X-Men the animated Series Vs X-Men Evolution

vs

Now I know what your thinking...isn't this just like the Old vs New from Nostalgia Critic? Oh..you're not! OK then, since we cleared that up, let me explain. Growing up I loved both series (well, I say loved, more like liked one and loved the other). But aside from nostalgia, which ones is truly the better series. While many fans of the original series will hold to it being the superior, don't make up your mind until the end of this review. Like NC, I will compare the two series in a variety of categories. Story first, action, animation, villains, then Heroes as the series is focused mainly on them. Without further ado, here is my old vs new for X-TAS vs X-E. (I'm getting tired of waiting for him to do it)

Story
Now for story this is kind of a mixed bag. On one hand you have a series loyal to the fans and comics by telling stories similar to or exactly like the comic books. This has involved telling the back-story of each character to that in the continuity of the comics, as well as adapting famous stories like The Phoenix Saga, Days of Future Past, Genosha, etc. Because of this loyalty, fans are quick to choose this as the superior.
On the other hand, Evolution is more of a prequel to the original series and thus don't adapt that many stories (In fact, a majority of the time they allude to them happening in the future). This allows for more freedom to create new stories or add to the established lore. When I heard the premise I thought it had potential, but then I heard it was set in High School. I was like "no, no this is just a cheap cop out to grab the attention of a larger audience". But much to my surprise, the more I thought about it, the more I realized the potential of exploring themes of prejudice, influence and choice, all found in High school and faced by many teens and eventually kids as they grow older.

