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kamikazetiger

I watched Conan the Adventurer!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT3cl4GJIDs

So, you know when you remember a cartoon you watched when you were a kid and you get sad thinking it sucked that it didn't have an ending? It was very common for cartoons of the 80s or 90s for them to be canceled or be finished before a proper ending. There are many cartoons from those times that I watched and liked but Conan the Adventurer would make it into my top 10.

That's why when I heard a few months ago that actually yes it had an ending, I was very surprised! I knew I had to check it out so I started to watch that cartoon from start to finish. It was true! Conan was lucky in ways that I wish other cartoons like The Pirates of Dark Water were, as it at least got an ending.

Now, what exactly is Conan the Adventurer?

Taken from the wiki: "Conan the Adventurer is an animated television series adaptation of Conan the Barbarian, the literary character created by Robert E. Howard in the 1930s.[1] Produced by Jetlag Productions in association with Sunbow Productions, the series debuted on September 13, 1992, ran for 65 episodes and concluded on November 22, 1993."

As for the plot of the cartoon, once again taken from the wiki:

"Conan lived in Cimmeria with his parents throughout his childhood. While out with his grandfather one night on a trek, "fiery tears" or meteors dropped from the skies. Conan collected them and brought them back to his family. Conan's father, the village blacksmith, used the ore from the meteors to forge Star Metal and used it to create various tools and weapons that would never rust or break or dull. He sold them, but his finest work, a magnificent sword, he kept for Conan. It was laid in a crypt and covered over with a heavy stone slab. Conan's father told his son that only when he was "man enough" (i.e., strong enough) to push off the stone slab, could he rightfully claim the sword.

Meanwhile, the evil Serpent Man wizard Wrath-Amon learned of Star Metal and that in addition to its strength that it possessed the power to open portals between dimensions. He thus sought Star Metal to release his deity Set from "the Abyss" to which he long ago had been banished by the combined powers of virtually every living wizard then on Earth for trying to enslave the human race. As part of his search, Wrath-Amon sought out Conan's family. Conan's father told Wrath-Amon that he had sold all of the Star Metal, but the wizard refused to believe it. The wizard was right for aside from the sword, it was revealed in a later episode that Conan's father had hidden pieces of Star Metal with other villagers. Wrath-Amon used the spell of living stone upon Conan's family.

Conan by then had gone to claim his Star Metal sword to attack Wrath-Amon and his followers. When the Star Metal sword got near Wrath-Amon, it disrupted his magic and showed his reptilian face. To this, he said "Those who see the true face of Wrath-Amon must perish!" (this scene is similar to one in the film). Having chased away the wizard, Conan then turned to his family and swore in the name of their god Crom to find a way of releasing them from the spell.

Conan's adventures thus begin as he searches Hyboria looking for a way to cure his family and free the land from Wrath-Amon's rule. Wrath-Amon's henchmen are also shapeshifting Serpent Men. When Conan's Star Metal sword is close enough to them, it broke the spell that disguised them and revealed their true form to be Serpent Men. When Star Metal made contact with the Serpent Men, it banishes them to the Abyss with Set. Spies and agents of Set and Stygia, many of them also Serpent Men, were present in many cities, nations and tribes throughout the land in the age of Conan.

As compared with the original Conan stories and the Marvel Comics such as King Conan, Conan Saga, Conan the Barbarian and Conan the King, the cartoon Conan displays a higher degree of modern morality. While the original Conan is a thief, a killer, and a philanderer, the cartoon Conan has more in common with sword-wielding children's cartoon characters such as He-Man. At one point, he refuses to join a pirate crew on the grounds that it is wrong to steal, he refuses to strike unarmed or defeated opponents. He is a kind and caring character, albeit a little naive, who stands up for his friends and what he sees to be right and is very respectable. The show also reduced the violence of the original to levels deemed suitable for the younger target audience, deliberately making the Serpent Men "banished" with any touch of the heroes' weapons rather than actually struck. "

I never read his comics before or since, but speaking only about the cartoon I absolutely like it. It aged MUCH better than I hoped for, so much so that I can recommend it today easily for any fans of the best stuff from the 90s.

The OST is ok overall, though the theme song is the best one. Even if I do think there are other cartoons from that time with better themes...and OST.

Imo the action and the characters are what makes Conan the Adventurer. You won't see Conan slay a random bandit and see blood everywhere, but it is...believable, most of the time. You won't see the kid-friendly bs they did with He-man for example! Many times Conan used his sword to defend himself and attack his enemies, even doing so unharmed at times. And he isn't the only one as he found friends to join his cause and stop Wrath-Amon.

