Ben 10 Reboot First Impressions

It won't air on the US until 2017, but the Ben 10 Reboot series has aired in Australia a few days ago. Just like the Powerpuff Girls Reboot, the Ben 10 Reboot assumes the audience knows about the series, and therefore does not bother with the origin story. As far as I know, Tara Strong is the only person among the Ben 10 alumni that will reprise her role as young Ben Tennyson, while everyone else is voiced by the new cast.

To be honest, I feel a bit awkward watching the series because it follows the 11-minute format, as opposed to the half-hour like the previous Ben 10 shows. And perhaps because of this, the show is very much episodic rather than have an actual plot. Bad guy shows up, Ben goes hero, messes up, tries again, succeeds, end of story, rinse and repeat.

Watching the first two episodes of the reboot is like I'm watching a short than an actual Ben 10 episode. And again because of the 11-minute format, I get the impression Cartoon Network made this series as cheaply as possible to get the maximum profit. Standard business practice, of course. That being said, in terms of animation and design, it does look like it comes from the same budget as the rest of their CN Original shows.

I will admit I didn't hate the character designs at all after seeing them in the show, and I got used to them almost immediately. Same goes for the voice cast. The Ben 10 Reboot is more light-hearted to being comedic, though being funny isn't really in the franchise's comfort zone, usually. I think Ben 10 Omniverse was the only series wherein I did enjoy the humor thrown in there. The humor in the reboot made me smirk a bit but that's as far as I can go.

So, from the first two episodes of the Ben 10 Reboot, it's not bad. But if you're expecting some sort of plot going on, forget it. You're not getting any. Obviously this reboot is in the same vein as Teen Titans Go and the Powerpuff Girls reboot, in which it's intentionally episodic for syndication and so Cartoon Network can milk it off as for much as it can. Still, I have nothing against the Ben 10 Reboot at all and like other shows such as The Loud House and Milo Murphy's Law, I'll just tune in and watch a random episode if I feel like it, be fine, and move on.

The Ben 10 Reboot is airing right now in Cartoon Network Australia, with the UK and Germany to follow this week, while everywhere else is scheduled to air sometime in 2017.