Dan Vs. Review

I've done lots of Cartoon Network review lately, so I decided I'd shake things up a bit. Dan Vs. is a cartoon created by Dan Mandel and Chris Pearson which is currently airing on The Hub. I watched a few episodes, then got sick of it and quit watching, but I just started watching again so I could review it. You guys don't even appreciate all the crap I go through for you!... Actually, that''s a lie. I have yet to review anything I dislike, and this show is no exception. Let's get started shall we?

Animation: B

Dan Vs. is a Flash animated cartoon, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I should probably say for those not in the know that Flash is software that makes animation considerably simpler and easier. Many cartoons these days that use Flash are beautifully animated, but if the animators aren't careful it can look stiff and choppy. While Dan Vs. has wonderful character design and a really cool aesthetic, it suffers from somewhat lazy animation. The animation isn't BAD. Don't get me wrong, this is no Johnny Test, but the animation just isn't as slick as it could be. Some of the movements, particularly in the background, are robotic and choppy.

Sound: A-

There's nothing for me to really complain about here. The music isn't anything special, but for a cartoon like this it doesn't need to be. It's seamless and never draws attention to itself, which is probably a good thing.

The voice work is pretty good. For most cartoons like this, the determining factor of whether the voices are good or not is whether or not the VA's are having fun. If they like the characters and they like the material, then they'll probably sound good. That's the case with Dan Vs. The VA's are talented and they have fun with it.

Writing: A-

The first season of the show had a fairly simple outline for each episode. This character with severe anger management, Dan, got revenge on something that annoyed him. Each episode followed the exact same formula, and while it was entertaining, it got boring very quickly. The second season however, changed things up. They broke away from the traditional formula and begin making episodes simply following Dan without a linear plot or a target for revenge every episode. I think the show benefits from the new formula, and it's very clever, but it still gets a little boring every now and then. It's the sort of show I can only watch every once in a while after my DVR is depleted of Adventure Time.

Overall: B+

This is a legitimately good show, and there are tons of references and jokes. It's not quite as entertaining as some of the other cartoons on TV nowadays, but it's a pretty good watch with some really funny material and likable characters. If you're bored and you see the title while channel surfing you should definitely check it out.

So yeah! If you have something you want me to review, or if you want to tell me what a horrible reviewer I am, then please say so in the comments.