I disagree about Chapel. Just because he wanted to kill Spawn does not make Chapel any less of a complex character. It just means there is more evil than good in him. Chapel still has to live with the horrible shit he did. That is why Spawn didn't kill him. Spawn knows that Chapel will never live in peace so Spawn decided to let him live as an ultimate middle finger.
Yes, but that complexity was undercut with how much emphasis they put on Chapel being a scumbag. It's only when Spawn decides to, and I paraphrase, 'let him live. Longer than he wants to.' that we see the humanity in Chapel come forth but it's undone due to the fact that we feel nothing towards the agony he finds himself in is in direct consequence to his actions and who he is; traitorous scum that got what was overdue to him.
3 things: 1.chapel said "wynn gave the order, but I wanted to do it" because he's macho & impulsive. he didn't mean it 2. I watched season1 with my grandma. she's an old, black, stone-faced woman who popped out & raised various retired service members..she liked it. that makes this anime great.hahaha 3. awesome review.thnx 4 sharing, sage
Chapel is also a very unhinged individual, and it's implied in both the show and comics that his life is depressingly empty outside of his love of killing. That's why it's shown that he really can't curb his violent tendencies when he's not on assignment, and he says as much to Wynn. Also, though it didn't come up on the show, as a consequence of the various experimental drugs he was injected with during his service, he contracted HIV, which left him with a very bleak outlook on life. Lastly, in the moment when Spawn was thoroughly fucking with his head, he was very likely just spouting off anything he thought could get back at his tormentor.
In the Angela side comics, she explains you have to get hunting permits and her dragon hunt permits took ages and a lot of favors. To hunt hellspawns might be the same setup.
How could an article acknowledge the existence of Gargoyles, the show, and still argue that Korra invented the animated drama (even if you're limiting the conversation to the US)??
I actually really liked Todd’s openings they felt atmospheric and I also liked all the multiple and insane things going on over seasons 2 and 3 it felt unbelievably eventful and left me wanting more
One of my favorite movies as a kid was a Japanese-Belgium co-production of Jack and the Beanstalk. I have no idea how my parents found it, it was on a VHS that had other videos on it so it must have been on TV at some point. It is so very anime and very 1970s. The background music is such a treat especially the inappropriate softcore track. No one has seemed to have heard of it but if Sage would be willing to review it I would mail him the copy I bought for myself for $7 off the Internet.
And I just remembered John Candy was in it. How is that a BAD thing? But, IMO, the best segment is the one with the scantily-clad warrior woman riding a dinosaur. It looked the best sounded the best and felt like a complete story that resolves instead of abruptly stopping.
I know probably nerds are going to want to lynch me, but "Anime" is just the world for animation in Japanese, it's not a word for a special kind of animation. Unfortunately around the 80 someone screwed up some translation and the "religion of anime" was created (just like any other modern religion everything is based in a miss-translation of something). The same applies to "Manga" for Visual novels or Comic books. So... there ya go: Regarding animation EVERYTHING is "anime" in Japan regardless of which country is was created. ok.... Flame on!
Well yeah; you're exactly right. However the problem comes into play when you look in the West instead of Japan. While anime is the Japanese word for animation, that isn't true outside of Japan. I think this is mostly due to two reasons: 1) Anime is rather different from "normal" Western animation, and 2) We don't have any other word to use for Japanese animation. There are many reasons for why anime is so different, but it mainly boils down to location, culture, style, and how it's made. So when you take all of this into account, it becomes a problem for people living in the West to accurately describe what exactly anime is. Because it's rather different from what we would consider "normal animation," but there isn't really a perfect way to describe what anime is to a Western audience either. Do I have a perfect answer as to what I think anime is? Unfortunately, not really; in fact, I more or less share Bennett's on this issue; I just know when I see it.
Also, I'm sorry for the kinda long post. I don't really disagree with you or anything; it's just that the subject is a little trickier than it may seem at first glance, and your definition can't really work in Western cultures as well as it does in Japan.
My favourite episode would have to be when Spawn and Calieostro confront a teenager who faces becoming a hell spawn after he faces dying when he joined his friends in a shootout
"a two bit xanatos" you joke, but when I first saw this when it came out I knew absolutely nothing about spawn and honestly thought for the first few eposides that it WAS xanatos
That entry on Korra ''creating'' a genre like that is just really REALLY jumping the shark. I get that not everyone is aware of a lot of older shows, whether it's American, European or Japanese animation, that did it first and did it BETTER. A lot of stuff outside of the usual anime or usual cartoon was made and had incredible ways of presenting character development, storytelling and world building. I'd give examples, but the article does in fact mention 2 (Batman TAS and Gargoyles) and, like Sage said, it downplays how much of an influence they were (and STILL are) in the animation industry, mainly for television, when it comes to presenting mature storytelling in shows that are aimed for kids, teens, etc. Despite the limited demographic they've managed to influence a good part of the media and they're beloved by the people who grew up with it and the people who watched it outside of the shows demographic. Korra's not a bad show, but it's not really a game changer like Batman TAS, Gargoyles and many others from various studios from all over the world.
"That entry on Korra ''creating'' a genre like that is just really REALLY jumping the shark." Wasnt responding to you now you ruined it he'll never see my comment
Angry Robot I'm willing to say it was a game-changer for a short period of time but not as much as its predecessor was it just did its thing very very well. But not everyone's trying to emulate it like they were Avatar... also I still think Korra is a good show but it is definitely agreeable that it was a far less balanced and consistent quality experience than ATLA was. To for a moment play devil's advocate I would not argue that the article is correct in examining it as a pioneer of dramatic serialized animation and it's important to note that just because you're not technically the first show in a genre doesn't mean you're not the one that actually makes that genre what it is so yes I could argue that Korra is a genre maker for those reasons... but I can't and it's because it isn't. Too many shows existed before it that did more than Korra did to animated drama and ignoring them is wrong
@Christian Schmude I can tell you flat out that is Korra is consider a "game-changer" by any metric then it has nothing to do with its actual themes or drama and more to do with characetrs exuality if in the same entry that acknowledge it's predecessor that had just as much if not more drama that didn't need to hinge so much of politics.
