Iron Man

As you may know, I’m not one of those people that get pessimistic about the Marvel/Madhouse collaboration anime series. It’s a bit of a head scratcher and it does seem like a good idea at the time to introduce an American comic book character to Japanese audiences in anime form and since the Iron Man movies and Marvel itself has been in full popularity, it would make sense for them to cash in or foray into anime territory. Now seeing that this is the first of the Marvel Anime that ran, you figure this would be a new experience to me, but it isn’t sinceI already reviewed the Blade anime, considering I put that one in more importance than the others. Tony Stark is a physicist, an engineer, and the CEO of a major arms manufacturing company. On a battlefield he is injured from his own weapons and taken prisoner by terrorists. In order to keep his own heart beating, he creates the Ironman Suit and escapes. Once free, Stark decides to dedicate his life to pursuing world peace with the Ironman technology, so he moves to Japan to use the resources of "Lab 23," home of the world's first Arc Reactor. Wanting to devote himself fully to this research, Stark decides to retire as Ironman and announce the mass-production of suits to fulfill his duties. But at the announcement ceremony he is attacked by the mysterious organization known as "Zodiac," and his plans have to change. The plot of this show takes place somewhere in the Iron Man movie universe like it’s filler that the first movie cuts itself from and that’s what it felt like to me. It felt like something the writers just made up on the spot as it never really progresses but it’s just the “this evil organization wants to take over the world with Iron Man’s power” storyline that makes the whole anime weak in the story development and the fact most of it is very uninteresting and can put you to sleep most of the time. Believe me, I fell asleep twice watching the series. Plus, I’m getting some vibes that is almost similar towards the movie, but slightly altered and less improved, much like Ho Yinsen, the scientist who helped Tony with the design of the Iron Man while he was held hostage in a cave by terrorists. Tony Stark as a character in here isn’t much like him in other counterparts. He just seems more downplayed and uncharacteristic as if you feel nothing about him nor care nothing about what happens to him. The other characters are basically stock characters with the ally who gets used to him later on, the scientist who may or may not be a love interest despite Pepper Potts being in the anime, too, although it wasn’t applied that Stark and Potts were a couple yet in the show but I digress, there’s nothing remarkably interesting about the characters in here. The animation / art & designs of the show that Madhouse made ranges from OK to mediocre, starting with the design of Tony Stark, in which he kind of looks like an unmasked villain (if he had a cape, that is) you see in Sailor Moon or any other shounen anime. It all looks so shiny like the characters are either plastic-looking or that they bathe in body wax. The music is very stock guitar/ “epic-sounding” music that is much like action American cartoons nowadays, which is what it’s supposed to do but it all sounds a bit lacking to me. The English dub did brought an unusual voice to the character of Iron Man and that is Adrian Pasdar playing the title character. Now I’m not expecting a Robert Downey Jr.-like performance (just like I wasn’t expecting a Wesley Snipes-like performance in the Blade Anime) but he was a bit stiff in the first part of the series and a bit mediocre in the second half. That and knowing Wolverine makes an appearance in this and it’s voiced by Milo Ventimiglia, just to them to know ‘yes, Wolverine has an anime coming up, too’. Oh, and both of the actors I mentioned were also in that show “Heroes” and they play superheroes. *awkward laughter* OK, I’m done. In short, the dub was less than stellar but it’ll do. FINAL VERDICT: Yeah, this is boring. That’s the simple way of putting it, I don’t know if I should call it bad or anything like that. However, if you’re curious about the anime and you frankly want to go in without any expectations at all, then go right ahead.

First Impression & Bias: So Stan Lee, if asking for coffee was not enough this time your asking for a Ironman adaption? Well, I know why you didn't show your face in this show that is for sure! Now, I actually expected something solid out of this. I never really watched that many marvel shows, and hell if I ever read them. Yet, despite being a novice to the realm of American comics, this show was boring and predictable from the start. If the horrendous animation was not bad enough, for some reason they made Tony Stark a not so lovable character. Expectation: 6 Episode Scores: -,-,-,-,6,5,8,7,7,7,7,4 Actual: 5 Analysis: SoTony Stark sets off to get his ass owned in Japan, and boy does he. Building his 'arc reactor' to bring world peace he is constantly portrayed as the evil against Japan and fights the evil Zodiac! Yes, the evil Zodiac has a thing against Stark as they screw him over every episode and result in a bad guy of the week style. Some are not that bad actually, while others are just bad. The animation of the show in general is fine, but the fights are bland and just plain boring. The events surrounding the evil robots are cool and engaging yet when it comes to fight you roll your eyes as either Ironman or his foe gets instantly steamrolled. The whole show is episodic, yet the things that stick around are like maggots. The novice reporter who does nothing but stalk Tony around, nonchalantly appear, and somehow either gets in the way or lends him a hand doing menial chores. As to her existence I can only surmise it is to annoy the hell out of views and add a 'capable' woman who isn't afraid to stick her head into danger. The assistant whom Tony falls in love with, this time, has brains, but pissed me off just as much for some reason. There is also the main villain, whom remains unnamed for spoilers, that despite being the role model for peace in Tony's eyes in some poor thought up way totally reverses his character. To tell the truth the only character that I enjoyed was Sakarai. Conclusion: For being an attempt to bridge marvel into anime this is pretty much a failure. While the fans will be crying to sleep for a while it will never impress anyone. It didn't impress me, and I am giving this an average out of 10.

