Brian Cruz
08-22-2002, 04:52 PM
Toon Zone was recently able to get a sneak peek at ABC Family's upcoming new series, Tokyo Pig. Dave "Machina" Reynolds shares his thoughts on this unusual children's anime:
<a href="http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/tokyopig1.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/t-tokyopig1.gif" alt="Click For Larger Image" align="right" hspace="5" vspace="3" width="150" height="120"></a>TOYKO PIG: Weird. Very, very weird.
Well, after watching TOKYO PIG I found myself staring at the screen in bewilderment. Actual, legitimate, bewilderment. Not the same kind of bewilderment I got being a 27 year old watching Hamtaro on Toonami, but more like the bewilderment I got the first time I ever saw ‘The Great Cornholio’.
That is a good thing, by the way.
I’ll be honest… I wasn’t expecting too much here. For the most part, the house of Mickey’s recent television animation hasn’t been the most inspiring. And while granted, TOKYO PIG is an imported Japanese anime series, I still succumbed to the (honestly, rather unfair) stigmatic notion that I’m about to watch a piece of overrated flotsam. I’m happy to say that is far from the truth in the case of TOKYO PIG.
<a href="http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/tokyopig2.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/t-tokyopig2.jpg" alt="Click For Larger Image" align="left" hspace="5" vspace="3" width="150" height="120"></a>TOKYO PIG is a series about a young boy named Spencer, who finds out much to his embarrassing dismay that he has an omniscient ability to bring what he writes and draws in his journal to life… literally. After a rather amusing display of creative imagination, Spencer decides to test his newfound powers with deep fried pencils for dinner and a flying pig invasion. This leads to an extremely hyperactive and amusing sequence which I won’t spoil for you. But through this sequence, a lone pig emerges who seems to have some special magical powers. Eventually, after a confrontation with Spencer’s very oddball family, he’s allowed to keep the pig, which he names Sunny. And the series goes from there…
Since Spencer has a rather creative imagination and Sunny acts almost as a “magical familiar” for him, this usually leads to mayhem and frantic comedy. Imagine Calvin and Hobbes after Bill Watterson ate 15 bowls of Cocoa Puffs in chocolate milk, and then sat down to do some drawing… that’s what TOKYO PIG is like. To say the show is hyperkinetic is an understatement. It’s very fast paced and very creative… In a manner that one almost gets a rush of vertigo while watching it. Kids should love it!
<a href="http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/tokyopig3.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/t-tokyopig3.jpg" alt="Click For Larger Image" align="right" hspace="5" vspace="3" width="150" height="120"></a>There are a few rather interesting elements to the pork show here, including the Weather Girl who pops up out of nowhere to add sly narratives to the show. (Think along the lines of the Muses from Disney’s Hercules, or even the dancing trio from Little Shop of Horrors.) Another interesting character is Spencer’s antagonist Wigstaff, who wants to be an outcast so that it will add to his mythos when he grows up to become rich and famous. The voice acting is rather enjoyable and doesn’t distract from the show at all, unlike other shows I could name. *cough* Medabots *cough*
One unique thing I liked was that because Sunny was originally supposed to be a drawing, whenever you have close ups on him the texture of his skin is that of a colored pencil drawing. Nothing Earth shattering, but it was a nice touch.
<a href="http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/tokyopig4.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/t-tokyopig4.jpg" alt="Click For Larger Image" align="left" hspace="5" vspace="3" width="150" height="120"></a>TOKYO PIG does have its flaws, however. The animation is not exactly Cowboy Bebop here. The style seems to be a mixture of Hamtaro and The Powerpuff Girls… except the movements aren't as fluid as I would prefer. (But hey, I’m seventeen years over their intended audience, so I’m not one to talk!) There are scenes where Sunny does a little pig dance; I found these dances unfunny and about half a minute too long. The character Tiffany I found to be an eye AND earsore… to the point where I had trouble watching the show when she was on the screen. I suspect this may have been intentional, since Spencer isn’t supposed to like her, but this may have been a case where the creators did their jobs too well. (There’s just something about fake southern accents that drives me nuts.) But that’s only one character in a rather colorful and vivid ensemble of characters.
Overall, TOKYO PIG was actually quite fun. It’s more watchable than the adventures of Hamtaro and the Ham-hams, but it’s not quite Digimon: Season Three. (Or is that Season Four now?) Either way, it’s an endearing sleeper addition to the ABC Family line up…
Just have the mute button handy for when Tiffany pops up on the screen.
TOKYO PIG (TV-Y7) airs Saturday, September 14 at 10:00 a.m. on ABC Family.