Each of his pals is unique and brings something different to the table. But imo the two best ones are Zula and Jezmine. You know how today you have that sjw cancer in cartoons that always fail when, for example, they bring a character to the show and make him ridiculously overpowered and so a Mary Sue/Gary Stu just because it's a woman or something like that? Well not with those two. Jezmine and Zula aren't in the group because they are a woman and a black man. They are in the group because they are strong warriors that have their own personalities and agenda and want to do what they can to help Conan and the others in their adventures. So while there are times that both screw up and need to be rescued or helped, there are also times that they are the ones doing the rescuing or helping. They feel and act like real human beings. All of them are likable and relatable.

Now, of course the cartoon isn't perfect. It does suffer from most of the issues which were common for cartoons of the 90s. It has many filler episodes, with stuff that should be addressed later but never go anywhere. There are also a considerable number of animation errors. For example, Thunder (Conan's horse) can show up in his correct color in one scene and then his color changes and you wonder who the heck is that horse. Or Greywolf will have his staff in one of his hands, then when he shows up again staff is gone but in the very next frame...ah there it is! Stuff like that~

Still I never felt that sort of stuff hurts the show much. Besides, I can't emphasize this enough, the cartoon ENDS. How many cartoons of that time deserved but got no ending whatsoever? I'm not even sure if there is another cartoon that got a conclusion as Conan the Adventurer did?

So, I recommend the cartoon for sure, especially for fans of cartoons from the 90s that are action-focused. As for the ending itself, while it's good that it exists and all, is it good? I will talk about it right after the...

FURRY STUFF SECTION!

Given the site we are in, I guess makes sense to talk about the furry characters we have in Conan. Now I will mostly talk about the ones that interest me the most.

It's not like there are that many furries in Conan, to begin with. The most common by faaaaaaaaaar, are of course the Serpent Men. They show up in most episodes being the muscle of Wrath-Amon. I do usually like reptile guys but for some reason, those guys don't do it for me. Maybe the lack of tails? Or because of how they are drawn when naked? Yeah...

There are some others that are quite nice and it's a shame that most of them only show up in one episode! Like https://imgbox.com/g/3PjAI5b2NS this nice anthro Griffin guy!

https://imgbox.com/g/B5i9noELZr those...dragon gargoyle (I think? xP) guys only show up a couple of times, a shame.

https://imgbox.com/g/sWVBcpdZo0 Jhebbel Sag, Master of Beasts showing up in the series was quite a nice surprise! Just a shame that he only does so for one episode.

https://imgbox.com/g/dVt4rookLL if it was up to me those dragonoids would have replaced the serpent man xD

https://imgbox.com/g/tfac0alf5F yes, we have werewolves too! And again, a shame they only show up in one episode which is very weird. If Mesmira  can create werewolves like that, why she doesn't have a whole army of them already?

So yeah, even if it's not like they show up in every episode - aside from you know the Serpent Man -  Conan does have something for the furry fans out there!

if you wanna watch the show, a good soul uploaded it all in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqD5h-mdk1o&list=PL...

Now I suppose it's time to talk about the...



SPOILERS FOR ENDING AND SHOW ITSELF







if you ask me if I like the ending, the short answer is a solid yes. After all, it does conclude the main plot of the series.  After all, Wrath-Amon  is defeated, Set is banished and Conan's family is restored to their normal selves. So what's the problem with it?

The problem lies with the long answer. While the ending concludes the main plot it just leaves too many unanswered questions or dropped plotlines. It really seemed they were hoping to deal with most, if not all of those, in a sequel series which sadly we never got.

What I'm talking about? Well...

1 -Wrath-Amon is dealt with yes. But not the other villains. Most of the minor ones that show up in one episode are already defeated and all, but not all of them and especially not the rest of the main ones! What the fuck happened with Skulkur? And Windfang? And others? But the main issue about this is the other two major villains, Mesmira and Ram-Amon. The characters themselves refer to them in the last part of the last episode, showing they know they are still out there. It really sounded like they were hinting they were going to be dealt with in a new season or series but...that never happened.

2 -Greywolf and his family. His brother and sister were transformed into wolves in a plot by Mesmira and he is looking for a cure for them, just like how Conan looked for a cure for his family too and they helped each other in their respective quests. But while Conan got what he wanted, Greywolf never did which really blows.

3- The series hints that Conan is not only a descendent of the royal bloodline of the lost Kingdom of Atlantis and he is destined to become a king. That...never happened at all. So what? Dropped plotline despite how important it sounded? Or something else they were going to show us in a sequel that never happened?

4 - Jezmine's love for Conan. So will they? Or not? I don't know because while the series shows how she fell in love with him, we never saw if Conan felt the same. He does care for her but as a friend or more? Poor Jezmine. It gets worse when you remember Conan kissed at least 2 women in the series but Jezmine never got such a thing!

