For some reason, my kids found She-Ra too scary, but seem to love Kipo. Weird.
Oh god, yes, Wrong Hordak is very close to the best thing ever. That doofy clone stole damn near every scene he was in. Same with Entrapta and Scorpia, tbh. . .
FWIW, I don’t know if “first becomes favorite” quite applies, as that’d have been Steven Universe for me. Which, don’t get me wrong, I adore, but it never quiet got me in the heart the way She-Ra has. The highs were here, essentially. And again, I’m not even 1/3 of the way through ATLA right now; it’s got a lot of time to fully win me over/blow me away :)
Kipo is probably next on my list, @legowarrior. And She-Ra definitely has some really spooky and intense moments.
So I’m doing my yearly(ish) Netflix month and have started watching She-Ra. It was on my list ever since I watched the Netflix Voltron series, which I very much enjoyed, and the fervent @ArmandoPenblade recommendation moved it up my backlog. Second place, in fact, right after Jessica Jones.
I’m right at 20 episodes in, right in the middle of that weird short-season thing they did for seasons 2 and 3. Thus far, it’s a delightful watch. I do cringe a bit at the silly princess names, but I understand they were constrained by the terrible ideas that came from the 80s. :) They’ve done a fine job with all the characters, particularly with introducing some real weaknesses into the main characters (Adora, Glimmer, Katra). The old 80s cartoons gave their main characters nearly godlike perfection and only showed weakness when it was necessary for that week’s half-hour plot point. For the most part, they’re avoiding that sort of thing nicely.
The supporting princesses are a bit weak thus far, but maybe we’ll see some more development as things go along. The end of season 1 felt somewhat deus-ex-machina to me, with all these people we barely met earlier riding in to save the day. There’s a lot of episodes left so there’s room to expand on them.
And I must say that I love Entrapta and her whole chaotic neutral pursuit of science at all costs, easily my favorite supporting character to this point. There’s no portion of this show that’s not made better by more Entrapta.
Heh, I kinda found the “find a princess” missions of the middle of Season 1 the weakest point, but was awed enough by all the pretty colors that I didn’t think how that kinda undersells the S1 finale with them.
And yes, Entrapta is absolutely amazing, and they do some really fantastic stuff with her in that split season. Good luck as you get nearer the S2/3 finale!
(also yay! welcome to the lovely world of 2018 She-Ra!)
I will also note that @ArmandoPenblade 's post (along with another buddy of mine in another setting) got me to convince my wife and daughters to give this a go. We’re only four episodes in, but it’s enjoyable so far.
But I warn you Penblade - if this turns out badly for me I will drive down there and… probably force you to cook something, because I’m on a no-carb diet, and it’s really killing me.
It’s a win-win, then! ;)
Glad you’re liking it so far, TW! Definitely keep us updated <3
Does “badly” include sobbing like a baby during the entire finale? But like, happy crying?
In any case, I’ll merrily leave out socially distant treats for you anytime!
You know how the princesses are having a planning session, and Mermista does that eyeroll and says ugh and acts all bored, and occasionally does a facepalm when something especially dumb happens? That was me through most of season 4. My favorite character was in exile, the only real character change was a falling-out in the best friends squad, and the storyline was taking its own sweet time getting to what we all knew was coming, Horde Prime. It wasn’t until the last 2-3 episodes that I started enjoying myself again.
But now the good news…the last season was much better! Fuzzed for those not yet there: It was kinda dumb how Adora managed to unlock She-Ra just by being all sad/mad over Catra…you’d think it wouldn’t be that hard to put in a side quest to learn a magic technique or something…but otherwise I liked the setup for the big finale. Nice that they finally got around to bringing Catra to the light side. Loved seeing more of Spinarella, even if it wasn’t the greatest circumstances. That bit in ep 12 where she carries the whole princess squad into battle in a giant windstorm was epic. And She-Ra got pants, that was long overdue!
