Netflix presents: Marvel Anime
Marvel Anime
Marvel Entertainment and Madhouse
October 1, 2010-September 16, 2011
The Marvel Anime series is a quartet of a 12 episode series focusing on some of Marvel’s biggest names. Specifically the series focus on the X-Men, Iron Man, Blade and Wolverine respectively. Each show features a highly talented cast including the return of Steve Blum as Wolverine (in the X-Men anime) and Troy Baker a prolific voice actor (including voicing Joel in the hit game Last of Us).
Being that these series were produced and originally aired in Japan, it gets away with more than an American or Canadian show would. Of the most important note is that these are high action series. Just looking at Blade or Wolverine it is hard to find an episode where something doesn’t get slashed off. Also interesting to note is that because of it being an animated feature the characters are able to pull off stunts that would shatter even Wolverine metal bones. However that just makes it all the more thrilling to watch people get mangled (I just realized how twisted this makes me sound).
There are a couple of nitpicks for me though. First and biggest of all is that the producers of this show have a twisted way of dealing with their heroes. While they don’t kill of any Marvel heroes (no way they’d get away with that) they have no issue killing of the villains or the Madhouse created heroes. As far as I can tell only one gets away from this and I think it’s only because they couldn’t figure out how they could kill him.
The other problem is that each and every one of the series ends on a freaking cliffhanger. True the major enemies are defeated but the characters are going off on other adventures and we aren’t getting to see that. Unless Madhouse plans on making more such series, I’m feeling like we are missing a good new avenue for Marvel.
In the end each of these series has great explosive action, a stellar voice cast and amazingly detailed animation to give anyone a good distraction from the restarted tedium of essays and readings. I give it a 9/10.
-Cooper Thompson
