When I heard that a fourth Powerpuff Girl was being added, I wasn't really surprised because I knew what this was: A ratings stunt meant to bolster the show's views. The show decided to go The Fairly Oddparents route and shake things up with a new character because that worked so well for them, right? But I decided to wait until the special aired before making any final judgments. And after watching it, I can say that it turned out to be better than I expected. It's not perfect, but not as bad as everyone feared.
Pros:
Him being the main villain of the arc was quite the unexpected twist and the fight with him is easily one of the best fights in the whole series due to it not being a big anticlimax and being a hilarious parody of the Magical Girl anime.
When I first read the premise of the episode, I thought the Professor would be written out of character, but I'm pleased to say that that didn't happen. Outside him him zapping Bliss with his immobilizer, which I thought was a pretty dickish move of him, he's still the same caring dad we know and love.
Cons:
The schizophrenic tone of the special. It really felt like the writers weren't sure whether they wanted an action or a comedy. Every time they try to do something serious, they always force a joke in, causing a Mood Whiplash that ends up ruining the scene. It's only when Him appears does the special finally seem to find a balance.
Earth Plow, the Gnat, and Chipmunk Commando were unnecessary and annoying villains that served no other purpose than to lengthen the time of the special and beat the girls so Bliss can be the one who saves the day.
Bliss: Of course, I can't end the review without mentioning the newcomer herself. First off, after watching it, I can say that she's not a Token Minority nor an attempt to force diversity into the show. While her design had me raising an eyebrow at first, I quickly got used to it as she was older than the others being the first Powerpuff girl. Honestly, the only real problem I had with her was that her backstory not only felt forced, but completely contradicted the established canon with her being best friends with Mojo, Professor being in a rivalry with a lazy Distaff Counterpart of him, and him repeating the same accident 22 times.
Overall, I give this a 7 out of 10. It's good, but there was room for improvement.
The Power Of Four Review (spoilers)
When I heard that a fourth Powerpuff Girl was being added, I wasn't really surprised because I knew what this was: A ratings stunt meant to bolster the show's views. The show decided to go The Fairly Oddparents route and shake things up with a new character because that worked so well for them, right? But I decided to wait until the special aired before making any final judgments. And after watching it, I can say that it turned out to be better than I expected. It's not perfect, but not as bad as everyone feared.
Pros:
Cons:
Bliss: Of course, I can't end the review without mentioning the newcomer herself. First off, after watching it, I can say that she's not a Token Minority nor an attempt to force diversity into the show. While her design had me raising an eyebrow at first, I quickly got used to it as she was older than the others being the first Powerpuff girl. Honestly, the only real problem I had with her was that her backstory not only felt forced, but completely contradicted the established canon with her being best friends with Mojo, Professor being in a rivalry with a lazy Distaff Counterpart of him, and him repeating the same accident 22 times.
Overall, I give this a 7 out of 10. It's good, but there was room for improvement.