MTV: Everyone's asking about the anime vibe in the image. Will the series have an anime feel to it? Does the anime vibe extend beyond the character designs?
SPAULDING: [It will extend to] the visual storytelling as well. The original show was done in Japan, and many people probably don't know that. A lot of the artists went on to be in Studio Ghibli, and worked on [Hayao] Miyazaki's first film. So "ThunderCats" does have a footprint in Japanese animation. We're kind of going back and honoring that in the new series. I was always a huge fan of the original show and I love the Japanese animation and what they can do, so we're really going back to the roots.
Okay you make a good point there (Orko owns Snarf though), and truth be told a lot of 80s cartoon had goofy elements that make one wince looking at them now. I think we're all hoping the new series will avoid said goofy elements.Snarf never bothered me that much. I thought Wily Kit and Kat were annoying at times but I've seen worse characters.
Here's what bothers me when fans get all nostalgic and criticize those elements. They act like the rest of the show was absolutely golden and high class five star academy award worthy writing if not for this thing or that thing be it Snarf, Wily Kit/Kat, Orko, whatever. There were plenty of other silly and odd elements and things that date the show besides those things.
i'd love to know where he gets his facts 99% of fans know it was animated in japan. still doesn't stop the fact that there is decent japanese based animation design and then there is the terrible big eyed badly proportioned body style we constantly seem to get from bandi
Yeah sorry. The new designs don't look like Pokemon at all.
I mean Tygra even has a pistol. Panthro's been made into a big powerhouse dude. He's got mutton chops like Wolverine.
If you wanted something like FOTN or Ninja Scroll. C'mon. Have you even watched the original Thundercats?
The original Thundercats series was pretty sanitized and bland at times. Wasn't guys getting chopped up like in Ninja Scroll. And in Japanese Gatchaman, people died left and right and got messed up.

I don't really care since I don't have Cartoon Network or most of the other cool channels anymore because of cut backs due to the economy. Thanks for the "change" Obama.![]()
My state's economy hasn't improved one iota. I think California is the only state who's economy hasn't improved. So I'd like to thank the President for the great "change" he delivered.Uh-huh.....

Yeah sorry. The new designs don't look like Pokemon at all.
I mean Tygra even has a pistol. Panthro's been made into a big powerhouse dude. He's got mutton chops like Wolverine.
If you wanted something like FOTN or Ninja Scroll. C'mon. Have you even watched the original Thundercats?
The original Thundercats series was pretty sanitized and bland at times. Wasn't guys getting chopped up like in Ninja Scroll. And in Japanese Gatchaman, people died left and right and got messed up.

.while i agree with you vile he choose the wrong examples but you can see my point, look at the last motu( know you're a fan) it had the anime look and appeal without the wide eye look
teen titans seem to be the best example of this style.
Have you ever looked at the size of a cats eyes in relation to their faces. It makes sense to me that the Thundercats should have wider than human eyes.
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yes i have and can see where you're coming from but this hyper anime look just comes across as lazy designing hell you could have them go up against the ben 10 aliens and most would fit in
maybe i'm wrong i do not mind the redesign but i would perfer a more serious art style to them, to see if they work, i mean look at jim lee's and ed mcguinness attempts at the characters that style really works, even something like the young justice style
sadly i just do not want to see this go the way of 200x MOTU the show was good but not a huge hit and the toys bombs. flash forward to now and all they have done is take the classic look and use modern styling and they're one of the most popular lines at the mo
In todays animation world your not going to see anything that detailed on a weekly tv series. Theres time and budget to take into consideration. Its partly why Batman TAS was redesigned when it went to The WB. streamlining everything to get the work done faster, cheaper, and supposedly with more fluidity.
They say they are designing this show with todays styles in mind and I can understand that if they want to reach a younger audience that will be the ones that keep this show alive for the long term future. You gotta have kids interested.
If anything this style on Thundercats suits it more than certain oother retro cartoons redesigns. GI Joe should be going for a solid reality based style like the one you want but it isn't.
MOTU 2002 died early because Cartoon Network and Mattel mishandled a LOT of things like tv airings and scheduling and availability of certain toys. The style and look of the series wasn't one of them. IF thundercats is a well written show then the only thing thats goign too hurt it is how the network promotes and airs it and distribution and availability of merchandise.
as for Ben 10...i don't care for it but its style seems less stereotypically anime looking than stuff like Pokemon or even Teen Titans. It has a certain anime influence but I also I see a lot of simple shapes, lack of detail, large eyes...but thats a staple of American animation just as much as Japanese animation
I see a lot of anime influence in cheetaras face here
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or Carly here from the G1 Transformers
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Maybe your problem is more the simplicity off the designs? I can understand that.
When i look at some of Ed McGuinesses artwork i see a LOT of anime influence
The exaggerated open mouth and the big eyes
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To me the new Thundercats designs look a hell of a lot better than this
http://www.**************.com/images/users/uploads/9186/GIJoe.jpg