Im a boy (born in the 80's)and I love this cartoon, mainly because of the good stories but when you watch the episodes it actually had a lot of action in it (car chases, fights, vandalism). Just looking at the characters you may think it's just a rock'n'roll version of Barbie and nothing more but it's actually like crazy soap opera with many adventures taking place.
shareI agree. That was one of the points that I made here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090461/board/thread/246156069
It was a great show for boys: it had action aplenty, plus Jem was one of the most desirably designed animated girls ever. What more could a straight male teen viewer want?
Yup, Jem was definitely hot! lol. So was Pizzazz for that matter, in the final analysis.
shareAbsolutely, and the show was DELIBERATELY DESIGNED that way, to cater to boys too, by featuring "a lot of action in it". I'm a boy who was born in the '80s myself, and I remember the first episode I watched at the age of 5 was STARBRIGHT: PART ONE - which struck me as painfully girly at first, to the point that I actually turned off the TV half-way through, and decided that this cartoon was not for me.
It was after I was subsequently exposed to the music videos, the wild antics of the Misfits, the "crazy soap opera" elements and the "many adventures" you referred to that I became a DIE-HARD FAN (probably within a few weeks!!)
It definitely turned out to be the FURTHEST thing from a stupid Rock'n'roll version of Barbie, thank goodness. Haha. Most of the stories were indeed incredible, and with so much depth.
I am a Jem fan and I am a 31 year old man. Vaguely remembered watching the show when it was originally on and I am so glad that I recently rediscovered it. I have gone so far as to actually collect the original dolls to display as well (my friends think it is pretty weird though).
Overall, I think I like it so much because it is a little deeper than the average 80s kids cartoons with some good morals and life lessons and it has some catchy music! Plus, it is a great nostalgia trip! If I ever have kids some day, I would love to share it with them.
They Live. We Sleep.
Wow, I'm jealous. I would love to have some of the original dolls. lol. I don't think it's weird that you're collecting them, because "it is a great nostalgia trip" as you said, and I think it's important to hold onto aspects of your childhood as you grow older, because that will keep you grounded and young at heart.
It was definitely deeper than the average 80s kids cartoons - and despite all the adult soap opera elements, there were definitely some good morals and life lessons. Of course, if I had children someday and shared it with them, I would point out that Jem/Jerrica herself was NOT the most moral character, but her warmth and optimism/positivity seemed to trump her moral shortcomings (although I think most of that was due to Samantha Newark's amazing voice acting. She truly zoomed in on Jerrica's/Jem's heart).