So the new series of Shera is out on Netflix.
Yes I know.
Yes I have watched it.
Yes people have asked me what I think.
There's a small child inside me which is glowing with pride that people have asked my opinion on such important matters, there is also the near 40 year old who wonders if she should be more concerned about earth's matters and not Etheria's...
I do have opinions on the latest series of serious issues of Earth too if you want to hear about those.
But, back to Shera. Bypassing the replacement of the best opening theme tune for the worst opening theme tune... here are some points:
Characters
I like how they have pretty much kept and developed most of the original characters, without feeling the need to add any to the mix, just shuffle it around a little. The baddies are the best. Shadow Weaver is excellent, she already was, but I am glad she's more of a focus and has stayed truly dark. Catra is interesting and I am missing Scorpia, hopefully she will be bought in in later episodes. More Hordak is needed.
The goodies I am less excited by. Bow wasn't apparently straight in the original and although it was mostly assumed, this was cool. There was also a lot on innuendo around relations between the female characters, I hope this is bought in. My main grievance is that Shera herself was a woman, one that, as a child, you would look up to. Aspire to be. She is more of a developing teenager now and added to this the focus on princesses I got nothing. Sure she was a princess, but more importantly she was a warrior. A strong, sure leader.
Story
This leads into how the story changes affect this. They absolutely did not need to move away from the Heman universe, the story was solid and they already had a remake. Shera herself chose not to go back to Eternia and stay in the castle with her regal parents, but to stay and fight on Etheria, where she evidently had very little. The rebels didn't live in a kushty castle, they lived in Whispering Woods, amongst nature. They took back Bright Moon, but it wasn't a capitalist heaven, where if you fight for the "right" side you get a comfy bed.
They are also going to have a whole lot of holes to fill and I feel it's going to cause some weak back story. It's Hordak and Skeletor's history that causes the invasion in the first place and yes yes I see princesses ... Not every freakin female aspires to be a god damn princess!
Shera forego her princessdom, to fight for her life, her world. This was inspiring.
Style
OK I am grumpy. Which is weird because I will keep on watching it. I actually still watch the original, and I enjoy it! For Every. Single. Remake. can we think of something a little more original than just mangafying it? Thundercats, yeh sure, it was already there, the first Heman remake, ok it was cool back then, but it's been going on for 20 years now. Don't get me wrong, I like manga, I still pull out clips of the original Aeon Flux - oh holy crap, they shoulda done it in that style...
Conclusion
Yeh I don't like it very much do I? Despite all of this is could be worse, I do thinks the baddies are tonnes better. Thing is there is one clincher: We're now missing the Sorceress, who really represented true, strong, powerful femininity.
But having said all of this, I am already designing a Shadow Weaver top, so there's that.
