Amazon now has Dragon Ball Z Kai available for pre-order. This version removes all of the filler episodes that were inserted so that the TV series would not get ahead of the manga. This version of the show will also air on Nicktoons in May.

I can’t wait to see how the changes come out in this version. Also, how did Cartoon Network miss out on this one? Nicktoons and Disney XD are quickly becoming my favorite destinations for Sci-Fi animation on TV.

Dragon Ball Z Kai: Season One, Part One

The Wii is not just for Bowling anymore! Nintendo and Netflix have partnered together to provide video streaming on the video game console. I’ve already been enjoying watching Netflix on the TiVo, but I like the interface on the Wii better. With the Tivo, you have to add shows to your instant queue first from a computer. With the Wii, you can browse all the categories from the comfort of your sofa.

The Wii isn’t capable of showing HD, so I’m not abandoning the TiVo just yet. It is also annoying that you have to use a disc to access Netflix on the Wii. But overall, it’s a great avenue for getting my animation fix!

According to Marvel.com, a new series, Ultimate Spider-Man will premiere Fall 2011 on Disney XD. Eric S. Rollman, President of Marvel Animation says “Ultimate Spider-Man will be a unique journey exploring our favorite web-slinger as he teams up with other fan favorite Marvel Super Heroes in never before seen stories with a new life filled with great challenges, new friends, intense action and character growth.”

There has not been any updates on the fate of Spectacular Spider-Man which is also shown on Disney XD. It seems that Ultimate will be replacement for Spectacular, which was produced by Sony Pictures. Ultimate will have big shoes to fill, as Spectacular Spider-Man was a well-written show with a fresh take on the Spider-Man franchise.

For years, I’ve complained how about most people in the US view animation as medium for children’s movies and TV shows (with comedy shows like the Simpsons and Family Guy being an exception.) With the latest Justice League feature debuting at #2, could we be finally coming around to accepting animation as venue for more mature features?

Bruce Timm, Dwayne McDuffie and the rest of the crew on Justice League Unlimited did an amazing job of writing smart and mature story lines, while working within the restrictions of a TV-Y7 rating. With the DC Comics Direct-To-Video releases, we get the opportunity to see what they can do without the TV rating restrictions. The results are awesome comic book adaptation presented as they should be.

It’s always fun to watch old Streamline Pictures anime becuase they seem to use the same 5 voices for all of their dubs. But I still enjoy Streamline Pics like 8 Man After. Plenty of good action, nice story and good animation that holds up pretty well today. I wish it could have been fleshed out into a full series, instead of an OAV.

The DBZ movies were fun just to see how the DBZ characters have evolved over time. Gohan, the litte kid with so much hidden power. Piccolo, (in Dead Zone) is training for a re-match with his nemisis Goku! And Goku, who hasn’t figured out the Super Saiyan thing yet, relies on his Kaiô-ken to fight his enemies.

Later, I plan to watch Voltron: Fleet of Doom. I’m still mad, reflecting on my elementary school days when all my friends came in and told me how cool it was to see BOTH Voltrons TOGETHER! Of course, I never saw that episode until I was an adult. I may watch some of my DC Animation DVDs too.

What are you watching over the holidays?

In a surprise move the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim has reduced the number of anime series in its Saturday night lineup.  Starting this Saturday, September 13th, Viz Media’s Bleach will lead off the Adult Swim block at 11pm (ET, PT) followed by an episode of FUNimation’s Fullmetal Alchemist.  The previous schedule, which had been announced on August 25th, featured four anime series–FUNimation’s Shin Chan (at midnight ET, PT) followed by Bleach, Bandai’s Code Geass and Media Blasters’ Moribito.

This is disappointing. Cartoon Network & Adult Swim were the most widely-available outlets for Anime in the US. CN/AS was my favorite network when I could watch DBZ, Gundam, Robotech, Inuyash and other Anime shows. Now, the only thing I watch is Bleach. What happened? Is it a shift in strategy at the network, or lack of quality Anime to show on the network? Let me know what you think.

There’s no reason the imaginative freedom that animation allows shouldn’t be unleashed on adult themes, especially when graphic novels have entered the literary mainstream and when CGI has blurred the line between live action and animation in films like “300.” Outside the United States, animators are not so likely to be confined to the ghetto of kiddie movies.

Read more at Newsweek.

Superman: Doomsday

In an epic tale of sacrifice, Superman battles an intergalactic serial killer in a superpowered Armageddon – “Superman: Doomsday”.

Justice League: New Frontier

Live the intense tale of the founding of the greatest band of superheroes ever – “Justice League: New Frontier”.

In this origin epic, a virtual who’s who of superheroes featuring not only Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, but also Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Flash, these very different heroes must overcome their fear and suspicion of one another to forge an alliance against a creature so formidable that it will take all of their powers combined to prevail!

I’m sure there are plenty of you out there like me that watched “Beast Wars” and “Beast Machines” that may have had mixed emotions about the show, but still admired the nod they gave us “old heads” by bringing back Ravage, showing clips of the original Megatron, and doing other little things to keep some continuity with the original series.

But after that, we were served with other shows like “Robots in Disguise”, “Armada” and “Cybertron” that are no way near as entertaining and are obviously only written for little kids. Don’t get me wrong–I understand that these are weekly 30-minute informercials for their toys. Many of the shows we watched in the 80s served the same purpose. There just seemed to be something “special” about the shows that came from Hasbro/Marvel/Sunbow back then, that’s not in the newer shows that were imported from Japan.

I just wish Hasbro would look at that market of kids from the 80s that grew up and still watch “cartoons”–not the ones intended for kids, but the more mature Anime series and the direct-to-video products being produced by Marvel and DC. We would by the DVDs. Some of us would even buy premium figures based on the show. They wouldn’t even have to call the show Transformers. There are enough terms that could be borrowed from the old Transformers Mythology to create a title that would be recognizable to us old-school fans. And I’m sure they would have no problem airing the show on Toonami, Adult Swim or Sci-Fi. If they can do it for Robotech, why not Transformers?
What do you guys think?

BET has inked an agreement to develop a new original adult action/adventure animated series with Dwayne McDuffie, co-creator (with BET’s Denys Cowan) of the Emmy Award and Humanitas Prize winning cartoon, Static Shock. Cowan and McDuffie were co-founders of Milestone Media, Inc., the most successful Black-owned comic book company in history. McDuffie is also a producer and story editor on Cartoon Network’s Justice League, Editor-In-Chief of Milestone Media’s award-winning line of comic books, and has worked as an editor for Marvel Comics and Harvey Entertainment. As head of BET Animation, Cowan will oversee the development of all new projects and work closely with McDuffie.

This is great news! I enjoyed McDuffie’s work on Static (especially the later seasons) and Justice League Unlimited. This partnership should help fill the void left by the cancellation of JLU. We will also get a nice alternative to the “kid-oriented” projects that DC Animation seems to be more interested in developing.

Read the full press release.