Miraculous Ladybug: Star-crossed superheroes save Paris and charm viewers
We’ve all read those superhero stories that play with the idea of a secret identity. “Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir” takes this to an exponential level.
Originally in French, but also dubbed in English and Korean, this recent (and still airing) animated show features the two main characters of Marinette and Adrien, who are secretly Ladybug and Cat Noir respectively. Almost every day, the supervillain Hawk Moth terrorizes innocent citizens by playing on their minor problems and turning them into evil minions by infecting them with his butterflies, called “akuma.” These villains usually cause ridiculous problems throughout Paris, and are ordered to capture Ladybug and Cat Noir’s miraculous-es, which give them their powers.
The plot twist is that Marinette secretly loves Adrien, but Adrien, as Cat Noir, loves Ladybug, who is actually Marinette. Neither Marinette nor Adrien are aware that the other is their partner in heroics. And there is a huge fan theory that Paris’ archnemesis, Hawk Moth, is secretly Adrien’s dad. This, of course, leads to interesting dilemmas that make the show altogether entertaining and very cute.
The animation is done extremely well. The show implements the use of CGI excellently, delivering smooth, clean-cut scenes and powerful performances. The quality of the voice acting, however, is debatable. Generally with dubbed foreign shows, there is often criticism of the voices given to each character. In terms of this show, this is somewhat true, as the English voices pale in comparison to the French voices, which do an excellent job. The show is available on Youtube in French with English subtitles, and this version is arguably the best.
This show has a plot reminiscent of that of “Sailor Moon,” as there is a new enemy each episode. However, there are also several endearing, and sometimes romantic moments between Ladybug and Cat Noir for example, or even with each enemy, that make the show funny and entertaining, and certainly worth watching. While there is a recognizable pattern to each episode, there is a subplot that continues throughout the season – the love between Marinette/Ladybug and Adrien/Cat Noir develops, and Hawkmoth becomes more and more evil.
The ending has not yet been released, so it is difficult to say what will happen with the miraculous-es, or between Ladybug and Cat Noir. As of yet, though, the show is wonderful and gets 5/5 stars.
Featured image courtesy of nick.com
