UPDATE: In the second episode of our podcast, we reflect upon and discuss this list.
We at Animation Revelation feel that we know a thing or two about quality animation. And after seeing a couple of lists try to rank what would be some of the best animated series of all time, we figured that if anyone should have a say at that, it should be us. In true vintage format, we’re doing 65 entries instead of the standard 100, so it’s like a season of a syndicated cartoon from the late 80’s-early 90’s or something. We hope that you enjoy the effort we put into this list.
65.
Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes
Despite the huge prominence the team has in Marvel lore, the Avengers have got the shaft when it comes to animation. A few cameos in other Marvel series aside, the only show they’ve had prior to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes was United They Stand, which aired on Fox Kids back before Marvel went completely bankrupt. Since this is a list for the best animated series and not the worst, I’ll spare you the horror stories of what it got wrong and go into what Avengers: EMH gets right.
Only a season in, this Avengers series has brought in a team consisting of popular favorites like Hulk, Captain America and Iron Man, as well as fan favorites such as Hawkeye and Black Panther, and has given each a fully developed personality. They take some key traits from the comics, like Cap’s adapting to a new world where almost everyone he knows and loves is now gone, Thor’s rivalry with his trickster brother Loki, and Bruce Banner’s struggle with his alter ego and reliance on others, and adapts them well enough that viewers who haven’t read the decades worth of comics can get into the characters and mythology just fine.
Just like the characters, the rest of the series treats the original source material well enough without being a straight adaptation or requiring a lot of cliff notes. So far, we’ve seen, among others, the Ultron and Kang sagas adapted into mini-arcs with enough class and quality to hold up on their own. On top of some great fight scenes, this Avenger show has a lot going for it, and if what we’re discovering about season 2 is any indication, this is the kind of cartoon Marvel fans have been hoping for after years of being spoiled by DC’s offerings. Don’t be surprised if in later years, the show gets a higher ranking.
Written by Avaitor
64.
Baccano!
Heavily accented mafiosos! Huge splashes of bloody violence! Absolutely crazy plot twists! Baccano! features all the sexy, sexy anime action you could possibly want with a surprisingly intriguing plot holding it together and none of the bullshit that typically brings down other series of its kind. You’ll find no gratuitous fanservice, long-winded speeches, or “deep” writer-masturbation here, but you will find a sublime combination of catchy music, awesome characters, and excellent animation that – in the end – just adds up to an all-around good time.
Really, the characters are what make this such a great watch. Crazy-awesome bad man Ladd Russo is perhaps the best example of a likable psychotic I can think of outside of Ichi The Killer, Firo Prochainezo just kicks all kinds of ass, and Luck Gandor is quite the suave motherfucker. Most importantly, Baccano! features Isaac and Miria, who act as possibly the greatest duo is anime history. They’re endlessly entertaining, and I have serious qualms about that stick up your poop passage if you can’t laugh at their antics. There’s also the Rail Tracer. You’ll like the Rail Tracer.
But this series doesn’t exactly leave the greatest first impression, which is unfortunate. The introductory episode is certainly important, but it also lacks momentum and could definitely turn off the easily bored among us (and they can just go ahead and stop reading this list right now). The OP, though… so damn jazzy and classy. I want to have sex with it. In fact, just go ahead and watch it right now; if you have any shred of a human soul, it’ll doubtlessly get you plenty interested in cutting into the juicy steak that is Baccano!
And make sure to watch the English dub. Those accents, man… those accents…
Written by Foggle
63.
Excel Saga
Excel Saga is a show most often remembered for its beyond rapid-fire line delivery, its protagonist who manages to be hilarious and likeable but grating and obnoxious at the same time, and – most infamously – for its purposefully offensive final episode. But, most importantly, it’s remembered by many as being one of the few legitimately funny anime comedies ever produced.
To say that Excel Saga has no plot wouldn’t be giving it enough credit (the episodes are all loosely connected with each other and the final bit sports an actual story arc), but its main focus for the first 20 or so installments is on parodying a different genre or idea each week, the best of which being the one based on American action movies and the one dealing with the similarities and differences between eastern and western animation.
Most of the dialogue is so abjectly stupid that it goes all the way around and actually becomes witty; take, for instance, the scene where a desk is thrown out of a school building and barely misses hitting Hyatt in the face, to which she remarks that “the weatherman said the skies would be clear today.” Excel Saga is rife with head-slappers like this one, and will succeed at making you laugh at jokes that might cause you to groan under other circumstances.
While there are, admittedly, a few low points (not one, but TWO recap episodes), they’re more than made up for by the sheer brilliance of the final four episodes: by far the highlight of the series. 3/4 of these feature actual, sensible plot and character progression amidst all the jokes, with one of these somehow successfully managing to come across as dramatic and something to be taken seriously. The final episode was never aired on Japanese television because it was too violent, too sexual, too lengthy, and really just all around tasteless, but, in spite of this, it manages to be one of the series’ finest hours and – for better or worse – cemented Excel Saga as an important part of anime history.
Written by Foggle
62.
Cow & Chicken
One of many shows Cartoon Network that spun from their What A Cartoon series, Cow & Chicken from creator David Feiss, was a very straightforward cartoon comedy show with crazy characters. In fact, just imagine your typical cartoon nowadays; kids go to school and deal with the weird happenings that occur. Only instead, your main characters are a talking Cow and Chicken who are continually harassed by a big butted red guy (named appropriately enough, ‘The Red Guy’) while dealing with these everyday occurrences. Oh yeah, and their parents might be little more than legs. The result was one of the most unique cartoon comedies that was on TV at the time. The show frequently took what might be seen as straightforward comedy and spun it on it’s ear as hard as possible.
But other than that, it’s pretty much the typical show you’d expect from Cartoon Network from the late 90s. Not to say that’s a bad thing, in fact it’s probably the best ‘typical’ show the network ever made. Cramming in great gross out gags, in jokes, extremely cartoony animation, and some hilarious writing and adding it to the ‘normal’ format is what gives it it’s own personality. The show not only uses typical cartoon violence, but also manages to poke fun at itself and the genre it rests in, giving it a very lighthearted and jolly demeanor that some shows just plain overdo nowadays. Cow & Chicken is one of the bright spots from the classic era of Cartoon network and should definitely be seen by those who wish to experience that era for themselves.
Written by Desensitized
61.
Hunter X Hunter
When one thinks about the shonen genre these days, its not too often that they will think of too many series of the genre very fondly aside from what may be considered some obvious classics. However, Hunter X Hunter is a series that manages to stand out from the tired, mundane, and generic shonen series that many people have become accustomed to since the latter half of the 90’s and onward. The series deals with a basic enough plot on the outset: A young boy, Gon Freecs, wishes to journey out from his home in a quiet countryside island to become a Hunter and explore the world in search of his father, who left him with his aunt as an infant in order to pursue his own business as a Hunter. Throughout his journey, Gon befriends several other characters with their own motives and unique personalities, in addition to encountering various foes and villains who also get a surprising amount of care and attention put into their quality of characterization. Its a plot that boasts nothing special based on its premise alone, however Hunter X Hunter is a series that shines in its writing and execution.
While the plot itself is nothing to write home about, the brilliant characterization (with specific emphasis on how well the writing suits character interactions), expert pacing, excellent music, and fairly fluid animation (albeit a bit on the inconsistent side) certainly are. In particular, despite an admittedly weak beginning relative to the rest of the series, when the show picks up it really shows its value among the better pieces of work in its genre, as it tends to deviate from traditional norms more often than not and can play around with any viewer’s expectations in a good way, always managing to stay interesting without falling into the obvious traps that so many of this series’s contemporaries do. The most important thing to note is that the defining feature of what makes this series work so well is its tendency to treat its viewers with more respect and intelligence than what many of come to expect from the shonen genre, often taking basic plot points that you see in many other series and making them feel unique by adding in its own clever twists and actually making sure that every difficult encounter Gon and his friends face leaves an impact on them, causing them to grow and develop as characters.
All in all, Hunter X Hunter is a series that starts out with your basic shonen tournament-fair type of plot and sensibilities, but doesn’t take long to evolve into something much more than that. The show does admittedly get hampered by the fact that it does not have an actual ending due to having to end its production early, however what is there holds more than enough level of quality to justify this series a place on this list.
Written by Ensatsu-Ken
60.
W.I.T.C.H.
Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, Hay Lin: five ordinary girls according to most, Guardians to the mythical world of Meridian.
One day Hay Lin’s grandmother, a former Guardian of this entrancing alternate universe, informs the girls that they are the next in line to protect Meridian from Prince Phobos, whose goal was to find the Princess and take her power to rule Meridian, and later Nerissa, a former Guardian who recreated her old team to take over Meridian. The girls, each having their own unique powers, including Quintessence, Water, Fire, Earth, and Air, team up to make sure that Phobos and Nerissa don’t get their ways, and thankfully aren’t alone in their battle, thanks to the help of the brave knight Caleb, Princess/fellow student Elyon, and the lovable goblin Blunk. Switching between Meridian-based battles and school-related scuffs, the girls have a lot to deal with.
What made W.I.T.C.H. stand out from all the other girl-themed action shows was the writer’s abilities to stay true to the Italian comics and not dumb down the stories to kids. The characters are all well-defined and get their time in the light to stand out from each other, both seasons are well-plotted enough to be modern day serials, and relationships are able to be messed around with, like how Will’s boyfriend Matt joins forces with Nerissa to take on the girls. Unfortunately, despite Gargoyles mastermind Greg Weisman joining in as story editor during the second season, girls didn’t feel the show and it ended after only two satisfying seasons. The girls still have it, though, and nothing can change that.
Written by Avaitor
59.
American Dragon: Jake Long
Disney’s televised animation input during the 2000’s wasn’t very solid, especially not compared to their 90’s series. Kim Possible and W.I.T.C.H. had their merits, but wouldn’t exactly fit in with their “golden age” of Gargoyles, DuckTales, etc. Neither would American Dragon, but for all it’s bad, there was plenty of good to salvage it.
Jake Long, a child born of Chinese and American descent, is born into fulfilling the duties of his grandfather and becomes the American Dragon, a mediator between the human and mythological world. He has the ability to turn into a dragon and act like one, but also uses his powers to help out creatures like gnomes, oracles, and unicorns as well as fight slayers, vampires, and what have you. With his grandfather Lao Shi, also born with transformation abilities, loyal wise-cracking pug Fu Dog, and good friends Spud and Trixie, Jake has a lot of help in his quests. And then there’s his relationship with the Huntsclan, including the mysterious Huntsgirl.
What makes Jake Long work is that the series is able to combine tense action, varied humor, and effective drama throughout, on top of one of the most believable romantic subplots portrayed in any animated series in a while. Jake and Rose’s almost Shakespearean love story is perfectly crafted, well-developed, and works into one great romance story that can make even the mostly manly men interested. The show is all heart, even through it’s misgivings.
It’s misgivings kill it in the long run, though. The first season was filled up with pointless slang lines spoken by Jake and Trixie, as well as some jokes and action scenes that just felt out of place. Not to mention a bunch of episodes that seem goofy by any standards, in the not-so-right way. There was plenty of good however, since even then, Jake’s character showed plenty of potential for growth. The show took a 180 for the best in season 2, fixing most of what wasn’t working- next-to-no slang, sharper scripts and direction, an animation change that worked for better physical and emotional response, and a more concise storyline. Still, even then, not every episode was great, and the first season’s duds hold it back. Most of this can be traced back to Disney’s limitations, since at this point, they weren’t willing to give a series like this as much space as it deserved, and censored a lot of the show.
American Dragon: Jake Long is far from perfect, and didn’t make it too high for a reason. It stays on at all though to remain as a symbol of what could have been; a good show that if it had better creative control and more of a chance to shine, could have been a great show.
Written by Avaitor
58.
ReBoot
The first ever full computer animated adventure created by fellow Canadians Mainframe Entertainment (now Rainmaker), ReBoot was a rare sight back when it started in 1994. The show actually takes place in a world based on computers, many characters and locations are named after computer terms, which has actually helped the visuals date better than you figured they would. The plot of the series appropriately starts off very simple, Bob is the ‘guardian’ of the network the show takes place in and must defend it against viruses like Megabyte (voiced by the legendary Tony Jay) and Hexadecimal. He must also prevent ‘The User’ from winning games which, if lost, nullifies residents who were unfortunate to be playing the game at the time.
The first season was rather straightforward and episodic, mainly leading to a set up of the universe and for what was to come. ReBoot gradually got a bit more complex as it went along starting off as mainly a comedy show with adventure elements, then slowly switching from comedy to more action oriented through it’s run. The second season in particular has a rather surprising end for anyone who had watched all the way through, and the show continued even further in that direction, introducing wondrous locations and new characters to flesh the universe out even further and in rather surprising ways.
Mainframe Entertainment created a wonderful and original universe and a plot with many twists and turns, as well as featuring revolutionary animation (for the time) and created in such a way that prevents it from feeling too dated. ReBoot is a show that action adventure fans need to watch, and animation lovers need to see to take in it’s unique characters and universe that many believe has yet to be topped.
Written by Desensitized
57.
Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid
You don’t like mecha anime? Don’t panic(!), because Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid is as much about giant robot battles and specs as Neon Genesis Evangelion… possibly even less so. Action-packed, superbly written, and loaded with dark comedy, this series managed to make my jaw drop as early as the second episode. Sure, I liked the first season and Fumoffu well enough, but The Second Raid is definitely a cut above. The plot is well-structured, character development ensues maturely at a rapid pace, and the action is as fluid as it is violent. Kyoto Animation (yes, the company that made both Lucky Star and K-On) went all-out with the production values here, and it shows. The animation is some of the finest I’ve ever seen in anime, and certain melee fights and shootouts are true spectacles.
TSR also did the impossible for me, in that it made me actually like Kaname and identify with Sousuke by its conclusion, something I’d have never thought was possible had I only seen the first season. Their developing relationship is nearly as exciting to watch as the battle scenes and gives great insight into the minds of characters who were – honestly – a bit flat in the first season. There’s also Mr. Gates, a deeply disturbed individual whose hilarious brand of psychosis succeeded at making me laugh heartily every time he appeared. Despite being the primary antagonist, he has maybe 15 minutes of screen-time total, but his antics absolutely steal every scene he appears in.
It’s not all lucky clovers and gumdrop castles, however. There is a certain sub-story near the end that, despite being quite brief, will probably make you go “what the fuck!?” in a very bad way. Also, fans of the first season will no doubt miss Gauron, because – while he is funny – Mr. Gates is a terrible villain. Top it off with one of the biggest blue-balls cliffhangers in history which forces you to read the not-always-well-translated light novels to get the rest of the story (at this point, it’s unlikely that KyoAni will ever continue their adaptation), and you get something that comes out just shy of masterpiece-level. But don’t let that stop you from checking out Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid (or the first season, or Fumoffu, or the books, for that matter), because – on the whole – it’s a truly wild ride that you won’t soon forget.
Written by Foggle
56.
Courage the Cowardly Dog
Ah, yes… Courage The Cowardly Dog. A fan favorite among the staff, it contains the perfect blend of comedy, lovable characters, and chilling atmosphere that’s never really scary but always succeeds at being creepy. The situations encountered by the title character are all wonderfully bizarre and so damn creative that it’s hard not to be entertained or surprised while watching any episode of this series. A major contributing factor to its all-around excellence would definitely be the voice acting, which is firmly planted on the darker side of goofy. Every villain’s voice (from Katz to Le Quack) is distinctive in a very good way, and never fails to be appropriately over-the-top (without ever going too far).
Something which really elevates Courage over other cartoons that’s often overlooked is its ability to both educate and induce emotional responses. Nearly every episode has some kind of important moral or life lesson that it teaches to the audience, but it’s never ham-handed or delivered in an obvious way like many other shows. There are also quite a few installments (most notably the final one) which have actually managed to bring me to tears, both when I was younger and now. The direction, pacing, and development are superb and the series always uses the ten-minute runtime to its full extent.
Oh, and anyone who hasn’t already seen “Freaky Fred” should go watch it right now. You’ll thank me later.
Written by Foggle
55 –
Megas XLR
What do you get when you take an overweight adult geek who lives with his mother, spends half of his life playing video games and the other half hanging out with an equally geeky bum of a friend, and give him a highly advanced giant robot from the future? Well, common logic would most likely tell you that its a ridiculous idea for a show that some half-assed writers threw together in a few minutes (and for all we know maybe that statement may have some partial truth to it), but surprisingly enough what we get is a completely ridiculous series….that actually manages to be downright awesome in execution.
As for the plot….well, all you really need to know is that the basic gist is that Megas, a giant robot from the future used as a last resort resistance to fight an evil alien race called The Glorft is warped to the past through certain circumstances in which it manages to come into the hands of Coop and Jamie, 2 lowlife slackers. Also, a woman named Kiva comes to the past to retrieve it as do The Glorft and….honestly, is there really any point in going further with this explanation? Clearly this isn’t a series that is remembered for its story. The reason for why it truly shines is because of its excellent use of humor, over-the-top yet insanely fun action scenes, and the fact that the writers just clearly know how to let loose and have fun with a series without churning out an insultingly idiotic pile of garbage. Of course, to be fair, the series does manage to make this all feel very well put together in practice. Contrary to how you may expect something of this sort to turn out, rather than just being plain ludicrous and all over the place (and don’t get me wrong, each episode is full of these qualities, but handles them in a really good way), when you get down to it the series actually does come off as being very well written in its sense of humor and well-executed with its action, but on top of that it oddly enough comes off as being more memorable that you would expect.
