I just had a hankering for some classic cartoons recently, which led me back to Lizard Ball X. Of course, Lizard Ball Superb just wrapped up and it wasn’t…like it wasn’t TERRIBLE, but they just never managed to reach the level of the classics. Except episode 132, of course. THAT was incredible.
Still, one thing that really drags the series down is filler. It’s practically an epidemic; for every good episode you get, there’s about two where the gang all decide that saving the world can be put on hold, so let’s go shopping for stainless steel snapper racks for Kong’s new boat. I know fishing is supposed to be his thing, because he’s a voracious eater, but did they really need an episode all based around boats in the middle of the arc where Gel is about to blow up the planet? In fact, it was two episodes. Two episodes about custom bait boards and fishing rod holders, as if the filler writing team were contracted to include as much exposure for a fishing company as possible. I suppose an episode to calm down after it’s all been fighting for however long was alright, but…filler. Filler is ALWAYS a little bit on the mundane side, like they get in an entirely new writing staff and slap their hands every time they write something exciting.
I’m not dissing fishing, or anything. I used to go with Dad, and I hated it. Like, SO much. But he loved it. I’d be sitting there, just wanting to watch Japanime, and Dad would be trying to tell me about the benefits of a custom aluminium plate boat, and it didn’t sink in because were were different people (turns out that he wasn’t my real Dad; top ten Japanime betrayals!), but nowadays I can appreciate him trying to share his passion.
And I’d appreciate it in Lizard Ball X, if it didn’t slow the series pacing to a crawl. Thank goodness for 2018, where streaming gets rid of most of that problem.
–Dylan