How does it feel to be significantly older than the Turtles?

[Prowler]

Most of us here are adults. Many are even edging closer to middle age. So I'm sure this thread applies to a large portion of the forum.

Well, like a lot of people, I grew up watching the 87 Toon when I was. A little kid. The Turtles were teenagers. No age specified, but they seemed to be about a decade older than me. I knew they weren't adults and thus found them relatable, but I viewed them as being miles ahead of me. Kinda like older siblings or the cool kids in school type of deal.

When I was a teenager I felt the Turtles had become my peers pretty much. And even when I was 18-19 I didn't feel like I was older than them yet. Probably because they always acted like older teens on the verge of turning 20 in the first couple of cartoon series, I guess.

But now, as a 30 year old man, I've come to a realisation that I'm quite older than them. And when I look back at the FW and 2k3 series there's times I find them a bit too immature. It's a strange feeling. It's almost like I could be their much older sibling, kinda like April is. And speaking of April... I'm older than both the 87 and 2k3 April by now as well. Now THAT's strange.

How do I personally feel? Well, I've sorta outgrown the TMNT franchise in the last 8 years or so. The fact that the Turtles regressed a bit in age in the Nick series didn't seem to help matters either. It's obvious I'm not part of the demographic they're targeting.

It would be one thing if the Turtles were simply teenagers in name like in Mirage, but they're also teenagers/kids in mentality and personality in their mainstream depictions. Makes them a bit harder to relate to as a 30 year old man.

But yeah, it's a strange feeling when you suddenly realise most popular cartoon and anime characters are a 10-15 years younger than you. Which makes sense, since most of that stuff is made for kids/teenagers.

I'm closer to Peter Griffin and Homer Simpson in age than to Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro. It's interesting...

[Andrew NDB]

I'm only a little older than the Turtles in vol. 4 right now, so I'm OK with that.

[Prowler]

I'm only a little older than the Turtles in vol. 4 right now, so I'm OK with that.

Mirage is pretty much the only canon version of TMNT to you, so I guess you won't find the age difference funny for at least 5 more years.

[Leo656]

I generally try not to think about it. :lol:

Superman and Batman are supposed to be "eternally 35", too, and I've been older than them for a while now, also. It kinda screws with your head.

[Last Ronin]

Crap I'm old NOOOOOOOO

[Prowler]

I generally try not to think about it. :lol:

Superman and Batman are supposed to be "eternally 35", too, and I've been older than them for a while now, also. It kinda screws with your head.

It's gonna be strange the day I realise I'm older than Calvin's parents.

How does it feel realising a lot of today's professional wrestlers are younger than you? It kinda screws with my head.

[CyberCubed]

Fun fact: Most of us are also now older than our favorites actors were when they were cast in movies. Most of us are now older than Arnold Schwarzeneggar was in his big movie roles. Hugh Jackman was only 31 years old when he was cast as Wolverine in the first X-men movie.

The realization all these actors were millionaires and famous when they were 25-30, and we're now all older than them and basically nothing in comparison, it's so odd to think about.

[Prowler]

Fun fact: Most of us are also now older than our favorites actors were when they were cast in movies. Most of us are now older than Arnold Schwarzeneggar was in his big movie roles. Hugh Jackman was only 31 years old when he was cast as Wolverine in the first X-men movie.

The realization all these actors were millionaires and famous when they were 25-30, and we're now all older than them and basically nothing in comparison, it's so odd to think about.
And most current professional athletes are now younger than us too. And the ones who are around our age or slightly older are getting close to retirement.

When I was a teenager, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were the two biggest prospects in football and destined to be the two greatest of their generation. But since they're some years older than me it never felt odd to me. Messi is 3 years older than me and Ronaldo is 6 years older than me.

...now there's entire team squads with an average age considerably lower than mine.

[CyberCubed]

Homer Simpson is 38 in canon. Going to be weird a few years from now when I'm older than Homer.

Original cartoon April was 28, and I remember thinking 28 was "so old" when I was a kid and that she was a adult. Now thinking about it 28 seems so young and you feel barely any different than your early 20's.

[Prowler]

Homer Simpson is 38 in canon. Going to be weird a few years from now when I'm older than Homer.

Original cartoon April was 28, and I remember thinking 28 was "so old" when I was a kid and that she was a adult. Now thinking about it 28 seems so young and you feel barely any different than your early 20's.
I still have some years until I reach Homer's age then.

It's funny. I rewatched Cowboy Bebop recently and Spike Spiegel and Faye Valentine are both in their 20s. Spike is like 27 and Faye 23. Faye technically is 77 years old, but her body was cryogenically frozen for 50+ years after she was in a nasty accident, so her body and brain didn't age a day in those 50+ years and she still looks 23 like she did 5 decades ago. Anyway, both Spike and Fey being so young feels so odd. Spike looks more like he's close to 40.

And there's also a lot of people in real life who are younger than me but yet I somehow assume they're older and act surprised when I learn what their actual age is. It's like I forget my appearance has changed as I aged and time moves slower in my mind than outside of it lol

[CyberCubed]

All anime characters don't act their age so that's a bit different. Like 15-17 year old anime/videogame characters save the entire world, or go traveling on their own with no adults, etc. Obviously in real life teenagers are very immature and can barely fend for themselves, let alone travel and fight bad guys with swords/guns whatever or battle monsters, lol.

Kinda the same for Pokemon, all Pokemon protagonists like Ash, Misty, May, Dawn, etc. are all 10 years old in canon, and when their seasons were originally airing I was closer to all their ages. Now I'm like double their ages and can be old enough to be their parents. Weird being 30+ and realizing some franchises have 10 year old protagonists. I'm double their ages now.

[Coola Yagami]

Yeah, it is kinda odd. The Turtles are fine, but April. Oh man... I went from being too young for her, being her age and now she'd probably think I'm too old for her. Kinda... messes with you if you sit still and think about it too much.

On the flip side it's weird seeing all the people we grew up with on TV now being super old and dying left and right. In a few years most of the people we watched on TV as kids will be gone, except for the child stars I guess. I mean Arnold is 73 now and Stallone is 74. Like dang.

