She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power premiered a month ago on November 13th.  Last night I watched 3 episodes of it.

Not Much Like the Original Show

I never watched the old show, "She-Ra the Princess of Power," when it was on TV.  The theme song threw me, as a teenager I was out of the show's key demographic, and I thought He-Man was stupid.

I briefly researched the old She-Ra, and I am disappointed by the lazy writing; turns out that not only is She-Ra a female-marketed He-Man-like character, She-Ra is straight-up He-Man's twin sister.  We've seen this kind of thing with Superman/Supergirl (cousins), Luke Skywalker/Leia Organa (spoilers!)...  It's just lazy writing.  And then there are the character names: "Spinnerella" is someone whose powers involve spinning really fast (oh, I was hoping for a cool spider-themed character, but no); "Castaspella" is a sorceress; I'll spare you any more details.

The original show lasted only 2 seasons.  For some reason, they ground out 93 episodes of it.  I have heard that some people complain that the reboot's titular heroine isn't busty enough, compared to the original; that the new art is an insult to the art of the original series.  Having recently seen some of the original, I say the original wasn't good enough to bother comparing.  Besides, the original was on the airwaves 32 years ago, you're probably old enough to move on to other dramas.

The Reboot

The first thing I noticed about the new series was its similarities to other cartoons, like "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic," "Adventure Time," and "Steven Universe."  The art is stripped down.  I am occasionally reminded of the fantastic architecture of Moebius.

I have since learned that the reboot was developed by Noelle Stevenson, the author of the graphic novel "Nimona," which I liked so much I had to buy a copy for a friend.  I see similar story elements in both "Nimona" and "She-Ra and the Princesses of Power."

I liked it!  But then I also like "Adventure Time" and "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic."

Yeah, But I'm a Boy, What do I Know?

I asked my cisgender female wife for her opinions of the new show:

• The art is too sparse for her tastes.  The lack of detail detracts from and obscures the sense of fantastic immersion.  I can see her point--it would be awsome if every scene could be as lushly-rendered as a Moebius cover, but I understand that you don't get detailed art for free; every line on the screen costs animator time.  
• She-Ra's hair is what really tells my wife that the heroine is special and magical; her costume and physical changes don't differ much compared to her 'secret identity.'
• My wife liked the "horsey" joke.  
• My wife thought the choice to make Glimmer heavyset was interesting.  Why did they do that?  Is it a comment that all people are different and have different body types (I immediately notice that the heroes generally have identical body types in the old series; I assume this is lazy design)?  Is it an observation that Glimmer doesn't need an athletic physique because Glimmer uses magic instead of athleticism?  Is it a way for thicc girls to identify with someone on the cartoon?  
• The target audience is likely young, because the story is so simple and the plots move so slowly.  

Conclusion

At the end of a stressful day, I'd rather watch the simple lightness of "She-Ra and the Princesses of Power" than the pointless darkness of "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina."