Michelangelo's Review

MIKEY. LOVE. MIKEY. Especially here. Greg Cipes, who I believe also played Beast Boy in Teen Titans, was the best choice for voice actor ever.

Michelangelo, also commonly referred to as 'Mikey', is the youngest of the four (in order of Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and then himself), and is the most easy-going out of all of them. Unlike the other three who are in constant need of some level of control, Mikey is completely fluid and extremely adaptable. Much more so than his siblings, I would even say, which can be a real advantage since it makes him completely unpredictable in a fight. Of course, he's also got the IQ of mustard, so he's not particularly a massive threat either. There's not much that makes him get overly upset, besides the likelihood of his family being hurt.

At first glance it doesn't really look like Mikey is all that necessary in battle. Like Donatello, his fighting skill is... not as impressive as Raph and Leo's. This doesn't mean that he's a pushover, of course. I myself would hate to have to go up against his nun-chucks. Those things can SMART, let me tell you. However, now that I have a new appreciation for him, I realize that he's actually pretty vital to the group, and I don't just mean combat-wise. When things get too serious, he's there to lighten the mood. When someone is feeling down, he's there to cheer them up. He's the guy who is there for you when you feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. For a family who grew up in the sewers out of fear of being slapped onto a table and dissected because you're different, having someone there to make you laugh is a huuuuuge deal. Mikey's role is very important to the family, and keeps them together when things seem to difficult. The funny thing is that he probably isn't even aware of it himself. He probably really is spacey enough to not realize how important he is to the family. Heck, they might not even realize it themselves.

Anyway, in the 1987 series, the one I grew up with, Mikey was probably the most noticeable out of all four with his surfer-dude way of speaking. As far as I can recall, he was the coolest out of all four of them since he always had some neat phrase to use. I think a lot of kids picked up on his slang when we went to school. Those fads went out pretty quickly of course, as a lot of things do in school. But his reputation as the clown and goof-off has stayed with me after all this time, and his current incarnation lives up to his former ones.

What I'm really hoping for in regards to Mikey is an episode when he and the others really start to appreciate his natural disposition. I hope that at some point they write an episode where something happens and he becomes (temporarily) hardened towards things, so that his brothers who tease him about being an idiot can see how great he usually is, and thus so he can see that he's actually very much appreciated normally.

(I wanted a picture of Mikey and Kala together like I had for Leo and Raph and their respective beaus, but I couldn't find one. Sorrow of sorrows!)

I'd also really like to see a return of '87 Mikey's crush, Kala the Neutrino. I'll go more into the Neutrinos in a later post. All you need to know about Kala is that she's from Dimension X, and is an outspoken opponent of the Kraang's tyrannical rule. Not that she uses those words exactly. She's more on Michelangelo's wavelength when it comes to terminology. I have a strong feeling that at some point the turtles are going to end up in Dimension X, so it'd be super easy for Mikey to meet up with her. And even if they don't go there, with the introduction of (SPOILER ALERT) the Dimension Portal in episode seventeen, she could easily wind up in our world by accident.

So far I'm really enjoying Mikey and his little escapades that occur out in the corners of the screens. Sometimes I re-watch episodes just to see what he's doing because his antics make me laugh. Whoever writes and draws him are wonderful, as is his voice actor.

Leonardo's Review

Alright, so let's kick off today with a look at the fearless leader of our intrepid adventurers- Leonardo.

Leo was never really my favorite in the original. Out of all the four, I remember him the least. This might be because he didn't have personality quirks that were as strong as the other's, like Raph's sarcasm, Mikey's, silliness, or Donnie's intelligence. Out of all four, he seemed the most bland to my four year old self. Of course, being four, it might just be that I don't remember him. Or a combination of the two. Who can say. And now that I'm older and I can understand him better, I've come to realize how important and interesting he really is. Any person in command has a lot on his shoulders, and Leo is no exception. The 2007 movie really brings this into focus, as in the previous live-action movies never really designated a leader with words. All we knew was that it wasn't Mikey. Out of all four of them, Leo was the calmest. At the time, it seemed like he was the most boring. Now that I'm older, it just means the most responsible and level-headed. Much more attractive. But I totally get why he wasn't the most popular when I was younger. Because when you're young, the calmest person was the nay-sayer to every fun thing that happened. But this guy I can really get behind.

