The latest incarnation of the Ninja Turtles ... (long entry is long)
My thoughts about this series are so jumbled. There are some things that I love about this new show, some things that I could take or leave, and a few things I really don't like. There's some spoilers, so if you haven't seen the first episode and don't want to know what happens, skip over this one.
I like the theme song. It's an awesome cake frosted with coolness!
I'm kind of indifferent about the little anime touches, they're cute, but if there was any more of it I would have started to get a touch annoyed. I have to admit my favorite was Mikey's mind being blown after trying pizza the first time!
Which brings me to ...
Something I hate is they apparently grew up on algae and worms. Being that Splinter was a human in this universe, you would think they had tried "normal" food in the 15 years they had been under Splinter's care. I don't see Splinter eating algae in the episode, so I'd imagine they would have tried whatever he was eating at some point. That whole thing just boggles my mind, in a bad way.
The April/Don thing. It's cute; I know teenage boys would flip out over a pretty girl, but it feels as if I'm being smacked in the face with it throughout the episode. If someone wrote this whole scenario in a fic there would be much eyerolling and grumbling. I was kind of hoping for something to develop, or, have it be a background thing. Nope. From the words "She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen!" it's like being smacked across the face with a rotten fish. Yeah, a small part of me is jealous because "OMG I'm a Don fan-girl and WAAAH April's just stupid in this cartoon! BOO!", another part is weirded out (this is a kid's show, do they really want to introduce the complex issue of interspecies love?) and still another part of me is wondering if Don would be the one to fall for a girl this way. *Shrugs*
April herself, as a character, is not so bad overall. She's not annoying, which I was worried about going into this. I do dislike that in one scene she is fighting for her life (even biting her captor on the shoulder) to escape - which was complete and total bad-ass, and in the next she's giving these annoying "Come save me! I'm helpless!" *pleading* glances back to the turtles as she is lead away to the helicopter. Writers: make up your damn minds! I also think she's ugly, and a total douche canoe, *sticks out tongue* but I'm also a 30-something fan girl already conflicted and feeling like a perv for watching this show and wishing these guys were 18. So totally not April's fault there. Hah.
The characterization of the turtles is pretty good.
I think Mikey is adorable, but he borders on idiotic once in a while. Fortunately his character seems to know when to knock it off and not take the "dumb party dude" thing any further. He's goofy, naive, and really precious so far in this series.
I like Leo in this - he's my favorite. But that's probably because the Don/April thing going on annoys me so much. He has a good blend of confidence, cockiness, and inexperience. I love that he doesn't do everything perfectly and has awkward moments trying to lead his brothers.
Don is adorable and geektastic, but the gap in his teeth looks more like he had a tooth knocked out by Raph or something instead of just a gap. I dunno.
Raph is probably my second favorite character in this series. He's a hot-head, but he's also got this other side to him as well that reigns things in a bit. I can't explain it, really. I have to watch it again and focus more on Raph and Mikey this time so I can explain it better.
Splinter ... is kind of a grey area for me. He has moments where he is humorous and it really works! I laughed when he said he had to meditate on the decision of which son to make the leader, and a second after he slides his door shut he opens it and announces Leonardo as the leader. He also has times where he just doesn't seem as deep and intelligent as past incarnations of Splinter - such as the scene where Leo asks why he was made leader and Splinter replies, "Because you asked."
I have to add that once I thought of it over the past week, that is a pretty interesting statement. The other brothers didn't show the humility that Leo did when Splinter posed the question to his sons.
My verdict: I'm really looking forward to watching more of this series and seeing how the characters develop and where time/experience takes them. I can happily buy the new Ninja Turtles stuff without feeling like I'm supporting crap and betraying the comics, past cartoons, movies, etc.
I like the theme song. It's an awesome cake frosted with coolness!
I'm kind of indifferent about the little anime touches, they're cute, but if there was any more of it I would have started to get a touch annoyed. I have to admit my favorite was Mikey's mind being blown after trying pizza the first time!
Which brings me to ...
Something I hate is they apparently grew up on algae and worms. Being that Splinter was a human in this universe, you would think they had tried "normal" food in the 15 years they had been under Splinter's care. I don't see Splinter eating algae in the episode, so I'd imagine they would have tried whatever he was eating at some point. That whole thing just boggles my mind, in a bad way.
The April/Don thing. It's cute; I know teenage boys would flip out over a pretty girl, but it feels as if I'm being smacked in the face with it throughout the episode. If someone wrote this whole scenario in a fic there would be much eyerolling and grumbling. I was kind of hoping for something to develop, or, have it be a background thing. Nope. From the words "She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen!" it's like being smacked across the face with a rotten fish. Yeah, a small part of me is jealous because "OMG I'm a Don fan-girl and WAAAH April's just stupid in this cartoon! BOO!", another part is weirded out (this is a kid's show, do they really want to introduce the complex issue of interspecies love?) and still another part of me is wondering if Don would be the one to fall for a girl this way. *Shrugs*
April herself, as a character, is not so bad overall. She's not annoying, which I was worried about going into this. I do dislike that in one scene she is fighting for her life (even biting her captor on the shoulder) to escape - which was complete and total bad-ass, and in the next she's giving these annoying "Come save me! I'm helpless!" *pleading* glances back to the turtles as she is lead away to the helicopter. Writers: make up your damn minds! I also think she's ugly, and a total douche canoe, *sticks out tongue* but I'm also a 30-something fan girl already conflicted and feeling like a perv for watching this show and wishing these guys were 18. So totally not April's fault there. Hah.
The characterization of the turtles is pretty good.
I think Mikey is adorable, but he borders on idiotic once in a while. Fortunately his character seems to know when to knock it off and not take the "dumb party dude" thing any further. He's goofy, naive, and really precious so far in this series.
I like Leo in this - he's my favorite. But that's probably because the Don/April thing going on annoys me so much. He has a good blend of confidence, cockiness, and inexperience. I love that he doesn't do everything perfectly and has awkward moments trying to lead his brothers.
Don is adorable and geektastic, but the gap in his teeth looks more like he had a tooth knocked out by Raph or something instead of just a gap. I dunno.
Raph is probably my second favorite character in this series. He's a hot-head, but he's also got this other side to him as well that reigns things in a bit. I can't explain it, really. I have to watch it again and focus more on Raph and Mikey this time so I can explain it better.
Splinter ... is kind of a grey area for me. He has moments where he is humorous and it really works! I laughed when he said he had to meditate on the decision of which son to make the leader, and a second after he slides his door shut he opens it and announces Leonardo as the leader. He also has times where he just doesn't seem as deep and intelligent as past incarnations of Splinter - such as the scene where Leo asks why he was made leader and Splinter replies, "Because you asked."
I have to add that once I thought of it over the past week, that is a pretty interesting statement. The other brothers didn't show the humility that Leo did when Splinter posed the question to his sons.
My verdict: I'm really looking forward to watching more of this series and seeing how the characters develop and where time/experience takes them. I can happily buy the new Ninja Turtles stuff without feeling like I'm supporting crap and betraying the comics, past cartoons, movies, etc.