Your Top Favorite Animated Shows

[Lord Il]

Naruto & Bleach

Well damn..... that took a lot of guts to admit to those two titles!

Nah, seriously, I used to like both back in the day. I guess they just felt dragged and worn out as time went on. But that's only my opinion.

[LordGoku]

Yeah I know how reviled and despised they are, but once you accept their MANY flaws they're okay. Though I will admit I dropped Naruto when it was in filler mode. And I did not like one bit some of the well...spoilery stuff in Naruto. Bleach, when you accept that it doesn't have much of a story to tell, and is just about the fights is pretty decent. Though YMMV on how much you like the action.
One Piece is flawless though. Just putting it out there.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Well, you certainly shouldn't feel ashamed to like what you like. It's no secret that I used to be a fan of both series when they were at their best. It's just that my tastes changed over time, and their best no longer really appealed to me, and after a certain point both series got ridiculously stupid.

That said, I'd never look down on anyone else for enjoying them. After all, I've liked some admittedly stupid stuff, myself (I mean, HXH can get monumentally stupid at times, as much as I still love it).

As for One Piece, by definition it can't be flawless because Fishman Island exists. Pre-time-skip One Piece is still legit good, though. After that, it's a mixed bag.

[Avaitor]

Recently, the Paley Center compiled a list of whom a collective group of random people consider to be the 30 funniest cartoon characters ever, and since it sucks, I won't share it (heads up- this aired on Fox). Instead, I felt like compiling my own list of the same.

This is entirely personal, and while this isn't a list of my favorite cartoon characters, it might as well be. Just add a few anime and Gargoyles characters, and bam.

30- General Specific and Private Public
29- Dexter's Dad
28- Jeff (Clarence)
27- Homer Simpson
26- Dale Gribble
25- Quick Draw McGraw
24- Ed and Bev Bighead
23- Screwy Squirrel
22- Lana Kane
21- Dudley Do-Right
20- Johnny 2x4
19- Krusty the Clown
18- Summer Smith
17- Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote
16- Tom and Jerry
15- Mojo Jojo
14- Bill Dauterive
13- Foghorn Leghorn
12- Fred Flintatone
11- Yzma and Kronk
10- Rick Sanchez
9- Rolf
8- Sylvester
7- Sterling Archer
6- The Wolf (MGM)
5- Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle J. Moose
4- Dr. Algernop Krieger
3- Ed, Double D, and Eddy
2- Bugs Bunny
1- Daffy Duck

[Avaitor]

Looking over that list, there are a few characters that I can't believe I missed, like Coach McGuirk and Elmer Fudd. And I also skipped over a few characters that I really like, because they're not as funny. For example, I'm actually a bigger fan of Barney than Fred, but Fred's superiority complex and uncontrollable anger is where The Flintstones' laughs come from.

But that top 5 is pretty definite for me.

[Avaitor]

There's a thread on tz asking about your favorite eras for TV channels in regards to animation, and I shared these choices.

Cartoon Network from 1999-2004- The CCF era

I like a lot more of Hanna-Barbera's works than many people my age do, but even I could easily get tired of some of their best works, at least if that's the only thing the channel was showing. But if Cartoon Network's original series couldn't cut the bread, then that wouldn't even matter, huh?

Thankfully, CN knocked it out of the park with their first few originals, as Dexter's Lab, Johnny Bravo, and Cow & Chicken won me over instantly as I started to tune into the network. I was already a fan of what they had to offer when The Powerpuff Girls aired, which only strengthened my dedication to the channel. By the time Ed, Edd n' Eddy eased out of its early awkward phase and started to become one of the great, I was a lifelong devotee of what Cartoon Network offered.

So when an entire block to their winning originals aired, I knew that I had something to look forward to every week, as a grab-all of some of the best things modern animation could be responsible for. A good half dozen or more series would premiere on this block before it molded into the Fridays lineup. Some great, others not so much, and we got a lot of pilot shorts to examine and even the brief appearance of Samurai Jack repeats.