The characters, while hardly a fine example of having any real depth, are very well defined and unique while playing off of each other for some truly entertaining moments. Coop and Jamie are characters that are easy to like despite the fact that they have all of the qualities that you should normally hate in a character. There is nothing heroic about them yet their geeky nature comes off as a ton of fun, especially in how it contrasts with Kiva’s more serious tone as a soldier. The excellent use of dialogue and interactions between the characters play a huge part in what makes this series worth more than the sum of its parts, in general. On top of that, it can prove to actually put out some suitably epic episodes that perfectly blend its excellent use of humor and action with just a right enough touch of a serious effort at an interesting plot (a great example of this being a 2-part episode in which Coop takes on an evil version of himself and other people he knows, from a mirror dimension). Additionally, the characters are, surprisingly enough, more interesting than just your cardboard cut-out comedy figures, allowing the viewer to actually have more of a reason to invest their time into this series. As for why this series is worthy of this list, though, aside from its high level of entertainment value alone, it manages to always keep one wanting to see more, which is a high level of complement for any form of entertainment.
Written by Ensatsu-ken
54 –
The Real Ghostbusters
Possibly the only instance when an animated incarnation matches or even trumps the movie it was inspired from, The Real Ghostbusters(notice the obvious reference to Filmation’s animated Ghostbusters series which was based on it’s 1970’s live-action series of the same name, made around the same time DiC’s TV adaptation of the classic 80’s buddy comedy was in development) was a fresh, creative series that stood out among the rest of the mid-80’s animated ilk.
Alongside the unforgettable theme music from Ivan Reitman’s film and a top-notch voice cast(with Lorenzo Music’s performance as Peter Venkman giving Bill Murray a run for his money thanks to adding a dry, laid back twist to the character), what made Ghostbusters stand out from the rest of the cartoons out there during it’s run is all thanks to J. Michael Straczynski. The future Amazing Spider-Man and Changeling scribe, as well as Babylon 5 creator, was the story editor of the first few seasons, and during his run on the show put Peter, Ray, Egon, Winston, and even Slimer grand sci-fi esque horror stories to work with, giving the Ghostbusters supernatural enemies of all different magnitudes to work with, all while keeping a quick tongue and fun energy alive so not to completely scare children or bore adults. Relying on the same type of irreverent and relevant humor and character interplay of the movie as well as bumping up goofy slapstick and clever twists that defined children’s comedy at the time.
No matter what though, Ghostbusters stayed fairly audience-neutral throughout it’s run, hardly ever entertaining children more than adults, or vice versa, and Real Ghostbusters always stayed close to it’s source material, even adding more to it’s characters than Reitman could have imagined. This is why fans of Ghostbusters still come back to the cartoon after watching the movie so many times they can’t take it.
Written by Avaitor
53 –
X-Men Evolution
This was a bit of a tough sell. Take the most popular X-Men and deage the majority of them. Make Nightcrawler, Kitty, Rogue and the Brotherhood high school students, Cyclops and Jean being their seniors, send them to an actual public school rather than study at the Xavier institute, and have Wolverine and Storm be their mentors while they’re at home. Keep Xavier and Magneto around the same age, add in a new character, Storm’s nephew Spyke, and there you go.
Messing around with tested continuity to fabled institutions like the X-Men has always been a hit or miss endeavor, especially within the fanbase, and while it took a little for the show to find it’s footing, we believe that Evolution is the strongest of the three X-Men series. It doesn’t contain near-complete-albeit-arbitrary-selected readaptations of many of the classic comics like the 90’s show and doesn’t make an overlapping storyline like Wolverine did (the last season aside), but Evolution delivered in giving us solid portrayals of a lot of fan favorite mutants and took some risks in terms of stories and character development along the way.
For one, you may not see an X-Men series with as little Wolvie as you get here, but it’s not like he is underused either. Then Spyke joining the Morlocks added some much-needed growth to an otherwise mediocre addition. And there were even half-decent attempts to make less interesting big characters in the mutantverse like X-23 and Apocalypse interesting near the end of the show. And even when sticking to conventions, both the Xavier mutants and the Brotherhood are given plenty of character development throughout to mess with them however they needed to be. Especially check out Mystique’s character arc partway through.
If they just nailed the balance between high school and action stories better a little earlier in the show, Evolution would have been close to perfect. That said, it’s arguably the most risk-taking X-Men series out there, and for all it attempted to do, it deserves a spot like this on our list.
written by Avaitor
52 –
Paranoia Agent
Last year, we lost one of the most respected figures in the animation industry, Satoshi Kon. Known by fans for directing movies such as Millennium Actress and Tokyo Godfathers, Kon’s greatest accomplishment was his sole television series, Paranoia Agent, which explores the mentality of mankind by twisting the emotions of not only one of the most varied and endearing casts in any anime series, but the audience as well.
Starting off with a striking opening, Paranoia Agent involves a mysterious young boy armed with a baseball dubbed Shonen Bat who is blamed for a series of street attacks in Tokyo. After this, the strange figure shows up all over the place to “attack” various people, only to somehow help them in their own lives. It all adds up as the series gets along, as it introduces it’s characters and goes through different stories and mood pieces to get it’s point across.
Paranoia Agent is dark, creepy, sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes all of the above. The best of the late Kon’s traits in one highly engaging 13 episode series.
Written by Avaitor
51 –
The Angry Beavers
The oft-remembered Nicktoon classic, The Angry Beavers, was in many ways the last hurrah for the Nickelodeon most people remember. Not only was it zany like many of the best Nicktoons (including Invader Zim which starred Richard Horvitz, who also voices Daggett in this show), but it also ended in the early ’00s which many consider the end of Nickelodeon’s classic era. Nonetheless, despite nostalgia, the show holds up remarkably well. The premise is remarkably simple- two young beavers named Norbert and Daggett (Norb and Dagg) move out on their own to make a place for themselves in the world.
The show relies on some very odd verbal wordplay and pronunciation, as well as the usual quality art and animation that Nickelodeon was known for. Daggett is the younger brother of the two (by mere minutes) and tends to be the one with the shorter fuse and is the more impulsive one, Norbert is the opposite and is far more laid back than his brother. Naturally, these differences tend to lead in many disputes between the two, lending to much of the shows humor. The show’s dialogue appealed to older audiences, while still having the more slapstick elements for younger viewers, leading to a balance many hadn’t seen on the network since the days of Rocko’s Modern Life.
The Angry Beavers was a bit controversial during it’s run. When the episode “Alley Oops!” aired, a very dumb decision was made to censor the word “shut” in the phrase ‘shut up’, making a very common phrase seem a lot more extreme than it was intended to be. But that wasn’t all, the final episode “Bye Bye Beavers” was never aired as it made fun of Nickelodeon’s practices in rerunning shows to death instead of airing new episodes, as well as the fact it broke the fourth wall telling the audience that the show was ending. The show was canceled just shy of the magical 65 episode limit, also leaving this episode unaired. These controversies, and the fact it aired during Rugrats-mania, perhaps lead to it not quite reaching the popularity it deserved. The show is ranked a little low on the list, not for lack of quality, but simply by luck of the draw. A few of the AR-sters felt that there were more deserving shows of higher ranking, but personally, I feel this is easily one of the best shows to ever air on Nick. But don’t be fooled by all that controversy and censor mess. This is a quality show well worth your time.
Written by Desensitized
50 –
Superman: TAS
When Warner’s newly-found channel The WB formed, Warner decided to add a successive Saturday morning cartoon block, Kids WB!, to accompany it. The company’s top-notch animation studio was already making animated series that aired elsewhere, primarily on the Fox network’s own Fox Kids block. Of the shows they made for the block, the two still airing were the Peabody-winning, classic Warner cartoons-influenced Animaniacs, and the critically acclaimed, Emmy winning Batman: The Animated Series, both of which were well-received by children and adults alike. Both were taken off the network; Animaniacs was given a new home at Kids WB!, where it continued production for the rest of it’s run, along with a spin-off for the fan favorite sub-series Pinky & the Brain(both of which will likely be expanded upon further on in this blog series), while Batman took something of a brief hiatus. When it was decided to bring the Bat back to the air with new episodes and a new interface, the powers that be at Warner decided that the Man of Steel deserved his own show in a similar format. In 1997, Superman: The Animated Series appeared on the block.
Drawing inspiration from the comics of old and new, the Fleischer brother’s classic theatrical shorts, Richard Donner and Christopher Reeves beloved feature films based off of the Man of Steel, and the recent Batman series all together in one show, Superman struck a chord with fans of the comics and quality entertainment alike, keeping true to the character’s strengths and virtues. Besides having a great interpretation of Superman, what makes the show stand out are the excellent supporting characters. Classic villains like Lex Luthor, Brainiac, and Darkseid are given extra life thanks to memorable introductions and powerful bonds between Superman that made them feel even more engaging than they originally were, and the simple characters that we’ve grown to love from the comics such as Lois, Ma and Pa Kent, and Lana feel like essential parts of the show, giving Clark/Kal-El reasons to keep on fighting the good fight for human kind. In addition, favorite DC superheroes get to show up, including The Flash, Kyle Rayner, and even the Dark Knight for a memorable occasion or two, plus a fun addition later on to the show with Supergirl. And let’s not forget the cool of the Main Man, Lobo, who “saved” Supes and lived to tell the tale.
Written by Avaitor
49 –
Beast Wars
Whenever we think of the original Transformers series, we tend to do so with rose-tinted glasses. By that, I mean we tend to think the show was as good as the original animated movie which, let’s face it, is simply not the case. It was frequently watered down, formulaic, and dull. Nowhere near as action packed or intense as the film was. However, Beast Wars, made by Canadian CGI gurus Mainframe Entertainment) is EXACTLY how good we remember the old show being, with great writing and plotting as well as the great sense of humor and characterization Mainframe was typically known for. One of the few Transformers series to not endlessly rehash the original series (also known as G1 to fans), Beast Wars instead took place long after, featuring many nods and references to it throughout the run, but never actually rehashing anything from it.
Beast Wars is set in the far future of the G1 universe, the Maximals (formerly Autobots) and Predecons (formerly Decepticons) are on the verge of war again. Megatron’s (The leader of the Predicons) ship attacks a ship piloted by the Maximals (led by Optimus Primal) and they both crash land on an undiscovered and unknown planet. The ship the Maximals were piloting contained several protoforms (unactivated lifeforms) that were ejected to safety before crash landing. This is what leads to the Beast Wars, as the robots must transform into habitants of the environment in order to survive for long periods of time in the planet’s atmosphere. The two forces must compete to collect energon (their power source), rescue protoforms (as they can be reprogrammed to be Predicons), and find a way off the planet in one piece.
Beast Wars is easily the best thing to come out of the entire Transformers franchise. The series features everything a show about transforming robots should, and even more. Strong characters and intriguing plots (as well as Mainframe’s usual quality animation and writing) await anyone willing to dive into this great series. The sequel series Beast Machines, is not quite as strong, but should be watched by anyone curious to see how the story ends. Unfortunately, the franchise has yet to reach these heights again.
Written by Desensitized
48 –
The Critic
Brainchild of Simpsons showrunners and producers Al Jean and Mike Reiss, The Critic was one of the few (sort of) successful endeavors a former Simpsons staff member would produce. It follows lovable film critic Jay Sherman (played by the always pleasant Jon Lovitz) as he reviews some of the worst movies to hit the screen, as well as how he deals with life in the 1990s. Yes, the show is very much a product of it’s time and is quite dated, but unlike most shows, this actually doesn’t hurt it. Because the show takes place in the 90s, it contains movie parodies from the same era, as well as references to now obscure politicians, stars, and events. But since it is very much a parody of the 1990s, it works quite well. The humor, however, is very much timeless and classic in comparison to the references. Think early Simpsons mixed with early Family Guy style craziness and you get a good approximation of the show’s style.
The show could basically be summed up as what the 1990s were actually like, both in what people thought was funny, and in what they thought and loved while they were happening. The characters, parodies, and moments are still memorable to this day despite the shows short running length and being spread across two different networks (as well as some web shorts included on the complete series DVD), which is quite a feat for a show from an era when there were more failed ‘adult’ cartoons than ever. As a time capsule, it’s interesting. But as a comedy show, it’s still great to this day.
Written by Desensitized
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Death Note
Ah, the classic tale about a seemingly normal 17-year old prodigy student finding a horrible instrument of mass-murder and immediately turning into a psychotic serial-killer with a twisted god-complex that we all know and love. Yes, I am in fact talking about the popular anime series based off of the hit manga by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. But let’s clarify one thing here: This series does not make this list because it is some divine controversial creation with deep and thought-provoking input on whether it is right or wrong to judge humans as good or evil and whether it is ethical or not to take their life. No. This series is here because it’s a damned fine example of brilliant story-telling in animation, and it also happens to be a ton of fun to watch….even if not all of it can necessarily be taken too seriously.
Often mistaken by many fans as a series that boasts highly deep and intellectual themes and mistaken by haters as a pretentious work that fails at doing those things, for anyone just watching the show for what it is, its a very cleverly written noir story about a psychopathic villain with a truly disturbing ambition. What truly makes this series shine out is its intense pacing and its combat of wits tale between a master-mind detective (and later on various other characters that serve “detective-like” roles) and a genius young mind, Light Yagami. While this series isn’t heavy on character development or complexity it is very much a story driven by its main characters and their conflicting schemes to outwit each other, and its handled through some truly professional writing and directing, with quite a few brilliant scenes of animation that manage to expand upon the source material. Although I wouldn’t necessarily say it really surpasses what its based off of, the efforts that go into this show cannot go without the proper praise that they deserve.
As for why its on this list, though, it can be seen as an important series in its own right, not just as a good gateway title to the industry of Japanese animation, but also as clear proof that animation of any form can be used to tell a truly captivating and engrossing story. While it doesn’t boast the depth or complexity of entries higher on this list, it most certainly can boast in quality of story-telling and entertainment value, and while its far from a perfect series, whether you love it or hate it, Death Note is proof that a shonen can do far more than just be about mindless bouts of fighting and violence….and if you don’t know what a shonen is….well, then, let’s just save that entirely different article for another day.
Written by Ensatsu-ken
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TMNT: 2K3
When most people think of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle franchise, they usually think of four goofy human-like turtles eating pizza while beating an incompetent leader of a band of robot ninja while they crack brain-rattlingly bad jokes. However, in 2003, Peter Laird (co-creator of the franchise) set out to change that perception. He made a show that while retaining some of the humor of the original show (though not as badly written or cheesy) was considerably more serious and plot oriented. Not only did he succeed in this effort, but he helped make one of the best shows of the decade. How did he achieve this? Well, by taking the best aspects of the source material of TMNT (the original comics that predate the late 80s TV show) and using clever original ideas they were able to make a top notch action show.
Unlike the original show, TMNT 2K3 (referencing the year it was made) usually had many overarching storylines with twists and surprises, but while it had these plots going it never forgot to fit in a joke or a high impact action scene to give it its charm. This is the show I always wanted out of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ever since I was a kid watching the original cartoon and collecting the toys/videogames/whatever, a show that has great characters, action, story, and probably the greatest finale an animated show has ever had.
The show did not do that well in the ratings, unfortunately, and ended after much executive meddling and bad timeslot decisions. Despite never achieving the level of commercial success, brand recognition, or tie in products on the level of the old series that launched the franchise into the stratosphere, this is the better made show, and will undoubtedly be remembered for years to come for fans of action and fun storytelling. Recently Nickelodeon had acquired the franchise, so it remains to be seen if they will able to achieve the same level of quality TMNT 2K3 put out for most of its run.
Written by Desensitized
45 –
GTO
Eikichi Onizuka is a natural-born delinquent, someone who grew up in a rough neighborhood and got into fights with gangs for a living back in his high school days. He has almost no responsibility as an adult despite being 22 years old, knows even less text-book information than any average student would, and in general is a certified idiot in almost every way (on top of that he’s a pervert, gets drunk, and can probably be caught committing millions of different vices). Based on the title, you would probably wondering how this guy manages to land a gig as a teacher of a distinguished private school (**hint**it has to do with even more perverted reasons**hint**) to give this series its namesake, and on top of that how he could even be considered a teacher at all, let alone a great one.
However, underneath all of his bad qualities Onizuka has a heart of gold, and what he has to teach in place of the standard text-book knowledge that every student gets enough of anyways is probably the most valuable lessons that they will ever learn. Great Teacher Onizuka is a brilliant blend of strange but undeniably hilarious humor with some seriously well-done elements of drama, and lessons that actually make sense without ever coming off as after-school-specially. No, he’s not the type of guy who will tell his students to study harder or be all “goody-goody” for no reason. In fact early on in the series Onizuka is given his main task of reforming a class that are made of of misfits much like himself, though rather than delinquents, they are mostly a bunch of seemingly normal kids but with serious mental issues locked deep within their hearts that causes their resent towards teachers and adults in general, causing them to have run out every single teacher that came to replace the last in their class, until they meet their match with Onizuka. Rather than what you’d expect from a standard series, the brilliance of humor in Onizuka is just how damn good he is at throwing people for a loop, giving little twerps a taste of their own medicine and not being afraid to get involved and make things a little dangerous if need be to put things in perspective for someone who’s acting like a spoiled brat.
It isn’t easy to describe all of the things that make this series really work as a comedy show. It goes beyond just having great comedic timing and well-written characters, but also manages to take things further with how seriously it can develop its characters, making the humor come off fairly genuine many-a-time rather than just plain silly. Furthermore any viewer who went through any similar issues that are presented in this series can easily find something among the story or someone among the characters to connect to, and this makes an already well-made show even more engaging. This entry is admittedly an odd choice in our list and its undoubtedly something that makes it our list, in that you wouldn’t find some non-big name series (and an anime at that) in a list like this under normal circumstances, but rest assured this title only makes it into our list because its seriously good at what it does and at its core, its true quality.
