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Sunday, January 4, 2015

My Favorite 90's Shows (Rehashed)

How many 90's kids are there on the internet?

I can't imagine.

You know what else I can't imagine?

How many amazing old and outdated animated shows are out there...

You know, those ones you love to see when they were on, even if it was a rerun?

They ones that aren't played anymore?

So, I'm going to name my top 10 favs.

First, I'd like to name why these are my favs...and why today's newer series don't stand a chance against them.

  1. Dynamic plots
  2. Dynamic characters
  3. Varying characteristics
  4. Dynamic plot endings that twist the viewer's expectations to be completely unsure of the possible outcome (you're not entirely sure of what to expect)
  5. They challenged ideals and values in the past, 90's and in our current present
  6. They had subtle occurrences of themes that are banned from today's shows due to shallow parents wanting to "protect" their children
  7. These aren't necessarily "90's" shows. These are the shows that 90's kids enjoyed growing up.

It is so hard to find shows with good plots these days. Most of them cannot clear the first twenty seconds without giving away the entirety of their plots.

The good ol' shows used to keep you on your toes because sometimes things did not work out the way you thought it would.

The characters are also dynamic, even if it is the mean girl or the idiot. Even characters who are merely mentioned.

Also...side characters, friend characters and the like are all likable because they are dynamic in their situation. They are not just the "funny man," the "smart one," the "idiot," or the "foil" to the protagonist (there are plenty of others).

Well, I won't make a particular order, but here are my top favorite ten series!

#1 - Kim Possible

 

This is the kind of show girls from the nineties grew up with!

The general idea of this teenage hero is a teenage girl who saves the day, no superpowers just good ol' fashion girl power!



This series goes beyond the superhero scheme and delves into a mix of teen drama and family drama.

This series goes even farther!

You've got multidimensional characters!

Complex plots! And developing characters!

I think my favorite thing about this series is that as it progressed, so did the characters. Nobody stayed in highschool for unending years. They eventually reached graduation.

Even the characters changed! I remember seeing differences in stuff like Ron Stoppable's effectiveness as a side character.

I'll talk more about that show another time because I wanna move on to the next!

#2 - American Dragon, Jake Long



If you ever watched it, you may have seen one version or the other as far as the art.

If you watched the whole series like me, following it, the switch did not make sense. Rather it was unnecessary, out of place and worsened the aesthetic quality. Jake went from looking like a badass in dragon form to looking like a lanky dork in dragon form.

I'm going into too much depth though.

It's funny, entertaining, has strong and three dimensional characters both supporting and protagonist.

I have heard a few complaints on its lacking in some areas, but cest la vie (sp?).



This show was funny, active and kept me entertained through high school.

I look back on it with sadness though, I gotta say that with the fantastical development, it had a lot of potential and missed opportunities. Maybe that is where the complaints are coming from.

But...moving on...

#3 - Danny Phantom



This show is one of those dynamic few that was loved by many and shamed by the ones who loved it most.

Allow me to explain...

This dynamic story with its ghostly and fantastical makeup, not unlike American Dragon Jake Long, made it so cool to watch and it held a whole slew of potential. It served up some great ones!



The ones who loved it most are the ones who booed it in the end, as the series constantly flirted with this idea of Sam and Danny belonging together, nobody outside of the small circle knowing about Danny's powers and in the last movie that ended it all, everything is resolved and we are ended with a kiss between the two and an anti-climactic reveal.

Here's the beef: Danny grows throughout this series, and we get to see that...
But nobody else does. None of the villains. None of the ghosts. None of the supporting characters. None of them alters or changes their ways based on growth. Not even in the slightest!

So, my sadness aside...moving on!

#4 - The Fairly Odd Parents


I know this show is still on...it's not considered outdated yet.

Hear me out!

This show, like many others, has changed over the years. The show I am referring to is the most original.

Maybe like the first two or three seasons.

Back when the slap stick comedy was timed well and appropriate, not just jumbled into the whole act.

Ever watched the pilot episodes and the first seasons?

I notice the change right around the time Cosmo's voice changed.

What's up with that?

Was there a change from one cast member to Daren Norris? Or did he just change the pitch in which he voices Cosmo?

It is not new for voice actors to sound different than when they first started, but the change dramatically noted the change in how Cosmo was viewed.

I won't go any farther into it...I've already delved too deep. I'll go into it later.

#5 - Yuyuhakusho



How many others watched the English dub?

It was good enough for me!

Hiei was my favorite character, hands...


Wait...but...

Kurama...



I'm unable to choose which demon...I fucking LOVE THIS SHOW!

This epic anime of epicness was fantastic! Even through plot points that were predictable, it was the inspiring and wonderful journey! Though...the demon arc was not my favorite, it was still entertaining!

If you haven't watched it yet...go to eyeonanime.com and look it up. It's there. It's epic...

It will blow you away!

Back in the 90's this show was: FUCK YEA!

It still is...



Ahh yes...I'm fangirling right now...

I'll clean up the nosebleed in just a moment and continue on with the next one...

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...

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That took quite a bit of cleanup...

Where was I?

Oh yes...this tv classic was a fun adventure that confused me due to its conflict with actual Greek Mythology (studied that in junior high & high school years) and the conflict with the movie.

But it was still lovable.

But that's not the real series I wanted to introduce...the only episode I really liked of Hercules was this dynamic twist:



Recognize the guy with the black hair?

I'll give you a hint, he grew up on the streets of Agrabah and fell in love with the princess, and used the powers of a genie to get the girl.

(btw fuck Hercules show anyways)

So here's my next one!

#6 - Aladdin



Hercules was okay...but Aladdin had the premise of two movies. One great and one meh.

Of all the fantastical shows out there, I think this one delivered!




From interesting concepts to its amazing premise, it takes on the magic that comes with having a genie around and challenges Aladdin's place as a hero (the diamond in the rough in case you all forgot) following the second movie: Aladdin and the Return of Jafar.

Am I leaving something out?

Yea  lot...but I won't go into details...it's got a lot of great stuff that I'll talk about another time.


In case you haven't seen the theme in my most favs yet...

#7 - The Little Mermaid


Did you not see it coming?

Hah!

Okay I'm not going to spoil anything I'll be giving away in an in depth review...

I guess there's not much to share here. It was a very bright and colorful show...

Only down slides were that it fell into the girly princess ideals to a point and forgot that its viewers watched the movie...so yea...confliction with the original movie.

Also...



Can you not love this face?



#8 - Recess



Can't have a favorites animated section without this wonderful cast!

Sorry, I'll move on. I've been dabbling in guilty pleasures it seems...

Recess told the stories of school from a fantastical perspective of things being the way the imagination plays them out to be.

From the playground king ideal to the evil yard duty...

This show was awesome to relate to as a kid!

It also had some great use of surprises.

While much of the plots are (on base level) predictable, the outcome is usually not fully expected. I won't spoil any episodes, but there are so many examples I can use.

Even predicable ones are the ones we enjoy because while we know what is going to happen, we don't know how this group of people are going to handle it!

Take Spinelli's reveal of her first name! Ever see that one coming?

Look it up.

#9 - Teen Titans



To this day I still watch reruns.

While not my typical fav in genres, this show does not only kick ass, but it also develops characters through conflict throughout the entirety of every episode.

As a superhero show, it is also more serious than shows like Recess and The Fairly Odd Parents, in that it brings the feels.

Even Danny Phantom did not have the level of feels in it as this series.

It...might not be Yuyuhakusho level...of anything...but it brought the feels for the younger audience!

And unlike Danny Phantom, the teasing of this relationship between Robin and Starfire was teased at gently, slowly developed, and the kiss at the end was a relief and not something forced with this great big release of everything that was held back before. It was great character development and a change in the story to end the old story.

Don't believe me? Watch that movie where they go to Tokyo.

So...now I must close this all off with one last series...hmm...



#10 - Invader Zim



Who is more deserving?

This popular series is pretty radical in its form of aesthetics.



The insanity that goes into it reflects upon a future industrialized world where we are pretty much blinded by corporate greed and advertising to the point of a green alien who is prolly decades old...being able to hide amongst human children...because he's short.



Who doesn't like GIR? The waffle loving robot is everybody's favorite.


But...fandom...why you get out of hand? Huh?

WHY?



I won't go into how wrong some of the fanart is. While some of it is cute...but...yea...

Please stop...

Now...

It's too painful.

I have to admit though...

Manga Invader Zim looks pretty fucking awesome!




Hope you enjoyed this reminder of the good ol' shows! Stay afraid of Dib's sister and make sure not to get between GIR and tacos.





*Note: Apparently some of the pictures I put on the original post to convey the appeal of the shows have problems or are being showed as something else because the original host doesn't want it showed or something unless you go to their sight.
*long deep breath*
So if you want to see more about these shows, look up the pictures yourself. I'm not here to send traffic to somebody else.

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