Yeah, like I said... I'm not mad at it at all. There's good stuff here. Lots of great character development... Catra and Shadow Weaver surprisingly get the best endings to their personal arcs this season. Still, as a writer, I feel like something that has made this many changes... as a creator you might as well just make your own world. But that's just me thinking for the standpoint of how I handle my own creations as a writer. Obviously others are perfectly happy putting their ideas into other people's worlds and there's nothing terribly wrong with that either.
Jesus I am half terrified to type this because it could be misconstrued but it comes down to whether you are trying to focus your energies on the universe or on some other larger idea. Are you writing because you love the franchise and you are trying to expound upon that or are you writing cause you want to deliver this other idea. So in this example is the social issue wrapped around a good core-franchise story or is the social issue just enrobed in a franchise story. I can’t answer that but I would prefer it’s the former cause if it’s the later it should probably be it’s own thing. Again I haven’t seen it either way.
I have a few things to say. Spoiler While it was a good ending I kind of feel like it's not the one they wanted. Like if they had more time they would have done more with what we got. I'm not convinced that the "Rebel Squadron Grayskull" was supposed to be the explanation for the catchphrase - remember, it was the activation code for the transformation before Mara rebelled. Were I writing it I'd have hinted more about Eternia and the importance of Castle Grayskull (or even a reference to King Grayskull?) to the First Ones, even if it couldn't actually appear. Where Adora came from and the whereabouts of her family seems to be a bit of a glaring loose end, but...I'm not that concerned about it. I think in the long run, the point is that where she came from and who her family was isn't that important to this story. She found a family, a home in Etheria and the friends she made there, and that's what matters. Like the little nod toward the original Horde Prime when She-Ra purged his spirit from Hordak. Just this writhing, shadowy mass that tries to escape before dispersing. Makes one wonder what Horde Prime really was...
He is usually Hordak’s older brother who is trying to destroy the balance in the universe to take control, obviously. The “twins” defeat him. He’s had some interest c9mic versions too.
I expect the Kevin Smith He-Man series probably prevented them doing much with it. They actually mentioned early on that they weren't even sure they'd be allowed to use He-Man.
Wasn't that because the rights to the He-Man cast were tied up with the movie (until apparently very recently)? I mean I'm not sure why the movie rights would interfere with television and animation rights but that's what I had heard.
To be fair, one's a limited series and is seemingly being made with the fans of the original series in mind, they probably plan for the CGI series to be the long runner. I'll be honest I'm not sure Mattel really cared much about this series at all. Like yeah they made toys, but there wasn't a whole lot of advertisement for them and they were Target exclusive. They did the bare minimum to acknowledge the show and pretty much left it to it's own devices.
Oh yeah, fromwhat I've read Mattel only made the dolls they did because it was part of their deal with DreamWorks. That's supposedly why we never saw the rest of the Princesses in doll form or the upgraded costumes from later seasons.
Really loved this final season. A few nitpicks aside, I was very satisfied with how everything was resolved. That seems common with many Netflix cartoon toys. Switch Target to Walmart and that's the exact situation Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters was in. I'm pretty sure Voltron: Legendary Defenders's toyline didn't do well either. I think only Spirit: Riding Free is the one show whose toys sold well, Dreamworks is actually extending it with a sequel series and a theatrical movie.
Well, at least Voltron and She-Ra got full runs, even if their toys were nonexistent/did poorly. I haven't seen anything for poor Stretch after the second season.
This thing was overpriced fanfiction and nothing more, but I expect little else from someone as self-absorbed as Noelle Stevenson. Just another example of an IP being hijacked by some loser who admitted to having no experience or care for the original and just wanted to make their own thing. This wasn't, and never will be She-Ra. It's some cringe-inducing human being using something that isn't hers and turning it into some CalArts tumblr bait. And if the only argument you can plod out in defense of this crap is that "She-Ra was never good since it was made to sell toys." Fun fact: Cowboy Bebop was more or less made to sell toy spaceships. They didn't care about the story as long as it had spaceships in it. Yet it's one of the most cherished Anime to ever be released, it's almost like the whole 'but it exists to sells toys' thing isn't a solid argument on its own. People like Stevenson don't have the talent to get peoples attention with their own work, so instead they just appropriate someone else' hard work and corrupt it for their own ends. It'd be almost amusing if it weren't so sad and pathetic.
I could care less how much or little this show connected to previous MOTU lore. I, and the young audience the show’s meant for, have no connection to past MOTU media. So yeah, go ahead and reinvent an existing property to match your own vision! Would it be better to just create your own IP? Maybe, but consider how difficult it is in these times to successfully launch an original property. People criticize stuff like this, Steven Universe, or MTMTE/Lost Light for appealing to fanfic and tumblr communities, but honestly? I think influence from those communities is good. For years, the only place you could see ideas like same-sex couples being promoted was in fan fiction. So I say hell yeah, let creatives take hold of properties and “hijack” them. Give me a He-Man show now with “unnecessary” queer characters. I don’t give a shit if old fans find it “forced”! Queer representation wouldn’t exist in children’s media if there weren’t creative forces fighting tooth and nail for it. I’m off track now from actually talking about the show. I don’t think it was perfect. There were plot lines that felt a bit underdeveloped. But the character dynamics and the embrace of queer representation, the things that appeal to the “tumblr crowd”, are the exact things that I really liked about this show and made it special to me.
Yeeeeeah...The "fanfic" criticism isn't gonna fly, sorry. Neither is "CalArts" - because this show doesn't resemble the "style" at all. The writing was generally solid. Not perfect, but solid. And for not having much to do with the original, it was still fairly respectful of it and was sprinkled with references. I'm not entirely sure what Stevenson actually said or did to deserve this kind of, frankly irrational hate, but hey, don't let me stop your hate train. I'm just done giving your opinions the time of day. Also, Dreamworks had the rights to make a She-Ra show, so that's what they were going to make. Beyond taking the job, it wasn't her choice. Oh, and Stevenson did create something of her own, too - Nimona, a webcomic. Pretty well received, too, apparently. But I guess that doesn't gel with Nova's assertion that she only takes and "corrupts" the work of others. I also don't like this idea that Stevenson and others "hijack" things, to "corrupt" them for some agenda. That ascribes malice to their actions, and honestly, based on how it's written, Stevenson seems to be nothing but honest and sincere.
As an avid fanfic reader I too take offense to fan fiction being used in a negative connotation. Cause I have read some legit good stuff(not for She-Ra, but multitudes of other things). And for aspiring writers, it makes for good practice. I’m sure I’ll go looking for some good stories for this once I give this show a proper watch through. And in many ways, everything’s fan fiction, because the writers are fans of what’s being written. But if you turn up your nose on the mere notion, I resent that.
So, to something more positive. Spoiler I love the second transformation sequence. The design, the music, animation, it's great.
Spoiler Wrong Hordak! He really needs a name, though. And Drunk Adora. All in all I'll probably revisit the series. It's fun and solidly written most of the time.