However, both stories have their cons, X-TAS rarely modernized the stories, are incredibly corny and dated. While X-E is more simplistic and, strangely, confusing in the stories delivery. Choosing, I would have to say that because of it's memorable corniness and loyalty to it's source material, I have to go with the original. The stories are famous and memorable for a reason, the writers treated it's readers with respect and spoke to them maturely about a subject. In X-E, I find they cater to the young crowd a bit too much sometimes. While a kids show, if we are treated with respect, then we respect the show. Old wins!                                         
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Action:
A TV series about superheroes is nothing without action, otherwise it would pointless, pretentious schlock. Both series had some great scenes of action and other times not. For example, around this time, censors I believe were clamping down on inappropriate content in media, especially Children/Teen TV. Before we were getting away with real firearms and bullets and blood on screen (Thank you BTAS), but somehow other shows like GI Joe and X-Men were using lasers and they barely showed a scratch. But aside from the impact, how was the delivery. 
Well, in the new we have the more acrobatic and more explosive demonstration of each characters powers. This has a much greater build up, but less of a pay-off. It's good to see the powers used in colorful and creative ways, especially when Wolverine uses his claws to actually cut and not just flash around. As I said the impact is rarely seen, mainly because of all those damn cutaways whenever a fight begins. The scene will literally cut to black every 10 minutes before a fight in order to 'build tension'. That's another thing there is no tension in each fight, although delivery is good and we can see what's happening, the result is sometimes disappointing, but predictable. 
In the old, there is a much greater sense of tension as the result is actually impressive (compared to the new). When Cyclops hit's Sinister with his optic blast, it looks and sounds like it hurts. but the build up is actually poor and the delivery by the combatants is under par. Their movement is limited and therefore the action is limited. Here I see that both series has very equal points, with one having better delivery and being more flowing, but is predictable and not too impressive. The other is a good result and tense, but has poor movement. I'd say this is a Tie ('cough' not a cop out 'cough').
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Animation:
Here is another area where I am conflicted. While both series are unique and deliver well in terms of animation, they are not without some major flaws. 
In the Old, the designs are very detailed in terms of character design and background/backdrop design. Everything looks like a animated version of the comic books. This is more close to the design that fans associate with the X men and I gotta say...it look's ridiculous. Have you seen what they're wearing, skin tight latex in blue, yellow and black. How does this look in any way inconspicuous. True they are detailed, but the movement is stilted, the pacing of a scene is choppy at worst and the voice acting doesn't always come up to scrap. I don't know why, but the way Wolverine speaks here sounds goofy and forced to me. But as much as I can complain, the designs are colorful and detailed, even if cheesy and sometimes contains homosexual undertones (look at what they are wearing!). But need we forget series 5, jeez what happened to them!
As for the New, I have to say the animation is almost top notch. The move quickly and efficiently and ever more so flowing. And the back grounds are equally as impressive, creating whole new areas containing vivid detail. Even the costume designs, due to being released the same time around Bryan Singer's franchise, are much more realistic and are similar, yet colorful contrasts, to the movies. But I will admit that the designs are rather simplistic. Like they only needed to shrink Jeans Greys uniform, paint it purple and boom you got Shadowcats suit. Also the animation for some scenes can be very lazy, like one scene where a truck was leaving the scene, you heard it drive off into the distance, but you can still see the rear of the truck at the edge of the screen.
I would say it's a tie here as well. I mean the old is more detailed and traditional, but it hasn't aged well, the designs are cheesy and...what was up with the final series. While the new is better designs of costumes and fluid animation, but with is simple and sometimes lazy.
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Villains:
OK, here is some easy picking's. If we are gonna compare villains from each show, they need to be memorable, powerful and, in the case of X-Men, relatable. let's look at the main man himself, Magneto. As the master of Magnetism and survivor of the Nazi Holocaust, these mix to form an enemy who is both dangerous and justified. In both show's, I got the feeling that Magneto has suffered and that his actions are somewhat justified, so I have pity for my enemy. But in terms of intimidation, my god Evolution sounds so badass. He sounds like Goliath from Gargoyles and looks intimidating. Always clad in the shadows until the finale of season 1, he poses a formidable threat that cannot be reasoned with. The old however, isn't nearly as intimidating. While he has his moments, the voice is just too distracting, the new is how I imagined he would sound. (Well, Evolution and Tony Jay.)
How about Mystique. A bit tough, while the new is more aggressive, the connection to Nightcrawler and Rogue is present in both cases, the new has more independence from Magneto, like she has her own vendetta, while the old allies herself more than actually leads. 
As for Apocalypse, in the old, he has a badass voice, badass weapons and is practically invincible. In the New, he barely speaks and yet he conveys so much. He just oozes power and domination, but his defeat is rather anti-climatic. (but I don't mind, for obvious reasons). 
The Brotherhood of Mutants are also worth examining. To tell the truth, I don't really like the Brotherhood, no matter the interpretation, both are equally goofy and aren't taken seriously enough.
But the real change came with Juggernaut. I mean, he's supposed to be the unstoppable, intimidating force of destruction, but the old has him spewing out stupid one liners. The new has him growl and laugh at those who stop him, while neither interpretations are clever, the new one is more intimidating.  
Other villains like Mr Sinister, Dark Phoenix, Shaw or Deadpool sadly don't make it into the new series, but in comparison, I find the new villains are more intimidating, more powerful and knocks the old out of the park.
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Heroes:
It's even Steven's and it all comes down to the main cast, the heroes. Without these guy's, their powers, the personalities and their representations of discrimination and intolerance, the show's would cease being as powerful in it's delivery of strong themes and morals. Let's concentrate on four in particular. First off, Wolverine. They are about the same in both. While one is more shrouded in mystery, they equally express a vigilante attitude, but a strong will to protect their friends. So tey are kind of tied. 
How about Cyclops. Tell the truth, in the old, nobody really liked him, he was too much of a boy scout and rarely thought outside the box. While in the new, Scott is a much younger leader, making more mistakes and coming to terms with his abilities. It is also interesting the exploration of how he feels about his inability to see anything without a visor. I find his need to be the boy scout, but still having a more angry attitude allows him to be a very diverse character.
Then there is everyone's favourite southern belle, Rogue. Again I side with the New, but only by a little bit. Both series explore interesting areas in the spectrum of Rogues emotions. I find that for someone with the ability of absorbing an entire persons being uncontrollably, they would tend to be a bit grouchy and reclusive. But at the same time, it's admirable to be optimistic and friendly in the face of adversity. The warm, reclusive, strong and vulnerable nature of these two interpretations are what Singer should be aiming to achieve in the future. So a tie.
In the old we got Jubilee as the eyes and ears of the young adult audience, while in the new, a majority of the cast is in their teens to late teens, and that role is taken by Kitty Pryde. Kitty is the chirpy, optimist of the group, intelligent and friendly, but not without her limits. Her ability to phase through matter allows for both comedic and action packed moments. Jubilee on the other hand...is none of these. While I may have been initially annoyed by the valley girl accent and frequency of mistakes in season 1, as we moved on Kitty became much more likable and competent. Jubilee stayed the same for the entirety of the series. She's a whiner, a boaster, incompetent, accident-prone and a nuisance. For someone who was meant to represent the young demographic, she sure did a bang up job on that. In fact, Jubilee appears in the new series as well and even though appearing in only a couple of episodes, she is much more likable and competent. She once used her power to save the X-Jet by diverting a heat seeking missile. 30 seconds and she did more for the X-Men than Jubilee did in the entirety of the Old series. No competition, the rest of the cast is relatively the same. Both Professors are good, both Beasts, both Jean Grey's. So yeah, by tallying up the votes, the New Series wins.
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I have to say that even though I find the New series better, this was actually closer than I thought. When I saw both series for the first time, I loved them both and looking back, the fact both have held up tremendously well, via a dedicated fan base, is a testament to the longevity of the series in the future. I recommend that either of the series be viewed and enjoyed, not because I said so, because they deserved to be watched. Both deal with similar themes of isolation, discrimination, idiocy of society and racism in different, but effective ways. Whatever you choose, I hope you enjoy your viewing. And by the way, sorry Doug Walker if read this and feel like I ripped of your idea, all credit goes to you for inspiring this post. And for anyone who feel's I was unfair on the old series, here's a special something.

Best opening sequence:
Old WINS!