Written by Ensatsu-Ken
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Avatar: The Last Airbender
In a land governed by air, fire, water, and earth, there is a spiritual figure known as the Avatar that can master all four elements. But as soon as he vanishes, the Fire Nation makes its claim on the planet. With the help of a girl and her brother, the latest Avatar is unearthed and revealed to be a hyperactive, young Airbender named Aang, who must learn the rest of the three elements as soon as he can before everything that remains of the free world is burned asunder.
Avatar: The Last Airbender was a unique effort among Nicktoons, in that it utilized a serialized plot where the viewer would have to watch every episode in order to understand it all. That’s not to say there wasn’t any humor, quite a lot actually, but the series hued of plenty of subjects such as xenophobia, Orwellianism, and insanity that would go over the heads of kids and appeal to the older crowd.
As you can see from watching even a single frame, the creators went to painstaking lengths to use Eastern influence in their action scenes, storytelling, and world-building. You cannot look at settings such as Ba Sing Se or the Air Temples without being reminded of the Forbidden City or Tibetan temples. Plenty of episodes are sprinkled throughout with allusions to some Miyazaki, a little Kurosawa, and even a bit of John Woo. Even the bending is drawn to resemble several real-life forms of martial arts.
While it does show a few quite visible flaws such as characterization of the protagonists and some misplaced attempts to tell a joke, Avatar was one of the hallmarks of the last decade in what televised animation could do. And we hope that its successor, Legend of Korra, will help it carry on.
And before anyone tells you otherwise, there was never a movie adaptation.
Written by Dr. Insomniac
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Freakazoid!
Check out Dexter Douglas, nerd computer ace. He gains access to a faulty computer chip on Christmas Day, plugs it in, has his cat press a certain set of random buttons on his keyboard, and bam- he becomes the Freakazoid, super teen extraordinaire, who runs around in underwear. All hell breaks lose when he transforms, both good and bad. Good for the viewers, bad for everyone else.
Freakazoid! is one of the premiere series from Kids WB!’s freshman lineup, and while it didn’t get a long run (blame the WB’s president for that, among numerous other bad decisions made for the block), despite the winning combination of Tom Ruegger and Steve Spielberg, it lasted long enough to gain a cult following, and even got a decent run on Cartoon Network after it’s death.
The show’s appeal comes from it’s absurd humor, which comes in various levels, from self-aware (like when Freakazoid, Wakko Warner, and the Brain come up to Spielberg himself to ask who his favorite is) to pop culture spoofing (take entire episodes satirizing ET, Amadeus and Quantum Leap, as well as a particular rant Freak makes on David Lee Roth and his health) to just plain hilarious (don’t even get us started; there are SO many good moments we could name), Freakazoid! took just about everything and made it work. Both in the first season where Freak would share his segments with fellow super heroes like the Huntsman and Lord Bravery, or the second which featured entirely half-hour adventures. It’s all good and all funny, even if the run wasn’t too long.
So have a good time now, and freak out!
Written by Avaitor
42 –
Duckman
One of the plethora of shows that premiered in The Simpsons wake in the 90s, Duckman was an adult show that featured many crude, lewd, and tasteless humor. The difference between Duckman and the other shows of that era? Duckman was fantastic. Despite working in a very familiar framework, the show went the extra mile when it came to Simpsonian wordplay and unpredictable jokes. It was not a Simpsons copy, in fact when Duckman came around (before South Park was even a glimmer in Comedy Central’s eyes) it was genuinely shocking.
The show was genuinely creative, and it was rarely easy to see where any one episode was going. You’d think a show about a Private Eye Duck would be a pretty straightforward experience, but it’s not. The show is about Duckman, a private eye, and his family and how they deal with everyday life in this insane world. While that might not seem like much, it really is in the execution. Oh, and it also features a quick-witted pig named Cornfed as Duckman’s partner and best friend, and is perhaps the best character on the show. As well as being an utter failure of a detective, the show doesn’t always use the detective setting of Duckman’s job, and instead can deliver quick and sharp commentary on society (despite being a mid-90s show, it’s really depressing to see how much of this hasn’t dated) as well as great slapstick and surreal animation to lend a real keen viewing window to the insanity of this world that they live in.
Duckman retains a cult following to this day, which is more than one can say about many other adult cartoons from the 90s. The show was imaginative, well written, and had a fantastic voice cast. It’s almost criminal that Jason Alexander doesn’t get credited for his work on Duckman more often, as he only seems to get cast in roles not too far from George Costanza, when Duckman shows a whole new side of him that no one else seems to be able to tap into. There’s also the “Zappa” effect as most first season music was done by Frank Zappa before he died (which thematically carried over to future seasons) and his son Dweezil provides the voice of Duckman’s son Ajax.
Written by Desensitized
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Johnny Bravo
Yet another Cartoon Cartoon entry on our list, Johnny Bravo admittedly probably had the weakest premise for a kids show out of the entire CC line-up: an immature adult male with an Elvis Presley-like persona living with his mother and spending most episodes of the series hitting on “chicks” and getting beat up in the process of attempting to do so. Of course the idea sounds hilarious to me now, but as a kid I suspect anyone would just shrug it off while continuing to watch Ed, Edd n’ Eddy or any of the other great CCs available to watch around that time. Of course it turns out that the show was pure comedy gold thanks to a team of writers and directors with a truly witty sense of humor that could appeal to someone of just about any age.
The show was completely silly in nature like just about all other Cartoon Cartoons, but had more to offer than just random jokes thrown into 10-minute segments in each episode. To be more specific on this point, this was a show that knew what people wanted in an animated comedy, and knew how to present it. The timing of the jokes was almost always spot-on, and the series used a wide-variety of comedy styles, from pop-cultural references and parodies to classic slap-stick humor to rather intelligently written quirky dialogue. In retrospect of viewing this show beyond just its nostalgic value, it actually holds up even better than before, with quite a few cases of more adult humor hidden within all of the zaniness that only out parents would get at the time (or not….in my case, sort of).
Many of the recurring characters interacted and played off of each other extremely well, and that’s the biggest reason for this show’s success in its comedy: the viewers loved the characters for what they were in terms of being comedic figures. Johnny Bravo himself was the polar opposite of what an animation role-model would be considered, and that’s what all the viewers loved him for. The reason we love this show enough to place it on this list is precisely because it still holds that same appeal today.
Written by Ensatsu-ken
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Full Metal Alchemist
Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy’s first law of equivalent exchange.
After messing with alchemy to resurrect their dead mother, Edward and Alphonse Elric learn the first law of equivalent exchange the hard way. Ed loses his right arm and left leg, while Al’s entire body disappears. Thanks to their mechanic friend Winry Rockbell, Ed gains a metallic arm and leg and Al moves his soul into a suit of armor.
Without their mother for support, their father being in close contact in them, and now numerous body parts missing, the brothers Elric are despondent. It’s the prospect of the Philosopher’s Stone (no Harry Potter ties here, I swear!), which can bring their missing parts back to life, that keeps the brothers’ hope alive. And where Fullmetal Alchemist comes in as one of the most endearing anime series in recent years.
Adapted from a long-running manga series, FMA shows the quest of the youngest registered state alchemist (Ed, which is where the Fullmetal title comes from) and his brother as they team up and have to deal with military-controlled alchemists in their quest. The main cast, consisting of the Elrics, Winry, and a few specific alchemists, are tightly developed and expanded on throughout. Each one has their own specific goal and distinctive methods of how to achieve them, and can either hold their own or function well as a group to do so. The somewhat brooding Roy Mustang and lovable Maes Hughes in particular are highlights of the supporting cast, the latter still bringing a tear to many a fans eye.
On the other side, the villains are equally as effective. The Homunculi, each named after one of the seven deadly sins, team up to mess with mankind and bend their wills and abilities to face off whoever challenge them. Each member have their own resentment towards humans, and have their own powers in which they use to attack. Meanwhile, Scar, one of the few surviving people of the Ishballan race, takes on the alchemists himself in a bitter rage for the untimely murder of his brother. Homunculi like Lust and Envy are delightfully twisted, while Scar adds a human side to the bad guys.
Thanks to a poignant story, strong characters, and exciting action, Fullmetal Alchemist is a hugely successful and rewarding franchise. The manga is a big seller and highly recommended while the first anime does a good job of keeping some of the same ideals and character development from it, while delving into its own thing. A recent second anime was made to keep closer to the manga, with the subtitle Brotherhood added, and while that is also recommended, it’s the first that remains in the heads of fans and our staff, and wins out at the end of the day.
Written by Avaitor
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Batman: The Brave & the Bold
Shortly after the cancellation of the Dark Knight’s most recent series, The Batman, it was announced that another new series for the Caped Crusader would be hitting the airwaves by the end of the year, somewhat following the blueprints of The Batman‘s last season, in which Batman would team up with a fellow superhero every week to save the day when he couldn’t do it on his own. Instead of being a spin-off or continuation of The Batman though, it would have it’s own agenda, replacing the pseudo-anime/fluid designs on that series with a more retro-fitted look, and focusing on introducing lesser known DC characters to a new audience, a la Justice League Unlimited. In addition to that, instead of being a serious albeit kid friendly action show like The Batman, this show would be a more tongue-in-cheek call-out to classic golden and silver age comics, and even took the show title from a classic comic book series, in which various characters from across the DC Universe would team up to do what no one hero could by his or herself.
When it was announced, opinions were up in the air on how entertaining it would come out, but a a couple of years on, and it has already wiped away memories of The Batman‘s average finale season from the thoughts of many, and even stands up to Unlimited. While the idea of a less-serious Batman being in charge of things rather than a more serious Dark Knight in tone with the versions of him that made Alan Moore and Frank Miller rise up to comic stardom in the 80’s and set the standards for how we look at his character in recent times may of not been the first thought to come to mind to replace what was arguably Batman: The Animated Series lite, the light approach works on nearly all levels, giving us some choice lines and solid comic book stories at the same time. Already we’ve become acquainted to Blue Beetle(voiced by Batman Beyond himself Will Friedle), who we’ve grown to love as a nerdy hero-in-training who’s saved Batman once or twice along the way of being saved by him, a goofy egomaniac Aquaman who only tops his percentage intake of great lines as he comes along, and a Green Arrow who has no problem trying to compete with Bruce Wayne’s billions with his own estate, and also have had the luck to be entertained by Gentleman Ghost, Green Lanterns G’nort and Guy Gardner, and even Robin.
Brave & the Bold only seems to become more experimental and daring as the show gets on, like in one notable example, a full-fledged musical with Neil Patrick Harris as the Music Meister. Sadly, the show doesn’t have much longer for the air, but it will not be forgotten anytime soon.
Written by Avaitor, who thanks Desensitized for the image
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The Spectacular Spider-Man
Many superhero cartoons try and fail (miserably) to replicate or – at the very least – reinforce the fun and creativity that can be found in the source material. Of course, there are a few notable exceptions such as Batman: The Animated Series, but, for the most part, franchises that make the transition from the printed page to the television screen are flawed and only appreciated by those fueled with nostalgia.
The Spectacular Spider-Man does not fall prey to any of the traps other comic book adaptations tend to find themselves getting caught in. For one thing, the show skips the boring origin story we’ve all seen 50+ times and jumps right into what everyone wants to see: Spider-Man kicking supervillain ass and spouting cheesy one-liners. The action scenes are fluid and exciting, and the show largely succeeds because it’s always fun and never tries to overstep its bounds or take itself too seriously.
It’s not all beatdowns and witticisms, though. Occasionally the series slows down its breakneck pacing and gives us insight into Peter’s personal and somewhat romantic life. These scenes are some of the show’s finest moments and truly encapsulate what makes SSM so much better than most other superhero cartoons and leagues above previous Spider-Man adaptations. I must also applaud the writers on how well they handled the Venom storyline; by combining elements from both the comics and the third live action movie, they have crafted one of the most satisfying story arcs involving the character ever.
The voice cast is surprisingly adept, as well. Josh Keaton is perhaps the best Spider-Man I have ever heard and Daran Norris is as wonderful as ever as Jameson. Combine that with the always excellent Steve Blum finally showing some vocal range as the Green Goblin and you have an all-star cast that will definitely make you smile on many occasions.
Spectacular Spider-Man is by far one of the greatest ways one can choose to experience the Spider-Man universe. It’s unfortunate it was cancelled in favor of yet another adaptation, but at least this one had a run that was almost flawless.
Written by Foggle
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Darkwing Duck
In the 1990s, especially the early 90s, few animation blocks were as respected (and consistently enjoyed) by kids than the Disney Afternoon was. DuckTales offered you grand adventure, Rescue Rangers offered comedy in their episodic adventures, TaleSpin had a unique world with a surprising accent on characters, and Darkwing Duck was a superhero parody that was as funny as it was full of fun action. Darkwing Duck, regularly considered (though wrongly) the last top notch show to come out of the Disney Afternoon was just a touch ahead of it’s time despite its popularity. Had it come out during the superhero boom that occurred a bit after it’s end, who knows how far it could have stretched its wings, but let us get to the actual show.
Darkwing Duck is about the titular character who fights criminals, often to comedic effect, with his partner Launchpad McQuack (from DuckTales) and his daughter Gosalyn. That’s really all there is to it. The thing is that it works perfectly with this simplistic approach. Every episode includes a new harebrained (or ingenious, depending on the villain) scheme constructed to take over the world (or just St. Canard), and it’s frequently up to the ego-driven Darkwing Duck to stop them.
What really sets this show apart from other similar superhero shows is purely in how much effort went into it. It is frequently considered the best thing to come out of the whole Disney Afternoon block because of how much appeal it has to anyone who watches it. Unlike DuckTales (which might not as easily appeal to teenagers), TaleSpin (younger kids might find it boring), or Rescue Rangers (the adults might not enjoy the simple writing), Darkwing Duck hits the mark for everyone. This is the reason it was recently revived as a comic by BOOM Studios and is enjoying surprising success years after the original series has come to an end.
Written by Desensitized
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Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law
Adult Swim seemed unstoppable back in the early ’00s. They were unique, they were different, and they knew it. Hey, you can’t fault a network when they’re airing Space Ghost Coast To Coast, early-Aqua Teen Hunger Force, “Goz-era” Sealab 2021, Home Movies, and one of the gems of the network: Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law all at the same time. Simultaneously a tribute, satire, and parody of classic Hanna Barbera cartoons and crime dramas, with an extra shot of insanity and obscure sexual references, it was truly a well written and unique experience from anything on TV (and still is) and defined Adult Swim as the place to be for cutting edge comedy.
The show stars titular character Harvey Birdman as he is now a superhero lawyer, as opposed to just the superhero from his original show, who must represent cases based on classic Hanna Barbera characters and cases built around myths and misunderstandings that dealt with the characters themselves. But on top of all this, there is always room for subtle pop culture nods, social commentary, a crazy genre parody (any film style will do on HB), or an out of nowhere plot twist. When Adult Swim began, this show alone was proof of concept that the idea of an adult themed block of animation could work.
Running for 39 episodes (and an original video game with original cases), Harvey Birdman ended when it’s creators felt they had gone on long enough. As opposed to many of the shows on this list, it’s nice to see one not canceled before it’s time and instead one that simply ran it’s course. While Adult Swim may have forgotten what made shows like Harvey Birdman push the block ahead in popularity and acclaim back when it started, fans have not, as the show retains a strong following to this day.
Written by Desensitized
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The Powerpuff Girls
Initially conceived as “the worst cartoon ever”, Craig McCraken’s school project titled The Whoopass Girls eventually became one of Cartoon Network’s biggest and most endearing series.
You learn all you need to about the show’s premise in it’s theme song, so it’s not worth repeating. But Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup make for a lovable trio of sisters. Smart, determined Blossom, sweet, playful Bubbles, and tough, irritable Buttercup are charming by themselves and great together since they function like real teammates and sisters, and their personalities are born to clash.
Their supporting cast and rogues gallery is one of the show’s saving graces. Ranging from the wacky Mayor to the insane Mojo Jojo, they bring humor to the show when the girls can’t. Add in some clever pop culture references and fun wordplay from Tom Kenny’s narrator, and you have a Cartoon Network masterwork.
Written by Avaitor
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Batman Beyond
When one thinks of Batman, they also inevitably think of Bruce Wayne, and before this gem of a series came out, its safe to assume that nobody would have ever imagined that a series in which Bruce Wayne was replaced with a teenager with a bit more attitude and who needed a fair amount of maturing to do would be any good at all, especially if it was a direct sequel to the high-quality Batman: The Animated Series canon. And yet….we got just that surprise, as this series really managed to pull of just that premise while keeping the tone as dark as ever (arguably even darker than before), having writing that was just as brilliant, and a character who you actually didn’t mind taking the role of the caped crusader….minus the cape (a more practical costume design but at the cost of a much missed feature).
Part of what made this show work so well, though, was that the writers didn’t downplay Bruce Wayne’s role at all. On the contrary, they still kept the much older and far less physically capable Bruce as a prominent figure throughout the entire series, who served as the new Batman’s mentor. Terry McGinnis, the so-called new Batman of the title Batman Beyond, did fit the bill of the more spunky and rebellious teenager, which by all accounts SHOULD have made him a terrible contrast to what one would expect out of someone to wear the costume and title of Batman. Yet, his character was designed with his own tragic story in mind that gave him enough of a serious and darker edge to really make him stand out so much more than the typical stereotypical teenage hero that one would expect of a teenager in a super hero cartoon. What really made the series shine, though, was the interesting and dynamic interactions between Terry and his “employer” Bruce (which made for a clever cover-up of Terry always being busy as Batman, as his friends and family only knew it as him being an intern of Wayne’s company directly working under Bruce himself).
