Karai's Design

[Dante]

She might not be Hollywood material (the typical model type) but I actually prefer her this way.
It's fun to see a female character portrayed like this for once, instead of looking like some typical doll-faced beauty.
That's really been boring me lately so this new design for Karai has started tickling my curiosity.
Not certain what the word is in English but in Norway they call it: "Stygg pen" which means "Ugly pretty."
Not that I'm saying Karai is by any means ugly in this version, far from it. What I mean is that she's not typical standard pretty.

Even though I -shall- admit that the first time I was exposed to Karai's design I was all: "... That's not Karai, right?" followed up with an awkward silence.
Daymn, she either got extremely unlucky with the perspective of that shot or I'm going to be rather skeptical once she shows herself in the show.
Then the jokes about how she was looking like that on purpose just to piss off Shredder came to be.
She is after all in the age where you act out towards your parents. So snarky.

However, I have promised myself to wait until I saw her in action before I give my final opinion about her. It's kinda unfair to judge so hastily.

I have yet to see the episode she features in but my gut feeling after seeing that one promo to New girl in town is telling me I'll dig this chick.
And seeing more and more people adjusting to her design and having people like TheCollector filling us with some Karai loving, I bet I won't be disappointed.

[TheCollector]

Gotta say, the minds of the shipping fandom are weird. Did you know apparently even though they have not had one scene together yet, some people ship Karai and April? There's even fan art of it, pretty cute fanart actually if anyone wants to see.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by TheCollector

Gotta say, the minds of the shipping fandom are weird. Did you know apparently even though they have not had one scene together yet, some people ship Karai and April? There's even fan art of it, pretty cute fanart actually if anyone wants to see.

Its probably because of the anime-oriented design of this series. In anime people pair everyone together, much more than in typical American produced cartoons.

That's why for the original cartoon and the 4kids cartoon, any pairings from those series was implied by the show itself. Such as Michaelangelo's crush on Kala, Raph and Mona Lisa, Leonardo and Lotus, etc.

[Dante]

Originally Posted by TheCollector

Gotta say, the minds of the shipping fandom are weird. Did you know apparently even though they have not had one scene together yet, some people ship Karai and April? There's even fan art of it, pretty cute fanart actually if anyone wants to see.

^

I've stumbled upon a few fan works of them together and I must admit they look cute as a pair in those works.
I am however not going to be an uptight vaginga over it and start spamming everyone that they are truly in rabu rabu and wish death
upon anyone who dares not to share that statement. *shudders at thought of fan girls*
However, it'll be interesting to see what'll happen once we -do- see them in a scene together. Even if I might have my hunches already.

Its probably because of the anime-oriented design of this series. In anime people pair everyone together, much more than in typical American produced cartoons.

^

That's shippers for you. They do not even need to see the people together in a scene or how they interact with one another.
There's a truth to anime people pairing everyone together (well, at least it is more common between the fans of anime to do so) but I see no harm in it as long as they have the common sense not to attack other people for not having the same opinion or that they're not really seeing how those characters could get together in the first place.
Guess it's hard for people to discuss in a civil and well mannered manner these days.

When it comes to shipping.. I'd rather not see a romance bloom between Karai and Leonardo. I am -not- trying to bash those who already see them as a pair or disrespect their decisions\reasons behind it. No heterophobe. For me, I want their "relationship" to be as worthy opponents and rivals. Not that I'm minding seeing them fleshing out a kind of relationship, with how Leo senses there's something good in Karai and that he'll get her out off her shell (bad pun) it is just what I'd prefer.
But that is me and my personal opinion alone.
More power to the ones who already have\see them as love doves.

[CyberCubed]

I doubt we have anything to worry about. There is always little to no romance in the TMNT franchise besides the April/Casey pairing.

Don's crush on April is just played for laughs, I feel sorry for those people who are actually seriously sitting there expecting anything out of it. They're probably new fans who don't know the TMNT franchise very well.

[BabyTurtles]

I know the donnie and april thing will probably stop when casey arrives (at least thats what I think XD)

and Leo and Karai are most likely never going to happen :3

though Leo crushing on her is cute to an extent as long as they don't overdue it like Donnie's crush ( which I'm sure they won't :3)

so when are we gonna get some girls for Mikey and Raph!! XD kiddin~

[tlg80]

I would like to see Leo and Karai push each other, as far as their fighting abilities go. Keep it on that level. A mutual respect that they wouldn't willingly admit to.

[Shark_Blade]

Karai already said to Leo that "you're the only thing in the city that doesn't bore me".

Sounds a LOT like a confession to me.

[BubblyShell22]

I don't mind shipping at all for Leo and Karai. You can kind of see it in this series as we did in 4Kids. I don't think they'll become an item though, and I do have a feeling Leo's going to get hurt over this in some way or another. But if people want to ship them in fan fiction, I say let them. I've thought of it myself, but I want to see where the show goes with it first to see if it's something I want to do.

[TheCollector]

Y'know, today as I sat there reading the newest issue of IDW's TMNT(Finally) I realized something I hadn't before.

Viacom's buy out of the Turtle franchise, at least for Karai was the best thing that could of possibly happened for her.

