Almost 15 years ago, I remember watching TMNT as a morning cartoon. I liked them then. A lot.
Almost 15 years later, now thinking on a much higher level, I decide to rewatch them, out of sheer boredom.
The further in I get (I'm currently on season 4), the more and more I realize just how actually good the thing is:
>The plot actually develops, and is written really well
>Characters go through natural evolution during plot
>Each character is distinct from another
>April is a strong female character without being a screeching feminist bitch
>Casey is kinda dull-witted, but he's brave and loyal to death
>Karai is initially loyal to fault, and probably affected by some form of Stockholm Syndrome, but she manages to shed it in time
>Han is shown as a deceptively smart brute, but melts into a sycophant when confronted with someone stronger than him (Ch'rell)
>Karai, Han, and Stockman are subtly depicted as a medieval court: tricks, lies, deceptions, plots... all to get in Ch'rell's favour
>Voice acting is positively stellar. However, Oroku Saki/Shredder still stands out as the best voiced character, and the qualities of his voice (calming yet menacing at the same time) seem to transcend the language (he sounds very similar in at least two other languages)
>The show has a decent dose of mature darkness: Stockman's gradual dismemberment for his failures is depicted as from episode to episode thing, and yet isn't too dark for kids.
>While many fighting scenes are over the top (which is okay), but some stand firm even on levels such as choreography, physics, and tension.
>Shredder's depiction as a nigh-unstoppable force is great, and the newly introduced echelons of the Foot clan actually have weight.
>The amount of pop-culture references and other trinkets (such as historical details, like Shredder being allied with Tokugawa clan) is abundant and that is awesome.
cont for a bit
Almost 15 years later, now thinking on a much higher level, I decide to rewatch them, out of sheer boredom.
The further in I get (I'm currently on season 4), the more and more I realize just how actually good the thing is:
>The plot actually develops, and is written really well
>Characters go through natural evolution during plot
>Each character is distinct from another
>April is a strong female character without being a screeching feminist bitch
>Casey is kinda dull-witted, but he's brave and loyal to death
>Karai is initially loyal to fault, and probably affected by some form of Stockholm Syndrome, but she manages to shed it in time
>Han is shown as a deceptively smart brute, but melts into a sycophant when confronted with someone stronger than him (Ch'rell)
>Karai, Han, and Stockman are subtly depicted as a medieval court: tricks, lies, deceptions, plots... all to get in Ch'rell's favour
>Voice acting is positively stellar. However, Oroku Saki/Shredder still stands out as the best voiced character, and the qualities of his voice (calming yet menacing at the same time) seem to transcend the language (he sounds very similar in at least two other languages)
>The show has a decent dose of mature darkness: Stockman's gradual dismemberment for his failures is depicted as from episode to episode thing, and yet isn't too dark for kids.
>While many fighting scenes are over the top (which is okay), but some stand firm even on levels such as choreography, physics, and tension.
>Shredder's depiction as a nigh-unstoppable force is great, and the newly introduced echelons of the Foot clan actually have weight.
>The amount of pop-culture references and other trinkets (such as historical details, like Shredder being allied with Tokugawa clan) is abundant and that is awesome.
cont for a bit
