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While browsing Netflix last week in search of a new show to watch I came across Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir. In short: I was super pumped! I had heard a lot about this show as someone who is a fan of of the Disney XD shows Star Vs. The Forces of Evil and Gravity Falls. I was also introduced to this show before it was ever released. A few years ago, my friend Cara showed me an anime trailer for this show because she was really excited for it (and she thought that cat noir looked beautifully gay in his costume). I had tried to catch the show on Nickelodeon, its American home as well as on their streaming site but I hadn't had any luck so I gave up until I found it on Netflix. Such a lovely surprise!
Going in, I didn't know much about the show to be honest. I just knew that it was about a crime fighting duo in France called Ladybug and Cat Noir and it looked pretty cool. I was a little embarrassed at first to be so excited about this show because let's be honest - upon first glance it does seem like its pretty childish. Not any sort of mortifying embarrassment, just the amount from admitting as an adult woman that I occasionally watch My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. But nevertheless, I delved in with an open mind and was pleasantly surprised.
Yes, Miraculous can be a little cheesy at times but it is cheesy in the best way. It is a French 3D CGI animated cartoon that collaborated with the Japanese company Toei Animation (responsible for the likes of Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball).
It is about a girl named Marinette Dupain-Cheng (no not Marionette, Marinette) who has a huge secret - she can transform into a crime fighting magical girl called Ladybug complete with a spandex red with black spots bodysuit and an eye mask. Her partner (of which she does not know his actual identity, nor him hers) Cat Noir is none other than her crush Adrien Agreste. A man named Hawk Moth is shown hiding out in a dark tower surrounded by butterflies; he is their nemesis. Hawk Moth is bent upon stealing Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculouses (a miraculous is what the source of their power is called), in the process he dispatches Akuma; butterflies that deliver dark power to someone suffering from anger. These butterflies posses their target and feed upon these feelings, then uses them to transform the person into an evil super villain to rein destruction upon Paris. It is up to Ladybug and Cat Noir to stop these Akuma all the while saving the person possessed.
I am just about halfway through season one (season two is hopefully coming out this year) and although I haven't finished it yet, I really wanted to share my thoughts so far. I will first start with the good - what I like about this show and what it is doing right.
As a person, Marinette is also a wonderful character. She is intelligent and seems to do well in school (when she doesn't skip out to fight evil that is) and she seems to have aspirations in fashion design. She is ambitious and has an idea of what she wants in life. Sure, she has a crush and wants love but she has other wants in life and she goes for them. Christina Vee who voices her in the English dub (also known for her work as Sailor Mars in the Viz Sailor Moon dub) does an amazing job.
Another characterization that I really like is Cat Noir/Adrien. Cat Noir is funny and charming. He is a goofball that doesn't take himself too seriously. He is confident without being egotistical and he treats ladybug with respect. Sure he flirts a lot but he never disrespects her, most importantly he never disrespects her for being a female superhero. He never acts like she needs to be protected or saved which I really appreciate. He treats her as his equal. My favorite part of Cat Noir is his endless amount of puns. As someone that tells mom jokes (my specialized sense of humor, which essentially are dad jokes but I'm not a dude), I really get a kick out of his jokes. It makes me laugh every time he calls Ladybug "bug-a-boo" or makes a cat pun. It also doesn't hurt that an anime voice actor I love, Bryce Papenbrook (Kirito in Sword Art Online, Eren in Attack on Titan, Masaomi in Durarara, and Rin in Blue Exorcist) voices him.
Cat Noir I thoroughly enjoy, but Adrien I think really adds a sort of unique perspective to the show that I think is good for children. He is a model, but he isn't egotistical or stuck up. He is kind and isn't mean to anyone just because he is in magazines and is popular. I think this is an important message to children that watch the show. He also portrays the life of a neglected child/teen.
His father, Gabriel Agreste isn't a good father. He doesn't spend time with Adrien, favoring his work as a fashion designer over his own son. The man is extremely stoic and cold not to mention controlling. Adrien can't really do much of anything without his father's approval. His father's assistant Natalie is often cares for Adrien. On Adrien's birthday he couldn't be bothered to even purchase a gift himself or spend time with his son. He was extremely against him having a party to celebrate his birthday as well. Adrien laments a lot about how he feels about his father never being there for him especially since his mother had died. Though this is a sad story to tell, I feel like it is a good thing. It will help to give children in similar situations something to relate to and maybe feel a little less alone.
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| Alya |
Miraculous does a great job at including different races too. Just because the show is set in France, it doesn't mean that there are all Caucasian or strictly European looking characters. Marinette herself is half Chinese; her father is French while her Mother is Chinese.Next there is Alya Cesaire, Marinette's best friend. Alya has darker, brown toned skin that seems more so on the tan side. There is also Nino Lahiffe, Adrien's best friend. Neither's character has had their race or ancestry specified but it is refreshing to see some diversity.
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| Nino |
Now onto the bad part - the things I dislike about this show and the things wrong with it.
One major complaint that I have with this show is that there is no introduction. There may be more information towards the end of the series or even some OVAs but what is troubling to me is that we get no explanation at the beginning of the series about how Ladybug and Cat Noir came to be. We are just expected to accept things as they are with no reasoning. Who is Hawk Moth and why does he want the other miraculouses and why does he want to defeat Ladybug? How did Adrien and Marinette come into their powers? One of the best parts of a magical girl anime is the heroine's discovery of her powers and this is completely missing from Miraculous. Also - the fact that there are other miraculouses hasn't been explained (or isn't until later in the season), I only know that there are more thanks to the fandom.
The next thing that I have a problem with is lack of character development. As the show goes on I am not seeing any sort of development in character. I expected to see Marinette possibly gain courage around her crush, or maybe Ladybug and Cat Noir to trust each other more - even strengthen their powers. But there is none of that, everything remains the same. Another thing that irks me is the repetativeness. It is indeed a "monster of the week: type show like how Sailor Moon became at times. It is overly repetative though down to all of the catchphrases and lines which never seem to be said differently. At least in Sailor Moon we get different tones. But lines like "Pound it" and "Bye bye little butterfly" never seem to differ to me. This show is said to have been made so that each episode stands alone but that isn't a good tactic for a show. Even shows such as Steven Universe and Adventure Time, especially Adventure Time which were meant to have random episodes eventually grow into plot. This show has so much promise, it could be exceptional if it stuck to some plot and development.
Anyway, that is all I really can think to say about the topic. If you want to see for yourself, check out Miraculous on Netflix!
Xoxo
Heather Zombie
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