Blog Talkback: Toons of the 2000s: Top 25 Animated Television Series Countdown #5-1

Mobile Suit Gundam: Never seen it, but I heard a lot of good things about the Gundam series. When I get some free time and money, I'll give it a shot.
Samuri Champloo: Excellent show, one of my favorite animated...anythings ever.
Phineas and Ferb: It's really rocky the first season, but once it gets its formula down in the 2nd season, they mess with it more and sometimes deviate from it, which makes it pretty good.
Invader Zim: I guess it was alright, but I'm not really a fan of dark humor.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Haven't finished it, but so far its ok.

The way the list is going, I'll be surprised to see some shows on here, and others I'll be shocked that completely miss it. But remember, everyone has different opinions on the quality of these shows and the impact they had, so we should respect that as the list goes along.
 
I love King of The Hill, and I'm glad it got a spot on this list. Surprising to see it kick off the count down though, so I'm expecting some truly amazing works as we get closer to number 1.

I liked El Tigre, and as great as the concept was, I'm not too sue if it deserves a spot in a Top 25 list.

Didn't care for Home Movies, but Chowder getting some props is great. Its debut was the start of some great CN shows coming down the pipe, and I loved what I've seen of it so far.

Teen Titans was a fun show, but knew when to get serious. Glad to see it getting recognition as well.
 
I have to agree, Spongebob should have been number one. No other cartoon has been as influential or as hugely popular around the entire world this decade. Avatar might be well liked be the staff, but you can't say Avatar has dominated pop culture worldwide. I also think Family Guy and South Park should have been in the Top 5. Family Guy came against all odds and it's revival story is a huge part of the decade's animation history. South Park IMO has gotten even more popular this decade than it was in the 90's.
 
I'll give my thoughts...

King of the Hill: I've only seen a bit of it, but nothing impressed me. I guess I just don't get the humor.

El Tigre: I've never seen it, so I can't judge. But it doesn't really look like my type of show.

Home Movies: Also have never seen.

Chowder: Not my type of show.

Teen Titans: The last season had issues, but overall I liked Teen Titans and I would watch it again.

South Park: While I find it slightly funny, it is a bit too crude for me.

WordGirl: Never seen

Danny Phantom: Watched a bit, nothing really stood out for me.

Justice League: Love this show so much. I really think it should have been way higher.

Paranoia Agent: Great to see this make the list, it is a rather unique show.

Gundam 00: Beautiful fights, but overall I don't think it should have made the list. It isn't all that groundbreaking, and there are other shows I would have put before it.

Samurai Champloo: I liked it a good bit, but the ending fell flat for me.

Phineas and Ferb: I have never watched...

Invader Zim: Fun show, kind of lost track of it though.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Ah, FMA. Probably one of my favorite ever so great to see it on the list. Personally I think it should have been higher.
 
I myself wouldn't judge based on popularity. Popularity is a fickle thing and no real judge of quality of the show. If I made a list, it would be about quality, creativity, uniqueness, and so forth. Even influence is a shaky thing to judge on. My top five probably would have been Wakfu, Avatar, WITCH, Oban, and Iron Man, but that's just off the top of my head (and not counting Japanese programming, for simplicities sake) so I might be forgetting something. But it's not a big deal, it's just a list like Dudley said. No more official than yours or mine. No need for people to get that concerned over it. I myself am not a big fan of lists in general because I don't think you can measure quality in numeric slots. A show might be good in one area but bad in another. I'd probably judge and analyze the attributes about a show I like and leave it at that.
 
Mobile Suit Gundam: I don't really care for Gundam series, so no comment.

Samurai Champloo: From what I've saw, it was a pretty decent show.

Phineas and Ferb: Now this a good show. Liked it from the beginning. Love how it incorporates a song into every episode. Even if the plot does get repetitive, it's the execution that counts and PF does it well.

Invader Zim: One of my favorite Nicktoons makes it into this list? Sweet, I actually liked the dark humor and setting for this show from day one.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Probably one of my top 10 favorite anime makes it here, and it deserves it. Good plot and love how they made the story it's own thing after a certain point instead of following the manga.
 
King of the Hill: I've watched this show since it premiered and loved mostly every moment. Not many shows can remain this consistent in quality over 13 years. I think it should be higher, but rarely do I pay attention to the numbers on these lists, just what series are acknowledged.

El Tigre: I missed a lot of episodes of this series, but it was seriously pretty good. It was definately better than everything else coming out at the time. Codename: Kids Next Door and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy were ending on Cartoon Network while Spongebob Squarepants and Fairly Odd Parents were on a decline. This was definitely the best kid's (Comedy) cartoon at the time. Wish it and Kappa Mikey got more episodes, but I never even saw all of those because of the constantly changing airing times.

