The TeeVee I Loved

We all had those phases in our lives. Those times that saw us heavily invested in a particular film or television show. We watched each and every episode and sometimes went far as to demand for the toys, cards and other collectible items. All of this signified our passion and aimed to keep us amused. I've had quite a lot of these throughout my childhood. Probably not as many as others around me (and probably none as intense either), but enough to keep me occupied over a certain period of time. I would be lying if I said that still isn't happening now and then today. I'm still going back and revisiting one or two of these television animes/cartoons, searching for that spark from when I was younger and attempting to reignite it. Here, I thought I would share what I remember from eight of them (although I do think that might be all of them) and too see if they are any good for watching or recommending to friends. I first must remind you though to not expect too much information as it's mostly just me sharing what remains of them in my head. Let's cut straight to them shall we?

I'm referring to specifically this series; Bakugan: Battle Brawlers. Was one of the easiest storylines to follow and always kept me hanging around for more. But for one of the easier stories, it certainly was one of the easier ones for me to forget now. Let's see what information I can retrieve from my mind about this particular anime. The story followed Dan and his newly invented game of Bakugan after he and others discovered strange cards with powers falling from the sky. He forms a team known as the Bakugan Battle Brawlers, which consist of Runo (who I think had a crush on Dan), Marucho, Shun, Julie and Alice. They find themselves up against an evil rogue bakugan called Naga that aims to absorb the cores of certain worlds to create the perfect core and have control over everything. Another thing I do remember was Alice being the only one for some time not battling. That is until Masquerade (an evil brawler sending bakugan to the doom world to power up his own) was revealed to be her alter ego. I'm afraid I can't share much more, as it has been so long since I've viewed it. But I do remember only seeing one season. Come the New Vestroia arc, I did lose track of where the story was heading and decided to give up, believing that it was becoming too complicated for me. And unfortunately, I don't have time nor the interest to watch it again, so I won't ask people to check it out.

Oh how my brother loved to give me crap about this one (he still does now and then). He never liked it, and often made jokes about it in front of me. But I on the other hand was quite a sucker for it, going into my high school years. Code Lyoko is considered to be one of the more underrated cartoons having come about during the mid-noughties. It was also considered to be France's answer to Japanese anime given the restricted animation and limited resources. But this was just one of the few shows that seemed to shine beyond the surface. Imagine another existential universe within this one. One that connects through computer technology. Not hard really, as it is a common theme throughout family-friendly film and television. Tron, Star Trek, Surrogates, Ready Player One, etc. But this cartoon seemed to have done it so well in my eyes. The stretch and challenge of creation. The exploring of new sensations. The massive prices to pay. For something so simple and somewhat childish, Code Lyoko took itself very seriously. It's a good thing I did stumble across this work of art (albeit at an age of little understanding). 

Code Lyoko takes place at Kadic Academy in France, which was said to be inspired by a real school in Sceaux. A twelve-year-old science prodigy named Jeremie Belpois, discovers an abandoned factory for himself, not far from the academy where he is enrolled. The factory is home to supercomputer hidden well underneath ground level which is the key to a virtual world called Lyoko and a corrupted and life-threatening computer program known as X.A.N.A., all created by disgraced scientist Waldo Schaeffer (better known as Franz Hopper). Jeremie meets Aelita, a young girl and the daughter of Franz Hopper who was long ago sent to Lyoko for protection against her father's enemies and lost connection with the real world after being shut down with the supercomputer. With the help of new friends in Ulrich Stern (an athletically gifted, sport-loving introvert), Odd Della Robbia (An exuberant prankster and rule-breaker with severe plantar hyperhidrosis) and Yumi Ishiyama (a covertly virtuous and determined Japanese immigrant), Jeremie strives to bring Aelita home and destroy the dangerous X.A.N.A. once and for all.

I adored this cartoon for its wildly imaginative story and ability to harmonize two different styles of animation (CGI and hand-drawn). While both styles here looked incredibly second-rate in quality having been created with a fairly small budget, I still found myself seeing beyond such visual discomfort to journey with an array of colourful personalities. I also loved the show for its edginess and unpredictability, not knowing how far the story traveled nor what came next. The primary antagonist in X.A.N.A. was made to look extremely menacing and insanely dark through its strong willingness and numerous attempts in killing young children. The characters (especially the warriors) at the time I was into the series, were so darn easy to like. Yumi was so attractively detailed. Aelita was sweet and soothing. Odd was the reasonably-sized comic relief. Others like phys ed teacher Jim were adorably quirky. I couldn't even come to hate Sissi. Code Lyoko was all for providing the audience with multi-dimensional characters, each holding very realistic traits. So what this cartoon lacked in appearance, made up for it in meaning.

