Strangely I don't own the DVD box set but I do own the Eye Spy CD released by Drew (with fun copyright avoidance) because ironically I couldn't pirate it in 2007. :D Interesting to see this comment.
Easily one of the best soundtracks to a TV show. Super dynamic and original, whimsical at times but also strange and alien. Future Jazz meets Danny Elfman at a Japanese S & M bar.
moviemetalhead Yeah but those two are too serious and confusing in a bad way and the animation is not that eye driven mind blow, I prefer something deadpan like Wes Anderson or hyper surrealism like Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius, Aeon Flux have all those formula, because it is not just both drama and weird but its also making fun of others melodramatic movies and tv shows for being un humane pretend to be a drama to force the audience to watch with their eyes rather than allow them to feel it in heart, mind and soul.
Bojack Horseman fits that description kinda well, but it's still pretty light-hearted & is a comedy show, because when you have adult animation it can never just be serious, it seems to always have to be a comedy. Another one is Moral Orel, which I personally love way more. First two seasons are overall lighthearted, with some serious tones, but season 3 completely explores this serious angle with little to no comedy & god damn, is it a masterpiece.
Criminally underrated ; the music, the sound the picture, the story everything about this is masterwork. It's haunting it's beautiful. It's disturbing all the same time. It makes me sad that so few feels the same way.
There’s nothing else like Aeon Flux" ... "The Maxx": at the TIME: was AS original despite NOW we could say Aeon since no genre came OUT of Flux: is "more original" where the Maxx inspired copycats...well...til today. aka Motion Comic's.
@@benjaminkeith1417 *It seems Flux may have influenced the fast-action, female-lead movies of the early 2000s. Resident Evil, Underworld, Ultraviolet. Pandemic diseases, corporate baddies, superhuman characters.*
You had to be somewhere between 13 and 20-years old in late-1994 to fully appreciate Aeon Flux's break through originality. Aeon Flux which debuted at the about the same time as MTV's "Oddities", defined the Developed World's "youth zeitgeist" of that time period. People who are too young to remember when the Aeon Flux cartoon was new may appreciate the show today, but back in the early to mid 1990s, MTV dominated youth pop-culture TV viewership like no other channel had ever done before or since.
I don't really think it'd make much of a real difference how old you were when you saw it first, or when it came out. If you're old enough to have a mind that can appreciate something almost purely artistic, or old enough to have seen what "TV" is like even in the last 20 years, then after watching a few eps of Aeon Flux, I'm sure almost anyone would be able to appreciate the impact the series must've had, in terms of weird AF originality, trippy dreamworld logic & visuals, blatant in your face fetishistic content, and thats just taking the show at "face value". If you weren't old enough to compare it against what else was around at the time (or even 10 years later) you'll still likely be able to appreciate the trippy visual & mind bending cerebral tour de force.
"War" is my personal favorite because how it bounces between character to character, give each one a build up and then killing them off without remorse. Everyone is the hero of their own story but when you're time is up, your time is up.
That was from the DVD (alot of lines were re-recorded): on the TV Version Originally he repeats the Line from the beginning of the Episode: making the ORIGINAL ending of Flux being... (Which I preferred): *"The Evolution, Revolution...may the best man win..."*
I remember my older cousin used to watch this among other shows when he'd lounge about my house. At the time I was 5 and with Disney being my only exposure to animation this show haunted my dreams for years. No joke, this show gave me nightmares. I never forgot it and I haven't seen it since. The only thing I remembered besides the creepy animation was that the main character always died at the end. Till today, I wasn't sure if it was a figure of my imagination or if it was actually true till the narrator mentioned it at 6:54. A 30 year old mystery has been closed on my childhood
@@RandalltheVandal me too, I've almost forgotten aeon flux, except that I could remember the fly on the eye when I was trying to create a motif for the band. ("What was that?...something Flux, ion...)
I really like some of Trevor’s monologues, almost Shakespearean I bought the DVD about 10 years ago after watching it online after remembering them rerunning them on mtv back In 2003 but they put them on at like 2:30am so didn’t watch them fully...decided to rewatch the episodes today and see if anyone had done some positive reviews on RU-vid. I hope this show gets more exposure, it’s so underrated.
