Tag: animation

Kids’ Shows (With A Dark Turn)

Halos_击Leave a comment

As a child, I used to watch shows. I’m sure we all used to, either it being PBS Kids, Disney, Nickelodeon, or Cartoon Network, or comics, or any media given to someone as a child. I grew up on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, mainly watching SpongeBob, Gravity Falls, or any other show streamed on the public networks.

I eventually grew out of it, but I still can’t stop watching a few shows meant for kids. That was until I got turned to Adult Swim, where I watch Smiling Friends, Superjail, Futurama, Moral Orel, and a few smalls here and there. Sure, all of these shows are equally messed up and dark, but they’re animated and not meant for kids.

The main reason I’m writing this blog is the second season of Fionna and Cake, the spin-off of Adventure Time, and its release. I remember watching all of Adventure Time in a single weekend, just so I could watch the spin-off’s release, which has more mature themes than its counterpart.

Since I had watched the first season and the first episode of season two, I rewatched all of season one. Again. For the third time overall. I noticed little things, but also the overall picture to how messed up Adventure Time actually was.

I’ll spare everyone spoilers. Despite the lengthy 10 seasons, I recommend watching if you like shows with Hella lore and well-written characters.

P.C. – Pinterest

Over the Garden Wall

Halos_击Leave a comment

Over the Garden Wall is a 2014 animated series released on Cartoon Network. It’s usually correlated with fall due to its themes of autumn, taking place on Halloween, and its overall homey theme, as if you’re watching the show sitting next to a warm campfire.

The show tells the story of two half-brothers, Wirt and Greg, who travel through a mysterious forest, just trying to find their way home, despite not knowing how they’ve made it into the forest in the first place. The show is hand-drawn through every episode, and has beautiful visuals, well-done animation, and amazing storytelling throughout the short 10 episode mini-series.

I personally connect with the series due to my own experiences. The first time I watched it was when I had to evacuate my house due to the Mountain Fire in Camarillo, burning up to 19,900 acres of land, and making it to my property. We evacuated, and my younger brother William and I decided to finish watching the show because we had watched it a few days earlier.

I’ll spare you the ending and any other spoilers, but the show really changed me in a way I can’t physically put into words. I recommend that if you like dark animation (or just animated shows in general) or a good soundtrack with amazing worldbuilding to go along with it, you should watch it. Or if you just like the vibe of fall. I recommend that everyone watch it.

I.C. – Pinterest

Anime That I’ve Recently Watched

jared315Leave a comment

Other than rewatching and still going through Hunter x Hunter and One Piece, I have been pretty invigorated in anime. Although the subculture has not been filled with the best new anime this year, I am finding shows that I am loving. Some of these shows might not be for everybody but they are all unique and great in their own way.

Ranking of Kings

This anime from 2021 is special. It follows a decently simple design with its fable format. This anime is made to resonate with real-world emotions and difficulties that many may face such as depression and hopelessness. It opens up the world to disabilities and the difficulties of trying to work around them. The protagonist in this story Bojji is both deaf and mute, as well as is especially weak in a world sanctioned by power. Despite his setbacks in life he decides to work to become the best version of himself. This feel-good story is accompanied by a unique animation style that is enticing to the highest degree. The show has not ended yet but I am highly anticipating the finale.

9.1/10

Hajime No Ippo

This anime is a story of a rising superstar. A hard-hitting boxing talent is known as Ippo Makuonochi, and his journey to the Flyweight Title of Japan. This show is made for fans of boxing, bringing in-depth details of fighting, training, and experience in the fighting world. It’s a feel-good anime with an almost dangerously optimistic outlook on brain damage in the sport (until it’s explored at the end of the second season). I personally enjoyed this anime because of the evolutions the characters go through. The anime and the sport are both about harnessing talent and power to become something unintelligible. I would definitely recommend this anime to anybody that is a fan of boxing.

9.1/10

Space Dandy

Space Dandy, although not being a show that I’ve recently seen, it is something that I feel I must recommend. This show follows a classic blueprint similar to that of Cowboy Bebop, where a group of three eccentric characters travels through space collecting aliens from around the galaxy. This layout can feel overdone or boring to some, however, I don’t believe this to be an anime based on its plot, but rather on its animation. Every episode is created with a different director, writer, animation director, and storyboard director. This show about “A dandy guy in space” became grounds for many animators to build careers for themselves in the anime/manga world. This mysterious show about mysterious characters makes you ask questions with seemingly no answer other than weird space jibber-jabber, but every episode still finds its way to leave a viewer incredibly satisfied with the 20 minutes they spent watching an episode. The show is fantastic and I recommend it to anybody and everybody (I also recommend not skip the intro song as it is fire.

9.2/10

5 fictional animated characters I could beat in a fight.

im6footLeave a comment
  1. The Gerber Brand baby: I’m beating the stuffing out of him. Dude simply stands no chance against me; I am SIX FOOT, 180 Gerber baby is probably 2’9” maybe 45 pounds. So there is absolutely no chance for him.
  2. Caillou: Dude is a four year old toddler that’s bald. I easily have 100+ pounds on him and probably a foot or two as well. Basically dudes got no chance \_(‘-‘)_/
  3. Maggie Simpson: She stands no chance; like do you really think Maggie Simpson can beat me (A SIX FOOT disturbance to democracy) like c’mon really. Maggie doesn’t has a shot.
  4. Russell from UP: Russell is defiantly a nice, goodhearted kid but he’s not beating me in any sort of physical interaction. I would feel awful after beating the kid’s ass in a fight.
  5. Any one of the Minions: Now a purple Minions would put up a good fight but a regular ole yellow Minion stands no chance. A Minion is half my size and softer than toilet paper, they have small arms and hands so it’s not landing a punch on me. I would rank a Minion a spot higher but they’re designed and created in lab so you never know what could happen.
photo credit:media-amazon.com

It’s Adventure Time!

yourgingerkidLeave a comment

I must say that Adventure Time is my absolute favorite show.

The show follows the adventures of Finn and Jake in the land of Ooo. From facing off the Ice King in order to save all the land’s princesses to going to a mission with Tree Trunks to find the Crystal Gem Apple, their adventures are nothing short of epic 15 minute episodes.

Not only is it entertaining, it also has good messages hidden in each episode. The show covers courage, talking to girls, friendship, and proper manners. Therefore it is both acceptable and entertaining for children and adults. I watch it with my little sisters, ages four and six, who find it hilarious and sometimes my parents will even let a giggle out.

If you haven’t seen an episode yet, they actually aren’t out on DVD yet unfortunately. Check into Cartoon Network late at night.