HE - MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: (LIKE NEW) [US Import]S 1, VOL 4 (4 INCREDIBLE EPISODES)

 

He-Man and The Masters of the Universe Complete Season One Boxset [1983] [DVD] (DVD) If you were a kid of the 80s like i was your TV experience is dominated by the likes of Tony Hart & Morph, Grange Hill, Dangermouse, Jigsaw... and Masters of the Universe!

It was one of those cartoons that seemed to run forever but strangely has never been repeated to this day and that's a shame, I haven't seen this since the 80s so buying this boxset thanks to an overwhelming blast of nostalgia (and thanks to Amazons cut price deal!) I was pleasantly surprised to find the memory did not cheat. From the moment the opening sequence starts up it all came flooding back and if this isn't one of the finest opening sequences for a cartoon ever it's bit of a crime, many modern toons just throw you straight into a confusing setup and premise and leave you to sink or swim but 'Masters' spells out the characters and setup right there in the opening and then gets into the action, it still feels feels remarkable vibrant.

The animation is reasonable though occasionally it does show its age, there is a sometimes uneven mix in the design that can clash as certain guest characters seem to have wandered in off a completely different toon!
But to this day the design of Castle Grayskull is still an amazing piece of work, incredibly sinister and ancient it looks like it could be a million years old, it seems almost as if the planet was absorbing it or vise-versa... it should be skeletors home by all rights yet ironically it is actually the base & focus of the forces of good! It's a simple but clever contrast.