Wanted: Adventurous Cartoons
October 2, 2018 8:25 AM   Subscribe

I just sailed through Transformers: Prime, and I'm currently digging the 2012 iteration of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Help me find more TV shows to scratch this itch for adventure.

As I'm in denial about Adventure Time ending—and as respite from everything being on fire—I've found TV a particularly effective form of self-care. I'm looking for hivemind recommendations on what I haven't seen yet. What I've especially liked has some mix of the following elements:

- Action/adventure-oriented with solid character moments
- A fairly clear conflict of Good vs. Evil (I'm willing to bend on this)
- Interesting mythos/world-building
- Generally serious but not grimdark, leavened by humor
- Has a good sense of continuity/trajectory
- Animated strongly preferred; live-action welcome

Shows along these lines that I've enjoyed aside from those mentioned: Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra, Voltron: Legendary Defender, Steven Universe, any Marvel or DC '90s superheroes, Marvel's Netflix stuff.

What else am I missing? Thanks!
posted by xenization to Media & Arts (14 answers total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: The Dragon Prince, by Avatar's head writer, Aaron Ehasz.

Targeted at a somewhat younger audience, Hilda, by Luke Pearson, who storyboarded a few Adventure Time episodes.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 8:32 AM on October 2, 2018 [1 favorite]


Best answer: On Prime: Niko and the Sword of Light, Samurai Champloo, InuYasha, Trigun
On Amazon: Over the Garden Wall
On Netflix: The Dragon Prince, Trollhunters, Hilda
posted by jillithd at 8:35 AM on October 2, 2018 [1 favorite]


Gravity Falls!
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:39 AM on October 2, 2018 [5 favorites]


The new Duck Tales?
posted by Clustercuss at 8:50 AM on October 2, 2018


Sailor Moon
Macross
posted by like_neon at 8:57 AM on October 2, 2018


Fullmetal Alchemist is a very popular anime set in a fantastic reimagining of the turn of the 20th century where alchemy has developed into a kind of scientific sorcery. The main characters are two teenage brothers on a quest to reverse the damage they suffered to their bodies in their disastrous attempt to resurrect their mother with alchemy. There are two versions available on Netflix, and the one called Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is widely considered to be superior.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 9:08 AM on October 2, 2018 [2 favorites]


Cowboy Bebop (dubbed) is still very remarkable work. I have been rewatching it on FunimationNow and it reminds me of how it pretty much helped prime me to enjoy all what too listed above.
posted by yueliang at 9:21 AM on October 2, 2018


Best answer: Came to say Trollhunters as well!
posted by dpx.mfx at 10:47 AM on October 2, 2018 [1 favorite]


If anime is of interest, I'd add Last Exile to the list. It checks against all the things you're looking for, though perhaps more a right vs wrong than good vs evil vibe to it, and even that's a bit off, but where the ambiguity is more in not seeing others as evil rather than showing all as morally gray. It's on youtube dubbed, but the dub is actually solid, with a couple really nice performances so that's not an issue. (It's also on Crunchyroll subbed if that would be your preference.) With each episode is split into three youtube videos.

The description from the linked wikipedia page:

The story is set on the fictional world of Prester, where its inhabitants use aerial vehicles known as vanships as a means of transportation. On this world which is divided in eternal conflict between the nations of Anatoray and Disith, sky couriers Claus Valca and Lavie Head must deliver a girl who holds the key to uniting the two factions. Although Prester itself is not a representation of Earth, it features technology reminiscent of nineteenth-century Europe at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Many of its designs were also inspired by Germany's technological advances during the interwar period.
posted by gusottertrout at 10:57 AM on October 2, 2018


I was just going to say that you want anime. There are scores of new shows every three months. There's a back catalogue of excellent adventure stories of all sorts. "Adventure Time" / "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and the likes are paltry to the depth and scope of world adventure-y stuff you can find.

Be prepared to enjoy subtitles because dub's sound stupid.

Your choice of animated worlds full of adventure are limitless.
posted by zengargoyle at 3:36 PM on October 2, 2018 [1 favorite]


It's pretty long in the tooth at this point, but "Gargoyles" (S1 and S2 anyway.. just pretend S3 is not a thing) was my gateway drug to anime and other more serious animated fare. Unsure if it's on Youtube, but I bet it is...
posted by Alterscape at 6:59 PM on October 2, 2018


Sadly I fear Gargoyles while once on YouTube no longer exists as Disney has moved to their own DisneyStreamingService which is why you won't get new StarTrek/StarWars on random streaming sites any longer....
"IT'S ALIVE, ALIVE!! ... I've always wanted to say that." R.I.P. It used to be on YouTube.... now it's just snippets or roll of the dice.
posted by zengargoyle at 10:44 PM on October 2, 2018


+1 for Trollhunters and The Dragon Prince and Avatar

Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated is honestly one of our favorite series. My husband and I watched it twice. It's AMAZING.
posted by Crystalinne at 1:45 AM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]


She-Ra is coming out in November and it looks awesome!
posted by jillithd at 2:04 PM on October 4, 2018


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