James' Review -Batman The Animated Series & The New Batman Adventures

 

He is vengeance. He is the night. He is Batman.

For decades across many comics, the caped crusader has fought injustice in Gotham and mesmerized many readers. However, his comic roots are not the only area where to find Batman. In the 1960s, a campy version of the Dark Knight, played by Adam West, graced the small screen alongside Burt Ward's Robin at a time when comic book adventures of superheroes in DC were more goofy after a big scare in the 1950s. In the 1980s, Batman returned to his darker roots and in 1989, the world saw Michael Keaton's Batman. After the success of Tim Burton's movie, a sequel dropped in the early 90s.

And it was in the 90s when a new Batman arose, starting a new era for DC on TV. But even though the DC Animated Universe wasn't fully established until crossover events came up and the Justice League aired, this was the beginning of Batman the Animated Series, starring the late Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne/Batman.

Starting in early September of 1992 all the way to September of 1995 before returning in September of 1997 as The New Batman Adventures and ending in January of 1999 with a total of 109 episodes, BTAS, developed by Bruce Timm, followed Batman as he battled iconic enemies such as The Joker and the now-iconic Harley Quinn, Penguin, Riddler, Red Claw, Killer Croc and Two-Face. The show, despite being family-friendly, carried a dark tone with some lighter stories and tackled deep, mature themes and was a fantasy superhero noir story. However, episodes like the two part Heart Of Steel were sci-fi based and were pretty akin to The Terminator or Blade Runner. In fact, I consider Heart Of Steel one of my favorite BTAS stories. 

Kevin Conroy, cast as Batman/Bruce Wayne, provides the character with two different voices to make them sound distinct when they interact with different people. Bruce talks in a soft, kind voice while Batman speaks in a deep, almost menacing voice, especially when talking to people who know Bruce Wayne. Alongside Kevin, other members of the cast include Mark Hamil of Star Wars fame as The Joker, Bob Hastings as Comissioner Jim Gordon, Robert Costanzo as Detective Bullock, and Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn. One episode features 1960s Batman actor Adam West as Simon Trent aka The Grey Ghost, the episode is called "Beware The Grey Ghost" and it's one of the best episodes ever.

My father and I spent a few years watching it and just recently finished seeing BTAS season three aka The New Batman Adventures with the episode "Mad Love", which adapts a comic story from a tie-in comic series, focusing on Harley Quinn and The Joker. Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures (which is technically seen as season three of the former) are impressive and incredibly well-animated by 1990s kids show standards and all three seasons are worth watching in their entirety. Full of action, thrilling stories full of plot and depth, Batman fans of future generations would enjoy seeing every moment of animated 90s Batman goodness. 9.9/10. 

RIP to Kevin Conroy, an incredible actor.

-James M

James M's review of Space Jam

 

Eh, what's up, Doc?

Yep, it's me, and I just recently saw SPACE JAM (1996) with my parents. Yup, THE Space Jam, starrin' Michael Jordan in a comical cartoony film with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and a slew of cartoony characters you know and love. It was a good film, very fun too. For it's time, the CGI looks gorgeous, and the animation for the toon world as well as the characters is real polished. Oh, and Lola Rabbit is cute, not going to lie. I like Wayne Knight's character as well, and it was funny that, at one point, Bill Murray got mistaken for Dan Aykroyd. You can't go wrong with such a light-hearted 90s movie. That's all I got to say for now.

See you.

-James M

James M's review of Mega Man Fully Charged (2018-2019)

 

Hey guys, its been a while, but I'm here to review the MEGA MAN FULLY CHARGED animated series from Wildbrain Studios and Man Of Action Entertainment. Been quite a while since I last covered something related to Mega Man, last Mega Man-related content that I covered was the Archie comic and the first crossover between Sonic & Mega Man. 

Don't worry, I will review the Mega Man fan film and some of the Mega Man games (including Mega Man X) in the future. But for now, we're talking FULLY CHARGED.

