On the war torn planet of Etheria, She-Ra and her magical allies in the Great Rebellion face their final struggles against the tyrannical Hordak and his Evil Horde. New warriors from the kingdom of Bright Moon appear to... more » help stop the spread of oppressive villains making their debut in the Fright Zone. And in the battle against the malevolent forces of Horde Prime, where would She-Ra be without the occasional help from her brother, He-Man and his Eternian allies? All twenty-eight of Season Two's magical episodes bring an astonishing ending to this classic fan-favorite animated series. As She-Ra comes ever closer to freeing Etheria from Hordak's rule, witness birth and death, magic and mayhem, fantasy and fun... these are the final adventures of She-Ra! For the honor of love!« less
"Seemingly no sooner than my sad goodbye to the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series, I've concluded my tour of the She-Ra Princess of Power DVDs last night. The second season of She-Ra represents the end of the Filmation run of the entire franchise and believe it or not; this shows through the quality of the story writing and even in the animation stock itself. He-Man and She-Ra always had a very distinctive look to them (even when compared against animation from other studios in that era) and the final season of She-Ra was no different except that the animators began tweaking the stock sequences to increase the degrees of facial expression and interaction. Arguably, this is perhaps the best-looking and most modern incarnation of the entire He-Man/ She-Ra universe to come out of Filmation.
Unlike He-Man, which ran for two full 65-episode seasons, She-Ra ran for a 65-episode debut season and a half package (28 episodes) for the second; which are all contained on this set. Unlike He-Man, which to me felt pretty tapped out in the end, She-Ra gives off the impression that the show was just getting started as the curtain closed in 1987. The show's creative staff simply created a world with so many unique characters that it certainly could have run for many more seasons without getting stale. Regretfully many story plots introduced in earlier episodes never find resolve before we say our final farewell. I personally would have liked a little more closure with Adora and Sea-Hawk's relationship. Likewise characters like Peekablue, Perfuma, Cast-A-Spella, Queen Angela, Light Hope, Frosta, etc. never feel fully fleshed out. Also oddly enough, the second season moves away from the secrets of Whispering Woods (and with that Madam Razz, Broom, the Twigets, etc.) and takes the viewer into much grander locales (including outer space several times).
At this point in time Larry DiTillio had left Filmation and Tom Tataranowicz had gone from storyboard artist to director. Because of these behind-the-scenes swaps, the show does have a unique feel to it. Perhaps this was also due in part to the reality that pumping out episodes had to have become a well-oiled-machine for the Filmation crew after 130 He-Man episodes, 65 She-Ras and a few animated feature films along the way.
Also worth mentioning is the fact that individuals wondering what else was popular at the time in animation need look no further than within the show itself as its guest appearances very closely mimic trends of the time. When transforming robots like Transformers and Go-Bots became the rage, She-Ra found herself battling the Monstroids. The Meteorbs and Dinosorbs bear an uncanny resemblance to the Lions from Voltron and the Bibbets are near clones of the short lived Paw Paws. Not to worry though, She-Ra never looses her way despite the outside influence.
The second season contains perhaps the greatest concentration of He-Man crossover episodes as well. While the creative staff accredits this to the endlessly fluctuating ratings game, I like to think that we as a society kind of missed He-Man (after all, at this point in the time the show had been laid to rest permanently) and his twin sister's program offered an opportunity to allow He-Man to live on if even only temporarily. Unlike the first season, I can honestly attest that his episodes were welcome here. It was a final opportunity to relive some of the magic of the show that started it all.