The series carried over the great quality of animation and action, as well as the dark tone and complex villains that people came to expect from BTAS. However all of that would be for nothing if the episodic stories were not handled with great care and attention, and thankfully for the most part they were (though in its 2nd season the show can get more wonky and a bit more ridiculous than it should be, yet there is never enough to completely kill the mood of the entire series on the whole). While it couldn’t necessarily match the same style and tone of Bruce’s days as Batman in BTAS, at its best it could really stand on its own or even compare to some of BTAS‘s great and memorable episodes, and thankfully the series was at its best quite a bit.
Written by Ensatsu-ken
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Space Ghost: Coast To Coast
There are two types of animated series made for adults stateside: one are satirical sitcoms that focus on a prime family and/or group of town members as they go through everyday life in suburban America. The Simpsons popularized this in the 90’s, and a few other good examples have made this list. The other would be surrealist comedies that take absurd situations and questionable characters to make into an odd, but hopefully pleasing, series. Space Ghost: Coast to Coast was arguably the most successful series to keep this trend going when it started and helped to create an entire block of shows like it.
Taking some of the characters from the Hanna-Barbera sci-fi 60’s classic, Space Ghost, now retired as a super hero and crazy as a loon, hosts a talk show that despite taking place on another planet, is broadcasted to Earth. Using his jailed villains as crew members, the straight-faced Moltar is the show’s director, the psychotic Zorak is in charge of music, while Brak, lord knows what’s wrong with him, is… lord knows what he does. Together, they host one of the most insane, hilarious talk shows to ever be made.
They interview celebrities as varied as William Shatner to Beck to Dennis Leary, most of which having no idea what goes on. The show gets its humor from it’s absurdity, from the main character’s dialogue to Space Ghost and Zorak’s interview questions to the interviewee’s responses to silly running gags and plot twists that somehow work half the time. Space Ghost was unlike anything on TV at that point and while many [adult swim] originals have tried, none have been able to match the off-kilter insanity of it. Even with the show being over for years now, Williams Street still acknowledges Space Ghost and occasionally makes new installments along the way.
Written by Avaitor
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Dexter’s Laboratory
“Enter at your own peril, past the bolted door, where impossible things may happen that the world’s never seen before.”
When Cartoon Network started up in 1992, they were primarily a channel that aired classics from the Warner, Hanna-Barbera, and MGM libraries. However, there were always plans for the network to make their own originals, which is when the network came up with the World Premier Toon series in 1994, in which a new cartoon short made by various figures in animation would air weekly on the network to compete for a chance at becoming a full series. The first one of these cartoons to be greenlit was Genndy Tartakovsky’s Dexter’s Laboratory, and the world wouldn’t be the same since.
Dexter, boy genius, tries to live up to his self-made title and shake the science world up, while his foolish, peppy older sister Dee Dee constantly gets in his way and makes a mess. Even without Dee Dee, Dexter has to hide his laboratory from his well-meaning if clueless parents, as well as face fellow boy genius Mandark and his schemes to surpass Dexter’s resources. Dexter’s Laboratory was built almost entirely on familiar tropes, which is part of the show’s charm. Dexter had a solid mix of contemporary humor (pop culture is gleefully referenced throughout, including a great episode that parodies the classic anime Speed Racer), as well as classic-based comedy, like watching a Warner or Hanna-Barbera cartoon that would air alongside the show, as well as enough character to match the insanity.
Dexter’s Lab felt fresh when it came out in 1996, when primetime was still entirely The Simpsons‘ game, when Kids WB! Was still trying to find an audience, and Nick was going through a transitional phase. Dexter’s Laboratory fit in with fans of Simpsons, Animaniacs, and Ren & Stimpy, which already ranged from all ages, and helped to bring kids into the network. Dexter’s original 52 episodes were so popular that even after originally ending production when more than enough shows could take its place, the show still proved to be a viable part of the network, and was ordered for another 26 episodes after a couple of years of repeats. Without the success of the boy genius, it’s likely that Johnny Bravo, The Powerpuff Girls, and Ed, Edd, n’ Eddy, Cartoon Network originals with similar appeal, wouldn’t have been able to find as big of an audience as they did, not to mention just about any other CN original. Not to mention that Dexter’s a cookie.
written by Avaitor
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Lupin III
First of all, listen to this awesome theme song. SO GROOVY!
Red jacket (the most famous iteration), green jacket (someone’s getting old), pink jacket (you were made fun of a lot in school, weren’t you?); whatever color you know him by, Lupin is a classic character every true animation fan should be at least somewhat familiar with. Imagine if the James Bond films were twice as pervy and four times as comical: that’s Lupin III in a nutshell. This thing was huge back in the day (hell, Hayao Miyazaki made a Lupin movie!), and it’s not hard to see why – every episode involved some awesomely insane thievery, a crazy and unpredictable conspiracy, or both at the same time. When you tuned in to Lupin, you knew you were in for a good time.
The excellent characters are definitely the highlight of the franchise. They’re all lovable in their own way, but one in particular stands out as memorable. Sure, Lupin’s monkey-like antics are always fun to watch, Jigen is the suavest motherfucker around, Fujiko is basically the original fanservice character, and Goemon is a hilarious contrast to the rest of the crew, but police inspector Zenigata always steals the show. It’s damn near impossible to tire of watching him fumble around as he tries to capture Lupin and nearly every chase scene he appears in is comedy gold.
The franchise is still alive today (barely), but most recent adaptations have been pitiful. Those looking to jump into Lupin III would do good to start with the first animated film, The Secret of Mamo, as it captures Lupin’s essence more perfectly than any other single piece. Other greats include Episode 0 (my personal favorite Lupin movie and the only good one released in the past two decades), The Castle of Cagliostro (Miyazaki’s take on Lupin), and the entirety of the red jacket series (the 150+ episode second season). Seriously, watch as much of that one as possible… it’s all awesome.
Written by Foggle
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The Huckleberry Hound Show
Ruff & Reddy may have been Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera’s first hit series from their studio, but Huck was their first superstar.
The Huckleberry Hound Show, even early on, had a big following of all ages on the airwaves. Thanks to scripts by Friz Freleng’s storyman Warren Foster in it’s second season and the endearing characters of Huck, Yogi and Boo Boo, and Pixie, Dixie, and Mr. Jinks, there was plenty to love about the show, despite the limited animation. Even that had it’s charms, due to ex-MGM and Warner animation royalty.
At it’s best, the three ongoing cartoons were satires of cartoon staples at the time which also expanded on them. Huck mocked and celebrated the everyday straight man’s struggles, which often were attacked in these cartoons. Huckleberry gave audiences a breath of fresh air by making the job-chasing Hound a relatable lead, and having his wise-cracking animal attackers seem lame and hokey in comparison. Meanwhile, Pixie and Dixie called back to Bill and Joe’s fabled cat and mouse duo, but added a second mouse for some charming commentary on the predictable slapstick violence from the chase. Then we had Yogi Bear, who was reminiscent of a few notable clever, big-mouthed leads. Unlike Bugs and Daffy, who wrecked havoc out of defense uninterrupted however, Yogi had a well-meaning sidekick in Boo Boo to keep him in check, while the ever-changing Ranger Smith wanted to protect the bear rather than kidnap him.
It’s these little pushes on top of the clever writing that made the Huckleberry Hound Show an instant classic. Although the later episodes where Yogi got his own show and had his segments replaced with Hokey Wolf weren’t as good, it’s easy to forget them.
Written by Avaitor
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Pinky & The Brain
Spun-off from Animaniacs as a new series to help build up the then-new Kids WB! line-up, Pinky & the Brain is a series that equaled, sometimes even surpassed, it’s predecessor.
The story is the same on the series as it was in the original shorts- two lab mice, named Brain and Pinky, one a genius, the other insane, leave their lab containers each night as they attempt to take over the world. It’s a tried but true plot, which is part of the show’s charm. You get two likable characters use some of the most inane ideas ever conceived to achieve their vengeance against humanity each week, and their ideas get increasingly wacky and convulted as they go along. And the two use everything- from half-baked sitcoms to hypnotizing tanning lotion to forming a basketball team, Brain and Pinky use everything in the book, and get various results along the way.
It’s the chemistry between the two characters that really works towards its advantage, though. Brain’s annoyance is highly palpable throughout, but it’s clear at the same time that he cares greatly for Pinky, while the big guy is just too naive half of the time to understand why his buddy is so cranky, but still tries to be the best mouse he can be. You get a plethora of clever lines spouted out between the two for this, as well as some heartwarming moments as well. The goofy plots and sharp writing are obviously important points of the show, but it’s the relationship of the two characters that puts it above all else.
Written by Avaitor
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Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni (When They Cry)
Few cartoons (and even fewer anime) can truly be described as “powerful.” And yet, despite poor first impressions, bad production values, and an irritating fanbase which seems to actually hate it, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (known internationally under the localized name “When They Cry”) succeeds on all fronts at crafting a gripping narrative that sucks the audience into a world filled with lovable characters, insane conspiracy theories, and horrifying situations. After a cutesy introduction to our five leading characters, things go south fast and one of our protagonists ends up spilling the blood of his friends and then does the same to his own. It’s as enthralling as you’d hope, and ends up leaving the audience asking “why?” And why you will eventually discover, as the rest of the series plays out like a fucked up version of Groundhog Day, with an endless time loop that gives you great insight into the mind of every character, even ones who don’t seem important at first.
Things get increasingly more disturbing and troubling as the 26 episode first season barrels onward, but shortly after the second series – Kai – gets going, it drops all pretense of horror and leaves its promise of violence and torture at the door in favor of some wonderful character drama. By the time this happens, you will absolutely love every single major character and certain scenes actually come off as moving. I’m not afraid to admit that there are moments where I teared up a bit (but I didn’t cry; I’m not a bitch, asshole). The series shines brightest in the penultimate story arc, and at times might even make you want to know these people in real life. It does get a bit cheesy at times (I’ve noticed that Japanese writing tends to not understand the meaning of “subtlety”), but never so much that it kills a scene or ruins the mood.
Putting aside the fact that the entirely unimportant epilogue, Rei, is horribly pedestrian and downright boring, the series does end a bit anti-climatically. It’s not horrible at all, but one gets the impression that it could have been handled much better. But at least the ending wraps things up and serves as a conclusion, unlike so many other television programs, so it is to be commended on that account.
It’s worth noting that the English dub is positively rancid and was only made for the first season, since Geneon/Funimation didn’t make enough money off that one to fund an official localization of Kai. The Japanese voice track is perfect, however, with wonderful performances that really add to the atmosphere and personality of the characters.
You might not want to commit to a 50 episode series where the first 10-15 minutes play out like a bad slice of life for young girls and pedophiles, but you won’t regret it in the least of you decide to. Just stay the hell away from the spiritual successor anime, Umineko.
Written by Foggle
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The Boondocks
Based off of Aaron McGruder’s controversial comic strip, The Boondocks is a show that loses none of it’s controversy and helps to build upon said strip by using it’s characters and the medium to its advantage.
Huey and Riley Freeman are two elementary-school aged brothers of African-American descent who live with their grandfather Robert (the whereabouts of their parents are undetermined throughout, but they’re considered dead) in a upper-class white suburban neighborhood. The Freeman clan make their best to fit in and meet colorful characters along the way, like the self-hating racist Uncle Ruckus, multi-millionaire Ed Wuncler, his over-privileged hoodlum grandson Ed III and best friend Gin Rummy, and the daunty DuBois clan.
Each character is filled to their bones with bad traits, but that’s where a lot of the humor comes from, since there is so few good in between the bad that each character relates. Huey is a self-righteous freedom fighter with little compassion for mankind, Riley aspires to be a convict, Robert is an egotistical fool, Ruckus is a venom-spouting maniac, Tom DuBois is oblivious to his actions, and so on. The strange thing is that each of these characters mean well more often than not, and rarely use their flaws in character out of intentional spite. They’re done more for laughs than anything, and work most of the time.
And even then, it’s just plain funny on it’s own. When it goes for simple laughs, like the Stinkmeaner or A Pimp Named Slickback sagas, it works at delivering oddball storylines with glimpses of heart in between. When they get more topical, like a Werner Herzog-directed documenatry on the presidential election of Barack Obama or bringing Martin Luther King back to life to criticize what he has fought for, the show is even funnier as it tries to bridge the gap between satire and just plain outlandish humor.
Some episodes, or just the whole show in general, may be harder to sell for audiences than others, but that’s the same with all good satires. And the way The Boondocks does it is a strong part of the show’s success. Also having some top notch animation, even if the designs also aren’t for everyone, in a type of animated series where animation is second to last priority, is another. And just being a ray of tough, honest humor that isn’t entirely fratboy or toilet humor based on [adult swim]’s schedule is a blessing.
Written by Avaitor
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Invader Zim
On the planet Irk, the tallest rule over the rest of the civilization, as they plan Operation Impending Doom II, when as many of the Irkens travel across the universe to conquer as many planets as they can. All goes well until Zim, an Irken Invader banished after destructing the first Operation Impending Doom, quits his banishment so he can become a part of the next Operation. Reluctant to give him another shot, the Almighty Tallest send Zim to the last planet they can find, Earth, and send him there with a defunct SIR unit, which should be his robot guardian.
Zim lands on Earth with Gir, his unit, as they intend to take over it while fitting into society. Zim enrolls into public school where he seems to fit in, except for the paranormal-obsessed Dib, who notices something is off with Zim.
And here is Invader Zim, arguably the most intense and controversial series to air in Nickelodeon’s history. It seems unfathomable that a show that expects us to laugh at the concept of a confused alien swallow the organs of various humans to make him seem “more normal or a child who is constantly attacked and put under extreme forms of therapy would air on such a child-friendly channel after the days of Rocko and Ren & Stimpy were done with.
The strange thing is that this works, and the show is hilarious throughout. Its humor is very black, combined with a huge supply of randomness along the way. The constant struggle that both Zim and Dib go through contrast among each other well and make for good episodes focusing on one, the other, or both. When things get a little too dull with just one, the insanely wacky Gir and Dib’s apathetic sister Gaz make up for that, among other supporting characters.
If you’re able to handle dark comedy and the insanity of Gir, Invader Zim should be up your alley. It has a brief run (27 fully made episodes), but just about every one of them is worth watching.
Written by Avaitor
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Animaniacs
Zany to the max, bologna in our slacks, you know the thing. Animaniacs is arguably one of the biggest nostalgic favorites from people who were raised on 90’s cartoons, and still holds up for the most part. It’s a fun attempt to recreate the fun of the Warner cartoons with original characters, and has enough charm to stand on its own.
A spin-off of sorts from Tiny Toons, Animaniacs follows the wacky misadventures of the Warner Brothers, Yakko and Wakko, and the Warner Sister, Dot, as they attempt to make some kind of impact on the modern cartoon scene after losing the chance to make one back in the golden age of animation. Packed with the energy and zest of their Warner Bros. brethren, the little critters go all over the place to get some laughs, from practically every period of time to the sets of Barney, Power Rangers, Friends, and other 90’s favorites.
They get followed by a bunch of other cartoon characters, like the retired Warners star Slappy Squirrel, the musically inclined Rita and Runt, and fellow entry Pinky & the Brain. The quality of their follow-ups vary, but you’re bound to get some good stuff throughout.
Another part that people tend to remember is the music. The late Richard Stone, among other strong composers, created a lot of memorable numbers, from songs that teach you all the nations of the world and all the states and their capitals, to parodies of the Macarena and popular theme songs. Not to mention the show’s own iconic theme song, which still burns in the heads of many, including the person who wrote this.
Animaniacs doesn’t really work all the time. Sometimes the Warners get a little too cruel, and some of the supporting cartoons aren’t as appealing. But when it works, it’s great, definitely good enough to make it on here.
Written by Avaitor
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Tiny Toon Adventures
They’re tiny, they’re toony, they’re all a little looney, and hopefully I don’t have to say any more to give you the idea of where I’m going. The first of Spielberg and Ruegger’s collaborations with Warner Bros, Tiny Toons was the innovator and arguably the most aesthetically successful of them all.
The idea of the show was that the descendants of the classic Looney Tunes all go to school together and are taught by the masters themselves- Bugs, Daffy, Porky, Foghorn, and the gang. Here, they learn how to entertain like the Looneys and use this half-hour program to show off what they’ve learned Buster and Babs Bunny (no relation) are the hosts, while they also have close friends Plucky Duck and Hamton Pig keep up with them, among numerous other familiar characters.
The show has a good balance of short sketches put together to recreate the charm of the classics they’re studying, with their own little twists, as well as ones that have their main characters make the best out of their experiences as children. Depending on the theme of the episode, you might catch poor kitty Furball miserably try little Sweetie, Babs try to sneak her way out of a family night in, or Plucky reminiscing on the days where he first learned that “water go down” the hole. Then you might even get full half-hour episodes that get a group of the characters to go through wacky or even not-so-wacky adventures together. You might even get an episode dedicated to music videos or television parodys.
And depending on who works on said cartoons and how they were handled, each of these situations could turn out to very entertaining. Tiny Toons was a good balance between classic conventions and modern standards in terms of animated storytelling. And thanks to a very talented staff, it worked more often than not, and holds up well.
