You�ve seen the commercials; you�ve heard the catchy theme song�or at least you do if you watch Nicktoons. It�s Kappa Mikey, the latest show to hit the Nicktoons channel. I realize that it made its first premiere about two months ago, but I�m slow, okay? So, what�s the whole idea behind this show? Mikey Simon is an American actor who accidentally ends up the star of a Japanese anime called Lilymu. So the show is essentially a show about the making of a show. Veeeeery clever, if I may say so myself. In fact, the whole show is rather clever between the unique characters and the random humor, the only flaws being in some of the animation.
The characters are primarily what make the show. I mean, come on, we�re talking better than the Fairly Oddparents here. That�s pretty good. Part of the mastery of the characters lies in the irony: they are each the exact opposite of what they are supposed to be in Lilymu. Mikey Simon, when in Lilymu, plays a dramatic, everything-under-control kind of guy. In reality, he�s incredibly irresponsible and always says and does the wrong thing at the wrong time. The character Lily plays the stereotypical sweet always-needs-rescuing anime girl in the show, but when she�s not acting, she�s bossy and stingy. Mitzuki in Lilymu is a femme fatal but �off-stage� is actually the sweet one who�s always helping everyone out with their problems. Gonard, the villain in Lilymu, is actually a stupid yet loveable guy. And Guano, the little purple director whose name is the Japanese word for �bat poop�...well, he�s just Guano: obsessive-compulsive perfectionist. In addition to the actors in Lilymu, there is also the guy in charge of the whole show, Ozu, and his yes-man, who it doesn�t appear has a name. The yes-man does, however, agree with whatever Ozu says and goes out of his way to do it.
With such winning characters, it isn�t surprising that Kappa Mikey is full of unadulterated hilarity. The humor is random for the most part but doesn�t go so far as to be as nonsensical as a certain show about a guy with a blonde afro and 30-foot long nose hair (those who have watched Bobobo Bobo BoBo would know what I�m talking about). For example, at one point, a detective asks Ozu if he has seen anything unusual around. �Yes, that guy,� Ozu replies, pointing to the yes-man who is dancing around with a fruit hat and a facial mask. The detective calmly says something to the effect of, �Sorry I asked,� then runs away screaming like a little girl. That�s merely an example, but you get a ton of this kind of stuff in the show. The humor in Kappa Mikey, of course, is rewarding for anyone, but those who have watched anime before will especially enjoy it. For instance, Mikey is always jealous of his Japanese friends because they can chibi-ize when they�re surprised (you know, the whole head-gets-huge thing). All the cliche anime-ness is there with a funny twist that will certainly please any anime fan.
The only complaint I can really have with the show is the animation. Mikey, of course, being an American, is a regular cartoon-y looking guy, while the Japanese characters are drawn in anime�which is actually pretty clever, but the problem is the anime characters look a little off a lot of times. There are a lot of inconsistencies in how they look from one scene to the next as if whoever�s drawing them hasn�t had enough practice. Also, the ultra-thickness of the lines in Mikey�s animation and the ultra-thinness of the lines in the anime characters animation looks a little off when put together sometimes. But, hey, the show�s just starting�hopefully everyone will get better at it and the future shows will have all this stuff fixed. That being said, the anime characters DO chibi-ize a lot, which makes me VERY happy.
All in all, if I had to score this show out of 10 with 10 being the best, I�d give it a 9.8. Oh, yeah, and it shows at 8:00 pm on Saturday on Nicktoons. And if you don�t have Nicktoons...well, I just pity you, that�s all. Whoot for cartoons! |