Why Miraculous Ladybug Is Simply the Best

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Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is a superhero TV series on Nickelodeon (Fun fact: it's a French cartoon but came to the US not long after its release).

The idea for the series started as a 2D animation project aimed at young adults but later became a CGI cartoon series geared towards the younger audience. Regardless, it still caught the attention of the older crowd, probably because, as the catchy theme song states, Miraculous is simply the best!

Below, I've listed a few reasons why you should check it out.

It Promotes Problem-solving and Creativity

Where some children's shows fail to instill the joy of innovation and critical thinking, Miraculous Ladybug succeeds in promoting creativity and problem solving, especially when Ladybug is on the scene. By using Lucky Charm via her yo-yo (you read that right, but stay with me) she’s able to pull a seemingly random object from thin air to aid in defeating bad guys.

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These items range from bath towels to oven mitts to wrenches that, at first, seem hopelessly useless, until Ladybug takes a look around and uses her surroundings to her advantage. This isn’t just luck, ladies and gentleman, Ladybug has some serious creative skill and an ability to think on her feet.
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Besides, it's extremely important that we have a strong female lead who is capable of coming up with well thought out plans. She's an excellent role model to all young ladies.

Art style 

I am a huge 2D animation enthusiast, so it comes as a surprise to me that I adore the show's 3D look. As mentioned, it was originally supposed to be hand drawn but was later developed using CGI. Surprisingly, the art style is just as stunning. 

2D animation

I can’t help but gawk at the sweet, sweet character design, setting, and attention to detail. And you can clearly see how anime has influenced the series in both the 2D and 3D animation styles.

Versus 3D animation

The fight scenes are incredible too!

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But also, the character’s expressions are beyond fantastic.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Paris, France

That's right! Miraculous Ladybug takes place in Paris, France and the show does the city justice. It even reflects Paris’ diverse population. Heck, the main character is half Chinese, half French, and her best friend is Caribbean, not to mention that the rest of the cast is diverse as well.

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While the characters fight crime in the City of Lights, the audience gets a front row seat to well known attractions such as the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. It’s refreshing not to have the story take place in America (Let's take a break from New York and LA) and instead focus its attention on Europe for a change.

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The nods to Parisian culture are a nice touch. I enjoyed watching Marinette share a macaroon with Alya or witnessing Plaggs’ obsession with camembert (stinky, gooey, unpasteurized and absolutely, positively French...you know, when I visited Paris, this was actually my favorite cheese).

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Characters

The side characters are fresh, distinct, and fun to meet, and the magical sidekicks are utterly adorable and actually useful! In fact, these cute little guys are the ones who help our heroes transform into a crime fighting super duo.

D'aww!

But Ladybug and Cat Noir steal the show.

These two will be the death of me!!

The interesting thing about these two is that their superhero selves retain their alter ego's personalities but with a twist.

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Marinette is clumsy and unsure of herself, but as Ladybug, her cleverness and confidence shine through.

And though Adrien is reserved and innocent, as Cat Noir, these qualities are tweaked so that he's much more outgoing, open, and even cocky.

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The characters' alter egos are kept secret, even from each another...which makes for an interesting situation.

Marinette has a major crush on Adrien (her friends continuously make fun of her inability to even say two words while he's around). Not that he notices her anyway...

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While Cat Noir is positively smitten with Ladybug (flirts with her on multiple occasions) but she could care less for the guy's advances.

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In fact, it's fun to see how much an effect Ladybug has on Cat Noir, making for a nice contrast to Marinette's relationship (or lack thereof) with Adrien.

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But when it comes down to it, they're the perfect team!

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Bonus: This show is puntastic!!!! Just...just watch this clip and you'll see what I'm talking about.

If you spot the series at your local library or on TV and decide to give it a chance, I guarantee you'll find Miraculous to be the cat's meow.

Have you seen Miraculous Ladybug? Let me know below.

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5 Reasons to Watch Young Justice

(Spoilers for Young Justice.)

I’m a professed Marvelite. When the question “DC or Marvel” comes up, my allegiance is always with Marvel. But in spite of that, there is one DC show that claims a special part of my heart. Six young heroes—Aqualad, Robin, Kid Flash, Superboy, Miss Martian and Artemis—the sidekicks of the heroes of the Justice League, come together to form a team of their own, to do the missions the adult heroes can’t, in secret and in plain sight. Their adventures, missions, trials and triumphs are Young Justice, and here are five reasons to experience them for yourself.

