Not quite among Cartoon Network's all-time best shows(Dexter's Laboratory, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Johnny Bravo, Powerpuff Girls, Cow and Chicken). But in recent years, alongside Regular Show, Adventure Time and the first three Ben 10 series- Omniverse is a huge disappointment- it is one of their better shows in recent years, The Amazing World of Gumball is also mostly great apart from some weak writing early on. Young Justice isn't quite perfect, the season 2 finale does feel too convenient and incomplete and not all the voice acting was quite there; Brent Spiner is nowhere near sinister or insane enough as Joker, too restrained, Kevin Michael Richardson is over-parted and all his characters sound exactly the same(Mal Duncan is the worst case), and while Nolan North has times where he is right on the money at others he is not powerful or heroic enough as Superman.
The rest of the voice acting though is fabulous, all the Young Justice team are voiced with depth and a great dynamic. Even if Jesse McCartney does start off a tad too lightweight for Nightwing he does mature, as Robin and Dick Grayson he is spot on. Bruce Greenwood is pitch-perfect as Batman, he doesn't erase memories of Kevin Conroy but is suitably dark and brooding. There are no complaints to be made of Vanessa Marshall and Maggie Q as Black Canary and Wonder Woman, and Phil LaMarr is a good Aquaman. For the villain roles, Miguel Ferrer, Oded Ferr, Mark Rolston, Keith Szarabajka, Danny Trejo and Arnold Vosloo are particularly good, though all except for Joker are good. The secondary characters are memorable, the likes of Phil LaMarr, Tara Strong, Edward Asner, Crispin Freeman, Jeff Bennett Geoff Pierson and Cree Summer are without fault. G. Gordon Godfrey is annoying in a way and the only character who isn't (intentionally) likable, but Tim Curry voices with such adept smarmy drollness and sinks his teeth into Godfrey's monologues.
But it's not just the voice acting that makes up and comes across strongly in Young Justice. The animation is great here, somewhat anime in look but colourful, detailed and atmospheric, when it calls for it to have a serious approach- and there are numerous cases of that- it does so very effectively without being overly so. The fluidity of the backgrounds and character movements and how dynamically the colours and shadings are used are to much admired. The music has a feel and orchestration that suits the tone perfectly without making too serious or upbeat, with some beautiful and haunting moments. There's nothing cheesy or forgettable about the theme tune either(unlike other Cartoon Network shows like Ben 10: Omniverse and Johnny Test, how is that show still airing?)
From a writing and narrative standpoint, Young Justice also scores. The dialogue is very thought-provoking and intelligently written, doing a great job at giving the characters depth and complexity and also with an ability to provide emotional depth and a some subtle humour. The story lines are always compelling and succeeds in drawing us into the world the characters live in, there is great atmosphere and the action is exciting and well-animated. It is true that narratively the first season is better than the second, the second season was still interesting and well done on the most part if not quite as well-developed and focused in tone. The characters really make the show work, Robin and Speedy stand out in the Young Justice team though all of them have likable and resourceful personalities. Batman, Black Canary, Wonder Woman and Aquaman come off best in the Justice League, and you even root for the fun and charismatic villains especially Vandal Savage and Ras'Al Ghul.
All in all, a terrific show and it is a shame that it was cancelled- maybe its erratic scheduling got the better of it- because it did have potential to have more and the ending of season 2 did suggest that somewhat. 8.5/10 Bethany Cox
The rest of the voice acting though is fabulous, all the Young Justice team are voiced with depth and a great dynamic. Even if Jesse McCartney does start off a tad too lightweight for Nightwing he does mature, as Robin and Dick Grayson he is spot on. Bruce Greenwood is pitch-perfect as Batman, he doesn't erase memories of Kevin Conroy but is suitably dark and brooding. There are no complaints to be made of Vanessa Marshall and Maggie Q as Black Canary and Wonder Woman, and Phil LaMarr is a good Aquaman. For the villain roles, Miguel Ferrer, Oded Ferr, Mark Rolston, Keith Szarabajka, Danny Trejo and Arnold Vosloo are particularly good, though all except for Joker are good. The secondary characters are memorable, the likes of Phil LaMarr, Tara Strong, Edward Asner, Crispin Freeman, Jeff Bennett Geoff Pierson and Cree Summer are without fault. G. Gordon Godfrey is annoying in a way and the only character who isn't (intentionally) likable, but Tim Curry voices with such adept smarmy drollness and sinks his teeth into Godfrey's monologues.
But it's not just the voice acting that makes up and comes across strongly in Young Justice. The animation is great here, somewhat anime in look but colourful, detailed and atmospheric, when it calls for it to have a serious approach- and there are numerous cases of that- it does so very effectively without being overly so. The fluidity of the backgrounds and character movements and how dynamically the colours and shadings are used are to much admired. The music has a feel and orchestration that suits the tone perfectly without making too serious or upbeat, with some beautiful and haunting moments. There's nothing cheesy or forgettable about the theme tune either(unlike other Cartoon Network shows like Ben 10: Omniverse and Johnny Test, how is that show still airing?)
From a writing and narrative standpoint, Young Justice also scores. The dialogue is very thought-provoking and intelligently written, doing a great job at giving the characters depth and complexity and also with an ability to provide emotional depth and a some subtle humour. The story lines are always compelling and succeeds in drawing us into the world the characters live in, there is great atmosphere and the action is exciting and well-animated. It is true that narratively the first season is better than the second, the second season was still interesting and well done on the most part if not quite as well-developed and focused in tone. The characters really make the show work, Robin and Speedy stand out in the Young Justice team though all of them have likable and resourceful personalities. Batman, Black Canary, Wonder Woman and Aquaman come off best in the Justice League, and you even root for the fun and charismatic villains especially Vandal Savage and Ras'Al Ghul.
All in all, a terrific show and it is a shame that it was cancelled- maybe its erratic scheduling got the better of it- because it did have potential to have more and the ending of season 2 did suggest that somewhat. 8.5/10 Bethany Cox