So, I watched this series with somewhat of a detachment from the franchise. I grew up in the prime of the original series, but I wasn't allowed to watch it. I finally saw the first four series a few months ago and I loved them. I know the reboot was sorta bad news, but morbid curiosity got me.
This series isn't as good as the original, no. But I'm not gonna run around blinded by my (non-existent) nostalgia for the series and claim this is the worst thing ever. With that said, I see why no one really gave it a chance. It was very mediocre in its first season. The common comparison to the Powerpuff Girls reboot is inaccurate. PPG'16 was mediocre at best and really offensive with a lot of really bad political takes shoehorned in at worst. The most controversy the Ben 10 reboot really has to offer is that it's not as good as the original.
The art style is a mixed bag to me. I like it on the aliens. I think they are very cute and it makes me smile when I see them. But also, I can't call this my ideal take on the series. I think this style would've worked better as some shorts, similar to how many shows today have additional chibi shorts. The human designs on the other hand? I don't like most of them. They're too generic and seem like they can easily fit into Powerpuff girls 2016. The only major exceptions are Ben and Gwen, where I'm honestly okay with them looking so childish. When the villains (and I mean the big, overarching villains) appear, there's a nice juxtaposition here between the villain's sharp, jagged lines, and Ben and Gwen's round shapes. It makes you feel a sense of danger, like a wolf staring down a kitten. The actual animation, which is a separate thing from the art style, mind you, isn't too bad. Some episodes seem lower budget and seem off. Others actually have pretty decent action. This show is an action comedy, not in the same sense as Teen Titans Go. TTG uses its superhero origin as a mask to call it action. This show actually has full fight scenes. I am so grateful this is done in frame by frame and not flash. Finally, this is something no one ever really brings up, but the shot composition can be very off at times. There are emotional scenes, and while I do think they're solid, they could've been way better if more dynamic shots were used, more dramatic lighting, and even just more moments of silence so the audience can better process things and the characters can be shown emoting more.
Season one was mediocre. It wasn't anything amazing. But it wasn't terrible. I have a terrible sense of humor, so it did get a chuckle out of me every once in a while, but that's about it in terms of comedy. The fight scenes are adequate. To this series' credit, Ben and Gwen interacting doesn't make you want to tear your hair out. Honestly? I don't think this series deserved so much hate. It's a downgrade, sure, but it was harmless. I do see why no one gave season one a chance though, because it has very little to offer up until the finale. The finale begins to show promise of something more in terms of story. Season two continues to show promise and has a handful of slightly more serialized episodes. I was actually feeling really hopeful. It still had a lot of meh episodes just like season one, but there was hope. I honestly think some of the villains were handled with a lot more complexity than the original series. My only gripe is that they were seemingly far less threatening. I really wish there was a nice middle ground. Season three upped the antsy and a lot of those episodes are serialized. Even a lot of the filler would have a small plot development or a sweet emotional scene. The mediocre episodes continued to appear, and they were frustrating now than ever because they broke up the overarching story, but they appeared far less. Sometimes the filler was even fun to watch. I honestly enjoyed this season.
So imagine this: I'm riding on a high. Season three pulled itself together. The upcoming movie looks solid at least. Season five is said to be completely serialized. Season four is gonna be good, right? Season four was a massive letdown. This season isn't over yet, so maybe I'll change my tune, but with six episodes left, and everything this season feeling the most toy commercial driven of any season, my hopes aren't high. It hasn't fallen quite to season one levels, there are still some decent episodes, but it's just really disappointing to see the quality take a step back down and everything go episodic again.
It got better. It really did. It had good episodes. But it was all buried under so much mediocrity. I think Cartoon Network really shot themselves in the foot with this one. Especially on season four. This show wasn't worth all the hate. It's just very benign, especially when compared to PPG'16 or TTG. It isn't better than the original, not by a long shot, but it has posed some ideas that are better than the original, and would've been had it been properly executed. Fingers crossed the movie and final season will be decent.
Would I recommend it? Not really. It really depends on your BS tolerance, sense of humor, etc. I went in open minded. Enjoyed some of it, felt indifferent other times. It's worth giving a chance, but not a must see. If you do give it a chance though, start off with the season one finale, season two's multiparters, then look at Wikipedia for what season three episodes to choose.