This is my favorite animated series of all time, as well as my favorite comic book character to boot, so to say I'm completely objective in appraising it would be a lie and a half. For my part, I'll just disagree that season 2 didn't live up to season 1, as Spawn's confrontation with Chapel in particular was one of my very favorite moments in the whole show. In fact, I'd say it even surpasses the way that particular meeting occurs in the comics, as it has a much more psychological edge to it, with Spawn absolutely breaking his already unstable mind and leaving him to wallow in his madness and guilt. It comes off as a much more deliberate and malicious punishment than the one he inflicted on him in issue #13 (minus the whole "cutting his face off" thing). The problem with season 3, on the other hand, is, that everything it set out to do was intended to be continued as the Heaven vs. Hell conflict took a more central focus, which was no doubt the plan during the season 4 that never happened. The Armageddon arc of the comics is a pretty good indicator of the direction the story would likely have taken. The Angela thing did end up going nowhere, which is a bit strange since they basically picked up that plotline with the Jade character in the 3rd season, whose relationship with Spawn pretty much mirrors Angela's completely, even to the point where her death kinda foreshadowed Angela's death in issue #100 a year later. I would definitely say to anyone who's interested in the series, try to get the individual seasons on DVD instead of the complete series. They're presented more like an animated movie, with no intro and ending sequences except at the very beginning and end, and I find this is a much better way to watch it.
Fun fact: Japan created its own Spawn continuity. This alternate story follows Ken Kurosawa rather than Al Simmons and has him fighting other Hell Spawns.
I loved this show when it first came out, though admittedly, I was probably a bit too young when I first started watching it. I do remember being annoyed that it's final season was open-ended, with no real conclusion though.
Spawn is definitly a good show that just simple didn't go to it's potential. Thou I can say similary to the comic books. They have good ideas and artwork but I think it takes forever to get to some sort of plot. I didn't them in a regular order so I don't know the full story, but every isue I have read seems like a part of a veryyyyyyyy long origin story. Plus, it really buffles me the fact that Spawn is still going to this day, despite the fact that everyone ignores it like one of those 90' things that never continue past their time. And jugding buy this silance I can safely assume that the newer isuess are not very good.
with angela you have to remember that thats almost exactly how it happens on the comic this is before she popped up every other issue and became insanely popular so they couldnt do much anything with her. also gaiman, fact that shes even in this is pretty noteworthy
Fun fact: there is a manga adaptation of Spawn that is set either along side or after the events of the movie or comics, its never stated. It expands the world a bit and is not that bad a read. I know because I have 3 volumes of the thing
Spawn follows the comics pretty damn close, all of these loose ends are tied later in the comics, I promise. They would have been tied in the show had the show gone on long enough. Don't forget to look into source material at least a little when you're doing a review.
Yeah any time I watch this series, I keep it to just the first season. It has a beginning, middle, and end, and it’s pretty satisfying on all fronts. The second season leads into the third and the third goes absolutely nowhere, ending on another cliffhanger that’ll never be resolved. It’s absolutely maddening to me.
From what I understand, the basics of Chapel in the comic is that he was a heartless mercenary bastard, forced to be a ‘hero’ on the team Young Blood, Suicide-Squad style (bomb in his head) combined with some form of mind meddling. Then he realises his former partner, Al, died and came back as Spawn. So if Al could do it, Chapel figures he could do it too. So Chapel commits suicide to become a hell spawn. Hell’s impressed with him so makes him another force of hell’s army. At least, that’s what I think happened. It was a really shitty story, made all the worse by Leifeld being the artist and writer on it, and the whole thing was done in the god-awful Young Blood comic, and effects NOTHING in THAT series’ overall narrative.
I like most of of Todd's intros. They were lame but cool at the same time. I believe that's what tropeers call Narm Charm. Overall this is one of my favorite shows and wished they hadn't stopped it. I accept all it's flaws but still ultimately love it.
The problem with Over-Kill is a problem of the source material (he was useless in the comics too) not particularly of the animated show, still great review Sage
You know...I always picture a guy in a trench coat sitting in a dark alley while lighting a cigarette..and we can only see his hands and some parts of his upper body while he's giving a narration about the nature of good and evil and the only time we see the guy's face is the brief flash from his lighter as he's lighting up. Don't know why.
About your beginning thing about defining anime and stuff. It always bugged me how people say it can't be anime unless it was made in Japan because of it's definition. And whenever I saw things outside of Japan are anime, they label it "anime inspired". Which bugs me because that means two people could draw the exact same thing but because of geography or even race, one is authentic and the other isn't. What do your think?
I think you were overthinking it. Anime is the Japanese word for animation. Back in the day when it was harder to obtain Japanese animation in the West, the word anime was very useful to European and American fans looking specifically for Japanese animation. Back before google was invented, finding Japanese comics and animations could be a real struggle depending on where you lived. At least here in Bumfuck, Sweden, we never would bother to look specifically for certain creators or even certain studios, we just soaked up anything from Japan and hoped it would be good. That's why we needed the "anime is Japanese animation" distinction back then, and that's why I think it's retarded to call for example American animation "anime" regardless what it looks like, unless you are actually a Japanese person using the word for all animation.
@Lucas Carvalho Japan often out-source in to Korea whenever they need to fit a tighter schedule or fall behind. In that since, if it is a Japanese product or IP just being worked on in another country.
In the comics, Cogliostro is in reality Cain, the first assassin in the history of man. Since it was still too soon for that revelation to be even thought upon during the series' run, it is instead largely hinted that he became the Arthurian Merlin, dedicated to help other hellspawns to become human again.
Rewatched it recently. And I actually got depressed. The Todd McFarlane version of NYC makes the Jason Takes Manhattan version look charming by comparison.
