Due to some holiday scheduling, I didn’t get a chance to peruse G.I. Joe: Renegades until later tonight, but now that I’ve had a chance to watch it and digest it… I’m ready for more!
I will admit the first episode actually left me wanting a bit more, which I was surprised about. There was certainly a healthy helping of action, twists, turns, and great character interaction, but it just felt incomplete. Nothing to worry about, though, as Episode Two came on right afterwards and really helped finish off the two-parter in excellent fashion.
Plenty of characters, some great nods to the fans, and in my mind, the animation was great as well. But of course, don’t take my word for it… head on over to the GeneralsJoes Renegades SuperPage to check out the latest updates! Straight out of the gate, I’ve reviewed Episode 1 and Episode 2 and posted full intel over on the G.I. Joe: Renegades Episode Guide.
There you’ll find a detailed episode synopsis and tons of video clips pulled from both inaugural episodes.
Enjoy, and trust me, more content is coming, I just gotta have time to wade through it all. Yo Joe!
not as horrible as i was expecting….
—animation style? still dont like it…however…
—…animation was more fluid on my TV though
—not thrilled with the story, but as it plays out it could prove itself.
—the managed to get “code/nick names” but no where was the phrase “GI Joe” uttered. would rather them be a coherent team from the beginning.
—really hoping that more characters come in quickly, even if just for limited action.
again….not as bad as it seemed it was going to be….
and believe it or not……im really happy to be able to say that.
If it wasn’t for the animation I’d really like it, but the animation just kills it for me. Not going to be watching this one.
I’ve got to admit that I’m shocked at the positive fan reaction this show is getting. I was extremely excited to get a new Joe cartoon but the end result was disappointment. Almost all of the characters are extremely unlikeable, and it drove me insane that EVERYONE, whether in a civilian or military role, had a codename. The only positive thing in the show was the early demise of Ripcord. I’m giving it a few more weeks to change my opinion, but this could sadly end up being an easy ‘pass’ for me.
As far as I can tell, this is restricted to television–no online source at the moment?
@ Andrew Hall
in terms of codenames…the only character to get a codename, that i really dont think shouldve, is Mindbender. just call him Dr. Bender. Who, i thought was way too young, but seemed to be emulating the movie version to an extent. Anastasia, IS a Baroness, and it was handled as it was in the movie…as a title and im good with that. Ripcords codename was just plain dumb. oh, and i think Rip survived the blast and is now at a cobra facility, on life support, and will become the next step in bio-viper development…only to ultimately be “saved” by his friendship with duke. (very formulaic, i know, but that seems to always be the name of the game when it comes to shows and movies)
i actually kind of like that the characters are somewhat asses. takes the “boy scout” out of GI Joe. (and when exactly will the name GI Joe even come into play?)
one more thing……..i know some of you will clench your teeth (and maybe other things)….but just try to relax………to exemplify how messy and unfinished the art is to me….
when i was looking at pics of General Hawk, in the time leading up to the premiere (pics that i admit, i didnt stare at…)
I didnt realize that was a poorly drawn, and ill-fitting cap …..i thought it was a mohawk.
I really don’t particularly like the art style. I didn’t like it in stills, and I certainly don’t much like it now. HOWEVER, it is better in motion than still, and it isn’t so bad that it distracted from what I found to be an enjoyable debut. I thought the voices were solid, the Cobra concept is fantastic, and the writing generally had splashes of both wit and grit that have been sorely lacking in all previous G.I. Joe animation.
Even if Ripcord does come back…and I’m not convinced either way…I think it speaks well of the direction of the show that A: he appears to be dead and B: the characters are acting as though he is, and reacting to his death in fairly realistic ways.
I agree, LBAM. The treatment of the “death” is nearly as important as the act itself, and they certainly aren’t skirting the issue. I remember how big a deal it was back in the 90’s when “Morph” died in the X-Men series, and how that was totally unprecedented at the time (even if he was a made up character, and even though he came back later).
I could easily see Ripcord coming back, but knowing how unpopular this new incarnation of the character is with the fandom, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him kind of go away for good.
From the “death” perspective, the more shocking one, I thought, was Major Hildago. He was completely disintegrated by the Baroness’ booby trapped communicator, which I thought was a pretty intense thing. And seeing as he’s not a major character, I could see him remaining that way. Even if Ripcord comes back, it’s evident that these producers are not shying away from stuff like that.
