The last dedicated X-Men cartoon that we witnessed on our telly screens (or computers as in my case :P ) was back in 2008! Yes, I'm talking about that seriously AWESOME cartoon, Wolverine and the X-Men, that used to be aired on Nicktoons in the US.
It continued for a good 26 episodes from 2008-09 in it's first & sadly, only season (so far!). In fact concept art & ideas for Season 2 can be found on the 1 Million to save WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN FB group (do join that cause if you wish to see this amazing show back again) but all plans were stalled due to unresolved issues between Marvel Animation & their financial partners. But the show is popular still & Nicktoons even decided to air a 10 hour marathon of the show last Monday (the 4th of July) in the US!
It was basically about Wolverine having to lead the X-Men after Professor X's mysterious disappearance. Check out the trailer for the show, if you (still??) haven't seen the show yet! Hitler saw it- & even HE was pissed off it got cancelled! LMAO!
Anywho, onto the topic at hand! Iron Man & Wolverine have already both aired in Japan on Animax, but let's talk about the Wolverine & X-Men anime toons.
The first season of Marvel Anime: Wolverine has 12 action-packed episodes. The Wolverine you'll see in this version is highly "Japan-ized" almost to the point of being unrecognizable (besides the claws, of course) irking scores of X-fans in the US. Here, Wolverine finds out that his girlfriend Mariko Yashida, has been kidnapped by her father Shingen (an AIM supplier who also happens to be a Tokyo crime lord). This takes him on his journey to Japan.
Mariko, btw, is a character who does appear prominently in Wolverine's Japanese storyline in the comics. Who knows she may even make an appearance in The Wolverine...? It would be great to see that dynamic- Mariko & Logan being torn apart by the Lady Deathstrike & the Silver Samurai (Mariko's step brother & the MAIN thorn in Logan's side in Japan)! But there I go straying off track again lol! Just enjoy this trailer for Marvel Anime: Wolverine...It's for the Japanese version but doesn't have any dialogues so no sweat!
Excited?? Well some more news then- Wolverine is gonna be voiced by Heroes' Milo Ventimiglia in the English version. And fyi, his onscreen Heroes' bro, Adrian Pasdar will be voicing Iron Man. I can certainly imagine Pasdar as Mr. Stark. His voice has all that sophistication & intellect it oughta carry, but I can't get my mind around Milo voicing Wolverine! It's strange Marvel didn't use their go-to guy Steve Blum for Wolvie's voice...he's voiced the mighty clawed mutant for almost EVERY animated feature that includes him! Here's another shorter (subbed) trailer but it will give you a better idea of how the series will be like:
Some of the popular X-characters who will be featured in MA: Wolverine include Cyclops & Omega Red. Cyclops on the other hand will be taking center stage in Marvel Anime: X-Men! Also comprising of 12 episodes, Season 1 will have Cyke & all our other favorites: Wolverine, Jean Grey /Phoenix, Storm, Emma Frost, Beast & of course, Professor X, amongst others.
It begins after the death of Jean Grey. Professor X summons his X-Men to travel to Japan after fellow (Japanese- as in the comics) X-Man, Armor is abducted. Here they face-off against the U-Men- a refreshing change for those of us who've seen A LOT of the Brotherhood. Just like in the comics, out here the U-Men are a human supremacist group who harvest mutant body parts &/or powers so that they can gain superpowers for themselves. It's basically like the Brotherhood of Evil Humans, instead of Mutants lol! Check out the trailer below, but be warned- the Japanese narration may just turn you off a weeee bit :P
Watch this space for updates on when the X-Men Anime show will air in English in the US. Until then the countdown begins for Wolverine (& of course, Iron Man)!
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