But the best thing about this show, was that is while it looked simple and ridiculous on the outside, a deeper view of it has it coming off as incredibly sophisticated. Its complex storyline even had the ability to really share strong ties with our reality, asking us how far the possibilities could go with our relationship and understanding of computer technology. Could there ever be such a damaging power? Could humanity in hundreds or thousands years ever go far as to create life within such extraordinary machinery. Probably not from here, but the mind can imagine. As for the simple things in regards to my short-lasting obsession with the series, I own the first twelve episodes on DVD and occasionally listen to the associated music performed by Kidnap Kings (formerly Dropping Daylight) vocalist Sebastian Davin (though he and the fellow producers go under the name 'Subdigitals', the show's fictional pop band). As a matter of fact, this show helped kick-start my love for music in general. I without any doubt, still hold Code Lyoko close to my heart. I'm even considering one or two posts about it later on. I have a fair idea for what one of them will be about but for now, I'd rather not talk about it.

I don't quite expect anybody to have either heard this one or remember much of it. I myself don't remember much of it now, but one thing I do know is that there was a period during my primary school years when I anticipated new episodes every morning. I vaguely recall it centering on two siblings, a brother and sister. The brother is chosen as the bearer of the Golden Dragon power, which triggers the sister and brings out her envy and sudden detachment form the heroes. Not long later the sister finds herself working with the enemy and the heroes, especially her brother try hard to convince her of her mistake. Sometime moving forward she eventually returns to the good side, and shares the power of the 'Golden Dragon' with her brother. The second seasons sees them facing a much larger threat. Not exactly the most detailed synopsis of the show's first half, but it makes more sense for me to not chase it now and come back pretending I knew exactly everything that took place. As for my current feelings for Legend of the Dragon. Meh! I don't regret having glued myself to this cartoon at the time. But it isn't something I'm desperate to revisit anytime soon.

Yet another show lost in the past for me. It's still running of course, but it consumed me too much. Either that or the morning program discontinued the series for some period of time. As a result, I lost track around the before the seventieth episode. Just after the Whiskey Peak arc. But I do remember a fair whack of what I saw from this anime. The characters are near impossible to forget. The young determined Money D. Luffy, aiming to build the ultimate pirate crew and find the long lost One Piece treasure. His two main partners in Nami and Zoro. The long-nosed, squeaky-sounding (English dub) and clumsy Usopp. Cool-headed, lethal-legged Sanji. Then there are evil outsiders like the moonwalking Jango, the menacing Captain Kuro and the scary leader of the Fishmen crew Arlong. Many characters of different species. A few with special abilities as well, all brought about from the consumption of 'devil fruit'. Definitely remember Luffy for his powers of incredible elasticity. One Piece has that distinctive identity, and it can be argued that it has grown bigger over the years despite my loss of interest. And though that interest will most likely never come around again, nothing will change how much I thoroughly enjoyed the series at the time of its airing down under.

If one were to say they've never heard of Pokémon, would you honestly believe them? Surely not! This is one of the largest and most successful media franchises to come out of Japan. It has been running for more than twenty years now, and still appears to be as big as it was when my brother and I were much younger (perhaps bigger). So much so that there isn't much need for me to go into detail about the anime. Besides, I wasn't as fixated with it like my brother was or like my little cousins are now. But what I do remember is visiting the old VHS tapes with the early episodes of the show, which were recorded by my brother in the early mornings before school. It was the adventures with Ash, Brock, Misty and Tracey in the regions of Kanto, Johto and the Orange Islands. It was the simpler and more enjoyable days, back when you could count all the Pokémon and easily remember all of their names. Now I don't even know half of them anymore given there is currently over 800.

That's not the worst part about the show now. It has been over 21 years and 1000 episodes since the show started, and it's still seen to have made little to no necessary changes. After travelling to eight different regions  (Kanto, Orange Islands, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos and Alola) with sixteen different fellow travelers (Brock, Misty, Tracey, Max, May, Dawn, Iris, Cilan, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, Lillie, Kiawe, Mallow, Lana and Sophocles) so far, Ash is still around the same age and still fighting to become that ultimate Pokémon master. Team Rocket members Jessie, James and Meowth are still working for Giovanni and after countless failed attempts, are still after Pikachu. That hasn't changed, but was has? Well the animation is now crappier, the Pokémon look and sound more annoying and the adventures have become more lifeless than ever before. What seems to keep the show on its feet may possibly be the franchise doing successful elsewhere, in particular the merchandise. From the endless video games to the collector cards. I'll give them those, but the show in my opinion has long jumped the shark. Nothing will ever beat the original series.

Unlike the other shows here, I viewed Sonic X around the age of 21. No joke! It was sometime last year I decided to binge-watch the whole series from start to finish in the space of a few weeks. All thanks to Sonic Boom, my liking for the fast-running hedgehog was rediscovered. I watched videos, listened to critics and got in touch with some history, all leading me to curiously setting foot into a more Sonic-focused environment. That being the one provided by Sonic X (For more on this: The TeeVee In Me). However, it seems my short-term memory is playing up a little, as I can't exactly remember a lot of it. What I do know was that it involved some of our favourite characters from the Sonic universe accidentally teleported to Earth via the seven chaos emeralds. They stumbled across humans, in particular a young boy name Chris Thorndyke and his family which offered hospitality while searching for the answer to get everyone back home. In the meantime, Doctor Eggman and his robots were still causing some trouble for Sonic and his friends.

