Fixed and back! New video next week. What show do you want to see a video on next?

2 things:

1) the protagonist being explicitly 10 years old really helps the audience (in this case, a 8 to 12 years olds) actually reflect on growing up on parallel to the character. Like, i remember one day realizing "holy shit i'm older than Ben now".

2) The action of clicking the Omnitrix is so cool. One of the best transformations ever. Perfect for imitating and playing.

Unlike many heroes, Ben doesn't have some grand tragedy behind him driving him to be a hero, his parents are alive and well, he didn't cause a family member to die. Ben is a hero... because he wants to be a hero. And I love that when he becomes a certified agent of the Plumbers... he actually gets fucking paid to be a hero, and it's not some grand amount, it's just the average Plumber agent's salary.

this is my favorite things about ben, he embodies heroism better than a lot of other characters. He has no sad backstory, no traumatic experience, no poor family or abusive parents, and yet he is 10 year old kid who got his hands full of great power and one of the first things he thinks is "How can i help people with this!" Best kind of hero is the one that doesn't need any reasons to be a hero.

I also like that ben and gwen felt like real kids and real cousins.

You touched on the idea that the omnitrix is constantly misfiring or acting up and I think that was one of the most interesting parts of the show to me as a kid. When a bad guy showed up with an obvious weakness that one of Ben's aliens could easily exploit, I was always cheering that he would get the right one as I'd already imagined how the fight would end. Then he would get an alien perfectly NOT matched with the enemy at hand, and I would be left wondering both how the fight would've gone if the omnitrix worked properly, and trying to figure out how he was going to win with this completely inappropriate alien. That problem solving aspect always made the show so much more fun for me.

Ben never had "No Kill Rule." He just doesn't do it.

I always thought that the show was trying to say that while the watch and the heroes contained inside gave him powers, it was always Ben choosing to do the right thing that actually made him a hero. Also, because the watch sometimes gave him the wrong hero, it showed that Ben's ingenuity and courage were what won the day more than anything.

1:50 I think the creators just said "What 10 year old kid wouldn't want to be a superhero?" No sad backstory, no deep reason, Ben is basically the kid watching the show.

Classic Ben 10 is one of the most underrated bangers in cartoon history

Ben 10 has similar setting to Gravity falls, 2 kids at a Summer break with Uncle with Mysterious creatures

I said it before but Cartoon Network was pretty much the right network for Ben 10 as I can't really imagine any other network would treat the franchise as well/long running as cartoon network did(with channels at the time like Disney Channel/Jetix, Nickelodeon, or even Adult Swim(if the show was a higher TV-PG show).

Man, I miss OG Ben 10. I remember I used to watch the show, and then later on I play the PS2 game with my little brother. The good old times, when everything was just a little bit more simple

0:11 never heard of an elevator pitch, huh?

Never saw Ben 10 as a superhero show, but now when I think about it, I love ben 10 more than batman or spider man

I remember many years ago I asked for a toy omnitrix for Christmas and my parents got me a Ben 10 figure from the reboot with a very small Grey Matter. I was so sad but didn’t want to say it

This is one of my favorite shows. The parasocial relationship is strong because this feels like getting new friend lore and everytime it changes my perspective. My favorite type of people are the ones who see stories everywhere. Animation is often over looked and/or dismissed as being "childish", but to be a child is the rawest and most myself I feel I am. From todays post, I have found a home in myself because I understand that I feel most myself when I am trying to find myself. I feel most me when I don't really know what I am because that means I could be anything and the excitement of that is worth getting up for.

See you next week, friend.

5:47 missed opportunity not to have separated TEN from SION

I put an Omnitrix watch face on my smart watch.  Love Ben 10.

3:00 Not ALWAYS.  Sometimes the Omnitrix decides he needs to be The Flash when he wants to be The Hulk.