Glad that younger viewers are discovering this unique gem from the 90s. I never wanted to miss an episode or short on MTV back then. I loved how the show didn't get you long sci-fi exposition of what was going on. If you didn't get something, well, figure it out, or just wonder about it, since it's supposed to be a future alien world after all, and so of course you have culture shock while you are immersed inside it...
Meanwhile, in the live action movie: A wall of expositional text followed by a three minute long voice over containing even more exposition. And that's just the first 5 minutes.
@@RandalltheVandal Ugh, I know right! The weirdness and understatement were amongst those things that made the animated series so memorable, intriguing and awesome
Aeon Flux is a classic, I have been writing to Wisecrack for ages suggesting they cover it. This was a great video, my only difference of opinion is that I really like Aeon and Trevor's voice acting, I think they capture the weirdness perfectly
Wisecrack wouldn't do it justice. They rarely do anything justice because their content is just so sanitized and made for general consumption (also probably why you'll never see it on their channel unless it gets popular because they only care about covering trending topics for more views). IMO, I'd rather see an independent RU-vidr analyze it than some online media company like Wisecrack. It'd feel more genuine coming from a single person.
@@RandalltheVandal Perhaps, however i think they often cover material that is not mainstream. I have seen them do deep dives on movies like Tetsuo : the iron man that are over an hour long.
I remember being college watching this, Daria, Beavis & Butthead, and this show was my favorite. It was everything you said and more. I always loved her totally antihero/non-taking of sides. First one I saw was with the two exotic creatures with feathers and how at the end Irma was flying off with the male only to have a small insect bite her and we realize her joys may be shortly lived.
Yea I think by comparison, Daria and B&B are completely normal shows. Even today nothing really seems to compare in any real way to Aeon Flux, but theres probably 10 shows that compare to Daria & B&B (I did enjoy B&B as a kid, but as an adult, it just feels a bit silly, but then I'm not a major comedy fan). Aeon Flux is like pure trippy art and nothing more, nothing less. Those other shows were IMO "just shows". I remember the ep you're talking about man. "Some people aren't meant to be together" (Trever and the female bird thing, and that woman and male bird thing. Fate, or something, intervenes) -Aeon
Aeon Flux holds a special place in my heart and mind. I was 8 years old watching the shorts air live on Liquid Television. This animation will always stick in my head for the rest of my life.
Aeon Flux is hands down, both my favorite animation and series . The lack of exposure for the show is truly regrettable. Thank you for making this video. I highly recommend seeking out the many text interviews Peter Chung did regarding Aeon Flux, they are absolutely fascinating and show just how much thought went into making the series.
Thanks! I definitely intend to do that. Though, it would be helpful if you had any links to some of the text interviews. Sometimes everything doesn't pop up on Google, you know? Also, feel free to share this video around as an Aeon Flux fan recruitment tool. I want this series to get more attention just as much as you do.
@@RandalltheVandal Got you covered chief, these are the ones I've read: monican-spies.livejournal.com/44607.html www.artofthetitle.com/title/aeon-flux/ formerpeople.wordpress.com/2014/02/28/aesthetics-in-flux-a-conversation-with-peter-chung/ There are definitely more out there though. For sure, you've made a really good video to get someone excited about the show. Oh, and actually, for ages I've been using the Bennett video to recruit, I think I even have a high rated comment there. Anyway, in conversations I use it as an example of how not to do art analysis whenever that comes up, which lets me talk about the actual show!
@@EddyKansas Thanks for the links! and nice! that's how to do it! Yeah, I hated his video. He communicated his opinion poorly, it was full of cringey skits, he seemed to go out of his way to misinterpret the show, and worst of all, he did it all with a forced "angry" attitude that just made him look like an ass. Maybe he's a cool guy irl, but that video is dogshit.
@@EddyKansas While I agree Episode's like The Demiurge really allow alot of interpretation (The dying for ***n's sins etc option/concept) Just remember one thing they coped out to on the DVD for... "Chronophasia" = *Oh well um...this is one of the moments the writers out baffle themselves.* (The MTV Producer whose name escapes me) Chung Himself: *Yeah haha, all we know here is the baby is coming.* But...even without INTENT: you can make a argument: you can still ADD context: meant or not XD.
