00:00Welcome back, friends! How are you?
00:02And today's topic is about Bantan.
00:04If you're a kid from the 90s to 2000s just hearing,
00:07this name brings a special joy to your heart.
00:10Where Omnitrix is transformed into an alien and take down villains.
00:13Ultimate fantasy.
00:14At one time, this show was the king of Cartoon Network.
00:17It earned billions, won an Emmy, and then,
00:20after Ultimate Alien, it suffered such a downfall that I can't even describe it.
00:23And why did this show die?
00:26Today, we'll look at the entire story without missing any details.
00:30If you're a diehard Bantan fan, watch this video until the end.
00:33And this is Hero Time.
00:35So, friends, let's first look at the origin story.
00:40Bantan was created by a studio called Man of Action.
00:43These guys are comic book legends.
00:45Dan Can Royal, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, and Stephen T. Siegel.
00:49Their inspiration was tokusatsu genres like Power Rangers
00:52mixed with the swagger of Western comics.
00:55The story was quite simple.
00:56Ten-year-old Bun Tennis spends his summer vacation with his grandpa, Max,
01:01and his cousin, Gwen.
01:04One night, he discovers an O-Trix.
01:06It's a wristwatch-like gadget packed with the DNA of millions of alien species.
01:11Just by touching it, the band transforms into ten aliens.
01:14He blasts the king of fire, accelerate the king of super speed,
01:18and four arms who grants immense strength.
01:20There are many more amazing aliens.
01:23The first episode premiered on Cartoon Network on December 27, 2005.
01:27It was a 13-episode limited series that expanded into four seasons,
01:32totaling 49 episodes.
01:34Its budget was just $1.50 per episode.
01:38But its impact was immense.
01:41But-y immense.
01:42Now, let's see why it became so popular.
01:45First, its storytelling is so powerful I can't even describe it.
01:48And then, there's the magic of its merchandise.
01:50Bendis launched toys.
01:52Millions of Omnitex watches were sold, brother.
01:54Kids didn't study in school.
01:56They fought as aliens.
01:57And by 2007, it became a top franchise,
02:00surpassing even the Powerpuff Girls.
02:02Global deals began to happen.
02:04Clothes, video games like Benton, Protector of Earth are-
02:07And brother, this game is absolutely amazing.
02:09And a live-action movie was also made,
02:11Benton Race Against Time, which came out in 2007.
02:13Made on a budget of $3.5 million.
02:16It grossed $20 million.
02:17It grossed-
02:18And brother, it even received Emmy Awards in 2007
02:21for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation
02:23for Character Design.
02:24And in 2008, for Outstanding Sound Mixing.
02:28It was a hit in over 150 countries.
02:31And the series ended in 2008
02:33with Benton taking off his Omnitics
02:35and returning to a normal life.
02:37And fans and executives were demanding more sequels
02:41because it's a great show.
02:43I want to see more of its story.
02:45Everyone was saying that.
02:46And sequels come within this continuity.
02:51Benton has aged.
02:53He's now 15 years old.
02:55Benton Alien Force aired from 2008 to 2010
02:58and had 46 episodes.
03:00This story was set five years later.
03:03Benton, now 15, reunites with Gwen
03:07and they no longer fight like, like before,
03:09but fight aliens together.
03:11And they meet a new friend, Kevin Levine.
03:14He used to be a villain,
03:15but now he fights alongside the heroes.
03:18It was produced by Dewey McDuffie.
03:21For those who don't know,
03:22he's the comic legend from Justice League Unlimited.
03:24What idea?
03:25The show also featured some great arcs
03:28like the hybrid invasion.
03:29The fights were absolutely amazing
03:31and there's an episode called X equals bun plus two,
03:33which also featured a truly spectacular sacrifice
03:36aimed at a mature audience.
03:38To be honest,
03:39I don't think any other cartoon has featured
03:41the kind of storyline featured in Bent Alien Force.
03:46Then between 2010 and 2012,
03:48Bent Ultimate Alien came out
03:50and it took the story to the next level.
03:52It ran for 52 episodes
03:54and Bun was 16 years old
03:55and the ultimate trick would transform
03:57into the ultimate alien.
03:59For instance,
04:00watching that episode of Ultimate Humongousaur
04:02still sends a shivers down my spine
04:04as it's the ultimate humongousaur
04:05single-handedly taking down so many humongousaurs.
04:08It also featured a McDuffie touch
04:10and how can we forget the Gregor arc arc?
04:13Kevin Levine also becomes the villain in the finale,
04:15which is incredibly interesting to watch.
04:16The fight sequence between the two is absolutely amazing.
04:19And to be honest,
04:20for those anime lovers who say,
04:21look at this, look at this,
04:22I tell them to watch Brother Banton once a day once.
04:25He's done everything
04:26and then McDuffie dies of cancer in 2011,
04:29a huge turning point for the series
04:31because he kept the writing.
04:33Structured and grounded.
04:36Yeah, Dakini.
04:37This era earned another two to three billion.
04:41Before we get into the downfall,
04:43let's look at what I loved about it.
04:44I'd like to mention a few aliens that I really liked.