[CyberCubed]

Mark Hammil was only what, 18 when he was cast as Luke?

[Prowler]

All anime characters don't act their age so that's a bit different. Like 15-17 year old anime/videogame characters save the entire world, or go traveling on their own with no adults, etc. Obviously in real life teenagers are very immature and can barely fend for themselves, let alone travel and fight bad guys with swords/guns whatever or battle monsters, lol.

Kinda the same for Pokemon, all Pokemon protagonists like Ash, Misty, May, Dawn, etc. are all 10 years old in canon, and when their seasons were originally airing I was closer to all their ages. Now I'm like double their ages and can be old enough to be their parents. Weird being 30+ and realizing some franchises have 10 year old protagonists. I'm double their ages now.
Yeah, like said in my OP, it was strange when I suddenly realised I was older than most of anime protagonists.

I still enjoy watching anime and, in fact, have been back to watching more anime again in the last 10 months due to the pandemic/lockdowns.

When it comes to One Piece it is not so strange that Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Sanji and Usopp are all around 18-20 because they're pirates living in an entirely different world from ours with completely different lifestyles than anyone in our world.

But when I watch something set in our world with 16-18 year old protagonists attending highschool and worrying about the stuff your average teenager worries about it can feel a little odd and also there's a bit of a disconnect. I'm no longer going through the same issues they are. And seeing then attend school gives me mixed feelings of nostalgia and also regrets of not taking school more seriously when I was a kid.

[Coola Yagami]

Yeah, like said in my OP, it was strange when I suddenly realised I was older than most of anime protagonists.

I still enjoy watching anime and, in fact, have been back to watching more anime again in the last 10 months due to the pandemic/lockdowns.

When it comes to One Piece it is not so strange that Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Sanji and Usopp are all around 18-20 because they're pirates living in an entirely different world from ours with completely different lifestyles than anyone in our world.

But when I watch something set in our world with 16-18 year old protagonists attending highschool and worrying about the stuff your average teenager worries about it can feel a little odd and also there's a bit of a disconnect. I'm no longer going through the same issues they are. And seeing then attend school gives me mixed feelings of nostalgia and also regrets of not taking school more seriously when I was a kid.

I feel ya. I remember the adventures got really out there for Yusuke in Yu Yu Hakusho that when the next arc started with them back in their normal lives, it felt weird seeing the characters back in school.

I did like the part where Yusuke and Kuabara beat up some regular punks and felt it was boring anymore since regular humans were weak compared to all the demons they've been fighting.

[Prowler]

I feel ya. I remember the adventures got really out there for Yusuke in Yu Yu Hakusho that when the next arc started with them back in their normal lives, it felt weird seeing the characters back in school.

I did like the part where Yusuke and Kuabara beat up some regular punks and felt it was boring anymore since regular humans were weak compared to all the demons they've been fighting.

I'm afraid I haven't watched YYH, so I can't say I relate. But looking back, it's funny watching Sailor Moon episodes where they are fighting demons and saving the world and then spending their downtime at school or studying for exams/tests.

First time I noticed I was older than the cast of characters of a series was when I watched SteinsGate in 2012. I was 21-22 at the time. And this anime starred a guy and a girl who were great scientists... at the age of 18 only. Made me wonder why not make them 22-23 instead. But then I realised most Anime and manga is written for kids/teenagers. The stuff for older audiences is seinen and stuff like Monster, Cowboy Bebop, Nana, etc... but I'm older than Spike Spiegel and Jet Black is like 35 when he looks middle aged. I guess the balding makes him look older...

[CyberCubed]

I can't believe I'm older than teenagers were when I was a teenager.

[Prowler]

I can't believe I'm older than teenagers were when I was a teenager.

It's really strange when people talk about today's kids... and realising they're not talking about your generation anymore. When I was in HS, my parents generation complained A LOT about our generation :lol:

[Andrew NDB]

25 seemed like the big hurdle point. At 25 that's when birthdays aren't worth celebrating anymore... in fact, the opposite, really. But also when you look at women out there who are 18-20 and you go "Wow!" but now you're over 10 years older than them... it's over, man. You're now the creepy guy. Might as well just pack it up. And if you're going, "I wonder if I'm 10 years older than her, or 20" then someone needs to go and slap some sense into you.

[CyberCubed]

25 seemed like the big hurdle point. At 25 that's when birthdays aren't worth celebrating anymore... in fact, the opposite, really. But also when you look at women out there who are 18-20 and you go "Wow!" but now you're over 10 years older than them... it's over, man. You're now the creepy guy. Might as well just pack it up. And if you're going, "I wonder if I'm 10 years older than her, or 20" then someone needs to go and slap some sense into you.

18-22 year olds look like kids to me these days. I mean I know a lot of people still look really young well into their 20's, but when I look at them I'm like...man they look like kids. I guess when you're that age you never realize how young you look, but looking back at either old photos or people these days around that age...they might as well be children.

It gets even creepier when you realize most of these people were in Kindergarten when you were graduating High School or College...yikes.

[Zachatello00]

I've been watching through the MCU again, and something struck me, when Arnim Zola (Captain America: Winter Soldier) reads off Captain America and Black Widow's birthdates, and he states that Natasha was born in 1984...

Dude, I'm older than the Avengers? What happened! :teek:

[CyberCubed]

Yeah it's funny. In the 80's and 90's we were all kids and the people who were adults at the time were in their 20's or 30's as actors and that means they were born in the 60's.

Nowadays adults in the 2020's means they were born around the late 90's or early 2000's. Isn't it ironic someone born in the year 2000 is now 21 years old? When I think of 2000's kids I think of them as babies...not fully grown legal adults.

[Prowler]

As for what you said a while ago about people aged 28 and above being "old" to you when you were a kid, I can relate.

I remember being a teenager and my peers calling people in their 30s "old". Ofc but old as in actual old people, but they didn't consider them young either.

