Off Topic => General Off Topic => Topic started by: Angantyr on August 21, 2013, 07:00:42 pm
Title: Animated Series Intros
Post by: Angantyr on August 21, 2013, 07:00:42 pm
Post here your favourite animated series intros from your childhood, the emphasis on great drawings or amazing music (and heavy nostalgia ofc)
I grew up in the late 80s and 90s, and back then the target audience was primarily boys and there was less catering to young girls. But I think girls even preferred the action cartoons of the 90s to whatever unisex, soulless crap they have today. Do they even make these types of action cartoons anymore, that is not manga or mainly for adults?
Most of these comics were Pacific collaborations between US and Japanese studios. A lot of thought and ressources clearly went into the intro music and everything was hand drawn in Japan by Japenese Anime companies, where also most of the inspiration for the market scheme came from. Like launching a TV series together with comic books, tradeable items (like gum stickers) to promote new toys, He-Man, Transformers and G.I Joe as cases in point, I think these were the first of their kind seen on a Western market, just before the fully Japanese stuff like Pokemon and Bayblade came here. Not only does this yield of a lot of money for the producers, but it also adds a lot of depth to the universes, though it can also be hampering (the kid psychology aspect aside) when for example the He-Man characters were designed after what would be cheap to produce in plastic for the toys. On the other hand there was G. I Joe which had probably still today the highest quality toys despite operating the same scheme.
All in all it made us into good little future consumers, but it also gave us some nice fantasy universes.
Some personal favourites I remember off the top of my head:
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Probably one of the best of the era, I think (through nostalgic eyes), great animations, great music, nice presentation of the characters and their abilities, decently close to the comics, too. Had a special magic for me because the series was never launched here in Denmark and so I had to watch it on my friend's NTSC video cassetes (European standard was PAL) which his purser father brought home from the US or Singapore, where the covers opened up the wrong way.
Generation 1 of Transformers was really good, especially third and fourth season where content became much darker (also interesting is the history of the studio in same period, fleshing out an originally toy marketing scheme with heavy lore writing to give it depth and capture the minds of young consumers), season 4 also features the best version of the theme, I think.
A welcome change from the very silly first cartoon series, this one follows Sega's attempt at branding themselves as more mature, dark and violent than Nintendo, their main adversary. Sonic and his animal friends fight in a post-apocalyptic scenario against Dr. Robotnic's forces trying to industrialize all of the forest, features adult themes which is rare for the 'morning cartoon' genre, which aims at younger children than for example Batman and X-men. As you can hear even the music theme was somewhat different.
M.A.S.K was another semi-magical series which sadly was never launched in my country and which I couldn't watch on Sky; I only knew about it from a single VHS I had. Pretty cool, though.
TMNT was the shit, we all watched it, we had it on NES and Gameboy, we dressed up as it for Fastelavn (Scandinavian carneval), we traded stickers in school and played with the action figures in daycare.
Another one I only had on VHS, but great universe, well-written and nice drawings for the time. I reckon it made me suspectible to Western/Cowboy Sci-Fi from an early age, probably one of the reasons it's been so easy to embrace series such as 'Firefly', and games such as FNV in my later life.
You may think this is only for small kids and girls, but then you'd have to watch it again.
Manga from when it was rare and nerdy in the West.
Batman.
Title: Re: Animated Series Intros
Post by: Tot. on August 21, 2013, 07:18:33 pm
That's pretty much Mount&Blade right there.
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Title: Re: Animated Series Intros
Post by: Sir_Hans on August 22, 2013, 10:13:08 pm
Wow I totally forgot about that cartoon.... fucking blast from the past!
Here's a few oldies... definitely not my favorites but worth a few good laughs... they belong on this thread:
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Both seem like blatant attempts to tap into the TMNT success. :mrgreen:
X-men was the best when I was a kid... I tried rewatching the old animated series and it doesn't live up to my fond memories though... not really surprising.
Title: Re: Animated Series Intros
Post by: Kalam on August 22, 2013, 10:21:39 pm
Post here your favourite animated series intros from your childhood, the emphasis on great drawings or amazing music (and heavy nostalgia ofc)
I grew up in the late 80s and 90s, and I'm still convinced they don't make cartoons (or comic books for that sake) as they used to.
