Watch Thundercats. Watch it NOW.

Hahaha, oh Snarf you suck so hard!

Shiny!

       Being born in 1987, I didn't watch the original Thundercats cartoon when it ran from 1985 to 1989. The boyfriend, however, did watch the original series as a kid. So together, as a fan of the original and someone with no prior knowledge of the series, we sat down to watch the first few episodes.
       As a Thundercats n00b, I gotta say I'm pretty taken with the series so far. The artwork is beautiful, and the character archetypes are distinct and recognizable, without feeling tired. The story arch thus far has remained intriguing, and the pacing has been pretty ideal. Things progress at a good clip, but not so fast as to rush the plot, just enough to keep things interesting. Also, Snarf is no longer the second worst character ever (Towelie still wins). Instead of this horrible thing that just loafs around and calls out it's own name like a goddamn PokeMon:

Get a job, Snarf!

       We get this charming little guy, who makes cute cat noises, only occasionally making anything close to a "snarf" sound:

You so cute now Snarf.

       The most recent episode in particular had an excellent plot that incorporated themes from old samurai movies, and almost had a Kurasawa feel to it. Lion-O enters a town full of swordsmen to obtain supplies and is challenged to duel by a "sword collector" type (a recurring character in Japanese tales) and loses the Sword of Omens. A literal drifter comes along to teach him to cool his fevered way of approaching battles and be more flexible. It reminded me of Bruce Lee's "flow like water" ideology.

       I can't get too into the differences between the original and the new incarnations, not having seen the first series. The boyfriend seems just as into the new one as myself though, if not more so. All I can say is I can't recommend this show enough, if you haven't been watching it so far I highly suggest you start watching this week. Additionally, if there's anyone that's seen the original and has any comparative feedback, please comment. Or even if you've seen the show, I'd love to hear what you think.

Thundercats airs on Cartoon Network, Fridays at 8:30pm EST.

Yeah, I had to create a Thundercat. It happens.