Weird Crushes: Princess Aura

 When I was a kid one of my favourite  cartoons was "The New Adventures Of Flash Gordon" and there were a number of reasons for that.
1. Considering the budget and time period it was surprisingly well put-together. Certainly a hell of a lot better animated than the Hanna-Barbera stuff I was used to, anyway. (Although even at the age of 10 I couldn't help noticing that certain shots kept getting reused. Filmation were infamous for this apparently )
2. I'd grown up watching repeats of the old Flash Gordon serials on a Saturday morning and here was more of the same. In colour!
3. Unusually for the period, Flash Gordon had an ongoing plot arc which saw Flash and Dale acquiring new allies before the final showdown with Ming.
4. Then of course there was something no other cartoon of the time had.

 Princes Aura. Red of hair, scant of clothing, heavily armed and rides a frigging Terror Bird. Cool.

 I was a massive fan of Aura pretty much from her first appearance in the opening credits (although I can remember my Mum raising a quizzical eyebrow) and truth be told, Ming's warrior-princess of a daughter was a lot more fun than the bland Dale Arden. 

 You can probably guess how the story ends. Aura spent most of the first series pursuing Flash and co. before switching over to the good guys and hooking up with tree-dwelling slaphead Prince Barin.

  Meanwhile a young Big D was left with a lifelong fascination with female characters who have red hair, a limited wardrobe and a tendency to settle issues with  a swung broadsword.

 Proof that Jessica Rabbit did not invent cartoon characters getting seductive.

"Season 2 will feature a cute dragon sidekick? That's this cartoon screwed then."

 Here's the intro if you're interested.

And here's the full-length version that came out a few years later.