Back when I was last working in a High School as a Counsellor, one of my students was delighted to discover that I was a fan of Gravity Falls and suggested that I may enjoy Star Vs The Forces of Evil on similar merits. At the time, Disney+ didn't exist and I tend not to pirate things, so I said if I came across it I'd give it a go and left it at that. Star Vs The Forces of Evil is pretty damn amazing in the same way that programmes like Adventure Time and Gravity falls are, though it lacks some of the polish that would come later with the new Ducktales, the story grows and characters change in very organic ways and there is a lot for even a jaded adult like me to enjoy. Star Butterfly is the princess of the Mewnian kingdom, who, on her fourteenth birthday, inherits the magical power hereditary to the Queens of her line, but is too impulsive to control her abilities, so is sent to Earth to live with Marco Diaz, a lonely boy who does Karate and is good at school.
Whilst the story starts out with heavy "fish out of water" and "monster of the week" tropes, Star Vs The Forces of Evil soon demonstrates that it has a lot more going on than the initial pitch. The villains change each season, culminating with Star and her friends having to decide the fate of Magic itself. I'd love to wax lyrical about every little shift and how new villains come and go, as Star Vs The Forces of Evil does some of the best world-building and escalation of any television series made for tweens that I've ever seen, but what I really want to talk about is Hot Marco. At one stage, Marco is dragged into the nether-realm of the demon Heckapoo (weird names is a thing in this programme) and spends fifteen years becoming a techo-barbarian warrior legend, who sets the teenage Star into pubescent lust pretty damn hard. Now, I've done a fair amount of Psychothreapeutic work with adolescents, and honestly, about the only programme that covers how they develop romantically and sexually is Big Mouth, but damn if Star Vs The Forces of Evil doesn't come really close in some moments.
Why is it important, or impressive even, that this Magical Girl/DBZ/glitterpunk/My Little Pony mashup engages with sexuality and relationships in between Narwhal Blasts and Ponyhead antics? Well because the relationships, desires and attractions portrayed in Star Vs The Forces of Evil are healthy, and that's pretty damn rare in media for young adults and tweens (Twilight, anyone?). So when Star gets 'revved up' by Hot Marco, or Jackie Lynne discovers her queerness or Eclipsa sacrifices everything for her husband, it feels real; often more real than other soapy superhero fare like Arrow or Gotham. If there is one real issue I have with Star Vs The Forces of Evil, it would be the ending, which feels rushed and leaves things oddly hanging, just in the last few seconds of broadcast, frustratingly enough, so I have to 'headcannon' this one a little. That said, check this series out if you can get past the cutseyness and glitterpunk, it's a damn fun watch and I'm already scouring minis ranges for an approximate Star and Marco (maybe also a Hot Marco) to slip into future Ultimate Alliance games.
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