Back then the target audience was primarily boys and there was less catering to young girls. Honestly, though, I think girls even preferred the action cartoons of the 90s to whatever unisex, soulless crap they have today. Do they even make these types of action cartoons anymore, that is not manga or mainly for adults?
In retrospect, that was a horrible series. Much like the nineties X-men animated series, but I loved it then. X-Men Evolution made up for it, I believe.
Edit: hahahahah Street Sharks and Biker Mice. Loved those, as well as Swat Kats. And was there a show about anthropomorphic dogs? Road Rovers? Something?
As for great cartoons of today...there are some, I believe, like Adventure Time, which are truly better than anything we had at the time. It's honestly. ALL-AGES, in that there's subject matter for everyone, and as new seasons come along, the subject matter matures with it.
Avatar: The Last Airbender and the Legend of Korra are probably best enjoyed as an adult- definitely true with Korra, which doesn't pull punches for the kids. Another great example of cross-Pacific collaboration, here.
Justice League was another show clearly aimed at a more adult audience. The character development was phenomenal.
More recently, there was Young Justice- which proved, like Adventure Time, that a series could mature like it's characters did.
Title: Re: Animated Series Intros
Post by: Moncho on August 22, 2013, 10:29:54 pm
Late 90s. Mostly nostalgia, but I remember loving them.
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Title: Re: Animated Series Intros
Post by: Kafein on August 22, 2013, 10:39:06 pm
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Title: Re: Animated Series Intros
Post by: Necrorave on August 22, 2013, 10:45:14 pm
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Title: Re: Animated Series Intros
Post by: Laufknoten on August 22, 2013, 10:49:57 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9fdbZSQemw
Title: Re: Animated Series Intros
Post by: Weren on August 22, 2013, 10:52:03 pm
I find the lack of Moomins (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9zddRejMdU) in this thread disturbing.
Title: Re: Animated Series Intros
Post by: Kafein on August 23, 2013, 02:45:16 am
This is the best way to find out the age of anyone.
Title: Re: Animated Series Intros
Post by: EponiCo on August 23, 2013, 05:02:40 am
A really weird show, and the only I can remember watching I'd personally say really stood out for it's art. That's not to say I didn't enjoy others but they were in the end simple. The old formula, the old cliches. This is a kid show by all means but works in so dark and ambigous themes, you'd probably even have to censor them if you wanted to make a mainstream adult movie from them.
So for nostalgia's sake: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ4c1X5ene8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKxWl4PcBY4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdXnUjvJsOQ
Title: Re: Animated Series Intros
Post by: Silicium on August 23, 2013, 06:20:26 am
I used to watch X-man, Transformer and Gi-joe mainly until my cousin introduced me to some more goorish cartoon/anime, from that point on i started to find other cartoons boring and not as much entertaining
I also used to watch Knight of the zodiac, but the opening theme in english is shit, i liked the original one better.
Title: Re: Animated Series Intros
Post by: Harald on August 23, 2013, 08:03:27 am
Wicki, Captain Future, He-Man
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Edit, more memories coming back: Biene Maja, Pinocchio, Nils Holgerson
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I hope i'm not the only here old enough to remember those :).
Title: Re: Animated Series Intros
Post by: Kafein on August 23, 2013, 12:43:49 pm
Harald, you are the reason people still believe dinosaurs looked like reptiles, you should have taken pictures.
Title: Re: Animated Series Intros
Post by: Gravoth_iii on August 23, 2013, 01:56:13 pm
I find the lack of Moomins (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9zddRejMdU) in this thread disturbing.
Fuck yes im glad im not the only one who likes Moomin here, the swedish version of it is so great.
Title: Re: Animated Series Intros
Post by: Tibe on August 23, 2013, 04:24:22 pm
I never deeply got into a animated series tbh. I just watched whatever was animated as a kid. But there where a couple I was really really really into: The already mentioned "Ed, Edd & Eddy" was definately one. You simply have to love those 3 crazy bastards and their plans to screw the entire neighbourhood. Well then there where also these: "Danny Phantom" "The Avatar" and "Samurai Jack"
PS: Thats a full episode. That black "Samurai" is what I always imagined Blackbow to be like irl. :lol: