Okay, now, I'll be frank. When the first information on "X-Men: Evolution" was released, *everyone* thought it would suck. I did too.
Then, I saw it. And against all expectations, the product was a very, very good show.
There's a way to sum up people's attitudes - those who don't like it are largely those who can't get beyond the fact it doesn't follow the comics versions of the characters. Well, tough noogies, people, it's a different interpretation of the characters, and it's an interpretation that works extremely well. If you let a purist attitude blind you to enjoying them, then it's your loss.
Very few good cartoons have come out of America in the last couple of years, in part as a result of the over-reliance on Japanese animation, which is currently so popular. But of the few quality shows that were made, "X-Men: Evolution" is easily one of them. It's a series with a direction - underlying story threads and sub-plots are all intricately woven together, although sometimes they get a little buried under the focus of the episode, which can sometimes be something as boring as "new kids take jet for joyride."
Many of the characters aren't THAT different from their original selves, anyway, just made a bit younger. Rogue stands out as the character altered the most, but her new goth look is a brilliant take on the character, and a very welcome departure from the "Woe is me, Ah can't kiss anybody!" attitude that we've suffered through in the past. The show's "new" character, Spyke, is really quite needless, though - essentially a P-C version of Marrow (from the comics), he is reduced to a nonentity for much of the season season, because he just doesn't *need* to be there. And say what you will about Nightcrawler, but I just really wish they'd hired an actor who could DO a German accent.
Speaking of voice acting - "X-Men: Evolution" easily scores high points in that area, too (German accent notwithstanding...), with a lot of experienced talent lending their voices to the show. Beautiful animation - that's on a par with, and surpasses a lot of, the current wave of Japanese anime - finishes off the whole package - I swear, this is the only cartoon I have ever seen where *dancing* has been animated so well.
So, that's "X-Men: Evolution." Take it or leave it. But I recommend quite heartily that you take it.