Written by Avaitor
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DuckTales
The spirit of adventure was something not often explored in animation back in the late 80s. I mean, sure there were adventure shows, but nothing ever managed to grasp the feeling of adventure as well as, say, the film classic, The Goonies. They all felt like the Superfriends, simple stories that simply changes locations to give the illusion of a grand adventure. However, DuckTales, based on Carl Barks’ legendary comics, was not like that. One of the most important shows of the decade, and reason the childhood favorite block The Disney Afternoon exists, DuckTales knew everything there was to know about adventure and it made sure to tell you every single day of the week. That’s right, not only was this 100 episode show of such high quality that it competed with shows on Saturday morning, but it was in fact a syndicated show that aired daily, blowing most offerings in the animated world away at the time.
Why was DuckTales a hit? Well, other than it being high quality in writing and characterization as well as fun for the whole family, it literally could do anything. One week it could be an adventure into a long forgotten culture, the next week it could be centered around the town of Duckburg (our heroes’ main residence) to focus on smaller affairs, and the next it could be set in space, or it could center on romance, or… Well, you get the idea. The main cast was always fun to watch, whether it was the iconic and adventurous Scrooge McDuck, his nephews (Huey, Dewey, and Louie) who were always ready to look into things deeper than their uncle was, their foolish pilot Launchpad McQuack (quite possibly the best character to come out of the show who did not originate in the original comic) or the many other supporting characters, the DuckTales universe is as large as it is unique and tuning in to any given episode could give you a very different cast of characters than the next.
The show is still remembered today by those of us who grew up with the Disney Afternoon and is still looked back on, however, unlike most shows from childhood (that did not make the list for nostalgia goggles-related reasons) DuckTales still manages to hold up. The Disney Afternoon would gain a reputation for high quality syndicated shows (that it would unfortunately lose as it neared its end) as it went on, but it all started with DuckTales which is still arguably one of the best shows of the 1980s.
Written by Desensitized
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Home Movies
The show I will forever associate with the potential Adult Swim once had, Home Movies is one of the best animated shows of all time. Interesting in that, it’s not animated because what’s done on the show wouldn’t work in live action. No, it’s animated because there would be no way for the show to work right otherwise… it’s hard to explain. Home Movies was a very unique show in more than one way. Heavily driven by it’s dialogue and unique characters, Home Movies is a show that could only be done in animation, and a show that could have only lived on Adult Swim. (Even if it lived on UPN for a few episodes in 1999, it bombed rather badly) The show somehow managed 4 seasons and 52 episodes, and still lives on with one of the strongest cult audiences for an animated show, possibly only topped by King Of The Hill or Invader ZIM.
The show is about a boy named Brendon Small who likes to make home movies with his friends that are based (usually unintentionally) on the things that happen in his life. It’s very straightforward, and is brilliant in it’s simple premise. The people Brendon encounters in his life are usually rather normal, just a little off in their quirks in order to affect Brendon’s life in simple and subtle, yet important ways. The most important character to demonstrate this (and the show’s most popular character) is Coach Jon McGuirk, a loud, drunk, crude, and insensitive middle aged man who has a very skewed take on life and society all of which usually tend to rub off on Brendon in ways that aren’t always obvious.
Home Movies is a very subtle show, with a very peculiar depth, charm, and soul to it that none of it’s creators, or the network that aired it, have managed to match yet.
Written by Desensitized
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South Park
In 1997, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone debuted their soon to become popular animated comedy series, South Park. The show started out as a notoriously offensive and raunchy comedy with plenty of shock and gross-out humor to go around, and since the beginning has generally followed the adventures of 4 boys, Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny, that revolve around the strange town of South Park that they live in, full of idiotic adults and plenty of absurd plot set-ups for just about each episode. As of today….its still and offensive and raunchy show that churns out plenty of gross-out humor (though the shock value of all that has all but worn itself out). Where the show managed to truly shine, though, was when it evolved its humor to incorporate more intelligent jokes, a fair amount of obvious but undeniably funny social commentary, and when it managed to brilliantly mix it in with its own strange style of humor from the early episodes.
South Park didn’t truly gain its footing in this regard until its 3rd season, which is really when the show started to push toilet-humor into the background in favor of much more clever writing and honestly better jokes. What arguably kept people coming back to the show was the boys, though, which is what this series is really all about when it comes down to it. Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny, are basically characters that represent how kids act and think when their parents are not around, yet they are such fun characters to watch, and the way that they interact or drive the episodic plots forward really makes what could have been another lame attempt at an offensive comedy show into something far more entertaining. Stan and Kyle make a perfect pair of best friends who both serve as the more sensible and reasonable yet sometimes mischievous characters of the series. Its arguably Cartman who almost single-handedly defines this show’s sense of humor. He is probably the most despicable character in every single one of his mannerisms, using his ingenious planning for various schemes that are at the very least for his own selfish gain and at the worst….well, lets just say that he’s the exact opposite of the kid that you would think of as being a perfect little angel. Yet, despite having no likeable qualities about him, he is by far the most entertaining character in the series and its almost impossible to hate him, especially when he is the biggest contributor to some of the best moments of animated comedy over the course of the show’s run. As for Kenny….he usually dies (in almost each single episode for the first few seasons of the show) before he really has anytime to make an impact on viewers, yet somehow people still remember him for his various notorious death scenes, and I’d be lying if I said that even a few of those didn’t manage to get me laughing.
On the whole, while some may argue that South Park has lost its edge in recent years or that it was just a crappy comedy loaded with toilet-humor at its heart, it can’t be denied of its huge impact among animated comedy shows that air on television. In truth, its far from a perfect series, but at its highs it manages to be a brilliant satire of various popular social and cultural trends and it manages to give out social commentary without ever forgetting the kind of ridiculous and offensive show that it is. I suppose you could say that at its core, South Park is the right way to do offensive comedy and make social commentary without feeling annoyingly preachy or forgetting that its supposed to actually be funny. Over the years it has no doubt garnered its fair share of haters, but when really looked at for what it is its easily one of the funniest and most entertaining animated comedies that has aired since its debut, and the fact that its still been running to this day is strong evidence that it has continued to remain funny and enjoyable, and its for that reason that this series has a spot on our list.
Written by Ensatsu-Ken
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Dragon Ball
This is the tale of a strange young boy with a monkey’s tail, Son Goku, and the mystical adventures he partakes in….before ultimately becoming a hyper-buffed muscle-bound warrior who takes on intergalactic baddies who have enough power to destroy a few planets with just a flick of their wrist in an inevitable sequel series that didn’t quite make our list. However, the reason that Dragon Ball takes a spot that most people would rank DBZ in is because DB succeeds largely at what it sets out to be: a perfectly constructed series of adventures and over-the-top martial arts fights, with an excellent sense of humor throughout the whole experience to go along with it!
Now to set any misconceptions about this series aside, its not full of dragged power-up scenes and battles that each take up enough episodes to fill out an entire short anime season of their own, nor is it the shonen series that started all of the ridiculous shonen cliches that we are accustom to from the medium in this day and age (in fact it mocked many of those things which were cliche even in its time). The reason Akira Toriyama was labeled as a genius for writing Dragon Ball was because he was naturally able to churn out extremely simple yet interesting characters, fun adventure scenarios, well-constructed action scenes, and fairly raunchy but undeniably charming humor each and every week throughout the manga’s 11-year run. Toei adapted his manga into 2 series, but really only managed to capture the fun spirit of Toriyama’s work with this adaptation of the first half of the series.
The series works for multiple reasons, but among the main ones is the character Son Goku himself, an eternally classic hero in the shonen genre. To be more specific it especially works since he is a young child for most of the series who was raised by his grandfather away from any sort of civilization or society for most of his life, so his naive nature and simple-minded persona come off as innocent (as opposed to when he still retains most of these qualities as an adult in DBZ, where its much less acceptable), and Goku himself comes off as a likable character who makes you want to follow the series to see what adventures or fights he will take part in next. Each story arc flows at a nice and consistent pace, with minimal padding for a series of this length and a decent amount of filler that is actually quite good by any standards, and not just relative to other filler in other series.
The series is filled with well-composed background music, on top of all of its other points of praise, which helps add something to almost every scene of the series, and can even be good enough to elicit an emotional response out of its audience, which is saying a lot for a series as simply constructed as this one. And, of course, this whole entry would be almost pointless if I didn’t mention that it was in fact a huge influence on numerous popular mangaka who wrote future popular shonen series, including Eichiro Oda, who many know as the creator of the highly acclaimed manga One Piece.
To sum it up, Dragon Ball makes our list (no less in a fairly high ranking in which most other lists of this sort would rank its sequel series) because its one of the closest things that we have seen to a perfectly constructed adventure series, in which fights play a big part as well but never make the other aspects of the show take a back-seat. Its important to note that this is NOT simply a product of pure nostalgia, as the series has proven to stand the test of time with its mastery of memorable characters and adventure tales that can easily entertain young kids while simultaneously entertaining almost any full-grown adult (many of us at AR, included).
Written by Ensatsu-ken
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Daria
Imagine if John Hughes made a TV series similar to his classic 80’s high school films, focused less on the awkwardness of high schoolers, more on eccentric characteristics and stereotype bending, and social issues relatable on just about any level. That would be Daria, taken from a minor character in Beavis & Butthead, which somehow managed to become a more socially aware program than Mike Judge’s show was.
Daria focuses on the titular heroine, a student at Lawndale high school who likes to read, think for herself, and is horribly apathetic. In other words, she’s the “anti-teen”, an undesirable personality with highly desirable grades. Daria’s best friend Jane is an equal outcast- a gifted artist with an equally unmotivated spirit and a questionable family history. Their clever banter and mutual feeling of isolation help to build a chemistry that makes the show what it is.
But it’s not just Jane who contributes to the main character’s endeavors. Daria’s parents, Helen and Jake mean well, but don’t seem to get her as well as they think they do. Helen often chooses her work over her family, which alienates Helen from her motherly duties, while Jake, after all these years, still has emotional baggage the weight of a bowling ball bag to handle. Their love and support of Daria’s intelligence and lack of convention is prevalent throughout however. Daria’s sister Quinn is too self-centered and obsessed with her looks to show her affection to her sister, but even at early phases of the show, it’s apparent that Quinn does love Daria.
The characters are a big part of the show, and another saving grace regarding the cast is the lack of black and white in the admit tingly cookie cutter personalities. Daria and Jane, as clever as they are, speak their issues more than act towards them, which they both get called out for at various points in the show. Quinn is shallow, but increasingly develops beyond the Fashion Club’s stupidity as the show progresses. Kevin the QB and his ditzy cheerleader girlfriend Brittany are the toast of the town, but don’t have a touch of malice on them, jealously aside. They genuinely act out of kindness, even if they don’t get the point, and don’t treat Daria as much of a lesser being. Even Ms. Lee, the money-grubbing principal, acts the way she does for the sake of Lawndale High. Just about every character on the show is well-balanced and has plenty of time to flesh out.
The writing is also tops. Daria might seem a little dated now that the show premiered over a decade ago, but even it’s most dated references are still entertaining today. Fans of music, film, and literature will find a lot to enjoy, while the vast range of characterization lends itself to great dialogue on it’s own. There are even moments of higher thought in which the strength of the writers and their understanding of the characters pull off legitimately touching moments.
Daria is a high school program unlike just about any before it, and unlike any after it. To find another show like it that treats audiences as well would be damn near impossible to do.
Written by Avaitor
18 –
Mobile Suit Gundam
Amuro Ray, the son of a weapon’s technician, finds himself a Mobile Suit model when his colony is attacked during the One Year War. After discovering that he’s able to rock a Gundam better than a lot of pilots, he then becomes enlisted to the Federation. He eventually encounters the famed Zeon principality pilot Char Aznable, and the rest is history.
Mobile Suit Gundam almost single-handily created the formula for one of the most viable types of anime- the mecha series. One that is continually stolen from today. You have the unsure rookie who starts off as a little rocky but eventually becomes one of the best fighters. A fairly big supporting cast that range from the motivating allies to the questionable rogues to BAMF pilots with previous experience. Tons of action on and off the war field. An ongoing storyline which starts off with a conflict-of-the-week format but cuts down to the point near the end. Themes of war and personal struggle repeated throughout. And a strongly defined relationship between the protagonist and antagonist.
The last is what draws a majority of fans in. Amuro and Char’s struggles go beyond the war field, and become increasingly personal as this series and future ones progress. To not spoil this series for newcomers, one particular woman leaves an impact on both of their lives which continues to burn for the rest of their lives.
The original Gundam has inspired many, to the point that multiple prequels, continuations in numerous works of media, and movies, enough to result in there being various universes. Today, they’re still making Gundam continuations all over the place and while there may never be an end, the original is what holds up among the best and what deserves a ranking more than anything.
Written by Avaitor
17 –
Futurama
From the famed creator of none other than The Simpsons, Matt Groening, we were treated to this futuristic comedy much in the same vein and sense of humor as the creator’s first big animated series. In a way you could describe it as a more up to date interpretation of The Jetsons. The series starts off with one of the primary characters, a pizza delivery boy named Philip J. Fry getting trapped in a cryogenic freezing tube quite literally right before the dawn of the new millenium (the new millenium of that time being the 2000’s. A thousand years later he awakes in futuristic world that’s about to enter into the millenium of the 3000’s, but all of that is just basic back story that you’ll learn not to care about when you really get down to this show’s main point: which is to basically make you laugh your ass off with some of the most brilliant use of humor that can be seen on an animated television show.
In the first episode we are also introduced to the 2 other primary characters of this show, Leela (a mostly stern female Cyclops who serves as a buffer of sorts to Fry’s more goofy and idiotic personality; though with a healthy dose of her own ridiculous nature to contribute to the show) and Bender (a bending unit robot who drinks, smokes, and constantly delivers the best lines and contributes the largest amount to this shows humor). Fry, Leela, and Bender end up joining the Planet Express, an intergalactic delivery company (owned by a descendant of Fry of all people: Professor Farnsworth), and most of the show’s shenanigans spawns from their adventures taking on crazy jobs as the company’s delivery crew, traveling to strange or exotic alien planets and finding themselves in a plethora of strange and sometimes downright weird situations. In addition to the main cast we get a fair amount of supporting characters, both fellow Planet Express employees as well as various villanous figures such as Mom. The supporting characters complement the main characters very well and completes the package of what I must say is probably one of the funniest ensembles of a cast that I have seen in any animated program in my time.
What makes the show work so well is both the chemistry between these characters and the generally good writing. Watching the best-friend duo of Fry and Bender is always a treat and the ludicrous situations that they both get themselves in due to their common immature nature is big part of what gives life to this series. This of course usually gets Leela involved in order to save their asses, and having these 3 characters interact together is what makes up the heart of the show. That’s not to say that its at all formulaic, though, as the series covers a wide variety of completely different plot set-ups with each episode, and in later seasons you’ll be treated to some truly bizarre yet undeniably genius (from a writing and comedic standpoint) situations that the crew finds themselves in. In the vein of episodes that highly deliver on the pure comedy, I’d personally have to recommend “Fry and the Slurm Factory” and “Where No Fan Has Gone Before” among the purely zany comedy episodes (there are plenty of other great ones to be sure, but those are just personal favorites of mine).
Of course, this show wouldn’t rank as high on our list as it does if it weren’t something more than just good comedy. And, to the show’s well deserved credit, it can do a damn good job of mixing in just the right amount of drama to actually get you feeling for the very same characters that you are laughing at throughout the entire show. Episodes like “Leela’s Homeworld” and “Jurassic Bark” are superb examples of how you can have a ton of great comedy and just a small but undeniably great touch of sadness and drama in an animated comedy series and actually make it work. In general the characters can show some real touching sides to them when the writers see fit, but it never becomes too much as to feel out of place and this series never forgets that its primarily a great comedy, which is why it always works so damn well (and yes, I mean ALWAYS).
Futurama is indeed a fitting name for this show, in that I would swear that the show was ahead of its time in its comedic dialogue and delivery as well as its small but well appreciated dramatic touches, as nearly all of it holds up extremely well to this day.
*Editor’s Note: Keep in mind that this entry was written with the first 4 seasons of the series in mind, before its initial cancellation. The later movies and new seasons on Comedy Central were not taken into account at the time that this entry was written.*
Written by Ensatsu-Ken
16 –
Justice League Unlimited
Take the incarnations of Batman and Superman that we’ve grown accustomed to in Bruce Timm’s animated series, along with the brief glimpse of the Flash we met in Superman: TAS, add in new versions of Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter and Hawkgirl, and bring in a fully-developed take of the Green Lantern John Stewart, and that’s Justice League in a flash. Some of DC’s most popular super heroes along with a couple of surprise choices taking on the world and favorite rivals.
Keep the same idea from the first 52 episodes of Justice League, but add in just about everyone else in the DC canon, including Supergirl, and then we get Unlimited, the equally popular continuation that lasted another three seasons and continued to build upon the characters.
If you’re a fan of DC or super heroes in general, Justice League is a bit of a wet dream, since it encompasses so many of the best qualities of the mythology and doesn’t lose much in translation. The characters are very well-defined, contain varied traits and qualities that can be found in their best stories, and are perfectly casted.
If you’re not as big on them but still appreciate good storytelling, then JL is still highly recommended. You get enough time to get behind the core 7 Justice League members, as well as a bunch of the new ones, and the stories are very well-done. There’s a strong balance between science fiction, reality-based crime, and personal dilemmas that are told throughout the entirety of the show. The stories are easy to go through, and are done well enough for practically anyone to get into.
Justice League was done in an era where Cartoon Network was still aimed for children, but had no problems aiming for older viewers. It’s still good for kids, but there’s enough adult situations, innuendos, and threatening plots for anyone far outside the usual demographic to get into it. Enough to bring in massive ratings for adult viewers, and still contain a giant cult following today, and still make action figures for, even 5 years after it’s original run ending.
