Import Corner: He-Man and She-Ra: The Eternia Collection (Plaion Pictures) Blu-ray Review + 1080p Screenshots + Packaging Shots

Jimmy P August 22, 2023

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and She-Ra: The Princess of Power have always gotten the shaft (mostly) when it comes to their home video releases, but German company, Palion, has come to save the day with this massive set that does just about everything right.

Studio: Plaion Pictures
Release Date: September 28th, 1983 (television debut) (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe) / September 9th, 1985 (television debut) (She-Ra: Princess of Power) / 1983 (He-Man: The Greatest Adventures of All) / 1984 (He-Man: Skeletor's Revenge) / March 22nd, 1985 (The Secret of the Sword) / December 25th, 1985 (A Christmas Special) /  August 24th, 2018 (Power of Grayskull)
Run Time: 22 minutes (per episode) (both series) / 1 hour 31 seconds 8 seconds (The Secret of the Sword) /1 hour 5 minutes 23 seconds (He-Man: The Greatest Adventure) / 1 hour 8 minutes 58 seconds (He-Man: Skeletor's Revenge) /  46 minutes 20 seconds (A Christmas Special) / 1 hour 35 minutes 48 seconds (Power of Greyskull)
Region Code: FREE
Disc Count: 20
Picture: 1080p (1.33:1 aspect ratio) (all episodes and movies) / 1080p (1.90:1 aspect ratio) (Power of Grayskull)
Sound: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (everything)
Subtitles: English, German (all episodes and movies)
Slipcover: No
Digital Copy: No
Starring: John Erwin, Alan Oppenheimer, Linda Gary, Lou Scheimer, Erik Gunden (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe) / Melendy Britt, George DiCenzo, Linda Gary, Erika Scheimer, Lou Scheimer (She-Ra: Princess of Power) / John Erwin, Melendy Britt, Alan Oppenheimer, Linda Gary, George DiCenzo, Erika Scheimer, Lou Scheimer (The Secret of the Sword) / Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella
Anthony De Longis, Richard Edlund, William Stout, Alan Oppenheimer (Power of GraySkull)
Written by Jina Bacarr, John Berwick, Douglas Booth, Beth Bornstein, Joseph Botsford, Harvey Brenner, Arthur Browne Jr., Steve Bussard, J. Larry Carroll, Barbara Chain, David Chappe, Ken Cinnamon, Barney Cohen, John Curtin, Larry DiTillio, Janis Diamond, Paul Dini, Peter Dixon, Patrick, Sheane Duncan, D.C. Fontana, Richard Fontana, Bob Forward, Mel Gilden, Rowby Goren, Warren Greenwood, Phil Harnage, Mike Hazy, Don Heckman, Coslough Johnson, Shelley Karol, Michael Kirschenbaum, Robert Lamb, Drew Lawrence, Robby London, Jeffry O'Hare, Richard Pardee, Michael Reaves, Marc Richards, Lee Robert, Tom Ruegger, Ron Schultz, Sam Schultz, Brynne Stephens, Misty Stewart-Taggart, J. Michael Straczynski, Tom Tataranowicz, Michael Chase Walker, Chris Weber, Karen Wengrod, Phyllis White, Robert White, Karen Willson, Leslie Wilson, David Wise, Antoni Zalewski, Marc Scott Zicree (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe) / Gene Ayres, Tom Bagen, Carol Baxter, Frank Becker, Joseph Botsford, Harvey Brenner, J. Larry Carroll, Michael Chain
Larry DiTillio, Kathryn M. Drennan, Steven J. Fisher, Bob Forward, Lee Fraser, Barbara Hambly, Phil Harnage, Don Heckman , Denis Higgins, Coslough Johnson, Philip Kassel, Durnford King, Robert Lamb
Drew Lawrence, Francis Moss, Arthur H. Nadel, Brynne Stephens, J. Michael Straczynski, Michael Utvich, Brooks Wachtel, Michael Chase Walker, Chris Weber, Robert White, Karen Willson, Leslie Wilson, Linda Yuro (She-Ra: Princess of Power) / Larry DiTillio, Bob Forward (The Secret of the Sword) / John Erwin, Alan Oppenheimer, Linda Gary, Lana Beeson (A Christmas Special) /Randall Lobb, Robert McCallum (Power of Grayskull)
 Directed by Lou Kachivas, Marsh Lamore, Steve Clark, Ed Friedman, Ernie Schmidt, Bill Reed, Lou Zukor, Richard Trueblood, Bob Arkwright, Hal Sutherland (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe) / Bill Reed, Lou Kachivas, Richard Trueblood, Marsh Lamore, Ernie Schmidt, Ed Friedman, Tom Tataranowicz, Tom Sito, Mark Glamack, Steve Clark, Bill Nunes, Bob Arkwright, Gwen Wetzler (She-Ra: Princess of Power) / Ed Friedman, Lou Kachivas, Marsh Lamore, Bill Reed, Gwen Wetzler (The Secret of the Sword) / Randall Lobb, Robert McCallum (Power of Grayskull)
 Rating: FSK: 12 (animated fantasy violence) (all series and films)

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Poster(s)

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What's It About?

