He-Man and the Master of the Universe Comment: An action event influenced by anime

Mattel’s He-Man is back in fashion.Less than two months later Master of the Universe: Apocalypse (A wonderful all-age sequel to the Netflix 1980s series), the streaming service restarts again, CG animation Seaman and the Lord of the UniverseAlthough this new version has the same name as the 80s show, apart from a few basic He-Man premises, they have almost nothing in common: a good man toy wields a power sword, turning him into a super man, giggles Laughing Skeletons villain toys want swords and/or power. Almost everything else is a clear starting point.Although this might irritate those Ask a question Way Enlightenment Shifting the narrative focus from the stars of the 1980s shows, it is worth remembering that these series are mainly for children-especially this new series, a full, relaxed, and lively adventure with the teenage protagonist.

Eternia is now renamed Eternos, a field where magic and future technology merge. Prince Adam (played by Yuri Lowenthal) has been separated from his father King Lando (played by Fred Tatacio) for ten years, and he does not remember who he is. He lives with the tiger tribe on the outskirts of the forest. The tiger tribe is a small and peaceful group where people live in harmony with the tiger. (They seem to reject magic and horror techniques, but this did not play a big role in the story.) Adam’s closest ally is Tiger Klinger (David Kaye), who was once his pet in the original version, and has now been recreated Imagine being a smarter, older mentor, and his adopted daughter Klass (Judy Alice Lee), a lively, blue-haired, purple-skinned girl who likes to smash things with a helmet.

With the arrival of the high-tech magician Tyra (Kimberly Brooks), this rural paradise fell into chaos. She was reshaped as a white-haired black teenager, fleeing her recently betrayed pair of villains: the savage Cronis (Rojek) Reg Smith) and the scheming witch Evelyn (Grey Griffin), and their lanky, tech-savvy partner Duncan (Anthony Del Rio), he seems not too keen to be a bad guy.

When the villain catches up with Teela, chaos ensues, leading Adam to discover the huge anime-style Power Sword in the show. It allows him (and only him) to summon the power of Grey Skull Castle and transform from a scrawny teenager to the champion giant Seaman of Etnos. However, the long dormant sword is also a kind of beacon, and activating it will awaken a mysterious figure from his ten-year stagnation: Adam’s uncle and King Lando’s long-lost brother Keldo (Ben Diskin) Actress), a man with a skeleton hand and a familiar desire for the power of Grayskull.

Sharp-eyed He-Man fans will undoubtedly recognize some of these names. Although these characters do not have all the characteristics of the 1980s, they eventually grow into versions with enough similarities. Krass is a version of He-Man’s short, sturdy, spring-legged ally Ram Man-one of them The most interesting toy in existence ——She finally took over the mantle of Mrs. Ram. The villains Kronis and Evelyn became Trap Jaw and Evil-Lyn in a surprisingly dazzling way. Duncan was a teenage warrior, and he turned to the kind side. And Keldo is… well, you can find out from his blue and purple color scheme, or add an “S” in front of his name (yes, he is actually Seaman’s uncle in the comics. )

But the similarities between the show and the existing classics are far less interesting than its departure. Although it retains the premise of the seemingly endless power struggle, it takes a meaningful approach to the Seaman myth. The stories of royal families being revealed to have hereditary abilities tend to bypass the annoyance of pedigree essentialism. Master of the Universe Turn this central flaw into a core conceit. When He-Man’s classic nemesis Skeletor (Diskin) appeared, his story became about absorbing and usurping the power of other people, including the power of his evil allies.

In contrast, Herman in the play shares his power with Krass, Klinger, Tyra, and Duncan. Each of them has undergone a similar transformation and possesses cool new technologies and abilities. In a related change, the heroes seem to know Seaman’s secret identity, although he lives a double life in a different way: as a runaway villager, he is not sure whether he wants to accept his newly discovered royal blood.

The scenes of the team’s transformation are shocking, they evoke the anime influence of the show, as the space is distorted around them and amplified at the speed of thinking. Almost every episode uses the exact same transition clips. Although this idea works better in the weekly series, it becomes repeated in the 10-episode season that is released at once. (Some of these transformations are designed to have a different emotional background, which of course does not help.)