It’s one of the best super hero shows ever made and is still a highlight for fans of the community today. An easy top 20 entry.
Written by Avaitor
15 –
Rocko’s Modern Life
Each of the classic Nicktoons had a distinctive identity (we’ll get into this a little more some point along the road), and Rocko‘s was being the quirky show. The really quirky one- the one that would dare to make jokes about the No Tell Motel, make an entire episode about the main character’s horny next-door neighbor make Mrs. Robinson look like the moms from The Kids Are Alright, have an angry mob attack him for liking rainbows, and get us to gaze at the nipples of the future. Oh, and make a musical about the pluses and minuses of conversation, and episodes involving the animation industry, politics of dog catching, and interspecies marriage.
Yeah, Rocko’s Modern Life was an odd show. Odd in a hilarious way. That’s what made it so endearing. What other series could be able to tug at our heartstrings about the hardships of old age right before and after seeing a wallaby being whacked by an old wolf for being a beaver?
Rocko is your average wallaby out of Australia. A nice guy making a living by working at a comic book shop. Along with his good friend Heffer Wolfe (who’s actually a steer) and Filbert the turtle, Rocko goes through ordinary every day life in some not-some-ordinary ways. It’s the constant absurdity of the situations on top of the show’s consistently sharp writing and off-kilter humor that made RML stick out among all the other cartoons from the time, and make it hold up today. There aren’t many better balances of kid-friendly humor on top of sensual and satirical references that would be over the head of most children than what you got in Rocko, and today’s animators wish they had the ability to make a comedy that stuck like it.
While plenty of animators are attempting to make cartoons for “grown-ups”, most adult viewers would be more likely to find pleasure in this gem than most of what passes for adult comedy nowadays. One of Nick’s highlights from the 90’s, and one of their best series in general.
Written by Avaitor
14 –
Gargoyles
In the wake of Batman: The Animated Series in the early 90’s, animated actions shows saw a change in tone, from the campy stories and cardboard characters of the 80’s to a general darker tone with more complex stories and characters, including the villains. While other shows may have earned some merit in their attempt to live up to BTAS‘s success, only one show, airing on Disney Afternoon of all possible places on television at the time, truly managed to answer to it: Gargoyles. With a genius like Greg Weisman working on the project, and a team of talented writers and animators, Gargoyles managed to take the action show audience by storm, quite simply because it was more than just a great action show. It was top-notch on all fronts, from story and dialogue to characters and voice-acting. We even got complex villains that were not only sufficient threats to the heroes but were interesting to analyze as characters in and of themselves.
The story itself is simple enough: In the middle ages where mythical creatures such as Gargoyles exist, a certain clan of Gargoyles led by Goliath protect a Scottish castle from constant attack, as ferocious creatures that scare and fight off any pillagers away with ease. What balances out their strength, though, is their weakness of turning into stone and being left completely vulnerable during the hours of daylight. Through certain circumstances of betrayal and deception, many Gargoyles are killed and only a few of Goliath’s clan are left alive, and those that did survive are cursed to turn to stone until their castle rises above the clouds. Thankfully in the present day with modern technology, a man by the name of David Xanatos is able to break their curse: and THIS is where the show really starts. Early on in the series, however, it is revealed that Xanatos himself has ulterior motives and quickly shows his true colors as a villain, which only shows the Gargoyles how this generation is just as untrustworthy as the one they were used to. That is with the exception of a lone police woman, Elisa Maza, who discovers and befriends them, and acts as their ally supporting them in all of their endeavors in the modern world. Through this, a basic premise becomes far more interesting when mythical creatures of an older time period are forced to live in a completely new era, not only in a land foreign to their own but in an entire world that they are unfamiliar with. Yet through it all they must maintain their divinity as the heroic characters that they are, and overcome the heavy themes of prejudice and misunderstood hate and fear that they are subject to throughout this series.
Gargoyles is a show riddled with very dynamic interactions between each of its characters, especially when it comes to its villains. In addition to Xanatos revealing himself as an enemy to the Gargoyles, one of their own who they previous thought to be dead shows up, only to inevitably betray them in her hate and disgust for humankind, and cause them further hardships as their greatest foe. She comes to call herself Demona, and by far she is the most memorable villain of this series for her deep back-story and extremely complex and intricate persona. You really get a sense of how her mind works throughout the series and at times can’t help but sympathize with her, which aside from BTAS, makes for one of the only action shows of the time that could really make such a complex villain that even as a kid someone would actually want to analyze. Throughout the series there are a number of other well-written villains, some of them having ties to other characters and also coming off as quite memorable.
Of course, no great action show could be great if it didn’t have great heroes that people would keep coming back to see with each new episode, and Gargoyles of course did not disappoint one bit in this department. Goliath, voice by the extremely talented and deep-voiced Keith David, immediately stands as a stern and bold character who was always destined to be a great leader, and throughout the series he does more than just beat up tough baddies, but also subjects himself to tough decision-making and always puts his neck out for the rest of the team and to protect his police ally Elisa, who strangely enough is the only human who he ever puts his full trust in (there is a….strange infatuation that goes on between the 2, to say the least). Elisa herself is a very interesting character in her own right, in how accepting she is of the Gargoyles despite not exactly being raised in a position where she would have even believed such mythical creatures existed before actually meeting them, and more often than not she is more useful than any individual member of Goliath’s clan, often getting the team out of danger more times than they have to save her, which isn’t very often at all due to how resourceful and independent she is. The other clan members are also highly interesting, and while they don’t get nearly as much depth as Goliath, Elisa, and some of the villains do, they work very well together as a team and the character dynamics between them as they interact with one another makes for some truly interesting moments in the show. Hudson is the old, former-leader of the team, but he still proves to be a great warrior and acts as the wise advisor to Goliath, and a source of inspiration for the rest of the team. Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington, and their pet Gargoyle-like thing, Bronx (yes, if you haven’t guessed by now, they chose to name themselves after popular areas in New York) each play off of each other very well and serve to help balance out the series by giving it a humorous, comic relief side, yet at the same time they can be equally as serious as any of the main characters and are the core of what makes the whole team-dynamic of this show work so well.
Going into everything that makes this a great show and a worthy entry on ANY list of the greatest animated shows of all time would mean that this entry would go on forever. What can be said is that beyond the success of BTAS, Gargoyles further proved the success of giving both younger and older fans of action shows and animation in general alike a deeper and darker experience with more complex characters from heroes to villains, on all fronts. While a show like BTAS started the trend of giving action cartoon fans what they always really wanted in a truly great series, if it weren’t for nearly equally important shows like Gargoyles which further proved the success of breaking past the traditional formula of the 80’s cartoons, the trend may have died out before long. Thanks to series like this, however, we can now enjoy the numerous great action cartoons that have spawned since then, so not only is it a quality show that holds up perfectly well upon repeated viewings, but it is also an extremely important item in the history of televised animation, and thus fully deserves its spot on this list.
Written by Ensatsu-ken
13 –
The Flintstones
The challenge for Hanna-Barbera over 50 years ago: create a half-hour animated sitcom primarily starring humans, build a fanbase out of more than just children, and hold up on it’s own for primetime.
The result: with The Flintstones, Hanna-Barbera had created arguably it’s most successful property. Lasting a than unheard of six season run that continually ran in repeats for years to come, made billions in merchandise, and has had enough spin-offs and continuations to leave fans happy for a lifetime. Even today the show still has a large, loyal fanbase of all ages that could recognize the scream of “Yabba-Dabba-Doo” in an instant.
Going primetime is possibly the best thing that could have happened to Hannah-Barbera. Their earlier funny animal cartoons such as Huckleberry Hound and Quick Draw McGraw saved grace by having former Looney Tunes storymen Warren Foster and Michael Maltese handle their scripts, but later additions such as Hokey Wolf and Yakky Doodle sucked the studio’s creativity dry, while even some of the best would have classic gags from their writer’s previous shorts lifted in limited animation. Flintstones had top-notch scripts hit up by the studio’s best, which satirized the tropes used in sitcoms at the time, as well as used some to their advantage.
There is an array of classic stories told in the bulk of the show, ranging from Fred trying to live it up at a masquerade ball to him and Barney writing a number for his baby Pebbles with Ann Margorck, with touches of sci-fi added in with the Great Gazoo or the case of the multiple Fred’s. Each story here is added with enough fresh wit and clever slapstick that holds up for children and adults alike.
The characters are what really make the show though, especially the relationships. Fred Flintstone is the most endearing character from the series, and for good reason. Fred is an idealistic schemer, an active dreamer with a silver tongue and a heart of gold. No matter what may come out of his mouth, Fred never steps over the line and remains an ideal lead. Wilma’s sarcastic hard love is a great match for him, and the two remain one of the most beloved animated couples of all time. Meanwhile, the Rubbles are sweeter and less judgemental, but still have their tempers, which make for a fun contrast between the characters.
Admittedly the show got increasingly campier as it went on, with additions such as Pebbles, Bamm-Bamm, and the Great Gazoo messing up the formula a little, and the advent if guest appearances also felt out of place. The first few seasons, as well as the highlights from even the weaker years are still charming 50 years on, and the show’s legacy in undeniable.
Written by Avaitor
12 –
MGM department umbrella
To cram all of the outstanding works of animation of one major department of animation such as this (each of which could easily occupy their own spot on a list such as this) would be what some would call cheating by tying too many things in one spot. But when the quality of the work from said animation department is so consistently great throughout almost everything they have to offer, its almost a crime to split up their rankings. This entry is more to recognize MGM’s animation department as a whole rather than just any single thing they put out. This mostly consists of the classic Tom and Jerry Cartoons and most of Tex Avery’s work for MGM which were almost purely made up of brilliant one-shots.
Tom and Jerry is a series which I feel pretty much needs no introduction. Its the most simple premise in the world for a cartoon: A cat chases a mouse. Its really an age-old type of set-up, but the brilliance of this show is how creative it gets without the use of any dialogue whatsoever (with the exception of a few rare instances in the series), and how it manages to continually deliver genius slapstick comedy without ever growing tiring or dull. Tom the cat is very easily identifiable as the “prick” of the series. He’s almost always played out to be the villain with each 7-10 minute episode and a majority of the show often shows him either concocting or carrying out convoluted mouse-trap schemes which usually end in failure, and when he’s not doing that he is often portrayed as acting like a jerk in some form. Jerry the mouse serves as his perfect foil and his basic role is usually to outwit his schemes, cause him to fail, and generally infuriate the hell out of him. Its a tried but true mechanism of slapstick that works well through fantastic animation and sound direction and just great animation in general.
Its not easy to give characters distinct personalities without having them speak, but Tom & Jerry accomplishes just that. On top of this it must be noted that due to its lack of dialogue it has some of the most universal appeal you can find in animation. Anything with dialogue is subject to both language and cultural barriers, and while slapstick itself may be remotely subject to some cultural barriers, it is easily the most universal form of comedic entertainment you can come up with, and its no wonder why Tom and Jerry has also been a phenomenal success in popularity overseas, which is a true testament to its value as a work of animation and art.
With the occasional exception of episodes which feature different versions of Tom and Jerry in alternate settings, such as the well-remembered episode “Touché, Pussy Cat!” (featuring a renaissance setting). But whichever format you saw them in, the characters were always completely recognizable and easy to be entertained by, and its no wonder that they have become some of animation’s most iconic figures in all of animation history. From Academy Award winning episodes like “Quiet Please!” to….more Academy Award winning episodes like “The Cat Concerto,” Tom and Jerry is almost always full of entertainment and holds up extremely well despite being over half a century old. If MGM’s animated works were to come to ones mind, these 2 icons would always be the first ones that pop into one’s mind, and Tom and Jerry would be the first series that they think of for quite a good reason.
Of course, another key part of the studio’s history is when Fred “Tex” Avery joined and got his own directing division. Avery of course made a name for himself at Warner Bros for remodeling the very kind of entertainment that we expect from the Looney Tunes and was responsible for the first cartoons to star Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny, and he brought his zest for comic timing and insanity to MGM.
Avery was never big on recurring characters (he tried to kill Bugs off at Warner; when standards refuses, he left the studio), so it may not have been great for him that his most popular cartoons at MGM were those staring Droopy, the slow, sad-sounding pooch that always makes it out on top. A shame though, since Droopy is a great character with a great voice, whose depressive nature are made up by his tendency to fight back when provoked and dedication to getting the job done. His cartoons are full of laughs.
Then you have Screwy Squirrel, an nutty character akin to Tex’s typical stuff. A nut and a half, Screwy messes with every and anyone that came his way until he can make his cartoons seem fit. Only a few of his cartoons were made before Avery eventually killed him off, but they remain as some of his best.
Arguably the cartoons that define Tex’s style better than the rest, however, are his Red cartoons. The few shorts made starring the ever-horny wolf in his woman-loving rampage remain as racy cartoon masterpieces that explore the sexual desire of men in a way that just about no one else would dare to attempt. The ever-lovely Red performs her heart out to the men who come to her show, while the wolf… is just a wolf. It’s great stuff, and the expressions you get from the characters in these shorts are the stuff of legends.
Be it cartoons featuring king-size canarys, mad maestros, cats that hate people, bad-luck blackies (cats), or George & Junior, a pair that seem similar to Steinback’s George & Lennie, Avery made a plethora of great shorts that redefined what it means to be a funny cartoon and remain some of the best today.
Putting their 2 main sources responsible for some of the greatest productions of animation which MGM had to offer aside, MGM even had a fair amount of brilliance outside of what their Tom and Jerry shorts and what Avery himself worked on. Unfortunately if we were to go into those as well this entry may stretch on the length of a full-blown article (perhaps worth exploring at some point in the future). We will mention some of our personal recommendations, including (but certainly not limited to): The Milky Way, The Unwelcome Guest, Peace on Earth, The Impossible Possum, and The Dot and the Line (among many, many other fantastic works). Whether its their classic Tom and Jerry animation skits, Tex Avery’s genius shorts, or just about anything else from MGM’s animation department that you intend to watch, you can always be positive that you’re in for some of animation history’s finest quality of animation and entertainment.
Written by Ensatsu-Ken & Avaitor (Teamwork, yeah!)
11 –
Neon Genesis Evangelion
How do you classify Neon Genesis Evangelion? You don’t, really. It’s a psychologically disturbed and emotionally scarring clusterfuck of insane ideas that come together in the end to form a deranged and sometimes life-changing viewing experience that can be found nowhere else. It’s true that certain series have tried to emulate Evangelion’s excellence and success (here’s lookin’ at you, RahXephon), but none have succeeded (not even Rebuild, in my opinion). What makes this show so great is a bit unconventional from what one might normally expect; while some may identify with Shinji, virtually none of the characters are actually likable in the traditional sense. Rei has no personality or emotions, Asuka is a fucking asshole, Misato is a drunk, Gendo is the worst father in the world, the list goes on. The story itself comes off as rather generic at first with its “kids piloting giant robots to save Japan from being devastated further by aliens,” as well. Even the animation itself is sub-par, and can be downright lazy on occasion. So, what, then, makes NGE such a masterpiece?
It tackles themes few other anime attempt and does it better – and more maturely – than those that try. What begins like a C-grade shounen mecha anime eventually evolves into something both terrifying and meaningful. Those who can connect with Shinji on any sort of level will find a wonderful show filled with things that they’d never seen or even thought about before. While many may find the final two episodes to be “boring” or “contrived,” I challenge anyone who felt even a bit out of place in their teenage life to craft a more emotionally effective 48 minutes of animation. Yet what truly sets this series apart from other anime is the movie and conclusion, The End Of Evangelion, one of the finest pieces of cinema, animated or otherwise, ever produced. The visuals are magnificent, the violence shockingly brutal, and progression wonderfully thought-provoking. If you got anything out of the TV anime, you will get thrice that out of the movie.
To say that Neon Genesis Evangelion is controversial would be an understatement. Not once have I ever seen anyone say, “oh, it was okay, I guess.” Everyone who watches it either loves it to no end or detests it and everything it stands for. But those who can see what so many like about it and are able to become emotionally invested in it are in for a real treat, one that may not ever come about again within their lifetime.
Written by Foggle
10 –
Yu Yu Hakusho
Yusuke Urameshi is a punk Japanese student. His mom is barely there, he has very few close friends, and his teachers don’t care much for him, to the point that he ends up missing more school than attending. One day, out of a random act of kindness, Yusuke saves the life of a young boy that jumps into traffic to grab his ball. The result is that Yusuke saves the boy’s life, but loses his in the process.
In a divine turn of events, it seems that this wasn’t meant to happen. Botan, the adorable reaper, comes to Yusuke’s spirit with a comprise: if Yusuke is willing to take on spiritual powers to help the king of the spirit world, the great Konema, solve mystical cases, he can have his life back. Yusuke accepts, and then we get Yu Yu Hakusho, one of the most endearing series to come out of Shonen Jump.
Yu Yu is everything a fan of action can hope for, old or young. While the action scenes are insane and worthy of mention, the characters are the heart and soul of the show. Yusuke and his group of fighters and supporters are very well-rounded, to where just about anything you’d want to know about the characters are filled in.
Just looking at the main four fighters, take Hiei. Initially the toughest main character, he doesn’t lose that edge at all, but shows a strong balance of human and demon side early on. The introduction of his half-sister, for one, showed that not only does Hiei not entirely despise humankind, but is willing to kill in a heartbeat for the people he cares for the most, and gives us a taste of his true power, which would be further elaborated on later. When we see his greatest tricks not too long after, the character doesn’t need to prove how much of a badass he is any longer, but that still isn’t the end there.