Included on this six-disc set are the following 28 She-Ra episodes:
One to Count On
Return Of The General
Out Of The Cocoon
A Lesson In Love
Something Old, Something New
Loo-Kee's Sweety
The Pearl
The Time Transformer
Above It All
Day Of The Flowers
Brigis
The Caregiver
When Whispering Woods Last Bloomed
Romeo And Glimmer
The Perils Of Peekablue
Just The Way You Are
The Locket
Shera Makes A Promise
Bow's Magical Gift
Sweet Bee's Home
Glimmer Come Home
The Inspector
Portrait of Doom
Hordak's Power Play
Shades Of Orko
Assault On The Hive
The Bibbet Story
Swifty's Baby
Like always, BCI pulls the stops when it comes to special features. This set includes two commentaries: On episode 83 "She-Ra Makes A Promise" with Tom Sito and Dori Littell-Herrick & on episode 85 "Sweet Bee's Home. Both are hosted by Andy Mangels. The Stories of She-Ra, Princess of Power Part 3 Documentary with brand new Interviews with Producers, Writers, Directors and experts, specifically commenting on She-Ra's final adventures and the remarkable art of the series. DVD-ROM features 28 Scripts, Model Sheets "Hordak & Villains", Storyboard, and "The Silaxian Wars" the script and storyboards for the stunning She-Ra episode you never saw. Finally, included once again are 2 collectible 4"x 6" She-Ra Princess of Power Art Cards this time by artists Leinil Francis Yu and Colleen Doran.
In conclusion it is sad to say goodbye to She-Ra Princess of Power but thanks to BCI, the show will live on indefinitely in a package worthy of the legacy itself.
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Finally The Complete Series
Miguel Alberto Flores Torres | Monterrey, Mexico | 07/30/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Before there was Sailormoon, there was She-ra the first female heroine everyone was claiming for to be rescued by.
What can I say of the DVD sets, simply they're piece of art that lovers of the MOTU ( Masters of the Universe) an POP ( Princesses Of Power) will enjoy as if they were kids once again."
Prince of Power Rocks!!
M. Silva | Taunton, MA USA | 08/03/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I grew up watching this wonderful cartoon, finally something with a woman warrior. Now I'm in my 30s and still crazy about She-Ra and I can't wait until the final episodes come out, it's already on pre-order. Now other generations will be able to watch her and hopefully love her as much as I did and still do."
3rd DVD Set = Complete She-Ra!
Jackie L. Holstein | MPLS, MN | 08/29/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Once fans own this third and final volume of She-Ra Princess of Power collections will be complete! BCI Ecplise has done a great job with getting these shows released and I have a feeling that once they lose the rights or even after a couple years these DVD sets will go out of print then eveyone will want them. Same thing happened with Jem and the Holograms released by Rhino years back now they are selling over $100.00 in some cases. If we are lucky Sony will hopefully release shows like G.I. and Jem and the Holograms that they own the rights to before fans of the show mainly early to late 30 year old that grew up with the shows will purchase them since that age group seems to be the buyers of these classic 80's animated shows."
Shera...DVD of Power
Tim Lasiuta | Red Deer, Alberta | 10/25/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
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From out of the past comes the thundering swords of She-ra, and He-Man. With a cry of victory, and call to battle, they come to rescue the oppressed and seek justice!
Yeah, I know that's corny. But, She-ra just makes me feel young again. The 28 episodes on this set originally appeared from 1985 to 1987, officially culminating the Filmation/Mattel experiment. What began as a simple vehicle to promote He-Man/She-Ra toys, became a popular show as it assumed a life of it's own and while the toys remain on collectors shelves, the TV shows rank high on `kids' minds.
Inkandpaintdvd has done a remarkable job on She-ra. Instead of focusing directly on the episodes, like many re-releases do, they gear this set towards the geek/collector. Not only are there 28 episodes, but also all 28 scripts, a comic book, coloring book, 2 art cards, a DVD-rom feature, and commentary on two episodes. Those who relish a unified, neat looking DVD shelf, will appreciate the matching He-man spine image as well! Even the discs have special character designs on them too. My sons enjoyed this show as much as I did.
Storywise, She-Ra and her magical allies in the Great Rebellion face their final struggles against the tyrannical Hordak and his Evil Horde. New warriors from the kingdom of Bright Moon appear to help stop the spread of oppressive villains making their debut in the Fright Zone. And in the battle against the malevolent forces of Horde Prime. Some of my favorite episodes include `Something Old, Something New', `The Pearl', `The Time Transformer', and `Portrait of Doom'. Excellent storytelling, and quality animation still are hallmarks of this classic series!
Look for more information on She-ra and He-Man at
http://www.he-man.org/cartoon/pop/index.shtml
and search out She-ra, Season Two at your local comic store, big box store, or online at www.inkandpaintdvd.com.