Home Movies: I loved it. Some terrific writing and delivery by the actors. One of [adult swim]'s smartest shows for sure.

Chowder: Never watched it, I had given up on Cartoon Network when this first aired.

Teen Titans: I loved it. At first, I regretted the fact that it wasn't a new DCAU show (I still watched), but in the end it was better for the show. I wish it could have had another DTV or season though. I know the finale wasn't made to be followed up on, but still...
 
King of the Hill: Not really my thing (I'm more into surreal cartoonish humor than 'animated reality'), but it deserves its' spot.

El Tigre: Never saw it, so I can't comment.

Home Movies: Same as KOTH.

Chowder: Loved the first season; unfortunately, the subsequent episodes haven't lived up to the magic of the 1st season's crop, but despite its' faults, it was one of the more original, unique and potentially brilliant shows to come down the recent Cartoon Network pike.

Teen Titans: I had issues with TT (the cast, the characterizations, the animation style) and I lost interest in this show about halfway through its' run, but I'll concede that it does deserve a mention.
 
King of the Hill: Loved it. One of my all-time favorite animated series. Glad to see it make the list.

El Tigre: Never saw it. Never cared.

Home Movies: It's been a while since I've watched it but I was definitely very fond of it. Going to give it another look very soon.

Chowder: Loved the first season. Stopped watching CN entirely by the second season. Decent show. Sad to hear it's not as good as it used to be.

Teen Titans: Never saw it. Never cared.
 
Yeah, this list isn't perfect, but it was a fun little countdown that made this week easier for me. Now onto the final 5...

Venture Bros I've only seen bits and pieces of, but its lasted quite a while now and most of the fans I've spoken to give a great deal of praise to its characterization and impressive growth in quality each season. I'll give it a real go sometime.

I liked Kim Possible, but I feel like it indeed got too high of a spot. It was one of the funniest Disney toons this decade, but certainly not the best to me.

Samurai Jack to me, seems more like a piece of animation art rather than a great show. It's glaringly obvious at certain points, and the lack of a solid story really knocks some points off for me.

Foster's was fun, but I found the series to be very imbalanced. Sometimes, the characters were hilarious, other times they were unsufferable. It was nice to see focus on some minor characters, but too often they became overexposed or overused. I honestly feel PPG is the superior product from Craig McCracken.

Avatar being #1 isn't a surprise to me, not after plenty of the top contenders were listed earlier in the countdown. It's definitely one of the best Nicktoons from this decade, but it had some minor problems that grew too big to ignore. Nonetheless, it is a TZ favorite so I expected it to show up eventually.

So, a decent list, but some pretty glaring omissions. Honestly, if it were up to me, I'd have included W.I.T.C.H., Ed Edd n' Eddy, Spectacular Spider-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Fairly Oddparents in place of some other choices here.
 
The Boondocks should have made the list. I think it's the best animated show of the decade to be honest. Much funnier than modern day South Park and funnier than Family Guy ever was IMO.
 
- Gundam 00: Was an okay series that had its moments, but no quite so sure if its Top 25 worthy.
- Samurai Champloo: Same deal, but maybe less iffy. Some really memorable episodes, but some downright forgettable ones, too.
- Phineas and Ferb: Very fun series. Has a great concept and many toe-tappingly great songs. I find myself rewatching episodes a lot of the time, too, which is a good sign.
- Invader Zim: The requisite 'never seen, never cared for' show in this group. Maybe it was too overhyped for its own good, but I didn't watch anything on Nick the first half of the decade, so...
- Fullmetal Alchemist: A good show that got better as it went along. Always knew the right time to be funny or to be serious. Great dubbing and casting by FUNimation, too... it's also why the series is so popular.
 
Won't be long before One Piece shows up :p

Hopefully something Canadian would make the list. Too bad Ruby Gloom nevver aired in the US, I would place it in my top 25 of the decade for sure.
 
Uh, no Spectacular Spiderman? Really?

The Venture Bros. - Great show, no real problem here.

Kim Possible - Wha? I might be alone here, but I never really thought this show was too good outside of maybe it's first season.

Samurai Jack - Fantastic show, but IMO, too high.

Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends - Disagreed. Never really liked this one.

Avatar: The Last Airbender - I love Avatar, but I could never put it as my personal #1.

I'm starting to think this list would be better backwards with a few shows swapped around. :p
 
I enjoy Phineas & Ferb a lot but I don't think it's a show that will leave lingering memories with me unlike a lot of the other shows that have been listed already.
 
Back
Top