I mean just look at past Karai's in Media outside of the mirage comics. 2k3 Karai and 2k7 Karai. 2k3 Karai tried to much to be like Mirage Karai, with the honor and all that, but they screwed up by at the same time making her shredders lapdog.

And 2k7 Karai, well she was beat in a fight by April, nuff said.

But since Viacom's purchase of TMNT, we've had two new Karai's, who really, are completely their own characters. We have IDW Karai who in my viewing is the first Karai to be completely without honor, I mean the things she does, she is a complete villain. Well for now anyway.

And Nick Karai, well, you see how she is.

But neither one of them is trying to be different from and the same as Mirage Karai at the same time, and that's what makes them really work for me. They're both their own character.

[Shredded]

Am I the only one actually thinking that 2k3 Karai had some-thing interesting going on for a while and was an interesting idea.

It's this character, whom was raised by the Shredder, and loves him, as in honestly loves him. All she wants is to honour him.
But on the same time, she is all about honour and honour codes, and what the Shredders has her do, just doesn't always fit with her honour codex, so she has real serious issues and struggles to over-come, real choices to make that affects the out-come of big events even the entire series.

That's not to say she is flawless, I have three major issues with her.

The voice acting.. it's weird.
Her design.. it's also weird, and look much better in the turtle for-ever movie, if they had gone with that from day one, she would might have been recieved better.

And well, I thought she was initally interesting and well-written. But then at the end of season three where the Shredder was send into an ice astroid and Karai yelled. "This is not what I wanted Leonardo, this is not what I wanted!" where-after she becomes the next Shredder herself to carrie out her fathers work... that just broke the film for my compleately in regard to her arch. It just.. didn't seem to fit with her growth at all, it seemed against what she had learned up till that point and her struggles, before that it felt like Karai deep down knew that the Shredder was evil and she had to stop him, even if she loved him. So erh.. when he is stopped, it should have been a bitter sweet moment for her. She is sad, but she should have known it had to be that way. And then she could pick up the mantle of the Shredder in a attempt to restore honour back to the foot clan not, being exactly like her adopted father.
It just doesn't make any sense, her arch up till that point should have been the thing forming her into being the ideal next leader of the foot clan, restoring honour into it. Not a cheap Shredder imitation trying to be just like him but not as intimidating, and do things that goes against every-thing she learned up until that point.

Sigh.. I like season 2 and 3 Karai of the 2k3 show, she had some interesting stuff going on!
It's just a shame that they sort of blew it by season four -_-;
No. season three finale!

"This is not what I wanted!" Erh.. Karai, then what did you want? Honestly, what was it you wanted? could you specify?
You wanted the shredder to realise his ways and make ammends? Aren't you supposed to be smart, you know that is never going to happen.

Exact moment the character broke in my book.

[Mona_Lisa]

Originally Posted by BabyTurtles

I know the donnie and april thing will probably stop when casey arrives (at least thats what I think XD)

and Leo and Karai are most likely never going to happen :3

though Leo crushing on her is cute to an extent as long as they don't overdue it like Donnie's crush ( which I'm sure they won't :3)

so when are we gonna get some girls for Mikey and Raph!! XD kiddin~

I think Donnie will really *dislike* casey. And they will do the name calling thing like in the 1st movie for awhile.

Leo and karai will never happen but I'm sure there will be plenty more flirtting.

I'm really hoping to see Mona lisa in a few ep's, and a relatioship between her and Raph... But in the end I think she needs to go of on her own "mission".

[Shark_Blade]

I love how the new Karai is being accepted by most people.


http://hotheadturtle.tumblr.com/post...sorry-i-had-to

There's discussions a plenty and even make-up tutorial too on how to look like Karai! The more fans the merrier.

[BMo]

Yeah I like the Karai honestly. I was afraid from the shot before the show aired that she looked really strange, but after having watched the episode I think she looks good and I love the personality they gave her. Really great stuff all around imho

[Teddy]

Originally Posted by Mona_Lisa

I'm really hoping to see Mona lisa in a few ep's, and a relatioship between her and Raph... But in the end I think she needs to go of on her own "mission".

Sorry, but I think it would be much more fitting to bring back Ninjara for Raph.

[Stormtroopeuse]

What I love about her design is that she really looks asian.
She has a non-defined nose, a cercle shape face and narrow eyes with brown pupils
No caucasian feeling!

And it's kind of badass that she has a scar on her left(or right) ear

[Donatello19]

Originally Posted by Teddy

Sorry, but I think it would be much more fitting to bring back Ninjara for Raph.

Or Mona Lisa.

[TurtleMaster4]

Gotta say, I am warming up to the new Karai design, it's not my favorite, but it's still good.

[TurtleFan2012]

She looks like Hyena from Gargoyles. With that haircut, she looks more like a savage warrior than a female ninja. The producer must be a fan of the disney Gargoyles series.

[Icegaze]

I am not a fan of the NickTMNT design of Karai, at all. The hairdo is what puts me off the most. Followed by her child-like appearance.
I prefer the IDW TMNT's design for Karai, in particular when drawn by Santolouco and Cory Smith.