Dude spawn was amazing that was a great series. I can't follow you on this one with the character complaints. The voice acting was strong. The look was sweet. The animation over all was strong. Chappell also said he wanted to do it because he was trying to show bravado.
I remember trying to watch the spawn movie once when I was in elementary or so, but that's about it, I did see toys and other stuff of it around here and there but that's it
I would like to point out that "overkill" is actually "overt-kill" with a T in there for some reason. Also even in the comics he kind of comes out of no where and disappears just as fast. They do this with several of the nemesis characters and I think their idea was that spawn doesn't know what the fuck is going on so dropping in characters might occasionally bring that feeling across to the audience. Also many of these characters comeback later, but seeing as how the show got canceled this doesn't happen here. The comics also weirdly downplay all of the action. No matter who he fights, spawn always seems slow and clumsy and often just barely wins, which is odd seeing as how a well trained, but completely human assassin seems to do just as good against him as a supernatural creature or cyborg.
neo bear Your memory of the comic is a hair off. In the issue in which he premiers, they do announce that his name is Overt-kill, but he is most often called Overkill, by the characters in the comic, supposedly due to his enthusiasm for murder. It makes as little sense as anything else in that rag.
Jeremy Cantrell overtkill is his official name, but yes people do call him overkill. Honestly I think its as much a joke about his actual name being stupid so people just auto correct it when they hear it.
Korin Well..it's because Last Airbender has a couple of guys working as filter for Konietzko and Dimartino..and since they were not there during the writing of Korra..yeah, we're looking at the duo that ruin their creation faster than Lucas did.
It had so much potential. And they just botched it all. Season 1 was good for the most part, 2 was insufferable except Wan, 3 was good only because of Zaheer, and 4 had the potential, but nope, had to have some colossal mech instead of a far more reasonable canister of atomic bomb-esque weapon shot from a cannon into cities. Geez it makes me so upset. And of course they just had to slack on the animation and backgrounds too, along with the characters. Which is the complete opposite of Avatar. Yeah the ending could have been a little better, but overall, phenomenal once you get to episode 4 of Season 2.
was the soundtrack to this show ever released? it's errie and I love it..also some same cutting edge 90s sound effects from Halloween 6: the curse of michael myers
I need to slap the person who wrote that article on a sofa and force feed them older shows. Seriously? There were a ton of series that started in the 90's with this. Batman:TAS and Exosquad were the first two. In the following years we had Gargoyles, Beast Wars, Reboot, and even Mighty Max presenting good drama and moral dilemmas that followed mature concepts. I understand, people often automatically dismiss cartoons because they are aimed at children. They never bother watching, only to regret it later. I remember Roger Ebert talking about Mask of the Phantasm, and how he skipped and ignored the movie, only to discover how much better it was than the actual live action movies. But by that time, it was no longer in theatres, and he knew it was a lost chance to promote a legitimately well done movie.
Didn't forget any of those, just pointing out some the the earliest ones. Which go as far back as 1992. Anime has done serious things earlier since the 70's, but to Say Korra is the first is rather insulting.
I propose the flowing definition of anime: A style of animation, originating in Japan, which has a distinct stylistic appearance, and a cinematic language of it's own.
I agree with this definition and I also want to point out another thing. The youtuber Digibro made a video about this topic and in his opinion, wich I agree with, something is considered anime if it is made exclusively by Japanese production companies, despite the origins of the story. This is why shows like Halo Legends or Ninja Slayer are considered anime.
+Meep “the” Changeling Okay, but then it becomes a matter of defining what exactly that cinematic language is and what that stylistic appearance looks like.
Anime isn't a genre, it's a style. And you just kind of know it. Like, Avatar and Code Lyoko I'd consider anime, but Batman: The Animated Series and Spawn I probably wouldn't.
You pointed out some flaws that I never noticed before, and after hearing you out, I do agree with you on. For example, I agree with you on Chapel, I never noticed how he flip-flopped with his feeling towards Al. They messed up on an opportunity to make Chapel a great character. I also agree that Win is a pretty one-dimensional character and that the show did get over ambitious during the 2nd and 3rd season, but that never really bothered me. I do disagree about Keith David, I think his talent is utilized perfectly for Spawn and no one could have done it better. I still think it's a great show despite the flaws that you pointed out.
I have a love hate relationship with the spawn series. It was written pretty well but lime you said there were characters like Angela who just appeared and "poof" gone. She was a spawn hunter why not throw her in the mix? The vampire in season 3....ok....we got a vampire now trying to kill spawn...And the three things that irritated me after watching this was 1. The clown was barley in season 3. 2 Jason Wynn disappeared after the dope house scene and 3 they leave the last episode of series so wide open. He finally asks for help to regain his humanity. Wanda's devil baby isn't born yet, Wynns still running around looking to have the power of hell not to mention a bounty still on spawns head. I kept saying to myself...."uhhh is there a season 4???...anybody?"
Definitely agree with you on Chapel. His intro made me so interested, and I kept expecting a followup, but nothing. Real big disappointment, the biggest right after the series having no ending
For me i just call any animation that comes from Japan anime simply because in Japan that is what they call animation.. and well i call american cartoons just cartoons because that's what we call animation here in the USA Cartoons.. I like many types of cartoons.. and even tho people like to call more adult themed cartoons.. just animated movies or series.. i still refer to them as cartoons lmao.. and when i get a person who asks me what anime is .. i simply reply.. They are Japanese cartoons..
6:37 And they still had that stuff, up to either 2009, or when AT&T bought HBO's parent megacorp, Time-Warner. 7:38 That one wasn't all bad. The soundtrack rocked, of course. 12:19 Maybe they were betting on more Angela in a 2nd season? Anyway, MovieBob did his damned best to make sense of the MacFarlane/Gaiman feud in The Big Picture. 17:45 OK, so far, I've mostly seen Spawn just sit and mope, and get his ass kicked.