I have to say, when i started this anime I wasn't expecting too much. I've seen the old 90's American Cartoon and while horribly cheesey, it does live up to the comic book, even with his super powered mullet. Then there is the current horrible series airing on Nick now, Iron Man : Armored Adventures, which to say the least... stinks. Its full of huge plot holes, but hey its something for kids? Ah, So to the Review... I rather enjoyed it. For a reader of the Iron Man comics, its probably going to make you want to die a little, but its still enjoyable. I thinkfor the average viewer, ones who have seen the first Iron Man movie, Its something to see and enjoyable to watch. So here I'm Mention the Cons and Pros of the series. Why the cons first? Because I want you to see what I thought was done wrong, and finish with what they did right. Cons: Taking Place In Japan: This is the biggest error I've really found with the series. It doesn't really make sense, even if Tony was building something there, to live there doesn't make any sense, other then to give Tony a reason to be there. He'd probably fly in for visits, but Tony's not really a hands on kind of guy, hes more of a 'Oh really.. you wanna build an arc reactor.. hold on.. *builds arc reactor* Here you go...All done' . He'd build and then expect them to run it. The Arc Reactor: Here a plot hole that fits with the movie verse and the comic. Tony wouldn't share Arc Reactor Tech with Japan or anyone for that matter. Its his own tech, and in both movies, Tony really doesn't wanna share it with anyone. Its something he's built and doesn't want to share. Its his... MINE! Relationship with Dr.Tanaka: Okay, really. No. This doesn't fit with Tony Character at all, even after he changed. Tony is clearly in love with Pepper by the end of the first movie, and the fact that he would fall in love with woman he meets, makes no sense to me. Yes, she's nice and smart, but totally not Tony's type. Tony needs a strong woman, and Dr. Tanaka is more a follower. Not that I didn't like her character, there needed to be someone smart, but the love story kind of seems thrown in. What was with that Hair: God Tony's hair, not as bad as the mullet he got in the 90's but still, it looked like someone pulled it off some guy from the 70's and stuck it on his head. Tony hair is clearly black. And Yinsen, Dude he grew hair, and killer eyebrows. I mean, him being not bald like in the movie was okay, but the eyebrows. It ain't natural. Pros: Entertainment: This show was very entertaining. While it didn't have may on the edge of the seat with each episode, I kept coming back. Other then two filler eps, that didn't do anything for the storyline, everything was explained and wrapped up nicely. Artwork: Despite Tony's hair and Yinsen's eyebrows of doom, I found the over all art style, wonderful. I was most blown away in the 200 plus anime I've seen, this the first anime I've seen where the Japanese had Japanese looking eyes, and Tony's eyes were clearly different because of his Race/Country of origin. The colors were nice and other then the very cheesy transformation over all, good. And when one had to try to live up to the movie transformation, I think they tried hard to please. Storyline: I have to admit, Zodiac is a very cheesy name. But it is in the Comic. So I give them props for that. They tried very hard to take something that was already established, and make it there own, even adding their own suits. I was quiet fond of Sakurai and his Samurai looking Iron Man suit, he was a good character to match Tony. All plots were concluded at the end, and every episode was good. Overall: I think If you were a fan of the Iron Man Movies, Then gives this a watch. Its not gonna blow you out of the water, but you'll enjoy it. :) I know I did.

First of all, reader must know that REVIEWS BY PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T WATCHED THE WHOLE ANIME IS VOID. Knowing this, i will try my best to enlighten you with a great review of what this anime accomplished. You have to understand that making iron man into an anime is no easy task. There have been millions of comics, tons of cartoons, and two movies about iron man so making something genuine will be very difficult. However, the people responsible for the script and construction of this anime, in collaboration with marvel; did a very good job in making this anime as unique as it canpossibly be. Now the review: i'll start with the enjoyment because i believe it is the most important part... Enjoyment: This is the key part of a review, the most important. An anime might have great sound, art and a solid story but if it is not enjoyable then it becomes worthless. This anime is actually quite enjoyable. It not powerful enough to keep you hooked till when you can't stop but it certainly does a great job of entertainment. The fight scenes are not half bad, accompanied with good music and hot blooded action, it all works out. Story: We all know the story of iron man so ill skip to the anime. The story itself is not bad at all. It is hard to come up with something in just 12 episodes but they seem to have given us a decent story. It was easy to follow and very simple and straightforward. While most expect something more intricate, the majority of us can appreciate a simple story line at times. Nothing really special there but enjoyable. Art is not important, however they seem to have done a good job with the animation of iron man and other mechanical figures in the anime Sound: Believe it or not, good sound makes an anime more enjoyable. Having good music can make moments seem more intensified than they really are. It can also make sad moments cling on to you and so on. The sound and music in iron man are decent enough, no complaints there. less.