Review: MARVEL DISK WARS: THE AVENGERS aka AVENGERS POKEMON

Avengers Assemble!

Right up front, I'll admit that I probably had the same thoughts most everyone had when hearing the premise of Disney Japan's latest attempt to expand the Marvel franchise into the Japanese market; AVENGERS POKEMON sounds crass, banal, and more than a little stupid.  Now, having watched the show, I am going to convince you otherwise...it's still crass, banal, and more than a little stupid in that it's an obvious marketing ploy to sell an addictive Pog-like game to little kids...but it's also smart, fun, and really nerdy!  I actually sort of love it.

 MARVEL DISK WARS: THE AVENGERS is a co-production between Disney  Japan, Bandai (who produce the tie-in game), and Toei Animation (who produce the show, and are famous as the studio that also produced DIGIMON, DRAGONBALL, and SAILOR MOON), and overseen by Marvel "talent scout", CB Cebulski, who's is known for his love of Manga and anime and has done international outreach for Marvel in the past, such as convincing Tsutomi Nihei (BIO-MEGA, BLAME!, and my favorite KNIGHTS OF SIDONIA) to write and draw a really bizarre Wolverine mini-series in the early 2000's, putting Kia Asamiya on X-MEN, etc.  As such, it's a very Japanese show, and made to appeal to a Japanese aesthetic, marrying the tropes of shonen (boys) adventure to the Marvel characters; and it's a marriage that works.

 
 

WARNING: Spoilers Follow