In HS I had a few female teachers who were around 27/30 years old. They were the youngest teachers I had but still felt like there was a big difference between me and them. Now I'm around the age they were back in the mid-late 2000s and it just feels strange.

And I can relate to what you said about 18-22 year olds looking very young to me nowadays.

[frank_one]

I will start to worry when I will be older than Splinter :D (how old is he supposed to be anyway?)

[Prowler]

I will start to worry when I will be older than Splinter :D (how old is he supposed to be anyway?)

Don't know. But FW Splinter doesn't look like an old man in his human form. Somehow, turning into a rat aged him and he needs a cane to help him walk.

[IndigoErth]

All in all I don't actually feel much older because I primarily tend to think of them, outside of any particular series, etc, as their real world age and 37 as of November. What makes me feel old is that THEY are that old. lol


As for the various series/iterations... Doesn't really bother me much when it's "in name only," and most versions are young adults to me, title be damned. I'm not crazy about Nick (and now a possible movie) trying to make them younger and younger and zero in too much on the "teen" part of the title that shouldn't even be the primary focus.

2012 as one exception was fun for that one, esp since it was a well done series and that more youthful vibe hadn't been done yet, but it stops being fun when they keep going that way and it sinks to the immature types of portrayal like that of Rise.

I think a generic 20-something young adult type of personality works best, letting viewers decide on their own whether to view them as young adults or as teens who are just more mature than typical. I think that's the sweet spot in terms of relatability, for both younger viewers in who they are becoming as they grow up and for older viewers because on the inside most never really lose the feeling of the age they were in their 20s.



Now I'm around the age they were back in the mid-late 2000s and it just feels strange.
Feel the same way about my high school gym teacher. First day of high school, the class waiting for the teacher and in walks this rather young looking guy in his 20s. (Think every girl in that co-ed class looked up and went "whoa.") Wild to think about how young he really was... and poor guy in his 50s now. Time moves way too fast.

Though it would be funny to talk to him now and, despite maybe being a dozen or so years older than I am, being able to say I remember him when he was just still a "kid" in his 20s. lol

[Prowler]

All in all I don't actually feel much older because I primarily tend to think of them, outside of any particular series, etc, as their real world age and 37 as of November. What makes me feel old is that THEY are that old. lol


As for the various series/iterations... Doesn't really bother me much when it's "in name only," and most versions are young adults to me, title be damned. I'm not crazy about Nick (and now a possible movie) trying to make them younger and younger and zero in too much on the "teen" part of the title that shouldn't even be the primary focus.

2012 as one exception was fun for that one, esp since it was a well done series and that more youthful vibe hadn't been done yet, but it stops being fun when they keep going that way and it sinks to the immature types of portrayal like that of Rise.

I think a generic 20-something young adult type of personality works best, letting viewers decide on their own whether to view them as young adults or as teens who are just more mature than typical. I think that's the sweet spot in terms of relatability, for both younger viewers in who they are becoming as they grow up and for older viewers because on the inside most never really lose the feeling of the age they were in their 20s.




Feel the same way about my high school gym teacher. First day of high school, the class waiting for the teacher and in walks this rather young looking guy in his 20s. (Think every girl in that co-ed class looked up and went "whoa.") Wild to think about how young he really was... and poor guy in his 50s now. Time moves way too fast.

Though it would be funny to talk to him now and, despite maybe being a dozen or so years older than I am, being able to say I remember him when he was just still a "kid" in his 20s. lol

When I watch a TV series or something set in school nowadays I end up relating more with and siding with the teachers than with the students. I just look at the students and feel they're acting entitled and spoiled.

[CyberCubed]

30 isn't old anymore.

But 40 is definitely old. I hate 40+ year olds. When I eventually hit 40 I'm just going to always say, "I am 32" and leave it at that. 40 year olds are creepy, they're like that weird interval between being young in your 30's and before you hit middle age at 50.

[IndigoErth]

Psh. You're probably already way creepier than most of us here already past 40.

[Prowler]

30 isn't old anymore.

But 40 is definitely old. I hate 40+ year olds. When I eventually hit 40 I'm just going to always say, "I am 32" and leave it at that. 40 year olds are creepy, they're like that weird interval between being young in your 30's and before you hit middle age at 50.

Dude, don't be ageist. I can understand disliking kids or even old people, since both tend to have some annoying or peculiarly odd traits and behaviour, but hating 40 year olds?! That's just bizarre.

[IMJ]

30 isn't old anymore.

But 40 is definitely old. I hate 40+ year olds. When I eventually hit 40 I'm just going to always say, "I am 32" and leave it at that. 40 year olds are creepy, they're like that weird interval between being young in your 30's and before you hit middle age at 50.

I think it's weird that you are a 30 year old male and use the word "creepy". :lol:

[Last Ronin]

30 isn't old anymore.

But 40 is definitely old. I hate 40+ year olds. When I eventually hit 40 I'm just going to always say, "I am 32" and leave it at that. 40 year olds are creepy, they're like that weird interval between being young in your 30's and before you hit middle age at 50.

Whoa dude. As someone who is just a few steps away from 40 that is offensive. I was creepy before my age. My creepiness is not adjacent to my age, it was before that.

I like me some big anime tittays YAAAAAAAY

[Musashi]

Well, I could comment, but I wouldn't want to risk creeping anyone out, like I apparently have been for almost three years now.

[CyberCubed]

40 year olds basically hover around the "older creepy uncle" scale.

[Last Ronin]

Creepy uncle..... thats a deep cut.

Did your uncle hurt you bro?

[srmff]

I don't have much of an issue with the turtles' ages but I'm still in my early 20s so it might hit me eventually. I found it weird when I sat down and watched the shows about pre-teens teenagers and realised that I was older than the cast. It felt like the teenagers in those shows dealing with dating, etc. would always be older than me. There was an Australian soap that I used to watch just because it used to air right before The Simpsons. I found it really strange that I was older than the teen cast of the show. Love Island was another show where it seemed crazy that these people were younger than me.

