Which adult cartoons are the best, and which are the worst?

[Monocrom]

. . . Black Dynamite is off to a promising start.

I love that show. Best one so far was the Christmas Special with O.J. Simpson.

"Ha! I threw that before I left the moon!"

 

[Steve K]

Archer, Bob's Burgers, Frisky Dingo, Sealab 2021.

I think Archer is just great! Sort of a mix of old cold war spy shows and Johnny Quest with sexual overtones. Very funny stuff!

Bob's Burgers is also weird and funny, but with more family friendly themes. Interestingly.. the main characters in both shows are voiced by H. Jon Benjamin! Also, both shows are hard to find on the air, since their seasons are short and not synced to anything. Archer is on FX, which I rarely watch, and even the Archer web site doesn't hint at when the next new shows will air.

Put me down as a fan of Futurama too! The scientific themes are a lot of fun, and there are just a lot of fun concepts that the show explores. The episode where Bender was a god to a small society of tiny people living on him was a fun examination of religion.

Steve K.

 

[HighlanderNorth]

nobody like Futurama?

Honestly, I just forgot about it^! I watch it at least once a week late at night and its very good. Its made by the Simpsons' creators.

 

[HighlanderNorth]

I no longer watch that show. It was funny at first, and I mean VERY funny. But now MacFarlane just uses it to express his own personal views regarding Life and Politics. Honestly, behind that goofy smile he always wears, MacFarlane is a surprisingly hate-filled individual.

Yep! I watched 2 episodes of Family Guy on Adult Swim back to back last night, and BOTH illustrated Seth's one sided, angry social and political stereotypes in spades...

One was the episode that Peter and Brian went back in time, and they accidentally did something that changed time, so when they returned, Al Gore was president, and the world was a utopia. Another previous episode where Stewie and Brian went back in time, they came back and Kennedy never got elected, so we were ruled by Communists because Kennedy was never there to "save us" during the Cuban missile crisis.

There are so many problems with both of those assertions, but this isnt a political forum, so I'll just leave it at: If Kennedy hadnt been elected, there would have been no Cuban missile crisis in the first place, because the Cuban missile crisis was a direct result of his attempts at assassinating or overthrowing Castro, but mostly the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba caused it, and sent Castro into the Soviets protectorate, and in exchange for that protection the Soviets demanded they be able to place medium range nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from American shores, because at the time, the Soviets didnt have a reliable long range intercontinental missile that could deliver strategic nukes to America.

Anyway, its a funny show if you can get by the one-sided political bias, which we in America have MUCH practice with anyway!

 

[HighlanderNorth]

I love that show. Best one so far was the Christmas Special with O.J. Simpson.

"Ha! I threw that before I left the moon!"

^yeah, I thought it was hilarious that since Black Dynamite is supposed to be a spoof on 70's Blacksploitation films, with lots of racial overtones thrown in, instead of NASA, it was MASA (like master/Massa from the slavery days)

In that show, every episode links Black Dynamite to different celebrities, and usually BD ends up being the guy who made the careers of those celebrities! LIke BD was the whole reason OJ got all the rushing yards he got, because BD was blocking for him in every game, and destroying every defense player from the other team who tried to tackle OJ!

Also, where is Bob's Burgers aired?

To SteveK: You are right about the Futurama episode about bender becoming a god to a society of tiny people. That was a classic, and who knows, maybe our galaxy is actually sitting on the stomach of a giant robot...

 

[Steve K]

@ HighlanderNorth: Bob's Burgers is on Fox, and has aired on Sunday nights. No idea when new episodes will show up, but I guess we can hope that the arrival of the fall TV season will bring new episodes of all of the Fox animated shows.

I've always been impressed at how willing the Fox network has been to produce animated shows, as well as quirky shows such as Arrested Development. Makes me wonder if there was one person at Fox who championed these shows, or if it was part of a corporate philosophy?

Steve K.

 

[fisk-king]

Archer
Sealab 2021
Boondocks

Honarable Mention:
Cowboy Bebop (series)
Berserk (series)
Both of these I recommend watching.


Also, I hear they are filming another season of Arrested Development .

 

[ABTOMAT]

In Western adult cartoons, I liked the Simpsons in past years and King of the Hill. Never really tried Futerama but it seemed funny enough. Seth Macfarlane shows are unwatchable for me. Not because of the political views. Just because...I don't know, I think they're terrible. Not a South Park fan either.

Honarable Mention:
Cowboy Bebop (series)
Berserk (series)
Both of these I recommend watching.

