So I hadn't really watched much Masters of the Universe after, oh, age 5. But it was a definite fave cartoon of mine. I had many of the action figures and still do to this day! I tried revisiting the cartoon about 5 years ago, but it was pretty hard to watch. Kinda terrible. The story was very basic, violence consisted of silly mechanics like heroes throwing people instead of stabbing them, and I realized this really hasn't aged well and can't appeal to adults. It was sadly imprisoned in my youth, and couldn't be enjoyed as an adult. Oh well, I thought... But then this modern version comes along... I became intrigued when I saw this new He-Man art style a few months ago in sneak peaks and now on the first day of release I've binge-watched the first five episodes of the new He-Man show and it really hit the right notes!
This is the Masters of the Universe we've always wanted.
Overall this truly is Masters of the Universe modernized, reborn, and given the potential it deserved. Adults can now finally watch this, perhaps even with their kids, and just enjoy a fantasy tale set in Eternia. I liked how rather than slavishy try and redo the original cartoon, this changes things up. The focus of the first five episodes are different from what I expected but in a good, world building way. The animation is super nice, drawn in a great style that both pays homage to the original but advances it to a whole new polished level. It is certainly modernized in that more violent events occur that would never have occurred in the 80s conservative-censored original, and I think that's a good thing. It's not so hokey... Story is great too, with each episode a contained story that definitely feels satisfying per episode yet leaves you wanting more... and they all connect up to tell a bigger story. Certain characters act more realistically... more human. Skeletor is less of a joke, and we can finally take him seriously. These are all upgrades in my opinion.
One thing I quite liked was the focus on the characters other than He-Man and Skeletor. I felt it allowed time to get to know these characters as well as immerse ourselves into the world of Eternia. Seeing the animal like people, the villages, the cults, the kingdoms... it's all great world building. All of the main characters are introduced well and I felt stayed true to the original but added more depth.
I liked the voice acting overall. It was very well done... especially Mark Hamill as Skeletor really worked! Pretty much no complaints, but just one small nitpick... I do think Teela sounded a bit too much like a mall rat teenager when I think she should have sounded more like a stronger sounding woman, like a Signoury Weaver type coulda worked you know? I don't think the voice actress did a bad job necessarily just maybe wasn't the right pick?
Anyways, quite a nostalgia trip for me and this is the nostalgia trip I hoped for when I tried watching the original again but didn't feel the magic. This animation definitely did the trick... got me back into He-Man, and the world of Eternia.
The Power of Greyskull is back!
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