Again, this may not be a problem for young target audiences, whose attention span only requires flashy movements-and there are many. But the show has more exciting content. Its jokes and body gimmicks are always just right, and the fight is imaginative. In other words, they are completely formed from the imagination of a 5-year-old child, and there are a series of weapons and gadgets piled up like a mountain-chainsaw laser, anyone? -And communication that feels like a video game button mash.It’s hardly that elegant Master of the Universe: ApocalypseBut it did not try to be.

The new show release has two main disadvantages EnlightenmentThe first and second part.Its Orko version-a farce robot named Ork-0 (Tom Kenny), full of the spirit of ancient clowns-and EnlightenmentIt’s the embodiment of warm heart.And this view of He-Man hardly resembles in subject or emotion EnlightenmentIts character-centered story is usually very meaningful—especially for Tyra, who is struggling between her strong-willed independence and the fact that her new magic gift needs to be summoned by Seaman. But these stories are rare, and they are often limited to one episode at a time. Except for Teela’s arcs, they rarely have any impact on the overall narrative.

However, these designs are great. There is no doubt that they feel like a brand new series of action figures, overwhelming old concepts with new accessories, but they also have gorgeousness and subtleties. Teela has a pair of glowing earphones, which constantly hover near her head and emit the blue light of her color scheme—each character has its own—and Krass has a slightly wandering eye, the kind Realistic, inattentive physical details are rarely seen in children’s animations.

The world of the show alludes to the influence of cyberpunk in its biomechanical design (more like Apple-style cyberpunk for heroes, soft lighting and smooth surfaces) and the story, which briefly mentions the influence of Eternos Class hierarchy, and provide hints to its racial hierarchy. However, this did not affect the plot, although Teela clearly mentioned that she was a “street level” citizen, and that Adam with blond hair and blue eyes came from an “upper class” family. These terms do not mean anything.

A more prominent design influence seems to be African Futurism Marvel’s Panther, Especially the way that cool-toned lights shine from under the grooves and notches on clothing and other surfaces. Master of the Universe Not an African futuristic story, but PantherTaking into account the mainstream success of movies, the well-thought-out and thematic integration of ancient architecture and future technology will inevitably take a superficial form in other media. But at least, the most obvious manifestation of this play’s influence on this is the design of the black character Eldress (Brooks), which is the version of the witch in the play. Its appearance is partly ghost holograms and partly Egyptian gods.

When it comes to the stupid part of the show’s identity, the dialogue has a half-joking self-awareness-the word “on the nose” appears more than once when referring to the design of the 1980s, such as the appearance of the skeleton and his snake-like lair. But this kind of meta-humor feels like a waste of effort. This series is the best when it is unapologetically stupid. For example, Ben Diskin’s time as a skeleton man is very interesting. In addition to pursuing the throne of Gray Skull, he has a secondary motivation, which is to make his men laugh at him for a series of terrible skeleton puns.Strangely, Diskin sounds more like Mark Hamill’s Joker than what Mark Hamill did when he dubbed the skeleton. Revelation, Although this is hardly a complaint.

Seaman and the Lord of the Universe It’s a simple show. Simple characters try to find their own goals through large battle scenes with the help of each other. This is Modern Children’s Adventure 101, even if it is just trying to fill in the gaps in the story with side missions or sudden vehicle breakdowns, it can still work. (There is nothing that some good, old-fashioned teamwork cannot solve.) Although loyalty to the original seems to be a requirement for some people, there are fewer things that are more real in spirit Herman Not a reverse design story Interesting action figure design. Why stick to the metal album cover aesthetics of the 80s-anyway still circulated throughout other shows and toy series-when these ideas can also be remixed with a wider range of inspirations?

The result is not just an updated appearance, but an updated set of character dynamics. Seaman is no longer the only chosen savior. Weapons and armor all feel connected. The show is geared towards a theme: as real heroes know, power is for sharing.

Seaman and the Lord of the Universe It premiered on Netflix on September 16.