Loved aeon flux growing up. Started watching in elementary school, and was a major inspiration for me. I was really proud of noticing similarities between Rugrats and aeon flux as a kid. Color pallette, sounds and the way they draw tongues. Later in life I learned they were created by the same guy! Just wanted to share
"Hands down, Æon Flux is the best non-sitcom adult animation that has ever been made in the US" As far as television series go, you're unfortunately very on point. There have been some great movies though like Mary and Max, It's A Beautiful Day and Anomalisa.
Mary and Max is Australian though... We're going to ignore all the great movies and shows coming from America like The Midnight Gospel, Castlevania, Invincible, Hit Monkey, Smiling Friends(It's absurdist black comedy not really a sitcom imo), The Isle of Dogs, 9, and many more. Those are just some recommendations off the top. Also Bojack is a sitcom, but it's more of a breakdown and dissection of the sitcom formula rather than a boring repeat. Just my two cents
true, why Aeon Flux isn't iconic and widely loved in internet is beyond my understanding. quality and depth is just on another level of what majority of nowadays animations can offer
I love Aeon Flux. I used to watch it back in the 90s, and I've been rewatching it again from time to time afterwards. One point that I believe is overlooked is that its distinct visual style is owed to its influences being not so much American or Japanese as European. Comics and animation there (particularly in France) tended to be more unusual in style and more philosophical in script. I recommend the 1987 film Gandahar, which one can easily find on RU-vid.
Aeon Flux was one of the first weird animation shows I found when diving through animation. It absolutely blew me away and I've been obsessed with it since I was a teen. The Maxx also had an awesome animation and interesting story. Really, it makes me wish MTV had continued to ezplore running through the adult animation scene.
saw the first part of an episode when i was 7 as i was leaving a friends house and was absolutely mindblown. he's spot on though, it's layered with all kinds of esoteric symbolism.. you could almost consider it as symbolic as poetry. Probably why it doesn't have a huge following, frankly it's high-brow.
Video taped every episode when I was younger. Also ripped the DVDs... but a few years ago, I realized it was on iTunes, and immediately bought all 3 seasons (Season 1 is the Pilot, Season 2 are the 5 early shorts where she dies each episode, and Season 3 seems to be the full season that ran). Im kinda glad this didn't catch on with the millennials cuz, despite the movie, Aeon Flux was pure 90's MTV after hours gold. This and Cowboy Bebop were quality animation viewing at its best.
Strange to think, that as a child I remember glimpses of this show, but fully remembered it because of its artstyle, which inspired one of my favorite cartoons as a kid, Phantom 2040. When I discovered there was a dvd collection, I jumped on it. This show is the cult classic of cult classics, with a beauty in those who know of it, and something just odd, yet burns into your mind the moment you see it. Just like H.R. Giger's art direction for Alien, Peter Chung is completely unchallenged in his style. It is a shame that this isn't bigger within nerdom. The action and stories were layered and unfiltered; the voice acting is superb; it's weird in all of the good ways, and uncomfortable ways as well, pushing those envelopes well beyond their seams.
We were asked in school what our favorite t.v. show was. I told the class "Liquid Television" and was subsequently laughed at. I've wish they would put the entire series on dvd. The whole show was great, but Aeon was the best.
Man, mtv used to stimulate animators by giving them lotta freedom but a low budget... so you got 10 min to tell the story... it left so many open questions that even trying to guess the ''what was that'' scene, lead you to another thing even more stimulating. Aeon flux was a complete visual pleasure.
I remember this show from mtv when I was younger, was really attracted to it’s bizarre world but was too young to grasp it. I found this show AGAIN back in 2004, and it has remained beloved. There is nothing like it. Love the stories, the themes, the detail and the quirky characters and the art style. It’s so experimental and wonderfully weird, it’s a shame peter chun couldn’t revive it or produce further worlds. He did take part in another series about Alexander the Great with a similar style... also interesting. But it is nothing compared to Aeon Flux. Also... I watched the show so many times that the voices of aeon and Trevor in particular actually ADD to the strange world in a strangely theatrical way... for me at least.
Yeah, I've gotten several comments from older fans who say the voice acting adds to the weirdness for them. I guess I just haven't warmed up to it that much yet.
@@wmhaynwwsmn I have the old DVDs still, sure it’s available somewhere on blue Ray. It’s definitely floating around online somewhere. Found a download site a few years ago. Not sure how it will be received now. Maybe you have to have that nostalgia around it to fully appreciate it...
