Animation Outside Japan-My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic season 1

                Goddamn it. I love this show. Lauren Faust is a genius. The dialogue is stellar, the animation is great, the stories are generally good, and the characters greatly stand out among the dearth of shows out now. I have identified with every one of the Mane Six at some point. I want to say Twilight Sparkle is my favorite, but that's hard as I love all of them.  The only downsides to the show I can think of is that several episodes don't hit me the same way others do. Maybe it's because I don't have the same experiences as the ones that lead to the creation of that episode. There isn't much to say here, except please give it a fair try if you haven't yet. If you watch it with an open mind and don't like it, I won't bother you again, and I doubt any other brony will either. Mostly because we have never seen it happen. Laters.

Animation Outside Japan-Young Justice (Up to now)

              The problem with talking about Young Justice is twofold. The first is that it just plain isn't done yet. Hell, the first season isn't even done yet. So we're talking about an unfinished painting, reviewing a sketch still to be inked. The second is that people will undoubtedly compare it to Teen Titans. I will state the truth now: I loved Teen Titans. I grew up with it, and it remains one of my favorite superhero cartoons ever. However, I like Young Justice better so far. Young Justice isn't just more serious, but yes it is that, it is not humorless as people claim. It still has quite a bit of humor to it, it's just that it isn't the wacky humor from Teen Titans. And while I enjoyed that style as a kid, now I find myself drifting off on the silly episodes, only paying attention on the serious ones. The humor of Young Justice is more dry, subtle, and based on characters and word play. I love how they make it more realistic.

          I've heard several people claim that the main cast is 2-dimensional and boring...and I couldn't disagree more. They start out a little flat, but they develop a ton over time. And I respect that a lot. Especially Superboy, who slowly got over his angst (thank god). Especially with one of the newest epsiodes, the characters and their psyches are great and fascinating. This isn't the basic bullshit TV always does, it's complex and fucked-up. It isn't easy things that you just realize and it's gone, it's serious psychological issues, and they're dealt with realistically.

         Does this show have anything to do with the titular comic series? With the exception of the newest episode "Secret", no. But it's better than the comic. It's a damn good cartoon, and more people would watch it if it would stop going into hiatus over and over again! Seriously, if you can't do a continuous season, wait longer and get it all done! Oh well. This show rocks hard, and I seriously recommend it to all the cartoon and comic fans out there. Laters.

Animation Outside Japan-Daria

Animation Outside Japan

         I started watching Daria after I heard about it from the big man himself, the Nostalgia Critic. Mr. Walker put it as his favorite TV show, an amazing recommendation. It took me about two months, but I've finished all of it.

        This show is hilarious. It is able to be completely crazy, yet keep a grain of truth, of the things most of us actually did experience in high school. The entire cast ranges from good to amazing, my favorite being the title character. Her snarky style is good enough, but as time goes on we see clearly that she isn't an infallible Mary Sue, she makes mistakes, and not in the classic cartoon drama way. She comes across as a real person, and someone we'd all gladly be friends with. The biggest strength of the show is the fact that, with a couple exceptions, every episode seems real and genuine. My favorite part of the show was the last two seasons, when they started having more branching plot-lines and character development. The way they developed Quinn of all people was great, and completely unexpected for me. By the end of Is it College Yet? I was kinda tearing up. Some of the things done and said broke my heart, which was quickly repaired by a good realization, a beautiful speech, and a heartwarming ending credits. Overall, I'm incredibly happy I decided to try this, and easily recommend this to anyone who has ever agreed with my taste in humor. To end, here's the earlier fantastic speech.

"Stand firm for what you believe in, until and unless logic and experience prove you wrong. Remember, when the emperor looks naked, the emperor is naked. The truth and a lie are not sort of the same thing. And there is no aspect, no facet, no moment of life that can't be improved with pizza."
-The Zen of Daria Morgendorffer