Our correspondent with the Japanese connection, Miss Mecha, is back with another look at the X-Men Anime. You can read her review of the first episode here.
I am happy to report that Madhouse really delivers in Episode 2 of their new X-Men anime. We see some great, fast-paced action as the X-Men really come together as a team, and the characters start to interact in more familiar ways. Furthermore, they kick ass together – an essential of any X-Men cartoon! It’s a solid episode that features new plot development around mutant hunting, the appearance of the enemy (The U-Men), and some really awesome robots. At first I expected them to be the Japanese version of Sentinels, but these robots were new…different. These have been made by the U-Men to be smart, drive motorcycles, pilot futuristic jets and be sufficiently armed to the teeth.
Let’s face it; the normal Sentinels we’ve seen in past animated series are, for the most part, pretty average at best (and at worst, some of the most poorly designed robots ever). Classic example: the very first episode of the 1990’s X-Men Cartoon, “Night of the Sentinels Part One”: those sentinels were – although capable of shooting huge laser beams – really, really stupid. “Identification error: non-living objects. Begin tracking…” Ugh, seriously? Why couldn’t you put a higher-end infrared system in those things? Or, how about when the Sentinel marches right through the front end of a mall, destroying a major portion of the building as it says to the terrified people below, “Do not be alarmed. I am here to serve and protect.” Really? Really!? (For the record though, I loved that series.)
Overall, this week’s episode was a great watch and I’m fully recommending it. My outlook on where the series is going has improved tremendously, and I can hardly wait for next week’s episode!
Want the specifics?
—–Detailed review and spoilers below!—–
The episode opens with two insane-looking scientists who are apparently in charge of the U-Men, an organization of rogue scientists who want to capture mutants in order to utilize their powers to destroy all of mutant-kind. They have advanced technology and an army of robots at their disposal. It’s no surprise to me that we find out in this episode that their labs are in an abandoned Japanese hospital…because there is always messed up sh*t going on in abandoned Japanese hospitals!
The X-Men arrive in Japan in an attempt to locate the kidnapped Hisako Ichiki, and they meet with the Ichiki family at their home in the snow-covered Tohoku region. Apparently, Hisako went missing one day when she had to take the bus to school (her parents normally drover her). Other mutant children have been going missing, as well, and that there is a lot of fear from people in the area that believe that mutants have been causing strange, dangerous accidents. “Will there ever be a day when people will understand mutant kind?” – Ichiki-san.
Wolverine, who knows a bit about the U-Men, has heard that they may have been hiding out in Japan and could be behind these mysterious circumstances. While discussing this with the Ichikis the phone rings and we learn that another young mutant has gone missing. Doesn’t this seem like convenient timing to anyone? Oh wait, “IT’S A TRAP!” Wolverine and Cyclops go to investigate, only to find out that they have been tricked by the Ichiki’s. Cyclops and Wolverine are intercepted on their way by U-Men robots – a test by the scientists to determine their power levels and abilities. Storm and Beast are also intercepted, and we see some excellent robot smashing.
The characters have really started to feel like the X-Men. Wolverine claws through any obstacle in his way while making familiarly sarcastic remarks, Storm absolutely obliterates a bunch of robots with ice, Beast’s strength and calculated intelligence are a fantastic asset, and Cyclops is showing more signs of being the leader he should be…though he is going through a lot with the loss of Jean. It seems as though Scott is still struggling somewhere between the need for revenge and the need for peace, and every thought of the innocent mutants who are suffering at the hands of the U-Men tugs at his insides. Repeatedly, Logan yells at him to get it together, because he’s “acting like a rookie,” but he also shows an admirable amount of compassion for the grieving Scott.
After the battle with the robots, the X Men travel to the abandoned hospital that has become a lab for the U-Men. It is immediately apparent that there is some serious mad-scientist, crazy-work going on here. Green lights illuminate a series of doors in a creepy hallway (which, by the way, looks nothing like an abandoned hospital anymore…more like an abandoned insane asylum with technology exploding down its hallways). From the shadows, the missing boy mutant appears and completely loses control. In an Akira-like explosion of flesh and mutation, the boy changes beyond any recognition of his former self, and the X Men are forced to destroy him.
Cliffhanger of the week: Hisako Ichiki and Emma Frost are found alive in the lab. Next week on X Men: “Armor – Awakening!”
Overall verdict: This show is getting to be pretty awesome. I can’t wait for more!