Now, I have no idea who Jason Biggs is. I'm sure I've heard him in something if he's in this show, but his name rings no bells to my mind. However, his voice is an absolute delight, especially for this role. It's serious enough to work with a leader, but it's light enough that it's believable when he's in his sillier moments (i.e. heroes of justice moment). The voice makes Leo, as it should be.

As far as his personality goes, I actually like this incarnation much more than all the other ones I've seen him in. In the 1987 series, he didn't seem to be all that unique, and in the live-action movies, he was serious, but not to the point where you'd really see him as a leader. Maybe because they didn't want a "leader" role in those films. What do I know. And in the 2007 movie, he was really just a severe kind of person. He comes back after who knows how long and is instantly all business. No "How've you guys been?" nonsense for him. It made him pretty unlikable for me.But in this series, he's willing and eager to be leader, but at the same time is pretty flexible when it comes to his brothers wanting to do what they want to do. This Leo is his own person and stands apart from the others with his love of the ridiculous Space Heroes show, to his crush on the exotic and dangerous Karai, to his pretty good strategic mind.

I can't say what they'll do with him as time goes on. They've made it pretty obvious that whatever happens to him, his family will be first, but it looks increasingly (given previous episode titles and upcoming episode titles) like Karai will also play at least a fairly important role with him.

I adore the Karai/Leo edge they tossed in there. From what I know of the 2003 series, the two of them never actually got together, and apparently Karai hooked up with some guy named Bishop. Or something. Like I said, it's just what I know. In any case, these two are like the perfect Bad Girl/Good Guy combination. I really cannot wait to see what they'll have in store for them. If I had to guess, it'd be eventually Karai having to choose between her father, Shredder, and Leo, who I'm sure by that time she'll really, really like. But of course this would be a long way in the future since right now, she seems to just like irritating Leo. Also ever since (SPOILER ALERT) episode 15, where she left him and his brothers to rot with a disgusting squid/bat/snake/cat/jellyfish/whatever hybrid, he's not likely to trust her ever again. Probably she'll just be the nemesis he has a slight thing for, at least for the foreseeable future. Who knows, though.

In any case, I really like this Leo they've got going here. I dearly hope they don't plan on changing him too much as time goes on, because he's pretty perfect just like this.

Raphael's Review

So I decided to start my character reviews with none other than the Bad Boy himself- Raphael. At this point I feel I have an obligation to admit to my dear readers that I had a serious crush on him when I first started watching the series, back when he was voiced by Rob Paulson. I think every girl has a thing for Bad Boys, whatever age they may be, and no matter what they may say. Now, obviously, girls outgrow the stage when they swoon over their every flirty wink and smirk (or if they don't, they should, because speaking from experience, Bad Boys are nothing but trouble), but they still admire it. And it's still that way with Raphael for me. Of course, now that I'm old enough to realize that he has serious anger-management issues, he's lost a lot of the charm, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate him.

Sean Austin does an AMAZING job with Raph. And I'll be honest, I was surprised because after movies like "Rudy" and "The Goonies" and "Lord of the Rings" where he played sweet, nice guys, I was not expecting him to pull out this bad-ass, tough guy persona so easily. But he is good at it. Really good. He doesn't have the Brooklyn accent that was in the live action movies or the 2007 movie (that did disappoint me a little) but seriously, he was a fantastic choice. Whoever picked him needs a medal.

Now, like I said in my last post, I never watched the 2003 TMNT series, but from what I've heard, he was pretty angsty and frustrated with a lot of stuff. From what I recall of the 1987 series, he was mostly just sarcastic and possessing a light mean streak. In the movies he was violent, impatient, and angsty. It wasn't an overly attractive combo in my book. In this series, he seems mostly violent and sarcastic. Now this particular mix I can deal with. He does have a little angst thrown in there too, but it's not so much that it ever seems to completely make him seem unapproachable or just unreasonable. And every time he seems to get on the verge of being overbearing, he does something that makes me go "Awww..." like the time when (SPOILER WARNING) in Episode Four, after Mikey's 'friend' betrays him, Raph goes over to him and tells Mikey he's a great guy and deserves better.

Overall, he's overconfident, cocky, aggressive and has leadership issues, but he's also unfailingly loyal, protective, honest (sometimes brutally), and puts his family before himself. I find these things to make him the perfect flawed killing-machine.

As far as future expectations go, I really looking forward to what they do with him. I think, based on what I've seen so far, that there's a lot of reason to expect great things. Of course there's only been 21 episodes and there's going to be at least 3 seasons, but so far it looks very promising in regards to him.

