RJ Writing Ink

DuckTales Season 3, Episode 8 Review

Good news, everyone: DuckTales is back for more adventures! With The Owl House between Seasons and Amphibia on hiatus, the timing could not be better for me. I needed some sort of cartoon to review, and since I love DuckTales, this is perfect!

If you’ll recall, I talked in my last review about this season’s overarching theme being legacy. That theme continues to be seen, though not with the Duck Family as the focus this week. This week is all about Webby’s friend, Lena, as she struggles with her Aunt Magica’s legacy.

Magic Problems

While the Duck Family goes on a mystical adventure, Lena, Violet, and Webby stay behind to figure out why Lena’s magic is acting up lately. However, they then get attacked by the villain known as the Phantom Blot, who uses a Infinity Gauntlet copy to try and drain Lena of her magic. To keep her safe, the girls (and Gladstone, who’s luck got drained by the Blot) have no choice but to ask Magica to train Lena.

Turns out, though, that Magica’s the one responsible for creating the Blot. She destroyed his village years ago, making him develop a hatred for magic and vowing to hunt down anyone who uses it. With his magic-sucking gauntlet, even Magica fears him! He’s also voiced by Giancarlo Esposito, aka Gustavo from Breaking Bad and Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian.

Longtime Disney fans may remember the Blot as one of the oldest and most dangerous enemies of Mickey and his friends. I still remember how scary the Shadow Blot was in Epic Mickey! And the fact that we see this guy take center-stage, and be voiced by a guy well-known for playing villains, was a sight to behold.

It also makes Lena does to him even more impressive.

Lena De Strange, Sorceress Supreme!

We’ve seen Lena had to grapple with being in Magica’s shadow before, and not just because she was made from her shadow. Her experience with her evil aunt helped make her who she is and who she chooses not to be, and it reflects in how she uses her own magic. As a result, she ultimately decides that she’ll truly step out of Magica’s shadow by using her magic to help protect others. Which leads to a moment where we’re reminded about the magic of friendship, and Lena getting a cool new look.

I like Lena’s new look, to be honest. It reminds me of Doctor Strange, but with her own Punk Aesthetic. Super cool.

Why Was Gladstone there?

My one problem with this episode, though, was its inclusion of Gladstone. I find his character to be very one-dimensional and can’t stand how his luck makes him so arrogant. Turns out, though, I like him less without his luck because he doesn’t know how to do anything! And when he gets it back in the end, he fails to learn his lesson about appreciating his good fortune. So I’ll ask again: why was he in this episode?

Glad to Have DuckTales Back

So, aside from Gladstone being in the episode, I think this was a nice return for DuckTales. And with F.O.W.L. still looming large as the big bad for the season, I’ll bet we’ll see more of the Phantom Blot down the road. Can’t wait!

I Give You “The Phantom and the Sorceress” a 3.8/5

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DuckTales Season 3, Episode 6 Review

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, then you’ll know how influential Japanese anime and manga has become in the last thirty years. However, all that success goes back to one man, the God of Manga himself, Osamu Tezuka. He created Japan’s resident cyborg Pinocchio, Astro Boy, and according to Wikipedia, got a lot of inspiration from Walt Disney. Therefore, it seems fitting that the newest of DuckTales, a Disney cartoon, pays tribute to one of Japan’s greatest icons.

BOYD, A Definitely Real Boy

So, remember BOYD, that cute little robot that Mark Beaks brought to that kid’s party? In this episode, Huey becomes his best friend right as he starts malfunctioning. As a result, they learn Gyro helped create BOYD, originally called 2-BO, with his mentor in Japan. Thus, the group and Gizmoduck head to Tokyolk (nice pun) to figure out what’s wrong with him.

From the start, the episode is rife with references to Osamu Tezuka’s work and Japanese pop culture. Firstly, BOYD’s original name of 2-BO is a play on Tobio, the late son of the scientist who created Astro Boy. Secondly, there’s Detective Tezuka, who has a grudge against Gyro for reasons I will explain shortly. Not only does she share her name with Osamu Tezuka, her outfit mirrors the one worn by Inspector Zenigata from Lupin the III, another old-time manga. Finally, BOYD discovers his legs become rocket thrusters, helping him to save Huey when he falls from Tokyo Tower. He even does Astro Boy’s iconic pose!

DuckTales now has a Dr. Gero

A big, though indirect reference I took away from this episode, though, comes in the episode’s villain, Dr. Akita. Turns out, he designed BOYD to be a weapon only for him to run amok and forcing him to go into hiding. He reminds me a lot of another mad scientist from a popular anime, Dr. Gero. The guy built androids/cyborgs for the purpose of world universal domination, and that’s the same vibe I got off of Dr. Akita. Fortunately, thanks to Gizmoduck and Gyro, he gets hauled off to prison at the end of the episode. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if he returns down the line as an agent of F.O.W.L.

What Measure is a Non-Human?

When it comes to self-aware robots and androids, a popular theme is the question of what it means to be human for them? Are they capable of being real people? In the case of BOYD, thanks to Huey, the answer is yes.

Huey’s had a hard time relating to other people all his life, so when he bonds with BOYD, he’s thrilled to have someone to relate to. As a result, he spends the entire episode defending his status as a real boy. And once Gyro learns that Dr. Akita’s responsible for BOYD’s rampage, so does Gyro.

So, the episode ends up being a sweet blend of Astro Boy and Pinnochio. Which I think that Tezuka would find amusing in the end. Great episode all around, and I hope we see more of Astro BOYD.

I Give “Astro B.O.Y.D.” A 5/5

Stray Observations

• We knew Beaks didn’t build BOYD, but it’s funny seeing how he found him in a dump
• Apparently, Glomgold is big in Japan. Kind of like how Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was. Look him up.

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