The Powerpuff Girls: "Man Up" Lacks the Balance it Preaches

There is no winning when you're reviewing a reboot of a series that meant a lot to you as a kid. If it's bad, then, well, it's bad. If it's good, you're going to have to defend it from nitpicky fans for the rest of your life. Alas, the time has come to make my stand. The Powerpuff Girls held its worldwide premiere to much fanfare last night, and today those of us who couldn't make it to SXSW are getting the episode "Man Up" on iTunes for free, which is apparently the second episode.

(I could rant on a while about the problems with not premiering the pilot episode first and how easily it can give potential viewers the wrong idea about the tone of the entire series - Wander Over Yonder anyone? - but let's move on.)

But honestly? I would have settled for good or bad better than I'm handling mediocre, and it's a really weird type of mediocre. The kind of mediocre where I didn't just sit amused through the entire episode, rather I spent about half the episode laughing and the other half rolling my eyes.

Pokemon is Weird.

In the magenta storage ottoman I rest my feet on while writing sentimental sap like this, there's an old red flip phone buried under tangled cords and a set of speakers I keep telling myself I'll eventually find a use for. I haven't tossed it into one of those "phones for soldiers" cardboard boxes yet because I've been meaning to get a single video off of it: a video of a preteen me pestering my late dad at the Pokemon Regional TCG Championships.

"What's it like being here?" I ask in my best news reporter voice. "The people want to know! They really, really want to know!"

"Weird," he replies. I shove the camera closer to his face and the conversation devolves into babbling.

CrunchyRoundup: My Love Story!! 4, The Nameko Families, Onee-chan Ga Kita!, Time of Eve: The Movie

I've been getting back into anime something fierce, between the rise of the mini-series, with 5 minute episodes that fit perfectly into my study breaks, and my Crunchyroll sub, so I wondered: Why am I not blogging about all the new stuff I've watched? This is CrunchyRoundup.

Shout! Factory Announces Streaming Service

Shout! Factory is joining the online streaming game, and I couldn't be more hyped.

One of the best DVD companies running today, Shout! Factory has made a name for itself releasing box sets of nostalgic shows and listening to what consumers want instead of just what television studios think is timely.

There have been countless threads in their series request forum in the past that have received replies along the lines of "We'd love to, but a DVD just wouldn't be popular enough to cover its costs." This was the case for the second season of Medabots, which was put on indefinite hiatus after the first season failed to meet sales expectations. Having a streaming service will give Shout! the chance to test even more cult classics with less overhead.

(via animation magazine)

Nickelodeon Announces Subscription Service

Nickelodeon has announced that they will be launching a standalone subscription service next month targeted at mobile users. Pricing is unknown at this time.

About time.

The only thing that surprises me about this is that Cartoon Network didn't beat Nick to it - after the spat between Turner and DISH, I've been expecting them to help pioneer this more than they have been. With internet access having long since been considered a necessary utility for daily life, television is starting to go the way of the standalone radio as online streaming and digital downloads take over the market. (This blogger doesn't even own a television anymore.) Whether companies like DISH and Comcast will be blindsighted or are quietly planning the next generation of television remains to be seen.

Via Animation Magazine

Analysis: Let's Talk About Baymax's Character Writing

Fanart by ZMAnonymous

That is, if you've seen the movie. If not, this is wayyyy too spoily for you. Go see it.