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Old 10-22-2017, 09:09 AM   #1
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Watching through Nick 2k12 completely for the first time

My watch through of TMNT 2012 has been archived here.

I made a similar thread a few years ago for the 2k3 show and later for the OT so now it's time to watch the Nick show for the "first time", technically the other shows I wasn't watching for the first time, only first time completely and that's the case here as well, I watched the first two seasons but the constant hiatuses made me stop after the first or second episode of season 3 and decided to wait until the show finished before watching it all. I wasn't crazy about it when it aired, I didn't hate it but I didn't like it as much as most people here, so let's see if that opinion changes. I also plan to watch the 2007 movie and see if I can somehow shoehorn it together as happening later.

I'm spoiler free besides two things which I'm not even sure if they remained real, and that's because thread titles with spoilers show up on the main forums, I never actively searched for spoilers, so please no spoilers. Like in the other threads I'll be posting my comments and questions and hopefully others join in like the other time. I'll probably be posting only once I finish a season, maybe halfway through a season if I have lots to say which is how I did it the last two times. I'm a bit busy but I'll try to watch as much as I can every day, at least 2 episodes.

So far I watched the first 2 episodes and random thoughts:

The episodes are title Rise of the Turtles, hmm..

They start featuring the turtles which is not how it was done in the other two shows, I guess it works ok since we get to have a lot of turtle action from the beginning but I prefer the classic April finding them. I forgot they changed the origin to having Splinter buying the turtles and meeting the Kraang, seems like a pointless change in the origin, hopefully it makes more sense later if not then yeah it was pointless.

I forgot how empty the City feels, and how lifeless some characters look, when it's the Kraang its fine since it gives them this creepy look but having April's dad reek of uncanny valley isn't good. The theme song is awesome, especially counting that these days most shows at best get a 20 second intro. Snakeweed is such a boring/lame villain to begin with though, I've chuckled a few times at the jokes, enjoying it so far.

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Old 10-22-2017, 09:20 AM   #2
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i thought the design of aprils father was ok, but just how it was rendered, didn't look good. also notice how they reuse the same locations, for obvious reasons.

I too, started to rewatch this show, to see if my opinion of it changed WITHOUT the constant breaks. But I stopped somewhere along season 2 and havn't picked it up again.



Maybe on day I'll get back to it.
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Old 10-22-2017, 09:30 AM   #3
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I forgot they changed the origin to having Splinter buying the turtles and meeting the Kraang
I suppose it could seem that way to some, maybe they didn't want Yoshi to start out in the sewers this time so they saved it for after his mutation.

I like the theme song, and the closing instrumental.
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Old 10-22-2017, 11:28 AM   #4
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They add more people to the streets around the later half of Season 1.

I've been doing my rewatch since the last week of September and I'm now in mid-Season 4. I've watched 3-4 episodes a day. That's how you marathon shows. I can't believe I've already nearly rewatched the entire series in just a little over a month.
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Old 10-22-2017, 03:36 PM   #5
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I think its fair to say that you can forgive details like the emptier streets and the slightly off animation in early seasons - its a budget and technology limitation at the end of the day and not really something they could necessarily do much about.

And the animation does improve over time - especially human characters like April and her dad.
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Old 10-22-2017, 05:38 PM   #6
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The animation definitely got a huge boost in Seasons 3 and 4, I noticed it immediately in my rewatch.

Season 1 and 2 still look good though. But yeah, April's father always seemed a bit "off" in his design. Something about his face/head, but I guess it doesn't matter.
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Old 11-15-2017, 04:23 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by CyberCubed View Post
They add more people to the streets around the later half of Season 1.

I've been doing my rewatch since the last week of September and I'm now in mid-Season 4. I've watched 3-4 episodes a day. That's how you marathon shows. I can't believe I've already nearly rewatched the entire series in just a little over a month.
I can beat that. I've watched almost two seasons since Saturday night, so four days and a bit.
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Old 10-25-2017, 05:54 PM   #8
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For some reason, I prefer the stiff and quick animation of season 1 as opposed to the smoother animation of later seasons.

Not to say the newer animation was bad, we all definetly agree it was great and even breath-taking at times, butI found the older animation to have a unique charm to it.
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Old 10-25-2017, 05:58 PM   #9
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I think the only CG animation that looks dated is on some of the human pedestrians who walk around the city, but they're just background characters so it doesn't matter.

All the mutants, main cast, aliens, etc. look good. And good thing most of the Kraang with human skins are robots so they're intended to look "bland," lol.
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Old 10-25-2017, 09:05 PM   #10
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I'm perfectly fine with the CG, I'm just making the comparisons because it is noticeable. I don't mind it. I believe I'm watching in 720, it's not the resolution the character models just don't look as good as other stuff that was around at that same time, not comparing it with 2017 stuff either.

