Now this is the actual review, not the while watching notes. Keep in mind, once again, that I have seen this episode and the series MANY times before, but the review will be kept spoiler free. The while watching notes will NOT.
Review[]
Overall, I believe this episode is a great start into the series. It introduces a few characters, but not so many it leaves your head spinning and the mysteries that surround it are simple enough to be solved in later episodes. It leaves me wanting more, which is always a good sign.
Humor : Humor is always an important element to me because I love to laugh, but it is not a requirement if the episode is written well enough or seems unnecessary. However, the humor in this episode, while slightly cliche, still makes me smile and even giggle time and time again. It's enough to make me happy, without making me think they're trying too hard...too much.
Dialogue : The dialogue is a little dated now with some of the teen lingo, but it still fits well. It doesn't make me bored, in fact, quite the opposite. It keeps me engaged in their conversation, making me wish I could join in. Whether this be from throwing insults back and forth (Nightcrawler and Toad) to one of Scott and Jean's moments (like near the bathroom or under the bleachers).
Overall characters : I feel like they were introduced well, giving the audience a nice insight into who they are and what they stand for, perhaps even a bit of foreshadowing. It also, as I'm just noticing this, doesn't require any backstory as to where these characters come from, their family relations, etc. This can always be shown later and would bore the viewers (especially me on the first episode).
Animation : This will not be an element on any of the other reviews, but for it being a first episode, I thought it was important to bring it in. I'm a huge fan of old school drawing animation and have never been a huge advocate of a TON of computer simulation and overly animated (if that makes sense. It never has to my family, but I like using X-men : The animated series vs. Wolverine and the X-men as an example). This has a beautiful blend of both, even if there are clear errors at times, but that happens in every cartoon. Overall, nice job!
Character Relations : It's always nice in the first episode to see what is possible to come (and to come back from watching it before and seeing what was obviously foreshadowed) into being with the characters and how they react with each other. I'm not going to point any out for spoilers sake, but it was fun!
I'm not usually a fan of rating things on a star scale as I seem to be inconsistent depending on my mood, so I'm just going to say that this was a good episode and I can't wait to review others. Please comment below and let me know what you think of the episode.