useless, and finding comfort in seeing someone else's happiness so much that she wanted to always be with them. Interesting, lovable, and ultimately won out for my affection.

In the end, this series did so much to make me love it, then smacked me across the face and put me in an abusive relationship. I didn't hate it, I have just seen way better, and expected better from what the premise promised. The first delivered on that promise, the second half drug the first half down. The ending was ultimately forgettable. Mainly just tying up lose ends for a reunion episode. I don't know why someone's first inclination after surviving an MMORPG where you can actually die is to go back to playing MMORPGs, but whatever. A lot of people seem to love this series, but it just wasn't for me.