Week in Review: Iron Man and Wolverine G4

The Iron Man anime has been a good watch thus far. Keeping true to the character, mixing with some great fight scenes makes this series worthy of the Iron Man name. (Unlike a certain other series currently airing on Nicktoons.) We are three episodes away from the end, I'm kinda disappointed to see it go. So, how does this episode compare? Was it better than last week's average one?

This one was an important one, we find out why Yinsen really dislikes Tony, we also find out his plan. This guy has emerged as the main villain, for Zodiac is behind the scenes, but their people lose in about five minutes every time. Yinsen is really the only one with a threatening presence.

I'll be honest, I mainly watch this show for the fights. While a certain other show is tame with the battles, this show lets you have it. Surprisgly, the last couple of episodes were lacking really stand-out fights. We got a nice, but super short last time with Stark and Captain Sakurai , but a lot of the episodes are lacking scope. The first couple had some really good ones, but for awhile, lackluster. After some episodes of that, this one is the payoff. This is one action-filled one, the most actually. We get some satisfying action between Stark and his blue counterpart. The animation is really solid, I'll give a hand to Japan for that, they know how to do fights well.

Just cause there's lot of punching and banging doesn't mean the plot stays still, we get a few ramifications, AND a big cliffhanger.

Yinsen still comes off as forced, even with the flashback. This whole thing with him still doesn't look right, to bring him back in the first place was an odd idea. Unexpected for sure, but I think unwise. He comes off as brash, for it's obvious what Tony was saying, is he really that stubborn that he can't see what's in front of him? I hope all this time he's half-brain washed or something. Adrian Pasdar continues to do a great job with Tony, unlike the other anime, this voice fits the character well. His portrayal has been super, matching more of the early 2000's Stark with just a hint of the movie's version. (In short, he's serious, but knows how to take the whole system of things and make it funny.)

Zodiac is a real organization from the comics. (I know them personally from the 90's Avengers show.) Their inclusion in this show was welcome, but they really haven't done anything. Each of their members are the definition of one-shot, they get cleaned off in about five minutes with no characterization whatsoever. Their just plot devices and nothing more. Seriously, Yinsen is the only real threat right now.

The other characters actually don't do much. Chika goes back to being in the building giving orders and warnings, the romance between her and Stark isn't touched upon. I wonder, with three episodes left, how far can they go with it? Tony will most likely leave Japan......and will she come? Or is this a passing thing for good ol' Mr. Stark? The supposed to be "cool guy" Captain Sakurai appears, though does nothing. The anime makes him to be the "rival" and the "cool cat," but it hasn't worked for me. He's trying to be epic, but really, it fails. That suit he has is awesome, but so far, underused. Hopefully we'll get some action with it next episode.

Overall, this episode of Iron Man might just be the most important, and best. Great fights, great script, this show has been good with the drama too. You should definitely be checking this out, fan or not.

8/10.

The Wolverine anime has been more mixed. I have read a lot of hate for this show, and I can understand. Iron Man's obviously the better show, better pacing, the plot moves smoother, and the character is better adapted. This episode is purely a prelude to a big fight, so it really didn't have much.

This show has been very fast-paced, but surprisingly, there haven't been that many fights to write home about. I don't like the frequent use of stills, and this episode was no different. Again, thugs are the ones Wolverine dishes out his claws on, so nothing big here.

This episode is basically used to get Wolverine from the beginning to the end of the road. Along the way, thugs and traps. We do learn that the Underground movement is even more sneaky than thought. Still, Wolverine's script is fun enough to get us the whole way through without boredom kicking in.

Speaking of Wolverine. The character himself has been a complaint. I could see why and agree with some of the points. First of all, the voice. He doesn't sound like the deep mean Wolverine, he sounds like a dude on a skateboard. Would it have been really hard to hire Steven Blum? Kurohagi continues to be the most annoying and unbearable villain in existence. When he's trying to be menacing it's so laughable because you know he's one of the weakest beings ever. Seriously, anyone can stop this guy, even a mindless thug. Mariko continues to be the most useless damsel in distress ever since Princess Peach. She gets some more useless inner monologue. Yukio makes this show a heck lot more interesting, the dynamic between her and Logan is fun. Without her, this show might just be dull.

The pay-off is the cliffhanger at the end, with the only cool villain, kikyo. This guy could pass off as someone from Bleach, complete with the long hair and strange sword move. Still, the only villain from the comics that has appeared so far is Omega Red, (not counting A.I.M.) it would have been nice to see some others. I was confused when this series took place. I thought it took place in Logan's early days, but no, his call for Cyclops three episodes ago says that this is in his X-Men days. (The scene in the Blackbird still ranks as the best in the whole show thus far.) This Wolverine seems to be more care-free than the one we're use to. Still, it's nice to see him dish out his claws with no holding back, something his past animated appearances does.

Overall, this episode is probably my least favorite, it's really just used to get him across the road. This show has been hit-or-miss. (A lot of miss I've been reading.) I have been enjoying it, though I will say that it has a lot of flaws. Casual people will probably like this show, but the die-hard purists, (as seen in the comments and forums) cannot stand anything about it.

5/10.