I saw the animated aeon flux in the early 2000's and I was probably too young to appreciate it. It thought it was bizarre, weirdly gross, artsy fartsy but also pretty interesting. It reminds me a lot of the animated Phantom series (I don't know if they're related somehow). I'm glad Aeon Flux exists though, because I'm sure it inspired more thought provoking animation for adults. My favorite animated show intended for adults is The Venture Brothers.
My sister was born in '87, me in '99. When I was maybe 4, my parents put on a VHS of home movies of her as a kid for me. After about 30 minutes, the VHS cuts to two episodes of Liquid Television that she had taped over her baby videos. I wore that thing out by the time I was 7. Definitely shaped who I am as a person today. Aeon made me gay
Thank you for talking about this, giving it some exposure! It sure is strange how completely this show got buried. It seemed like not even 10 years ago there was still a lot more interest in it, even on the internet. For the record, there used to be more videos, especially uploads, but most of those got scrubbed for copyright. An upload of the show's intro even had a million views.
Don't agree on the voice acting, I personally think it's one of the best voice acting ever made, especially for Aeon and Trevor. It's a very personal opinion on both sides.
Aeon Flux was so unique for the time - so ahead of its time. I’m still surprised that more studios didn’t try to emulate it. one thing i do disagree with is the voice acting, i quite liked it. sure, the voice acting was rough around the edges, just like the animation, but Aeon and Trevor’s voice carried weight and panache. not like the same recycled voice actors of today. the live action movie was a heartbreak, it wasn’t even that bad, it was just that it didn’t bear any resemblance to Aeon Flux. anyway, liked your video, keep up the good work. just subscribed.
I just watched the movie and while looking at the Wikipedia page to see it's release date, I saw that it's based on an animated series and immediately came here to see what the original is all about
I remember when I watched a short excerpt of the cartoon and I was so intrigued about it that I bought the whole DVD set without even watching some more or having further information about it. Never regretted it. It turned out to be my favorite cartoon in my adult age. There are so many things happening in a single episode that you always find something new every time you re-watch it. Its multi-layered plots are intriguing and fascinating. The movie was visually stunning but the plot is just another meh worn-out hollywood sci-fi story. I also recommend the PS2 video-game (which tries to approach the weirdness of the series) and "The Herodotus File" book.
You have no clue how glad I am to see that this review is higher in the search results than that paste eater BennettTheSage's video. This series really need some positive attention.
I actually liked their voices, Tevor and Aeon's. We stayed up late for it and didnt care if it was an episode we had already seen more than a few times already. We never knew how good we had it. This show and The Maxx
Wow, been years since I remembered about this shows existence. I remember being both fascinated and weirded out by this as a kid. I relly wish western animation had more shows like this. Luckily in the past couple years it seems that western animation aimed at more adult audiences that do not rely on comedy are in the rise. -Season 5 of Samurai Jack. -Lastman (this one's amazing, really check it out) -Castlevania (which producers said that they've got more videogame adaptations like this in the making) -Love, Death and Robots. -Primal. -Undone. I hope this trend continues and becomes more common in the following years.
I'm so happy you made this video! I remember watching Aeon Flux as a kid and it had a significant impact on me. It was one of the reasons I wanted to try and create art and animation! I agree! I can't believe there isn't a larger following. Thank you so much for this! :D
CBS All Access is streaming the longer episodes, but not the LiquidTV stuff. It's totally worth the trial or even a full month of service just for Aeon. This series has a special place in my heart, and it makes me happy to see someone drawing attention to it.
Well what I’ve always loved about Aeon Flux is in an era where independent animators thought the only option for an animated series was comedy, here Peter Cheung took an entirely different approach and went serious.
Thanks for drawing more attention to Aeon Flux. I first saw it at 2AM on MTV back in the 90's, and it blew my frickin' mind. My first episode was Thanatophobia, and Trevor's ending monologue always stuck in my head. A decade later when The Dark Knight came out in theaters, everyone thought I was crazy when I tried to tell them where the Joker's quote originally came from. "What doesn't kill us only makes us stranger."
I could not agree more. I remember this show blowing my mind as a young teenager and I still regularly watch it. I too am surprised it isn’t more popular. Thank you for making this video to honor it.