Sage is wrong on Mysterious Cities Of Gold: it was a Saban-Levi co-production and actually the first cooperation between a french and japanese studio. If he bothered to check the original french sources he would have known that it was very much animated by a Japanese studio, with the documentary parts and original audio handled by the french studio. It's an anime by virtue of being, gasp, japanese animation! Source: I'm french-canadian, I literally grew up on Les Mysterieuses Cites d'Or, and I read so much about MCO's development that I have mad respect for how hard that kind of international co-production was at the time and the show pulling it off. (Still have to watch the second season that came out last decade, I need to stop getting distracted.)
His point is this: Is it still "anime" if the concept, story, source and directors weren't Japanese? If any outside influences were involved in the production of a Japanese animated film, is it anime in the strictest sense?
I've come to the decision that if an animated series draws so heavily from the anime aesthetic and style despite not being made by or for a Japanese audience I think it deserves just as much right to be called anime we just need to make that distinction between geographic region. The fact that we can sort of draw lines in the sand specifically because of geography I think really does limit are art and what it's capable of which is why I hate the statement which some people say unironically "it's not a cartoon; it's anime". Personally I think that if it's animated then it's a cartoon yes cartoons have a specific aesthetic and connentation but I got to admit I still classify animation at-large has cartoons and that that should not be something to be ashamed of
As much as I liked Legend of Korra but yeah, it's alot less dramatic then the other shows they listed. Had they even seen Mr. Freezes debut episode in Batman tas!?
Well to be fair Chapel was probably just saving face when he said to Spawn that he enjoyed killing Al since he immediately freaks the fuck out when Spawn shows him his face.
I liked this show and was only disappointed that it stopped after only 18 episodes. They could take another shot at it given how many animated US-centric dramas are being made these days (Invincible, Vox Machina, etc.). It probably won't happen. Oh well. Also, Kids in the Hall is the best sketch show. If Mr. Show had made it to 100 episodes tho...
there were loose ends because it seemed like they were wanting to make a continuous series... I mean the comic has all of those story archs and yes they happen simultaneously... ... but only because they get resoluted as the comic goes along. I mean it gets MAJOR when it comes down to Overt-kill and his consistent reincarnations... how he keeps losing his humanity more and more as he is brought back throughout the comic. Then CyGor appears as another cyborg type from the same origin. I think spawn the series was meant to go beyond where it was stopped.
my only memory of this show is 'ah we're going to meander a bit in the story, ah meandering, meandering, hey you know lets meander around waiting for the story to get going, yup this build up is fucking great, we have the foundation for something great, ah more meandering, no no, I'll wait *inhale* *exhale* ah, more meandering. A'ight, fuck this.
"Anime is like pornography, I know it when I see it" funny but really true
For me I treat Anime like a video game, it depends on how much hours you are invested to it or zoning out just to avoid reality
I disagree with you Sage,Keith David does an outstanding job as Spawn,Keith David is even returning as Spawn in Mortal Kombat 11
#respectforkeithdavid
I actually liked Spawn the animated series, it really capture the dark feeling of the story and felt creepy at times
So does Bennett.
we all like spawn man. even the animated series.
Way better than the movie
I disagree about Chapel. Just because he wanted to kill Spawn does not make Chapel any less of a complex character. It just means there is more evil than good in him. Chapel still has to live with the horrible shit he did. That is why Spawn didn't kill him. Spawn knows that Chapel will never live in peace so Spawn decided to let him live as an ultimate middle finger.
Why’d he feel bad though if he didn’t feel bad? Pointless scene?
@@gaminggoof1542 Because I WANTED to do it!!
Yes, but that complexity was undercut with how much emphasis they put on Chapel being a scumbag. It's only when Spawn decides to, and I paraphrase, 'let him live. Longer than he wants to.' that we see the humanity in Chapel come forth but it's undone due to the fact that we feel nothing towards the agony he finds himself in is in direct consequence to his actions and who he is; traitorous scum that got what was overdue to him.
AAAAAUUUUGH!!! I WANTED TO DO IT, AL! I WAAAAAANTED TO DO IIIIIIT!!!! [cries]
I WANTED TO DO IT!!
He's also already dying of AIDS, but we don't talk about that.
3 things:
1.chapel said "wynn gave the order, but I wanted to do it" because he's macho & impulsive. he didn't mean it
2. I watched season1 with my grandma. she's an old, black, stone-faced woman who popped out & raised various retired service members..she liked it. that makes this anime great.hahaha
3. awesome review.thnx 4 sharing, sage
Chapel is also a very unhinged individual, and it's implied in both the show and comics that his life is depressingly empty outside of his love of killing. That's why it's shown that he really can't curb his violent tendencies when he's not on assignment, and he says as much to Wynn. Also, though it didn't come up on the show, as a consequence of the various experimental drugs he was injected with during his service, he contracted HIV, which left him with a very bleak outlook on life. Lastly, in the moment when Spawn was thoroughly fucking with his head, he was very likely just spouting off anything he thought could get back at his tormentor.
In the Angela side comics, she explains you have to get hunting permits and her dragon hunt permits took ages and a lot of favors. To hunt hellspawns might be the same setup.
Thats all welll and good. But doesnt really explain why it was made a part of the show in this regard.
The cut from Todd McFarlane to Are You Afraid of the Dark? is hilarious.
The animation in this show is so good that in dark/night time settings it almost looks like it was created digitally
How could an article acknowledge the existence of Gargoyles, the show, and still argue that Korra invented the animated drama (even if you're limiting the conversation to the US)??
It makes even less sense if you limit it to the United States.
I actually really liked Todd’s openings they felt atmospheric and I also liked all the multiple and insane things going on over seasons 2 and 3 it felt unbelievably eventful and left me wanting more
One of my favorite movies as a kid was a Japanese-Belgium co-production of Jack and the Beanstalk. I have no idea how my parents found it, it was on a VHS that had other videos on it so it must have been on TV at some point. It is so very anime and very 1970s. The background music is such a treat especially the inappropriate softcore track. No one has seemed to have heard of it but if Sage would be willing to review it I would mail him the copy I bought for myself for $7 off the Internet.
