I wasn't crazy about the static animation at first, but it looks like a very good series so far. Good acting;except for the guy playing captain America, and its a pretty cool,slick show altogether. A good story following the classic story line, but updated to current events. It's nice to see a more adult oriented animated series as well, with realistic action and political views. Good action, a little bit of blood and violence without overdoing it. Some interesting crossovers as well a good mix of villains and hero's. The marvel universe is very well represented by this work. I love the representation of a strong, independent, advanced African nation.
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woodyrtw-111 March 2010
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Rectangular_businessman16 March 2012This was a decent and well done animated series. Even when the plot of this isn't something incredibly complex or deep, it was very entertaining to watch.
I liked a lot the artwork, and the limited style of the animation reminded some of the old '60s Marvel Superheroes show (In other words, it feels more like a motion comic rather than an actual animated series, but I don't have any problem with that. This isn't at the same level as the great motion comic "Broken Saints", tough.)
The voice acting is good, and the overall plot kept my interest from beginning to end. It won't be the best animated adaptation of one Marvel comic, but it was interesting anyway. -
middtenn12 February 2011Art style was great but the animation style leaves something to be desired. The voice casting did a great job. Actors provided a living feel to all the characters. I was impressed with the selection of the villains. This story is definitely adult oriented. Storyline has such depth and complexity. I enjoyed how the story did not become a predictable, canned retelling of the origin of the Black Panther. The strong African nation that resolves it's own destiny is excellent. Unfortunately to end the story with such one sided politics shows poor judgment for a story that should have remained non-partisan. Still would recommend watching 98% of the movie.
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WeAreLive20 February 2019While I wasn't found of this show originally but after watch the movie I decided to appreciate it more.
While I have mostly watched DC motion comics for the first time me watching a marvel motion I would say it was fairly good.
The story could have had at least one more episode or so because I didn't like the cliffhanger it had.
Voice acting was good but Black Panther's voice sounded very off.
Pretty good overall. -
steven-22210 February 2011This is the best superhero feature, animated or live-action, that I've seen in years. Though presented as six TV episodes, it's all one story...and what a story! A beautifully complex narrative of stories-within-stories ranges over vast time and space to convey the myth of Wakanda, the untouchable warrior kingdom of Africa, and its hereditary leader, the Black Panther, even as the present-day story steadily builds to a gripping final half, with Wakanda under attack by enemies on all sides. Along for this roller-coaster ride: Storm and the X-Men, Juggernaut, The Black Knight, Captain America, a scary Condoleezza-alike, and even President O himself.
The politics here will be controversial; this is an intelligent, funny, highly nuanced attack on imperialism of all stripes, from the White House to the Vatican. (So far as I can tell, although this was produced by BET/Viacom, it never seems to have actually aired on BET, and I'm betting the reason is the politics. I'd love to know the full story about this.)
The artwork is terrific, and the presentation is somewhere between regular animation and a highly evolved motion comic. I found the effect always interesting, sometimes awesome.
This movie kept me on the edge of my seat every minute. Superb! -
AnnaPagrati29 March 2022While I love these original comic book stories, straight from the source, even animation wise, these Marvel Knights segments aren't my favorite to watch, great Black Panther story though!
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jjer-801-69728725 July 2010I thought this series was excellent! When is it coming to TV or DVD? Great storyline, great use of the motion comic animation style (using John Romita's artwork), GREAT choice in the voice actors. I can't wait to see what they do with this series next!
They need to adapt this into a movie, using the voice talent as the actors. Djimon Hounsou?! Kerry Washington? Jill Scott?! This is cinematic gold!
I have never seen an animated series like this. Way to go, Reginald & Co.!
This needs to be on TV somewhere -- BET (I'm guessing they helped develop it from the production credits) or Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.
WOW. That was great. Google it! -
ThunderKing625 March 2019Very decent and engaging Marvel Knights. If you're a Panther fan or a marvel knight enjoyer this will be a likeable show.
