Series in one sentence:
Child gets a Ben10 arm cask.
Series in more sentences:
Joey takes a broken toy robot from the trash and fixes it up, but strange lightning strikes it and turns it into a giant living robot for him to control.
Soon after, hostile aliens show up on Earth and he finds out only his robot is able to defeat them, but the American government doesn't trust the unknown hero who took it upon himself to help them and an investigation is started.
I struggled rating this show. The story is fantastic, the animation is good, the characters fulfill their purpose, the voices sound fresh, but there always came a moment in an episode where I felt restless. Touching the edge of boredom, even. I don't know if that had something to do with my mood at the time of watching, but I wished for more robot action. I don't think it's fair to give the show an average+ because my bloodlust wasn't satiated, though.
I do think I would've liked this more if the main character was someone else. I understand why they went with the prepubescent underdog orphan -children connect more with children, that's why most main characters in cartoon shows are children- but Joey is too much of a bland good guy. A gorgeous rich girl is all over this little boy, while she looks way older than him. Everyone looks way older than him.
The main character should've been that absolute sex god, Psy. He could've been the underdog orphan with the robot, he even has a history with the girl's brother who's to blame for his permanently injured leg. A loser who became a loser thanks to his bully.
Joey's only "problem" is that he's a bit feminine and wimpy, though I can't recall the bully ever commenting on that or what it is that makes him unworthy of his sister.
Anyway, if you love superhero stories, it's a good one.
Series in one sentence:
A weak-willed teenage boy sitting on the edge of becoming a hero or a villain has to save everyone.
Series in more sentences:
A teenage boy with the superpower to control people abuses it to get high grades in school, but is soon visited by a group of other teenagers who also have powers. They wish for him to attend a secret school filled with gifted children and stay there until his power fades away and he's safe from being targeted as a government test subject.
While there are many dangerous and useful powers out there, he happens to possess one that surpasses them all.
I enjoyed this, bold choices were made, though I think some of the relationships needed more development to make these choices be more impactful. Still, it was a good, heavy story that made proper use of the amount of episodes ordered for it.
The main character is a slightly selfish person who's proven to lose himself easily when things go sour, but it was portrayed in a way you couldn't entirely hate him for it. I feel the need to mention this, as I've seen enough TV shows fail at this.
He has a good side and listens to people, even when he's at his very worst -as long they put effort in him and are genuine about their care. Which is a fair demand.
I feel there's enough to critique about the series, but I think it all points to the same thing: the series could've easily been 2 seasons long and given smaller characters more screen time.
In any case, worth checking out.
