This series is one of my favorites. It isn't perfect, but it does have its strengths and stands out from other action cartoons. It may seem shaky on first viewing, but rewatching will lead to finding the series more subtle nuances.
Thundercats is beautifully designed with a lot of imagination put into it, with great looking characters and stunning backgrounds. The art direction takes what was good with the original series, updates it, and corrects some flaws, such as adding more color variety to Tygra and Panthro. It looks like something from the 80s, but in a good way. Every character is cast perfectly and the voice actors all give great deliveries that capture their character's essence. There is a large variety of cool locations and something new each episode. In short, this show looks and sounds fantastic.
Where the show falters is when it comes to the writing. There are a few nagging plot holes, some situations feel a bit contrived, and at times it seems as though the writers were more concerned with making twists shocking than believable. While most of the characters are very entertaining to watch, some are far less developed than others, especially Cheetara. Her lack of development was likely because the writers wanted to keep her mysterious, but it somewhat backfired as she ends up not being very interesting. Lion-O also hogs most of the focus, and at times it doesn't feel like the Thundercats are much of a team. One other nitpicks are that the fight scenes can be dull sometimes, Mumm-Ra is not always the best villain, and Lion-O and Tygra can be aggravating at times, especially when it comes to the love triangle with Cheetara.
Despite these flaws, the series does have a good theme grounding the story; Lion-O's real mission is to atone for the mistakes of his own people while uniting the other races and cultures of Third Earth in order to defeat Mumm-Ra. While the search for powerful relics is the surface plot, this theme is the undercurrent and what I think makes this show great.
Like the title says, this is better on a second viewing. Whether by accident or not, the show is good at subtle foreshadowing and gives hints at past events and character development, and some scenes make more sense in hindsight. This gives plenty of Rewatch Bonus. It's a shame that there will be no second season that could reveal the clues left in the first.
Better on a Second Viewing
This series is one of my favorites. It isn't perfect, but it does have its strengths and stands out from other action cartoons. It may seem shaky on first viewing, but rewatching will lead to finding the series more subtle nuances.
Thundercats is beautifully designed with a lot of imagination put into it, with great looking characters and stunning backgrounds. The art direction takes what was good with the original series, updates it, and corrects some flaws, such as adding more color variety to Tygra and Panthro. It looks like something from the 80s, but in a good way. Every character is cast perfectly and the voice actors all give great deliveries that capture their character's essence. There is a large variety of cool locations and something new each episode. In short, this show looks and sounds fantastic.
Where the show falters is when it comes to the writing. There are a few nagging plot holes, some situations feel a bit contrived, and at times it seems as though the writers were more concerned with making twists shocking than believable. While most of the characters are very entertaining to watch, some are far less developed than others, especially Cheetara. Her lack of development was likely because the writers wanted to keep her mysterious, but it somewhat backfired as she ends up not being very interesting. Lion-O also hogs most of the focus, and at times it doesn't feel like the Thundercats are much of a team. One other nitpicks are that the fight scenes can be dull sometimes, Mumm-Ra is not always the best villain, and Lion-O and Tygra can be aggravating at times, especially when it comes to the love triangle with Cheetara.
Despite these flaws, the series does have a good theme grounding the story; Lion-O's real mission is to atone for the mistakes of his own people while uniting the other races and cultures of Third Earth in order to defeat Mumm-Ra. While the search for powerful relics is the surface plot, this theme is the undercurrent and what I think makes this show great.
Like the title says, this is better on a second viewing. Whether by accident or not, the show is good at subtle foreshadowing and gives hints at past events and character development, and some scenes make more sense in hindsight. This gives plenty of Rewatch Bonus. It's a shame that there will be no second season that could reveal the clues left in the first.