1. The characters are nuanced and well-written. 

When we meet the six main characters, they are already complex and compelling, but they grow and mature over the course of the show. Each of them are showcased and given the chance to win a place in viewers’ hearts. For example: Superboy, a.k.a. Conner Kent, was given a backstory that differed a little sharply from the "Connor Kent/Kon-El" of the comics. He was cloned from Superman’s DNA and speed-grown in sixteen weeks by the mysterious and unscrupulous organization called Project Cadmus when he was discovered and rescued by Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad. Over the course of the show and with the help of his teammates, Superboy learns to define and discover who he is as a person and chooses for himself the name Conner. I personally find it intriguing and different that Conner only has super-strength, infra-red vision, limited invulnerability, and can only leap tall buildings in a single bound. Yeah, he can’t fly, and he doesn’t have heat vision. To me that makes him more real and more accessible—and closer to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's original vision of Superman.
Sue me, Superman fans.

 2. The villains are fresh and less clichéd than usual. 

Let’s face it—in superhero animated shows like Young Justice, the villains are usually all about beating the heroes and “taking over the world” and causing as much mayhem and chaos as possible with no better motives or reasons. The main villains of Young Justice are a shadowy and villainous circle of figures who call themselves “the Light”. They and their compatriots do cause a lot of chaos and mayhem, but usually they do have believable and plausible reasons for doing so. One of their number—Klarion the Witch Boy, a Lord of Chaos who seems to be pretty much a spirit of evil magic—orchestrates a powerful spell that splits the world into two dimensions: one for the children and one for the adults. The heroes defeat him—at a price—but it’s revealed that Klarion’s magical display was no more than a smoke screen—a diversion so the Light could steal an object vital to their plans. When villains actually start finding direction and traction with their plans…things start to get a little scary, don’t they?

3. The problems, the struggles, the obstacles are real. 

Again, unlike a lot of superhero and “kids” cartoons and shows, the writers and showrunners don’t insult their heroes’ intelligence—or ours. The missions that Batman sends the team on challenge them to the best of their abilities, and it is never without a struggle. And just like in real life…there is tragedy. And loss. In the aforementioned fiasco with Klarion the Witch Boy, the team was losing—badly—so their friend Zatanna donned the Helmet of Fate, which enabled the legendary Lord of Order—Doctor Fate—to possess her and help defeat Klarion. The price was that Fate refused to release her, for he is the mortal enemy of Lords of Chaos like Klarion and he was convinced that the world needed Doctor Fate more than a little magician’s apprentice like Zatanna. Her father, the seasoned Justice Leaguer Zatara, offered himself in his daughter’s place as a stronger and more suitable host, and so Zatanna could be free to live her own life. The bargain was accepted, and Zatara was lost to Fate. Before this moment, Zatara’s appearances could be counted on one hand, but even so, for me this episode hit hard, and needless to say I bawled my eyes out. Of course, it didn’t help that Zatara was voiced by one of my favourite voice actors, Nolan North.

4. The fresh, exciting storylines. 

In an environment in which networks seem to be introducing more and more kid shows with shorter and shorter run times and less serialized arcs, Young Justice invited its viewers to put every episode under a microscope and speculate and theorize on which side Artemis was playing for, who were members of the Light, and what their endgame was—among many others. In Season 1, each member of the team got an episode that centered around them and focused on their individual, personal struggles and problems and showcased each of them for who they were and whom they were growing to be. And all the smaller story lines are masterfully woven into the larger arc of unmasking and defeating the malevolent Light. No episodes are filler, and even though they’re not all home runs, the writers and showrunners consistently deliver a satisfying conclusion to each arc.

5. The equal racial and gender representation. 

It’s a none-too-pretty truth that when comics first started, it was a mostly white man’s world—and for a while, a man’s world. In recent decades, things have gotten a lot better in that regard, and Young Justice is excellent proof of that. When the team starts out they have two girls in their ranks: one a Martian and the other part Vietnamese. Their leader is Aqualad, canonically Atlantean, but of undeniable African American influence. And as the team grows into Season 2, they are joined by Blue Beetle, a Hispanic superhero; Guardian, another African American hero; Batgirl and Wonder Girl, the young sidekicks of their Justice League counterparts; and Rocket and Bumblebee, both African American female heroes. It’s heartening to see heroes of all shapes, sizes, genders, and races step into prominence—the way it’s meant to be.

(Whoops, sorry, wrong fandom :P )

I call myself a Marvel girl not because I hate DC. I don’t hate DC. It’s because more times than not, DC has disappointed me. But there’s been times that DC has come through, and Young Justice is one of those times. These are the stories of young heroes stepping out of their mentors’ shadows, finding their own place in the world, rising up to meet challenges both too big and too small for their Justice League counterparts. And even though the show was cancelled in 2013, since then it has found new life on Netflix, and there have even been rumours that Netflix will pick it up for a Season 3.  So go.  Watch. Experience Young Justice for yourself. And who knows?  f you love it as so many others do and enough of us are watching it, we just might get that Season 3.

Are you interested in watching Young Justice?
Have you already seen it?
Let us know below!

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Once a Green Lantern, Always a Green Lantern

“In brightest day, in blackest night,

No evil shall escape my sight.

Let those who worship evil’s might

Beware my power, Green Lantern’s Light!”