Kuwabara starts off as a dumb brute who is Yusuke’s rival, but ends up becoming his best friend and one of the most important members of the team. He has a heart and determination that the team all needs and they appreciate his drive. He has an honor code from even the very beginning that helps to build the character. The big guy gives some speeches that while they sometimes go nowhere, always have the right idea and gives just the push that they need.
Kurama is a fox demon with a strong connection to both the human and spirit world, being raised by a human mother but having ties to his fellow demons. What this helps to build is a “pretty boy” with a brain and a heart, one that’s willing to take big sacrifices for the team and not think twice. He also has a finesse that the rest of the team lacks, and lives up to his looks, as well as a mind that strategists can look up to. He may just be the sharpest on the show, but is hardly ever arrogant about it.
And finally, Yusuke’s transformation from rough kid to a clever kid with a good heart isn’t really that big of one as you’d think, since Yusuke was always like that, but never had the chance to prove himself until the compromise. Yusuke, in some ways, is the heart of a show- a tough exterior with good sprinkled throughout that becomes more prevalent when you get into it.
These characters have taken on strong adversaries, from the powerful Toguro brothers to former spirit detective turned rogue Sensui, who understands more about the human world than anyone could possibly care to. Each arc in the show, done without filler or as few cheats as possible, give us a great film-like narrative that are just that good.
Yu Yu Hakusho has heart and intensity that just about every other Jump series wishes they had. It also has a sense of humor, brain and atmosphere missing in them too. Just the show made for beginners and lovers alike.
Written by Avaitor
9 –
Jonny Quest
There was nothing quite like the original Jonny Quest when it premiered in 1964, and although many have tried, there’s been nothing like it since. Not only was Quest the first animated action-adventure series to hit airwaves, but it also had some of the sharpest designs and scripts to grace the Hanna-Barbera studio.
The appeal of Jonny Quest comes from the fact that it’s a boys fantasy. Young Jonny travels across the world with his brilliant scientist father Dr. Benton Quest, babysitter/handyman/adventurer extraordinaire Race Bannon, adopted Indian brother and best friend Hadji, and his loyal dog Bandit. Using some innovative new technology (for the time being), the Quest clan go the world over to work on new scientific breakthroughs, while along the way they experience exciting adventures few people could possibly believe if they weren’t caught on film. In the original 26 episodes, the clan dealt with mummies, robot spies, mutated animals, and various groups of agents, and that’s just a sampling of their adventures.
Quest‘s stories were typically written with a flair for adventure and science fiction, often neatly contained in exciting half-hour stories which contain enough suspense and craft to entertain as well as any hour-long drama could. The characters, while not especially round compared to recent standards, were balanced enough to hold their own throughout the show. The dialogue is pretty sharp, albeit a little hokey, and interactions between the characters feel natural and sound normal for it’s time.
Also contributing to the show’s quality is Doug Wildey’s iconic character designs. More layered than expected from the Hanna-Barbera studio at the time, the show’s visuals balanced Wildey’s comic book influences with a more realistic, atmospheric approach. Even the animation is fairly crisper than the average animated series at the time of Quest’s premiere. It also had the budget to prove it, which combined with Quest’s less-than-exceptional ratings during it’s initial primetime run gave the show a brief lifespan.
Years of seemingly endless repeats have been kind to Jonny Quest. Not only is the show a pop culture icon, with warm sppofs ranging from Freakazoid!‘s “Toby Danger” to The Venture Brothers itself, and has continually been given updates to this day. A “second season” was made in the 80’s to add to it’s syndication count, a spin-off series was made in the 90’s for Cartoon Network to try out new CGI technology, and a live-action movie has been commissioned by Warner to be made in the near future.
On top of never ending repeats on Boomerang, Jonny Quest will always be a part of culture. Without it, the chances of Batman: The Animated Series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, or other favorite action-adventure animated series being made are slim to none. That on top of the fact that it’s still an entertaining piece of adventure-based fiction earns it a spot in the top 10.
Written by Avaitor
8 –
Cowboy Bebop
I’m gonna’ cut the bullshit and lay this out for you right now: there is no cartoon groovier than Cowboy Bebop. From the infectiously jazzy soundtrack to the stylish and sexy action scenes to the unparalleled badassery of the protagonist, this is one series that consistently impresses and never falls flat. It’s THE gateway anime – internationally, it’s bigger than Trigun, bigger than Gundam, heck, it’s bigger than freakin’ Dragon Ball! Even anime detractors get a kick out of seeing Spike Spiegel shoot some poor sap in the face (I’d know; I used to be one of them). It’s always exciting, usually fun, sometimes thought-provoking, and occasionally hilarious. It’s episodic, but the characters grow a bit in every episode, and there’s some semblance of an overarching plot that always comes into play in the very best installments. In essence, it’s the perfect television program; wonderfully paced and never anything but entertaining.
Not every episode is action-packed, but the ones that are certainly rank amongst the top anime episodes ever produced. Frenetic shoot-outs and fist fights abound, especially in the two-part finale and spin-off film, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats from start to finish. The slower-paced episodes offer notable insight into the lives and pasts of our four lovable main characters while never coming off as overly drawn-out or boring, a rare feat that Cowboy Bebop accomplishes as if it were nothing.
The animation is always fluid and never seems dated, despite the series being nearly 13 years old as of this writing. Every scene is animated with a kind of love one rarely sees in anime these days. And who could forget the excellent audio production for this show? The Seatbelts’ wonderful original soundtrack spans more than 5 discs, and against all odds, every track is phenomenal. It’s an OST worth owning – not just by anime fan standards, but by music lover standards, as well. The voice acting is fantastic in both languages, but special mention must be given to the English dub. Steve Blum is Spike Spiegel, no two ways about it.
Sure, one could nitpick the fact that the main plot is important in all of 6 episodes, but that would be missing the point. True space cowboys will weep as they listen to the full version of The Real Folk Blues and grab the popcorn for when they slide in their DVDs for yet another viewing session.
Bang.
Written by Foggle
7 –
Ed, Edd, n’ Eddy
What is there to say about this show that I haven’t said before?
Ed, Edd, n’ Eddy is childhood, the entire experience, rolled up into one series. With the Eds and the rest of the Cul-De-Sac, you get all the joys, the thrill of summer break being in your hands, all the fun you have with your best friends, without the thought that one day you may not see most of them again coming into your head. Then it contains the bad as well, the awkward feelings of confusion, isolation, and heartache that you feel when you get a little older, the increasingly dying sense of innocence, and the inevitable parting of close friends. You also get everything else in between with the show.
The three main characters, each named Ed, each with their own distinctive personality, attempt to entertain their neighborhood chums so they can gain a decent quarter or two off of them for a jawbreaker. Part of the show’s fun comes from watching the Eds come up with new scams, from a taco stand made out of paper plates, crayons, and actual hot sauce, a fully-realized mummy tomb, and a water cruise led on a tire. Seeing what they come up with on so little is funny, but if the characters weren’t so strong, it wouldn’t have the same appeal.
You have Ed, the big lovable oaf. A bit slow, but he knows his sci-fi and can come up with some brilliant ideas. Then there’s Edd, or Double D, the highly temperamental brain of the group. His logic helps the Eds out a lot, but his big mouth hurts them as well, making for a fun compromise. And then there’s Eddy. The man with the plan. The schemer. Partly insane, partly loving, undeniably screwed up, Eddy is the heart, hatred, and pain of the show all at once, which makes him both lovable and deplorable at the same time. There aren’t many main characters like him, which is both a good and bad thing.
Their misadventures and strong chemistry is what pulls the show together, but the supporting cast is just as crucial. We have Ed’s twisted little sister Sarah, her bi-curious playmate Jimmy, tough guy Kevin, flirty girl Nazz, wood-obsessed Johnny 2×4 and his buddy Plank, and of course, the strange foreigner Rolf. Not to mention the horny trailer trash Kanker sisters. Stereotypes we’ve all seen before that get plenty of screen time and development, just about every character here has grown since their first appearances and have fully round reasons for acting like they do, or are even above certain traits of themselves now.
Who hasn’t felt like Eddy before? Alone, depressed, angry, and craving a jawbreaker? Or Jimmy, feeling down and bullied by your superiors, and wanting to stand up for yourself? Or Rolf, just being the odd guy out?
The thing that puts Ed, Edd, n’ Eddy above many other series is how these typical character traits are a part of our own personalities, from their ages to now, and reflect ourselves during arguably the most vulnerable part of our lives. This is what has drawn children to it for years on end, brought the people who grew up with it back to watch the show and remember why they loved it, and brought in older viewers all over the world into these characters.
That, and the fact that everything else about it is just astounding. The scripts are out of this world, with unbelievable dialogue that messes with logic, grammar, and anything else held sacred, all while cracking as few pop culture references or taste barriers as possible. Production values that work better than anything on TV, ranging from amazing animation and storyboard work, to pitch-perfect music, to a reasonably emotionally balanced cast. And the overall setting of Peach Creek, which is unlike anything else.
There’s so much to laud about Ed, Edd, n’ Eddy, but not enough people do. It contains so many emotions despite the type of show it is, and is best enjoyed by those who grew up watching the show and are older to appreciate the attempts at satire it reaches. There wasn’t, isn’t, and won’t be anything as emotionally satisfying and heartbreaking as Ed, Edd, n’ Eddy for it’s demographic, and needs to be appreciated for the modern classic that it is.
Written by Avaitor
6 –
Monster
“The instructors and children died that day, all fifty of them. And Johan simply gazed upon it. I asked him. What did you do? He took an oily rag and tossed it into the fire. He said; “Hate is born when people come together. I just added a little fuel to the flames.” A ten-year-old boy! Kinderheim 511 was an experiment to raise children into perfect soldiers. Looking at it now, it was a meager experiment. Johan was born a leader. He was made to stand at the top. We couldn’t have made a work of art like him. He was more than human, a true monster from the beginning.”
Perhaps the best thing to come out of Japan in a long time, the psychological warfare of Monster is already well regarded as a masterpiece, far be it from me to explain it further. A drama that doesn’t get pretentious with it’s themes, action that doesn’t go over the top, story turns that are not cliched or forced, characters that all have a level of depth, and an ending that ties everything up and manages to leave you thinking, Monster is about as great as the medium of television gets, never mind anime.
Monster is a story about a doctor named Kenzo Tenma who must deal with a decision he made a long time ago, and along the way discover if his worldview (the one that led him to his decision) was truly the right one. Along the way he is tested by the very person he saved with his very decision all those years ago. That’s the gist of it, and telling more would be spoiling, something I simply cannot do for something like Monster. But there is plenty of suspense, drama, life lessons, and even comedic moments along the way.
What makes this stand out from so many other animated dramas is the fact that this is probably one of the best dramas out there period. Not only is it thrilling, action packed, and psychological, but every single character has a role that can not be overlooked. The animation and art also help to enhance the atmosphere of Monster giving it a unique style you will not find in any other drama be they animated or not. Since it’s from a manga, the character designs are ripped from the pages, and the settings, music, and general art replicate the feel of both urban drama, and the historical settings of the plot perfectly.
Adapted from Naoki Urasawa’s manga, Monster is a perfect adaption of his original manga, with no filler or extra duff added in to pad it out like many other anime adaptions. The anime for the most part is a panel by panel adaption of the manga, which many other anime (hello there, Rurouni Kenshin!) could learn from. While you can basically get the same experience from reading the manga, this is more than a worthy adaption equaling the original in the emotional punch the story delivers. Simply put, it’s one of the best stories in animation you’ll ever watch.
written by Desensitized
5 –
King Of The Hill
If there’s a show with a better cast of characters or a stronger good-to-bad episode ratio during a run as long as King of the Hill‘s, it has yet to be created.
The premise of King of the Hill is simple- Hank Hill, an all-American propane salesman in Arlen, Texas, makes the best out of his self-centered wife Peggy, socially confused son, Bobby, abandoned niece Luanne, and his wacky best friends. On top of that, he also deals with his drunk, womanizing boss, abusive father, and the rest of the town as we laugh along with them during Hank and the cast’s trials and tribulations.
King is an animated sitcom, but one written with a flair missing in most situational comedies, animated or not. The cast of King of the Hill has developed greatly over the course of 13 seasons, but have been finely tuned to the point that a line that tackles something as familiar as Dale Gribble’s paranoia or Bobby’s naivety can still make you can still make you laugh like you’ve never heard them before.
The characters on KOTH are incredibly well-defined, and have been from an early point in the show. You have Hank, the voice of reason who isn’t always right nut always means well, Dale’s moronic rambling which often veer into charming more than creepy, Bill depressed state which makes for a laugh and a sob at the same time, and Boomhauer’s incoherent words of wisdom. Then Peggy’s “intellectual” musings, Bobby’s athletic railings and comic stylings, Kahn’s superiority complex, Cotton’s warped generation gap, Luanne’s optimism, and the joys of the supporting characters at Strickland Propane, Tom Landry Middle School, and the rest of Arlen, which make for one hell of a cast.
While King of the Hill‘s animation is fairly standard, the writing more than makes up for it. The fact that we can name all the lesser episodes of over 250 on one hand secures a spot on our list. That years later, we’re still finding episodes of high quality all over the place earns it’s ranking.
Written by Avaitor
4 –
The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show
Take a talking moose and squirrel pair that adhere to the classic buddy comedy formula, have them engage in ongoing serial shorts where they face troubles caused by Russian-like spies, add in a few wraparound shorts, give everything razor-sharp dialogue to make up for the cheap usage of animation, and that’s Rocky and Bullwinkle in essence. A snappy series that could have only been made during the late 50’s-early 60’s, with more cleverness and finesse than anything.
The characters of Rocky and Bullwinkle weren’t necessarily inventive at the time- straight guys and their foolish cohorts were typical in most buddy comedies. Rocky’s mix of optimism and acceptance was a little fresh, since he was never harsh to his buddy, while Bullwinkle was in a class all by himself. He’s cocky, self-assured, an artist, goofy, peculiar, many different things. Obnoxious and unlikable are just about the only things you can’t say he is. They’re also great friends, and handle each predicament tightly as buds.
Then you get the other segments, like Fractured Fairy Tales, which were hilarious send-ups of those classic stories, Peabody and Sherman, where a brilliant dog and his human boy pet go through time to fix history’s problems, and Dudley Do-Right, the world’s wackiest Mountie. Each of these were funny in their own rights, even if they weren’t as typically entertaining as the moose and squirrel could be.
Since the show wasn’t aimed at children in particular, it got away with a lot of references, attacking everything political at the time, as well as pop culture. Disney and the music industry in particular were knocked down a peg a few times by the moose and squirrel, their costars, and in the other segments, but even the harshest attacks were done with a bit of class and intelligence that you just don’t find in programming like this anymore.
The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show was the sharpest thing aimed for children, if not on television period, during the time it was made. If anything dates it, the show’s reliance on using Cold War paranoia to sell a joke might make some of it’s jokes lost to younger viewers, but the vibrant use of language, brilliantly-plotted conversation, and the show’s ability to twist general conventions around is what brings people back to it. And it still lives in today, thanks to how many people in the industry it has influenced and how deeply it has effected pop culture. To the point that creator Jay Ward nearly got Moosylvania, Bullwinkle’s home state, granted statehood.
If that doesn’t earn the show a ranking, everything else does. Maybe even a top 5, which is why it’s here.
Written by Avaitor
3 –
The Simpsons
The show that built the FOX network, the Simpsons was a revolution in comedy when it started that continued for almost a decade, and without it, there is a good chance a lot of the shows that came after would simply not exist. The Simpsons was the master of low brow, high brow, subtle, obvious, referential, cartoon, satire, parody, and Warhol humor and at the same time defined a whole generation of kids, teenagers, and college students that are currently writing the stuff you watch, read, and listen to nowadays. This contribution is not something to be scoffed at, and in the field of animation is almost unparalleled. If nothing else, it gave us Conan O’ Brien, and that in itself is no small feat.
A show about the modern family living in the modern world, the Simpson hits all the marks it is supposed to. It is crass, subtle, emotional, thought provoking, hilarious, weird, and fun. At its peak (which was about twice as long as most shows runs on this list) it had everything good entertainment should, and still manages to be quoted, thought of, and looked back on today. Father Homer’s stupidity, daughter Lisa’s overbearing knowledge, son Bart’s mischievous nature, mother Marge’s annoyed nagging, and baby Maggie’s complete silence throughout lead a cast of hundreds of unique characters in the crazed town of Springfield all just as crazy as them.
What else am I supposed to say? There are no comedy shows in this day and age that have spanned quite the range this show has. The animation, despite the budget it has, manages to keep up with and enhance the writing to an even greater level, making this the show the ultimate example of how an animated sitcom should be portrayed.
Much has been written about the Simpsons and it’s impact on our culture, so I won’t speak on that much more, but I will say that if you grew up in the 90s and are reading this now, then you know what I’m talking about. The Simpsons is an animated program about a traditional family unit living in a standard American town called Springfield. You know what, I’m just going to stop here. I’m not going to tell you what you already know. The Simpsons was one of the best and important animated shows ever, and any list without it near the top is wrong. That’s all there is to it.
Written by Desensitized
2 –
Batman: The Animated Series
Alright, we’re not going to pretend like this is some surprise reveal. ANYONE reading this list knew that this would be placing at either the number 1 or 2 spot, just like it does for any list of this sort that has any shred of dignity, even the bad ones. For the longest time I had been pondering as to what exactly I would say about this series. I could just write about how great and influential it is to action shows and animation as a whole, but why should I spend an entire entry on writing what everyone reading this list clearly already knows. Its been said a million times over, and writing it here won’t change anything. Instead, let’s break down why exactly this series has aged so damn well, and why its still better than just about any other action show that has come out since its time.