Just as an anecdote, I remember that I was by myself at a pub for a while when I was 18. There was a 30 year old sitting beside me and he started up a conversation. I just naively assumed that he was being friendly since I was by myself. Even when he bought me a drink, I didn't think anything of it. I was caught totally off guard when he asked me out. He was quite persistant but I was hesitant to say that he was too old for me in case I'd offend him. I just said that I was focusing on college at the moment and not looking to date as an excuse and that I like to stay in. I had enough when he said that we could stay in together. So yeah, I found it a bit weird that a 30 year old was looking to date me when I would obviously have so much less life experience than him.

[IndigoErth]

I seem to be hovering around the "cool aunt" setting, so I must be doing something right.

Granted that's the opinion of a 4-year-old who is yelled at less by me, but it has to count for something.

[Musashi]

Who exactly is weighing these older, creepy uncles, and why is their weight so important...?

[IMJ]

Who exactly is weighing these older, creepy uncles, and why is their weight so important...?

:lol:
Some people just go by the "Dad Bod" heuristic...

On that note, remember when that was a thing? Suddenly all of these little puppy-aged girls where like "Dad bod is hawt!"

[LeotheLateBloomer]

40 year olds basically hover around the "young and beautiful uncle/aunt" scale.

Fixed that for you.

You strike me as a person who relives Groundhogs Day.

[Prowler]

I don't have much of an issue with the turtles' ages but I'm still in my early 20s so it might hit me eventually. I found it weird when I sat down and watched the shows about pre-teens teenagers and realised that I was older than the cast. It felt like the teenagers in those shows dealing with dating, etc. would always be older than me. There was an Australian soap that I used to watch just because it used to air right before The Simpsons. I found it really strange that I was older than the teen cast of the show. Love Island was another show where it seemed crazy that these people were younger than me.

Just as an anecdote, I remember that I was by myself at a pub for a while when I was 18. There was a 30 year old sitting beside me and he started up a conversation. I just naively assumed that he was being friendly since I was by myself. Even when he bought me a drink, I didn't think anything of it. I was caught totally off guard when he asked me out. He was quite persistant but I was hesitant to say that he was too old for me in case I'd offend him. I just said that I was focusing on college at the moment and not looking to date as an excuse and that I like to stay in. I had enough when he said that we could stay in together. So yeah, I found it a bit weird that a 30 year old was looking to date me when I would obviously have so much less life experience than him.

There was this comic strip series I really liked when I was around 15. It was called Zits. It was about a teenage boy named Jeremy Duncan and the struggles of his teenage years. There was another comic strip with teenage characters that I loved which as called Foxtrot, but that one didn't focus on teenagers and their problems. It focused on a family of 5 peculiar individuals and the relationship between the. So Zits brought something new to the table at the time by having things like Jeremy being embarrassed of being seen in public with his parents, for example.

Fast forward to 15 years later and Zits no longer resonates much with me. But I still love Foxtrot. You know why? Because I no longer relate to the premise of Zits and the teenage problems of Jeremy Duncan. Meanwhile, Peter Fox and Paige Fox are still pretty funny to me, even if they're both HS students.

It really depends on the series and what its themes and where its focus is on. I mean, Calvin is 6 years old and yet Calvin and Hobbes is still great to me because Calvin is not an ordinary 6 year old boy.

I guess it's easier to relate to younger characters in media when the focus isn't so much on their age or the struggles and issues typically associated with people of their age bracket. A HS sports anime series like Haikyuu is more enjoyable and relatable to my 30 year old self than, let's say, the first two American Pie movies.

[CyberCubed]

Sailor Moon is only 14 when the anime starts and she is saving the world. A 14 year old girl should not be fighting monsters and saving the planet.

[neatoman]

Sailor Moon is only 14 when the anime starts and she is saving the world. A 14 year old girl should not be fighting monsters and saving the planet.

Yeah, but destiny is a bitch like that. Fourteen or not, if the powers that be says you gotta fight alien demons and horseshit like that, you damn well better do it.

[Prowler]

Sailor Moon is only 14 when the anime starts and she is saving the world. A 14 year old girl should not be fighting monsters and saving the planet.

What about Link who's only 10 years old in some of the Zelda games such as Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker etc?

A lot of the heroes in video games and anime are kids/teenagers because that's the main audience of the series. Kids will relate better to Sailor Moon or Naruto than to a 30+ year old protagonist, I suppose.

Part of the appeal of Sonic over Mario for a lot of kids back in the early 90s was probably the fact Sonic was much younger than Mario who's closer to middle age. Sure, that wasn't the only factor, but I'm sure it helped make the hedgehog look cooler and more relatable to kids than Mario.

[CyberCubed]

I'm actually watching Sailor Moon Crystal right now, the 2014 remake, and it's kinda baffling Usagi is 14 as well as the others yet they're all drawn like 18 year olds and the camera constantly pans their legs and ass making them look even older. Not to mention Usagi has a pretty large chest for a 14 year old and it's noticeable when she wears that dress in the fourth episode.

I never understood why anime doesn't make characters look their age. Does nobody writing/animating these shows know what teens look like in real life?

[Prowler]

I haven't watched Crystal yet. Heard it's a more faithful adaptation of the manga l. The original anime series had a lot of stuff that wasn't in the manga like more downtime and humour to get to know the characters better. The manga was more serious.

I've heard mixed opinions about Crystal. People miss the downtime and humour of the 90s anime series and people have also criticised the quality of the animation sometimes.

[CyberCubed]

It's only 39 eps long, so each series is condensed to basically the manga plotlines. But there's still humor/funny character interactions in most episodes. The animation was improved on the DVD releases over the TV airings fixing the animation errors, Toei did the same with Dragon Ball Super.

[Prowler]

As for the way the Senshi are designed, Naoko Takeuchi, the woman who created the series, said the reason she gave the girls those sailor skirts to show off their legs was to make them sex symbols in addition to being heroines.

Sailor Moon is obviously primarily aimed at girls. But one can also tell Naoko came up with ways to attract some male audience to the series as well. Mako/Jupiter being quite busty and Rei/Mars being very pretty isn't a coincidence. Nor is Minako/Venus flirtatious nature.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

30 isn't old anymore.