But besides the winning originals, there was a lot to offer from Cartoon Network's schedule. As more hit originals were being made and taking over screentime, we were losing more older series, but a lot of the best still aired handsomely. You could just as easily see The Flintstones on primetime along with something Johnny Bravo, which is crazy to believe now. This is also when the merging of Time Warner allowed for the pre and post-48 Looney Tunes to air together, as they always should. And Toonami was similarly at the height of its power, airing great shonen series such as Dragon Ball and Yu Yu Hakusho with more varied partners like Tenchi Muyo!, Outlaw Star, and various Gundam series. Not to mention a fair supply of the DCAU and Warner's comedy series airing around this point, even giving CN the premiere of Justice League. I honestly feel like there was something for everyone on Cartoon Network at this point.

Besides the end of Cartoon Cartoon Fridays, I think that the reformatting, and later cancellation of Dexter's Lab, Powerpuff Girls, and Johnny Bravo signified the end of this high period for me. At least for originals, but relegating The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and even Looney Tunes primarily to Boomerang, and cutting Toonami to a Saturday-only affair also stung. I still had the Eds to keep me watching, and a few other solid series to focus on, but this will always be my favorite era of CN.

Cartoon Network from 2014-now- Good stuff era

So, let's face it. Ed, Edd n' Eddy and The Powerpuff Girls are just as good now as they were when they were new. If not better. I'm proud to be have caught the majority of their run as they aired new episodes. But I don't really feel sorry for the children who didn't get to experience these, or my other CN childhood favorites.

Why? Because their current slate of originals is more than strong enough to hold their own against the finest of Cartoon Network's history. I'm cheating a little here, as I didn't really start to pay attention to their recent series until the past year or two, but even then, while I do find the greatness of Adventure Time and Regular Show, and also really enjoy Gumball, it's Steven Universe and Clarence which have especially caught my attention, as it feels like with each episode, both shows find something new and challenging to accomplish. We Bare Bears is another good show, and Over the Garden Wall was a fantastic miniseries. Uncle Grandpa and Teen Titans Go! aren't always to my taste, but those also has some good moments, enough for me to check up on them every now and then.

I would have eaten most of this up as a kid, but the important thing is that with most of these, I'm excited to tune in every week. I do wish that some of the CCF era's variety in scheduling was still around, but hey, kids don't really watch television the same way that we used to. If we can just get more DVDs of some of these series, I'd be happy.

Nickelodeon from 1994-1997- Pre-KC takeover era

I'm playing around a little here, but the first Nicktoons aired a month or so before I was born. Not to mention that Doug doesn't really do anything for me now, and I only especially like a handful or so of Ren & Stimpy episodes. But as a kid? I ate them up, as well as the other Nicktoons from this period.

It was around this time that Nick became more cartoon-friendly, as Doug and Rugrats started to air daily around the end of their original runs, which was standard for the channel at the time. Soon, they wouldn't wait as long to air their other series on a frequent basis, and it would become easier to watch Rocko and Real Monsters beyond their main airing dates, and we'd soon get more good series with Hey Arnold! and Kablam!

I did start to lose track of their originals when The Angry Beavers aired and didn't impress me, and even moreso when I felt similarly uninterested in CatDog and The Wild Thornberrys. I was still catching up with the Nicktoons that I was a fan of, but by this time, Cartoon Network was taking up most of my cartoon viewing.

That's about it from the top of my head. I don't really feel right to add in eras that I wasn't exactly able to watch, like the first few years of the Disney Afternoon, and I can't think of much else. But I was, and continue to be happy with each of these periods of cartoon watching.

Do you guys have any similar ones to note?

[Avaitor]

Also, reading through this thread again was really cool, since it's fun to see how some of the user's tastes have changed over the years.

But some haven't changed that much. A few series come and go in my personal favorites, but I've had a very consistent base overall, and while he has indeed grown as a person, Spark knows what he likes.