If we're getting into anime, that's a whole other mountain of material. Cowboy Bebop's great. I gotta disagree with you and say the Berserk adaptations are terrible, though. The '90s anime series was low-budget and poorly animated and the current movie series is awkward CGI and a fast-forward plot. Really, if you want the Berserk story just read the manga. The art is top-notch and it goes on forever. Horrifyingly gory if you have a weak stomach.

 

[ElectronGuru]

I wish they would bring back Ren and Stimpy and make new episodes, but thats unlikely.

The artist had episodes 'in the can' when Nickelodeon picked them up. His production speed was no match for broadcast schedules, so reserve supplies quickly dried up. Fans wanted more and Nickelodeon pushed for faster production. Under this pressure, episode quality fell, souring the franchise.

I was ignoring Star Wars Clone Wars, expecting it to be a kid show alternative of the real thing. Turns out, Lucas is using it for character development and to back fill timelines. Were it acted out with live people and special effects, it would feel like a fully produced mini series.

 

[blasterman]

I give Seth McFarlane kudos or having a near inifinte well of writing talent and schtick, but it's obvious his political views increasingly taint the show. Plus, even hard core Family guy fans agree that Bryan and Stewie are the only reasons for watching the show. 'Oblongs' were another gem on Adult Swim. Even the latest Beavis and Butthead episodes were a lot of brainless fun - the tech support / call center episode easily deserved an SNL version.

'Cowboy Beebop' was *way* too short, but the artists were intent to start and end the production on their terms.

 

[TedTheLed]

best cartoons ever; Robert Crumb, my friend, Robert Crumb.

(put an animated cast of THAT on tv!)

 

[Monocrom]

'Oblongs' were another gem on Adult Swim.

Both brilliant and entertaining in equal numbers.

Obviously it was canceled after a very short run.

 

[HighlanderNorth]

Both brilliant and entertaining in equal numbers.

Obviously it was canceled after a very short run.

Oblongs is good.

That new Daniel Tosh cartoon thats now showing on Comedy Central is one of the most disappointing shows in a long time, especially considering how it was hyped. Its terrible so far. I cant get through an entire episode without changing the channel. Its vulgar just for the sake of being vulgar. Its the cartoon version of the group "Insane Clown Posse."

Then there's "Moral Orel", which is vulgar and hateful just for the same of being hateful! Not to mention it pushes false, negative stereotypes(which is apparently the whole point of the show).....

 

[Monocrom]

Yeah, "Moral Orel" is just blatant Christian bashing. It's not even humorous.

 

[StarHalo]

The granddaddy of 'em all:

Way back in high school, in the kids-who-don't-do-their-homework class, a couple of guys and I found ourselves with one of the school TV/VCR sets while the rest of the school was away at a pep rally; we were far too cool to be bothered with such things, so it was just a matter of finding something to do with the TV. There was a recordable VHS tape sitting with it that just had "Akira" handwritten on the spine, so it was "I guess we're watching this.." It starts up, and it turns out to be a cartoon - all we have to watch is a cartoon?! And then came the scene where the protester gets shot in the street, and it was stunned silence and awe for the next two hours..

 

[Swede74]

I don't think anyone has mentioned The Life & Times of Tim yet. It's one of my favourites.

 

[blasterman]

A lot of Akira purists hated the latest incarnation with different dubbing and some dialogue changes, but I actually preferred it over the original. A lot less murky in places. Live action version has been shelved once again via the rumour mill. Not sure what the status of Neuromancer is either. Both films are going to be very tough to visualize in live action.

I tend to avoid Anime' circles not because I don't like it, but because it's fanbase tends to treat anything with an Anime' or Manga title as instant 'excellent' when the fact is that most of it is 'meh' at best. When Anime' is good, it's typically breathtaking, but you have to muddle through so much crap it drives you nuts.

On the serious side we need to give american studios credit for some very good animation work with various super-hero sagas. All the Justice League fair was well done, and certainly deeper in terms of writing than Hollywood's live action schlock. 'BatMan Beyond: Return of the Joker' (prefer the uncut version) is just as good as any of Chris Nolan's latest incarnations.

Agree on Moral Orel....it's just crude and not funny.

 

[HighlanderNorth]

The granddaddy of 'em all:

Way back in high school, in the kids-who-don't-do-their-homework class, a couple of guys and I found ourselves with one of the school TV/VCR sets while the rest of the school was away at a pep rally; we were far too cool to be bothered with such things, so it was just a matter of finding something to do with the TV. There was a recordable VHS tape sitting with it that just had "Akira" handwritten on the spine, so it was "I guess we're watching this.." It starts up, and it turns out to be a cartoon - all we have to watch is a cartoon?! And then came the scene where the protester gets shot in the street, and it was stunned silence and awe for the next two hours..