Hey man I'll say without a doubt this is the first time I've seen your channel and I can respect your view on Aeon Flux. My dad showed me Aeon Flux when I was younger and I truly truly love it. And I agree why doesn't it have a much bigger cult following it should!
Here's the fan base. From the very first hour on Mtv. It blew my mind. They did a series? They talk? Sorry, no, that doesn't work for me. Aeon Flux is the shorts to me. And it's perfect that way. A perfect piece of art that needs no further line. Thanks for this, very well done.
Yea its defo art. Pure trippy art that doesn't even feel like it needs any "rhyme or reason" behind its bizarre, surreal and often kinky fetishisistic weirdness, straight from the mind of someone who was likely tripping off his tits while creating it (then later made Rugrats!? LMAO what a turnaround!). TBH I liked both forms of the series (the no dialogue shorts and the 25 min "formulaic" episodes) because even the long eps still often had that same "WTF is going on, what IS this, what WAS that? What drugs gave birth to these ideas?" quality about them. Look at the 1st 25 min episode, its still IMO "classic Aeon Flux" even though theres talking and "some semblance" of a story. I do wish there were more short eps though. Rewatching the series lastnight, it still hits me as one of the most fascinating "things on TV" ever made. It reminds me of looking at paintings by trippy surreal masters like HR Giger, maaybe Fuchs. You'll have almost zero idea WTF anything is supposed to mean, ever, but if you like that shit, you love it.
@@ncshuriken Nice comment. You made me interested in the series - maybe I should give it a try. Though I don't think you necessarily have to be drugged to have ideas like that. 3:05 Rugrats were actually before Aeon. To me, especially the bodies, remind me of Egon Schiele's art.
@@user-bj2lu9qt3o Yea true I agree about the drugs thing, some people just have a vivid, trippy & surreal vision & imagination. Oh so Rugrats was before AF then? Egon Schiele, thanks I'll check out his work, I'm always looking for new & interesting art to explore.
@@user-bj2lu9qt3o The entire DVD set is only 12.95 on Amazon. Easily worth it. The standard episodes are every bit as weird as the shorts, there's just more story, character development and dialogue to chew on.
There definitely needs to be more discussion about this online. The show is truly mesmerizing and weird. Always shows and rarely tells. I'd like for nothing more than a netflix series to be made continuing the story.
Amen dude. I recently came across Dead Fantasy and Haloid and was impressed by the equally frenetic and inventive action, and then realized I'd seen it decades earlier on LiquidTV. As a kid I saw bits of Pilot at a friend's house before my family got cable, and it left such an impression that years later, I stayed up late every weeknight in the off chance they'd show Aeon Flux
Dead Fantasy and Haloid were made by the late Monty Oum who went on the animate fight scenes in Red vs Blue and RWBY. You should check those out if you haven't. Some of his best work is in those shows.
That was an awesome show in the early days of Mtv, for sure. The meanings of the characters demeanor are very deep, based on love is more powerful than deception and cannot be compromised.
so you have tapes of the original versions? Dude, you need to find a way to upload or share that. There's a lot of people, including myself, who would love to have access to the broadcast versions of episodes like End Sinister. I don't think the changes to the dialogue in the director's cuts are bad, but I am curious as to what the original versions were like.
Does end sinister still end abruptly? I had a torrented version that had really shoddy picture quality in the final episode and it ended a few seconds before it's supposed to.
Thank you for this. I was searching for information about the show, and came acorss this video. its been some twenty years since I watched this show, and it is a sad thing that its gotten no love since it's last airing.
You're welcome. Stay tuned for when I upload my 30 minute video deconstructing the live action movie, detailing why it turned out so bad and how it buried the show.
I remember watching it on the TV as a kid/teenager and I just couldn't believe my eyes how outlandish it was. Over the years I kept remembering the name and I think I even saw the movie, but I've never actually seen the whole series. Gonna give it a go now, there's really nothing else like it.
I remember watching the Aion Flux pilot on my small screen CRT TV in the early nineties as a student, coming home drunk to my crappy student appartment late a night. It was something else, indeed. Somethig I'd never seen, and I'v never seen since.
