Sean Akizuki's Fantasy Critic

Aside from Saban understanding Marvel better than Toei - it's probably good that Toei didn't produce a Super Mario Bros. Anime in Japan. Super Mario Bros.  was a Japanese production but the concept was done in an American territory. Super Mario was partly based on the late Mario Segale - Nintendo's landlord . It feels awkward that Super Mario is a Japanese invention but it takes place in AMERICA. I prefer to play Dragon Quest Heroes with the American voices because it feels authentic. The same goes for why Saban Entertainment doing the Mario with the Super Mario Bros. Super Show . It's unlike  Power Rangers where licensed footage is used. This one has all its footage made from scratch by DiC Animation with music provided by Haim Saban and Shuki Levy.  The show deviates from the video game while keeping the theme that they're AMERICAN plumbers. The show mixes elements from Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2 . For those unaware of it, the cursed game known as S...

It's no secret that I ended up disliking Power Rangers for years to come whether it was handled by Saban, Disney, or recently with Hasbro. However, watching Toei's extremely odd  Spider-Man adaptation made me miss the 1990s Marvel cartoons . One can argue that Toei's experimentation with the Spider-Man franchise with the Marvel license was a daring thing. However, Supaida-Man probably   wasn't the monster hit it could've been. Instead, I wanted to watch the 1994 adaptation of Spider-Man titled Spider-Man: The Animated Series .  It's because there's a difference between a licensed adaptation and getting inspired by Western superhero material. It's no surprise that Marvel worked with Toei before meeting Saban. Marvel working with Saban probably did better than working with Toei. Marvel gave Toei the green light to what I'd call the weirdest licensed adaptation of Spider-Man . Professor Monster is blatantly based on Doctor Doom. The whole environment fe...

Watching Batman: The Animated Series - there was one episode where Poison Ivy supposedly settled down AND had stepchildren. However, the marriage was fake. Poison Ivy created male replicas and Dr. Caryle's real children were DAUGHTERS. Poison Ivy mentioned that her immune system can't let her have children. Whether or not that was more than Status Dependent on Version may vary. However, I have another crazy idea born from that episode.  My own alternative path is pretty much this. Poison Ivy reforms for good and figures out that both Batman and Bruce Wayne are the same. I would look at the angle that if she can't have natural children due to her hyperactive immune system - why not be Damian's stepmother and even ADOPT HIM? Poison Ivy has a soft spot for children like when she took care of the orphans. Have Bruce and Pamela settle down. Pamela chooses to adopt Damian and genuinely loves him like a son. This might give Pamela a possible redemption arc as Damian's step...

Some shows in the 1990s had their endings hanging. In Japan, there was Yaiba: The Legendary Swordsman which only stopped during the conclusion of the Kaguya Arc. Maybe, one can remember how Flame of Recca and Cooking Master Boy also had hanging endings for the Anime. I wasn't surprised to learn that the Manga went beyond that. In America, some shows get left hanging and there is hardly any proper conclusion. It's not just Haim Saban but the problem also went with several shows. Some shows get canceled even before they can be concluded like Galtar and the Golden Lance and Pirates of the Dark Water . The case wasn't any different for Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog . I heard that was Saban's attempt to ride on the Sword and Sorcery genre. Unlike his other shows that required some form of contract (ex. Marvel-based shows, Power Rangers ), it seemed Saban Entertainment didn't have a contract on this one at all.  Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog may have been the response to He...

It's already known one of the reasons why I don't like Power Rangers is how Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers got overextended. Unlike a certain group, I understand Toei's ultimately to blame (and Saban is practically Luigi to Toei's Mario) since they were the ones who created the Zyu2 footage. They did the same thing when Lion Voltron became a hit in America by creating exclusive footage for American use - footage NEVER used in the original Golion . Both shows were part of my childhood BUT I don't bother rewatching them for personal reasons. I'd like to examine this messy transition. Toei Ltd. and Saban Entertainment may have had what I'd call that POSSIBLE OVERSIGHT. It's known that Mighty Morphin' was supposed to end in 40 episodes. Reading this essay on Zyu2 might help me understand the MARKETING side of things. I believe Toei made that OVERSIGHT when they produced additional footage for Saban's use. Toei could've said, "Well Saban,...

Sure, I can use Conan the Barbarian to berate Conan the Destroyer any day. Here's a review on Movie Thulsa - a beloved villain that's probably overrated. A careful analysis of Conan the Barbarian (1982) would reveal that Movie Thulsa was a Dirty Coward. Maybe, it's because the actor James Earl Jones wasn't an action actor. Cast any action actor such as Frank Langella (who portrayed a more evil Skeletor in Masters of the Universe ) and get a Thulsa who could actually battle with Conan. Instead, Movie Thulsa was reduced to a Dirty Coward. A careful analysis will show that Movie Thulsa is a coward   At the beginning of the film, Movie Thulsa is shown to prefer to show up ONLY LATER. Movie Thulsa doesn't participate in the whack-a-villager game. Instead, you see his Rocksteady and Bebop minions namely Rexor and Thorgim do the job. Speaking of which, I wonder if Tang Lashor and Rattlor from She-Ra were partly inspired by them. Rexor would later become his high priest whi...