Miraculous Ladybug took the world by storm when it premiered back in 2015. Since it's inception, there has been no shortage of fanart of the leading heros, a large crowd of cosplayers, and a great abundance of merchandise. To say this show is popular would be a gross understatement. Unfortunately, watching the show itself angered me as well as made me envious of diehard fans. From the atrocious writing to the petty villains, this show not only fails to live up to its name, it doesn't even succeed at being a well made show in general.
Created by Thomas Astruc and developed by Jeremy Zag, Miraculous Ladybug follows the escapades of two superheroes in Paris as they fight villains that get led by a guy who wants to bring the heroes down. You'd think this would make for a good show with intense action, loveable characters, and very rich world building. Unfortunately, you're thinking of The Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog. This show's premise falls apart immediately when you add in the details. This is actually about a stupid girl named Marinette who has a crush on a dream boy named Adrian. She also dawns her superhero identity Ladybug to fight alongside Cat Noir, who is actually Adrian. Together they fight petty villains that are corrupted by Akuma butterflies, sent by the show's main baddie, Hawk Moth. If you're starting to think "wait a minute" let me stop you right there because that whole premise is nothing BUT wait a minute! This is such a convoluted and ridiculous setup because in order for it to function, the characters have to be back flipping stupid! Marinette can't know Cat Noir is Adrian because she's not smart enough to notice they have the same hairstyle and eye color. Adrian can't kniw Hawk Moth is actually his father (spoiler, but even a 4 year old could figure that out) because he's too delusional to think that his busy single Dad is actually a villain. And Hawk Moth can't just fight Ladybug and Cat Noir himself because he's too lazy and egotistical to leave his lair. See the problem?! Because the premise is so contrived, this makes each episode beyond formulaic. Marinette fumbles to get Adrian to notice her, some loser gets corrupted by an Akuma, Ladybug and Cat Nori fight said loser, Ladybug uncorrupts them, and the day is saved. Rinse, lather, freaking repeat! No one grows or changes from these experiences and by the end of the episode we're back to square one because the status quo is a cruel, unfair, and unfunny God! That's another thing, this show is painfully unfunny! Every joke falls flat, the gags are cringe, and the subversions can be seen from a lightyear away. I get this was trying to follow in the footsteps of clasdic anime, a la Sailor Moon, but with writing like this, it instead trips over its teo left feet.
The characters have clearly been taking stupid lessons from Fish Hooks. None of them are remotely smart or have any common sense, and the more they're on screen, the more aggravating the experience is. Starting with our leading nitwit, Marinette is, for the umpteenth mother and father flipping time, a STUPID, IRRESPONSIBLE GIRL THAT MAKES THINGS WORSE!!! Once again I must ask why so many creators insist on making female characters like this as it does nothing but make a good case for how NOT to act! In the case of Marinette, she's madly in love with Adrian to the point where she steals his phone to delete an embarrassing message, struggles to hand him a birthday gift, and has an entire spreadsheet of his day-to-day activities! That's not cute or funny: it's FREAKING CREEPY! Adrian isn't much better as he's just a one-dimensional dream boy who's oblivious to Marinette's advances. When they're Ladybug and Cat Noir, Marinette is more confident and Cat Noir frequently hits on her. This is barely and improvement as the characters frequently shank their personal responsibilities for their own personal gain. None of the supporting characters are much better as Alya acts more like Marinette's conscience, Nino is Adrian's anti-authoritarian best friend, Tikki is Marinette's little sprite with an annoying voice that forms into her costume, and likewise Plagg for Adrian. Then there's Chloe, the show's designated spoiled brat. Like every pampered brat before her, she's a mean, nasty, bossy, selfish, and egotistical tramp hits on Adrian frequently. She's also the mayor's daughter, which is a bad reflection on not just him as a politician, but also as a father.
The worst part about this show, though, are the villains. Every villain is just a petty, stupid, egotistical moron with weak gimmicks, lousy costumes, and no threatening bones in their bodies. The Bubbler uses bubbles as a power, Stormy Weather creates storms and ice (and nothing else, with makes her name rather misleading), Mr. Pigeon uses pigeons, and Copycat is just Cat Noir, but evil. All these villain are lead by the show's main villain, Hawk Moth, who just lazily stays in his lair expecting these loser villains to do his dirty work rather that try and take on Ladybug and Cat Noir himself.
The voice acting is honestly very irritating, and yes I'm talking about the French dub because in English the characters have bad lip syncing, with frustrates me to no end. Anouck Hautbois sounded like she was always squealing and made Marinette sound very off putting. Benjamin Bollen don't sound as enthusiastic as Adrian and it isn't much better as Cat Noir. Marie Nonnenmacher sounded very grating and unnatural as Tikki, with Thierry Kazazian sounding too gravely and gruff as Plagg. Antoine Tome didn't sound as menacing as Hawk Moth as I would've liked, as he sounded more like tough guy speaking French. Fanny Bloc sounded rather dull as Alya, and her chemistry with Marinette never felt believable. Marie Chevalot sounded very grating and more uptight as Chloe. They're all trying their best, I know, but they can't salvage such hopeless material.
Visually, this show looks absolutely terrible, which is saying alot considering 14 different companies collabed to bring this to life. No, that's not an exaggeration. Zagtoon, Method, Toei, S. A. S., SMAG Entertainment, SK Broadband, De Agostini Editore, Gloob, Gravity, DQ Entertainment, Assemblage Entertainment, Symbiosis Entertainment, Artage Studio, and In Efecto Atlantis all contributed to making this show. The characters have distinct desgins that are inspired by classic anime, such as the characters having their hair be a specific color, big expressive eyes, and colorful costumes. Unfortunately, in actual animation the show looks wretched. The character animation is so stiff and restricted, forbidding any attempts to emulate the cartoony expressions of classic anime. This is also true for the action scenes as the characters have no weight yo them and the cinematography is very shakey. The worst part about the visuals is how they depict Paris. Yeah, the building are well designed and have a nice color palette, but this city is almost completely empty. There's like over 30 characters walking about, which is beyond far from how Paris actually is. Even on a slow Tuesday, the Eiffel Tower gets like 25,000 visitors. You expect me to believe Paris is this devoid of citizens and tourists? Bologna! Even with good designs, the show still has stiff animation.
This show is unfit to be called "miraculous!" Miraculous Ladybug is a travesty of a cartoon that fails at every aspect! The writing is atrocious, the characters are morons, the voice acting is irritating, the animation is stiff, and Paris looks like a ghost town! Worst of all, the villains absolutely blow chunks! Despite it's popularity and cult following, this stands as one of the worst superhero shows I've ever seen! It without a doubt deserves the worst fate to bestow on a show this bad: to be ignored and forgotten! Do NOT watch Miraculous Ladybug! Save yourselves the headache and watch the anime that inspired it: Salor Moon. You'll have a much better time with that than you would with this mess -.-
Created by Thomas Astruc and developed by Jeremy Zag, Miraculous Ladybug follows the escapades of two superheroes in Paris as they fight villains that get led by a guy who wants to bring the heroes down. You'd think this would make for a good show with intense action, loveable characters, and very rich world building. Unfortunately, you're thinking of The Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog. This show's premise falls apart immediately when you add in the details. This is actually about a stupid girl named Marinette who has a crush on a dream boy named Adrian. She also dawns her superhero identity Ladybug to fight alongside Cat Noir, who is actually Adrian. Together they fight petty villains that are corrupted by Akuma butterflies, sent by the show's main baddie, Hawk Moth. If you're starting to think "wait a minute" let me stop you right there because that whole premise is nothing BUT wait a minute! This is such a convoluted and ridiculous setup because in order for it to function, the characters have to be back flipping stupid! Marinette can't know Cat Noir is Adrian because she's not smart enough to notice they have the same hairstyle and eye color. Adrian can't kniw Hawk Moth is actually his father (spoiler, but even a 4 year old could figure that out) because he's too delusional to think that his busy single Dad is actually a villain. And Hawk Moth can't just fight Ladybug and Cat Noir himself because he's too lazy and egotistical to leave his lair. See the problem?! Because the premise is so contrived, this makes each episode beyond formulaic. Marinette fumbles to get Adrian to notice her, some loser gets corrupted by an Akuma, Ladybug and Cat Nori fight said loser, Ladybug uncorrupts them, and the day is saved. Rinse, lather, freaking repeat! No one grows or changes from these experiences and by the end of the episode we're back to square one because the status quo is a cruel, unfair, and unfunny God! That's another thing, this show is painfully unfunny! Every joke falls flat, the gags are cringe, and the subversions can be seen from a lightyear away. I get this was trying to follow in the footsteps of clasdic anime, a la Sailor Moon, but with writing like this, it instead trips over its teo left feet.
The characters have clearly been taking stupid lessons from Fish Hooks. None of them are remotely smart or have any common sense, and the more they're on screen, the more aggravating the experience is. Starting with our leading nitwit, Marinette is, for the umpteenth mother and father flipping time, a STUPID, IRRESPONSIBLE GIRL THAT MAKES THINGS WORSE!!! Once again I must ask why so many creators insist on making female characters like this as it does nothing but make a good case for how NOT to act! In the case of Marinette, she's madly in love with Adrian to the point where she steals his phone to delete an embarrassing message, struggles to hand him a birthday gift, and has an entire spreadsheet of his day-to-day activities! That's not cute or funny: it's FREAKING CREEPY! Adrian isn't much better as he's just a one-dimensional dream boy who's oblivious to Marinette's advances. When they're Ladybug and Cat Noir, Marinette is more confident and Cat Noir frequently hits on her. This is barely and improvement as the characters frequently shank their personal responsibilities for their own personal gain. None of the supporting characters are much better as Alya acts more like Marinette's conscience, Nino is Adrian's anti-authoritarian best friend, Tikki is Marinette's little sprite with an annoying voice that forms into her costume, and likewise Plagg for Adrian. Then there's Chloe, the show's designated spoiled brat. Like every pampered brat before her, she's a mean, nasty, bossy, selfish, and egotistical tramp hits on Adrian frequently. She's also the mayor's daughter, which is a bad reflection on not just him as a politician, but also as a father.
The worst part about this show, though, are the villains. Every villain is just a petty, stupid, egotistical moron with weak gimmicks, lousy costumes, and no threatening bones in their bodies. The Bubbler uses bubbles as a power, Stormy Weather creates storms and ice (and nothing else, with makes her name rather misleading), Mr. Pigeon uses pigeons, and Copycat is just Cat Noir, but evil. All these villain are lead by the show's main villain, Hawk Moth, who just lazily stays in his lair expecting these loser villains to do his dirty work rather that try and take on Ladybug and Cat Noir himself.
The voice acting is honestly very irritating, and yes I'm talking about the French dub because in English the characters have bad lip syncing, with frustrates me to no end. Anouck Hautbois sounded like she was always squealing and made Marinette sound very off putting. Benjamin Bollen don't sound as enthusiastic as Adrian and it isn't much better as Cat Noir. Marie Nonnenmacher sounded very grating and unnatural as Tikki, with Thierry Kazazian sounding too gravely and gruff as Plagg. Antoine Tome didn't sound as menacing as Hawk Moth as I would've liked, as he sounded more like tough guy speaking French. Fanny Bloc sounded rather dull as Alya, and her chemistry with Marinette never felt believable. Marie Chevalot sounded very grating and more uptight as Chloe. They're all trying their best, I know, but they can't salvage such hopeless material.
Visually, this show looks absolutely terrible, which is saying alot considering 14 different companies collabed to bring this to life. No, that's not an exaggeration. Zagtoon, Method, Toei, S. A. S., SMAG Entertainment, SK Broadband, De Agostini Editore, Gloob, Gravity, DQ Entertainment, Assemblage Entertainment, Symbiosis Entertainment, Artage Studio, and In Efecto Atlantis all contributed to making this show. The characters have distinct desgins that are inspired by classic anime, such as the characters having their hair be a specific color, big expressive eyes, and colorful costumes. Unfortunately, in actual animation the show looks wretched. The character animation is so stiff and restricted, forbidding any attempts to emulate the cartoony expressions of classic anime. This is also true for the action scenes as the characters have no weight yo them and the cinematography is very shakey. The worst part about the visuals is how they depict Paris. Yeah, the building are well designed and have a nice color palette, but this city is almost completely empty. There's like over 30 characters walking about, which is beyond far from how Paris actually is. Even on a slow Tuesday, the Eiffel Tower gets like 25,000 visitors. You expect me to believe Paris is this devoid of citizens and tourists? Bologna! Even with good designs, the show still has stiff animation.
This show is unfit to be called "miraculous!" Miraculous Ladybug is a travesty of a cartoon that fails at every aspect! The writing is atrocious, the characters are morons, the voice acting is irritating, the animation is stiff, and Paris looks like a ghost town! Worst of all, the villains absolutely blow chunks! Despite it's popularity and cult following, this stands as one of the worst superhero shows I've ever seen! It without a doubt deserves the worst fate to bestow on a show this bad: to be ignored and forgotten! Do NOT watch Miraculous Ladybug! Save yourselves the headache and watch the anime that inspired it: Salor Moon. You'll have a much better time with that than you would with this mess -.-