But
ARE YOU HAPPY?!?!!
@@jamesvanitas 😁
I really want a Hellboy and Spawn Crossover.
Don't forget Ghost Rider.
And devilman
@Noneya Business yeah, and it would be glorious
HellBoy and Spawn are awesome!
Hey, whoa, Heavy Metal kicks ass. The B-17 segment is a classic.
Yeah. That little offhand remark nearly had me have it in for Sage.
And I just remembered John Candy was in it. How is that a BAD thing? But, IMO, the best segment is the one with the scantily-clad warrior woman riding a dinosaur. It looked the best sounded the best and felt like a complete story that resolves instead of abruptly stopping.
"I know it when I see it."
Perhaps, but that'll never fly in court.
I really liked Spawn, it was really haunting
I know probably nerds are going to want to lynch me, but "Anime" is just the world for animation in Japanese, it's not a word for a special kind of animation. Unfortunately around the 80 someone screwed up some translation and the "religion of anime" was created (just like any other modern religion everything is based in a miss-translation of something). The same applies to "Manga" for Visual novels or Comic books.
So... there ya go: Regarding animation EVERYTHING is "anime" in Japan regardless of which country is was created.
ok.... Flame on!
+putosdegoggle meteteplusporelculo THANK YOU !!
+putosdegoggle meteteplusporelculo THANK YOU !!!!!
Well yeah; you're exactly right. However the problem comes into play when you look in the West instead of Japan. While anime is the Japanese word for animation, that isn't true outside of Japan. I think this is mostly due to two reasons: 1) Anime is rather different from "normal" Western animation, and 2) We don't have any other word to use for Japanese animation. There are many reasons for why anime is so different, but it mainly boils down to location, culture, style, and how it's made. So when you take all of this into account, it becomes a problem for people living in the West to accurately describe what exactly anime is. Because it's rather different from what we would consider "normal animation," but there isn't really a perfect way to describe what anime is to a Western audience either.
Do I have a perfect answer as to what I think anime is? Unfortunately, not really; in fact, I more or less share Bennett's on this issue; I just know when I see it.
Also, I'm sorry for the kinda long post. I don't really disagree with you or anything; it's just that the subject is a little trickier than it may seem at first glance, and your definition can't really work in Western cultures as well as it does in Japan.
Exactly, its all animation I don't know why people cant just call it what it is anime isn't a genre.
im gonna say this, the person who voices jade is also Chun Li in the first live action Street Fighter Movie
My favourite episode would have to be when Spawn and Calieostro confront a teenager who faces becoming a hell spawn after he faces dying when he joined his friends in a shootout
"a two bit xanatos"
you joke, but when I first saw this when it came out I knew absolutely nothing about spawn and honestly thought for the first few eposides that it WAS xanatos
Madhouse I have heard of this
Matt McMuscles did a good breakdown of Spawn's origins on his channel if anyone needs a primer.
That entry on Korra ''creating'' a genre like that is just really REALLY jumping the shark. I get that not everyone is aware of a lot of older shows, whether it's American, European or Japanese animation, that did it first and did it BETTER. A lot of stuff outside of the usual anime or usual cartoon was made and had incredible ways of presenting character development, storytelling and world building. I'd give examples, but the article does in fact mention 2 (Batman TAS and Gargoyles) and, like Sage said, it downplays how much of an influence they were (and STILL are) in the animation industry, mainly for television, when it comes to presenting mature storytelling in shows that are aimed for kids, teens, etc. Despite the limited demographic they've managed to influence a good part of the media and they're beloved by the people who grew up with it and the people who watched it outside of the shows demographic. Korra's not a bad show, but it's not really a game changer like Batman TAS, Gargoyles and many others from various studios from all over the world.
korra fans are the worst
"That entry on Korra ''creating'' a genre like that is just really REALLY jumping the shark."
Wasnt responding to you now you ruined it he'll never see my comment
Angry Robot I'm willing to say it was a game-changer for a short period of time but not as much as its predecessor was it just did its thing very very well. But not everyone's trying to emulate it like they were Avatar... also I still think Korra is a good show but it is definitely agreeable that it was a far less balanced and consistent quality experience than ATLA was. To for a moment play devil's advocate I would not argue that the article is correct in examining it as a pioneer of dramatic serialized animation and it's important to note that just because you're not technically the first show in a genre doesn't mean you're not the one that actually makes that genre what it is so yes I could argue that Korra is a genre maker for those reasons... but I can't and it's because it isn't. Too many shows existed before it that did more than Korra did to animated drama and ignoring them is wrong
@Christian Schmude I can tell you flat out that is Korra is consider a "game-changer" by any metric then it has nothing to do with its actual themes or drama and more to do with characetrs exuality if in the same entry that acknowledge it's predecessor that had just as much if not more drama that didn't need to hinge so much of politics.
I watched Spawn on HBO just recently, it was good. If then had made another season I would of watched it. Just to see where it would of gone next.
This is my favorite animated series of all time, as well as my favorite comic book character to boot, so to say I'm completely objective in appraising it would be a lie and a half. For my part, I'll just disagree that season 2 didn't live up to season 1, as Spawn's confrontation with Chapel in particular was one of my very favorite moments in the whole show. In fact, I'd say it even surpasses the way that particular meeting occurs in the comics, as it has a much more psychological edge to it, with Spawn absolutely breaking his already unstable mind and leaving him to wallow in his madness and guilt. It comes off as a much more deliberate and malicious punishment than the one he inflicted on him in issue #13 (minus the whole "cutting his face off" thing). The problem with season 3, on the other hand, is, that everything it set out to do was intended to be continued as the Heaven vs. Hell conflict took a more central focus, which was no doubt the plan during the season 4 that never happened. The Armageddon arc of the comics is a pretty good indicator of the direction the story would likely have taken.
The Angela thing did end up going nowhere, which is a bit strange since they basically picked up that plotline with the Jade character in the 3rd season, whose relationship with Spawn pretty much mirrors Angela's completely, even to the point where her death kinda foreshadowed Angela's death in issue #100 a year later.
I would definitely say to anyone who's interested in the series, try to get the individual seasons on DVD instead of the complete series. They're presented more like an animated movie, with no intro and ending sequences except at the very beginning and end, and I find this is a much better way to watch it.
Fun fact: Japan created its own Spawn continuity. This alternate story follows Ken Kurosawa rather than Al Simmons and has him fighting other Hell Spawns.
I loved this show when it first came out, though admittedly, I was probably a bit too young when I first started watching it.
I do remember being annoyed that it's final season was open-ended, with no real conclusion though.
This sounds promising, and as a fan of "Are You Afraid of the Dark?", that reference was appreciated and well-done.
Spawn is definitly a good show that just simple didn't go to it's potential. Thou I can say similary to the comic books. They have good ideas and artwork but I think it takes forever to get to some sort of plot. I didn't them in a regular order so I don't know the full story, but every isue I have read seems like a part of a veryyyyyyyy long origin story. Plus, it really buffles me the fact that Spawn is still going to this day, despite the fact that everyone ignores it like one of those 90' things that never continue past their time. And jugding buy this silance I can safely assume that the newer isuess are not very good.
with angela you have to remember that thats almost exactly how it happens on the comic
this is before she popped up every other issue and became insanely popular so they couldnt do much anything with her. also gaiman, fact that shes even in this is pretty noteworthy
Fun fact: there is a manga adaptation of Spawn that is set either along side or after the events of the movie or comics, its never stated. It expands the world a bit and is not that bad a read. I know because I have 3 volumes of the thing
Spawn follows the comics pretty damn close, all of these loose ends are tied later in the comics, I promise. They would have been tied in the show had the show gone on long enough. Don't forget to look into source material at least a little when you're doing a review.
Cop (to Twitch, teasing): Why do they call you Twitch?
Twitch: "because I don't!"
Yeah any time I watch this series, I keep it to just the first season. It has a beginning, middle, and end, and it’s pretty satisfying on all fronts. The second season leads into the third and the third goes absolutely nowhere, ending on another cliffhanger that’ll never be resolved. It’s absolutely maddening to me.
From what I understand, the basics of Chapel in the comic is that he was a heartless mercenary bastard, forced to be a ‘hero’ on the team Young Blood, Suicide-Squad style (bomb in his head) combined with some form of mind meddling. Then he realises his former partner, Al, died and came back as Spawn. So if Al could do it, Chapel figures he could do it too. So Chapel commits suicide to become a hell spawn. Hell’s impressed with him so makes him another force of hell’s army. At least, that’s what I think happened.
It was a really shitty story, made all the worse by Leifeld being the artist and writer on it, and the whole thing was done in the god-awful Young Blood comic, and effects NOTHING in THAT series’ overall narrative.
I like most of of Todd's intros. They were lame but cool at the same time. I believe that's what tropeers call Narm Charm. Overall this is one of my favorite shows and wished they hadn't stopped it. I accept all it's flaws but still ultimately love it.
D Mallow good on you for the ‘narm charm’ point
I am so very glad I bought the DVDs why back when. I still love this seires, its not great but very fun to watch.
Twitch just wasn't a badass he was "the badass"
The problem with Over-Kill is a problem of the source material (he was useless in the comics too) not particularly of the animated show, still great review Sage
^
same with angela
A whole bunch of characters from those early days that Todd McFarlane washed his hands of
I'll defend two things about Heavy Metal: The voice cast was basically SCTV and the Captain Sternn bit was pretty good
You know...I always picture a guy in a trench coat sitting in a dark alley while lighting a cigarette..and we can only see his hands and some parts of his upper body while he's giving a narration about the nature of good and evil and the only time we see the guy's face is the brief flash from his lighter as he's lighting up. Don't know why.
nobody judge, that now I wanna find some fan art of Spawn interacting with Daria(hey only because both were pretty much as 90's as it got)
As a fan of Spawn, I love this damn show.
Don’t you mean this… _damned_ show?
9:00 it's Fat Albert.
sam and twitch are why you read the comic
About your beginning thing about defining anime and stuff. It always bugged me how people say it can't be anime unless it was made in Japan because of it's definition. And whenever I saw things outside of Japan are anime, they label it "anime inspired". Which bugs me because that means two people could draw the exact same thing but because of geography or even race, one is authentic and the other isn't.
What do your think?
I think you were overthinking it. Anime is the Japanese word for animation. Back in the day when it was harder to obtain Japanese animation in the West, the word anime was very useful to European and American fans looking specifically for Japanese animation.
Back before google was invented, finding Japanese comics and animations could be a real struggle depending on where you lived. At least here in Bumfuck, Sweden, we never would bother to look specifically for certain creators or even certain studios, we just soaked up anything from Japan and hoped it would be good.
That's why we needed the "anime is Japanese animation" distinction back then, and that's why I think it's retarded to call for example American animation "anime" regardless what it looks like, unless you are actually a Japanese person using the word for all animation.
@Lucas Carvalho Japan often out-source in to Korea whenever they need to fit a tighter schedule or fall behind. In that since, if it is a Japanese product or IP just being worked on in another country.
Man, the Violator has a monstrous form of Cho'Gath from League of Legends, and the voice of Rockoon from T.O.M.E.
Should't that be Cho'gath has the same monstrous form as Violator since Spawn came out first?
Subject:153 True.
+Subject:153 thank you
@@subject153 "Things happen in the order I perceive them!"
what a festeringly dumb comment
In the comics, Cogliostro is in reality Cain, the first assassin in the history of man. Since it was still too soon for that revelation to be even thought upon during the series' run, it is instead largely hinted that he became the Arthurian Merlin, dedicated to help other hellspawns to become human again.
Rewatched it recently. And I actually got depressed. The Todd McFarlane version of NYC makes the Jason Takes Manhattan version look charming by comparison.
