Back to The_Elemental's Profile The_Elemental's Profile

Heroman is a bit of an odd one to review.
Written by the famous Stan Lee it would seem that his writing and studio Bones quality would go hand in hand for a successful series.

The first point i would like to make is that Heroman of all things isn't bad, it would seem that it had allot to live up two especially when people put this series with the names Bones and Stan Lee.
Bones has had a history of great series, of course they had flaws but they were enjoyable especially in their stories. Compared with their previous work this is why Heroman doesn’t seem ... to be as good.

STORY.
this is where the story would seem to fall short. It is a very simple plot, kind of a homage to some of the original comic book concepts. Spiderman was a man bitten by a radioactive spider which created a superhero, simple but effective.
This is also the same with Heroman, a simple concept made into a story.
The reason why i give Heroman a 5 in story terms is its simplicity, its not bad but i can see why people don’t like it. What seems to really annoy people is its shounen cliché and it does have a lot. School boy, Bullied, orphan, superpower's, saving the world and some added school romance; we have seen them all in quite a lot of things.
But with this show they seem to work as i said it is a very simple story and it is very Shounen. But i found myself liking it does bring you back to the days where there weren't ridiculous plot twists and stupid Mcguffin which will somehow save the day but make you cringe every time you hear it. It also is a very well passed series. it doesn’t spend too much time explaining "what happened last time" and it isn’t too quick. However it does move quickly and gets on with what its about which i do very much appreciate and thank the gods too there is nothing more dull then watching a fight that lasts more than an episode and most of it is talking.

Overall though i like its story its simple, you don’t have to spend time thinking about how this power works or what not, its easily enjoyable.

CHARACTERS.
this is where a lot of nerd-rage seems to be going on. The main character Joey Jones is very simple and incredibly Shounen, a orphaned boy who has a aura of good. He works for his money to surport him and his grandmother, He hates fighting and tries to avoid it and of course hes kind, his hole character screams Lawful good, his like an example of it. This makes him incredibly simple which in this series case is a good thing. It means he isnt hard to understand but he doesn't seem incredibly deep which leads to some of his actions becoming too predictable. There is some kind of story about his farther being a miner but this and why the bully's call him "useless" has yet to be explained.

Now on to the point which really annoyes people, his voice. Now to me it isn't much of a problem mostly because there are far more annoying characters with worse voices out there. But it is quite effeminate and it can be hard on the ear's when you keep hearing "heroman" being said over and over. It can quickly become a bit tiresome.
However though i find him quite a decent main character.

Second in main character wise is Heroman a toy robot Joey fixes and is then hit by lighting and turns into a larger more advanced robot..... Haven’t seen that one before. I could see what Stan lee and Bones were going for with this character a silent hero but it’s hard to like Heroman because he never speaks or reacts that much. He is portrayed with some kind of intelligence and he seems to know what Joey's thinking and saying.
However though i do like him as a hero of a kind, again the word simple comes to mind.

Now the other character's, Lina the popular cheerleader and love interest in the series. she doesn't really have much depth to her and doesn't really do much. While she not a bad chracter she doesn't have much that is interesting about her. However though it is good to see a romance that isn't mind numing in its stupiditly and they do have a bit of chemistry however though she really dosen't have that much significance.
Psy (atleast thats how i think you spell it) is the bad-ass best friend and support character. He gives moral support to help his friend and does do quite alot overall. He also has a slight back story about how he ended up being crippled or damaging his leg (whichever) which adds a bit but not much.
And of course a Science teacher (proff. denton or whatever) who migh as well be labled "Mad scientist" an alright character and does contribute and come up with most of the plans but apart from that hes just.... weird.
there are more but they dont real have much significance at all and are meer backround characters.
What the main problem is for this set of characters is there is very little to no character development. While there are changes and situations the characters don’t seem to be effect that much and get on with their lives.

Overall the characters are simple yet effective, while some are incredibly cliché it doesn’t get in the way of their interactions and what not.

ART.
Just one word "Bones"
You cannot go wrong with Bones's animation. it is very well done and as far as i have seen there has been no change in quality especially no changes to style or animation slip-ups. Its animation crisp and its use in colours are bright but not detracting .It's quite obvious that they had a large budget for this show probably the Name "Stan Lee" was used to get it.
Character designs are also well done; some nice attention went into them to give it a American feel without being too ridiculous. Though you still have the Shounen cliché of "never changing clothes" and some retarded hair but its not a major issue.
Heroman's design has also got a lot of flak from the community, and while i admit it is basic and has a patriotic hint of "American flag" on it. I don’t find it too much of an issue it isn't total stupid.
However though there is one quaral i have with this series in animation or "why put this in" is Transformation sequence. Once maybe but more than this is just a waste of time. its a stupid decision but thankfully it isnt always the same one.

SOUND.
no complaints really, opening and ending theme are good but not amazing and back-round music is aright sometimes meh.

OVERALL ENJOYMENT?
so far i have enjoyed this series. It is one word: simple, non-complex you don’t have to get your head around some random Mcguffin they made up or ridiculous plot twists or even retarded characters its all non complex. You can easily sit down and relax while watching it without going "wait... What" or "oh for...." or even cringing at every line. so overall i have liked this series.

Genshiken OVA's are the continuations of the 1st Series.

Story
Story wise Genshiken is amazing but you can really say much because there are only three OVA's, but it’s really the same awesomeness of the Genshiken series

Sound
The music is the same which give it a Familiar feel. The opening and ending are great giving it more of a feel like Genshiken.

Art
The Art is what really let these OVA down; the backgrounds are fine it’s just the characters. After the great art we had with Genshiken I thought it would be just as great but it is a real let down the characters look really ... retarded and their expressions are even worse it looks like someone drew the characters in paint.

Characters
The characters are the same crazy otakus doing what they do best: be otaku. Some more characters are added and their lives continue.

Enjoyment
If the like Genshiken then you will like the OVAs. If you hoping for the same art then you will be disappointed.

Overall
You will like the Genshiken OVA's if you’re a fan of Genshiken. It would be really hard not to like Genshiken unless you are a Shonen junky. You might find it hard to find the OVA's but you will find them eventually.