He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2021 Netfix series (no, not Revelations, the other one))

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He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2021 Netfix series (no, not Revelations, the other one))

Post by Time Traveller »

So, Minerva and I have watched all 10 episodes of the new younger-demographic MOTU series. It is aimed at the same age demo as the original series (which we are now calling He-1), New Adventures, and "200X". It features flashy, highly stylized 3d CG animation, and a surprisingly fresh spin on a number of concepts collected from across the ages of MOTU media. Despite some of the bizarrely top-heavy character models, the animation is appealing to watch, and leans heavily into making the series look magical rather than technological or mundane. The writing is on-par for a "kids" MOTU, and there are occasional nods (fanwank) to earlier series that only older fans would catch.
The series follows a little different formula than previous shows, with Adam's Masters of the Unvierse being a sort of super sentai to battle Skeletor and his growing flock of "Dark Masters". Each episode features at least one stock-footage transformation sequence, which includes not just He-Man but his compatriots as well, with a cry of "WE have the power!" That's not to say that the plot is necessarily formulaic, nor monster-of-the-week. The status quo is always in flux unlike He-1, New Adventures, or 80s cartoon series in general. There is some focus on socializing values like friendship and honesty, but not to the degree of He-1 or even Revelations.
I would say it's not a must-watch for the adult collectors, but if you have Netflix and want to put something on, you could do far worse. Plus, David Kaye plays a wise and brave Cringer, so you'll be treated to that! If you're WAY into MOTU, then it may be worthwhile for you to check out, especially if you've got kids that you could share it with.

BEGIN SPOILERS.
Since I imagine most grown MOTU fans won't be into investing ~250 minutes to take in season 1, here's a laundry list of things I found interesting or important.
-Character switchups. We meet all the characters as relatively normal people, and they receive their powers through the course of the first few episodes. Adam is a prince, but a long-lost, presumed-dead amnesiac who has been raised by the tigers of Cringer's tribe along with "Krass" Krass'tina, who uses her gem-encrusted crash helmet to become Ram Ma'am. Duncan is an apprentice weapon smith working for the bad guys. The big reversal is that Teela starts out as a sorceress, though she practices her somatic-based magic illegally, as a societal outcast. Ork-0 [sic] is a robot who accidentally gained the memories and personality of Orko the Great from 1000 years ago.
-Villain origins. Evil-Lyn begins as Evelyn, already working for Keldor, and uses verbal-based magic of somewhat limited power. Kronis is a former Man-at-Arms who is apprenticing Duncan. Keldor is presented as King Randor's brother, who was presumed dead from the same Grayskull-related incident that caused the disappearance of Adam. We also first meet Beast Man as R'Qazz, a feral but human slaver/poacher who makes creatures like Cringer and his clan fight in a pit for his amusement. All eventually gain transformation powers by Skeletor at the end of the season. Beast Man's stock footage TF sequence was kind of shocking and worth looking up on YT
-Setting differences. Randor appears to be a grieving single father who presumes Adam dead for 10+ years. His kingdom and demeanor seem to be far less kind or just than previous Randor, and he views the Power of Grayskull as a dangerous evil to be avoided and suppressed, despite being the birthright of kings of Eternos. Sorceress (called Eldress) is already dead from the confrontation that "disappeared" Adam and Keldor, but she appears as a spirit to help and guide the kids. Keldor claims and inhabits Snake Mountain amid the Fright Zone wastes, which was left behind by the Snake People 1000s of years ago. The fangs of the mountain drip green havoc energy like the lava dripping from them in 200x.
-Fanwank. There are some pretty decent ones. Skeletor gets more hammy as the show goes on. The couple that stand out to me are the kids sarcastically opining about Grayskull not being some sort of spaceship (like... Starship Eternia?). Eventually, Eldress is forced to use what power she has left to relocate it, about which she quips "this will be a new adventure". The best one, though, is when the heroes go to Snake Mtn. to confront Skeletor, and he is talking down to them through the PA system. They faithfully create the echo effect and feedback of the original toy's microphone system, complete with Skeletor cursing the antiquated technology.
END
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Re: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2021 Netfix series (no, not Revelations, the other one))

Post by Ultra Magnus »

I will probably check this one out.

Also, I really enjoyed Revelations. I know it got a lot of hate, but I did not get it at all.
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