In a distant and mystical land, wimpy Prince Adam leads the life of royalty. Unknown to all but a few close friends/allies, Prince Adam is actually a hero, the mighty He-Man. Together with his friends, (such as Teela; her father, a man-at-arms; mysterious Orko and his mighty friend/horse substitute Battle Cat), He-Man battles the evil Skeletor and his minions for control of the world, and, more importantly, for the control, power and "honor of Greyskull," the mysterious castle from which He-Man derives his powers. (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe)

The kidnapped daughter of Queen Marlena and King Randor of Eternia (characters from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe), Princess Adora grew up on Etheria. There, she lead an evil army until the day her long-lost twin brother, Prince Adam (He-Man), came to tell her who she really was. As her alter ego, She-Ra, the princess protects Etheria by fighting the forces she once worked for. (She-Ra: Princess of Power)

In this action packed, feature length film, the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull offers us a rare glimpse into the Castle's most fabulous secret chamber: The Gallery of Living Pictures! Here, the pictures come to life before our eyes, showing us three of He-Man's most thrilling adventures as he battles against the evil forces of Skeletor! In the first picture, Castle Grayskull is in grave danger as Skeletor develops a powerful ray that uses a diamond to make things disappear into another dimension! A second picture reveals a curious Teela, in search of her mother's identity, caught up in a terrifying web of danger! In the third picture, Skeletor and his monstrous ship, the Collector, uses blinding rays of light to turn Eternia into stone. (He-Man: The Greatest Adventures of All)

Skeletor's Revenge. Evil Skeletor is determined to conquer He-Man once and for all in the suspenseful full-length epic, SKELETOR'S REVENGE! Considering himself the greatest villain of Eternia, Skeletor is furious with He-Man for constantly ruining his evil plans and spoiling his fun. Within various schemes involving Man-At-Arms, Teela and Orko, Skeletor elists his henchmen——a huge energy creature called Bite, the dreadful demon Grimalkin, and the monsterous Whiplash——to rid Eternia of He-Man and the Power of Grayskull forever. (He-Man: Skeletor's Revenge)

After experiencing traumatic nightmares of a time now past, the Sorceress summons Prince Adam and Cringer to Castle Grayskull to give Adam a precious, jeweled sword and send the pair to the planet Etheria to investigate its secrets. Unsure of what they are expected to find, the Prince and his companion befriend the Great Rebellion, a small group of citizens fighting a huge intergalactic army, known as the Evil Horde, ruled by the vicious tyrant Hordak. During a titanic battle, Adam transforms into He-Man to help the rebels, but is soon captured by the Horde's Force Captain, Adora, and placed under Horde surveillance. Adora is disturbed from her sleep by a strange voice, which leads her to the site of the imprisoned He-Man, where she is greeted by the Sorceress of Grayskull, speaking to her through the jewel in the mysterious sword The Sorceress reveals the terrible truth behind Adora's past - she is a Princess. not only that, she is He-Man's twin sister - kidnapped by the Horde when she was just an infant! Adora seizes the magic sword, holds it high above her head and summons the power of Grayskull! With this, she is transformed into the magnificent She-Ra, Princess of Power, and frees her brother. Reunited at last, the Prince and Princess vow to return home to bring the Eternian Royal Family together again and attempt to free the Kingdom of Bright Moon from Hordak's reign of terror! (The Secret of the Sword)

In this special Christmas episode of the He-Man and She-Ra cartoons, their sidekick Orko accidentally gets beamed to Earth during a test of a new spy satellite. Orko manages to get back Planet Eternia, but brings along two Earth children, Alisha and Miguel, with him. Since it's Christmastime on Earth, the kids are naturally filled with the holiday spirit, but this overflowing goodwill attracts the unwelcome attention of the Horde Prime and Skeletor. Will the combined power of He-Man, She-Ra and the spirit of Christmas be enough to stop them? (A Christmas Special)

BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL. In the early 1980s He-Man arrived on the scene and hit the world with a punch as powerful as the character himself. Designed in the wake of Conan the barbarian and under the shadow of Star Wars, He-Man's surprising popularity spawned a multi billion dollar empire that included toys, comic books, cartoons, live-action movies and a literal sister spinoff show - She-Ra - and continues to appeal to a ravenous fan-base today. Watch as artists, creators and collaborators dig deep, tell tales and share the surprising developments of an unlikely, unparalleled pop culture success in this Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Do you have the power? (Power of Grayskull)
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Video/Audio

So, how's the picture quality on these shows? Short answer: amazing. He-Man and She-Ra have never really been treated all that well when it came to their home video releases. Sure, during the 80s, the VHS tapes were wonderful, but that was back when He-Man and She-Ra were treated a bit better than they are now. The BCI DVDs were great for the time, but I don't have them anymore so I can't say how well they have aged. The latest DVDs, from Universal, are crap. They are blurry and compressed and sound like shit. 

This new German blu-ray rectifies every problem we have ever had with the look and sounds of He-Man and She-Ra. Plaion was able to use A.I. assisted upscaling tech to bring the most out of the picture. Gone is the blur of the Universal discs and in their place is a vibrant picture. Lines are much more defined while making the animation a lot clearer. I have seen a lot of people say that the picture looks like it was taken from the OCNs and I have to say that they are right. This is a very filmic transfer. 

The audio has also been upgraded too. The only audio tracks that we have are PAL which has a different speed than that of a NTSC (in the US) audio track. This means that anything PAL played at NTSC speeds will sound sped up. For the last twenty years, we have had to contend with PAL speed up when it came to the audio. Plaion has fixed this too. Now, the characters sound like they are supposed to. I was so happy when I played the first episode and it sounded just like how I remember it. The DVDs never sounded right. We get both English and German audio for every episode along with English subtitles.
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Extras/Packaging

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983-1985)

Disc 1: Episodes 1-13 (Season One)

Alternate VHS-Synchronfassungen (Alternate VHS audio):


AudioKommentare:

  • 01x01 Der Dimant Des Verschwundenen (Diamond Ray of Disappearence)
  • 01x06 Teelas Suche (Teela's Quest)

Disc 2: Episodes 14-26 (Season One)

Alternate VHS-Synchronfassungen (Alternate VHS audio)


Disc 3: Episodes 27-39 (Season One)

Alternative VHS-Synchronfassungen:


Disc 4: Episodes 40-52 (Season One)

No special features on this disc

Disc 5: Episodes 53-65 (Season One)

No special features on this disc

Disc 6: Episodes 1-13 (Season Two)

Audiokommentare:


Disc 7: Episodes 14-26 (Season Two)

Alternative VHS-Synchronfassungen:


Audiokommentare:


Disc 8: Episodes 27-39 (Season Two)

Audiokommentare:


Disc 9: Episodes 40-52 (Season Two)

Alternative VHS-Synchronfassungen:


Disc 10: Episodes 53-65 (Season Two)

Audiokommentare:


She-Ra: The Princess of Power 

Disc 11: Episodes 1-13 (Season One)

Alternative VHS-Synchronfassungen:


Audiokommentare:


Disc 12: Episodes 14-26 (Season One)

Alternative VHS-Synchronfassungen:


Disc 13: Episodes 27-39 (Season One)

Audiokommentare:


Disc 14: Episodes 40-52 (Season One)

Alternative VHS-Synchronfassungen:


Disc 15 Episodes 53-65 (Season One)

Alternative VHS-Synchronfassungen:


Disc 16: Episodes 1-14 (Season Two)

There are no special features on this disc

Disc 17: Episodes 15-28 (Season Two)

Audiokommentare:


Disc 18: Secret of the Sword and A Christmas Special

He-Man and She-Ra Sonderepisoden (Special Episodes) (All three presented in German and English):

  • He-Man: The Greatest Adventures of All (1h 5m, HD, 1.33:1) This is the first of two "feature films" that are nothing but three episodes from the series with interludes from the Sorceress linking them together. This was only ever available on VHS.
  • He-Man: Skeletor's Revenge (1h 8m, SD, 1.33:1) This is the second, and final, collection of three episodes that were edited together and presented with wraparound segments from Skeletor. This was only ever available on VHS.
  • He-Man and She-Ra: Weihnachten Auf Eternia (Christmas on Eternia aka The Christmas Special) (46m 20s, HD, 1.33:1) This is the Christmas Special that aired on Christmas Day 1985. 

