By Mark Rodriguez
Yes, She-Ra has made a comeback in 2018 thanks to Dreamworks animation, and the 13 episode first season has hit Netflix this past November 13. However the overall look of the show has brought upon a lot of polarizing opinions.
So before I get on with the review, I'll get two things out of the way. The original She-Ra was essentially a girls cartoon, however she was also He-Man's twin sister. He-Man was one of the biggest heroes for guys back in the 80's and She-Ra was an extension to the lore. Filmation put all their focus on She-Ra and ended the He-Man cartoon, so it was too late for newer villains like the Horde and the Snake Men to make an appearance on He-Man, so they appeared on She-Ra instead. For all intents and purposes (and thanks to cameos from He-Man and Skeletor at times), She-Ra was basically He-Man season 3. So yeah, a lot of guys tuned in, especially since back then both shows were played back to back for a full hour of MOTU goodness.
The second thing I want to get out of the way is all the internet outrage when the designs for the characters were announced. I'm not getting in that nonsense and I've seen a lot of negative reviews that sound like the critics didn't even watch the show past the first episode or (not at all) and are only complaining about the character designs and scenes shown in screencaps and whatnot. I did my best to avoid all that noise and went in with an open mind and what I found was an interesting show that takes concepts from the original story and expanded on them.
First and foremost, She-Ra is the tale of Adora, who was raised among Catra and other kids to work for the Horde under the tutelage of Shadow Weaver. It seems the others know the truth but Adora was raised to believe the Horde were good and they're fighting against the evil princesses. After Adora gets promoted to Force Captain, she ventures out of the Fright Zone with Catra which would lead to her discovering the Sword of Protection. Adora would run into Glimmer and Bo, two members of the Rebellion against the Horde and learns that the Horde is not what she thought they were and go around attacking villages full of innocent people. Adora would learn that she was destined to become She-Ra, the legendary savior that would save Etheria from the Horde, and after learning the truth, she can't return to her former allegiance. Catra becomes the new Force Captain and is tasked by Shadow Weaver to bring Adora back.
Adora is taken back to Bright Moon, where Glimmer's mother, Queen Angela resides and she becomes part of the Rebellion. As She-Ra, Adora discovers she has amazing strength, but she still doesn't understand the full extent of her powers. From here we learn that there are other princesses, each with their own powers, and their alliance was once broken. Adora, Glimmer and Bo head out to find each princess to convince them to join their cause so that together they can defeat the Horde once and for all. However, through all this, Adora must also deal with Catra and their now strained friendship since they are now on opposing sides.
The show is a lot of fun. The characters are interesting and diverse, with a lot of personality and quirks, even the bad guys. Of course Adora is the main character and she has to deal with finding out her past was a lie as well as dealing with her new powers as She-Ra and what exactly she got herself into. Glimmer is eager to prove she can be competent on missions and she's been given the power to teleport. Bow in fun-loving and cheerful and keeps the team in check. Catra is conflicted between rising in the ranks of the Horde and also getting her friend back. Scorpia is cheerful among her fellow Hordeswomen but is dangerous when facing the Rebellion. Mermista is usually in an annoyed mood and always complaining. Entrapta is overly obsessed with science and power, regardless of who's side she happens to be on, just as long as she'd allowed to work on her experiments. Shadow Weaver is cold and manipulative, but also has to fear the leader of the Horde, Hordak.
The show also encourages the importance of friendship, as Glimmer and Bo help Adora adjust to a normal and more friendlier way of life. I mean, from her point of view, she basically discovered her childhood was a lie at the same time as discovering who she is as She-Ra. One thing this show did better than the original was go deeper into Adora's previous life with the Horde and adjusting to life outside of it. The original show started with 3-Parter, the Secret of the Sword, but after that, there wasn't much mention of Adora's past with the Horde save a few episodes that has Hordak still target her, and she was also an expert of all her new powers as She-Ra almost instantly. Adora adjusting to her new life and powers is the overlying theme that runs through this new series.