Okay, so! My mother had recently told me about the live action adaptation of Aeon Flux, saying that it'd be something I would enjoy because it's like anime I would usually watch. She didn't explain anything else to me other than that, so, I got curious and decided to watch it On Demand on cable. After watching just the first 30 minutes or so, I WAS CONFUSED!!! There was barely any context on the situation, and you HAD TO TAKE A PILL TO SPEAK TO A FUCKING PERSON IN YOUR HEAD?!?! I was so confused, but I kept watching. Still. No. Proper. Context. So I came online and thought, "Okay, maybe it's just the movie. It's probably based on something else, like a comic or an animation." And sure enough, here I am. I needed this video. I needed closure on why everything was so vague and. . . strange.
I have yet to watch the live action movie. I don't like watching things that make me angry, and I'm pretty sure that movie would make me angry. In the show, there's no telepathic pill, so that's new. I'd recommend the TV show to you. It's much better, and you'll probably like it if you like anime.
Hey John, it's been a minute, but since my last response, I've seen the 2005 movie and I want to say that even as someone who watched the TV show, I was still confused by the movie. It's just that bad. Did a bunch of digging online and I think I found some answers as to why that is. The movie is just a big mess. There was a lot of of behind the scenes drama that affected the end product. Have a video coming out in a few weeks that will explain everything about the movie. Just wanted to let you know, because I feel that video will give you more clear answers to your questions.
I remember finding this show at the age of 15 on an obscure Instagram account and thinking “this is IT”. Never have I seen such beautiful animation, his use of 3 point perspective is gorgeous, I have never seen anything like it. The bodies are beautiful, and I recommend anyone to watch Chung’s other series “Rein: The Conquerer”. The philosophy that comes with Chung’s work is so fascinating, I hope he gets more credit.
I remember watching this on Liquid TV..always thought it was way beyond any thing I had seen before. Introduced it to my daughter who has become a fan.
Aeon Flux is one of my favorite animes of all time, i am an artist myself and seeing the show at 12 years old on mtv had a huge impact on my art, and kind of cracked my mind wide open. It was so unlike anything i had ever seen i fell in love with it. If you love Aeon you should check out The MAXX which was another mind bender👍.
Yeah, I saw he was involved in that! It's just a shame he hasn't been able to make another Aeon Flux style TV show yet. I feel it'd be really popular if released on a streaming service.
I loved the movie. I never knew there was originally animated shorts. But, I was watching Cartoon Network and Space Ghost Coast to Coast in the late 90's.
One of my best friends is obsessed with this show. Its one of those things that she watched when she way was too young and just being rebellious and staying up late lol but grew to appreciate as she got older. When we first started hanging out I mentioned Aeon Flux randomly and she insisted on showing me the original shorts and I fell in love and immediately understood why the movie was so disappointing to her. It's really a shame. AF deserves so much more than its gotten.
The original shorts are great! I had a few different ideas/interpretations about what their plots are opposed to you but that just might be because I haven't seen them in a long time, maybe I'm just wrong. What's really interesting about them (especially the first short and 'War') is how they're both designed to play with the typical visual storytelling that more regular stories would use to frame their characters. Things like Aeon shooting down line after line of faceless goons is essentially there to put the typical action hero on his head (and it's bittersweet irony that the movie would decide to do the same but absolutely straight, missing the entire point). Anyone who wants to see both innovative and genuinely different visual storytelling should definitely check them out. Now about the TV show... I can see why people would not like the dialogue, especially since it seems to mostly be just an excuse to wax philosophical, but personally I don't mind it that much. As you said, it's not used to replace the visual elements but instead to give a further element to the stories, both explaining and obfuscating them at the same time. Personally I even like the voice actors. The most notable change is probably to the character of Aeon, who was less of a typical main character in the original shorts but here becomes a smart talking, more typical, sci-fi hero though still flawed and written much more intelligently. And what's fascinating is that, while a more "mainstream" product, it never really holds back in it's wild visuals in comparison to the shorts. One thing that lies heavily over the 20-min show is the episode Chronophasia. For a while it seemed like anyone who talked about the show just wanted to discuss that one episode so it became a kind of deterrent for new viewers that wanted to check it out. One big thing that should probably be mentioned however are the changes made to the TV Show for the DVD release. The DVD itself mentions it but I've rarely ever seen anyone compare them directly, the changes mostly consist of new dubbed lines as well as some visual changes, something that actually angered a lot of fans at the time of release. As far as I know the only release of the unedited TV show episodes was way back on VHS. A few years ago Viacom attempted some Liquid Television online streaming service and for that most of the Aeon Flux content not about the movie got scrubbed from YT. It really is regretful that both Aeon Flux and Peter Chung after this don't seem to have had a much bigger impact on Western animation. Not a lot else has come close to being as interesting, thought out and ambitious since and that is a real shame. Western animation seems to be on the right track now (especially thanks to modern audiences being more and more able to appreciate adult animation that *isn*t comedy) but in most cases the influence seems to stem more from Japanese animation, maybe sometimes Ralph Bakshi or similar if you're lucky. Well, that's most of what I can think right now to say that you didn't already say in your video. If you want a similar experience you should actually check out the Rugrats Pilot episode, since it's basically animated in style much closer to Aeon Flux than you would maybe expect from Rugrats. It's very obviously Chung's work.