^Ive never even heard of it. Whats it about and is it still on somewhere?

I like a couple of the anime shows on Adult Swim. Casherin Sins is pretty good, and I think its Samurai Seven, which is also pretty good, but there is one really annoying character.

 

[HighlanderNorth]

A lot of Akira purists hated the latest incarnation with different dubbing and some dialogue changes, but I actually preferred it over the original. A lot less murky in places. Live action version has been shelved once again via the rumour mill. Not sure what the status of Neuromancer is either. Both films are going to be very tough to visualize in live action.

I tend to avoid Anime' circles not because I don't like it, but because it's fanbase tends to treat anything with an Anime' or Manga title as instant 'excellent' when the fact is that most of it is 'meh' at best. When Anime' is good, it's typically breathtaking, but you have to muddle through so much crap it drives you nuts.

On the serious side we need to give american studios credit for some very good animation work with various super-hero sagas. All the Justice League fair was well done, and certainly deeper in terms of writing than Hollywood's live action schlock. 'BatMan Beyond: Return of the Joker' (prefer the uncut version) is just as good as any of Chris Nolan's latest incarnations.

Agree on Moral Orel....it's just crude and not funny.

I never really watched much anime prior to a few months ago. Well, I'm sure there are some Japanese cartoons that I watched over the years that can be technically referred to as anime, but who knows.

I remember this Japanese cartoon from way back in like the late 80's that was about this group of human survivors that were cruising around the galaxy searching for "the promised land-planet" where they could live out their lives peacefully, but in the mean time they were fighting against this evil force. Sounds like Battlestar Galactica right? Well, the funny thing about the show, which is also the most recognizable feature of the cartoon, was the ship that they were traveling on, which, was literally a ship... It was a battleship, yes a naval battleship with big gun turrets and an ocean hull, but it was a space-battleship! The most exciting part of each show was when they fired the main gun to destroy the enemy of that episode, and they would have to warm it up, and they''d fire this unbelievably powerful gun from the front of the bow that would always destroy anything! The gun had a name too, it was like 'the 'Wave Motion gun', or some-such silly name. But the show was actually pretty interesting(when I was like 18) and it followed an ongoing script, but they stopped running it before I ever saw the ending episode... Wish I remember the name of that cartoon. It would be easy to recognize, as the only show ever to have a modernized WW2 era battleship cruising around in space!


I just found it on Wikipedia(amazingly)^^. The cartoon was made in the 70's and was called Star Blazers in America. It was run from around '79 til I first found it on TV in like '88. In America the ship was called the "Argo", but in Japan, it was called the Yamato, after the real Japanese super-battleship of WW2 fame. In Japan the cartoon was apparently titled "Space Battleship Yamato". In Latin American countries, the ship was called the "Intrepid". Dont know what up with all the different name changes for the ship. It actually makes sense to call the ship Yamato, because in the series it was literally the Yamato that was somehow recovered from the bottom of the ocean where it had been sunk in WW2, and partially rebuilt with new engines and systems, and get this.....it was given retractable wings so it could fly in the atmosphere of many planets like earth! Right-O....

^^Did I mention this series was based on a true story?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Blazers_(TV_Series)

 

[StarHalo]

^Ive never even heard of it. Whats it about and is it still on somewhere?

Akira was meant to be the final word in what was possible with an animated movie, sort of like an all-animated Avatar in 1988 - over a billion yen was spent on production, the entire soundtrack (one of those old-school state-of-the-art albums where the liner notes are five pages of explanation of how the recording was made) was composed exclusively for this movie, and it even features a moment of actual computer animation a la Tron, which was something totally new and mind-blowing for the time. The plot is derived from a 1,000+ page illustrated novel series, so the plot is blockbuster in scale, and it delivers; Michael Bay action meets Arthur C. Clarke science, with nonstop short-film-quality visuals throughout.

Back in '88, there was no anime on TV or in stores, in fact I don't recall hearing the word "anime" at that point. But once Akira came out, then the Sci-Fi channel started doing similar anime movies on the weekends, then Suncoast stores opened anime sections, etc - Akira made it all possible. If you just see one anime movie, this one film is pretty much the beginning and end of the entire genre, a high water mark that was never equalled..