10 cartoons anime fans should watch

Of course, animation is also one of the more expansive tv subsets, with dozens of different tones and styles that make comparisons often feel like apples and oranges. Disney had one hit animated series after another in the late '80s and 1990s with the likes of ducktales, tailspin and chip n' dale rescue rangers. However, the iconic studio went outside their usual style in a big way with gargoyles. The creator of the series, greg weisman (now the man behind the spectacular spider-man), told a layered and intriguing story, refusing to write down to his audience. A decent success at the time, gargoyles has maintained a strong cult following since it ended more than a decade ago, and the story has continued in comic book form. While both are caricatures that may be animated, anime usually has visually distinct features for characters, and a more "Limited animation" style for depicting movement.

Just two seasons were produced, during 1983 to 1985, but consisted of a whopping 130 Anime 2020 (suggesting the production's emphasis was on quantity, not quality). Let's put aside the 1980s cartoon hotness that was firestar for a moment (and no, we're not referring to her powers with that remark), for there was something else about this show that has kept it alive in our memories for all these years. Perhaps it was the "Team-up" aspect -- the old marvel idea of giving spidey some superpowered pals to play with (the x-men's iceman rounded out this team of "Spider-friends," serving as counterpoint to firestar's hotness abilities ).

The maxx might be the hero and protector of julie's outback subconscious, but in the real world he's a confused, homeless drifter. Both of them live in a state of denial that might become their own undoing -- that is if they're not done in first by the sadistic mr. "You might say that I've got a problem with women" gone. The maxx was part of mtv's oddities program, back when mtv was interested more in art than commerce. Speed racer's mass-market success helped set the stage for the influx of anime we see in today's media, mainly because the american adaptation of the show was surprisingly good for the time.

Though there were two original voltron seasons cobbled together from two separate japanese anime, most of us fell in love with the lion force voltron . The show scored big with the male audience because you just can't go wrong with big robots that fight. Kids are allowed to run rampant and inflict pain and misery and grownups just have to take it and love the kids anyway. Incorporating the singing chipmunk hit-makers from the 1960s, alvin and the chipmunks brought the scamps into the '80s and gave them a bunch of cover songs to maul with their little tiny voices. "Beat it," "Born in the usa," and "Uptown girl" all got the treatment as poor dave seville became the adopted father for jerky, smarty and fatty -- otherwise known as alvin, simon and theodore. The three of those little rodents never missed an opportunity to make dave's life a living hell.

One of the more popular cartoon/toy marketing machines of the eighties was m.A.S.K., the mobile armored strike kommand (yes, command with a 'k', that's what happens when you have to make an acronym fit into your story concept). Joe-transformers hybrid, but it managed to combine the best elements of those franchises while adopting few of their flaws. But what really set it apart was the namesake of the show -- the super-powered masks the characters wore. The masks provided the ethnically-diverse-yet-stereotypical cast with abilities like anti-gravity, flight, and energy beams. Because it has better graphics and plot then a lot of cartoons people like them.

To some, anime's popularity and marketing synergy pale in the face of "Low quality" animation. Full-animation purists, like the old toei studios and miyazaki, resisted the new wave of japanese animation. For a full-animation production, high level artists spent countless hours drawing and redrawing characters frame by frame. By utilizing techniques that saved time and money, limited-animation streamlined the animation process with industrial efficiency.