Mysticons

Mysticons

This show is not as mystic than Ninja Turtles and Teen Titans.

Genre:	Action Fantasy Magic Kids & Family
Running Time:	23 minutes
Country:	United States Canada
Release Date:	August 28, 2017 – September 15, 2018
Network(s):	Nickelodeon Nicktoons YTV
Created by:	Sean Jara
Starring:	Alyson Court Ana Sani Evany Rosen Nicki Burke
Seasons:	2
Episodes:	40

Mysticons is a 2017 TV series that aired on Nickelodeon, Teletoon and YTV. The show is about 4 friends named Arkayna, Zarya, Emerald and Piper fighting evil to save their hometown.

Bad Qualities

It's a terrible take on the iconic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles formula (the leader, the nerd, the badass, and the goofball), with there being almost no presenting elements that make them stand out from being typecast molds.
- It also feels like a poor man's version of Teen Titans, Sidekick, and DC Super Hero Girls, which are all better-recieved shows.
Piper is the token dark-skinned character, only existing so the producers can say they have a diverse cast.
Taking it up a notch, the entire series was originally going to have a male cast, but the producers wanted to score more brownie points with a female alternative. This is the original announcement about a boy-oriented Mysticons.
Emerald is supposed to be a dwarf (a very short/small person) but she's around the same height as the other Mysticons. No kidding. See this picture. (Keep in mind that Emerald is the one on the far right.)
Arkayna, Emerald and Zarya have the same voice, but Zarya’s is slightly more masculine-leaning.
One of the main villains, Tazma, appears by telling the main characters that power means nothing if you don't train hard, and yet a few minutes later, becomes a villain by essentially going, "Screw training, I want power!"
The show's animation is very poor because the movements of the characters feel very mechanical and stiff because they were done with Flash, and the backgrounds are instead very bad CGI.
The show ended on a slightly weird note.

Good Qualities

It has a catchy theme song.
Em not being a stereotypical dwarf is actually a good thing.
The dark-skinned characters (Tazma, Malvaron and Piper) are handled pretty well.
The designs do look okay and nice.
MoonBoon's relationship is a way better depiction of an LGBT couple.
"All Hail Necrafa!" and "The Dragon's Rage" would have worked better as season finales as they were originally intended to be.

Reception

Melissa Camacho of Common Sense Media praised the series as fun, but warned parents that there is "lots of fantasy violence" and some "dark images" which might "scare younger kids," but that it contains "magical creature companions," trainer, and dark forces that young fans of anime are drawn toward. She also stated that the series is not educational, but offers an "entertaining alternative to the many male-centered series" produced for those of this age group. In contrast, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction contributor Steven Pearce gave a positive review, stating that the three story arcs of the series centers on a different villain, and stated that even though the series is set in a futuristic city, "noir tendencies of urban fantasy are avoided" with cultural influence of Earth still present, even as there are sci-fi elements. Pearce also pointed out that the show is "more action-orientated" than most shows which target young girls, stated that while the animation budget wasn't big, it was "used imaginatively" and says that while the story is fast-moving, it gains strength as it moved along, resulting in a "fun, exciting series."