"Das Geheimnis Des Zauerbschwertes" Deutsche Kinofassung ("The Secret of the Magic Sword" German Theatrical Version) (1h 19m, SD, 1.33:1) In German only

AudioKommentare: 

  • Cast and Crew
  • James Eatock

Trailer:

  • Deutsch (1m 45s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • Englisch (4m 47s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • Preview (5m 28s, SD, 1.33:1)

Musikvideo "I Have the Power":

  • Original Version (3m 54s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • Karaoke Version (3m 14s, SD, 1.33:1) This is the same video as seen above but this time the video is in a small window above the words, and the actual music, shown below.
  • Storyboardvergleich (3m 55s, SD, 1.33:1) The video from above is again shown here, this time on the left side of the frame. The other side are the storyboards used for this video.
  • Alternative Version (2m 1s, SD, 1.33:1) A different singer is used. 

Bildergalerie (Still Gallery) (2m 24s) Autoplays, no music.

Disc 19: Power of Greyskull

Erweiterungen zu "Power of Greyskull":

  • Das Samstagmorgen-Vermachtnis Von Filmation (Filmation's Saturday morning legacy) (22m 21s, HD, 1.85:1)
  • She-ra: Hoffnung, Ehre, Mut (She-ra: Hope, honor, courage) (20m 26s, HD, 1.85:1)
  • Fruhe, Entwurfe Und Illustractionen (Early, Drafts And Illustrations) (28m 10s, HD, 1.85:1)

Disc 20: Extras

Dokumentationene "He-Man":

Die Gerschichten von He-man (The Tales of He-man):

  • Teil1 (part 1): 27m 20s, HD, 1.33:1) 
  • Teil 2 (part 2): (30m 45s, SD, 1.33:1) 
  • Teil 3 (part 3): (31m 53s, SD, 1.33:1) 
  • Teil 4 (part 4): (34m 18s, SD, 1.33:1)

Der Gerheime Ursprung Von He-man (The Mystery Origin of He-man) (19m 48s, SD, 1.33:1)
Die Entstehung von He-man (The Making of He-Man) (36m 30s, SD, 1.33:1)
Die Macht Von He-Man (The Power of He-Man) (28m 37s, SD, 1.33:1)
Die Feiertage Und Die Moral Van He-Man (The Holidays and Morals of He-Man) (35m 48s, SD, 1.33:1)
Die Helden Und Schurken Von He-Man (The Heroes and Villains of He-Man) (30m 46s, SD, 1.33:1)

Featurettes "Masters of the Universe":

  • Die Fans Von He-man (The Fans of He-Man) (29m 17s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • Die Magie Von Filmation (The Magic of Filmation) (32m 46s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • Die Comic-Abenteurer Von He-man (The Comic Adventures of He-Man) (25m 18s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • He-Man Auf Der Comic-con San Diego (He-Man at San Diego Comic-Con) (37m 25s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • 30. Jubilaum Von "Masters of the Universe" (30th Anniversary Of "Masters of the Universe") (16m 16s, SD, 1.33:1)

He-Man: Die Deutschen Sprecher (He-Man: The German Speakers):

This entire section is available in German ONLY with no English subtitles at all.

  • Die Sprecher Der Figur He-Man (The voice actors of the character He-Man) (30m 18s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • Die Sprecher Der Cartoons (The Speaker of the Cartoons) (38m 58s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • He-Man: Die Legende Lebt (He-Man: The Legend Lives) (33m 14s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • Die Hörspiele (The Radio Plays) (36m 10s, SD, 1.33:1)

Storyboardvergleiche (Storyboard Comparisons:

All of these comparisons play with the storyboard on the left side of the screen while the full episode plays on the right side. Available in German and English languages.

  • 01x30 Grayskull Wird Verschleppt (The Taking of Greyskull) (21m 35s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • 01x40 Das Haus Von Shokoti Part 1 (The House of Shokoti Part 1) (21m 34s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • 2x28 Gefährliche Streiche (Trouble's Middle Name) (21m 34s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • 02x37 Rache Um Jeden Preis (Revenge at All Costs) (21m 33s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • 02x65 Gewissensbisse (The Problem with Power) (21m 33s, SD, 1.33:1)

Dokumentationen & Storyboards "She-Ra":

Die Geschichten of She-Ra (The Tales of She-Ra):

  • Part 1: (27m 45s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • Part 2: (25m 31s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • Part 3: (26m, SD, 1.33:1)

Storyboardvergleiche (storyboard comparisons):

These play out the same way the other storyboard comparisons have played out and are presented in German or English with German subtitles.

