T'Challa: The Black Panther Appreciation 2024

[DigiCom]

I'm in my mid 30s so 2 decades younger, I do remember 90-early 00s being good, and yes Anime wise did get a lot of the popular stuff but even then it was still really REALLY good. And wasn't afraid to be.. serious? Treat the audience like they can handle more than just jokes and goofiness? Atleast toonami did that, but it just seems like shows are all about dumb toilet humor, like worse than before

Well, I started watching anime with Star Blazers in the 1970s, so my metrics are skewed.

I sort of agree with you about the goofiness, though. Consider the TMNT franchise in animation:



IMHO, if you look at cartoons only, it peaked in 2003.

[Marvell2100]

This may sound bias and show my age but I really think the 90s was kinda peak for cartoons on the West atleast, but even then things like the OG DB or DBZ is so much different and had nore weight behind it than say DB super

Well, I don't know how old you are (I'm in my mid-50s) but I tend to agree about Western animation, although I'd say there were still good cartoons in the 2000s, like JLU and the original Teen Titans.

It feels like sometime around 2012-2013, everybody just shifted three notches into the goofy end of the spectrum.

(It's a little trickier to evaluate anime since most of the stuff we get in the US comes from Weekly Shonen Jump titles. But there's a LOT more out there.)

I'm in my mid 30s so 2 decades younger, I do remember 90-early 00s being good, and yes Anime wise did get a lot of the popular stuff but even then it was still really REALLY good. And wasn't afraid to be.. serious? Treat the audience like they can handle more than just jokes and goofiness? Atleast toonami did that, but it just seems like shows are all about dumb toilet humor, like worse than before

I dunno. The 80s cartoon were peak for me (Late 50's by the way). We had Transformers, G.I. Joe, Thundercats, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Blackstar, Dungeon and Dragons, Robotech, Thundar The Barbarian, Silverhawks, G-Force, Battle of the Planets, Voltron and The Smurfs.

[DigiCom]

I dunno. The 80s cartoon were peak for me (Late 50's by the way). We had Transformers, G.I. Joe, Thundercats, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Blackstar, Dungeon and Dragons, Robotech, Thundar The Barbarian, Silverhawks, G-Force, Battle of the Planets, Voltron and The Smurfs.

I'll note that three of the series you named were actually imported anime. And Transformers might as well have been.

Anyway, to drag this back on track... every decade or so, the core style of animation changes. I'm sure that the pendulum will swing again, particularly with the success of things like the Spider-Verse movies. I would love to see a Panther series really lean into the appropriate African art styles, for example.

[Marvell2100]

I'll note that three of the series you named were actually imported anime. And Transformers might as well have been.

Anyway, to drag this back on track... every decade or so, the core style of animation changes. I'm sure that the pendulum will swing again, particularly with the success of things like the Spider-Verse movies. I would love to see a Panther series really lean into the appropriate African art styles, for example.

There's an animated series on Disney+ with African art. I can't recall the name right now.

[BlackClaw]

There's an animated series on Disney+ with African art. I can't recall the name right now.

Are you talking about Iwaju?

[Marvell2100]

Are you talking about Iwaju?

Yeah, that's it.

[Mantis-Ray]

Companies just have no respect for animations, its just the truth.

The 2010s were pretty bad because Cartoon Network had completely declined as a company by bulldozing every action cartoon they had to overexpose Teen Titans Go.

Marvel Rising (outside Ultimate Spider-man) was probably the best visually and that's not saying much.

I remember watching a video about Marvel's Spider-Man's animation and yeah it seems like there was a lot of problems at Marvel Entertainment.

Thank God it finally closed.

[DigiCom]

Yeah, that's it.

That's interesting, but it's still the basic Disney style with some design elements slapped on it. There was a Generation Fire project on D+ last year that had potential, but I keep going back to this picture:



While it's a redesign of The Phantom, it's also clearly African.

There was also a pretty great Afrofuturist artist we discussed a few years ago, but I'm blanking on his name.

[MouserGrey]

Well, I started watching anime with Star Blazers in the 1970s, so my metrics are skewed.

I sort of agree with you about the goofiness, though. Consider the TMNT franchise in animation:



IMHO, if you look at cartoons only, it peaked in 2003.

I played sick a couple times so I could watch Star Blazers which aired at 2pm where I grew up. Lol

[Ezyo1000]

Well, I started watching anime with Star Blazers in the 1970s, so my metrics are skewed.

I sort of agree with you about the goofiness, though. Consider the TMNT franchise in animation:



IMHO, if you look at cartoons only, it peaked in 2003.

I just miss when stuff had more substance outside of just comedy. You can have a kids show be both and be really good. Take Avatar the last Airbender. It has a good mix of silliness to complement the story and seriousness yet a kid AND adult can enjoy it and be entertained not just by the comedy, but the story and character development, as well as the absolutely stunning fight choreography.

[Ezyo1000]

I dunno. The 80s cartoon were peak for me (Late 50's by the way). We had Transformers, G.I. Joe, Thundercats, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Blackstar, Dungeon and Dragons, Robotech, Thundar The Barbarian, Silverhawks, G-Force, Battle of the Planets, Voltron and The Smurfs.

I see you. Raise you some swat cats, freakazoid, x men, rocks modern life, ah real monsters, Gundam wing, DBZ, OG Digimon, Rurouni Kenshin, Static shock, Spiderman, Batman, Tails spin, and gargoyles. Also beast transformers

[DigiCom]

There was also a pretty great Afrofuturist artist we discussed a few years ago, but I'm blanking on his name.

I had to go back 8 years to find his name.

Mshindo Kuumba

[Ezyo1000]

I'll note that three of the series you named were actually imported anime. And Transformers might as well have been.

Anyway, to drag this back on track... every decade or so, the core style of animation changes. I'm sure that the pendulum will swing again, particularly with the success of things like the Spider-Verse movies. I would love to see a Panther series really lean into the appropriate African art styles, for example.

I would love to see Hudlins animated series updated to 2024 and tell his stories, or Priest even. That would be awesome

[Ezyo1000]

That's interesting, but it's still the basic Disney style with some design elements slapped on it. There was a Generation Fire project on D+ last year that had potential, but I keep going back to this picture:



While it's a redesign of The Phantom, it's also clearly African.

There was also a pretty great Afrofuturist artist we discussed a few years ago, but I'm blanking on his name.

You talking about Mshindo l. Kuumba?

Edit: beat me to it lol. I would take some art by the group who made Canon busters as well. Or at least the soundtrack because that was HOT

[Tofali]

I had to go back 8 years to find his name.

Mshindo Kuumba

these creators just put two words together that would never be used as names and think that nobody in the West is going to know what they mean lol!