Outgrowing "Adult Swim"...

This is not a goodbye to "Adult Swim", because there are still some shows on it I watch, but an opinion of how I feel the program block has De-evolved . Granted, Adult Swim was never the most intelligent program block but the shows weren't in your face with how unintelligent most of the shows have become.

I was around when AS premiered in 2001, on Cartoon Network, and was floored by the shows it produced. With it's cursing, adult themes and situations, and surrealness, the block had me hooked and with the exception of Aqua Teens Hunger Force, the shows were parodies of older Hanna Barbera shows and it was visible that the creators  were fans of Hanna Barbera's output of old school action. I didn't know whether or not these shows were just jokes or recurring series but was excited when the shows were on again the next night and I have been a fan of the block since, until recently...

Lately, or at least around 2009, the shows I loved, like Space Ghost; Coast to Coast, Harvey Birdman, Sealab 2021 and the Brak Show were long gone. Now come shows like Tim & Eric, Metalocalypse, Superjail, Loiter Squad and the Eric Andre Show that pretty much are either loud, violent, nonsensical and sometimes uncomfortable to watch. Aqua Teens is still around but has fell to the level of what is wrong with AS shows. Another show I enjoyed until recently, Robot Chicken, is now just nothing but mostly toys being used for rape and child abuse jokes.

I'm not saying that AS needs to change its ways because I don't see that happening anytime soon. I'm simply stating that their type of programing is not my style anymore. I'll still watch a few shows on the block but the type of audience their aiming for these days has to have dwindled from college aged kids to sophomore high school students. That or I really am just getting old.

Shows I still watch on Adult Swim; Venture Brothers, Black Dynamite, The Boondocks, and Eagleheart.

P.S. Ironically, most of the shows I listed as the most juvenile are live action shows. Weird for a supposedly all cartoon network.

Why I am not a Naruto fan...

I know it has been forever since I've posted a blog but life happens, along with a lot of procrastination, but now I'm posting a new blog that is a quasi-continuation of the previous blog, "Ninja Obsession". 

As mentioned in the previous blog, I am obsessed with almost anything that is of authentic Japanese Ninjitsu but there is an exception, one that has a huge following in Japan and in the States. If the title didn't tip you off, it's Naruto, an ninja based anime and manga about the adventures of a few students of a ninja academy. The students, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, learn ninjitsu while competing with and helping each other and even saving the world. Sounds right up my alley, doesn't it? Well, again, as the title says, I am not a big fan of this series. 

 My reason for this are the following; I feel that Naruto is just not written well. Most of the characters are either not written well enough to care about or just plain annoying, Especially Naruto himself, who is brash and annoying. All I ever hear from him is just "I want to be the best, I want to be the best ninja" and it gets old after episode 7. Yes, he saves the world from supernatural villains, some from Asian mythology, but he goes about in the way of "Hey, I already know I can beat you but we'll prolong it for several episodes or an entire movie". Maybe, if Naruto used a bit more teamwork (in the episodes I've watched it's always about him) and if Naruto weren't so loud, maybe I would be into it more.
The more interesting characters; Jiraiya, a perverted teacher, Sasuke, a main character who flip flops between rivaling with Naruto and wanting to kill him, and Rock Lee, ninja/ kung-fu student.

Ninja Obsession 忍者の執着

I am here to make confession, one that I have kept from most people I know until recently and now I want to share this secret with everyone. Ladies & Gentlemen, I am...obsessed with Ninjas.

Almost anything involving authentic Japanese ninjas, I'll drool over. None of that Godfrey Ho bright colored, Richard Harrison starring or the ton of "ninja" movies to come from Taiwan.
I recall my first "exposure" to ninjitsu  was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles but I was the only kid on the block who was more interested in the fighting style and not the fact that it was being used by 4 giant talking turtles. When the turtle craze died down, Power Rangers decided to pick up the ball and become ninjas, renewing my interest in ninjas. At a time when a 13 year old should be more interested in girls, I, having a hard time in school socially and academically, needed some kind of escapism and ninjitsu did that for me. In the end, I am more fascinated with the mythology of ninjitsu that I've seen in movies, video games, manga and television. Not that actual ninjitsu is boring but the mythology has opened my eyes to other asian mythologies, which are far more interesting than most western mythologies.