Reviews on series Skeleton Warriors (3)

In fact, there are not many nostalgic animated series that would leave a serious mark on my soul. From a series of cartoons in the genre of fantasy, I had to revise very, very much: “Visionaries”, “Conan the Barbarian”, “Dinosaur Riders” and much more (the names I do not remember). But I would like to single out the “skeleton warriors” for a number of reasons.
First, I was impressed by the work of the universe where this story takes place. Magic and science are merged here, there are court intrigues around the throne, technology and technology have reached serious heights, but at the same time, the influence of culture and the way of the medieval model (state structure, household items, architecture) is clearly noticeable. Overall, it’s a very interesting combination, a style that’s not used very often in popular culture today, and I like it.

Secondly, the characters here are far from stereotypical, they can be ambiguous and contradictory. Usually in such cartoons there is a clear division into “bad” and “good”, but in “Skeleton Warriors” this rule is not always fulfilled: a positive character is capable of a negative act and vice versa. The only embarrassing thing is that the representatives of “evil” in this story sometimes look very exaggerated, and sometimes even caricatured. Although humor in negative characters is sometimes very good.
At the same time, the plot here, let’s say, does not shine with originality. The main plot canvas almost completely repeats all the canons of this genre, a couple of unexpected turns are reserved closer to the season finale. Although it is good that the first and only season has a generally open and not very rosy ending.
Do not forget about a very remarkable musical accompaniment: cheerful guitar horns in the oupening are tuned in the right way, although the repetition of this motif during the series in action scenes over time is pretty tiresome.
"Skeleton Warriors" was essentially a perfect nostalgic product for me. It has everything I love. This series is not long, visually attractive, has an interesting semantic content. In fact, I enjoyed watching it as an adult.

For the past 3 years, I tried to remember the name of this animated series, and today I came across an old cassette in the store ... I had to restore the video. It was 6 episodes and I couldn’t stand it and ordered an original DVD reissue in English.

Now for the animated series in more detail. The 1st thing that really upset me is the number of episodes... 13. As a child, I thought it was longer. In the end, there is a direct hint of a sequel, but most likely due to excessive thrashing, the animated series did not gain much popularity in the United States.
Plot is a thrash, and if you were expecting someone else from a cartoon with that name, that's your problem. We are immediately confronted with the fact that it is another planet, so no matter what wild northern fox is... you have to eat it. This frees the authors from knowledge of biology and physics, and the authors cope with the plot ... until the last series. Next we are waiting... I don’t know what to call it... maybe the writers switched to other drugs, and this is an example of the skeleton of a dragon that spits fire from the mouth, and where does the flame of the mystery come from. If you do not find fault with the details, then the cartoon is even interesting... yes, it is a bit banal and naive, but it was made for children, although sometimes it is far from childish themes.

Drawing - here are claims to it, high-quality, even too good for such a small budget. I found some similarities with Conan. The characters are well drawn, but with the villain I found a very great similarity of the face with a predator, which is quite strange. There are also several other characters that catch your eye.

Sound - the main theme is very epic, but they stick it wherever they can, so it starts to piss off. And in general, the problem is the lack of soundtracks. The original voiceover is good, but our localizers have a little messed up with the translation.
General impression - although there were small disappointments, but the cartoon caused only positive emotions. You can find 1,000 and 1 joint in it, but it claims nothing and immediately shouts "I'm thrashing, and viewing at your own risk." If you are a fan of cartoons from the 90s, then viewing is a must, if not... then at your own risk.
Score:

7 out of 10

(My impression is 10, but this is a thrash, and you need to evaluate adequately)

Light. Darkness. Two opposites of the universe, doomed to wage eternal war for the hearts and minds of living beings. Each party demands its share, but if you find yourself between them - what path will you choose? The first introduction of the narrator skull

This is one of the best animated series of the early 90s. As a child, I watched this series with passion, and I was not afraid of the fact that the main negative characters are skeletons. On the contrary, it fascinated me. Skeletons here are not served in order to create an atmosphere of horror, on the contrary - this cartoon is a good fantastic action movie. A distant world, laser weapons and swords, gravicycles, an empire of immortal skeletons, which is opposed by people who have not yet been defeated - the former inhabitants of the capital. Among other things, the notorious, now-deceased Tony J (who voiced a host of other cartoons and is also known as the Ancient God of Soul Reaver) as a golden, three-dimensional, narrator skull at the beginning and end of each series will give us his thoughts on this battle.

I will not lie - watching the animated series now, I found a lot of illogical moments, well, the animation sometimes limps, fortunately it all has little effect on the overall, positive, impression of the cartoon, good, you can make a discount:

1 – this animated series for children and children will be satisfied with it
2 - cartoon of the first half of the nineties, after all.

The drawing of the characters is wonderful – you can see that it is old, but not bad, people look like people, not freaks, which are easier to draw. In the skeletons one can feel all their malice, all their black madness, all their delight in being what they have become, and their contempt for those who are not like themselves. I can imagine how much effort artists have made to make every bone, every skull, every tooth they paint — it becomes nauseous.

The backgrounds are pleasing too. Look at the current drawing of modern "Transformers" or "Star Wars": “Clone Wars” – you want to cry, and look at the drawing of old cartoons – your heart is happy.

And in the skeleton warriors just great music – the opening screensaver will confirm my words.
The bundle is very good by modern standards, and in the 90s so in general:

The action begins on a distant planet, in the city of Lumincity. The source of strength and life for this city is the Crystal of Light, and after the death of the king, the protection of this shrine fell on the shoulders of the eldest son - Prince Justin. However, the younger son, Joshua, is full of envy for his brother, and this is used by the insidious Baron Dark, who served the king-father, striving for world power. With the help of his youngest son, he enters the Starlight Hall, where the crystal is stored, but Joshua suddenly realizes what a stupid thing he has done, but he realizes it too late. Justin and his sister Jennifer burst into the room. Here and there is a confrontation, as a result of which the crystal is divided into two halves, one of which is taken over by the baron.
But it’s not that simple – being divided – the crystal unleashed its power and rewarded each of those present with its power.

Prince Justin gained the ability to control the power of the crystal, releasing streams of energy directly from his hands.
Kind and responsive Jennifer found the gift of flying.

Evil Baron Dark was turned into an immortal skeleton - the essence that most suited the blackness of his soul.

And Joshua, who repented at the last moment, was turned into a half-dead man capable of passing through the shadows.
Should I watch this animated series? Definitely, yes. Children, adults - watch and enjoy a good cartoon. And I truly believe that after my review of this wonderful animated series, there will be at least a few more such positive ones.
8 out of 10

-2 points just because I've grown out of that age and time when these cartoons were unique in their kind.