As for the third season, I can't recall much other than it taking place in outer space and involving enemies called the Metarex wanting to wipe out all creatures and dominate through universal forestation. It was a satisfactory change from the American city and carried a storyline more vigorous than the first part of the series. I think I might have enjoyed that season more than the first two because of this. As for the series altogether, it wasn't all that fantastic. Though sticking to a lot of the source material, I couldn't get myself to connect with the show very well. To top it off, the characters aren't as likable as I wanted them to be. Sonic was too distant and didn't so much feel like the main character. Amy was the usual irritating and obnoxious leech for Sonic. And for some reason, I just couldn't seem to like Chris as much. Something about him always got on my nerves. The English voice dubbing was also pretty poor in my opinion. It was too vibrant that it almost felt out of place. Overall, Sonic X isn't something I would highly recommend to anybody right now. But I'm happy that I tried it out for myself when I did.

We remember the classic ten-season series of the heroes in a half-shell. We praised the modern short-lasting CGI bunch and are about to meet the new lot within a couple of months. But what about the version in-between. I'm not talking about that rubbish live-action piece of dung from 1997, but the one that came six years later. I'm sure everyone around my age knows what I'm referring to. The 2003 series of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was one of the much darker portrayals of the famous yet fictitious New Yorkers from the sewer. Much inspired by the Mirage comics, the turtles came across as distinctively different and far more serious from their older counterparts. This surprisingly well-detailed morning cartoon had seemingly pushed boundaries on the odd occasion, never fearing the opportunity to go a darker direction. A direction ever expanding on ancient history, science and imagination. It has its light, humorous moments too, with most of them coming from the comic relief Michelangelo. Not to forget the voice cast just seems so accurate and they match with the character personalities amazingly well.

There was very little wrong with this show at first, but the 2003 turtles didn't conclude without some significant failings. Most of them had risen when the licensing company (4Kids Entertainment) that partly owned Eastman and Laird's material at the time was in turmoil. The series slowly began to rot when the budget dropped and the designs became oversimplified to the point of looking cheap and flavourless. Adding to the animation breakdown was the need for all shows to meet new family-friendly requirements. The grittiness of these Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were disposed in favour of a lighter and cheesier atmosphere. All of this did not sit so well with the critics, and rightly so. Both TMNT: Fast Forward and TMNT: Back to the Sewer, tarnished the entire image. Nevertheless, these two seasons couldn't sway me from seeing the first four seasons (and the lost episodes) as some of finest television I've so far come across. Stuff like this, isn't at all easy to find.

I didn't exactly find myself completely engrossed with this cartoon when I first saw it. It actually took me quite a few years to truly recognise the essence it held. But the long road was worth it. This take of the turtles was certainly the one that brought out my utmost respect for Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird and their marvelous creation. It led me to the newer CGI series, the 2007 animated movie and the two most recent works from Michael Bay. Sure the franchise isn't super rich and the criticism has been heavy at times, but it will never change how iconic these four turtles have become in pop culture. The 2003 show would probably be left to catch more dust than any other Ninja Turtle related project overtime. I however, see it as arguably one of the best works to represent the TMNT universe. I still rewatch this in some of my spare time and I definitely encourage those that haven't seen it to at least give it a shot (especially the first five seasons). Cowabunga!

Should I be embarrassed? Maybe. Maybe not. But I must share to you that it wasn't the show I was into, but one particular story arc during the 4Kids era; season three. In their final year at Alfea, Bloom and her friends Stella, Aisha, Flora, Musa and Tecna aim to obtain their new fairy forms called 'Enchantix' (which if I recall were through an ultimate act of bravery). While doing so, they're left to overcome many troubling situations brought about by old foes, the Trix (Icy, Darcy and Stormy) and their new villainous partner in crime, leader and dark sorcerer Valtor. That's all I seem to remember right now. Overall Winx Club had its strengths. But like just about any cartoon targeted to a young female demographic, I utterly despise the messages it is open to communicating. It's not so much this being what it is (a show for girls), but what is believed to make a girl's show in general. You can plainly see it being demonstrated here. The fairies here have to look all glitzed and glamoured in everything they do when really they appear to be malnourished whilst somewhat presenting unrealistic body shapes to viewers. And the supporting male characters are made to look 'hot', operate wind riders (their form of a hoverbike) and fight with weapons. It may be indirect, but the message is still visible and to me it sets a bad example. It could teach girls too look and act unnatural, having them always wanting to go one-up for their image. Winx Club is another one I don't regret having viewed once, but at no stage will I be running back to it.

Travis "TJ" James