But 40 is definitely old. I hate 40+ year olds. When I eventually hit 40 I'm just going to always say, "I am 32" and leave it at that. 40 year olds are creepy, they're like that weird interval between being young in your 30's and before you hit middle age at 50.


Bite me, Cubed. I can safely say that at 44, I'm healthier and have a fuller life than you do, middle-aged or not. And yes, 40's is "mid-life", but it's by no means "old"!

[Prowler]

Some people still feel young as ever in their 80s. They tend to be the healthier kind of 80 year olds who still don't need any help to get up and move, though. But at that age, you can suddenly be 100% one day and next day you can end up in a wheelchair forever because you slipped and fell in the ground and broke a leg. And when you're that old, breaking a bone can basically change everything. It's never going back to normal.

[Last Ronin]

I want to be at CyberCubed's 40th birthday but I guess since he's gonna always be 30 I'll be dead by then.

[PurpleMusic]

I always considered Mirage to be the status quo, so I'm pretty much comfortable with picturing the turtles as early-30s right alongside me. Then in time I can just choose to identify with the older future turtles when I'm living alone in a swamp like Raph or something... (Also Sailor Mercury is clearly where it's at)

[Prowler]

I always considered Mirage to be the status quo, so I'm pretty much comfortable with picturing the turtles as early-30s right alongside me. Then in time I can just choose to identify with the older future turtles when I'm living alone in a swamp like Raph or something... (Also Sailor Mercury is clearly where it's at)

LOL nice mention of Mercury there.

When I first watched Sailor Moon as a kid, Mars clearly became my favourite and still is to this day. I also liked Jupiter and Mercury. Venus and Moon a little less because I found them a little too obnoxious and stupid at times. But Venus is fine in the manga and the PGSM live action series.

[Coola Yagami]

The funny thing though is, for being cowardly and crying all the time, Usagi does act pretty like any normal 14 year old would that is suddenly thrown into a world where she now has to fight monsters and such. It's the other girls that surprise me because other than being 14 (or 15? I always felt Usagi looked and acted a year younger than the others) they seem to somehow quickly embrace the superheroine role without much fear and whatnot.

But yeah Japan loves to make their main characters young. It always surprised me how Seiya and Ichigo are kids, especially Ichigo who seems to be considerably older as the series goes on, but it's more like art evolution and not that years have actually gone by.

Another thing I notice is that characters like Ichigo and Sailor Jupiter seem to look like young adults on their own until they're sharing the screen with actual adults, then you can see the difference.



Being in my 40's, I don't feel that different than when I was younger, except now I can actually afford the stuff I want and there's no one that can tell me what to do.

I guess the only downside is age is finally starting to catch up to me. While I might not look 40, I don't exactly look 25 like I used to. I do try to mind my own business and keep to myself. It only sucks back in the day when we were still in the building and the 20-somethings would start talking about anime or superheroes. Part of me holds back from jumping in cause I don't want to come off as the 'weird creepy old guy' or whatever.

[Powder]

It only sucks back in the day when we were still in the building and the 20-somethings would start talking about anime or superheroes. Part of me holds back from jumping in cause I don't want to come off as the 'weird creepy old guy' or whatever.

Don't worry, you were probably already coming off as weird & creepy when you were young. :lol:

[Zulithe]

It's weird to think about. But it's a lot weirder to think about how ages applies to other things, Like music for example.

Like how about Kurt Cobain had 3 solid studio albums, with a lot more live albums, countless concert performances and interviews, all of which I still listen to and feel are relevant and occasionally even glean more insight from... all while being in his 20s (died at 27) and yet I'm quite a bit older than that now.

You spend so much of your younger life looking up to things. As a kid, maybe it was TMNT. You get a little older, and maybe it's a band or some other artist. Eventually you get to an age where you're older than so many of your influences and heroes. Some might say, you are supposed to shed those skins and move on as you grow, but I haven't found it that simple.

[CyberCubed]

Eh, liking superheroes or anime or videogames is a lot more socially acceptable now than it was in the early 2000's or 90's. Back then the "comic book nerd" stereotype was true because it seemed most "normal people' did not read comics or watch cartoons, and most didn't play videogames. I remember back in the 90's if you were a teenager and still played videogames you were viewed as some sort of social outcast. It's so weird because nobody would ever say that today.

Nowadays it seems everyone, including females, are into anime, superheroes, videogames, etc. It definitely didn't used to be this way if you grew up in the 90's or even the very early 2000's. You used to be considered, "a loser with no life who lives in your parents basement" if you were say older than 17 and still did these things.

[sdp]

This is a 14 year old in anime http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NhwMC1oDwTE/VIoJEbJhyeI/AAAAAAAAEv4/IUZbB7jwaIw/s1600/shi94.JPG, artists just draw the characters as they want and give them arbitrary ages, I never think much of fictional character ages and find it creepy how people become obsessed about it.

[ABrown]

Thank the lord that today it's socially acceptable to be into TMNT at the age of 40 (as I'll be in two months).

[Prowler]

The funny thing though is, for being cowardly and crying all the time, Usagi does act pretty like any normal 14 year old would that is suddenly thrown into a world where she now has to fight monsters and such. It's the other girls that surprise me because other than being 14 (or 15? I always felt Usagi looked and acted a year younger than the others) they seem to somehow quickly embrace the superheroine role without much fear and whatnot.

But yeah Japan loves to make their main characters young. It always surprised me how Seiya and Ichigo are kids, especially Ichigo who seems to be considerably older as the series goes on, but it's more like art evolution and not that years have actually gone by.

Another thing I notice is that characters like Ichigo and Sailor Jupiter seem to look like young adults on their own until they're sharing the screen with actual adults, then you can see the difference.



Being in my 40's, I don't feel that different than when I was younger, except now I can actually afford the stuff I want and there's no one that can tell me what to do.