5 - Speaking of Jezmine, the series makes a big deal about her being the daughter of a human woman and the Serpent Man Astivus, making her a half-breed. Even Ram-Amon said he never heard of such a thing when he found out about that! So, for something that was quite a big deal it really had no payoff in the end. In fact, it brings more questions. So Astivus is the only Serpent man in history that isn't evil? Why were he and the few others we see later not banished too when they closed the portal? What will happen to Astivus now that he is the only good Serpent man, apparently? Does being a half-breed mean Jezmine has powers unique to her because in one episode she can turn into a big snake monster that can even fight Set! But yeah, nothing about that is ever answered.

6- Many of the side characters seemed they would become important later or at least show up more, especially since Conan and his friends could have used their help in the final battle. It's curious that of those, the only one that showed up is The Kari Dragon. He saved the day not once but twice, is killed by Set and the characters later celebrated their victory without even mentioning their sacrifice which really sucked. What about the other characters though? Conan, I'm sure if you asked characters like your freaking animal guide Amra, the lion, would have helped in the final battle!







END OF SPOILERS



So yeah, it really seemed they were saving for stuff to be only dealt with in a sequel which sadly never came so it kinda sours the ending of the cartoon, at least a bit.

"But Kami! We got a sequel!"
...it really is annoying that we never got a sequel because-
"Kami you're wrong! We got a sequel! It's called Conan and the Young Warriors"
...I'm sure that if they had a sequel then all of that stuff would be explained or showed the-
"Kami! I'm telling you! We have a sequel already!!"
GODDAMNIT! FINE! I will talk about it!

I was shocked to learn that not only Conan the Adventurer get an ending but it also had a sequel! It's called Conan and the Young Warriors and the title already tells you the main issue with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOQr8ysZddA It's not about Conan. It's about three new characters nobody cares. Conan is like a babysitter in that show.  Just compare the intro of both shows and you will already see how Conan the adventurer is better.

Not only that, but as a sequel it does a TERRIBLE job. It doesn't touch on a single one of the open questions left by the ending of Conan the Adventurer. So much so that if there weren't for a few times the character mentioned someone's name from that show like Greywolf or something, you would be excused in thinking it isn't related to Conan the Adventurer at all.

That garbage sucked by itself and also as a sequel. It's obvious that whatever sequel they were setting up for based on the ending of Conan the Adventurer, this was NOT it. A real shame that they decided to either change plans or scrapped the original idea to make this new cartoon that barely is related to the original. And not only that, but the show also follows the rules back in the day and does NOT have an ending. So, unlike Conan the Adventurer, there's no reason to see that "sequel".

It was a blast watching Conan the Adventurer. It felt strange watching it today though...like somehow the series continued to be developed today with the same techniques and voice actors of the day, as if it was frozen in time to end as they would have back then. It was fun comparing the episodes to what I remembered from watching it as a kid and of course watching the episodes I never watched before as well. I will miss it, including the details like Needle calling Conan "big dumb barbarian" and yet always doing what he asked from him because they have become friends!

Viewed: 92 times
Added: 1 year, 11 months ago
 
AndyBear
1 year, 11 months ago
Oh gosh Wow I remember loveing this show as a kid ^w^ Conan became the inspireation for alot of my own characters (Mainly my own Barbarian/Druid Ark Wolfsteele).

Knowing now that it had an ending I had to go back and see for myself. and yes I accualy do remember the ending!

Thanks for this trip down memory lane ^w^
kamikazetiger
1 year, 11 months ago
Hehe I'm sure Conan inspired lots of characters like yours!

So you watched it back then but didn't remember xD. I'm sure I didn't watch it or most of the episodes of the second season.

You're welcome, it was a fun trip for me too!
Weiss
1 year, 11 months ago
CONAN! THE ADVENTURER! CONAN! WARRIOR WITHOUT FEAR!

This and Pirates Of The Blackwater was my jam back in the day. Oh and M.A.S.K. And The Centurions. And Beetlejuice. And King Arthur And The Knights Of Justice. And Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light. And plenty more that I'm forgetting.
kamikazetiger
1 year, 11 months ago
HE'S MORE POWERFUL THAN ANY MAN WHOSE LEGEND EVER CROSSED THE LAND OR SEA!
TUN DUM DUM DUM DUUUUUUUUUM!

Of those the most underground one I think it's Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light. Which is a shame, the idea of that show is quite original and it was quite good for its time too. Really wish it got an ending, just like other stuff like Pirates Of The Blackwater.
Weiss
1 year, 11 months ago
Did Pirates Of Blackwater even GET an ending? I remember watching it back in the day but it stopped airing before any conclusion was reached.
kamikazetiger
1 year, 11 months ago
Nope, not at all. It's why I wish it got one.
lolit346
1 year, 11 months ago
Next up: Watch Jormungand (eng sub)
kamikazetiger
1 year, 11 months ago
I already have a list of stuff to watch xD.
lolit346
1 year, 11 months ago
|)
Add it to your list, you won't be disappointed
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