DarkStalkers: Out of the Shadows (DVD, 2003)

For those who don't know, 'Darkstalkers: Out of the Shadows' is an American cartoon series based on characters and concepts from a horror-based Japanese video game, and an anime series has also been produced based on this game. Now I've come across many people online who have been ranting away about how this cartoon series totally ruins the original game concept, how much better the anime really is, and so on. Well, with all due respect for all you otakus out there, I beg to differ.

I've watched many episodes of this series, and I've found it most enjoyable. The most important reason is that this series is FUNNY. Everytime Anakaris appears, I just have to laugh at his antics. And the eternal squabbles between Demitri and Morrigan are great fun, too. The art is also brightly colored and not all that poorly drawn. By contrast, the gore and grim seriousness of the anime simply do not appeal to me in the least bit. A serious, gory, adult-content cartoon? Can you imagine a remake of SCHINDLER'S LIST or SAVING PRIVATE RYAN in which all the characters are Teletubbies? Well, maybe some of you can (perish the thought), but *I* honestly find it ridiculous.

I really don't think the art of the anime is THAT much better, either. Donovan appears to have no chin at all in the anime. And it honestly gets a bit tiresome how absolutely all females in anime have to be depicted with huge, sparkling eyes and tiny, lipless (!!) mouths.

As for being true to the original concept, the Darkstalkers in the (American) cartoon series all look reasonably like the way they look in the game, and use moves which you see in the game also. What more do you want? As for the storyline, the Darkstalkers are from a GAME and not from a novel. I've seen three or four different storylines by different Asian comic artists, serious. Why can't American producers come up with yet another one, then? And if the Japanese can pinch all sorts of things from Western literature and twist them into anime and video games, I don't see why Americans can't reciprocate by pinching a couple Japanese video games and twisting them into cartoon serials.

My final verdict is that this is an entirely fun and highly entertaining cartoon series for the family. If you prefer anime, fine, just don't condemn this cartoon series as inferior, please. Thanks. And thumbs up for the producers of this series. (Why only 13 episodes? Why? :()

This Americanized cartoon based off the Darkstalkers/Night Warriors games is extremely cheezy with some old fashioned humor. A new character was added so there could even be a plot! With sub-par fight scenes and some bad voice acting this series is ONLY for TRUE fans of the darkstalkers/night warriors. There is some parts that actually made me laugh, either it was a good gag, or the fight scene and script was just totally out there making no sense. This series is so bad its pretty decent. Again only fans will possible like this! The humor is remenicent of the Mega Man cartoon.......yup that bad! lol Something nice for collectors I suppose would be that this series is OOP (Out of Production). So that being the case eventually there will be no way of getting this series.

If anyone remembers the Street Fighter cartoon, this is far worse. The animation is terrible and the plot is even worse. Also, for some reason, It's even more unfaithful to the series than the Street Fighter cartoon. When you see Hsien-Ko/Lei-Lei, prepare to shout out "WTF!". However, if you do enjoy watching awful things for laughs, this might be the DVD for you. Here's a preview of the crap that is the Darkstalkers Cartoon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v​=DLZIWZszuh8

Oh Capcom cartoons! You make me lol hard. This was the reason I brought this along with the Street Fighter cartoon.

Not recommended for those who don't enjoy bad things for a laugh.

It was good back when I started to get into the anime scene but since then I have seen the elder or more grown up version of Darkstalkers that of which is Nightstalkers.... Nightstalkers is better but this is more lengthy and if you continue the series it should pan out to an excellent series...

I used to love watching this tv show, but now that I am a little older, it is slightly less cool. I loved the game but this is a little kid american version of the bad ass darkstalkers I am used to. Check it out if you want but the japanese versions (like street fighter) may be a batter investment