Details are sketchy

Ok.. so a few days ago I was bored waiting to go back to Sheffield and decided to remember as many different animated tv series I watched when I was younger and name my favourite ones. Turns out, I watched a lot. It's not really surprising that I did when I'm an animation student now but I thought you guys might like to get a bit nostalgic or maybe even learn of a new series you could watch. It's been so hard to pick a top five to write here, but here they are:

6.(Yeah I said 5 but this had to be in here)

Digimon

This is one show that no matter how cheesy it seems when I look back at it, I will still remember watching it with some paper and a pencil infront of the tv drawing all of my favourite charaters and the endless Digimon that they met on their adventures. I absolutely HATE when people say that Digimon was copying Pokemon. I myself loved both shows and their storylines were completely different. This story much more depended on the friendships of the characters for them to get through their trobles in the "Digital World". There's a lot of cheesy moments with "friendship" and "love" and "belief" thrown in there but it wouldn't be a great nineties series without it. This series, much like Pokemon has been done to death with many seasons and different Digimon introduced and the first season is definitely the best. I have a lot of good memories watching this after school and got a lot of drawing practice from it too (I think I have some around at home somewhere actually..). Anyway, great show and had to be on the list.





5. Dexter's Laboratory

Ah, Dexter's Lab.. a great show by the brilliant Genndy Tartakovsky, the genius behind many nineties cartoons that could all be in this list, including The Powerpuff Girls and Samurai Jack. His unique art style always stuck with me as one of the greatest simplistic drawing methods around and through his writing he managed to bring a constant stream of situations, crazy and inspired that were put across by the mind of the genius that was Dexter. The diminutive intellectual would create an experiment in his secret lab in his room while his parents sat downstairs blissfully unaware. That is, until his sister Dee Dee come along to ruin it all for him. This sibling rivalry was the thing that made the show so great.
Another thing that I distinctly remember and loved is the segments about Dexter's pet, Monkey. Dial M for Monkey was a great little segment that followed his pet's adventures as a superhero while Dexter was ignorant to it all. These layers of misunderstandings and ignorance of aspects of the show by the characters living in the house were great examples of comedy, along with perfect traditional wacky animation which are what I think made it so well remembered.





4. Hercules

The tv series based on one of Disney's best animated movies of that time, Hercules is such a great extension of an equally great movie. Disney animated shows were always flawlessly animated by some of the greatest we've known in the last couple of decades and the huge mythology of Greece allowed for many, many different characters and plots to be brought into the show. It's a bit strange really because it contradicts the film somewhat so is not considered canon but it really can stand on its own. I can't really explain what was so great about this show, other than saying it really was. Voice acting talents such as James Woods made this a show I could watch over and over and never get bored of. The characters of Cassandra and Icarus always provided a great back and forth and the show again helped a lot with my development as an artist as I'd basically draw anything put infront of me.





3. Looney Tunes

One of the greats. I really wouldn't have been so enthusiastic about animation if it weren't for the legendary Warner Brothers animation studios. I really don't think I have to introduce the characters that are the Looney Tunes but here:
Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Sylvester, Tweety, Marvin the Martian, Taz, Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, Pepé Le Pew, Speedy Gonzales, and many more.

The animation will probably never be surpassed, with the greatest squashes and stretches and perfect timing. The characters are all so indivudually brillaint that any of them could and did have their own sections dedicated to them. Personally, Syvester and Tweety and Bugs were my favourites but then again, I liked Daffy with his irritable personality nearly as much.

Currently, the animation industry is really missing this great dynamic style and I really hope it returns soon. I was so influenced by this show and I could keep going on and on but it's not quite as nostalgic for me as the next two.



2. Pokemon

Yeah, I know, it seems childish now but I will always stand by my love of the original Pokemon series. The endless possibilities of stories revolving around a game I played at the time: what more could I ask for? As everyone knows, the show follows ten year old Ash with his friends Misty and Brock, all Pokemon trainers who go on an adventure together. There really wasn't a lot more to the episodes than them trying to get to the Pokemon trainer's ultimate test: the Elite Four.

I think what was so great about this show was that every kid who watched it wanted to BE Ask. They wanted to explore and it really evoked that sense of adventure in kids. Each pokemon was different and although it has (in my opinion) gone downhill since, I will always have fond memories of getting in from school and following their quest, guessing the pokemon in the break, then going to play on my own game. I don't think anything will steal more years of my life in total than this franchise, not to mention that "Pokemon: The Movie" was one of the first cinema going experiences I can remember and has really stuck with me. So I think this show really deserves to be in the top few.




1.
Dragon Ball Z

This show was originally broadcast in Japan starting in the late eighties and continuing through the nineties, ending its run in 1996, but I started watching itaround 1998 when it first aired on Toonami (RIP), one of the best channels of my childhood. I was amazed by it, a show about aliens that weren't the typical little grey/green things that abducted people, but instead kicked ass! The story arcs were interesting and although they were drawn out, you'd never find someone getting bored and leaving. This show was like nothing else and until then, anime was a really rare thing to see in the UK and I loved every minute of the fast-paced fighting, interesting characters, menacing villains and to be honest I though the comedy mixed with the violence was awesome. Another thing is, it was actually a sequel series to "Dragonball" but I much preferred this one. If any of you don't know of this series (and I'd be really surprised if you haven't) then this is the plot of the show (All via TV.com):

Many years have passed since Goku first searched for the Dragon Balls. He is a grown man, with a wife and son. He and his friends have settled into their own lives and, for the most part, things are rather peaceful. Then one day, Goku learns he is really a Saiyan and comes from another planet. Now… More begins new adventures for Goku and his friends as they defend their home against new, more powerful threats.

As you can tell, it has a very Superman vibe to it and that's a lot of what it was about; a guy who always thought he was normal but finds out he's not. You'll see it a lot in 80's/90's tv and even today.

But just to get to the point of this choice, it had every element that a show needed to be brilliant; great characters, strong plots in every story arc and flawless, fast and some of the most dynamic animation ever produced. Great show all round.


So that's them all, I'd like to hear what your favourites are so feel free to comment!
Thanks for reading, I might add some more soon so keep an eye out for an update :)