Quivering Quasars!

I’m catching up on Ulysses 31 after not having seen it since I was, like, three years old. It’s actually really good. Seriously awesome stuff happens in it. Like, Ulysses has a fucking laser-gun-sword. I mean. That’s awesome. It’s nicely structured and only occasionally borders on silly. It’s pretty sophisticated. It’s got actual long-shots, and lingering shots on characters’ faces to show emotion. I may sound like I’m being sarcastic, but you don’t get that stuff in cartoons these days.

I don’t think it’s as good as Mysterious Cities of Gold; it doesn’t have the charm, and the characters aren’t anywhere near as strongly realised. But, it is more focussed than Mysterious Cities, and suits the episodic format a little better. (But MGoG will always rule my heart…)

I’m one of those people who bang on about how shite cartoons are these days. But I don’t think kids can HANDLE THE AWESOME of stuff we had back when I was growing up. Also parents/the government would go batshit over something as cool as a laser-gun-sword. (You know it).

  1. As I recall, it was quite dark too, as his crew were all more or less dead (yes, I know they were “sleeping” but in such a way as they couldn’t wake up) for most of the series.

      • Kate
      • August 20th, 2010 11:02am

      It was pretty dark! But then I guess the old stories it was based on were hardly bundles of giggles, hehe!

    • mrphoenix
    • August 15th, 2010 8:51pm

    Dammit, I LOVED Ulysses 31! I thought it was the perfect blend of corny french fashion and trippy japanese design, plus i loved all the space revisions of the greek myths etc. There were some really beautifully poetic moments that I’ve never really seen any other cartoons do. Where are you watching it?

      • Kate
      • August 20th, 2010 11:04am

      Oh hey Woodrow! How’s it going? :) Oooh yeah, I love the old European-Japanese collabs so much, shame we don’t really get any these days!
      I’m watching the box-set, I got it 2nd hand off eBay! Wooo!
      Oh, now you mention it, Yumi does look quite mature, haha! Let’s… pretend it was one of those episodes in which she grows up… ^^

    • mrphoenix
    • August 15th, 2010 8:55pm

    ps that’s a very mature looking Yumi!

  2. It was great wasn’t it? I was similarly inspired by rose tinted 80s nostalgia to do this:

    http://www.hftf.co.uk/?p=1502

    The giant robotic James Joyce is not Ulysses 31 canon, as far as I know

      • Kate
      • August 20th, 2010 11:05am

      Hey, that’s awesome, I love it, haha!

  3. YAY!!! I love ulyses so much so much=’D whattan awesome anime, i just love trhe look of 7o’s anime =’D this is drawn beautifuly and i feel the colours you chose are brighter than the oriignal and fitting to your style, nice and soffft =)) put on our blog , you must!! http://fanartindisguise.tumblr.com/ <3 haha xD //denji btw lol!

      • Kate
      • August 20th, 2010 11:05am

      It’s a gorgeous cartoon, ain’t it?! :D
      Ooh, I would like to put it on your blog :D I’ll give you an email later! :D

    • Bill
    • August 29th, 2011 7:24pm

    Very good cartoon, has some complexity and dark themes.

    A poor man’s Mysterious Cities of Gold though, it’s ‘kiddier’ (I use that term VERY loosely) and easier to get into.

      • Kate
      • September 12th, 2011 5:20pm

      I definitely agree! I don’t think anything can top MCoG for me, at least…! U31 is great fun, but it’s not on the same level :)

  1. August 15th, 2010