There’s one thing that terribly annoyed me, though. They just were so clumsy with the Adora-Catra relationship. For 4.9 seasons, the whole dynamic is sisters who disagree, are jealous, fight over mommy’s approval, and yet love one another and don’t want to truly hurt the other. Then at the very end, suddenly it’s romantic, between two characters who have evidenced zero interest in romance in any way up to this point. All they needed to do was have a scene or two in the earlier seasons to establish possible interest. Maybe Catra is being hit on in some lowlife bar and grouchily rejecting all comers until she sees someone who kinda resembles Adora, and she gets all tongue-tied and embarrassed. Or Adora rescues some nice wholesome village girl, they fall for each other, but before long Adora realizes she needs less nice and more prickly. Anything to establish that romance is an option. Without that, it felt like the ending should have been Anna-Elsa love, not kissy-face.
Two comments regarding the perceived lack of romantic setup:
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You don’t think the teasing way they address one another right from the beginning isn’t kinda sexual? Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey you!
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The age rating for the show makes it straddle (pun absolutely intended) a weird line with regard to romance. It’s IMO clearly also obvious that Catra & Scorpia are in a relationship at one point, but the show doesn’t directly say so because of the rating. Also it’s an abusive and maybe kinky relationship so…
Diego
I’m on my phone and pretending I don’t have to get up out of bed yet, but yeah, there’s a lot of textual support for the ending from the get go. If nothing else, I present Princess Prom.
Kk, now on my PC and happy to use type-y type-y as a form of procrastination for the RPG session I’m supposed to be prepping for tomorrow afternoon :)
Funnily enough, Season 4 is also the low point for me, albeit for different reasons. The entire plotline with Double Trouble was very stressful for me, insofar as I really hate those kinds of stories in shows/books/games – the audience has the dramatic awareness of the coming conflict/fall, and the characters (seemingly) helplessly stumble along directly into the trap/mistake/disaster. They just stress me out, mostly – it can be done well or poorly, like any other storytelling technique – but knowing the big fight and resulting blowback was coming was always there in the back of my mind. Then again, S4 also has a few of my favorite episodes, like “Mer-Mysteries,” “Hero,” and “Destiny Pt. 2.”
As for the big reveal in the finale, there’s a lot of setup scattered throughout, almost from the opening moments. I’ll admit, I missed a lot of it during my watch through. The simple guess on my part is that as a straight dude, some of the cues of gay romance are just easy for me to miss, but in truth, I’m not an especially perceptive viewer in general, and having had relatively limited and very, very old successful experiences with flirtation/courtship prior to my current relationship beginning back in junior year of high school, a lot of romantic storytelling kinda flies by my head, hah. But from that first, “Hey, Adora” and the early shot of, well, their sleeping arrangements back in the Horde, on through the blushing sweeps and jealous glances of “Princess Prom,” and right on through the moment Catra starts purring up a storm when she leaps onto Adora’s lap, the show is laying the groundwork here about as best it can.
I’m not sure if studio pressure was as much an issue, given the early reveals of Bows’ dads and Netossa and Spinarella being married, but there was definitely meant to be a heavy will-they, won’t-they thing going on (complete with the inevitable “there’s no coming back from this!” moment in the S3 finale when Catra opens the portal). The show obviously plays around with expectations some and teases other ships – the clear (at least one-sided) relationship between Catra and Scorpia, for instance – but one of the things some of my LGBT pals who like it love most is how they didn’t feel like it was “queer-baiting” them with winking nods toward non-cishet relationships that never actually go anywhere. Heh, hell, if anything, the fact that they go with a far less-intimate forehead kiss between Glimmer/Bow as compared to the full smooch for Catra/Adora kinda makes me think like they’d rather do the opposite :-D
That said, lengthy asides, well, aside, I’m really glad you plowed through and found lots to enjoy, @ineffablebob! It was fun following along your journey in bits and pieces and reminiscing about my own, seeing your own perspectives, etc. What delightful show awaits each of us next, I wonder? (as I’ve finally caught up on all the televised Avataring that there currently exists)
Gonna save this to watch in a couple of years when the granddaughters are older. Thanks for the compelling recommendation @ArmandoPenblade.
