Trog13 wrote:I didn't think any of the shows coming out did traditional cel animation anymore. Flash isn't bad, the only animation I hate is when they try to make it look japanese like Teen Titans. It's like they're thinking, it looks japanese so maybe more people will watch it.
I thought they did it like that because Glen Murakami is a big fan of "Gatchaman" and "FLCL".
And Marv Wolfman likes it. Y'know, the guy who's written "Teen Titans" in it's various incarnations for over twenty years -- Hell, the guy who actually made the book
readable for the first time
ever (really, the book was shit before he started writing it).
Zeta wrote:The music is done by a Japanese band, but the animation, writing, and characters are all American.
It's done by Warner Brothers, in fact. And it's based off of a comic book by DC.
Poison Eggroll wrote:You should all watch "Da Boom Crew", which is probably the worst offender of the main characters being minorities. And maybe Static Shock.
My feelings for Teen Titans is mostly indifferent. The Mad Mod episode made me go "!!!", for obvious reasons.
Actually, "Static Shock" is also based off of a DC series, written and created by an African-American author. And the animated version would probably be a lot more impressive had they been allowed to get a little bit closer to the gritty, violent tone of the comic (i.e.: if they'd done it like the early years of "Batman: The Animated Series").
And as for "Teen Titans", first off, I have a distinct feeling that the show is gonna get a
lot more grim in tone, over time. After all, when I first started watching, I never expected them to do episodes such as "X" and "Haunted", and given such topics as Raven's family history and Tamoran's conquest at the hands of the Gordainians, I feel it's gonna get darker still.
Oh, and personally, I rather like the Animated Universe's take on The Mad Mod. I mean, compare him to his
comic book version...
As for Flashimation itself, I have mixed feeling about it. I mean, I hate to admit it, but I do enjoy "Aqua Teen Hunger Force", God help me, as well as several other of the Williams Street "Adult Swim" shows. However, those are usually clever and funny. But it's just
so cheap, and often
so abominabble, that I'm getting fed up with it. Look at "Tom Goes to the Mayor" (or rather,
don't look at it. It's possibly the worst animation I've ever seen).
Flash is meant for the
internet, people! Why can't anybody see that?!
Personally, I can sort of understand the use of C.G.I. in cel-based programs. I mean, if Winsor McCay (the man who
invented cartoons) can have live action scenes in his cartoons, Fleischer Studios can have rotoscoping and miniatures, and Terry Gilliam can use photographs and drawings, why can't one mix another medium into things? In a skilled hand, computers and celluloid can combine practically seemlessly, such as in "Cowboy Bebop", the "Ghost in the Shell" movies and T.V. shows, and, occassionally, in American productions like "Futurama". But it can be misused and abused, often to the point of it being an outright crime against humanity (has anyone here yet to suppress their memories of "Courage, the Cowardly Dog"? Ugh).
In short, while a pen may be mightier than a sword, it's only as effective as the person who holds it. It can be used to create things stylish and superlative, or it can just be something you should keep away from the mentally deficient -- if you've got nothing good to produce, whether in style or substance,
don't bother producing things.
FIN
Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi premered last night. That's were you have to draw the line at: Anime. The plot lines and jokes weren't completely horrible. But do something like "Teen Titans" if you can't get an anime artist! CN has some REALLY BADLY animated shows, but this is too far. 
