When I was a kid, I was pretty big into Japanese animation, though it was mostly the butchered American cuts that were imported in the late 70s through mid 80s for TV syndication (Voltron, Battle of the Planets, etc). Along with that, I was also a big fan of Thundarr the Barbarian, Thundercats, Dungeons & Dragons, and Galaxy Rangers, which took most of their inspiration from Western comic books. All of them were flawed -- some worse than others -- but, overall, I think they were able to generally overcome their flaws and establish very strong tropes in their respective genres. In particular, the plots were generally pretty throw-away. For example, in Voltron, Thundarr, and Thundercats, most episodes ended with the exact same Deus Ex Machina, a magic sword. It's easy to overlook such things as a kid, especially when what's really drawing you are the characters, the art, the themes explored, and the creative ideas.
This reboot of Thundercats avoids some of the pitfalls of the classic 1980s cartoons -- especially, the horrible Deus Ex Machina endings, though it plays the whole MacGuffin angle pretty straight. The original series was very didactic, with an important lesson that Lion-O learned every episode. It wasn't very subtle, either. That carries over into this new series, with the same lack of subtlety. Arguably, it's even more overt, though the lessons are weaved into somewhat interesting stories. The lessons learned in this new version are a jumbled, eclectic mix, ranging from the authoritarian "family values" of the 80s D&D cartoon ("never go against the group", "never complain, whine, or express doubt in leaders", "know your place in the social hierarchy", "optimists/idealists are always right; pessimists/cynics are always wrong"), while also incorporating some degree of liberal/libertarian principles, such as individualism, non-conformity, and anti-imperialism. Of course, none of the characters are non-conformist enough to be outside societal norms, such as being gay or rejecting traditional gender roles. In particular, the men are heroic, over-the-top beefcake, and the women, while competent and confident, exist mainly as sexy love interests (and fan service). Certainly, it could have been much, much worse -- Cheetara never once needs to be rescued by the men -- but it's still a slight bit disappointing, for all their talk of individuality and non-conformism.
The writing is a bit uneven, while the art is quite good. In both areas, however, they take time out to hit every single cliché imaginable. At one point, Lion-O and Mum-Ra both form exoskeletons and rush at each other, like some cheap anime from the 90s. Lion-O also has the most stereotypical spiky anime hair ever, as if he were designed by some weeaboo fanboy who'd never seen any anime except cheap Dragonball Z ripoffs. Obviously, I'm not really a big fan of the art style, though it's quite good for what it is. Despite how clichéd and derivative it is, it looks as though it had quite a lot of money put into it. It's too bad that more time and effort wasn't put into the writing, though the series is capable of some surprisingly good episodes (with the Petalars as a particular stand-out, probably better than any of the original episodes). Besides the Petalars, the writing often struck me as ham-fisted, stereotypical and clichéd, though much of that is certainly due to the fact that it's a kids' cartoon. These aren't really known for subtlety or being particularly deep. However, there's an admirable amount of grey morality present, and the show never actually patronizes its audience by dumbing things down for them. The Thundarian empire, for example, is portrayed as being a bit fascist, having degenerated into an authoritarian, brutal state that sees mercy as weakness. It's not Shakespeare, but few things truly are. For a kids' cartoon, that's pretty good.
Despite what some people may say, this series really isn't aimed at adults. It's pretty obvious that it's squarely aimed at kids, much like the original series, though I wouldn't say that young adults are all that far outside of its demographic. I enjoyed the original series as a teenager, and I'm sure that there's a lot here that a teen or college kid could like, as well. I'm a bit perplexed as to what 35 and 40 year old fans of this show are seeing, but they apparently do exist. The power of nostalgia is undeniably strong, and I'd probably be willing to overlook many cheesy, campy aspects of the original series if I were to watch it again now, but I have no such emotional ties to this new series. Judged entirely on its own merits, I'd say that it's an above-average kids' cartoon, but that's about it.
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