The Wolverine animated series first teased in 2009 has gone through a lot of development on its way to your television -- or at least, on its way to YouTube, where the first episode can likely be found right now in its original Japanese. Produced by Marvel Entertainment and Madhouse, the first of twelve Wolverine episodes debuted in Japan last week and looks quite a bit different from the test animation we saw a couple of years ago. Gone are Logan's super-mullet, supernatural enemies and super cherry blossoms and in their places are modern cityscapes, armed goons and a more familiar look to the enduringly popular X-Man.

The English-language version of the series will air on G4 later this year, but you can check out Wolverine's opening credits and some screenshots of the first episode after the jump.In the first episode, New York-based Wolverine discovers that his missing girlfriend Mariko is being held hostage in Tokyo by her father, who happens to be a nasty old crime lord!

Original test animation


Opening credits

Screenshots

More From ComicsAlliance