I guess the only downside is age is finally starting to catch up to me. While I might not look 40, I don't exactly look 25 like I used to. I do try to mind my own business and keep to myself. It only sucks back in the day when we were still in the building and the 20-somethings would start talking about anime or superheroes. Part of me holds back from jumping in cause I don't want to come off as the 'weird creepy old guy' or whatever.

You're right. Usagi being immature and taking a while to fully accept her heroine role is actually rather realistic. Kids don't want to bear such a big responsibility.

Well, on the Internet you're never too sure how old someone is at first unless they tell you or have their photo as their pfp. On these forums alone you've most likely discussed turtles and movies with people old enough to be your kids and it didn't come across as strange.

It's weird to think about. But it's a lot weirder to think about how ages applies to other things, Like music for example.

Like how about Kurt Cobain had 3 solid studio albums, with a lot more live albums, countless concert performances and interviews, all of which I still listen to and feel are relevant and occasionally even glean more insight from... all while being in his 20s (died at 27) and yet I'm quite a bit older than that now.

You spend so much of your younger life looking up to things. As a kid, maybe it was TMNT. You get a little older, and maybe it's a band or some other artist. Eventually you get to an age where you're older than so many of your influences and heroes. Some might say, you are supposed to shed those skins and move on as you grow, but I haven't found it that simple.

I don't feel that way because I don't think any musician has ever been my hero. And some of my favourite musicians are twice my age, so I don't run into that problem. :lol:

Eh, liking superheroes or anime or videogames is a lot more socially acceptable now than it was in the early 2000's or 90's. Back then the "comic book nerd" stereotype was true because it seemed most "normal people' did not read comics or watch cartoons, and most didn't play videogames. I remember back in the 90's if you were a teenager and still played videogames you were viewed as some sort of social outcast. It's so weird because nobody would ever say that today.

Nowadays it seems everyone, including females, are into anime, superheroes, videogames, etc. It definitely didn't used to be this way if you grew up in the 90's or even the very early 2000's. You used to be considered, "a loser with no life who lives in your parents basement" if you were say older than 17 and still did these things.
In the 90s teenagers playing videogames wasn't socially accepted? That's not true. My brother was bron in 1983 and was playing on his N64 in the late 90s and his Game Boy Color as well and he never struggled at making friends in school. Pretty sure most of his peers were into games too.

What was different back then and until social media and smartphones took over around 2010-2012 was that it was less socially acceptable to spend all your free time at home playing games and/or browsing the Internet. When I was a teenager in the mid-late 2000s I felt the disapproval from my peers when I told them I spent my weekends and such browsing the Internet all day instead of going outside to meet up with my friends or something. And liking videogames too much also wasn't seen as cool. Playing games itself was fine, but not when it was your only hobby. If you didn't have friends and didn't party or drink you were deemed uncool and a "geek".

[Coola Yagami]

Don't worry, you were probably already coming off as weird & creepy when you were young. :lol:

Probably lmao. Street Fighter came out at a time I was in high school and everyone was trying to downplay their 'childish' hobbies and try to act cool, more mature and whatever all in the sake of being popular or getting laid.

My life was all about Street Fighter though, lol.

[IndigoErth]

including females
Just because girls didn't talk about it with you doesn't mean none of them were into that stuff...


Thank the lord that today it's socially acceptable to be into TMNT at the age of 40 (as I'll be in two months).
https://pics.me.me/thumb_a-club-member-yolololololo-a-club-member-yolo-spongebob-54044114.png

You're telling me. It's an honor to be a part of that first generation, but it definitely had the drawback of not already having an established older fanbase and the internet to ensure that yes, it's perfectly okay to still be into them.

Kids these days don't know how lucky they are. I was forced to give them up as a teen because they weren't considered something okay to still like at age 15, and now you've got kids that age sharing their dirty fanfic with the world like it's the most normal thing ever.



for being cowardly and crying all the time, Usagi
Every time that name initially makes me think you guys mean the rabbit and this all then sounds very confusing. lol

[Prowler]

Probably lmao. Street Fighter came out at a time I was in high school and everyone was trying to downplay their 'childish' hobbies and try to act cool, more mature and whatever all in the sake of being popular or getting laid.

My life was all about Street Fighter though, lol.

I've never understood or adhered to that mentality. Which is why I felt kinda out of place in HS.

Seems like partying, drinking, dating, having sex, going to concerts, smoking tobacco and weed were the things the cool kids did and what made you an "adult" instead of a kid. I remember that one time when I was 18 and someone told me I sounded like a 12 year old kid when I told them my favourite things were Anime, videogames and wrestling.

It's funny because, drinking until you pass out is definitely not cool among actual adults. And teenage relationships are just cringey to look back to in retrospective.

It's really strange how a lot of people I knew back then looked down in anything that wasn't popular and considered you a geek if you happened to like a less mainstream game or cartoon series but they're probably spending their weekends watching superhero stuff on Netflix or whatever nowadays. The fact they needed mass media and society to validate that stuff for them shows they're quite insecure.

It's sad, but a large portion of people are sheep.

[LeotheLateBloomer]

I haven't watched Crystal yet. Heard it's a more faithful adaptation of the manga l. The original anime series had a lot of stuff that wasn't in the manga like more downtime and humour to get to know the characters better. The manga was more serious.

I've heard mixed opinions about Crystal. People miss the downtime and humour of the 90s anime series and people have also criticised the quality of the animation sometimes.

Crystal is a fine show. I was more so mixed on the character designs and thought their shapes made them a bit too thin and lanky while the animation was a bit too stiff. The other thing was that the manga had some humorous moments which Crystal either portrayed it in a boring manner or got rid of some of it. But other then that, it is more faithful to the manga. I can't say that the show suffers from having no filler since the original anime was mostly filler but that stuff definitely made the 90s anime a lot more memorable since you got to know the characters more. It gave them a lot more depth. Season 3 addresses the criticisms of the first two seasons by bringing back elements of what people loved about the original Sailor Moon. If you're a huge fan, I'd say give Crystal a shot.:)

You're right. Usagi being immature and taking a while to fully accept her heroine role is actually rather realistic. Kids don't want to bear such a big responsibility.