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For a series that sets it self apart so distinctly from other superhero cartoons, this was excellently done. I found the art style to be a different approach than the typically style. However, the strong storytelling and placement of Black Panther in the Marvel Universe was spectacular. What stands out most in this classic story is not Black Panther himself, but the Civilization and people of Wakanda. This is a story about a people never conquered that maintained in cultural heritage while developing advanced technology. This is the dream of many people who have been separated from their home, to have never been separated and stood strong in the midst of oncoming assaults, even if the charge is led by Captain America. I was sad there was only 6 episodes. All I wanted was more.
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Amari-Sali8 September 2013I discovered the existence of this cartoon on Tumblr and found myself shocked that one of the few characters left for Marvel to bring to the big screen had a cartoon released in 2010, in Australia, and 2011 on America's BET, and I knew nothing of it. What makes this even the more interesting is the fact a lot of well-known African-Americans and the would-be real life Black Panther Djimon Hounsou, take part in this production. I'm glad I found out it existed though for the 6 episodes in the series were really something.
To begin, let's go over story. Over the 6 episodes the show established the mysticism of the Black Panther and the land he reigns over known as Wakanda. The Black Panther is as a symbol for an almost Atlantis type civilization which finds itself far beyond the technology of the outside world with their thanks being to the spirit of the great panther. Naturally though, the story doesn't focus on the history of Wakanda and its growth into a small, but well known, almost superpower. Instead, it seems almost like a cartoon made for High School level kids to teach about colonialism, the exploitations and manipulation of the African continent, while presenting entertainment.
For me, that was the most pleasantly surprising bit about this movie. As much as it was entertaining with its own, sort of, unique animation style, it also presented history in a way which wasn't tedious to watch. Now, of course it doesn't go deep into the issues of apartheid, as well as Europe and America's exploitation of the African continent, but it does touch on the issues in such a way which makes you really feel like they went as far as they could with this show. Which also includes a bit of violence. Now, the violence isn't Quentin Tarantino level, but it does feature people getting dismembered and there is blood. It isn't graphic enough though that a teenager growing up in this day and age couldn't handle it.
But, the show does have some issues. For one, the African-Americans actresses: Kerry Washington, Jill Scott and Alfre Woodard do African accents which sound strange, but remind you that you don't really know what anyone from a country on the African continent would sound like. Also, be it because it is a cartoon or the occasional off writing, the show has bad jokes/ puns scattered throughout the series which ever so slightly take away from the coolness of everything. But besides those few issues, and the fact it is left on a cliff-hanger with no season 2, there isn't anything majorly wrong about this series.
Overall: Go Watch It
The Black Panther is one of the few major Black, though technically African, superheroes there are. With that, he pretty much gets neglected outside of the comic book world. Yes, there have been hints in the Marvel movies and there is the rare pop up in the cartoons, but considering the only cartoon featuring people of color, at least that I know of, is The Boondocks, it doesn't hurt to have options. I just wish between BET and Marvel, there would be some type of agreement for a season 2. This is definitely a potentially controversial series, but considering BET had for years honed solely on urban music until competition from TVOne and others came about, this is the type of series you'd think they would invest in to try to reestablish themselves for Black Entertainment and not simply just urban entertainment. -
While there are only six episodes, each one lasts 18 minutes. That means if your watching a DVD of this, there are less interruptions by constant titles and credits like other Motion comics have.
There are several cameos like Captain America, Storm and Cyclops but you can tell they were added to help sell the product to a particular demographic. None of them serve any purpose to the overall plot.
In episode 2, there is a scene in a brothel, and a line up of girls with one being chosen and taken into the back room, and murdered. It was completely unnecessary and was the start of this shows decline for me.
The show had its moments. Enough for me to watch it until the end, but it is not something I will ever watch again.
The animation style was better than all the other motion comics I've watched, with moving backgrounds at times. It has great audio, music, voice acting and lighting. But when my review is about such things and not the plot, it shows how low the bar is for motion comic shows.
As for the plot, its a full arc story but they really did stretch it out. I was bored by the second episode, waiting for the bad guys to get ready. Wakanda showed very little to demonstrate why it was more powerful than anywhere else and they had lots of flashbacks which while more interesting than the main story, is a problem in itself. I feel four episodes could have told a much tighter story that would have been more entertaining to watch.