Opinions on April and Karai?
 

So how do you guys feel about this incarnation of April and Karai?

I know I'll probably get a lot of hate for this.... But I honestly don't really care much for this version of April. :ohwell:

She just come across as so bland to me and I can't really put my finger on as to why...
I like the fact that she's training to be a ninja and I hope her empath powers are explored more but....other then that it just feels like she's just there...

Outside of Donatello she doesn't really interact with the other Turtles and any time she gets an episode to herself, it seems like Donatello's crush just HAS to come to the forefront and focus on that rather than the character herself...

I only hope that changes when the episodes return.

Karai on the other hand is the complete opposite for me.
I never found her interesting in ANY other incarnation but in this show they really helped her character for me. In fact, this show just might have made her become the MOST interesting character for me.

Her plot with Shedder and Splinter is easily one of the biggest highlights in this show for me! She becomes by far a very sympathic character for me as a result of it. Her loyalty to the Shedder is a bit more downplayed. And the fact that she's also hilarious with her danpan snarks helps too.

Well that's just my opinion anyways. So what do you think of them?

That's pretty much how I feel about April too. I like that they're trying to give her character but, eh, it's just not coming across too well with me. Karai though, I like her even though this is my first exposure to her. The fact that she's Splinter's daughter and that Shredder has turned her against him...it's great. Don't care much for the bits with her and Leo and Leo having a crush on her but I can understand it more then the Donnie and April stuff.

Agree with April, however I don't care if she was even on the show. the show is so rich with every OTHER character. April is kinda there, but with the recent edition of Casey jones her parts a little more important.

I honestly wouldn't mind if April left the show (I know that's harsh) but......every time she shows up she just ends up frustrating me with her lack of emotions, her lack of interaction with the other 3 turtles, and just Donnie's crush in general.

in fact anything having to do with April is either about Donnie.....or the Kraang.
(or recently Casey, I guess anything with love)

it's like she can't be there just to be there.....she can't goof off or have fun..or help the turtles with something that isn't about HER.

I think Never say Xever was the best portrayal of April so far....she talked to the other turtles like Raph...and even helped out Mikey when he was in trouble. and what's best about that episode?? IT WASN'T ABOUT HER!

anyways...XD....Karai is cool, she's completely the opposite of April.

(hoping Irma is better)

The less of April, the better. I never cared for her in any incarnation, though. Karai is whatever.

I don't particularly care for either of them in this show, which is a huge shame to me as I've always liked both of them and I'm sad two of the rare female characters that I've come to really like have been reduced to this. April I could rant about for days so I won't even touch that subject, but Karai I still have a tiny glimmer of hope left in me that she can redeem herself and become an actually interesting character. I know they're going for this whole 'too-cool punk' sort of vibe for her, but honestly half the time she just comes off as extremely spoiled and rude and it makes it really difficult to have any empathy for her. Still, I haven't seen enough of her yet to write her off completely (and it doesn't hurt that Leo seems to have gotten over his moronic crush on her relatively quickly), so I'll give her a few more chances. April on the other hand....well, I still pretend the REAL April is out there somewhere and this boring, Mary-Sue imposter won't stick around forever.

How do you get through the TMNT franchise without the one human element the Turtles/Splinter are always exposed to?

To be honest I like this April better than that kidnap all the time version in the first toon much as I love the old toon

Karai is pretty interesting that I will say my favourite on Shredder's side

well if they aren't gonna make her interesting then they might as well take her out and replace her with someone better. Casey...Irma...I don't care.

I don't REALLY want to take her out though...I just want her to get better. The idea of a teen April sounded so good.......but man....it was just done wrong.

2003 April was the best for me T^T.....smart, caring, helpful.

April herself is fine, its just Donnie's crush that should be toned down.

I'm hoping by the time Season 3 hits they can move on from that.

I agree that this Karai has more personality than before, I like her quite a bit. Never really had any use for her character before... Still not a big fan of her hair and make up, though.

April, on the other hand, I don't think she's any more bland than past Aprils. The character on a whole has never gotten all that much characterization, except maybe in the Mirage books, but it took 25 years to get her to a point of being well fleshed out. Ciro's April is my favorite by far, both in design & personality. She's smart, funny, got a chip on her shoulder, & has some cute moments too. The fact she's a teen is lending itself well to growth. We can watch her learn and come into her own alongside the turtles. Plus she's not a damsel in distress, which is nice. Just hope they don't end up making a Mary Sue of her, either.

Except for the episode where she was. But whatever. It works.

With April, yes I think they need to expand on her more. Thankfully with the Trailer for the new episodes coming up we do see some interaction with Leo. The main problem with her and Donnie as a couple is Donnie is always the first one there, so the others don't really have a chance to talk or interact with her.