-Dave “Machina” Reynolds
Click below for additonal images from TOKYO PIG:
http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/t-tokyopig5.jpg (http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/tokyopig5.jpg) http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/t-tokyopig6.jpg (http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/tokyopig6.jpg) http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/t-tokyopig7.jpg (http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/tokyopig7.jpg) http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/t-tokyopig8.jpg (http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/tokyopig8.jpg)
<a href="http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/tokyopig1.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/t-tokyopig1.gif" alt="Click For Larger Image" align="right" hspace="5" vspace="3" width="150" height="120"></a>TOYKO PIG: Weird. Very, very weird.
Well, after watching TOKYO PIG I found myself staring at the screen in bewilderment. Actual, legitimate, bewilderment. Not the same kind of bewilderment I got being a 27 year old watching Hamtaro on Toonami, but more like the bewilderment I got the first time I ever saw ‘The Great Cornholio’.
That is a good thing, by the way.
I’ll be honest… I wasn’t expecting too much here. For the most part, the house of Mickey’s recent television animation hasn’t been the most inspiring. And while granted, TOKYO PIG is an imported Japanese anime series, I still succumbed to the (honestly, rather unfair) stigmatic notion that I’m about to watch a piece of overrated flotsam. I’m happy to say that is far from the truth in the case of TOKYO PIG.
<a href="http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/tokyopig2.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/t-tokyopig2.jpg" alt="Click For Larger Image" align="left" hspace="5" vspace="3" width="150" height="120"></a>TOKYO PIG is a series about a young boy named Spencer, who finds out much to his embarrassing dismay that he has an omniscient ability to bring what he writes and draws in his journal to life… literally. After a rather amusing display of creative imagination, Spencer decides to test his newfound powers with deep fried pencils for dinner and a flying pig invasion. This leads to an extremely hyperactive and amusing sequence which I won’t spoil for you. But through this sequence, a lone pig emerges who seems to have some special magical powers. Eventually, after a confrontation with Spencer’s very oddball family, he’s allowed to keep the pig, which he names Sunny. And the series goes from there…
Since Spencer has a rather creative imagination and Sunny acts almost as a “magical familiar” for him, this usually leads to mayhem and frantic comedy. Imagine Calvin and Hobbes after Bill Watterson ate 15 bowls of Cocoa Puffs in chocolate milk, and then sat down to do some drawing… that’s what TOKYO PIG is like. To say the show is hyperkinetic is an understatement. It’s very fast paced and very creative… In a manner that one almost gets a rush of vertigo while watching it. Kids should love it!
<a href="http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/tokyopig3.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/t-tokyopig3.jpg" alt="Click For Larger Image" align="right" hspace="5" vspace="3" width="150" height="120"></a>There are a few rather interesting elements to the pork show here, including the Weather Girl who pops up out of nowhere to add sly narratives to the show. (Think along the lines of the Muses from Disney’s Hercules, or even the dancing trio from Little Shop of Horrors.) Another interesting character is Spencer’s antagonist Wigstaff, who wants to be an outcast so that it will add to his mythos when he grows up to become rich and famous. The voice acting is rather enjoyable and doesn’t distract from the show at all, unlike other shows I could name. *cough* Medabots *cough*
One unique thing I liked was that because Sunny was originally supposed to be a drawing, whenever you have close ups on him the texture of his skin is that of a colored pencil drawing. Nothing Earth shattering, but it was a nice touch.
<a href="http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/tokyopig4.jpg" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/t-tokyopig4.jpg" alt="Click For Larger Image" align="left" hspace="5" vspace="3" width="150" height="120"></a>TOKYO PIG does have its flaws, however. The animation is not exactly Cowboy Bebop here. The style seems to be a mixture of Hamtaro and The Powerpuff Girls… except the movements aren't as fluid as I would prefer. (But hey, I’m seventeen years over their intended audience, so I’m not one to talk!) There are scenes where Sunny does a little pig dance; I found these dances unfunny and about half a minute too long. The character Tiffany I found to be an eye AND earsore… to the point where I had trouble watching the show when she was on the screen. I suspect this may have been intentional, since Spencer isn’t supposed to like her, but this may have been a case where the creators did their jobs too well. (There’s just something about fake southern accents that drives me nuts.) But that’s only one character in a rather colorful and vivid ensemble of characters.
Overall, TOKYO PIG was actually quite fun. It’s more watchable than the adventures of Hamtaro and the Ham-hams, but it’s not quite Digimon: Season Three. (Or is that Season Four now?) Either way, it’s an endearing sleeper addition to the ABC Family line up…
Just have the mute button handy for when Tiffany pops up on the screen.
TOKYO PIG (TV-Y7) airs Saturday, September 14 at 10:00 a.m. on ABC Family.
-Dave “Machina” Reynolds
Click below for additonal images from TOKYO PIG:
http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/t-tokyopig5.jpg (http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/tokyopig5.jpg) http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/t-tokyopig6.jpg (http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/tokyopig6.jpg) http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/t-tokyopig7.jpg (http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/tokyopig7.jpg) http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/t-tokyopig8.jpg (http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/abcfamily/tokyopig8.jpg)