Recommend an exercise-bait adventure cartoon?

[brightknightie]

Just for fun, want to recommend cartoons to me? I watch TV while riding my stationary bike, and my "exercise bait" selection is pivotal. Currently, I need something 20-30 minutes long to fit my morning workday schedule. Always, I need something interesting to me, ideally something so interesting that I'll get up on time and exercise for the privilege of another episode, instead of hitting the snooze button. Sometimes I can do this with well-loved shows, but... not knowing what happens next really helps with motivation!

I currently have Disney+, Paramount+, PBS Passport, and Amazon Prime (no Netflix, HBO, Showtime, Peacock, Hulu). If I can't find anything suitable that comes free with my subscriptions, I can buy, rent, or sub-subscribe (I had a $2/month Pokemon subscription on Amazon for about a year of the pandemic; it was an excellent happy place to escape to! but not a success as exercise bait; I completed the Unova arc and unsubbed). I do like good anime, though my experience runs to Rurouni Kenshin, Fushigi Yugi, Sailor Moon, Captain Harlock, and Robotech; yes, I am not young, and that's the point -- I missed everything cartoon-y that came out after, say, Darkwing Duck and Skeleton Warriors or so, and am just now getting back into the genre.

So: Avatar: The Last Airbender has been spectacular! An excellent story in just about every way -- I recommend it highly! -- and one of the best exercise-bait shows I've ever found. But, sadly, I have only one AtLA episode left, the third part of the three-part finale. I'm very sorry for it to end, even given that it's a proper moment for the story conclude. I would have happily followed these characters and their world much, much longer.

Poll #27774 30minuteshowpoll

This poll is closed.
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Just the Poll Creator, participants: 8

Which new-to-me 30-minute show should I start after AtLA?

The Legend of Korra
0 (0.0%)

The Owl House
1 (12.5%)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
3 (37.5%)

Justice League Unlimited
1 (12.5%)

Over the Garden Wall
1 (12.5%)

Something else that I shall specify in the comments
2 (25.0%)

Comments

[senmut]

I'm going to rec JLU every time. It is a good pick up series from the Batman and Superman cartoons in the same universe, but you do not need to know anything from those shows!

[brightknightie]

Thanks! I checked the library today, and they have what seem to be a bunch of JLU movie DVDs, so I may come into it from that angle!

I ended up starting with Over the Garden Wall because Cartoon Network had made it temporarily free through Halloween week (and it's very short).

[juniperberry]

Those all sound like awesome options, though I have not seen any of them.

As for anime...I fell out of anime about ten-fifteen years ago, but I can suggest some options. (No idea if they're available on streaming or even if they're dubbed, but I can offer them as options to look into.)

Have you seen any of Fullmetal Alchemist, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Magic Knight Rayearth, or Card Captor Sakura? I leaned heavily towards magical girls in case you couldn't tell....

I haven't seen them yet but I understand Irresponsible Captain Tylor is fun, as is Cowboy Bebop, and Trigun has been fun thus far. I have also really enjoyed what I've seen of Vision of Escaflowne.

[brightknightie]

Thanks! I vaguely remember Card Captor Sakura as part of a Saturday morning programming block with Yu-Gi-Oh (this must have been right before the decline and fall of Saturday-morning cartoons). I have not seen any of the others, and don't know what they're about, though of course I've heard their names!

(I think that I've absorbed the impression that Fullmetal Alchemist is the most famous of those you list.)

[juniperberry]

Ooof, that reminds me that the CCS dub is...not good, unless they've redone it. Hmmmm, I'm guessing subtitles are not something you're looking for if it's for an exercise routine...and yeah, I think it was on before the Saturday cartoon block got axed.

Revolutionary Girl Utena, Card Captor Sakura and Magic Knight Rayearth are all magical girl anime. MKR has giant robots! I haven't heard great things about the dubs but they should be available. RGU is probably the most mature in terms of the overall plot.

Fullmetal Alchemist is definitely the most famous, for good reason. I've only seen the 2003 anime all the way through, but I really recommend it. If you'd prefer something that sticks to the source manga, I understand the 2009 series (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) does that, and is also supposed to be very good. (It's also a little longer.)

[lightbird]

Glad you've been enjoying AtLA. It is perfect for exercising to - when it came to Netflix I did a full rewatch during my workouts. Also, the finale is 4 parts actually, so it should last you for 4 workouts. :)

I forget if you have already seen Hey Arnold! If not, I highly recommend checking it out. Though it doesn't have an over-arcing storyline like AtLA there is some interesting character development through the series, and it's fun and generally well-written. And it could be good for exercising to. Each episode of the show was a half hour long, usually made up of two 15-minute (more or less) stories, but there are also a couple of episodes that are a single 30-minute (more or less) episodes.

[brightknightie]

I have not seen more than three episodes of Hey, Arnold! ever, and it is on Paramount+, so it's certainly a candidate to try! Thank you.

My AtLA run is now concluded, and I'm really, really happy with it. I've heard vaguely that Korra isn't as good, perhaps because the network didn't let the creators have as much control as in the first series and kept giving them "notes."

[lightbird]

I only saw part of Korra and what I saw was okay - life got busy and I didn't keep up, then I never had a chance to go back to it. I did hear about a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes, but I'm not up on the details. If you do watch it, my recommendation would be to approach it as it's own separate entity rather than as a sequel. It's very different from the original.

But I'm really glad AtLA lived up to the hype for you. :)

[kirbyfest]

She-Ra is CHARMING. Super, super wonderful. There's a lot of sometimes-painful conflict in it, though, so be warned.

[kirbyfest]

I have also heard many good things about Korra. Spy X Family is fun, also.

[brightknightie]

I will definitely be watching the new She-Ra! The only question is when, and how much to pay for it. (The DVDs cost less than streaming. I may try to get them through interlibrary loan.)

Thank you for that rec, and also the others. I hadn't heard of Spy X Family before.

I ended up starting with Over the Garden Wall because it was free to stream through most of Halloween week, and short enough to squeeze into the week (which I didn't realize beforehand). Now, on to series that will last longer!