The empty streets are creepy but it kind of works and I guess you can say those adventures happen at 3 am or something. April's school being completely empty does look really odd. Not a fan of April as mentioned so far, also I like Donnie but I think in both the OT and 2k3 he is easily the best turtle even if not my favorite character but so far here he isn't the "best" all around turtle. So far I'd say Leo/Mikey are getting the best episode moments.
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Old 10-28-2017, 04:23 PM   #11
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Just finished the first season and had a blast doing so, I definitely enjoyed it more than my first time I saw it. I still don't think it deserves all the praise this season got but it's a nice cartoon even if lacking the charm of the OT or the thrills of 2k3 during its they're first seasons.

Man Dogpound becoming so useless so quickly was such a horrible decision to make, no wonder people didn't take Fishface/Dogpound as replacements to Rocksteady and Beebop, they became jokes without being fun like R&B. Hun suffered some villain decay but not as bad, he was still a threat even at the end of the show.

NYC being so alone in some episodes definitely felt off.

I liked the Shredder/Kraang alliance, its something we never got to see how it formed in the ot.

I like that their eyes turn white, that's something that the 2007 film did in the trailer but then didn't in the film.

I liked most of the original characters they came up with, the only exceptions were Snakeweed and Spiderbites. Snakeweed's second appearance didn't make me like it more, but all other mutants were cool, I especially loved the Newtralizer and the cockroach was cool as well, I hope they appear later. Filler episodes like the one where the mutant hornet or whatever infects everyone was cool as well.

Karai is a huge let down for the most part and the most interesting parts about her where things that 2k3 had already done better. The Splinter/Shredder relationship is new and interesting but so far not handled excellent

April is a horrible character and the reason for the Kraang needing her was dumb and a cheap way to make her relevant to the plot. I would've preferred the route of Kraang only wanting smart scientists. I do like that Splinter was training her but even then how did she beat Karai on her first fight?

I want to know more about the Kraang but I guess we find out more later so I don't want spoilers.

Now to season 2.
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Old 10-28-2017, 05:06 PM   #12
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Nick's Karai is much better than the 2k3 one. The Miwa subplot is the best thing the show came up with. I also like April a lot personality wise, she's the best utilized April of the 3 cartoons. The original was a damsel in distress too often, and 2k3 April just faded into the background as the show progressed because the writers found it difficult to involve her in the Turtles adventures.

The ep where Karai and April fight each other was one of my favorites of the season. Also where on earth did you get she beat her? Karai kicked April's ass the first time they met. And she barely held her own in the rematch.
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Old 10-29-2017, 12:40 PM   #13
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Finished the first half of season 2, going a lot faster than I thought I would which is good since I'll be fairly busy in a few weeks so I want to finish the show before then.

Does Shredder know where the turtles live? We've seen the turtles attacked at their home various times, seems odd since they've never changed the location of their lair when the enemy seems to know and also weird that if they know they don't attack more often.

The first half of the season is mostly boring, I remember liking season 2 more than one, the season opener is a bit generic but the idea of the mutagen being everywhere sets up the season just fine. The April subplot of being mad is so dumb and barely even lasted to have wasted so much time on it. Still not a fan of April at all, she's only gotten more annoying with her psychic powers.

=
I kind of liked that the foot soldiers became robots but at the same time i didn't want all the foot to be robots. The squirrels episode was really lame, I liked the similar one they had in season 1 with the wasps but here I just felt no tension eliminating the point of it, the fungus episode was that same type of show but done much better.

Seeing Chrome Drome was cool even if they just re-used Bradford's design, mutagen man was cool and tragic. Slash's origin was fine but I feel like Spike was only mutated to make fans happy since people had mentioned since the first season how spike should be mutated.

Making Dogpound into Rahzar gives me mixed feelings, I liked Rahzar but he feels weird without Tokka and also that he is a ninja since he's Bradford and such a radical change to a zombie like creature, not a fan. Especially since him being a threat didn't last too long as he was replaced by Tiger Claw not long after.

Casey Jones is such a let down, he has a different mask and he's just some punk kid, which makes no sense for him to be able to take out all these ninjas and what not. Also in his episode they finally mention where the turtles names came from, they messed up not having that since the first episode.

The midseason finale wasn't as good as I remembered but it was still fun to find out more about what's going to happen and see things change.
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Old 10-29-2017, 12:52 PM   #14
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Season 2 is mostly about building up the ground work from the first season while introducing new mutants most of which will become important characters for the rest of the show such as Slash, etc.

I love how this show built up the backstory of the Kraang more and more as it went on. It's as if they kept giving us new information one by one rather than dumping it all at once, and I really liked that. Learning where the mutagen came from, where Dimension X is and dimensional portals, what the Kraang were trying to do, experimenting on April with her powers, etc. I also like how the Kraang keep getting new robots/weapons/ships making them more and more powerful than before. We get new backstory for the Kraang with each arc about them and it was great to see their lore expanded.