One major change though is the lack of Adora having a secret identity. Unlike the original He-Man and She-Ra (and well... Superman), Adora doesn't make excuses to cut out so she can transform somewhere else, and then make some weak excuse as to where she went while She-Ra was fighting the bad guys. Adora just transforms in front of everyone and other than Catra keeping it a secret from Shadow Weaver for a while, no attempt is really made to have Adora hide her super powered persona. This does open her to weakness, as eventually the villains know to keep her sword away from her.
Also Catra has become the main villain in this series, since Shadow Weaver rarely leaves the Fright Zone. In the original show, while Catra did become Force Captain after Adora left, she was basically just another henchwoman without any sort of personal connection. Making Catra Adora's main villain is actually a clever call back to the original toyline. Due to the Horde being under the He-Man MOTU line, Catra was the main villain of She-Ra's toyline. Also unlike the original Catra, who was basically a normal woman with a mask that turns her into a panther, this version is a catgirl. This means she has the speed, agility, claws and senses of a cat which makes her a formidable opponent for Adora even when she is She-Ra.
The show follows a more serialized fashion as each episode has something that carried over to the next. The Princess Prom episode is a bit of a turning point and slight tone shift. What starts out like a cute episode with hijinx as Catra and Scorpia infiltrate the event (Scorpia is also a princess and she was invited), ended with everything going to hell as the villains not only capture Glimmer and Bo but also have Adora's sword. From there on the rescue attempt does not go exactly as Adora would have hoped and there are consequences that carry over through several episodes until the big finale. I have to say, it was fun seeing the Princesses work together and see how they interact.
The characters have interesting designs that might take some time to get used to when compared to their original versions. Each new episode felt like 'let's see how this character gets adapted'. I think the one that surprised me the most was Frosta as she was redesigned as a ten year old this time around. The overall art style is a bit on a simple side though and the characters do seem a bit flat in terms of shading and detail among the beautifully designed backgrounds. Despite the designs, the characters do animate very fluidly and I do love the almost Super Saiyan effect whenever She-Ra is engulfed in golden light.
The series also digs into its own lore, including the fact there Adora is not the first She-Ra and it's been a thousand years since the last one has appeared. Even though He-Man himself has not been mentioned, Eternia and Castle Greyskull are mentioned quite a bit. Plus the show even threw in Shadow Weaver's origins as Light Spinner that was referenced in UK comics back in the 80's. I'm curious as to what else we'll learn about the backstory of Etheria as a whole.
Overall the show is pretty good and the story kept me invested til the end. I'm already looking forward to the second season. I say if you were a fan of She-Ra back in the day, ignore the critics and all the social media buzzwords and just check it out. Obviously I can't say you must like this show, but give it a chance and watch the whole first season before making up your mind.
Yes, She-Ra has made a comeback in 2018 thanks to Dreamworks animation, and the 13 episode first season has hit Netflix this past November 13. However the overall look of the show has brought upon a lot of polarizing opinions.
So before I get on with the review, I'll get two things out of the way. The original She-Ra was essentially a girls cartoon, however she was also He-Man's twin sister. He-Man was one of the biggest heroes for guys back in the 80's and She-Ra was an extension to the lore. Filmation put all their focus on She-Ra and ended the He-Man cartoon, so it was too late for newer villains like the Horde and the Snake Men to make an appearance on He-Man, so they appeared on She-Ra instead. For all intents and purposes (and thanks to cameos from He-Man and Skeletor at times), She-Ra was basically He-Man season 3. So yeah, a lot of guys tuned in, especially since back then both shows were played back to back for a full hour of MOTU goodness.
The second thing I want to get out of the way is all the internet outrage when the designs for the characters were announced. I'm not getting in that nonsense and I've seen a lot of negative reviews that sound like the critics didn't even watch the show past the first episode or (not at all) and are only complaining about the character designs and scenes shown in screencaps and whatnot. I did my best to avoid all that noise and went in with an open mind and what I found was an interesting show that takes concepts from the original story and expanded on them.