In the manga, she started off as a crybaby but ended up maturing pretty quickly, as does in Crystal. I guess Usagi's childish nature is considered "flanderized" in the 90s show. To some, they see her as considered obnoxious. For me she has her moments where she can be grating but I don't think she deserves hate she receives. Unfortunately since most watched the anime and have not read the manga, they'll always see her as a bad leader and a annoying brat.

[CyberCubed]

In terms of Usagi, I thought it was weirdly anti-feminist how she spent almost the entire series obsessing over Mamo and acting like she couldn't do anything when he was either captured or missing or gone for awhile. She also needs him to rescue her in tons of episodes. Knowing the manga was written by a woman I'm surprised she had her main character feel so "incomplete" so to speak without her male lover.

I guess it must be cultural issues knowing the female manga creator grew up in Japan and that's how women were basically treated in the 80's and 90's. I watched all of the original Sailor Moon for the first time last year with the new Viz dub and that's what stood out the most to me.

[Coola Yagami]

In terms of Usagi, I thought it was weirdly anti-feminist how she spent almost the entire series obsessing over Mamo and acting like she couldn't do anything when he was either captured or missing or gone for awhile. She also needs him to rescue her in tons of episodes. Knowing the manga was written by a woman I'm surprised she had her main character feel so "incomplete" so to speak without her male lover.

I guess it must be cultural issues knowing the female manga creator grew up in Japan and that's how women were basically treated in the 80's and 90's. I watched all of the original Sailor Moon for the first time last year with the new Viz dub and that's what stood out the most to me.

It's hard to say, but on the other hand I feel a lot of manga creators know how to leave their personal politics to the side and focus more on what is an interesting story. Regardless what she felt personally, she wanted Usagi to be that way for the sake of the story so there ya go. If she was 'anti-feminist', she'd have all of the Sailors be useless unless Tuxedo Mask saved the day. That's pretty much why anime and manga are mopping the floor with American comics nowadays.

[Prowler]

Crystal is a fine show. I was more so mixed on the character designs and thought their shapes made them a bit too thin and lanky while the animation was a bit too stiff. The other thing was that the manga had some humorous moments which Crystal either portrayed it in a boring manner or got rid of some of it. But other then that, it is more faithful to the manga. I can't say that the show suffers from having no filler since the original anime was mostly filler but that stuff definitely made the 90s anime a lot more memorable since you got to know the characters more. It gave them a lot more depth. Season 3 addresses the criticisms of the first two seasons by bringing back elements of what people loved about the original Sailor Moon. If you're a huge fan, I'd say give Crystal a shot.:)



In the manga, she started off as a crybaby but ended up maturing pretty quickly, as does in Crystal. I guess Usagi's childish nature is considered "flanderized" in the 90s show. To some, they see her as considered obnoxious. For me she has her moments where she can be grating but I don't think she deserves hate she receives. Unfortunately since most watched the anime and have not read the manga, they'll always see her as a bad leader and a annoying brat.

I have read the manga but haven't finished it yet.

In terms of Usagi, I thought it was weirdly anti-feminist how she spent almost the entire series obsessing over Mamo and acting like she couldn't do anything when he was either captured or missing or gone for awhile. She also needs him to rescue her in tons of episodes. Knowing the manga was written by a woman I'm surprised she had her main character feel so "incomplete" so to speak without her male lover.

I guess it must be cultural issues knowing the female manga creator grew up in Japan and that's how women were basically treated in the 80's and 90's. I watched all of the original Sailor Moon for the first time last year with the new Viz dub and that's what stood out the most to me.
Naoko Takeuchi modelled Usagi after herself.

Also, Usagi's dream was getting married someday and becoming a housewife. And Usagi's mother was also a housewife.

Seems like a lot of Anime characters have mothers who are stay at home housewives...

[CyberCubed]

Also, Usagi's dream was getting married someday and becoming a housewife. And Usagi's mother was also a housewife.

Seems like a lot of Anime characters have mothers who are stay at home housewives...

It was probably Japanese lifestyle at the time, also remember most of these writers/artists grew up in the 80's and then 90's, and they were raised by more traditional parents from the 50's and 60's...and those were the family ideals back then.

I notice even in Japan it's different now in the late 2000's, they say less women are getting married now because they are putting their careers first and less people in Japan are having children. Japan's birth rate has actually been declining for decades for this reason, the women don't want to have kids anymore.

[Prowler]

It was probably Japanese lifestyle at the time, also remember most of these writers/artists grew up in the 80's and then 90's, and they were raised by more traditional parents from the 50's and 60's...and those were the family ideals back then.

I notice even in Japan it's different now in the late 2000's, they say less women are getting married now because they are putting their careers first and less people in Japan are having children. Japan's birth rate has actually been declining for decades for this reason, the women don't want to have kids anymore.

Tbh even on American TV you saw a lot of housewives until the 90s. Not just that but also in comics. Calvin's mother in Calvin and Hobbes is a stay at home mum, for example. Was that still rather common in USA until the 80s/90s?

[PizzaPower1985]

If I read Mirage, I don't feel much older than the boys. If I watch cartoons, there is something there that tells me I'm far older than the 2003 turtles but could still relate to them. With my very difficult past, I wasn't really mentally older than a teen anyway until I was about 25.

At 35, with my bone problems, shortness of breath and constant digestive problems, sometimes I feel like I could be half a century older.

These responses have been interesting and this thread definitely shows each of our wildly differing levels of health and maturity!

[Prowler]

It's hard to say, but on the other hand I feel a lot of manga creators know how to leave their personal politics to the side and focus more on what is an interesting story. Regardless what she felt personally, she wanted Usagi to be that way for the sake of the story so there ya go. If she was 'anti-feminist', she'd have all of the Sailors be useless unless Tuxedo Mask saved the day. That's pretty much why anime and manga are mopping the floor with American comics nowadays.
Like I said, Naoko modelled Usagi after her. She said Usagi was similar to her younger self. And Naoko's first series was actually the Sailor V manga which kinda serves as a prototype for Sailor Moon. Hence why Minako and Usagi look rather similar and have similar families and a similar love for arcade gaming and hatred for school.