As I said before I never cared for Dogpound's design and love Rahzar's. Had they kept Dogpound's design for the entire show that would have been boring as hell, I already got bored of his design by the end of Season 1. All the villains will of course suffer from "villain decay" where the Turtles beat them easy and easier each time, but that's expected for kids shows do it doesn't bother me. Rahzar's design is cool and I love how we got an obscure movie character like Rahzar as a permanent staple of this show.

I love the Squirrlenoids episode, it's of course a homage to the Alien movie franchise just like the Pizza Monsters ep in Season 2 of the original cartoon. Fungus Humungous is also my favorite "filler" of the series due to how hilarious it was and all the great visuals and backdrops.
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Old 11-06-2017, 10:23 AM   #15
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I kind of liked that the foot soldiers became robots but at the same time i didn't want all the foot to be robots.
Not all Foot soldiers were robots.
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Old 11-06-2017, 11:32 AM   #16
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Well I finally finished watching the show.

The second crossover episode was a disappointment, not bad but didn't leave me super hyped like the original crossover did. I go into detail in the crossover thread since that thread was still active and my comments felt better suited there than here.

The Usagi arc was a bit boring, I wanted to love it but meh, it wasn't bad either but it felt so dull. I did like that it felt as a Usaji / TMNT crossover and not TMNT/Usaji crossover if that makes any sense. Not only were the turtles in Usaji's world but also it was a plot of Usaji and not the TMNT they were dealing with.

Finally the road warrior arc was so awesome, easily one of my favorites in the show. I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic futures and it was all well done. I gotta find that talkback as well to see other's opinion because as much as I love the episodes, I don't like that this apocalyptic future is the actual future of these turtles, it's bittersweet and I prefer my ultra happy ending in my TMNT cartoons. Maybe I can think of it as an alternate universe the turtles travel to eventually or something.

The zombie shredder arc definitely had more of a finale feel, even with the "wait I want to look at the sky a little more". I think there's a thread discussing which is the series finale, I'll go read that one later as well. Only reason zombie shredder can't be the final episode is they pretty much reference it in the universal monsters arc that they've battled "demons & zombies" so while not explicit they haven't done either of those things before that arc.

I'll post my thoughts on the overall series a little later, I gotta go now.

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Not all Foot soldiers were robots.
It sure seemed like there were no more human foot later on, unless you mean Karai's red foot ninjas in which case you're right but I was referring to Shredder's.
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Old 11-06-2017, 11:38 AM   #17
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I thought the Usagi eps, especially the first and last episodes, were great. They really captured the Usagi feel and universe well. The riding on the horses, the snow cat scenes on the snowy mountain, all the fights with Jei, etc.

Also make sure to watch the Ice Cream Kitty music video, its a 2 minute video and you can find it on youtube. It's a hilarious sendoff to the Nick TMNT era if you haven't seen it.
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Old 11-06-2017, 12:06 PM   #18
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There were a lot of comments on the Apocalypse arc in the thread and a lot of arguing over it being an AU in the season 5 thread.

Agreed on End times arc, made slightly bigger too.

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Old 10-31-2017, 01:19 PM   #19
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Finished season 2 and this season was definitely inferior to the first, it has a few stronger episodes but it also has plenty more horrible ones. The second half was better than the first half of s2.

The finale is a rehash of the first one and even though it was done much better and was more enjoyable it still feels like we've already done this.


Irma as a hipster was neat but her being Kraang Subprime was a bit lame, April having psychic powers is not cool though her being resistant to the mutagen is a cool enough story as to why the Kraang want them.

The mecha turtle was awesome, I didn't remember this had happened. Leo's new voice actor isn't that good, I miss Jason Biggs. Casey Jones was never amazing though he did get a little less annoying in his other appearances.

I already miss the human foot soldiers. I loved the episode of the chinese spirit and granting mystic foot ninja powers to the Purple Dragons. Speaking of which the purple dragons are only those 3 members? And wasn't one of those the one who helped the turtles in one episode? Why hasn't that been followed up on. NY still looks rather empty even with the second invasion and all it had was a minor Earth Defense Force appearance?

The pizza episode has to be one of the worst ones the show has made, it was also the third horror themed episode this season. The LARP episode was ok.

I had no idea this season ended in a cliffhanger, odd that the invasion seemed pretty small in the end.
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Old 10-31-2017, 01:23 PM   #20
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Season 2 was consistently great, but yeah the Pizzaface episode was the worst ep so far, and the Sir Malachi Larp episode was pretty weak too. Thankfully they're one-shot characters and don't appear again.

Other than those two eps I enjoyed every other ep of Season 2. Some were better than others obviously, but they were all good. The way they built up the Shredder/Karai story and the Kraang was done well, although it's going to go on hiatus for awhile due to the Northampton arc in Season 3.

If you're complaining about horror eps now, be warned, the Northampton arc goes on for 8 episodes in Season 3 and at least 5 out of those 8 eps are horror themed.
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