I just watched the Young Justice premiere, and it definitely lived up to expectations. Cadmus was suitably creepy, and I love, love, loved the way they didn't just throw Superboy in, but actually showed Robin/Kid Flash/Aqualad rescuing him from the cloners. I actually sat up and squealed. It was completely unexpected.
I also enjoyed the continuity set up. No one-off episodes here! Good use was made of the comics--the Guardian was not only present but featured, and J'onn J'onzz has his modern look. This is a more mature cartoon, and thank god for that. I was beginning to think we would never get back to the feel of the BTAS and JLU cartoons.
That isn't to say that this is as utterly wonderful as the old DC Animated Universe cartoons. Young Justice lacks the subtlety of the DCAU. No subtext here. It is definitely aimed at an 8-13 year old audience, and it is a bit oversimplified. The Justice League is portrayed as overprotective jerks, and all the characters are pretty one-dimensional, except for maybe Aqualad.
As for casting, its mostly pretty good, especially for the adults. Robin sounds a little street-kid for Dick Grayson (I'm assuming that he's Robin, though it's never said), and Superboy is too deep-n'-macho for a teenager. The characters are strange in the first few minutes, mostly due to Speedy's sudden and inexplicable temper tantrum. It makes sense if you know the comics, but in context its completely out of place.
Kid Flash is probably my favorite character. He's got excellent lines, both by him and about him ("Speedy isn't Flash's sidekick? That makes no sense."). He offers a nice balance in an episode that could go to the bad side of strange and creepy very quickly.
Warner Bros. new anime-leanings are on show here, and I felt they worked very nicely. It wasn't crazy-Japanese, nor was it identical to the DCAU style. A good blend, overall. The monsters looked good, and Robin and Kid Flash had very nice character designs. Miss Martian was also good, but she only got a minute of screen time so there wasn't a good chance to look her over.
The only thing that I thought was outright strange was Aqualad's weapon, which was basically an knockoff Green Lantern ring, except in the form of two guns. I haven't seen the new Aqualad, but I didn't think he had that weapon. Guaranteed, he isn't really that much of a threat without it, but I was thinking he'd go more the Tempest-water-sorcery route.
Overall, this was a nice if clunky beginning. It isn't up to the level of Justice League, though, not even the pilot of that show. I think that the characters and plot were a little to simple. I'd like to see more depth, multiple plot threads, and actual motivations for characters. I'm hoping that further episodes exceed this one and this is just the stumbling of a new show, and not a trend.
Overall: 8 out of 10
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