I didn't mention the special edition DVD changes because 1) I couldn't find an appropriate place to put it in the video and 2) the changes did not stick out and did not negatively affect my experience, so it really wasn't a big deal. I did mention them in my video for the live-action movie, as I felt that was more relevant to the narrative of the video. Glad you enjoyed it
@@RandalltheVandal Thanks for the answer! That's fair, I'm gonna check out that review then too. The one change that seems to me to be a bit of a downgrade is the one at the end of "The Purge", which was a bit too on the nose imo.
I remember watching this on MTV in the 90's. I absolutely loved it at first glance. Everything. But what i loved the most was the dialogues. Each line had a multilayered bunch of meanings, so it could be read at multiple levels. The acting was not that bad: love Aeon's voice and tone. There is a chapter were they say "good bye" several times with different tones to each one, so the same words ended up with different meanings. It was something very, very subtle. Not obvious at all. But I didn't know ANY OTHER THAN ME who liked the show. I understand it was faaaar beyond their little minds to appreciate (WTF... So bizarre... What???, etc.), that is no surprise to me that it hasn't the cult following it deserves. What a waste...
Fell in love with the show when a family friend let us watch it because he had an old school satelite. Eventually, bought the VHS box set. It came with the classic eyebally/fly sticker. I waited over 20 years to put it on something worthy enough. This is one of the best animated shows/series ever made, imo.
Personally, the voice acting is one or my favorite parts of the show. I might be biased because I watched the series before the shorts. Though the voices for secondary characters are not the best but I think the voice actors for Trevor and Aeon were the perfect choices, plus there's a lot of iconic quotes!
I like how you took a swing at Bennett the sage. The beard neck guy who called the series "pretentious". I hated his dismissal of the show and other animes of its similar style. Just because it comes off as pretentious doesn't mean it doesn't have anything to say.
That's my problem, though. The guy obviously isn't even well-versed in movies enough to even know what a pretentious movie/show looks like. You'd have to be a child to think an anime like Eva is even close to being pretentious. If that's his reaction to watching an anime with philosophical overtones, then do NOT show him the works of arthouse directors like Bergman because he will definitely have a stroke.
@@RandalltheVandal Lmfao I don't even like Bennett. He doesn't know what he talks about, but those ad hominems were unnecessary. What are you, a child? Anyway, if you want to see more of what "adult animation should look like" see the works of Ralph Bakshi.
Thanks for the recommend. The complete animated collection was at a local thrift store for only a dollar. Didn't know anything about it, so I searched it and found your video here. You sold me. I went and picked it up and plan to watch it this weekend
The worst thing is that when Aeon Flux was on air, a lot of us took it for granted and didn't realize we were seeing a style that we would never see again. The 90's was filled to the brim with weird edginess we assumed would last forever so Aeon Flux wasn't as striking as it is now when looking back(with how lackluster animation has become).
Thanks for this, Randall! My first experience with aeon flux was when I was really young and it etched into my memory like a wild feaver dream. I later got the movie when it came out but wasn't satisfied as I had something way more surreal in my mind. Luckily me and a friend, who is also into abstract media, stumpeld over the original stuff in all its challenging sophisticated weirdness. I also see it as an perfect example for how much more can be done with the medium and think it deserves way more recognition. So thank you for sharing your thoughts on this :)
Yea I thought it was fine. Some of it maybe was a little off, but its a low-budget series so I guess its understandable. It didn't have a big production company behind it like some of those imported anime movies EG "Ninja Scroll" or "Ghost In The Shell 1995" dubbed by "Manga Entertainment" where it sounds like proper movie actors.
