An animated series adapted from Marvel's comic book stories, X-Men brings to life a diverse team of mutant superheroes as they strive to maintain peace in a world rife with dangerous threats and divisive sentiments.
The compelling character designs and numerous intriguing settings are perhaps the show's greatest assets. Themes such as ostracism, loyalty, community and teamwork are powerfully portrayed. There is a good balance between single-episode plots and multi-episode arcs, with the former serving to narrate anecdotes and develop backgrounds while the latter present longer adventures with higher stakes. Even if individual stories are largely independent, characters do grow and develop over the course of the series and there are a multitude of references and callbacks to prior happenings written into the script. Other laudable aspects include the plethora of cool action scenes, the fantastic opening theme and the superlative voice acting.
However, X-Men does have some notable deficiencies. It can become a little repetitive, especially since too many of its storylines set humans against mutants with little added justification. Time travel as a tool to alter the future is also overused. Some nemeses like Apocalypse and Mastermold are rather one-dimensional, rendered all the more underwhelming by the apparent invincibility of the heroes. The romantic segments are by and large terrible, feeling contrived and out of place. Lastly, the animation is also beginning to show its age with the limited catalogue of visual effects being particularly apparent.
Despite these lacunae, watching X-Men still makes for a fun rompy ride, bringing along with it a heavy dose of nostalgia. Lovers of episodic superhero escapades are sure to be entertained by this delightful 90s creation.
The compelling character designs and numerous intriguing settings are perhaps the show's greatest assets. Themes such as ostracism, loyalty, community and teamwork are powerfully portrayed. There is a good balance between single-episode plots and multi-episode arcs, with the former serving to narrate anecdotes and develop backgrounds while the latter present longer adventures with higher stakes. Even if individual stories are largely independent, characters do grow and develop over the course of the series and there are a multitude of references and callbacks to prior happenings written into the script. Other laudable aspects include the plethora of cool action scenes, the fantastic opening theme and the superlative voice acting.
However, X-Men does have some notable deficiencies. It can become a little repetitive, especially since too many of its storylines set humans against mutants with little added justification. Time travel as a tool to alter the future is also overused. Some nemeses like Apocalypse and Mastermold are rather one-dimensional, rendered all the more underwhelming by the apparent invincibility of the heroes. The romantic segments are by and large terrible, feeling contrived and out of place. Lastly, the animation is also beginning to show its age with the limited catalogue of visual effects being particularly apparent.
Despite these lacunae, watching X-Men still makes for a fun rompy ride, bringing along with it a heavy dose of nostalgia. Lovers of episodic superhero escapades are sure to be entertained by this delightful 90s creation.