[Spark Of Spirit]

This might not really count for your subject, but my favorite will probably always be:

The Disney Afternoon from 1990-1996 - The Adventure era

I'd always enjoyed Disney beforehand, but I think this block solidified a lot of potential I didn't know at the time they had (not knowing of Barks or most of their live action output) by mixing adventure and comedy in a serial with some surprisingly good animation that kept me hooked every day after school. I included up to 1996 to make sure I got in the full original run of Gargoyles and a bit of wiggle room for Aladdin since, after that, the blog entirely changed focus, lost its original appeal, and ended up dying.

Though I barely remember the first year of the block, I still do remember a good chunk of Gummi Bears and was rather surprised at how much it holds up now. The rest of the shows I remember more because they were on longer, but it was the next four shows that really stuck with me as I watched.

DuckTales was the first show that had almost everything I liked as a kid, and still like now, solidified into one show. Rescue Rangers doesn't quite have the appeal it once had, but it still is quite unique for what it was. Though TaleSpin is probably the most underrated show on the block being both high flying adventure, old-time screwball comedy, and with some great characters. Darkwing Duck was certainly the surprise hit, however, being both a parody of superheroes and incredibly over the top and gag-ish at the same time--it definitely deserves the comic book series it has.

Then there was Goof Troop, which I think has managed to outdo every single modern attempt to blend sitcoms and gag cartoons by never forgetting that it can do both. This wasn't adventure focused like the others, but it was a welcome breath of fresh air in the middle of the others. Though it did subtly change the aim of the block. Bonkers tried to marry Roger Rabbit with a more sitcom format, though the later episodes featuring Lucky managed to hit the mark more than the Miranda stuff did.

I think the block reached its full potential with Gargoyles. A full on action adventure series with a tight lore and ongoing story that went on for 65 episodes until reaching a rather satisfying end. It is still looked on as one of the best animated shows ever and certainly one that has appeared to have more influence outside of the medium than inside it.

But after Gargoyles, the block spun out. Aladdin was competent and fully welcome, but it was the last show to feel anything like what kids tuned into the block for in the first place. Quack Pack's arrival in late-1996 was the beginning of the end. It was no surprise they dropped the block name in 1997, because it lost the plot and never recovered, becoming a footnote by decade's end.

We will never really have a block like it again for many reasons, but I'm glad we got what we got.

Another one which is harder to nail down would be for Toonami.


Toonami from 2000-2005, the Peak era

The beginning of Toonami as a block was humble, but enjoyable. Voltron, ThunderCats and Jonny Quest were nothing to sneeze at, but nothing we hadn't seen before. 1998 and 1999 saw some great additions including ReBoot, The Powerpuff Girls, Ronin Warriors, Robotech, Transformers: Beast Wars, Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z,and, uh, Super Friends, which were instrumental in solidifying the tone for the black until its inevitable decline years later.

Around 2000 was when Toonami became THE block for action cartoons. There had been blocks before on Saturday morning and even on channels like YTV up in Canada, but there was nothing like Toonami at its peak now or then. This was the year they first grabbed shows that would never get aired otherwise on TV here and they blew the doors off of what was possible. Gundam Wing, Tenchi, and the DCAU made their debut on the block and made Toonami into a thing.

After that, the block only got better. There were strange shows (Hamtaro, anyone?) and the random idea that flopped (Ugh, D.I.C.E.) but I think the best way to illustrate my point is to list shows that debuted on Toonami between 2001 and 2005 including specials and one-offs because they still count. Keep in mind, this was the first time a block ever cobbled together a set of shows like this:

Outlaw Star
The Big O (Season 1)
Cardcaptors
Mobile Suit Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team
Dragon Ball
Batman Beyond
Zoids: New Century
Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket
Hamtaro
Zoids: Chaotic Century
Mobile Fighter G Gundam
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)
Transformers: Armada
G.I. Joe
Samurai Jack
.hack//Sign
Martian Successor Nadesico
Gigantor
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Dai-Guard
Yu Yu Hakusho
Rurouni Kenshin
Justice League
Cyborg 009
SD Gundam
Immortal Grand Prix (microseries)
Dragon Ball GT
Duel Masters
Astro Boy
Transformers: Energon
Jackie Chan Adventures
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
Megas XLR
Rave Master
Teen Titans
Justice League Unlimited
D.I.C.E.
Zatch Bell!
The Batman
One Piece
Transformers: Cybertron
Yu-Gi-Oh!
Naruto
Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo
Immortal Grand Prix (regular series)
Dragon Ball Z (Uncut)

Now that's an impressive list of shows by any measure.