I have, for 25 years, been trying to remember the name of this show(I saw it as a child). The movie and the Japanese animation kind of threw me off, I never thought that they was based on a "western" animation. You have my heartfelt thanks for helping reintroduce me to this series.
It was absolutely amazing being a teenager in the 90s and having your mind blown by the discovery of Aeon Flux! The anticipation you felt as each weekend drew closer and you would get to watch another episode! I completely agree with you, Aeon Flux is a masterpiece. It was so weird for me to hear you say in your video that you had just discovered Aeon Flux (4 years ago), because Aeon Flux has been in my life, and on my mind for around 30 years haha. But im so glad people are still discovering this work of art. I used to record the episodes each week on VHS. Then, sometimes while rewatching them, i would be struck by a certain image, & pause the tape so I could draw that image. I love the artwork so much. You will see that one of the influences was the artist Egon Schiele, who I came across in art class in high school but didnt connect the influence of his art on Aeon Flux until much later in life. I have been meaning to buy the DVD, because I also cannot find Aeon Flux anywhere online to watch. I've forgotten some of the episodes, so it will be amazing to rewatch everything again. Great video, & analysis of this amazing series, I hope it introduced Aeon to a lot of others! 🙂
Literally all of this!! (We disagree on the voice acting lol I loved that too), but Aeon Flux is literally my favorite piece of media in general, across anything and still to this day inspires and influences me (even my name is literally just Aeon and Trevor’s first names with an altered spelling for Trevor), I’m glad to see folks still talking about it. Fantastic job on the video and explanations 🤘🏿 (gonna continue to pretend that movie never happened 😅)
We'll I don't like Evangelion but Æon Flux was one of my favorite things to watch on the old MTV (I want to buy the DVD I didn't know existed xD). It was really nice to see your video :)
@@soozhime I sorta agreed with you despite I respect Evangelion creator direction but I feel all the characters are too forcing and fanservice unlike Aeon Flux sexiness liberation serve her interest only and males gaze her for her not them.
Someone I follow posted an Aeon Flux GIF on Twitter and I immediately knew I needed to watch it. I found a good torrent, and wow what a gem! I really hope more people get to watch it eventually
Before I even watch the video: Yeeees! Aeon Flux. I remember watching episodes of this on MTV way back when. I doubt it was during when it originally aired; '91-'95, but some time later. Very early 2000's possibly. I absolutely love this series and it is to date one of my all time favorite animated series. Really wish they would release a remastered collection on Bluray or something. Will never happen, and I'm more than happy with my DVD collection, but still.
Apparently, scrapping together the original cells to remaster the DVD collection was hard enough. Apparently, no one at MTV knew where all of them were, so they had to search their wearhouses. Would love to see a blu-ray release that includes the original versions of episodes like "End Sinister" as well as the director's versions we got on DVD.
@@RandalltheVandal Hmm, that's interesting. I wonder why they didn't know... Perhaps the show didn't perform well enough, or maybe MTV just didn't have enough trust for the show, to keep a better record of the cells? At least they stored them! While a new physical release is pretty much impossible at this point, the least this series deserves is to be published digitally on a streaming platform. Get some new eyes on it.
@@plantasmus The show was popular enough to warrant it getting a movie (and another live action series that's currently in development), so it at least had a strong following, but it definitely wasn't a cash cow.
I watched the entire series as a kid! It completely warped my understanding of how messed up a story can be and many things seem too tame since I also have that DVD box at home XD
Oddly enough, I ran into the shorts cause I was a Beavis and Butthead fiend in '93. Also liked The Maxx. Then learned a couple years later it was getting a show, that I devoured (recorded every episode on VHS). My favorite short is War and my favorites of the show were A Last Time For Everything and Ether Drift Theory. Subsequently, because the show was so good, I didn't think it would translate well to a live action movie, which was utter garbage, imo. Great overview of the show, like you said, it needs the exposure.
I loved Aeon Flux because how way out it was and there were many of those WTF did I just watch moments.. And because of its weirdness I often wondered if the creators were huffing some really good stuff.. lol
I've just discovered this recently and it's awesome, I hope over time more people will talk about this show and give it a legacy to inspire good American animation.
