Kef's Cartoon Recommendations -- ONE PIECE and FOSTER'S HOME

[Khephra]

FOR IMAGINARY FRIENDS.


Two new (or new to the US in the case of ONE PIECE) cartoons have impressed me recently, and I'd like to introduce you to their concepts in the hope that others here might enjoy them as well.

ONE PIECE is either just starting or starting soon on Fox Saturdays. Each episode has a story that begins and ends with each episode, but they're also part of a larger story. It's a translated anime and one of the most original and fun animated shows I've seen in ages. It's 90 plus episodes long, so get ready for a long ride. Believe me, you'll enjoy it. While it's like a lot of anime in terms of style, its pirate storyline offers something different than most of the anime and American cartoons.

Here's the basic plot:

Years ago, the fearsome pirate king Gold Roger disappeared, leaving a huge pile of treasure and the famous “One Piece” behind. Whoever claims the “One Piece” will be named the new pirate king. Luffy D. Monkey, a boy who consumed the “Devil’s Fruit”, has it in his head that he’ll follow in the footsteps of his idol, the pirate Shanks, and find the One Piece. It helps, of course, that his body has the properties of rubber and he’s surrounded by a bevy of skilled fighters and thieves to help him along the way.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/reviews/display.php?id=321

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FOSTER'S HOME FOR IMAGINARY FRIENDS

By Craig McCracken, the creator of THE POWERPUFF GIRLS, FOSTER'S is a wonderful show that is fun for both adults and children alike. Imagine a mix of "WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE" , "THE ADDAMS FAMILY" and the animated "BEETLEJUICE" and you'd have FOSTERS. It's wonderfully weird and touching at the same time.

It's on the Cartoon Network several times on the weekend with a new episode premiering each Friday night. The show started only a few weeks ago, so you haven't missed much if you start watching now.

PLOT:

THE STORY


In this world, imaginary friends become real the instant a kid thinks them up. Everyone can see them, everyone can talk to them—but what happens when a kid outgrows his friend?

Then that friend is welcome to Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, the adoption center, owned by old Madame Foster, that provides a home for them, until a child, in need of an imaginary friend, who can't think their own up, comes to adopt them. One such friend, there, is Blooregard Q. Kazoo, the creation of 8-year-old clever, yet shy Mac, who's mother tells him he's too old for Bloo. Though Bloo felt that "adoption is not an option", Mac convinced him to stay long enough that, after a sinister plan devised by self-centered Duchess fails, Mac proves his loyalty. Moved by his loyalty and pure imagination, Madame Foster, herself, states that Bloo may stay at Foster's without ever having to worry about being adopted. In return, all Mac has to do is visit every day. This isn't a problem, considering that Mac would rather spend his after-school time with Bloo and all the other wacky friends, than at home, with his 13-year-old stupid, bullying brother, Terrence.

Every day, thanks to Bloo's crazy scheming, the gang end up in wacky adventures that involve mall hectics, toothpaste-covered stone busts, laundry chute jumping, and much, much more. True to its motto, Foster's is, definitely, "where good ideas are not forgotten." Craig McCracken, creator of the Power Puff Girls, presents a brand new Flash animated Cartoon Network original with some of the best friends you can think of.