I do hope that they bring Mona Lisa back into it though. I think, from what I remember, that she was only in one or two episodes, but from what I recall it was total fireworks between her and Raph. They might not, of course, since she was indeed only in two episodes and lots of people might not like it if he suddenly became a mush-ball around a girl, but I think that her character and her history were interesting enough to at least merit her a try.

Not that I think that they'd make romance the sudden core of Raph. Not only would it not work with his personality, but it'd be a stupid move on the part of the writers. But it'd be hysterical to see him fumbling around a girl, or maybe becoming a gentleman and shocking everyone at his sudden transformation. I don't mind some romance for characters because it brings out a new side of them that they usually either haven't dealt with before, or haven't in a while.

As far as his current design goes... I really like the look of it. I love the little lightning shape crack in his shell that they put in there. I can't find a good picture of it right now, but maybe in the future I'll be able to.

So overall, I'd give the Raphael Design team two thumbs up, and a high five to Sean Austin for bringing him to life. I'm excited to see where they'll go with him in the future. Should be pretty good. There's at least 2 more seasons to go after this one, and if I had to bet, I'd say they'll make several more after that.

I'm seriously looking forward to it! We'll see what happens as it goes along!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, version 2012

Okay, so here's the deal with Ninja Turtles and myself.

I FREAKING LOVE THE NINJA TURTLES. I remember waking up at 4 AM when I was no older than five, just so I could watch the various Ninja Turtle Marathons that would be on the TV. I distinctly remember being so excited to see whatever shenanigans they'd get up to, whether it be to fight the Kraang to set out to foil the plans of the Shredder... whatever they were, I was completely on board with everything they did. My father used to bring home Cowabunga Icees to myself and my siblings (during the time that the Icee Corp. still existed and the limited edition flavor was around), and I used to devour those things like they were ambrosia straight from Mount Olympus.

Of course, things happen as you get older. The show got put onto hours that I was at school, and of course waking up at 4 AM lost it's charm after a while. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it whenever I could, and it stayed with me as an integral part of my childhood. However, by the time that the 2003 series came out, I was pretty disenchanted with revival/modern cartoons. With Dora the Explorer and things like Spongebob Squarepants around, I was pretty sure that whatever came of it would be much less than I wanted. However misinformed this view was, at the ripe old age of 13, I was convinced that there was no way that my personal opinion was anything but brilliantly formulated and based off of years of experience.

Naturally as I got older, this changed. However, by the time that I would have been open to watching the 2003 TMNT series, it was already over, and while I was sure that it was of good quality, I had lost interest in the franchise. I still loved and supported it, but it was at the point where there were different things that held my attention. Besides, the 2003 series wasn't the 1987 series that I had grown up with. It lacked whatever it was that made me love the first cartoons.

Fast forward to 2012. Recently graduated from college and job hunting, I begin to look for other things with which I may occupy my time. After a while, I began to wonder if, after the previous series, TMNT had died. I didn't think so, but I wanted to make sure. So I found out about the supposed movie that is apparently still in development, and was interested enough to do some more research.

THAT was when I discovered the new cartoon series. I was instantly intrigued. It hadn't started yet- I could maybe be there to see it from the beginning, which was always a good thing when it came to TV shows in my book. And then I saw the cast. Sean Austin?! Greg Cipes?! Clancy Brown?! Rob Paulson?! There was absolutely no way in hell that I was going to miss a show in which some of my favorite voice actors all stared in (I knew that the other people had to be good, but since I was mostly familiar with these people, these were the ones that I got really excited about)! I knew nothing about the show, but I knew enough to know that if all of these guys were in on it, it had to be good. Boy, oh, boy, was I right.

Oh, my Lord, I love this show. I completely and utterly adore it. I admit, I had my reservations when I first turned on the show, but it did not disappoint in any way. In fact, it surpassed my expectations. I literally sat in my spot on the sofa bouncing in anticipation and squealing with delight as I watched it. I loved the voice acting, the animation, and the humor. It had the perfect blend of innocent joking mixed with things that an adult could appreciate. And I adore the development that they've done with the characters. For the most part. I have some issues with what they did with April. Not her age, mostly with her design.

So in case you couldn't tell, Ninja Turtle reviews are probably going to be on the board for the next few posts. I need to proclaim my love for all the characters individually. Probably I'll start as soon as I finish this post, because I can't wait to start.