Monday, August 20, 2018

'Toon Reviews 19: OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes Season 1 Episode 16: Legends of Mr. Gar


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Legends of Mr. Gar

When a show has a character that others look up to, that leaves opportunities to explore their influence on certain people.  Mr. Gar is one of those influential characters.  Sporting a high hero level, having strict authority over his staff, and fighting brutally during all attacks from the Boxmore robots, there's lots to admire about him.  In a cartoon exploring the impressions Mr. Gar leaves, we also learn how Rad and Enid got their key character traits from their awesome boss. 

As K.O. talks about how amazing he’s found Mr. Gar to be ever since starting his job, Rad and Enid share exactly how amazing they found Mr. Gar to be on their first days.  Rad started out insisting to Mr. Gar that he has no weaknesses at all apart from not knowing his own strength.  It was fighting a Shannon robot that put Rad’s skills to the test.  He tried using raw strength, but that wasn’t enough.  Eventually, it turned out that for all of Rad’s overconfidence, he was nervous and embarrassed about his special power from his fingers. They didn’t allow him to stand out from his family.  Mr. Gar’s guidance allowed Rad to use his finger power with no shame and beat Shannon. Now Rad uses this power to this day when fighting robots and stocking.  While Rad’s development isn’t usually the most engaging, hearing how he grew to appreciate his power says a lot. 

As has been the usual case however, Enid’s development from working with Mr. Gar stands out more.  Contrary to how she is now, she started caring about the customers a little too much.  She forced herself to smile at their estranged mannerisms at the checkout counter, sounding nervous all the way.  It wasn’t until she met an unruly snobbish sentient skateboard badgering her about wheel polish the bodega didn’t have.  Fortunately, Mr. Gar helped her by showing it’s ok to be firm when the customer is being a jerk, allowing Enid to shout loud to kick the skateboard out of the store.  What Enid learned is a rare message on how the statement that customers are always right really isn’t totally true.  It gives a believable reason why she’s unmoved by mobs of customers now. 

While these stories are big on character development, they close off with one simply being told in the name of fun by the local crazy old man, Crinkly Wrinkly.  In a fake dramatic voice, he gives a creative yet ridiculous story of Mr. Gar being a God-like figure with a robot companion, Plazamo.  Mr. Gar singlehandedly, with a few punches and kicks, laid the groundwork for Lakewood Plaza Turbo while Plazamo became the plaza.  It also explains how Boxmore came to be when Mr. Gar kicked a young Lord Boxman to that robot factory’s building site.  It’s a fun story to close things off, but it seems a little too far-fetched even for this show especially with what we later learn about Mr. Gar.  You have to wonder if Crinkly Wrinkly and Mr. Gar are valid when they say the story is true. 
Still, this whole cartoon is a great look into the inspirational side of idols with great looks into the backgrounds of some of the main characters, standing as one of the show’s best works.
A+

The Ranking
  1. Legends of Mr. Gar
  2. We’ve Got Pests
  3. I Am Dendy
  4. You Get Me
  5. Let’s Be Heroes
  6. You’re Everybody’s Sidekick
  7. Jethro’s All Yours
  8. My Dad Can Beat up Your Dad
  9. Let’s Be Friends
  10. We Messed Up
  11. Presenting Joe Cuppa
  12. Sibling Rivalry
  13. Just Be a Pebble
  14. Do You Have Any More in the Back?
  15. You’re Level 100
  16. You Are Rad
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where K.O. sets out to prove how much he loves his mommy, and learns about her past along the way.
If you would like to check out other OK K.O.! reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

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