Unless you’ve made the underside of a rock your sweet and comfy home, some of—if not all of—these words will no doubt tickle your memory.  Whether it’s through comics or cartoon movies or the 2011 Ryan Reynolds film-take on the Green Lanterns, I’m constantly amazed at the number of people who recognize the phrase “Green Lantern”.  No offense to Ryan Reynolds (whom I profoundly respect), but it was Green Lantern: The Animated Series that made me thoroughly and completely pledge myself to the Green Lantern cause.  I consider myself a Marvel girl, passionate and proud…but when it comes to Green Lantern, I will always make an exception.  Allow me to show you why.

Characters.

You know Hal Jordan, of course.  The legendary Green Lantern of our very own planet Earth; selfless, fearless—sometimes reckless—and funny to a fault.  He’s the leader of this brave new band.  (Hal Jordan.  A leader.  Who'd have thought that, huh?)

You might know Kilowog.  Hal’s classmate, colleague, and  second-in-command, this Bolovaxian is the Green Lantern equivalent of a brute runaway tank—but don't let that fool you.  He’s got a warm heart under that crusty shell and plenty of military-grade smarts to catch you off guard with.

Allow me to introduce the new blood.  Razer, Red Lantern from the planet Volkreg.  By the time we meet him he is a haunted, tortured soul and one of the newest recruits of the Green Lanterns’ brutal and pitiless nemeses, the Red Lanterns.  However, Razer is different from his fellow Reds.  He still feels pangs of doubt and even guilt for the cruelties and atrocities committed by the Red Lantern Corps.  When Hal apprehends him, he offers him a choice: prison, or the path of turning over a new leaf.  The choice Razer makes thrusts him into a strange new crew and---dare he even hope—family.

And last but most definitely not least, Aya.  Aya was and still is the nav computer and artificial intelligence of this motley Green Lantern crew’s ship, the Interceptor.  And she is also very much the rookie of the group.  Over the course of their first few missions, Aya exhibits more curiosity and a genuine desire to be of help than any other of her AI-kind, even going so far as to build herself a body from spare parts and green Will energy to be “more human”.  She demonstrates a great deal of compassion and empathy for a mere AI, and she never hesitates to step in in any capacity to be of service to her fellow Lanterns.

Real Issues.

This series touts itself as a “kid show”, but it doesn’t shy away from grown-up topics. 

Before there were the Green Lanterns, the Guardians of Oa created the mechanical androids called the Manhunters.  They were supposed to be the galaxy’s perfect police force: never swayed by emotion, only right and wrong.  But before long they began to equate emotions with evil and deemed every emotional being criminal.  As a result, the Manhunters spread terror, death and destruction through the sector of space now known as the Forgotten Zone.  Although they were ultimately destroyed and discontinued by the Guardians, by that time whole planets and millions of lives had been lost.  Fearing that such a monumental failure on their part would destroy all the good they were trying to accomplish, the Guardians silenced all record of the Manhunters and buried the entire terrible tale.  But—as they say—truth will out, and this tragedy was the catalyst that created the Green Lanterns’ fiercest enemies, the Red Lanterns.  Eventually the Red Lanterns’ rampage through the galaxy brought the truth to light, and the Guardians were forced to face their greatest shame.

Tragedies like this are not uncommon in “kid shows” like Green Lantern, but oftentimes the facts and the tragedy itself is glossed over.  The creators of Green Lantern did the opposite by validating the Red Lanterns’ cause—if not their actions—and holding the Guardians accountable for this, their darkest secret.  Appa Ali’Apsa himself—leader of the Guardians—eventually acknowledged the whole of the Manhunters’ crimes and the Guardians’ hand in them, and pledged to aid the Forgotten Zone and the Red Lanterns in rebuilding their devastated sector.

The Story.

Great characters will make any show—even a poor or mediocre show—a good show.  But when you couple that with a good story?  It’s a combination that cannot lose.

What is supposed to be a standard recon-and-rescue mission for Hal and Kilowog escalates into a great deal more as they clash with the ruthless Red Lantern Corps and are subsequently stranded on the far end of space, cut off from the Guardians and their fellow Lanterns.  Green Lantern is the tale of Hal, Kilowog, Razer and Aya as they struggle to find their way home; lending help along way to those in need.

Obviously I can’t give away more than this for spoilery reasons.  This show spins together many themes: like redemption, forgiveness, finding oneself, right and wrong and even the grey areas in between, finding and building a family (not necessarily bound by blood), and hope, just to name a few.  The vastness and complexity of the Green Lantern universe would do the comics proud, and harks to both Star Wars and Star Trek.

Like many great shows, Green Lantern was canceled after only one season, much to the dismay and despair of those of us who became its fans.  But even now—four years later—the fanbase is still strong and growing.  To this day I miss and mourn the loss of Green Lantern.  It remains one of my favourite shows of all time, and it shall always have a special place in my heart.

Ever seen Green Lantern?  Is there anything you like about it?

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