It’s cute. It has potential. The theme is catchy. It’s what I expected it to be but with more hiccups. For one you can really tell it’s a crew of rookies. The format and writing style doesn’t feel like modern cartoons, but instead stuck in the 80s format, and I think that’s because the crew just didn’t have enough confidence to fully update things and generally this is their first time writing/producing/animating for TV. When it slows down it really slows down, but it’s still fun. It does not meet the hype in the slightest, which I expected.
The villains are the best part of the show, they have the most fun interactions and dynamics and characterization. Catra is especially well-rounded and compelling, choosing to become worse and even aspire to take Shadow Weaver’s place, essentially trying to surpass her foster mother. The dynamic between Hordak and Shadow is the same as the 80s baddie and dragon, sadly. They lacked the ability to update that in a more interesting way. Shadow is a magnificent bastard with great voice and some depth to her, and her relationship with her wards is interesting. Low-key funny in some of the delivery. Scorpia is just a delight and the most likable character in the entire show.
Now let’s talk crew. Here is where I get salty and I will be mentioning the official hyped up rep that is tokenism at its finest and why *those* people are okay with that