This series isn't as good as the original, no. But I'm not gonna run around blinded by my (non-existent) nostalgia for the series and claim this is the worst thing ever. With that said, I see why no one really gave it a chance. It was very mediocre in its first season. The common comparison to the Powerpuff Girls reboot is inaccurate. PPG'16 was mediocre at best and really offensive with a lot of really bad political takes shoehorned in at worst. The most controversy the Ben 10 reboot really has to offer is that it's not as good as the original.
The art style is a mixed bag to me. I like it on the aliens. I think they are very cute and it makes me smile when I see them. But also, I can't call this my ideal take on the series. I think this style would've worked better as some shorts, similar to how many shows today have additional chibi shorts. The human designs on the other hand? I don't like most of them. They're too generic and seem like they can easily fit into Powerpuff girls 2016. The only major exceptions are Ben and Gwen, where I'm honestly okay with them looking so childish. When the villains (and I mean the big, overarching villains) appear, there's a nice juxtaposition here between the villain's sharp, jagged lines, and Ben and Gwen's round shapes. It makes you feel a sense of danger, like a wolf staring down a kitten. The actual animation, which is a separate thing from the art style, mind you, isn't too bad. Some episodes seem lower budget and seem off. Others actually have pretty decent action. This show is an action comedy, not in the same sense as Teen Titans Go. TTG uses its superhero origin as a mask to call it action. This show actually has full fight scenes. I am so grateful this is done in frame by frame and not flash. Finally, this is something no one ever really brings up, but the shot composition can be very off at times. There are emotional scenes, and while I do think they're solid, they could've been way better if more dynamic shots were used, more dramatic lighting, and even just more moments of silence so the audience can better process things and the characters can be shown emoting more.
Season one was mediocre. It wasn't anything amazing. But it wasn't terrible. I have a terrible sense of humor, so it did get a chuckle out of me every once in a while, but that's about it in terms of comedy. The fight scenes are adequate. To this series' credit, Ben and Gwen interacting doesn't make you want to tear your hair out. Honestly? I don't think this series deserved so much hate. It's a downgrade, sure, but it was harmless. I do see why no one gave season one a chance though, because it has very little to offer up until the finale. The finale begins to show promise of something more in terms of story. Season two continues to show promise and has a handful of slightly more serialized episodes. I was actually feeling really hopeful. It still had a lot of meh episodes just like season one, but there was hope. I honestly think some of the villains were handled with a lot more complexity than the original series. My only gripe is that they were seemingly far less threatening. I really wish there was a nice middle ground. Season three upped the antsy and a lot of those episodes are serialized. Even a lot of the filler would have a small plot development or a sweet emotional scene. The mediocre episodes continued to appear, and they were frustrating now than ever because they broke up the overarching story, but they appeared far less. Sometimes the filler was even fun to watch. I honestly enjoyed this season.
So imagine this: I'm riding on a high. Season three pulled itself together. The upcoming movie looks solid at least. Season five is said to be completely serialized. Season four is gonna be good, right? Season four was a massive letdown. This season isn't over yet, so maybe I'll change my tune, but with six episodes left, and everything this season feeling the most toy commercial driven of any season, my hopes aren't high. It hasn't fallen quite to season one levels, there are still some decent episodes, but it's just really disappointing to see the quality take a step back down and everything go episodic again.
It got better. It really did. It had good episodes. But it was all buried under so much mediocrity. I think Cartoon Network really shot themselves in the foot with this one. Especially on season four. This show wasn't worth all the hate. It's just very benign, especially when compared to PPG'16 or TTG. It isn't better than the original, not by a long shot, but it has posed some ideas that are better than the original, and would've been had it been properly executed. Fingers crossed the movie and final season will be decent.
Would I recommend it? Not really. It really depends on your BS tolerance, sense of humor, etc. I went in open minded. Enjoyed some of it, felt indifferent other times. It's worth giving a chance, but not a must see. If you do give it a chance though, start off with the season one finale, season two's multiparters, then look at Wikipedia for what season three episodes to choose.