(Season #2 starts with the Episode “Pookachimp)

For as far back as I can remember, I’ve always been a huge fan of zombies. Some people see zombies as shambling, disoriented, brain hungry freaks. But not me,I try to put a positive spin on things. In my eyes, zombies are misunderstood, goal oriented underachievers. And being a fan of the New York Mets, do I know me some underachievin’. On the flip side of the coin is ninjas. I’ve never respected ninjas. If you’re gonna take a guy out, let him know you’re there and God dammit don’t kill him while you’re wearing those ridiculous flip flops. There’s a reason the female reproductive organs (or PUSSY, for us normal folks) is referred to as “ninja foot.” Because ninjas are in fact, pussies. Just know that this paragraph is my personal feeling and has no direct correlation to the show. But if you give me a soapbox, damn sure I’m gonna see how it feels standing on it!

I guess the logical place to start here how the show looks. Being stop motion, it has the usual clunky and quirky feel of Robot Chicken and all the claymations of yesteryear. Which is all well and good because I know how much effort goes into the process of making StopMo. And it’s definitely a ballsy move to go with an old school animation style considering all the technology we have at our disposal. So there’s that. The characters are pretty much as basic as you can get, which is also fine considering the style. Their movements, however, are impressive to watch. Some StopMos seem extremely rushed when it comes to action sequences. Let me tell you, quick cuts will only get you so far and most of the crappy animation cant be fixed in post. So when I say that the StopMo here is impressive, you best believe you’re looking at some of the best in the business. The sets are really basic. Painfully basic. 7th grade science class diorama basic. But again, it lends itself well to the show. That’s one thing I really enjoy about ZvN, consistency.

The sounds in this show are really spot on as well. The voice acting is able to give nondescript action figures wearing masks a sense of individuality. Most shows can’t give a character emotion when you can see their full friggin face! When speaking of emotion, you tend to break it down into sub-genres, like horror and humor. Clearly this show focuses more on the latter than the former. The jokes are pretty decent, but nothing truly Earth shattering. Although the Pookachimp gave me a good couple of laughs. And the invisibility potion that revealed a Lego and an 18-wheeler shoved up noses was pretty clever too. Conveying emotion with masks AND while invisible?That’s some damn fine vocal help right there. Being set in the zombie apocalypse and based primarily in a laboratory, there is no shortage of sound effects. All of which are perfectly timed and pertinent to the situation.

I guess the only thing I could point out that really needs to be worked on is the design. I’m not a big fan of flashy shows. I enjoy the DIY look of ZvN, but a little refinement of the characters and sets wouldn’t hurt. Maybe toss in a few more jokes, but again, I’m perfectly content with what you’re giving me so far. The show’s run time is on the money, not too long. Just enough to get the job done and keep my ADD-filled noggin fully focused. That’s all I really can nitpick here. I like Zombies vs Ninjas, and you should too.

Mid Season Score – (8/10)

Follow me on Twitter (@chefrichBB) or I’ll find you and refer to you as a ninja foot.