Amethyst – Princess of Gemworld (DC Shorts)

Been a little lacking on content here lately. So I thought I share some quick thoughts on a few things here and there over the next few weeks.

Tonight I’d like to share something I stumbled upon while looking at my Youtube front page. Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld.

Now from the onset, this mini-mini-series of 7 micro-short–anime inspired–episodes appear to be some wacky original idea. And in fact you could almost be mistaken in thinking it’s some weird cash-in on the Steven Universe franchise mixed with Adventure Time, because of it’s use of weird anthropomorphized fantasy creatures, a fallen Prince in the form of a talking skeleton, an evil sorcerer who is dispatched when he is de-robed, and the fact that all of the major characters are named after gems.

But to my delight, as I had initially predicted, this mini-series is a re-imagining of a mid-1980s comic-book series of the same name. I mean, no sense for DC to make up something new when they have so much to draw from. And it definitely looks like quite the trip. I’d actually be quite intrigued to give it a read, as I’m always finding myself far more fascinated with the fringe and the darker indie comic book classics than the most popular flag-ship heroes and such.

And of course, this comic book came out right around the same time as other things like Rainbow Brite, My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, and the Care Bears. So you’d best believe everything in those days was just absolutely drenched in colors and lights, with enjoyable (mostly female) casts of characters and protagonists. And I make no joke: Rainbow Brite is one awesome animated series, despite it’s criminally short run.

The animated shorts themselves, as stated, go by at almost a break-neck pace, and you can watch through all of them in just about 8-10 minutes. So the story is short, but it certainly crams a lot in. You don’t learn much about any of the characters, including the main female protagonist, Amy Winston, who gets transported to Gem World to become Princess Amethyst. But the animation is quite a treat, coming to us from Japanese Studio “David Productions” (ironically), who provides a style similar to that of the short-lived reboot of Thundercats, as well as a comparative style to that of DC’s other animated series like The Justice League and Teen Titans.

I definitely like what DC animation and specifically the DC Nation has been doing with it’s varied short-form adaptations and re-imaginings of it’s classic titles. Including this very bizarre 1930s styled version of SHAZAM!

I’m definitely in the same boat with a lot of other people when it comes to Teen Titans GO!, as it basically just craps all over what wonderful things were established and set-up in the original show, and the heavy feels and high stakes that that show used with such strong atmosphere. However much of what else they’ve been up to I think fits right in with the trend of online animated content that’s coming out these days, especially the projects on Frederator/Cartoon Hangover.

Some notable DC Nation shorts include “Super Best Friends Forever!”

“Tales of Metropolis – Lois”

And this 14 minute “Catwoman” short from 2011, that was quite impressive and gritty. It was also directed by a woman, named Lauren Montgomery, who also directed the fantastic 2009 Wonder Woman animated film, as well as numerous other DC direct-to-video movies. Which I think can speak volumes about whether or not its okay to show female characters doing openly sexy things, considering what is in this short.

Warning, this short is obviously a little explicit (no nudity though).

I am not a DC fan by any serious stretch, and I have never once read a comic from either DC, Marvel, or Image. But more and more I find myself intrigued by the characters and their vastly creative stories. So perhaps one day when I have room to fit in another hobby and I have some spare cash, I just might try out some omnibus volumes to get the run-down on the best storylines and entries.

Until next time.

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