Anime Profile: Eon Kid

Eon Kid, a CGI animated television show, is a joint production between Korea, Spain, and the United States. Sorry fellow anime fans, but Japan was not involved in this one, though some anime influence is noticeable. It takes place in a futuristic setting, where sentient robots are the norm and some evil guy wants to rule everything. Luckily, the show has a hero with the drive and spirit to take on any challenge... even if he is currently unaware of this fact. But hey, give him a break, he's only an 11 year old boy after all! He's got plenty of time to grow into it....

Unfortunately, circumstances to force poor Marty to start embracing his destiny sooner than anyone would have liked. A young girl named Ally ran away from her father, Duke Von Rhymer (remember that evil guy I mentioned earlier...), and she winds up running into Marty. Marty and his dad give her a place to sleep for the night, but fearing that the goons her father sent to find her would put her new friends in danger, she decides to take off. Marty follows, they come under assult, and eventually wind up in an underground cavern where Marty's annoying robotic dog, Buttons, finds a cool-looking robotic arm. Well, turns out it's actually a glove, and it practically fuses itself to Marty's arm.

And it's a good thing, too, as it provide Marty with the superhuman fighting power he needed to get them out of their sticky predicament. But on the down side, the thing won't come off! Could you imagine been forced to wear a giant metal glove all day and all night? I sure would make sleeping difficult, and what about showers? I bet that arm would get pretty ripe. But all that's nothing compared to the trials Marty, Ally, and Buttons are about to face, when Marty's father is captured and they trio are forced to go on the run by themselves, being chased by not one, but several teams of bad guys.

Besides Duke Von Rhymer and his lackies, there's also some robot called Black Beauty chasing after them, a biker gang, a team of thieves (I think they are organic beings, but I'd be hesitant to call them human...), and since there is a bounty out on their heads, you can expect to find bounty hunters around every corner. Phew! Thankfully, our underage troupe also has the luck of meeting some fine, upstanding individuals who end up helping them out on their journey, such as George, a retired robot boxer who now hauls cargo on his semi truck.

The art did not strike me as anything fantastic. I know it's styleize and isn't supposed to look realistic, but it just feels as if I've seen better CGI in some videogames. The characters seem more like dolls to me, with stiff hair that doesn't move and non-fluid facial expressions. The story is intriguing, I just wish they could have done a better job on the art. Oh, and I also HATE Marty's robot dog, Buttons. He is sooooo annoying! Almost every time Buttons shows up on screen I wish Marty would just deactivate him, chop him up, and throw him in a scrap heap. Buttons is supposed to serve as the comic relief, but he isn't funny. Not in the slightest.

The show originally aired in the US on September 22, 2007, and the first five episodes are coming to DVD on August 12, 2008. The DVD will also contain a photo gallery, an extended trailer, and a downloadable mini-poster.