Did like Season 1 of 'Be Cool Scooby Doo' on the whole, it took a while to find its feet fully in terms of the plotting and some of the character writing but the energy and humour on the most part were great and there were plenty of cool villains. When though it hit its stride in the second half of the season, with its more consistent quality and higher number of great episodes, the season at its best was quite great despite the animation style never being to my taste (which sadly only saw marginal improvement in Season 2).
"How to Train Your Coward" is another wildly enjoyable episode of the much more consistent Season 2. Mystery-wise, there may be stronger episodes of 'Be Cool Scooby Doo' (not that it's bad though, just that there are better). However, when it comes to the humour "How to Train Your Coward" is one of the funniest. And when it comes to the character writing, it is one of the most entertaining and illuminating where all of the gang shine in some way (especially for Scooby and Shaggy).
There is actually very little to be critical, though didn't care so much for that it was so easy to figure out nearly straight away who the culprit was in an episode with such a low suspect count.
Still don't care for the animation as well and honestly never have with the show, even when the show itself improved massively. It is too rushed and garish looking and too many of the characters are off model.
On the other hand, "How to Train Your Coward" works really well everywhere else. The villain is very cool and is both entertaining and creepy. The setting, one that has always been done well in Scooby Doo, is very atmospheric and colourful. The gang are so well caracterised and interact well, while the voice acting is great. The music is groovy and atmospheric and the mystery never lets go when it comes to the energy without being too relentless. The quirkiness and spookiness are very well done, without the episode going over the top on either or focusing too much on one and not enough on the other.
Absolutely loved the character writing here, some of the show's best. Daphne and her trombone quirk (not overdone or too repetitive, which has sometimes been the case with the show's running jokes), Fred and his contract and Velma's line about not doing this in 47 years were great individual moments. Shaggy and Scooby teaching the replacements how to use disguises was a hoot, the tricking of the villain was extremely clever and it was interesting to see what Shaggy and Scooby's roles were in the gang. The supporting characters are every bit as good as the gang, Shaggy and Scooby's replacements are a delight and Sheriff Boone has some truly hilarious lines in a very smartly and heavy in humour script.
Overall, very enjoyable. 8/10.
"How to Train Your Coward" is another wildly enjoyable episode of the much more consistent Season 2. Mystery-wise, there may be stronger episodes of 'Be Cool Scooby Doo' (not that it's bad though, just that there are better). However, when it comes to the humour "How to Train Your Coward" is one of the funniest. And when it comes to the character writing, it is one of the most entertaining and illuminating where all of the gang shine in some way (especially for Scooby and Shaggy).
There is actually very little to be critical, though didn't care so much for that it was so easy to figure out nearly straight away who the culprit was in an episode with such a low suspect count.
Still don't care for the animation as well and honestly never have with the show, even when the show itself improved massively. It is too rushed and garish looking and too many of the characters are off model.
On the other hand, "How to Train Your Coward" works really well everywhere else. The villain is very cool and is both entertaining and creepy. The setting, one that has always been done well in Scooby Doo, is very atmospheric and colourful. The gang are so well caracterised and interact well, while the voice acting is great. The music is groovy and atmospheric and the mystery never lets go when it comes to the energy without being too relentless. The quirkiness and spookiness are very well done, without the episode going over the top on either or focusing too much on one and not enough on the other.
Absolutely loved the character writing here, some of the show's best. Daphne and her trombone quirk (not overdone or too repetitive, which has sometimes been the case with the show's running jokes), Fred and his contract and Velma's line about not doing this in 47 years were great individual moments. Shaggy and Scooby teaching the replacements how to use disguises was a hoot, the tricking of the villain was extremely clever and it was interesting to see what Shaggy and Scooby's roles were in the gang. The supporting characters are every bit as good as the gang, Shaggy and Scooby's replacements are a delight and Sheriff Boone has some truly hilarious lines in a very smartly and heavy in humour script.
Overall, very enjoyable. 8/10.