First, before I get into what I’m going to say about this series, let me just mention something a bit personal: I did NOT grow up with this series. Sure, I watched quite a few episodes when I was a kid, but I certainly didn’t watch it religiously and back then I didn’t have too much appreciation for this series. As I grew older and became a teenager, I was a much more picky viewer and pretty much demanded that my entertainment have some actual added depth to it or at the very least cleverness in its writing. It was around this time that Cartoon Network’s Toonami block started airing Batman: The Animated Series on a regular basis. I remembered that this show existed in my childhood very well if only because it was about Batman, but I hardly remembered any episodes that I used to watch or anything else about the show. In retrospect I’m glad that I was introduced to the series this way because I can safely say now that what I think of the series goes far beyond just fond nostalgic memories.
Quite simply put, I was blown away by this series’s quality. This was before I went onto forums or even read reviews on the Internet, so I wasn’t even aware of how massively, and deservedly popular it was among animation enthusiasts. And this is all for a very, very good reason. This show clearly has the most brilliant, talented team of writers and directors and animation staff in general that any animated series has EVER had the pleasure of having. Its no wonder that BTAS forever changed the face of what viewers would come to expect from their animated action shows. Being an avid watcher of most of the anime that was being aired on Toonami around that time, I was slowly allowing a bit of my naivety to pull me away from western animation believing that western cartoons would never evolve past the nostalgic shows of my childhood, but then coming face to face with this cartoon that existed when I was still barely able to put full sentences together, I got a huge and necessary slap in the face. I was immediately pulled into the deep and captivating tales that this animated iteration of Batman had to offer, and for the first time in my life I realized how it was just as important to write the villains of a series with as much care and focus as the heroes.
To get into the actual show itself, I would have to spend multiple articles writing about the huge plethora of episodic adventures that it covered, so its unfortunate that I have to do it a disservice here by keeping the focus of the entry quite limited in the grand scope of things. The show’s episodic nature really let it cover a huge wealth of different episodes, including the occasional but very infrequent humorous ones, such as the unforgettable “Almost Got’im”. However as we all know this show’s true merits quite clearly lie in its mastery of telling darker tales with complex characters all-around. Before Batman: The Animated series came out with talented writers such as Paul Dini (among many others) and directors such as Bruce Timm (once again, among other brilliant animation directors as well), any show covering its subject material that would have come out before that would make the mistake of only trying to focus on the hero and what makes him tick. While that is indeed important for any great action show, the people behind this work of genius knew that to stand out they couldn’t just leave it at that. Instead, they went above and beyond, giving us plots that not only broke down Batman/Bruce Wayne’s psyche but also gave the same treatment to allies of his as well as his villains.
As kids we got to see the mysterious and complex relationship between Batman and Jim Gordon as fellow crime-fighters, yet with tension between Batman and the Police, as Batman was clearly treated as a Vigilante while Jim was a licensed law-enforcer. It made it all the more significant to see the deep level of respect that both Batman and Commissioner Gordon had for one another. Not so keen on the actions of the Dark Knight was Bullock, who often served as Gordon’s right hand man, and despite his respect for Gordon he never came to trust Batman. This added a more realistic element of sorts to the series, to show that even other “good guys” had issues with Batman, further conveying to the audience the hardships that Bruce had to face when dawning on his black cape and cowl, as despite best intentions he would still be viewed with as much hate as any villains by those who didn’t understand his actions or his reasons for being a masked defender of justice in a highly corrupt city.
Not only Batman got important character growth, though. The writers also stretched out their talents to truly explore not only 1, but 2 Robins, Dick (an older side-kick of Bruce who left him for reasons explained in another great episode of this series to become a capeless hero known as Night Wing) and Tim Drake (who oddly enough was just a young kid but with an extraordinarily high level of training for his age, who also sort of served as an understudy to Bruce beyond just being a side-kick of his). Once again, in any other show these characters would be annoying hindrances to the hero, but here they were taken seriously and given the amount of depth and backstory that they deserved as characters worthy of aiding Batman himself. In addition to this, we even got a great version of the Batgirl, who was the alter ego of Barbra Gordon, the daughter of the very same Commissioner Gordon, making for an interesting little secret in the family.
And of course as I mentioned that the villains got just as much care and attention put into them as any of the heroes, how could I not bother to mention the great cast of villains? Perhaps the most memorable in terms of having a tragic past would be Mr. Freeze. In the episode “Heart of Ice,” we got to see how Freeze was an ordinary man who worked as a scientist with a loving wife before an experiment of his was interfered with by a big corporate higher-up, putting his wife in a catatonic state that he couldn’t cure and destroying his life forever. Before this, I hear that Mr. Freeze was a mess of a character and villain in Batman comic-lore, but over here he was given a fully fleshed out back story with proper characterization. When Batman finally took him down it wasn’t a triumphant scene for the Dark Knight himself or the audience, but instead it was played out as a sad reality. The scene that followed after where Batman revealed the evidence of Freeze’s life being destroyed by the very same businessman he was seeking revenge on was the true moment of triumph, yet still filled with sadness. That’s when it hit most viewers that this series was not just talking down to kids like every other action cartoon before it. It was instead helping them grow up. In episodes like this one as an example, we got to see that there was more than what meets the eye on the outset, we got to actually sympathize with a villain and actually feel his pain as he was not able to get his long sought-after revenge. I challenge anyone to attempt to come up with any animated series that was able to do something of that caliber before the debut of BTAS.
I could go on and on about the villains, but they themselves would each require their own series of articles to truly explore. We had the usual fair such as Penguin, Killer Croc, Mad Hatter, Riddler, and Scarecrow. And of course I would be more insane than The Joker himself to not mention his inclusion in the series and his brilliant portrayal by none other than Luke Skywalker….I mean Mark Hamil, of course. We even got a brand new face in Harley-Quinn, the Joker’s forever loyal side-kick, with a deranged yet strangely engaging personality, and one of the best back-stories for any villain ever written in the one of the series’s best episodes, “Mad Love.” Perhaps the most notable villains besides Mr. Freeze, though, were Two-Face (who had a brilliant two-part episode featuring his full-fledged transformation from Bruce’s long-time friend Harvey Dent into his villainous persona), Clayface (another tragic figure who had more than one truly memorable appearance in the series), and Poison Ivy, who had an especially notorious episode (which I swear scared the shit out of me when I was a kid) in a truly unforgettable and downright creepy episode by the title of “House and Garden,” in which we actually explore Ivy’s desire to leave behind her life of crime and have a family….in a very twisted way of sorts, it would appear (and seriously, if you have not seen this episode: GO WATCH IT NOW! I’m not spoiling the shocking ending for you here).
I can’t go on enough about how brilliant the show’s characters are, and when you get down to it, that’s the show’s biggest success. If you just took its plots, it wouldn’t be anything too much more than the average action show. It was how the show handled its characters beyond anything else that made it a darker and more complex experience than just about any other action show that has come either before or after it. Not every episode is exactly the golden standards of writing or animation, but most of the show’s offerings are top-quality. There were tons of great episodes, in fact, that I truly wanted to talk about but never got to mention for the sake of keeping this entry at a readable length, including a personal favorite of mine involving Bruce confronting his childhood hero, titled “Beware the Gray Ghost.”
Really, I have to assume that just about anyone reading this list has at least watched a reasonable portion of this series, but if somehow someone was living in a cave for the past 20 years and happens to be browsing the Internet and reading this article, then stop reading right now and go find this show and watch it. Its truly a masterpiece among action shows and absolutely deserves to be watched by just about anyone who is a fan of animation, action shows, Batman, superheroes in general, detective and mystery shows, shows with dark themes and complex characters in the forms of both heroes and villains, or any combination of these elements. And if you’re not a fan of any of those things, watch this show anyways because it’ll make you a fan of all of these fine elements of story-telling. I don’t know what else to say from this point on. This is quite clearly the best show of its kind and one of the best series that animation has to offer and there’s a reason why its ranked so high on our list and just about any other “greatest animated” list in existence that is made by people with at least some scrap of intelligence. Of course, this did only rank at #2 on our list, but I wonder what could possibly top this mastery of a work of animation, unless it is of course….
Written by Ensatsu-Ken
1 –
Looney Tunes
“Eh, what’s up doc?”
What do you think of when you here that question? Hopefully it isn’t a phone call from an actual doctor who’s calling to tell you your son has cancer, ’cause that would kind of suck. Oh right, I get it, you’re thinking of Bugs Bunny, perhaps the funniest smart-ass in the history of animation. That’s a good thing though, because that just goes to show you how much influence Bugs and the rest of the Looney Tunes have left on the artform, not to mention pop-culture in general. “Of course you realize, this means war!”, “Sufferin’ Succotash!”, “You’re despicable!”, “I tawt I taw a puddytat!”, “That’s a-I say-that’s a joke son!” All these phrases, while some of them not originating from the franchise, are well-known sayings from the land of a Weisenheimer rabbit, a wacky duck, a cute-yet-sadistic little bird, a loud-mouthed rooster, a determined coyote and a roadrunner who’s just living his life as the fastest bird in the American Southwest, and plenty more wonderful and unique characters.
The Warner Bros. cartoon shorts, also known under the banners of “Looney Tunes”(not “Toons” dammit) and “Merrie Melodies” were started in 1930 by Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising, who were doing pretty much what every other cartoon studio was doing-trying to capitalize on the success of Walt Disney and his creation Mickey Mouse. The original thought was to make cartoons that featured soundtracks of songs that were at the time recently acquired by Warner Bros., utilizing characters like Bosko. Harmen and Ising left Warner in 1933, after a dispute with Leon Schlesinger and taking all of their creations with them, which included early attempts at stars Bosko and Buddy. What resulted was probably the best thing that could’ve happened to ol’ Leon; cartoonists Isadore “Friz” Freleng, Fred “Tex” Avery, Robert “Bob” Clampett, Charles M. “Chuck” Jones, and later additions Robert McKimson, Arthur Davis, and Frank Tashlin, were brought to the studio and formed what became known as the “Termite Terrace”. The group got it’s first star in 1935 in the form of Porky Pig, who debuted in the Freleng-directed short I Haven’t Got a Hat(the cartoon was originally meant to launch the character Beans the Cat to stardom). Over the next couple of years, more cartoons featuring Porky were made, and other cartoons like Avery’s I Love to Singa(one of my personal favorites), until 1937, when the Avery-directed Porky’s Duck Hunt introduced Daffy Duck. The cartoon featured Porky and his dog out duck hunting, when the duo encounter a crazy duck, who proceeds to hoot and holler, bounce around the screen, and torment Porky, something which cartoon characters hadn’t done up to that point. Daffy ushered in the period of the screwball character(which inspired characters from other studios such as Woody Woodpecker and later Screwball Squirrel), and was an instant hit.
This period of the late 30s also saw the development of two more important characters-Elmer Fudd(first known as Egghead) and Bugs Bunny. Debuting in the 1940 Avery-directed A Wild Hare, the rabbit was teamed up with hunter Elmer Fudd, not only starting their career together, but also featuring such hallmarks as Elmer’s “Be vewy, vewy quiet, I’m hunting wabbits” and Bugs’ “Eh, what’s up doc?” whilst nonchalantly munching on a carrot. The cartoon was a success, and Bugs would go on to be the studios most successful creation, as he would become highly popular during World War II. Around this time though, Tex Avery and Leon Schlesinger encountered in a series of disputes, which resulted from an argument regarding Avery’s cartoon The Heckling Hare, and Avery left the studio, soon resurfacing at MGM. Bob Clampett took over for Avery, finishing up the last couple of shorts Avery was working on, before departing the studio himself in 1946. Schlesinger sold his studio to WB in 1944, and slipped into retirement before eventually passing away in 1949.
Throughout the rest of the 40s, both the success of the cartoons(WB overtook Disney as the most successful cartoon studio in 1942) as well as the roster would grow, and familiar characters such as Tweety Bird(introduced in 1942 in Bob Clampett’s A Tale of Two Kitties), Yosemite Sam(1945 in Friz Freleng’s Hare Trigger), Sylvester the cat(1945 in Freleng’s Life with Feathers), Pepe le Pew(1945 in Chuck Jones’ Odor-able Kitty, Foghorn Leghorn(1946 in Robert Mckimson’s Walky Talky Hawky), Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner(1949 in Jones’ Fast and Furry-ous) and Speedy Gonzales(1953 in McKimson’s Cat Tails for Two; Speedy was later redesigned in 1955 by Freleng for the cartoon Speedy Gonzales). Warner Bros. continued to produce cartoons until 1964(except for a five month period of 1953), at which time they shut down the studio. Production of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies was outsourced to DePatie-Freleng studios, who produced cartoons for WB until 1967(which mainly consisted of cartoon shorts starring Daffy and Speedy, as well as various minor characters like Cool Cat and Merlin the Magic Mouse), at which point WB resumed production at their own studio before shutting down again in 1969, thus ending the theatrical reign of the Looney Tunes characters. In the years since, there have been various revivals, some more successful than others, films like Jones’ compilation movies(The Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner Movie, The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie, etc.), Space Jam, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action(the characters also cameo-ed in 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the last time they would be voiced by Mel Blanc), and other miscellaneous appearances, all of which often have mixed reaction from fans. The cartoon shorts also remained a hot item on television, first appearing on network television in the 1950’s, and later debuting on cable on Nickelodeon in 1988.
There are several things that make the Looney Tunes’ original theatrical shorts masterpieces amongst fans, such as the direction of different directors like Avery, Clampett, Freleng, Jones and McKimson, the musical cues of Carl Stalling, and the awesome voicework of Mel Blanc, who voiced most of the LT cast, from tiny Tweety Bird to raucous Yosemite Sam. A majority of the cartoons were made with great amounts of wit and excellent comedic timing, often times parodying things in pop-culture such as movies or radio shows or other wise major events, such as WWII. They also featured amazing artwork, backgrounds, and well designed characters, something that with all the technology that has emerged since has still remained difficult to replicate. On the other token, the LT’s have been the subject of controversies and criticisms as well. In the late 60s, censorship of certain shorts that contained racially offensive material surfaced, with later censorship of violence also emerging(thankfully much of this censorship has been fought in more recent years, with previously edited cartoons being available uncut once more), and much of the content produced since the late 50s has been criticized by fans as not up to par as the material from the 40s.
Of course, what would the franchise be without the characters? Everybody has their favorite, whether it be Daffy Duck or Bugs Bunny, or even the Tazmanian Devil. And why not, with all the different personalities of the characters? Bugs Bunny started off as a mischievous rabbit who almost always had the upper hand, before eventually evolving into a suave character who used his adversaries’ weaknesses against them. Daffy Duck started off as an uncontainable screwball who bounced all over the screen, before becoming more savvy in the mid-40s, and eventually becoming Bugs’ rival, jealous of all the praise the rabbit got. Tweety originally appeared as a baby bird who, after being disrupted by cats trying to eat him, became a sadist in order to defend himself. He was later teamed up with Sylvester the cat, a very prideful character who refused to give up the chase, and the two would become the most famous case of cat chasing his prey this side of Tom and Jerry(with Sylvester almost always losing). Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner were similar, with the difference being Wile using ACME Corporation’s enormous catalog of different devices, with nearly all of them backfiring due to Wile’s ineptitude or even ACME’s seemingly faulty products. Also, unlike Tweety, the Roadrunner very rarely did anything to harm the coyote, he was merely minding his own business and only used his great speed to defend himself.
As for cartoons I’d recommend, I dunno, there’s quite a few good ones. Cartoons like Duck Amuck, The Great Piggy Bank Robbery, Rabbit of Seville, Scaredy Cat, Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z, Operation: Rabbit, Porky Pig’s Feat, the hunting trilogy of Rabbit Fire/Rabbit Seasoning/Duck! Rabbit! Duck, Daffy Duck in Hollywood, Canary Row, A Fractured Leghorn, and Thugs with Dirty Mugs are all great examples of some of the finest shorts in the LT filmography, and many more are on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection series of DVD sets, something which I’d highly recommend investing in.
Looney Tunes have had a great deal of impact on pop-culture as we know it. Despite being less and less exposed in modern times, people still know and love the characters. You still see them on T-shirts, in video games, as children’s toys, on trips to Six Flags, on the mudflaps of 18-wheelers going down the freeway. They are still quoted in TV and film, the shorts still make appearances in the background in movies, comedians routinely name them as influences, the list just goes on. They sure did their number in influencing my life, with the only other fictional aspect that means as much to me as they do being The Simpsons. For this, I think that they are more than deserving for all the praise that they get, and their spot as the best animated series of all time, not just on this list, but many others, is well earned. So, I thank Bugs, Daffy, Elmer, Foghorn, Sylvester and Tweety, Porky, Yosemite Sam, Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner, Marvin the Martian, Speedy Gonzales, as well as the fine talents of Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Frank Tashlin, Robert McKimson, Mel Blanc, Carl Stalling, Michael Maltese, and all the rest that made the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons the great pieces of art that they are.
Written by SNES Chalmers
And there’s our list. What a ride it’s been. A bonus entry will be posted tomorrow mentioning series that just missed the cut, but for now, we’d like to thank everyone for reading and commenting on the series. We couldn’t have done this without your incredible support.
P.S. Can you name where each of the eight screenshots came from in the picture for the Looney Tunes entry? Each was taken from a particular cartoon, and none where mentioned in the article.
Originally posted on Saturday, July 9, 2011.
