I know a big complaint about the new series was the art shift. It was quite shocking to see the character suddenly look like goofy cartoons, however, I don't really have much of a problem with it. The characters look cute in their new style, and it fits the more lighthearted theme they had back in the first series.
The characters are all acting like their usual selves so there's no surprises there. Gwen and Kevin seem to be heading out of the series though. I guess that it is time for a little switch up since it's been the same dynamic for so long. But still, those two will be missed, and are going to need a suitable replacement. I'll get to him later.
So, the episode begins with Zombozo stealing a brain, leading to Kevin hilariously pointing out, "Why does Bellwood even have a brain bank?" I was at first annoyed at how Zombozo had been changed from creepy to wacky. However, I then remembered that they did the exact same thing last time they switched series, so I'm not going to bother complaining. He's still a monster clown which is the heart of his character.
The true villain is revealed to be Khyber and his transforming dog thing. To be honest, I'm not really impressed with this villain. I remember back when Vilgax was big, scary, and menacing. Khyber doesn't exactly come off as an intimidating villain. Maybe he'll prove me wrong, but so far he's given me no reason to think that Ben can't handle him.
Now, for Ben's new partner. Again, I wasn't too happy when I first learned about Rook coming in to replace Gwen and Kevin, however, he hasn't been a disappointment yet. He's very badass when it comes to fighting, yet he's adorably clueless when it comes to communicating with Ben. I think that he'll actually be a very amusing character to get to know.
Lastly, we'll go back to the very start of the episode. We see the ten year old Ben 10 fighting with a new villain called Malware. No more explanation is given, but perhaps we'll be seeing more flashbacks to this time period. While I loved seeing young Ben, this does bring up a few problems. Particularly, problems with the continuity. Things could get messed up if, apparently, new stuff happens in the past that was never mentioned before. It could work out nicely, but I'd rather not get into a tangled mess like this.
All in all, I'm impressed with the start. It's still the same series that we remember, with a few changes. The series needed some changes to keep it interesting though. So I have high hopes for when the series actually begins.