This is perhaps one of my favorite shows and favorite video game-inspired mediums, its fun and engaging, and it started airing on my 19th birthday the year it started. That's right, one of my favorite birthday gifts is the TV show MEGA MAN FULLY CHARGED. Its too bad this show didn't get a season two, but at least I can re-watch this and reread the Fully Charged comic eventually.

So, what is so special about this show, you are asking.

While the show is somewhat faithful to the games (just like the Ruby Spears cartoon apparently), MEGA MAN FULLY CHARGED takes place in a different universe and has its own unique style. This is due to the fact Capcom actually gave the writers at MAN OF ACTION permission to do their own thing with Mega Man but do it in a way without taking away the spirit of Mega Man.

In this universe, instead of being named Rock and having a robot sister named Roll, Mega Man is named Aki and he has a human sister named Suna. Also, Doctor Wily is not the show's antagonist, the role of which falls to an extremist named Sergeant Night, who is unmasked by the heroes at the end of the show. However, Wily has a nephew named Bert Wily and the doctor himself appears in the comics.

On a related note, Mega Man has a little robot assistant named Mega Mini, who is basically a voice in Mega Man's head. Meanwhile, the backstory of the world the characters live in revolves around a period called the Hard Age where humans and robots fought each other. Sergeant Night, the show's villain, is fighting to bring back that old feud between humanity and robotkind.

Luckily, Mega Man is on the scene to save the day, opposing Sgt. Night and the rogue Robot Masters, many of which are either derived from the video games or are completely new characters. The writers put their time and effort into this show, even the animation is well-polished. CGI cartoons are just as good as 2D cartoons, at this point, Fully Charged is my number two favorite video game cartoon next to Sonic Boom. 

From August of 2018 all the way to May of 2019, this show ran for a total of 52 episodes that were eleven minutes, just like the Sonic Boom episodes. Funny how that animation studios behind video game cartoons are almost obsessed with shows that have eleven minute episodes, hopefully, there will be video game shows in the future that will have thirty minute episodes.

Now, did I read the MEGA MAN FULLY CHARGED comic by Boom Studios?

Yes, I did. What do I think of it?

Not that bad honestly, its nice to see a Mega Man comic and that Fully Charged got a continuation in some capacity. Cancellation is just sad, it would be even greater if the show's universe received a further continuation in the future if there is enough fan demand from passionate fans. Capcom, you gotta continue Fully Charged. Don't leave it in the dust, find a way to give it a proper conclusion.

Small nitpicks aside, if there are Mega Man fans out there who want to see a good show like this, watch Fully Charged. You're not gonna find anything better than this one, Fully Charged may as well be the king of Mega Man extended media and video game TV shows if it got to be.

MEGA MAN FULLY CHARGED gets an 8.5 out of ten. Fun, action-packed, engaging and never soulless or bland, this show cannot be forgotten and its legacy will continue on for years to come.

Have a good day, Mega-fans.

-CVGWJames

James M's Review of ADVENTURES OF SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (1993)

 

Welcome back, Sonic squad. Its time for us to review the very first Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon that ever aired, the one that was wacky and memorable next to many others. We're looking at... ADVENTURES OF SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!

The year was 1993 and it hadn't been that long since the first Sonic game had released for the SEGA Genesis with Sonic 2 releasing over a year later. Sonic was popular and merch was flying off the shelf, even a comic book by Archie was about to happen while other comics and manga were happening. And in the midst of all that, two animated shows were about to air and one of them was none other than Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Starring many talented voice actors, Adventures took place in a cartoonish take on Sonic's world and focused on Sonic and Tails as they engaged in many wacky adventures and fought the evil Doctor Robotnik and his lackeys Scratch, Grounder and Coconuts to stop the villainous scientist from taking over the planet Mobius.

Assembled by the crew at DiC Productions (now known as Wildbrain, which still owns the rights to this show) and supervised by SEGA of America, Adventures ran for a total of 65 episodes from September to December of 1993 before it was given one more episode three years later with 1996's Sonic Christmas Blast.

In the years since it aired, the show, known as AoSTH, has earned itself a memorable legacy in the fandom and spawned a couple memes such as the well-known Robotnik "Pingas" meme, which was derived from a line in the episode Boogey Mania said by the doctor himself; 'Snoo-ping as usual, I see.' Yeah, I know, its almost hilarious on so many dang levels.