First and foremost, She-Ra is the tale of Adora, who was raised among Catra and other kids to work for the Horde under the tutelage of Shadow Weaver. It seems the others know the truth but Adora was raised to believe the Horde were good and they're fighting against the evil princesses. After Adora gets promoted to Force Captain, she ventures out of the Fright Zone with Catra which would lead to her discovering the Sword of Protection. Adora would run into Glimmer and Bo, two members of the Rebellion against the Horde and learns that the Horde is not what she thought they were and go around attacking villages full of innocent people. Adora would learn that she was destined to become She-Ra, the legendary savior that would save Etheria from the Horde, and after learning the truth, she can't return to her former allegiance. Catra becomes the new Force Captain and is tasked by Shadow Weaver to bring Adora back.
Adora is taken back to Bright Moon, where Glimmer's mother, Queen Angela resides and she becomes part of the Rebellion. As She-Ra, Adora discovers she has amazing strength, but she still doesn't understand the full extent of her powers. From here we learn that there are other princesses, each with their own powers, and their alliance was once broken. Adora, Glimmer and Bo head out to find each princess to convince them to join their cause so that together they can defeat the Horde once and for all. However, through all this, Adora must also deal with Catra and their now strained friendship since they are now on opposing sides.
The show also encourages the importance of friendship, as Glimmer and Bo help Adora adjust to a normal and more friendlier way of life. I mean, from her point of view, she basically discovered her childhood was a lie at the same time as discovering who she is as She-Ra. One thing this show did better than the original was go deeper into Adora's previous life with the Horde and adjusting to life outside of it. The original show started with 3-Parter, the Secret of the Sword, but after that, there wasn't much mention of Adora's past with the Horde save a few episodes that has Hordak still target her, and she was also an expert of all her new powers as She-Ra almost instantly. Adora adjusting to her new life and powers is the overlying theme that runs through this new series.
One major change though is the lack of Adora having a secret identity. Unlike the original He-Man and She-Ra (and well... Superman), Adora doesn't make excuses to cut out so she can transform somewhere else, and then make some weak excuse as to where she went while She-Ra was fighting the bad guys. Adora just transforms in front of everyone and other than Catra keeping it a secret from Shadow Weaver for a while, no attempt is really made to have Adora hide her super powered persona. This does open her to weakness, as eventually the villains know to keep her sword away from her.
Also Catra has become the main villain in this series, since Shadow Weaver rarely leaves the Fright Zone. In the original show, while Catra did become Force Captain after Adora left, she was basically just another henchwoman without any sort of personal connection. Making Catra Adora's main villain is actually a clever call back to the original toyline. Due to the Horde being under the He-Man MOTU line, Catra was the main villain of She-Ra's toyline. Also unlike the original Catra, who was basically a normal woman with a mask that turns her into a panther, this version is a catgirl. This means she has the speed, agility, claws and senses of a cat which makes her a formidable opponent for Adora even when she is She-Ra.
The show follows a more serialized fashion as each episode has something that carried over to the next. The Princess Prom episode is a bit of a turning point and slight tone shift. What starts out like a cute episode with hijinx as Catra and Scorpia infiltrate the event (Scorpia is also a princess and she was invited), ended with everything going to hell as the villains not only capture Glimmer and Bo but also have Adora's sword. From there on the rescue attempt does not go exactly as Adora would have hoped and there are consequences that carry over through several episodes until the big finale. I have to say, it was fun seeing the Princesses work together and see how they interact.
The series also digs into its own lore, including the fact there Adora is not the first She-Ra and it's been a thousand years since the last one has appeared. Even though He-Man himself has not been mentioned, Eternia and Castle Greyskull are mentioned quite a bit. Plus the show even threw in Shadow Weaver's origins as Light Spinner that was referenced in UK comics back in the 80's. I'm curious as to what else we'll learn about the backstory of Etheria as a whole.
Overall the show is pretty good and the story kept me invested til the end. I'm already looking forward to the second season. I say if you were a fan of She-Ra back in the day, ignore the critics and all the social media buzzwords and just check it out. Obviously I can't say you must like this show, but give it a chance and watch the whole first season before making up your mind.
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