  • 01x01 Etheria (22m 31s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • 01x45 Huntara (22m 29s, SD, 1.33:1)

Vorschau and Zusammenfassung episode 1-5 (Preview and summary episode 1-5): (5m 33s, HD, 1.33:1) 

Werbung & Promotion (Advertising & Promotion)

Deutsch:

All of these are in German with no English subtitles

  • Schnupper-Video-Kassette (Taster Video Cassette) (29m 45s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • Werbespot "Castle Grayskull" ("Castle Grayskull Commerical) (51s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • Werbespot EHAPA Comics (EHAPA Comics Commerical) (47s, SD, 1.33:1)

English:

All of these are in English with German subtitles

  • Werbespot "Castle Grayskull" ("Castle Grayskull Commerical) (1m 2s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • Promo- Trailer DVD Seasom 1 Vol. 1 (1m 5s, SD, 1.33:1)
  • Promo - Trailer DVD-Collections (1m 29s, SD, 1.33:1) 
  • Promo - Trailer "Best of" Collection (1m 4s, SD, 1.33:1)


In terms of special features, it appears that this set has everything from the various home video releases over the years. It has everything from the BCI DVDs, both of the shows, the movie, and the Christmas Special along with the documentary,  

NOTE: After I wrote this, I found out that this set is missing two featurettes from the BEST OF HE-MAN DVD set that was released before the season sets of HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE were released. This set contained ten of the best episodes of the original HE-MAN along with the two-part documentary and some physical swag. Everything else from all the different releases throughout the years is included. I wonder why these featurettes weren't included.

Plaion Pictures has gone above and beyond with this release. Any description I write here will not do this set justice but I will try. First off, this set his HUGE. I put it next to my GAMERA: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION set that Arrow Video released in 2020. That set is massive and it was a perfect comparison to this set. The dimensions are pretty similar. Both sets are roughly the same height and length. This He-Man set is a lot thicker than the GAMERA set.

The front of the set is green and features He-Man holding up his sword in front of Castle Grayskull. The back is a turquoise color with She-Ra holding up her sword in front of the Crystal Castle. The is a slip of paper that covered the back of the box that gave all the information about the set that we need to know about the set.

Inside the set is a bunch of stuff:

  • -100-page booklet called He-Man & She-Ra - "Guide to Eternia". This booklet features an essay about the series' included in this set by author Christoph N. Kellerbach, episode guides for both series, and an interview with Filmation expert James Eatock. Everything in this booklet is in German expect for the English titles section of each episode.
  • -A 20-page He-Man comic reproduction: Eine Falle Fur He-Man (A Trap for He-Man). Again, this is entirely in German, but it's a comic book so you don't necessarily need the dialogue to get the story.
  • -Two posters (folded): one is the cover of the included comic book while the other is the poster for THE SECRET OF THE SWORD. I love this poster and will be hanging it in my house in the near future.
  • -Four copies of animation cells used in the series.
  • -Four digipacks holding our discs: two for HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE and two for SHE-RA: PRINCESS OF POWER, THE SECRET OF THE SWORD, A CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, POWER OF GRAYSKULL, and the extras.

While bringing this massive project to fruition, a few mistakes happened that were discovered before the set was sent off to buyers. This resulted in an 8-disc blu-ray being included with each purchase. This affects 3 He-Man discs and 5 She-Ra discs. 

The following things were corrected with this set:

  • -premiere intors von he-man (talder macht) korrigiert (He-man premiere intros corrected)
  • -Tele 5-introsvon She-ra wiederhergestellt (Tele 5 intro restored by She-ra)
  • -Nummerierung auf den labels korrigiert (Corrected numbering on the labels)

This set is just gorgeous. I love everything about this thing. It looks great on my shelf and it includes a ton of stuff that almost justifies the high asking price. 

Each disc in this is REGION FREE
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Overall

I have so many great memories of watching He-Man and She-Ra and playing with the toys. I had so much with both shows and I was sad when they got canceled. Having struggled with the last few DVDs for the series, we now have the definitive collection. The picture quality is soo good and the audio has finally been fixed. The special features are all here and they are wonderful. Add in the doc, Power of Grayskull, which was only released on blu-ray to backers of the Kickstarter, and you have a real winner of a set. This is my favorite purchase of 2023 so far and it will probably stay near to top at the end of the year.
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Screenshot Comparisons

He-Man Season 1 Episode 1: Diamond Ray of Disappearance

Top: Universal 
Bottom: Plaion












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