Naoko said she based Minako's parents of her own. Her mother was a housewives and her dad was your average Japanese salaryman.

Japanese society does come across as rather old-fashioned when it comes to gender roles, as does the Korean society, for that matter. They might be highly developed countries, but human rights and equality as we know them nowadays are a Western invention, let's not forget. So I'm not surprised Japan comes across as rather backwards sometimes.

But, interestingly, there's A LOT of strong female characters in anime/manga and Japanese videogames. And they're often strong and sexy.

Japanese games and animation also seem immune to the whole identity politics and "wokeism" thing that has been infecting the American entertainment industry in the last several years. So, in a way, Japanese media comes across as more sensible nowadays since it doesn't seem to have a blatant political agenda.

Sure, some would say all works of art are propaganda, but there's a difference between being subtle and using your own art as a soapbox for your beliefs.

[Refractive Reflections]

I don't really focus on their age as rather I focus on their life experiences that seem to be more than what a teenager endures. I mean the weapon expertise and the maturity to fight with many unpredictable, simultaneous factors is beyond what teenagers should experience. In reality, that level of combat is unthinkable for any teenager to experience due to the trauma, and would be regarded as a form of abuse. One example are the child soldiers in warring developing nations due to forced enlistment from tyrannical militias.

Of course, the Turtles hobbies and personalities outside of the fighting certainly reflected their youth, but for the most part, the Turtles all seemed mature enough to balance it all out.

I gravitated more to their personalities and the character dynamics between the main characters as friends I would like to be around, rather than thinking of it from an age perspective of heroic older siblings to be emulated when I was kid.


In the 90s teenagers playing videogames wasn't socially accepted? That's not true. My brother was bron in 1983 and was playing on his N64 in the late 90s and his Game Boy Color as well and he never struggled at making friends in school. Pretty sure most of his peers were into games too.

What was different back then and until social media and smartphones took over around 2010-2012 was that it was less socially acceptable to spend all your free time at home playing games and/or browsing the Internet. When I was a teenager in the mid-late 2000s I felt the disapproval from my peers when I told them I spent my weekends and such browsing the Internet all day instead of going outside to meet up with my friends or something. And liking videogames too much also wasn't seen as cool. Playing games itself was fine, but not when it was your only hobby. If you didn't have friends and didn't party or drink you were deemed uncool and a "geek".

lol, yeah the 2010s really changed that perspective if you compare 2010 to 2020. It's weird how "geek" or "nerd" culture became trendy. lol

[Coola Yagami]

I don't really focus on their age as rather I focus on their life experiences that seem to be more than what a teenager endures. I mean the weapon expertise and the maturity to fight with many unpredictable, simultaneous factors is beyond what teenagers should experience. In reality, that level of combat is unthinkable for any teenager to experience due to the trauma, and would be regarded as a form of abuse. One example are the child soldiers in warring developing nations due to forced enlistment from tyrannical militias.

Of course, the Turtles hobbies and personalities outside of the fighting certainly reflected their youth, but for the most part, the Turtles all seemed mature enough to balance it all out.

I gravitated more to their personalities and the character dynamics between the main characters as friends I would like to be around, rather than thinking of it from an age perspective of heroic older siblings to be emulated when I was kid.



lol, yeah the 2010s really changed that perspective if you compare 2010 to 2020. It's weird how "geek" or "nerd" culture became trendy. lol

I mean time passed and changed a bit by the time the N64 came out.

When i think 'only nerds play videogames' I think to the era where the only options were the Atari and Nintendo up to the SNES and Genesis. As games started going into the CD route, they were starting to become more and more trendy. As long as your only hobby wasn't videogames of course.

[sdp]

For some here the question is "How does it feel to be significantly older than Splinter"

[CyberCubed]

I mean time passed and changed a bit by the time the N64 came out.

When i think 'only nerds play videogames' I think to the era where the only options were the Atari and Nintendo up to the SNES and Genesis. As games started going into the CD route, they were starting to become more and more trendy. As long as your only hobby wasn't videogames of course.

Nah, games were still seen as nerdy to about the PS2/Xbox generation, if only because GTA and Halo was the start of when games were becoming mainstream for "dudebros."

However it again didn't really take off till Call of Duty 4 came out in 2007 for PS3/360, then that's when I noticed a shift. And it was also the rise of online multiplayer games.

I was a late teen and in my early 20's during the Gamecube/PS2 era, even back then you couldn't really say you played games regularly in public without being looked at as if you were some kind of kid. Imagine going on a date and telling a girl, "I play videogames" in the year 2002? You'd be laughed at.

[sdp]

yeah video games started getting acceptance slowly over time, when the PS1 hit there were more older players but it was still seen as for nerds and kids. The PS2 is what started to make it mainstream in the 00's, but it was a gradual process, with the 360 and Wii gaming became more mainstream and for "everyone". But yeah, it was pretty much a niche even during the late 00's. It wasn't really until the 2010s that gaming is seen as "normal" and even then, her. Geek culture only became cool this past decade.

[CyberCubed]

Back in the day outside of nerdy white kids barely anyone played games. Like all the black and hispanic guys in my High School wouldn't be caught dead admitting they played games. It was like saying you were gay in High School, saying you played videogames back then in the early 2000's was the same thing.

How times have changed. I'm glad the young teens of today don't face the same social stigma our generation faced when we were teens. I always wondered what it'd be like growing up a teen in the 2010 decade...must have been very different than our gen.

[sdp]

normies are always a generation behind, now it's us VR bros who get called **** but in 10 years time everyone will be doing it.


https://i.imgur.com/5p2sSVZ.jpg

[Coola Yagami]

Imagine going on a date and telling a girl, "I play videogames" in the year 2002? You'd be laughed at.

Pfff sucks for the girl then. I'd kinda try to find that out before the date. The girl would really have to be something special for me to date a non-gamer. I just couldn't handle dating someone that would roll their eyes any time some new game came out that I'd be interested in buying.