Well, we’re loving this so far. The first season seemed like pretty standard “for kids” fare, though it tightened up by the end of the 12-episode run and you could see the promise in the overall plot here and there.
But once it starts firing on all cylinders during the second season, it starts to get its hooks into you. The individual episodes become less stand-alone and far more binge-watchy with little cliffhangers at the ends and an overall story that drowns out the “life-lesson of the week” stuff.
But that’s not to say that the individual half-hour episodes don’t do well standing on their own. The episode where we are introduced to Bow’s fathers was a fantastic “coming out of the closet” show, for instance.
For @ArmandoPenblade 's tracking pleasure, we finished Season 3 last night. My wife and I watched like six episodes in a row yesterday, pissing off my daughter who had to work.
An interesting aside, the actor who voices “Glimmer” played Katana in Suicide Squad and plays The Female in The Boys.
That’s awesome, TW! I completely feel you on the bingeworthiness ramp-up – IIRC, I finished most of the final season in a day. A workday, no less. Oops. But once I was moving, there was no way I could possibly stop.
The episode with Bow’s family is absolutely one of my favorites; it’s a delightful send-up of the tropes and remarkably heartfelt and sweet all at once, with great character moments, humor, and action – all the things I love in a good She-Ra episode <3
Looks like Karen Fukuhara also provides the main character’s voice in Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, which is likely next up for me after I finish off The Dragon Prince this week. She’s fantastic!
Haha She-Ra is supremely binge-worthy. I’ve recommended it to a bunch of people but most of them just can’t get past the exterior which is a terrible shame. It’s the best show I’ve watched all year.
I managed to get one of my friends (a 40+ year old burly guy) hooked on it though. Amusingly his wife thought he was bonkers for binge-watching a kids cartoon with rainbows and unicorns and now considers us both crazy for gushing about it on the phone to each other.
I just watched Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts. I consider it decent but not on She-Ra’s level of awesomeness. It does however have great music and visuals and a pretty cool, distinctive style. I think you’ll enjoy it but keep expectations fairly low. I especially enjoy the intro sequences to each episode where items in the background spell out the title and the music kicks in - you’ll know what I mean when you see it.
I’ve tried The Dragon Prince twice now and bounced off it both times, only getting half-way through season 1. I’m not exactly sure what keeps putting me off. It feels very lightweight and I find the voice acting pretty shaky - especially the female elf. Is it worth persevering do you think. Are seasons 2/3 any better?
Yes, they are. We were on the fence about continuing after season 1, but liked 2 and 3 a lot more, as the characters get more interesting and the pace picks up (maybe a bit too much, to the point that some parts felt rushed).
My daughter watched season1 with me when it came out, and she liked it well enough that she youtubed the old ones and watched those for a while… but we blinked and all of a sudden there are five seasons!! She’s ‘binging’ as well as she can with her 40 minutes of tv time once her little brother is asleep (he doesn’t do well with action ‘violence’) and she’s eating them up. usually I’m finishing off the work day but I’m listening in and watching bits when I can by looking into the mirror in front of me. The show’s really good, even inversed…!
Kipo is definitely charming. Warning: currently ends with a bit of a cliffhanger. Also, Dragon Prince currently ends with a bit of a cliffhanger.
I’m only 4 episodes into She-Ra. And quarantine ending.
The voice acting has, erm, a lot of low points. Like you, I bounced off of it 5 or so episodes into the first season, but on the plaintive recommendations of several friends, I powered through again, finishing this morning (well, “finishing” through the end of S3).
It’s definitely a step down from SPOP, Avatar, Korra, etc., but I wound up founding it fairly enjoyable, especially as the animation work improved over time (close-up shots and conversations were terrifying-looking early on). There’s some silly things that bug or bother me, but there’s a lot to love, too. Several characters are pretty endearing, and the worldbuilding is neat. There are some clever twists on the usual mythologies here and there that I really appreciated.
There’s also lots of clever little jokes, references, and hints hidden in the art during the credits; don’t let Netflix rush you through them :)
I, personally, think the boomerang shout-out (whisper?) alone was worth the price of admission.