Review – Ben 10: Gwen Special Edition (Vol 1)

A six-episode collection featuring Ben’s tough, confident and outspoken cousin Gwen. This girl definitely isn’t going to sit back and be Ben’s sidekick!

Volume 1 of 2 (contains 6 episodes)

Release Date: 07/10/2009
Languages: English
Genre: Animation, Action / Adventure, Kids
Subtitles: None subtitles
Runtime: 138.0 mins

Ep. #10 – “Lucky Girl”

Gwen comes across an ancient charm that gives her luck, transforming her into the heroine Lucky Girl. She and Ben fight the owner of the charm who wants to complete his set to perform evil deeds. Contains quite a bit of witchcraft and might be a bit scary for little kids.

Ep. #22 – “Tough Luck”

The kids go to a magic convention and Gwen picks up a mystical piece of jewellery. Lucky Girl makes a reappearance with newfound powers as does evil villain Hex along with his gifted niece and things soon get out of order.
Ep. #29 – “A Change of Face”

Gwen and Ben visit the famous home of witchcraft in Salem and experience some of the local history. Charmcaster returns, striking trouble from the beginning. Gwen gets herself into a few sticky situations, taking her family with her against the evil witch.

Ep. #17 – “Gwen 10″

Ben attempts a heroic act only to realise he isn’t wearing his Omnitrix watch when his grandfather saves the day. Ben is told the watch doesn’t exist and the summer’s adventures never happened when they arrive in the Omnitrix’s original landing place and Gwen becomes the possessor.

Ep. #39 – “The Visitor”

An alien interrupts a family day in the part, demanding to know how Ben got the Omnitrix (another day, another alien!). Grandpa breaks up the action and an unusual reunion unfolds. The Omnitrix is under attack again and the group all pitch in with their skills and powers to defend it from Gilgax’s crew.

Ep. #46 – “Big Fat Alien Wedding”

Ben and Gwen are off to a wedding that has been fraught with problems from the beginning. Tensions are heightened when it is revealed the bride and groom are alien and human – and the families are not happy about the union. It’s up to Ben, Gwen and Grandpa to maintain the peace and ensure the day runs smoothly.

I had never watched Ben 10 prior to this review but I have to admit I found the Omnitrix watch and Ben’s control of the monsters a great new take on the super powers concept (and some of the monsters were pretty cool!). There is plenty of action in each of the episodes to keep you engaged – it’s a case of blink and you’ll miss a major part of the story. The story tends to be pretty similar every episode but it is aimed at a very young audience who need to be able miss episodes and still know what their characters are up to.

This disc set was laid out you could follow the episodes easily without feeling like you had missed vital parts of the story ie. explaining how Gwen came across her skills in witchcraft. A newcomer could pick up this disc and quickly learn the story and characters with ease.

The last two episodes were more about Ben and Gwen happened to be in the episode, rather than the storyline centring around Gwen.

Review product was provided by Madman Entertainment, and does not affect the outcome of this review.