04:50First up is my favorite for ARMS.
04:53He wreaks havoc every time he appears on screen.
04:56Then comes Heat Blast.
04:58What can I say about him?
05:00This was the first transformation
05:01and this is where the entire story began.
05:03After that, the alien I really like is Diamond Seed.
05:06His swagger is on a different level
05:07and I really like the way it was connected
05:10to the Chroma Stone in Alien Force.
05:11And then there's another character
05:14whose appearance was aura-forming Web Big.
05:17You all remember the fight between Web Big and Bills
05:21and how he defeated him?
05:23After that, my favorite is Swap Fired.
05:26But how can we forget the most important character?
05:28He's truly rewritten the universe, Alien X.
05:30He hasn't made many appearances,
05:32but he possesses so much power.
05:35He'll destroy everyone,
05:36be it Boku, Superman, or anyone else.
05:39And one more thing I'd like to talk about,
05:41when Ben 10,000 first appeared,
05:43I felt a strong sense of urgency as a child.
05:46When I learned about his potential future,
05:48I honestly wish that if the focus had been on Ben 10,000
05:53instead of Omniverse,
05:53perhaps this downfall wouldn't have happened.
05:57Look, everything was fine up until this point,
05:59but after Ultimate Alien,
06:00it feels like the breaks have failed.
06:03Why?
06:03Because after that,
06:04the real heartbreak happened.
06:08The franchise's downfall began after 2012.
06:12Ultimate Alien is considered the last classic entry
06:14because it was followed by Omniverse.
06:16And personally,
06:17I don't like Omniverse very much, eh?
06:19The reason for this is because first,
06:21there was a creative shift.
06:23Cartoon Network tried to recreate
06:24the original classic style in a new animated style,
06:28but they failed.
06:30The old classic was just different, eh?
06:33And what annoys me the most
06:34is that the sudden art style change for Omniverse
06:37seems so ridiculous and weird
06:39that I can't even explain it.
06:40It was Oemile.
06:41I don't know why they did it.
06:43The backgrounds look fine,
06:44but the characters look completely strange.
06:47The scenes aren't bad,
06:48but they just don't feel like the original.
06:50I didn't like the art style
06:51because everything looks cartoonish.
06:53Yes, Ben Tennyson is an American
06:55Western action animated series
06:57about a teenage superhero
06:58protecting the world and the universe,
07:00but that doesn't mean
07:01it should be made entirely for children.
07:04That's why Omniverse was missing that character.
07:07Ignoring the art style is the hardest part for me.
07:10Honestly, I haven't seen much of Omniverse
07:12except for a couple of episodes.
07:14And the transformation scenes
07:15are absolutely ridiculous.
07:17Compared to the transformation scenes
07:19from 2005 or 2008,
07:21they were absolutely epic.
07:22Even the ones here don't match up.
07:25Another completely unnecessary aspect
07:27of this series is that Kevin and Gwen
07:28are no longer with Ben Tennyson,
07:30unlike in Alien Force or Ultimate Alien.
07:33With the advent of Omniverse,
07:34Ben and Rook have been made the main cast.
07:37Rook's addition is fine.
07:38He's a new character
07:39and fights alongside Ben.
07:40But removing Gwen and Kevin
07:41from the main cast
07:42honestly feels completely pointless.
07:44Yes, they both rejoin later,
07:46but Vi also falls apart.
07:48It just doesn't feel like Ben.
07:49I don't take Omniverse stories that seriously.
07:52Especially when Vilgax returned.
07:53Sometimes it felt cool,
07:54sometimes it didn't matter at all.
07:56And honestly,
07:56Vilgax wasn't portrayed very well in Omniverse.
07:59The way Benton was portrayed in Alien Force
08:01or Benton Classic,
08:02and the fight between Vilgax and Four Arms
08:05still gives me goosebumps.
08:07So,
08:07the character that should have been strong
08:09and terrifying here,
08:10it seems completely useless.
08:11Yeah.
08:12Yeah.
08:12Now let's talk about
08:14the biggest downfall of the reboot,
08:16which ran from 2016 to 2021
08:18and had 208 episodes
08:21and had...
08:22It was a soft reset for new kids.
08:24What can I say?
08:25The five alien chibi art
08:26looks absolutely ridiculous.
08:28And to be honest,
08:29Cartoon Network changed the animation style
08:31solely to sell merchandise,
08:33to sell new toys,
08:34and to create a refreshing atmosphere.
08:36But it turned out to be a huge
08:37loss-making venture for them.
08:39So, friends,
08:41Benton was an icon in the 2000s,
08:43but by 2021,
08:44it's in a terrible state.
08:46Verano.
08:47By the way,
08:47who's your favorite alien or character
08:49in Benton?
08:50Let me know in the comments.
08:52Until then,
08:53keep loving,
08:54keep watching movies.
08:55Aaaaaah.
08:59Aaaaaah.
09:01Aaaaaah.
09:03Aaaaaah.
09:04Aaaaaah.
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09:28Aaaaaah.
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09:30Aaaaaah.
09:31Aaaaaah.
09:32Aaaaaah.
09:33Aaaaaah.
09:34Aaaaaah.
