Do you regret being a TMNT fan?

[Andrew NDB]

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/DefiantHeavenlyEarwig-max-1mb.gif

Or do you wish, in hindsight, that you would have gotten less into the TMNT and/or its fandom?

[Wesley]

Nope. Tmnt is still one of my favourite franchises, even though I don’t care much for the newer stuff (2012, Rise, etc.) and only read little of the comics. The 1990 movie is in my top ten movies and the 2003 cartoon is one of my top 3 shows.

[ChosenOne]

Absolutely not. I wouldn’t be the same if I hadn't grown up with it.

[IndigoErth]

Nah. I suppose it helps that I was gone from it for quite a while starting mid-teens and it was a choice made as an adult to come back to it and catch back up, so there's a convenient separation of the childhood fandom from the adult version.

[Cowabung-Gal]

I’m certainly glad it ended up being TMNT instead of Star Wars for me.

[Zachatello00]

I think it's actually a thoughtful question that was fun to explore before i just gave a knee-jerk reply. But after considering it - no, I don't regret it. There are things as a man in his forties that I wish, looking back on it, that maybe I had spent a little less time on - toys that i've bought and since ebayed, or comics that were arguably not worth my time, which of course comes back to a personal preference...

At the end of the day, I'm so glad that I had the turtles to both grow up with, and to continue to do life with today. Not everything that comes out these days excites me (Mutant Mayhem will be a hard pass for me) but again, I'm a man in my forties as opposed to a kid who, lets face it, for better or worse is Nickelodeon's target audience. But my Mirage TMNT, the original movie, and the 2k3 series continue to entertain and inspire. So does the 80s cartoon to a degree, but it's largely not something I look back to.

In a way (maybe this will sound weird) the turtles have been the most consistent friends I've had in my life. Which is to say nothing negative about my actual friends, but as I've grown, changed, moved, etc., some friends have had to stay behind where the turtles come with me everywhere. Again, maybe that sounds a little bonkers, but I don't know how else to express it.

[jignat]

No.

To be honest, the zenith of my fandom was from 1989-1996.
I'm probably too casual now to care.

I have seen movies and some of the tv shows and none of the comics or toys now.

Im also 40 now so my zeal for pizza and having anyone in my life who likes TMNT is nil.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

I’m certainly glad it ended up being TMNT instead of Star Wars for me.

Star Wars was more or less dead between 1986 and 1991. Very few new Star Wars fans were produced during those years.

[triplexxx]

Never in a million lifetimes

[IMJ]

No.... not at all. It's just a hobby.

[CyberCubed]

My daily life force is centered around the TMNT franchise so no.

[AquaParade]

No. It's only brought me joy and I don't have an unhealthy relationship with it.

The more things you enjoy in life, the better.
Again, as long as it's healthy, which is subjective to an extent, I guess.

[CyberCubed]

I've been a TMNT fan since...1988 I think...I was only 3-4 years old. It has consumed my being for 30+ years after.

The fact that TMNT has always existed in some form with only a few breaks/hiatus says a lot. Even during the "dead years" in the late 90's there was still Image and Next Mutation. Then Vol. 4 started in 2001 and the 4kids cartoon in 2003 and it went from there till 2009. Then the IDW and Nick era began in 2011-2012 and here we are today.

Granted, the current timeline is probably the least interested I've been in the franchise. The 2014-2016 movies were terrible, Rise of the TMNT wasn't great, the new Mayhem movie looks like a bomb, but the IDW comics are still going at least. And we got the new videogames and collections last year which was nice.

[Warhorse]

Nope. Not one bit. It's become my thing in my circle of friends and family and I am proud of it. They always have had this uncanny ability to roll with the times while still having that nostalgic 80's flare.

[AquaParade]

This poll sort of reeks of shame.

[TheCanadiandrome]

Oh gimmie a Shell No!

[Jephael]

Oh boy, somebody's having a mid-life crisis. :tlol:
Sorry, buddy. I couldn't resist.

In all seriousness though, it's okay to take a break from them once in a while if you feel burnt out.

[Andrew NDB]

Oh boy, somebody's having a mid-life crisis. :tlol:

lol... projection?

[Jephael]

lol... projection?

Oh no, I'm talking from experience; I went through my mid-life crisis already and it wasn't pretty!

[CyberCubed]

Anyone over the age of 40 is over the hill.

[IMJ]

Anyone over the age of 40 is over the hill.

That's been the prevailing thing forever, but the real truth is that it's more like 35 years old or so is actually mid-life. So yeah... it's actually worse. :lol:

[CyberCubed]

I just can't trust 40+ year olds. Even when I eventually turn 40, I will always be "35."

[sdp]

There's 2 very different types of fans of the original show. Those who were kids in the 80s and TMNT was one of their last cartoons they enjoyed before they stopped being kids, and those kids who grew up in the 90s and TMNT was their first cartoon they got into.

when I got here I couldn't believe how antiquated those people who were raised in the 80s sounded, at that point they were in their 20s while I was just a teenager. Then when I was in my 20s they were in their 30s and they felt like ****ing grandpa. Now I'm in my 30s and they're in their 40s, they just need to die. Late GenX likes to hang out with early millenials but we couldn't be more different, they sound like ****ing boomers, I guess it's not their fault, they grew up without the internet as little kids, they were already teenagers when they first heard that dial up sound.

[ZariusTwo]

Now I'm in my 30s and they're in their 40s, they just need to die.

How very Logan's Run of you.

Most people beneath and around your age are killing themselves btw. Must not be very fond of life past a certain point.

[Cowabung-Gal]

when I got here I couldn't believe how antiquated those people who were raised in the 80s sounded, at that point they were in their 20s while I was just a teenager. Then when I was in my 20s they were in their 30s and they felt like ****ing grandpa. Now I'm in my 30s and they're in their 40s, they just need to die. Late GenX likes to hang out with early millenials but we couldn't be more different, they sound like ****ing boomers, I guess it's not their fault, they grew up without the internet as little kids, they were already teenagers when they first heard that dial up sound.

So you think my black friend and fellow 80s TMNT fan at work, who’s probably in his mid to late forties, should just die because he’s not up to date or something? How very progressive of you.

[Andrew NDB]

Yes, we should all strive to be more like sdp so we can be more societally acceptable. :lol:

[frank_one]

"All human beings over 40 should die". What's your age again?

[Barkworm]

There have been times when I regretted getting into something too much. "Lost" immediately comes to my mind, years of watching the show excitedly, binge-watching all seasons in anticipation of the final episodes and then some VERY weak pay-off.

TMNT? Nah. It's mostly been a pleasant experience.

[Prowler]

No, because it gave me childhood memories and a lot of happiness when I was a kid/teen that I wouldn't trade for anything.

I was already an adult when Viacom happened and the property took a direction I didn't care for. No way I could have predicted that back when I was 6 years old in 1996 and was watching Turtle Tracks for the first time ever as FW TMNT reruns first began airing in my country.

[Hamato_Clan]

As Michael Cane said: Nevah