Justin
I was pretty impressed, I enjoy the cartoony style because it says this IS a cartoon. It’s not a live action show, and it keeps us from taking it too seriously, and I think that the episodes will continue to get better!
Okay, my 2 cents:
The Sunbow original: Loved it as a kid, and don’t dislike it now, but wasn’t it really just an elaborate commercial for the toys? Remember Airtight, the yellow-clad toxic chemical or toxic gas or toxic something specialist? What the hell was his deal? And all the other weapons or environment specialists they were always featuring to the exclusion of Duke and Scarlett and even Snake Eyes? Do you really need Bazooka around to shoot the bazookas, or can Duke or Roadblock handle that duty just fine?
Dr. Mindbender—who designed the original version and what was he smoking at the time? And no, a pot high wouldn’t be enough to produce such work.
The Renegades version of Mindbender is a little smartass arrogant digital boy douche bag, just the sort of person that would design Bio-Vipers in a corporate basement. I thought his character worked quite well.
Ripcord—I DOUBT he is dead. I mean, c’mon. How about this for a future episode: Saving Private Ripcord. Yeah, and before he’s saved, he’ll get a nice tour of Cobra Commander’s secret lair while strapped to a hand truck. No? Wanna bet?
Resolute—loved the look of it, but that’s about it. Seemed a bit stale to me. Humorless. Remember Shipwreck in Sunbow? He was kind of a funny dude. And I’m not just talking about his uniform. Ripcord and T Rat in Renegades—kind of funny dudes. A little levity makes the heavy stuff heavier, the light makes the dark darker.
So far, I like Renegades. The animation style is not ideal, but it works well enough IMO. The prospect of a small team of main characters is appealing to me, since it allows for deeper and more engaging character development, the most important aspect for any story. Oh yeah, and it seems there is indeed a story here. Not a random string of missions, not a funky military costume parade, not a succession of firefights with men in blue spandex and blueberry helmets who ultimately get taken out by a flurry of karate kicks and punches. We may, just may, have a comprehensible, well thought out story on our hands.
Oh, one more thingy…about the much maligned Bio-Vipers—notice at the end of Episode 2, the Baroness reports to CC, “the Bio-Viper prototype was destroyed, killed, made dead, pesticided, kersplatted”, or something to that effect. So, no prototype, no product, right? Now they are free to move forward and deploy the Astro-Vipers, Alley-Vipers, Strato-Magma-Rock Vipers, City-Suburb-Mountain Vipers, Hawaiian-Sun-Tropic Vipers, etcetera etcetera etc…I HOPE NOT. I liked the VIPER, circa 1986. Post-’86 Viper development was a downward spiral that ended in a neon nightmare.
The Animation ain’t bad, I’m rather enjoying the character designs and silhouettes they have.
The artwork is atrocious. There’s no way around it. But in all honesty, the show kinda reminds me of Beast Wars in the sense that Beast Wars had a very good story to tell but it was far from pleasant to look at. I hope this show continues it’s good storytelling because regardless of what anyone says, storytelling is the backbone of good entertainment.
Wow! I’m totally stoked if 788 has some good things to say. Pete approves!
Sadly, I don’t have the channel, and won’t get it. I’ll have to wait for these to air online, which is fine with me. But I’m stoked about the posotive buzz so far, just getting back from “vacation”.
boy, you said it -Nas!
seemed that there was no pleasing that sumbitch!
I was optimistic, but the first two episodes were even better than I’d hoped they would be. Can’t wait to see more!
I thought it was really well done. The story so far is very entertaining. There’s a great mix of seriousness and humor. I’m looking forward to the next couple of episodes.
So far Tunnel Rat’s my favorite character. He had a lot of great one liners.
i enjoyed it. this is a kids show 1st and foremost but yet it kept me interested and entertained. quick notes: i’m liking the new angle there taking on lady jaye and flint’s relationship. the fact that not only does flint hold a higher rank than duke (kinda like TF:A where ultra magnus was the leader and not prime)but they also dislike each other should really be interesting. and they really nailed down flint too, cocky as hell, but level headed and firm. the fact that there’s a character id for ripcord during the opening credits means he will be back.