Needless to say, I'm aware that it's an anime blog, but sometimes before we hear of anime, the make a basic cartoon out of a series beforehand. Such is true in the case of series such as Sonic The Hedgehog, among others. I'll do a review on the animated series X-men as well as its predecessor, both of which deriving from the comic book franchise by Marvel. On a personal note, I can't really verify this as an anime or a cartoon, since the word "anime" is used as a blanket term in Japan, unlike here where it pertains to a specific art style. Some consider this as a cartoon, well, MOST do, so let's stick with that for the time being.
Those familiar with the comics, or have seen my post pertaining to another X-men series, should be familiar with who's in it somewhat. In addition, it's tough for me to explain what takes place, as most of the series, if not all, are loosely based of the comics themselves, some episodes based around a specific saga. The animated series features the team of the commonly known mutants, and many others making a guest appearance. There were even a few cameos, among which being Deadpool, however, at the time, Shadowcat wasn't introduced in the animated series at all. Certain episodes also dealt around social issues, while remaining true to the comic stories somewhat.
The successful animated series was actually the second to be made. The preceding title X-men: Pryde of the X-men. That series featured Kitty Pryde, known to most fans as Shadowcat, in her earlier days when she isn't quite acquainted to the other X-men as of yet. The title itself was a pun on Shadowcat, being the youngest X-man into the group. Staying true to the comics, Magneto is the mainstay antagonist of both titles.
Pryde of the X-Men was made in 1989, only having 1 episode that ended up on VHS after it's very brief run. The reaction was mixed for the most part, but purists, or hardcore fans of a franchise, blasted the title because of how the characters were portrayed. While Kitty Pryde's portrayal was one of them, the biggest complaint came from the accent Wolverine had. Perhaps due to the error on casting, Wolverine had an Australian accent, despite being born Canadian. This, as well as other factors, prompted the creators to go back to the drawing board.
Three years later, X-Men: TAS was released, and it received grand praise. It ran for 5 seasons, showing 76 episodes. They made reruns on television in 2000 with the emergence of the first X-Men live action film. After Saban was brought out by Disney, all of their works, including the Power Rangers series and X-Men: TAS, would be shown on Toon Disney and ABC Family. Currently, the animated series is featured on Disney XD, another channel owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group.
X-Men is a name that everyone knows, and today it's still popular with the release of X-Men First Class earlier this month. That's all for now, and keep an eye out for the review of the third work: X-Men Evolution
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