ANOTHER topic on this show? Oh, okay. I'll repost some thoughts.
It takes barely a minute to realize that we're deep in anime territory here. This show wants to be anime so bad that it copies all of the best and worst parts of same. The downside of this is that mouths flap almost at random when characters talk, non-action scenes are often animated in an incredibly stilted fashion that might consist of three or four frames, and you'll even get those dreaded crowd shots where nobody's moving and we only hear generic crowd noise. On the upside, action sequences are very fluid to watch, and the backgrounds and vehicles are elaborately designed beyond most anything you'd find on American shores.
Once you've adjusted to the fact that you're watching a show that was made in France for airing in America that nevertheless desperately wants to be Japanese, you'll notice that there ARE some real highlights here. The aforementioned backgrounds and vehicles put this show heavily into the realm of sci-fi. Despite the fact that most of the city looks like a modern metropolis, the Baxter Building is a pillar of technology complete with a holographic "4" spinning overhead. Reed's lab is like stepping onto an alien world, where we can easily see just how far beyond the constraints of the human mind he can travel. The look of the characters, while unlike anything we've seen before, is a pretty cool one... and when it comes to the characters themselves, all of the guys come off perfectly.
There are still some issues, though. Sue comes off as an angry little psycho pretty much all the time, although that might just be for this one episode because of how they're characterizing her concern for her brother, but it's still totally wrong for her. Johnny, when he's not "flamed on", looks... weeeeiiird. I mean, the brother's even got those ridiculous little tails over his ears.
Suffice it to say that this first episode is okay entertainment, but not great. As an FF fan, naturally I'm sold on sticking with it, but newcomers could easily have been turned off by what's presented here. The storyline offers nothing really different from what you might see on lots of other cartoons, even calling to mind "In Blackest Night" from Justice League. There are certain moments (specifically the pair of scenes with Ben at a charity function) that come off as incredibly lame, making you question the writers' sense of humor. And the whole thing feels too fast, too awkward - perhaps partly because we're interrupting the action at the wrong point. This wasn't supposed to be the first episode, it was the second... and you can FEEL that.
Long-time fans of the characters will catch some little touches such as Ben calling Johnny "Matchstick," a momentary flashback to Ben getting one of the dreaded "Yancy Street Gang" packages from Johnny, and of course, the pointed mention of the Skrulls.
