The Top Five Most Underrated Cartoons

In recent years, animated cartoons have seen a resurgence within the United States. Once a media regulated for just children, more and more cartoons with adult-directed themes and humor are being created. Still, shows are often given a timeslot on a television station aimed to younger audiences and stereotyped as having lower quality. Thus these gems go largely unnoticed. While there are too many cartoons that fit this criterion to name, here are five of my favorite underrated cartoons:

(NOTE: These are not my five favorite cartoons, they are simply the five I feel do not get the credit they deserve. There will be spoilers in my favorite episode parts.)

Samurai Jack - From helping 300 Spartans fight an army of self-regenerating robots in an epic battle to finding a rabbit who stole his clothes in the nude in a hilarious chase, Jack does it all in the future. The show incorporates amazing action sequences while at the same time keeping a humorous atmosphere. Camera angles range from wide-screen to split-screen to just about anything else one can think of. Gennedy Tartakovsky created a show way beyond its time that should appeal to all ages and genders.

Favorite Episode - The Princess and the Bounty Hunters - With a high price on his head, Jack is pursued by a team of bounty hunters led by a princess in a Samus-esque disguise. The entire episode focuses on the bounty hunter's planning to capture their samurai foe, only to be foiled in less than thirty seconds by a unfazed warrior.

Batman Beyond - The first thing everyone thought when this show was announced was that it would be far inferior to its prequel series, Batman: The Animated Series. While it was not as big of a success or as good of a show as its parent series, Batman Beyond was a terrific superhero show in its own right. The show excelled by allowing the new Batman to fight his own, unique super-villains while facing Bruce Wayne's old foes now and then. Most importantly, the show never tried to deny its link to the original series.

Favorite Episode - Out of the Past - An old flame of Bruce Wayne's, Talia, shows up with an enticing offer. It took a while for the writers to bring Ra's Al Ghul into the fold, but when they did a great episode was created.

Gargoyles - Forget the horrific third season and you are left with one of the best Disney original cartoons of all time. Gargoyles has a terrific cult following and for a good reason. Not only did the show draw on many myths and stories, including MacBeth, King Arthur and many more, to build its plot, it also created characters viewers generally cared about. Indeed the strength of the show was the bonds the main heroes of the show shared with each other.

Favorite Episode - Upgrade - Never mind that this episode featured the Gargoyles facing a team of technologically advanced mercenaries, the plot excelled when dealing with the rivalry between the younger members of the Gargoyle clan.

Outlaw Star - Outlaw Star is the only anime I will include on this list and really is the only anime I have ever enjoyed. The show itself consisted of merely one season of twenty-six episodes. Still there was something to love about a group of newly formed space outlaws fighting an overwhelming empire. And the show had more plot in twenty-six episodes than many an anime like Dragon Ball Z does in eighty episodes.

Favorite Episode - The Seven Emerge - The Seven itself refers to a group of highly trained assassins employed by the evil emperor. The first of these seven encounters our lovable gang in this episode. After single-handedly defeating all five of them, the seemingly evil villain fakes his own death and states his desire to become an outlaw himself.

Ducktales - I put this show on the list because it has a special place in my heart. I grew up watching this show. This show inspired me to read various literary classics by incorporating their stories into episodes. Look at cartoons today and most of them depend on cheap laughs and low morals. Not Ducktales. This is the type of show that kids should grow up watching and because of that it will always be on my top-five cartoons list. Take advice from me, buy the DVD sets for your kids.

Favorite Episode - Home Sweet Homer - A loose adaptation of Homer's Odyssey, this episode deals with Uncle Scrooge and gang being brought to the year 1100 and helping a young hero named Homer defeat an evil witch named Circe.