I, myself, watched this show and spent two years watching the whole show from 2011 to 2013. Having seen Adventures Of Sonic The Hedgehog, I can see why so many fans love it (even though SatAM almost appears to be the most talked about Sonic show thanks to Archie). AoSTH was popular for its time and was perhaps how some fans got into Sonic in the first place.

The show has countless memorable characters adding to the universe of AoSTH, ranging from (of course) Robotnik's S6 Squad consisting of Scratch, Grounder and Coconuts, Breezie the Hedgehog, Wes Weasely and Sergeant Doberman with countless voice actors providing their best talent. Even SatAM/Archie's Sally Acorn makes an appearance in the show's final episode.

So, what are my thoughts? 

AoSTH is pretty good for a Sonic show despite not being very faithful to the source material and Sonic Team's lack of involvement in it. It has so much charm, providing a fun and goofy Sonic experience that nobody, not even young kids, will ever forget. Even Robotnik himself can have his funny moments too, Long John Baldry sold it well as the doctor's voice and may he be long remembered as the man who gave the evil Doctor Eggman a voice before the games did.

Plus, as almost everyone knows, this show next to SatAM and the first two games served as the basis for Archie Sonic and the comic included many familiar faces from the cartoon such as the Super Special Sonic Search And Smash Squad and eventually included Breezie in the comic before the plug was pulled.

However, out of every AoSTH character that made it into the comic, AoSTH Robotnik's mother Mama Robotnik was left out due to very specific reasons with SEGA themselves. That's right, this show was one of the first pieces of Sonic media to give Robotnik a family and we got to see an interpretation of Eggman's mother. And boy, Mama Robotnik is quite terrifying if you let her be terrifying.

Most importantly, this show did get a game tie-in at one point in the form of Doctor Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, a re-skin of Puyo-Puyo featuring the AoSTH version of Robotnik and some of his Badniks from the cartoon. Despite AoSTH's lasting legacy, it is almost rarely referenced by current Sonic media due to policies at SEGA, but it was referenced in 2021's Sonic Encyclospeedia.

My score for this show, which was so good to see, gets a fine 8.5/10 for cartoon-y cheese and hilarity. Now, I will see you later for another review...

-CVGWJames 

James M's review of Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2019)

 

How do you do, people? 

We're back... with a review of BATMAN... VS TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES!

That's right, Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have a crossover movie. Plus, this was basically my first true animated Batman movie I ever saw and I'd already seen the first TMNT movie several years prior.

I watched this back in 2019 and saw it again in 2021 after getting it on DVD, this film is unbelievably good and has some fine quality animation and storytelling. The voice actors really had a ball with this one, even the writers seemed to have quite a lot of fun too.

Fun fact, this is not the first time Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have had a crossover. They had some crossovers in the comics beforehand, this movie is a bit of a loose adaptation of one of their first crossovers.

So, what's the story?

I'll give you a short rundown. Shredder teams up with Ra's Al Ghul to take over Gotham City and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles team up with Batman, Robin and Batgirl to stop them before the two villains succeed in their heinous plan.

This movie is a love letter to Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, even playing with all of the elements of both franchises, mixing the elements together to create one good experience. Seeing Joker get mutated into a snake by mutant mutagen is quite creepy and watching Scarecrow torment Leonardo with the fear of losing his brothers sure can give you the chills.

If you are a TMNT fan who wants to get into Batman or if you're a Batman fan who wants to see him interact with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, this movie is for you to see. But heads up, this film is very action-packed and it is PG-13, medium PG-13 as it nearly pushes the rating with the action as there are moments where you see blood. 

My score for the film is a solid 9.5 out of ten, BATMAN VS TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is one of the greatest TMNT and DC experiences out there next to so many films like the 2007 TMNT film, the 1989 BATMAN movie and the LEGO BATMAN DC SUPERHEROES UNITE movie as well as the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies.

Until next time, farewell, good friends.

-CVGWJames