She Ra is worth your time
Intro
2018 She Ra is a fantastic show--ive run through it three times and are planning on a fourth.
And since then, ive done the arduous work of trying to convince everybody i love to
watch it--which has been easier than i expected.
But i realize people have their own misgivings about shows maybe outside their typical roster,
so for anyone that has doubts, im here to tell you
FLASH TITLE WHY SHE RA IS WORTH YOUR TIME
You may have seen this going around Catgirl
Tall blonde lady with a sword.
Though sometimes shes a smaller girl with a sword and a spiky red jacket (whatsupwiththat??).
She Ra and the Princesses of Power is a 2018 reboot of an 80s show meant to sell toys and
turns it into a worthy successor to avatar’s style of ‘kid marketed show that will make
you think feel and possibly go insane with its emotional intelligence’
Without too many spoilers:
She ra is about adora, an 18 year old girl, pulls a king arthur and finds a sacred sword
that turns her into she ra, a 9 foot tall mystical warrior with beach waves.
Theres a war between elemental magical princesses and the unambiguously named “horde,” an
evil army hellbent on conquering the planet headed by better-hair-deadpool and…… guy
whose name sounds like “horde” (zoom in on hordak)
Beyond that, you’re sort of just, thrown into the story as it goes but you figure things
out as the characters do, and it’s not too much to learn.
Now, evil horde vs magical princesses seems like it would lead to boring black and white
kids show morality WRONG--both the horde and the princess alliance have nuance to the motives
and choices of their members, and most of all are shown as people, capable of good and
terrible things, leading to incredibly moving moments on either side.
First season disclaimer
Now, there’s the ubiquitous disclaimer about rough first seasons-- s1 isn't bad by any
means, but does take time to get started.
I’ll be honest, I personally wasn’t hooked on the first few episodes--but there’s hardly
a show i can say i was.
S1 starts out feeling like a series of ‘one offs’-- but here’s what i think: by ep
8, you’ll be intrigued, by ep 11, the show will have proved what it’ll do at its heights.
It’s a pretty breezy watch--the 2nd and 3rd season are really one season split in
two sets of 6/7 episodes, making she ra’s 5 seasons more like 4, each around 20 minutes.
But there is so much packed into those 17 and a half hours of content.
The show is set in Etheria, a completely different planet with miyazaki-like forests and on-the-nose
naming trends [mini comp of CASTASPELLA, FROSTA, BOW, CATRA, MERMISTA]
While the art style isnt as detailed as,, say, avatar, [budGET] it does get its moments,
especially in the landscapes--which are just, really stunning.
There’s this kind of ode to the 80s roots with a smattering of pink-and-blue and neon
setpieces that just burst with color like LOOK AT THIS
It’s nice.
But really, the reason we stay hooked on shows is the emotion, and hoooooboy does she ra
deliver.
And what’s interesting is that the protagonists are older--theyre still written for dreamworks,
but--theyre 17-18 at the start and 20-21 by the end, which makes for less a coming of
age feel and a slightly older “finding your purpose” feel which, as someone closer to
that age, i found really enjoyable Each season successfully ups the stakes without
feeling forced or bloated, which i have to commend them for because it’s, it’s so
easy to do that in such a free-form fantasy world.
So much of it works because it is character driven, most of the plot consisting of exploring
the characters evolving thoughts and feelings and propelled by the choices they make in
kind
And most of those are due to relationships, which are at the core of she-ra’s storytelling
momentum.
The central one is between Catra and Adora--two childhood best friends turned enemies and
maaayybe there’s also something else going on there (“gay people????”)
In addition to that, She Ra introduces us to a plethora of dynamics we don’t usually
see--.
And it’s in no small part due to the fact that the cast flips usual dynamics on its
head with its 95% or so female roster, effectively slamming the bechdel test into hot concrete.
Humor It’s also genuinely really funny, and you
get the sense that whoever worked on it had a lot of fun doing so.
It boasts a surprisingly gilded voice cast including aj michalka (yes that aj michalka),
daniel dae kim, lorraine toussaint, jordan fisher, and….
S..sandra oh??
The voice acting is, really, really good--expressive and fun and makes these 2d ms paint figures
feel like… friends.
It’s so charming, and honest,... and human--which is notable since some of the characters aren't,
one is a lobster--ii mean scorpion, the other is….
Just a..
A cat shes just a cat.
Sure, sure… but “magical princesses?”
Isn’t this for little girls?
First of all, young girls are awesome and have great taste and have always been at the
forefront of fantasy and sci fi trends.
Second of all, there’s intended audience and there’s talking exclusively to that
intended audience.
She ra is the former.
The show can be enjoyed by preteens, and it can be enjoyed by teens, adults, and anyone
who enjoys good storytelling.
There’ve been movies apparently aimed at adults that I’ve found lacking in the emotional
substance i love in she ra -- it’s all subjective.
In its 52 episodes, she ra poses questions like how do you repair broken trust?
How do we reconcile different perspectives on the same truth?
How does past conditioning inform who we are, and how do we make new choices, do someone
else’s expectations define you, what does it take to heal from trauma -- all within
an engaging fantasy backdrop.
Worldbuilding She Ra has a soft magic and lore system that
works completely to its advantage.
Yeah, there’s princesses and runestones and sorcerers, but the technical bits of their
power aren’t ever explained, which gives the whole world this sense of mystery and
otherworldliness.
making etheria seem….
Ethereal ha ha ha Yes, some people are animal hybrids. ….and?
And it’s self aware of some of the ridiculousness inherited by tis 80s roots self referencing
but not in a distracting way Adora’s hair poof, “i TOSS NETS,” catra
being a cat, “you are a big bug” “yeah i am” “i like bowling, it’s very difficult
w my claws”
Finally, the music, i have to talk about the music...
The music in she ra has no right to be this good.
It’s this perfect mix of synthy 80s tribute in the action sequences, and more typical
orchestral bits that absolutely rip your heart out.
This person [sunna wehrmeijer] (who’s name im afraid to pronounce so terribly this video
gets blocked) did a PHENOMENAL job sonically tying the show together and making me feel
unhinged at the sound of like 2 piano chords.
But for real, the leitmotifs are gorgeous and a functional narrative organ as much the
dialogue itself [on a black screen play childhood corridors theme]
also half the tracks make me want to lay in a cornfield and be swallowed by the earth
and she owes me emotional reparations.
All of these elements harmonize (hee hee see what i did there) together to create a product
that feels incredibly cohesive extremely rewatchable.
Trust me I know
If you give it a try, there’s a good chance She Ra will be one of those shows that sticks
with you for a long time
If someone sent you this, it means you should watch it,
And if youve already seen it and are watching this for fun to confirm things you already
know--do it watch it again you know you want to