Pffffffffffffffffft…..

Everyone knows it takes honor… HONOR AND A PENIS!

So my Xbox gave me a false E 74 error. Turned it on, message came up, turned it off and on again, bam, business as usual!

• kenshiro28
• mistomaxo
• cosmonautcat
• dcwomenkickingass
• willinoise

It all started with a few cryptic twitter posts from Steve Blum. Last Saturday night, [Adult Swim] aired Cartoon Network’s old action block Toonami as a special April Fools treat. It’s the first time in about two years that I stayed up and watched [Adult Swim] all the way through, and the first time in I don’t even know how ling that I stayed up watching TV until 6 am. It was a great chance for me and many of my peers to relive one of the really cool things we grew up with.

It also led to an internet explosion. #Toonami itself along with the names of the various anime that aired that night trended all over the US. People began rallying to get back their beloved animationblock and Steve Blum (the voice of Tom 2.0-4.0) was in the epicenter of it all because he’s Steve Mother Fucking Blum. Soon after [Adult Swim] asked fans to sound off on twitter about it and they replied in pretty big numbers.

Now it looks like a revival is being considered. I can’t say that I have any objections. In fact, I’d watch the hell out of a revived Toonami. Instead of gushing about an “inevitable return”, here’s a few things I want to see out of a Toonami revival.

1. Make Toonami a part of [Adult Swim]:
   Okay so I think it goes without saying that a revived would pretty much have to aim for an older demographic. DC Nation is just kicking off as Cartoon Network’s new action block and I really don’t think kids these days will care to watch Toonami at all. Heck, considering that this whole thing kicked off on [Adult Swim] and that their twitter was where the #BringBackToonami hashtag started, I think it’s safe to bet that any revival is going to be happening there.
    
2. Don’t rely too much on the old stuff:
   Toonami can’t be exactly what it was originally. The prime of it’s life was over a decade ago. It’s been almost 4 years since it’s end. If this new block is to succeed at all, it can’t just be a rehash of the past; there needs to be some growth. It can’t just be Dragonball Z, Outlaw Star, Gundam Whatever, Tenchi Muyo, Zoids, and etc. Instead, they should maybe get the rights to air something new from FUNImation that’ll get people watching. If Bleach is still around, they should let that finish out it’s run. It’s had enough viewers to justify it being on this long, it’s only fair that it gets to finish. For the most part though, they’re going to need some great new stuff if this is to last at all.
    
3. But don’t just toss out all the old stuff:
   Toonami aired a lot of great stuff back in the day. While that stuff shouldn’t be the entirety of this new block, it should have some sort of presence. In fact, you could probably take about a nice chunk of the older shows and keep them in rotation as part of a one or two hour chunk of the schedule. 
   You maybe start off with Outlaw Star and Tenchi Universe, play those two series through to their ends and then swap out for Yu Yu Hakusho and Gundam Wing. Those two will run their course and swap out once their finished, and so on and so on. Toss in some old [AS] favorites like Fullmetal Alchemist, Ghost in the Shell, and Eureka Seven, for added bonuses. Cowboy Bebop and Inu Yasha should probably be retired, mostly because they’ve been played to death at this point. Do something like this while also working in some new remix bumps, TOM reviewing games and movies, and everything should be on the right track.
    
4. Don’t bother with Dragonball/Z/GT:
   This is what a lot of people don’t want to hear, but I think it needs to be said; Dragonball Z doesn’t really have much of a place here. I know it sounds insane, but there’s no way it’ll truly work here. The dub that Toonami aired was terrible. The script was poor, the voice actors delivered those lines in a ridiculously cheesy manor, and Bruce Faulconer’s score is atrocious and dated. On top of that, there’s somewhere in the ballpark of 400 episodes between the three Dragonball series, with Dragonball Z having over 200 of those. People joked about how slow the pacing was when it aired on a daily basis; on a weekly basis, that’s much worse. They could try Dragonball (Z) Kai uncut; it has a much lower episode count and a vastly superior dub than the original series. However, that series has been airing on the Nicktoons Network and the CW over the last two years. Anyone who has wanted to see it, has seen it. As much as I loved that series when I was younger (it was my world from the ages of 11-15) it just wouldn’t fit in on Toonami anymore.
   
   
5. Work in some western stuff:
   Toonami wasn’t just anime. In fact, when it started, it aired Thundercats, Johnny Quest, and various Hanna Barbera shorts, with Voltron being the only anime on the block at all. Batman: The Animated Series, Reboot, Megas: XLR, Beast Wars, Justice League/JL: Unlimited, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (the original, not the current one), and Samurai Jack were all among a list of other western series that aired on Toonami over it’s run. It would be a disservice to not air a single western animated series on this block. Samurai Jack alone would be a great addition to this block and the Venture Brothers wouldn’t be so out of place, either. Anyway you look at it, western animation has a place here, too.

So that’s what I’d want to see from a Toonami revival. I think I made a few valid points here. For now, I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that the planets align and that someone puts out the okay for a revival. Even if it only lasts for a year or two, it’ll be nice to get a few more chances to enjoy one of my favorite things from my childhood and adolescence. Later.

Brian Michael Bendis’ Ultimate Spider-Man run is one of my hands down favorite super hero comics ever. It took classic Spider-Man elements and brought them into the modern day and did with such a consistently decent quality. It’s crazy to think that over ten years later, this is still one of the best things the man is putting out in Marvel and that he’s still shaking things up on this title. Simply put, I love this book. 

When I found out that there would be an animated show carrying the same moniker as my beloved comic, I was intrigued. Would this be a straight up adaptation? Would it be in the same continuity as those mediocre Ultimate Avengers movies? Would the voice of Spidey from the USM video game be reprising his role? Well: 1) No, it’s not an adaptation, its a new thing that does have a few similarities to the original. 2) Thankfully, no. At least, I think that’s a no. 3) Sadly, no. Drake Bell is voicing the web head this time around.

So with my beloved comic is only partially having influence over this new hotness, I suddenly found myself a little less interested in the show, though the premise still intrigues me. Spider-Man: Agent of SHIELD, working together on a team consisting of Nova, White Tiger, Power Man, and Iron Fist, while also occasionally teaming up with some of Marvel’s most popular characters? That’s still a pretty neat idea for a cartoon.

So today was the long awaited day; the day that the first two episodes of the series premiered. Now, I can finally begin to form a solid opinion! So what do I think? It’s a decent start, but it’s pretty rough around the edges.

Time to elaborate; See, the premise of this show, as I said, is really solid; Spider-Man, now with about a year of super heroics under his belt gets an offer to work with Nick Fury to help make himself a better Spider-Man, an Ultimate Spider-Man if you will (and yes, I groaned at that too.) Spidey and Nick Fury are both pretty spot on in characterization, as is just about everyone in the show. J. Jonah Jameson, now the head of a media empire instead of just a newspaper, is still the same cranky old jerk he was before. He’s also voiced by J.K. Simmons, who played the characters in the original trilogy, which is doubly awesome. M.J. and Harry Osborn are Pete’s best friends, again, right in there with Bendis’ comic and Aunt May is his not-nearly-as-ancient-as-usual parental figure. Even Iron Fist, Power Man, and White Tiger are all pretty spot on.

For the most part, this series is pretty darn good. Still, two considerable problems are the art style and the humor. I’ll start with art style since it’s the lesser of the two problems here. Frankly stated, it’s just bland. It’s sorta anime-esque for the most part, with little “chibi” art coming in to say “yes, indeed, this is sorta anime-esque!” It sorta vaguely looks a little like Mark Bagley’s art at times, but not really. It’s so incredibly uninspired that I just can’t find any way to express how I feel about it; it’s just there.

The bigger offender of the bunch is the humor. See, Spider-Man needs humor. Part of what makes him so lovable is that he just won’t shut up. He’s always cracking wise. Unfortunately, the show decided that he wasn’t doing it enough and they decided to make sure that you don’t go thirty seconds without Spider-man cutting away to do some sort of visual gag with cutesy little chibi-spidey or something not unlike a Marvel version of Family Guy. It gets to the point that the show just feels jumbled and unfocused.

Still, there’s still time to hammer out the fine points and turn this show into something special; Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes didn’t get really good until a good bit into that first season, but now it’s a show that I’m excited to have back. Here right now is a pretty rough product with plenty of promise. What’s good is actually really good, but it’s got it’s own hurdles to overcome. If it can settle down and get into a good groove, then this could be something cool.

gentlemanbones:

Fuck you Nerve’s now is not the time

weeaboo-chan:

lambkillcombs:

quozmonster:

tyrotheterrible:

gothetsyfinds:

Skull venetian mask black in metal, luxury mask

$150

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Cocone

SWEET HOLY MOTHER OF FUCK

GIVE IT TO ME NOW

HOT DAMN //salivates//

is it a bad thing that I saw this and the first thing I thought of “oh wow give it red eyes over the sockets and it can be like the Stay-Up-All-Night mask from Majora’s Mask”?

because that was my exact line of thought.

MMMMMM

Looks sorta like Venom…

the-thought-emporium-imperial:

cybersenshi:

This needs like, six bajillion more notes. NGL.

Ahh, the ol’ swordfish.

… How many times did it lose a wing?

I want this as a poster on my wall. It is magnificent.

littlephiish:

kenshiro28:

thedruff:

ulreika:

kinteru:

He snackrificed himself for our sins.

just

get out

fuck this gay earth

BASED CHEESUS