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Episode 23 of GeekCast Radio brings us Numbers 60-41 of our Top 100 Animated Series Countdown. Join the guys as they discuss a few shows that IGN did not rank as well as many that we ranked higher than they did (and rightfully so!). They also discuss some shows that either should or should not have made the Top 50 and round up the discussion debating the merits of modern adult animated series. Don’t miss an entry in this Top 100!!
Geeks:
Kevin “OptimusSolo” Thompson
Steve “Megatron” Phillips
Mike “TFG1” Blanchard
David “Double D” Denis From This Week in Geek
UNLEASH THE TOON IN YOU!!
The best anime for people who aren’t anime fans are probably the two objectively best anime: the TV series Cowboy Bebop and the collective film works of Hayao Miyazaki (notably the Oscar-winning Spirited Away). They’re slightly more obscure than Voltron or Sailor Moon, but that says more about their marketing than their quality. My dad has little interest in anime, but says Spirited Away is one of his top ten favorite films of all time. Please, if you consider yourselves interested in animation or even film in general, check these out! I’d be very interested to find out what you think of them.
Interesting comments on MASK… Over here in the UK it is still in re-runs and is out on DVD. I guess the “fandom” for the show is bigger over here than in the States. Hence why I ranked it high.
Plus it’s an awesome series!
yesss Phil it’s an awesome series I love it for it’s pure 80’s nostalgia type stuff. Plus there have been rumors that we here in the States will finally get it on DVD.
Overall I really can’t complain much about these selections. In fact, the list so far is shaping up pretty nicely. But, I have a few comments.
Rugrats – This show was amazing. This is why I wish I had submitted a list. There are the cartoons I grew up on in the late 70’s and throughout the 80’s. Then I have the cartoons I watched that my youngest brother grew up on in the late 80’s and early 90’s. So my knowledge of cartoons and favor towards many of them is broader than some. Take Rugrats. Some of you don’t like the show because you weren’t the demographic. But my brother was in love with this show, as well as other Nicktoons, like Doug. Our generation had Smurfs, but his generation had Rugrats and other Nicktoons. As a viewer older than the target demographic, I can say I was thoroughly entertained. It was interesting seeing how the babies saw the world and had adventures. It’s similar to the other shows, like Muppet Babies, which had the same basic premise. For the same reason Smurfs is on the list, Rugrats should be on the list. And I like the ranking it got.
Spongebob – Wow! I would have ranked this MUCH higher. In fact, I would rank this at least top 20 if not top 10. It is a huge cultural phenomenon with toys, a movie, tons of episodes and awards. This show is brilliant. Kids of the past decade, and their parents, ALL know Spongebob. The first three season in particular are pure gold. But even beyond those seasons it still has moments of brilliance. The comment that you have to be high to enjoy it? This is one of the few cartoons that is just zany good fun. They don’t make many cartoons like this anymore.
M.A.S.K. – I watched it, but it has been so long since I’ve seen it that I can only rank it on nostalgia alone. But the theme song freakin’ rocks! One of the best of the 80’s themes.
King of the Hill – It’s one of those shows I always said that I enjoyed it when I watched it, but I never made a point to do so. It really would fit in better in the 70’s or 80’s in the rankings.
Voltron – I love the music in this show. I have the Beast King Golion Volume 1 and without the wonderful score, the show is missing a critical component. Speaking of shows popular for their time, Voltron was HUGE. HUGE. For that alone it deserves a higher ranking. This one is disappointing being ranked outside of the top 50.
MOTU (Cartoon Network version) – A very good update of the classic. Glad it made the list.
Yogi Bear – Awesome. I remember this fondly from my youth. Yogi stealing picnic baskets and eating sandwiches. A Hanna Barbera classic. Not a bad spot, but could rank higher. IGN not ranking it was a travesty.
@rubi-kun: Spirited Away is highly praised, but I couldn’t get into it. Princess Mononoke and Ninja Scroll are two of my favorite animes. For 80’s action cartoon fans, I feel these, and Akira, of course, are probably more your speed.
“yesss Phil it’s an awesome series I love it for it’s pure 80′s nostalgia type stuff. Plus there have been rumors that we here in the States will finally get it on DVD.”
Indeed we are, and my buddy Eamon O’Donohugh is doing the artwork for the DVD! :)
I’m glad that both the 2d and 3d clone wars made the list. It was awesome to hear that. I do disagree with which one is better than the other. This is coming from someone who watched and enjoyed both, as they aired. So rating the 3DCW higher, without actually seeing it, I might have an issue with. In general, it’s really apples and oranges, the 2d micro-series was meant to be short and sweet, and the 3D series are a half hour long over multiple seasons.
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I know you all are not fans of the vector art style of Genndy Tartakovsky, but I absolutely love it. The character designs and art direction of the 2D micro-series are awesome. They used quite a bit of CG in it too, and it fit well. I think people give more credit to narrative story telling, than cinematic. Tartakovsky uses silence, mood, camera angle, things that are visual before using voice narrative. Samurai Jack is a perfect example of that technique.
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Fast forward to now, with the 3d clone wars… It is a great show, I love it, but there are some stinkers in there. Story gets really slow in a few places. Other technical stuff too that I can spot being an animator, but I won’t get into that. The advantage is that this series expands on so much. New scenery, new characters, a host of cool stuff. All of the art direction is amazing. If you look at the designs, with the sharp angles and hard edges, it takes directly from the 2D micro-series. So I would argue that we wouldn’t have 3d clone wars, without 2d clone wars.
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Many people are put off by the art style. I understand that. Some see it as more of a gimmick. So I’m actually glad that they continued clone wars in 3d. Just makes sense.
This got a high rating, and well deserved.
I soo agree Voltron should at least have been Top 50 like 46-47
I’m fine with where MASK ended up. I loved it a whole lot because it mixed G.I. Joe, Transformers AND Knight Rider!! Well, Season 3 K.I.T.T. anyway. LoL
Other than that, I can’t believe I forgot to place “Spectacular Spider-man” on my list. *hangs head in shame*
Voltron at 54?! I call s’henanigans’, if only because I think it should have been in the top 40 (at the least). The music, the action and the stories made this cartoon (just like “Robotech”) one of the shows that prompted me to take a deeper look at what I was watching. Maybe that’s just me, but that’s how I feel.
BOOM! Outvoted!
Yogi Bear should be ten to fifteen spots higher. He should be way ahead of any other Hanna-Barbara series of any era, except for maybe Tom & Jerry.
Rugrats should not be higher than Recess. In fact, Rugrats should not be on a list of this kind at all.
The Clone Wars… dead at Grievous’ feet.
I agree with ya neil on Rugrats ugh lol
The Clone Wars RULES that other antiquated animation!!!!
the tick needs to be higher great show
she-ra nothing to say
sailor moon needs to be a little bit lower
freakazoid needs to be higher
spectacular spiderman ok placement
pink pather good placement
voltron ok placement
popeye the sailor man needs to be way higher
smurfs needs to be lower in my opinion
tnmt 2003 vesion very good placement
he-man and the masters of the universe 2002 this one should have been way higher than the 80’s one
star wars the clone wars 2008 again watch the movies way better than the two tv shows
yogi bear ok placement
superman the animated series good placement
rugrats awesome placement
jetsons ok placement
muppet babies ok placement
spongbob square’gay’pants i would only except this if it was #99 only because the frist three seasons. 4 and over don’t watch it get’s very gay
M.A.S.K good theme but i never watched this show
king of the hill needs to be 20 places lower then i would be fine it’s not that funny