Animtated Fiction: Sym-Bionic Titan

Sym-Bionic Titan

Promotional poster with the main cast and titular robot. Courtesy of  tvtropes.org.

There is a strange but unavoidable truth of television that even shows that are entertaining, well-written and well-presented are not immune to early cancellation. Regardless if the show has a dedicated fan-base, the decision is ultimately up to the powers that be of the channel hosting the show. While low ratings are normally what kill a television program, who would have thought that “legitimate” reason to kill a good show would be lack of merchandising. The show I am referring to is Sym-Bionic Titan. An animated science fiction series created by Genndy Tartakovsky, who worked on shows such as, Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, and the 2-D short series of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Aired on Cartoon Network on September 17^th, 2010, the show ran through an entire season before being canceled on April 9^th, 2011. As a result, there has been a huge outcry among the show’s fan base, enough to dedicate their own Facebook page in order to rally a response in order to get Sym-Bionic Titan renewed for another season. While Genndy has an big reputation in creating very unique, interesting and well thought out animated shows, does Sym-Bionic Titan deserve all the hype it has been given? Is this a show that has been cut way too quickly? Let’s take a closer look and find out.

Writing: The story of Sym-Bionic Titan centers around two humanoid aliens, Princess Ilana, Corporal Lance and their robot companion Octus as they escape from their war-torn world of Galeluna. Landing on Earth, the group decides to blend into human society in order to keep enemy forces from finding and killing the Royal family’s heir. However, General Modula, the primary antagonist of the show, continues to send alien monsters to Earth in the hopes of destroying her and Galeluna’s last hope. To combat this threat and protect earth, Lance and Ilana’s robotic armor combine with Octus to create the Sym-Bionic Titan. While this is the basis for the plot, the real heart of the story is the three main characters adapting to human society, or more specifically high school.

It is in these parts of the show where the time spent on the show’s writing truly shines. The way they have depicted high school life and social hierarchy feels very reminiscent of material written by the late John Hughes. To me personally, I feel it is a more accurate representation of my high school life than in most live action shows aired on Nickelodeon and Disney Channel.

 The main characters and even the side characters are fun to watch and sympathetic. For example, one of the side characters, Kimmy Meisner, is introduced as the captain of the Sherman High cheer squad. Very first impressions depict her as a stereotypical cheerleader (at least how they are normally represented in media) selfish, cruel and looks down on anyone who isn’t considered popular. However, as the season progresses you get to see another side of her and it is revealed that her bad attitude in the beginning is a result of peer pressure and the idea that she will never be more than popular. A side story made even more interesting when she and Octus’ human alter ego, Newton, start dating. It is also fun to see some of the show’s humor is based on high school interactions and misconceptions. For example, Lance who has a brooding and loner demeanor is immediately popular among his new classmates, whereas Ilana who is a kind and an upbeat activist is considered an unpopular doofus. The main cast goes through a lot of development through the first season, from strangers forced to live together to a close family. Lance, for instance, becomes more comfortable living on earth and Octus begins to face an identity crisis between his robot programming and his new human identity. Ilana on the other hand remains the same for most of the episodes personality wise, but has her own share of conflicts, from fitting in at school to worrying about the state of Galeluna and her father. This is only scratching the service of what this show has to offer in terms of writing and in my opinion is an extremely creative story that could easily be compare to a lot of popular fiction today.

Animation: People who have seen Genndy’s work should be familiar with his animation style in terms of character design. Yet, Sym-Bionic Titan seems to taken that style and amped it up ten-fold. The action sequences are nicely choreographed in both 2D and even 3D animation. Having both 2D and 3D in the same frame can be very tricky to pull off seamlessly but, I am very happy to say that the 3D effects that are applied to the giant robots and vehicles in the show works perfectly side by side with the 2D environments, characters and even monsters. The backgrounds such as Sherman high school look like something out of a picture book and made me feel a combination of pleasure and nostalgia from my own high school. That being said, there are a few flaws I noticed. Some of the battles between Titan and the monster of the episode can be very destructive, one in particularly explodes and wipes out a whole section of a city. While the destruction is carried over into the next episode, there is no mention to how many lives could have been lost or the main cast’s feelings on how they need to keep battles away from populated areas. These fights also tend to be a bit gruesome. Some of the monsters confronted are defeated by being blasted apart, dismembered or even beat to death  (complete with green blood splattering). With this kind of graphic content, I would understand why a lot of parents would be upset if their five year old was watching (The target audience of this show is more for teens than kids).  Along that line there has been at least one moment between Kimmy and Newton that probably raised a red flag with a lot of adult viewers. 

However, to Genndy’s credit, I applaud him for being bold enough to take a chance like this. A scene like this shows how Kimmy, as a character, has been taught to view herself. Yet despite Sym-Bionic Titan pushes the envelope for what can be accepted in an animated show, it also took chances and in my opinion succeeded with something that isn’t normally used in an action series, musical sequences.

Here is one from the exact same episode as the earlier clip.

Imagine my surprise watching this show to suddenly hear “Space Age Love Song” by Flock of Seagulls. These little montages are few but they leave an impression. I also want to applaud the soundtrack choice since all of the songs used in this series have been well selected. Music works well with the animation on screen providing a near flawless presentation.

Timeless: Can Sym Bionic Titan be considered a timeless animated show? Yes and no. There are a lot of qualities about the show that can appeal to the older crowd, namely the high school hijinks. People who also enjoy big fights with giant robots and grew up watching shows like that would also find it appealing no matter their age. That being said some of the modern cultural references may not still hold up a few years from now. For example, one of the jokes used in one of the early episodes is based on text abbreviations, such as "HTF" (Hold the phone, misspelled for humor) and using them instead of actual saying a full sentence. While we find this funny today, there is no way of knowing if this going to remain as funny as technology changes. Same goes for a plot point in a following episode where all the students in the school use their phones as weapons to destroy an attacking monster. Despite this, I feel that there is a lot about this show that would make it enjoyable for years to come, even if it never moves beyond the first season.

In conclusion, I give Sym-Bionic Titan 2.5 out of three as a solid piece of animated fiction despite its occasional flaws. This is hands down Genndy Tartakovsky finest achievement and it was a shame it ended when it did. Check it out for yourself and see what you think. If you have seen the show and want to support a new season, check out the "Save Sym-Biotic Titan" facebook page. Another way to support the show’s creator is by going to see  Hotel Transylvania, which he is the director of. I may not be a huge Adam Sandler fan but I am definitely seeing this movie to give Genndy my support.