3 must view animated features to add to your binge list

Keegan West, Reporter

Animated movies and series’ are more than just child’s play, they navigate complex issues and here are three that are definitely worth your time.

“One Punch Man,” 2015

Series promotional poster from IMDb.com

This action packed anime follows the hero Saitama and his cyborg pupil Genos in their many encounters with the villains, monsters and extraterrestrials that threaten human existence.

Saitama’s deadpan humor and ability to end any fight in literally one punch provide a satirical take on the hero anime genre.

Saitama and the enemies he faces possess abilities that border on the absurd, making for incredible action sequences throughout the series.

While the story arc follows a similar script seen throughout anime and manga, the characters, humor, and incredibly detailed animation is what has made One Punch Man one of the most popular anime’s of all time.

*warning seriously graphic content*

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

“BoJack Horseman,” 2014

Series poster from IMDb.com

With a unique animation style, distinct from other adult animated shows, BoJack Horseman is set in a fictional present day Hollywood with anthropomorphic characters and humans living alongside each other.

The show cleverly and humorously depicts the corruption of the television, filmmaking and media industries.

The plot centers around BoJack Horseman, a washed up 90s TV actor and his battles with alcohol abuse, drug addiction, narcissism along with a tendency to get into shenanigans.

While the show is intended to be humorous, it also delves into how damaging addiction and mental health afflictions not only affect the individual, but everyone else they interact with.

It is difficult to toe the line between entertainment and reality, however this show successfully does both.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Spider-Man Into the Spider-verse,” 2018

Movie poster from IMDb.com

Unshackled by the restraints of previous live action versions, and without random obvious CGI sequences, “Into the Spider-Verse” tells the origin story of Miles Morales without the need to have 30 year old actors pretending to be high schoolers.

Miles, an Afro-Latino teenager, the first Black Spiderman to show up on the big screen, struggles to master his newfound powers and meet his father’s expectations.

After becoming Spiderman, Miles must prevent Kingpin’s plan to use the supercollider device to access parallel universes and bring back his deceased family.

With the collision of universes, a number of Spider characters also make an appearance, further expanding the meaning of being a Spiderman or ‘Spiderham’.

An unconventional addition to the Spiderman cinematic collection, this film strayed away from previous animations and live action movie narratives.

Breaking new ground of 2-D animation and live action, “Into the Spiderverse” is a must watch.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