Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, on EBS 1 (South Korea) / TF1 (France) / Nickelodeon; Netflix; Disney Channel (USA)
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streaming sites: Amazon; Disney+; Netflix

Spoilers!

Somehow I didn't even know this show existed until I happened to find the DVD listed on Amazon while working on my website's calendar. It looked like something I'd like to check out. And... I think it was sometime later that I learned it was airing on Nickelodeon, but I didn't get that channel at the time. So I figured I'd have to get it on DVD, but I wanted to wait for a season set instead of "volumes." Eventually, once the whole first season had been released piecemeal, I got tired of waiting for that, and ordered volume one. But before I'd even finished watching it, I learned that a season set would be released in a few months. So I decided to wait for that instead of ordering any more volumes. Still, at least I watched seven episodes on the DVD I already had (even if they weren't in broadcast order). At some point, I think the series moved to Netflix, and later it moved to Disney Channel (although it may have been on Disney Channel before Netflix, I'm not really sure). But I couldn't watch it on either of those networks. However, I eventually started watching season 2 on Disney+. The show really is fairly amusing and kind of cool, albeit also pretty silly. And I really like the animation and everything.

Season One
So anyway, it's about these two teenage superheroes living in Paris, Ladybug and Cat Noir. They work together to thwart villains, but they have no idea of one another's secret identities. Ladybug is in fact a girl named Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and Cat Noir is Adrien Agreste. Ironically, Marinette has a secret crush on Adrien, while Cat Noir has a very open crush on Ladybug, but because of their secret identities, the two of them have no idea they actually like each other. Each of them has a tiny creature called a "kwami," which can transform them into their superhero forms for a limited amount of time before they need to recharge. (For quite awhile, I thought the creatures were called "miraculouses," and it was some time before I heard anyone on the show use the word "kwami." And it wasn't until some time after that before I really began to learn the difference. In fact, not until the two-part season finale. And those episodes are at the start of disc three of the season one set, but while I generally didn't worry about watching most episodes in broadcast order, I waited until I'd finished all four discs to go back and watch the two flashback "origins" episodes on disc three. And even then, not everything was entirely clear to me. But at least I can say that the "miraculouses" that are mentioned throughout the series are items of jewelery or whatever, that give the wearer super powers. It had long been clear that Ladybug's miraculous was her earrings, and Cat Noir's was his ring. But I still don't really understand what the relationship is between the miraculouses and the kwamis.) Anyway, Marinette's kwami is named Tikki, and Adrien's is named Plagg. Meanwhile, the main villain is Hawk Moth, who for some reason wants to obtain Ladybug and Cat Noir's miraculouses. To that end, he uses his power to turn butterflies into evil "akuma," which then possess some belonging of an innocent person who has a good reason to be upset, thereby transforming the person into a villain with unique powers (and a new name granted by Hawk Moth). They will do Hawk Moth's bidding, and cause trouble around Paris, with the ultimate goal of fighting Ladybug and Cat Noir. In the end, the heroes always defeat the villains and Ladybug uses her power to de-evilize the person and the akuma, and undo any damage that has been done in the meantime.

Other than that... I can say that Marinette's best friend is a girl named Alya Césaire, who has a blog about Ladybug and wants to find out who Ladybug really is, having no idea that it's actually her best friend. And Adrien's best friend is Nino Lahiffe, though so far I don't know much about him. And they all have a snobby classmate named Chloé Bourgeois, who is the mayor's daughter, and has a crush on Adrien, though he doesn't like her (that way). And she doesn't seem to like much of anyone, though she does have a lackey named Sabrina Raincomprix. And there are various other recurring characters, including classmates and parents, et al. And in the flashback episodes at the end of season one, we see how Marinette and Adrien each first obtained their kwamis and miraculouses, and became Ladybug and Cat Noir. We also see that Hawk Moth has a kwami of his own, which gives him his powers, and we learn why he wants the miraculouses. We don't learn his true identity, though I must say I've had a strong suspicion for some time, I mean so strong that I would be hugely shocked if it eventually turns out I'm wrong. Also in the flashback eps, we see Marinette first meeting Alya, and Adrien first defying his father by choosing to go to school instead of being home-schooled. (He had already known Chloe before that, but this is when he first meets all the other kids at school.) Also in those episodes, we learn a bit more about a mysterious old man named Master Fu, who had previously been seen in at least a couple of episodes, in which it became clear that he had some knowledge of everything that was going on with the kwamis and whatnot.

Between seasons one and two, there was a Christmas special called Santa Claws.

Season Two
I honestly can't remember if this reveal came sometime in season one, or not until this season, but either way I have to spoil it for you, now. As I long suspected, Hawk Moth is actually Adrien's father, Gabriel Agreste. And I think it must have been this season that it was revealed his assistant, Nathalie Sancœur, knows that Gabriel is Hawk Moth, and why he's doing what he's doing. (When used together, Ladybug and Cat Noir's miraculouses can Grant a wish, but I still won't spoil what Hawk Moth wants to wish for. It's not a bad thing, but he's willing to do evil things in order to do this one good thing.) Anyway, Nathalie assists him as Hawk Moth, as well as Gabriel. In one episode, the school principal, Mr. Damocles, wants to be a super hero, calling himself "the Owl". Of course he ends up being akumatized, but of course Ladybug and Cat Noir return him to normal, in the end. There will be other episodes where he dresses up as the Owl, though.

There are also episodes where Ladybug gives miraculouses and kwamis to friends, so they can become super heroes temporarily, to help her and Cat Noir, but they always have to give back the miraculouses after the battle. Alya uses the Fox miraculous and Trixx the kwami to become Rena Rouge. Nino uses the Turtle miraculous and Wayzz the kwami to become Carapace. Also, Master Fu creates potions to be fed to Ladybug and Cat Noir's kwamis, which allow the heroes special transformations for unusual circumstances. But the potions aren't used often. There's an episode that focuses a great deal on kwamis, and they try to help rescue Hawk Moth's kwami, Nooroo, who is being held against his will. But they fail. In one episode, Chloe obtains the Bee miraculous and Pollen the kwami, and becomes Queen Bee, causing trouble so that she could then "fix" the problems she created, as a super hero. She gets akumatized, and Ladybugy and Cat Noir must defeat her, and get her to return the miraculous. But in later episodes, Ladybug will loan it to her to help out against Hawk Moth's akumatized villains.

In the two-part season finale, Hawk Moth akumatizes Nathalie into "Catalyst", who can enhance Hawk Moth's powers. He becomes Scarlet Moth, now able to akumatize many people at once. (Most if not all of them had previously been akumatized in earlier episodes.) With so many villains to face at once, Ladybug and Cat Noir recruit Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee to help them. When they're close to victory, Catalyst uses her own Peacock miraculous to become Mayura, to help Hawk Moth escape from the heroes. She uses a feather, which works like Hawk Moth's akumas, and Wikipedia informs me that the feathers are called "amoks", so Mayura amokizes people, though I never heard those terms used in the show. (Maybe that'll be revealed in season three.) But we learn from Gabriel that the Peacock miraculous is damaged, which makes it dangerous for Nathalie to use. Later, all the teenagers from school have a picnic in the park, at which Marinette finally kisses Adrien. But I think it was on the cheek, and I got the impression he didn't realize it was meant as more than a friendly kiss. Anyway... all that is just a small fraction of the stuff that happens throughout the season, but I think I hit all the really important plot developments. The show really is getting more complicated, and I know it'll get far more complicated later on...

I'll say more when I've seen more seasons.