It would be good if she did have a talk to the others about Donnie's feelings for her. I understand they want to have the April torn between two lovers angle for a while, but she also has to come to a decision between them. And admittedly she doesn't want to continue leading one on and hurt the other. Part of the recent trailer did suggest that Donnie is going to be taken out of the picture. So unless that's a part of a Fungus induced nightmare, April may have the chance to interact with the other turtles, even its just to keep up the hope that their brother will be returned to them.

I'm pretty sure that's the nightmare. It looks so much like Kirby bat.
and I'm kinda hoping it's Donnie's nightmare.....just to separate April and Donnie's connection a little. It's like everything has to be about them. (like they have to be connected by the hip or something)

the others will probably have fears like failure and losing family...or being alone without family.

I would like Don's fears to be something more personal and not completely about April (like losing her.)

maybe something like failing to find a cure for the mutation or something. (not being smart enough and all that)

Except that the Kraang are wanting to kidnap Nick April all the time, ever since the very first episode! The Nick show has selective amnesia with this arc. For example, the time when April runs away from the Turtles in "The Mutation Situation" her character completely forgets the constant threat of the Kraang (by comfortably attending school again in the subsequent episodes), thus diminishing the dramatic intensity of the episode "Karai's Vendetta" in the first season of April having to reside in the sewers for her safety. (If the show at least didn't have that scene of April having to stay in the sewers because it's "so dangerous out there" tone, I wouldn't have made a big deal of it.)

With OT April, it was because she got in trouble due to her job demands, or was used by Shredder and Krang to lure the Turtles into a trap knowing how close she was to them. At least with OT April she wasn't oblivious/forgetful to the threats in her life. :P

As for Nick Karai, she does have some potential, but the show should have followed up on the "Karai is Splinter's daughter" revelation from "Follow The Leader" in "Target: April O'Neil". With the fighting scene Leo has with Karai, its the first time he's fighting Splinter's daughter rather than Shredder's daughter. It would have been nice to have a line or two in "Target: April O' Neil" to support and follow up that dramatic revelation in "Follow The Leader"... :ohwell: Again... if the Nick show didn't make that revelation so dramatic (or didn't have it at all), I wouldn't have made it a big thing either.

I want to be enthusiastic for the show, but for me, the Nick show is dropping the ball too often here to effectively display believable character growth that I was hoping for (in which Nick displayed the potential for) back in the first season. Pushing aside my own personal preferences of characterization, humor, visual design of the characters, tone of the show, and plot twists, from a storytelling perspective, how can I take the show's drama as seriously as it wants me to believe, when the characters don't follow through on the show's own intense dramatic points?

What? I dunno. She's always there. What are you asking?

While we're on the subject, what's y'all's opinion of the new Casey? I am not to found of it. I understand it is a nick show but nothing tops Fred wolfs raving vigilat lunitic Clint Eastwood version, draw string sweat pants and all. Also the way he refers to him self in the third person and fights household appliances.

lol XD the OT Casey from the couple of episodes I've seen was truly a nut.

but I think 2012 Casey works for what's going on now, he seems pretty cool.

and pretty happy about bashing heads XD I couldn't ask more from a Casey.

(actually maybe some Raph Bromance.....)

we've only seen 2 episodes of this Casey though...and both episodes had to do with mostly April's problems....so it will be cool to see Casey get some of his own personal development.

Prior to the Shell Shocked interview I'd have said I was hopeful that April would be more than a token on the show.

But post? I'm keeping my expectations for her and her characterizations low so as not to be disappointed by what we'll inevitably see.

It troubles me to see people in this thread so easy to just give up on April, as if it's HER fault that she has questionable characterization, and not say...the fault of the writers.

It also troubles me to see a character that's been there from the beginning so easily brushed aside because "she doesn't do anything for the plot."
Neither does Mikey, but you'd never see a Turtle show without him.

I have no problem with this April at all. She's awesome and not a complete Mary Sue as she does have the flaw of being reckless and not realizing that she could be at risk when helping the Turtles. Plus she has the flaw of not really being as smart as we'd like to think since she told Karai that she was failing Trig, so we know that she does have schoolwork problems. My guess is that she probably got a tutor to help her out which allowed her to help Casey. I would like to see if she has other flaws though and definitely would love to see her interact with the other Turtles.

As for Karai, she's fine. I love how she smarts off to Shredder and she has disobeyed him twice now, though I'm sure there's repercussions for that in the future. I'm glad Leo got over his crush on her, though I honestly didn't mind it. Still, I hope that if she does turn good that she and Leo can still be friends and confide in each other.

Casey is awesome so far. No problems with him, and I can't wait to see more of him.