Really I thought he was trying to pull a Goosebumps
Dude spawn was amazing that was a great series. I can't follow you on this one with the character complaints. The voice acting was strong. The look was sweet. The animation over all was strong. Chappell also said he wanted to do it because he was trying to show bravado.
I remember trying to watch the spawn movie once when I was in elementary or so, but that's about it, I did see toys and other stuff of it around here and there but that's it
I would like to point out that "overkill" is actually "overt-kill" with a T in there for some reason. Also even in the comics he kind of comes out of no where and disappears just as fast. They do this with several of the nemesis characters and I think their idea was that spawn doesn't know what the fuck is going on so dropping in characters might occasionally bring that feeling across to the audience.
Also many of these characters comeback later, but seeing as how the show got canceled this doesn't happen here. The comics also weirdly downplay all of the action. No matter who he fights, spawn always seems slow and clumsy and often just barely wins, which is odd seeing as how a well trained, but completely human assassin seems to do just as good against him as a supernatural creature or cyborg.
neo bear Your memory of the comic is a hair off. In the issue in which he premiers, they do announce that his name is Overt-kill, but he is most often called Overkill, by the characters in the comic, supposedly due to his enthusiasm for murder. It makes as little sense as anything else in that rag.
Jeremy Cantrell overtkill is his official name, but yes people do call him overkill. Honestly I think its as much a joke about his actual name being stupid so people just auto correct it when they hear it.
Ohh the good days of television. I feel safe and warm inside.
I see a Girls Bravo DVD!!
WE DO NOT SPEAK OF THAT IN THIS HOUSE!!!!
Nicodemus Edwards But...THE BOOBS
+Valora390 the Wolfie (Val) Tits are great, but smut has to either have a good plot, the bare skeleton of a plot, or no plot.
+valora390 Boobs cannot always save a series
Korra? Drama? I needed that laugh.
+SMAXZO Korra was aight doe.
Caped Baldy
Yeah..for the first season...and maybe season 3 for the most metal death in a cartoon.
SMAXZO Yeah. Poor Pli
Korin
Well..it's because Last Airbender has a couple of guys working as filter for Konietzko and Dimartino..and since they were not there during the writing of Korra..yeah, we're looking at the duo that ruin their creation faster than Lucas did.
It had so much potential. And they just botched it all. Season 1 was good for the most part, 2 was insufferable except Wan, 3 was good only because of Zaheer, and 4 had the potential, but nope, had to have some colossal mech instead of a far more reasonable canister of atomic bomb-esque weapon shot from a cannon into cities. Geez it makes me so upset. And of course they just had to slack on the animation and backgrounds too, along with the characters. Which is the complete opposite of Avatar. Yeah the ending could have been a little better, but overall, phenomenal once you get to episode 4 of Season 2.
I really like the presentation and the voice acting in this show. I might seek it out.
was the soundtrack to this show ever released? it's errie and I love it..also some same cutting edge 90s sound effects from Halloween 6: the curse of michael myers
I need to slap the person who wrote that article on a sofa and force feed them older shows. Seriously? There were a ton of series that started in the 90's with this. Batman:TAS and Exosquad were the first two. In the following years we had Gargoyles, Beast Wars, Reboot, and even Mighty Max presenting good drama and moral dilemmas that followed mature concepts.
I understand, people often automatically dismiss cartoons because they are aimed at children. They never bother watching, only to regret it later. I remember Roger Ebert talking about Mask of the Phantasm, and how he skipped and ignored the movie, only to discover how much better it was than the actual live action movies. But by that time, it was no longer in theatres, and he knew it was a lost chance to promote a legitimately well done movie.
Didn't forget any of those, just pointing out some the the earliest ones. Which go as far back as 1992. Anime has done serious things earlier since the 70's, but to Say Korra is the first is rather insulting.
Lucas Carvalho Shoot man I barely remember prince Valluant. Was maybe 4 when I was watching that. They stopped airing reruns shortly after.
Blade has an anime
Anyone else ever thought how great it would be if there were a Manga Abandon?
I propose the flowing definition of anime: A style of animation, originating in Japan, which has a distinct stylistic appearance, and a cinematic language of it's own.
I agree with this definition and I also want to point out another thing. The youtuber Digibro made a video about this topic and in his opinion, wich I agree with, something is considered anime if it is made exclusively by Japanese production companies, despite the origins of the story. This is why shows like Halo Legends or Ninja Slayer are considered anime.
Eamonn Deane Maybe. Although Teen Titans is not an anime. To me its still a childhood classic.
+Eamonn Deane no I'm not worried and I don't care if he gives a negative review. He could do that review.
+Meep “the” Changeling
Okay, but then it becomes a matter of defining what exactly that cinematic language is and what that stylistic appearance looks like.
Anime isn't a genre, it's a style. And you just kind of know it. Like, Avatar and Code Lyoko I'd consider anime, but Batman: The Animated Series and Spawn I probably wouldn't.
you have to give props at how good the animation is
I do hate what angela looks like though
What was the other show Sage was talking about that was on HBO with Spawn?
You pointed out some flaws that I never noticed before, and after hearing you out, I do agree with you on. For example, I agree with you on Chapel, I never noticed how he flip-flopped with his feeling towards Al. They messed up on an opportunity to make Chapel a great character. I also agree that Win is a pretty one-dimensional character and that the show did get over ambitious during the 2nd and 3rd season, but that never really bothered me. I do disagree about Keith David, I think his talent is utilized perfectly for Spawn and no one could have done it better. I still think it's a great show despite the flaws that you pointed out.
Thankfully Todd doesn't do intros on the DVDs I have.
Nice pfp, who's the character and artist?
I love Spawn. I think it was perfect and really deserved another season.
+Marlo Mitchell Agreed
So anyone wanna clue me in on the Todd McFarland/Neil Gaiman beef Bennett alludes to?
It was over the character Angela.
Todd, from my understanding, likes to claim complete ownership over characters he co-created.
