New ThunderCats Series – Episode 1

As you may or may not have already read, I am not particularly convinced that the world is need of a new ThunderCats series. But in the interest of Science (yes, Science!), I decided to check out the first episode that premiered last Friday anyway. (Also because my previous rant about the announcement of the new series got a lot of hits over the weekend.)

So let’s start with the bad:

  • I spent the first 10 minutes thinking I had accidentally downloaded a Furry version of Vision of Escaflowne or El Hazard. What is this world? This is not ThunderCats, by Thundera!
Welcome to Agrabah. City of mystery, of enchantment.
  • The citizens of Thundera are complety ignorant of all things, “technology”. Seriously, guys? The whole reason the original ThunderCats were alive when their SPACESHIP crash landed on a distant planet was because they were in SUSPENDED ANIMATION.
  • Also, for some reason (and this is what irked me the most, honestly) Tigra is Lion-O’s older brother (their father is a Lion, in case you were wondering) but it’s Lion-O who is the crown prince. How does that even happen? Is Tigra a bastard? Was he adopted? Should he be renamed Ligra? Tigra’s also a lot less ghei in the new series, boo. I liked that he was kinda sexually ambiguous before. Oh, was that just me? 
  • I also can’t get over just how anime everything looks. Haha.

On to the good:

  • It takes getting used to, but it’s actually very well done. The design of the castles, the buildings are gorgeous. The animation is fluid, although the incorporation of CGI with the 2D stuff isn’t as smooth as it could be.
  • I am also a little relieved that nobody looks like wrestling rejects anymore. No one’s in speedo’s yay! The costumes don’t look as bad as I originally thought they did in the teasers, but Panthro still looks too much like Jet from Cowboy Bebop.

Overall, it’s a pretty solid production with a very promising story. I just don’t understand why it had to be a ThunderCat remake. You could replace all the ‘Cats with original characters and still have the beginnings of a great animated series.

I will admit, I got chills the first time Lion-O did the whole, “ThunderCats, HOOOOOOO!” bit.

Thunder, thunder, thunder, ThunderCats! Kamehameha!

So yeah, maybe I will tune in for next episode. For, you know, Science.


Published by Gab


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  1. Answers based on forum discussions, so don’t take my word for it-

    1. It’s a reboot/retelling, so little to no relation at all to the plot of the 80’s series.
    2. Tigra’s adopted and can’t be king. I think he’s cool with it, though, and would rather ring bells and make Lion-O look like a massive pile of fail.

    1. Yes, boss!

      Cheetara was hot, as she should be. 😛 She’s got these weird disc things on her wrists and ankles but they added another element to her character which was interesting.

  2. There are a lot of talk regarding the trailers, and there was even a chopped up first episode going around and

    There was a scene where Lion-O’s father was teaching him the value of their legacy via swordfight which he said “The THUNDERCATS 500 years ago fought Mumm-ra…!” that sentence itself made a lot of talk about their origins. Was Thundera a kingdom instead of a planet? Are they the 5th generation of the original Thundercats, who inherited their names? It may explain the lack of technology if they are from Third Earth – probably lost through the years (maybe Panthera had an unfortunate accident). And Lion-O and Tigra being brothers may be the same as being very close nephews, whose great great great great grand-uncles may have shared the same bond.

    1. They’re actually living on Third Earth here and Thundera is their kingdom. The thought did cross my mind too, that they were simply descendants of the Thundercats in the original series. But as the episode progressed, I think it’s just a complete reboot.

      As for Tigra, he’s specifically referred to as the older son. And the crown will pass to Lion-O due to the issues with bloodline. It’s a safer bet to think he’s adopted. Or actually a Liger. Hahahaha!

    2. Treat the new Thundercats as a separate series from the original (aka: reboot). A lot of people are getting confused or having trouble digesting the new series since they’re trying to link it to the old one.

      Think Animated X-Men and the X-Men comicbooks.

  3. That comment about the crown prince reminded me of Robb Stark saying, “Bran can’t be lord of Winterfell before me; Renly can’t be king before Stannis.” Or something like that. Haha.

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