But in 2005 we first began to see the cracks. D.I.C.E. was a misfire, IGPX flopped and floundered, and Naruto began to overtake the block. Shows were disappearing and either not being replaced or were being replaced by outright bad decisions.

In 2006, we got Wulin Warriors, a show so bad it was canceled after its second episode. We began getting Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and unsuccessful experiments like Fantastic Four and Prince of Tennis everywhere. About the only smart addition in 2006 was that of M.A.R. and it was only mildly well received. Within the last two years the block (2007 and 2008) didn't get anything worth mentioning and shriveled up and died.

But everyone was more or less fine when it ended. It had passed its peak and wasn't likely to return there anytime soon. That said, Toonami was a great block at its best, and I daresay it was one of the best around. I don't think we will ever see an action block reach those peaks again.

[Avaitor]

Yeah, I kind of meant to lump Toonami in with that period of Cartoon Network, as well as the first couple of years of [adult swim]. There was such a great range of series that aired on the block at that point, which they'd never dare to match today, even with a longer block and less censorship required.

Although to be fair, apparently we were pretty close to getting Fujiko Mine, but even that's a little too much in terms of content for [as].

And as I mentioned in my post, I couldn't really count the Disney Afternoon, since I wasn't really able to watch it during its peak. But many of those shows still have plenty to offer today.

[GregX]

Gargoyles
Spectacular Spider-Man
Batman TAS
Avatar the Last Airbender
Pinky and the Brain
South Park
Venture Bros
Simpsons
Moral Orel
Young Justice
Star Wars Rebels
TMNT 2K3 (the first four seasons only)
Transformers Animated
Beast Wars
Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
Batman the Brave and the Bold

[gunswordfist]

Does Aladdin still hold up? It seems like a "Only good during its era" type of shows for me. I did really like it back then though.

Naruto did pretty much kill Toonami.

[Avaitor]

Aladdin was okay, never much more. If you're in the camp who thinks the its sequels were among the least offensive of Disney's DTV onslaught, then it's worth checking a few episodes out of. But I'd never call it essential by any means.

[gunswordfist]

I definitely liked the sequels. I haven't seen them since I was like 10 though.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I decided to list out my favorite animated shows from this decade so far (starting or ending from 2010-present):

Archer
Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
ERASED
Green Lantern: The Animated Series
Gravity Falls
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Kids on the Slope
Level E
Mr. Osomatsu
My Hero Academia
Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu
South Park
Tiger and Bunny
Ushio and Tora

Plenty of other great ones, but these are my personal favorites.

Gargoyles
Spectacular Spider-Man
Batman TAS
Avatar the Last Airbender
Pinky and the Brain
South Park
Venture Bros
Simpsons
Moral Orel
Young Justice
Star Wars Rebels
TMNT 2K3 (the first four seasons only)
Transformers Animated
Beast Wars
Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
Batman the Brave and the Bold

I'm surprised to see Star Wars Rebels on there. I thought that you weren't a fan. But it's inclusion does remind me that I need to get around to it. I also need to re-watch Tranformers Animated, Beast Wars, and a few other shows on your list, get back to TMNT 2K3, and catch up with The Venture Bros. Great choices all around, though.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

On the subject of Marvel and DC superhero shows, while I fully agree with the sentiment that on the whole DC's animated output is generally far superior to Marvel's (although none of DC's recent outings have enticed me, to be honest), I feel rather disheartened when I notice stuff like The Spectacular Spider-Man and Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes being rather overlooked these days. I hardly ever see anyone talking about it, especially when on the subject of how much Marvel Animation sucks. You'd think that people would at least point out that these two series are stand-outs in their own right, but they seem to be rather forgotten these days despite not being that old.