ThatAnimeSnob

X Men is Marvel’s third attempt at trying to milk the far eastern audience with an American derived work. Without being a diehard fan of the franchise, I have watched most of the episodes in all three cartoon adaptations, the movie versions, some scattered comic stories, as well as the other two Marvel anime. I can say that I have a grasp of the basics. Just by the first glance, X Men definitely feels more interesting than the Iron Man and Wolverine anime for having a team of heroes instead of a solid protagonist who becomes boring fast. Yet it’s still quite boring compared to older versions in other media because THERE IS NOT MUCH PLOT and THE ACTION IS JUVENILE.

Let’s try to compare it with the American tv versions. Where an average cartoon episode would have fast action and plot progress, the anime version has very little going on in it. It’s like you watch half the series just for something significant to happen; and even when it does, the storyboard is so badly done that you just don’t like it. The villains for example appear and disappear all the time, and not because they can teleport. They are just there and if the scriptwriter wants them to escape, they just do so. The X Men on the other hand are painfully inactive, standing frozen and surprised for several minutes and letting the plot unravel favorably for the villains any way the scriptwriter wants, when in reality they could just react in seconds and prevent most of whatever they are doing before their very eyes. Which is true; as soon as the author finally allows the heroes to act, they pretty much own the villains in a few minutes of easy battles. Do you believe the villains talking cocky lasts three times longer than the time needed to have their masterplan ruined? The show is also heavy on dialogues, and not the interesting kind ones. It is mostly blah-blah-blah about a virus nobody cares about and everybody standing emotionless in a corner while the villains just explain their powers and masterplans as if this is Naruto. This is an action franchise and all its excitement and revelations should be blood-boiling; not lethargic like that.

The production values are very good as the animation looks great and the music is amazingly catchy and not lifeless like in the other two anime. Also, the characters are very close to their original forms, unlike the gay looks of Wolverine (although Beast looks like a tiger instead of an ape). So far it is the part I enjoy most. The action scenes are also very vibrant and fast but end up being short and with chaotic choreography since as I said the villains appear and disappear without any reason at all. Also, they attack in small numbers instead of ganging up on the heroes and winning by pure brute force. It’s not like the few ones attacking each time use stealth; it’s just lame scriptwriting that makes them look sneaky.

The characters are fine if you know them from other series or comic books; they act as they should but they otherwise don’t really develop or reveal sides of them you didn’t know. It feels like they are there for the sake of being there; their numbers or role don’t matter much.
- The only character who is given some interesting immersion is Hisako, the new mutant. She doesn’t have much personality other than being the frightened little girl who is forced to learn how to fight for her life. Well I’m sorry, Jubilee did the same in the 90’s cartoon and she had her parents fearing her and a mob of crazy racists chasing her. Hisako has nothing of interest next to that.
- There is also Cyclops who wants to overcome the pain he feels over the death of Jean and even looks like Ema Frost is hitting on him and giving him a chance to move on with her as his mate. Yet this subplot is undermined a lot so it’s not like you feel there is something solid going on here.
- Wolverine is as usual antagonizing Cyclops for the love of Jean even after her death. He just blames him for everything and nags all the time. Beyond that, he is just there to offer gar action with his adamantine claws.
- Beast is supposed to be there as the scientist who is studying a new virus and even tries to create a vaccine. His subplot is also undermined as all it took to solve the problem is storming the enemy base.
- Xavier is actually important to the plot, as his own family is in the heart of this mess. Yet I can’t say the story couldn’t be done without him in it.
- Storm is… um… Ok she is completely useless to the plot. The best thing she did was cooking.

Even their powers are not used properly, so their most fundamental traits are gone to waste. For example, at episode 6 the team needs to find a shelter from a snowstorm… while Storm is there with them. She can control the weather; this shouldn’t even be a problem. On episode 7 the team is attacked by villains that simply sneak up on them. Wolverine should have sensed them with his heightened senses. And if Hisako is supposed to be the member with the all-powerful shield, then why is Emma Frost able to do the exact same thing with her ice barrier? What is Hisako, a completely rookie character, doing in a team of elites when her very power is obsolete? Is she just the lolicon bait for the fans? And why is Emma Frost in their team so easily when she is known to betray everybody? And wait a second; didn’t they reuse the exact same story in Wolverine and the X-Men? Her, replacing Jean in the team and having a secret agenda?

The villains are also completely retarded despite claiming to have some sort of masterplan and acting all cocky all the time. Not only they waste their manpower by attacking a few at a time but even when they ambush the heroes, they waste more time explaining and gloating about everything than just killing them. Also, for a group that is supposed to be geniuses, they definitely don’t even know the powers of the heroes, since they believe simple mind tricks and direct attacks is all it takes. I mean how stupid can you be if you just stab Wolverine and you think that is all it takes to kill him?

Speaking of the villains, none of them is a major figure in the franchise. The end credits show Magneto, Juggernaut, and a few others, none of which appear in the show. They are present only as a static picture! Who the hell are there stunts and why are they so threatening if they are so stupid? Should I even care? As for the twist of Xavier having a son… well he already has one who did far more harm and even initiated the Age of Apocalypse.

Another issue is the setting which feels empty. You are let to think the entire world is just a few dozen people, plus lots of mook machines chasing the mutants. Where are the cities full of people, the thousand different mutants, the feeling you are not watching a wasteland? The very mutant academy is completely empty when in the cartoons it was bursting with life.

Final words. The story is damn uninteresting and badly written, the powers of the characters are not used properly, the action scenes are chaotic, the villains are completely uninteresting and stupid. The third Marvel anime is still nothing but a lifeless attempt at quick bucks and I don’t recommend it to anyone as more than a low expectations time killer.

Onwards to Blade, last of this line of crappy adaptations.

And now for some excused scorings.

ART SECTION: 8/10
General Artwork 2/2 (looks nice)
Character Figures 2/2 (cool looking)
Backgrounds 2/2 (basic but fitting with the feeling of the series)
Animation 1/2 (average)
Visual Effects 1/2 (basic)

SOUND SECTION: 6/10
Voice Acting 1/3 (lifeless)
Music Themes 3/4 (not great but fitting with the feeling of the series)
Sound Effects 2/3 (ok I guess)

STORY SECTION: 2/10
Premise 1/2 (typical)
Pacing 0/2 (dull)
Complexity 0/2 (none)
Plausibility 0/2 (none)
Conclusion 1/2 (cheesy)

CHARACTER SECTION: 3/10
Presence 1/2 (weak)
Personality 1/2 (typical)
Backdrop 1/2 (generic and simplistic but it’s there)
Development 0/2 (messy)
Catharsis 0/2 (messy)

VALUE SECTION: 1/10
Historical Value 0/3 (none)
Rewatchability 0/3 (no reason to rewatch it)
Memorability 1/4 (no reason to remember it)

ENJOYMENT SECTION: 1/10
Art 0/1 (looks lifeless)
Sound 1/2 (sounds ok)
Story 0/3 (generic)
Characters 0/4 (robots)

VERDICT: 3.5/10