I have a love hate relationship with the spawn series. It was written pretty well but lime you said there were characters like Angela who just appeared and "poof" gone. She was a spawn hunter why not throw her in the mix? The vampire in season 3....ok....we got a vampire now trying to kill spawn...And the three things that irritated me after watching this was 1. The clown was barley in season 3. 2 Jason Wynn disappeared after the dope house scene and 3 they leave the last episode of series so wide open. He finally asks for help to regain his humanity. Wanda's devil baby isn't born yet, Wynns still running around looking to have the power of hell not to mention a bounty still on spawns head. I kept saying to myself...."uhhh is there a season 4???...anybody?"
Todd has answered your wishes. A new Spawn T.V. Show is coming.
Definitely agree with you on Chapel. His intro made me so interested, and I kept expecting a followup, but nothing. Real big disappointment, the biggest right after the series having no ending
Loved this series and Todd McFarlane is awesome
For me i just call any animation that comes from Japan anime simply because in Japan that is what they call animation.. and well i call american cartoons just cartoons because that's what we call animation here in the USA Cartoons.. I like many types of cartoons.. and even tho people like to call more adult themed cartoons.. just animated movies or series.. i still refer to them as cartoons lmao.. and when i get a person who asks me what anime is .. i simply reply.. They are Japanese cartoons..
legend of korra and its prior series did start the dramatic animation back up again inn recent years
6:37 And they still had that stuff, up to either 2009, or when AT&T bought HBO's parent megacorp, Time-Warner.
7:38 That one wasn't all bad. The soundtrack rocked, of course.
12:19 Maybe they were betting on more Angela in a 2nd season? Anyway, MovieBob did his damned best to make sense of the MacFarlane/Gaiman feud in The Big Picture.
17:45 OK, so far, I've mostly seen Spawn just sit and mope, and get his ass kicked.
8:45 - Fat Albert meets the Emo Cyborg.
omg the mysterious cites of gold! i haven't seen that since i was like 5 :) ok now i know what I'm downloading today :)
I like to say anime is an animation style. Its not a genre.
It seems like the world at large can't agree on what is what
Since when the hell was it a genre I thought it was another type of animation.
'Animation originally created in Japan for a predominantly Japanese audience'. Probably not perfect, but...
Well isnt that the point? To look spooked
Sage is wrong on Mysterious Cities Of Gold: it was a Saban-Levi co-production and actually the first cooperation between a french and japanese studio. If he bothered to check the original french sources he would have known that it was very much animated by a Japanese studio, with the documentary parts and original audio handled by the french studio. It's an anime by virtue of being, gasp, japanese animation!
Source: I'm french-canadian, I literally grew up on Les Mysterieuses Cites d'Or, and I read so much about MCO's development that I have mad respect for how hard that kind of international co-production was at the time and the show pulling it off. (Still have to watch the second season that came out last decade, I need to stop getting distracted.)
His point is this: Is it still "anime" if the concept, story, source and directors weren't Japanese? If any outside influences were involved in the production of a Japanese animated film, is it anime in the strictest sense?
Lol clown is just a jugglao
I've come to the decision that if an animated series draws so heavily from the anime aesthetic and style despite not being made by or for a Japanese audience I think it deserves just as much right to be called anime we just need to make that distinction between geographic region. The fact that we can sort of draw lines in the sand specifically because of geography I think really does limit are art and what it's capable of which is why I hate the statement which some people say unironically "it's not a cartoon; it's anime". Personally I think that if it's animated then it's a cartoon yes cartoons have a specific aesthetic and connentation but I got to admit I still classify animation at-large has cartoons and that that should not be something to be ashamed of
Watching this due to MK11 character release.
I know a bit late.
and now they are making a new spawn tv series, hopefully it will be better :)
Wait what your shitting me
Alex Mansfield No I'm not that's what Todd Mcfarlane has said on twitter :)
PrincessLockette
no no, this can't be true, nothing can ever be this good
2017 and still no spawn :v
Good.
KORRA!?! DRAMATIC!?!
DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT DRAMATIC MEANS???
I feel like you should read that comics and see what some of the characters like overkill exist in the world in spawn
Todd Mcfarlane is a very poor substitution for the great Garth Marenghi, indeed!
I want more spawn
Spawn movie was pretty good. Nostalgia goggles sure, but I wouldn't call it shitty. Pretty awesome effects and costumes at least
Would you consider Cyber Six anime?
What? No "Waaaaandaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" ? 3 seasons, 6 episodes each... 666.
As much as I liked Legend of Korra but yeah, it's alot less dramatic then the other shows they listed.
Had they even seen Mr. Freezes debut episode in Batman tas!?
Well to be fair Chapel was probably just saving face when he said to Spawn that he enjoyed killing Al since he immediately freaks the fuck out when Spawn shows him his face.
This is one of my favorite shoes ever
GOOD REVIEW, totally agree with everything said here. Fair and level headed
0:24 name of the anime please?
I liked this show and was only disappointed that it stopped after only 18 episodes. They could take another shot at it given how many animated US-centric dramas are being made these days (Invincible, Vox Machina, etc.). It probably won't happen. Oh well.
Also, Kids in the Hall is the best sketch show. If Mr. Show had made it to 100 episodes tho...
yeah...Ninja Sentai Kakuranger's Narrator is in universe as well....though he's played for laughs
there were loose ends because it seemed like they were wanting to make a continuous series... I mean the comic has all of those story archs and yes they happen simultaneously... ... but only because they get resoluted as the comic goes along. I mean it gets MAJOR when it comes down to Overt-kill and his consistent reincarnations... how he keeps losing his humanity more and more as he is brought back throughout the comic. Then CyGor appears as another cyborg type from the same origin. I think spawn the series was meant to go beyond where it was stopped.
Love this! subscribed💕
my only memory of this show is 'ah we're going to meander a bit in the story, ah meandering, meandering, hey you know lets meander around waiting for the story to get going, yup this build up is fucking great, we have the foundation for something great, ah more meandering, no no, I'll wait *inhale* *exhale* ah, more meandering. A'ight, fuck this.