What type of fan are you?

[jenna]

I've noticed a lot of OT fans joining the boards recently, and it got me thinking: why are so many OT fans so adverse to other versions (Shredder not being the villain one of many peeves I read on a daily basis)? And that got me thinking even more, about what makes the tmnt special to different people. So.....................

What attracts you to the tmnt? What type of category would you put yourself in as a fan? This needn't be whatfirst attracted you to the tmnt, but what is it that makes you still love them? what makes you lof onto the Technodrome every day to talk about them? Are they one in a whole group of fandoms that you enjoy? or is it specific only to the tmnt?

For me, it is the characters.

I love film and fiction with interesting characters and nothing for me has ever surpassed the tmnt characters. I know they are slightly generic (the leader, the intellect, the funny one, the bitter one) but there is something so unique about them on top of this that I've never been able to let it go. My parents are psychologists and I have also studied psychology and film 1, 2k3 and the new film are all wonderful explorations of psychology. It's what I love.

I don't have any other similar obsessions. I don't watch much TV these days and have never been into comic books (until now )

The bottom line for me is that there was the OT with good characters, film 1 with wonderful characters, which was my first experience of psychological analysis of the characters and then The good ol' Technodrome and my fellow dromers taught me the rest, got me into the comics which are fab.

Why the turtles? why not some other characters with equally fascinating personalities (I read many X men comparisons on these boards)? I can't really tell you - I would if I knew. I guess the OT gave me a basis as a child. Or maybe my brain is still fascinated with the concept of turtles who are ninjas.

What about you guys? Please share.

[Buslady]

What kinda fan am I?
Raph obsessive or just extremely enthusiastic about one specific character I can ID with closely.

[Blithe]

Interesting thread, Jenna! This was something I was mulling over yesterday. I don’t know why I am so enamored of the turtles. The turtles are the only time I’ve ever been interested in comics. I’m not interested in anime, manga, video games, sci-fi and apart from The Simpsons, Southpark and Family Guy, I’m not into cartoons. Honestly, I’m not even that eager to see the NT (don’t shoot, don’t shoot!), but for the fact it’s widely discussed here and I’d like to be able to share more with the class.

Yeah, so how is it I love the turtles? The characters drew me in and somehow I found my way to Mirage. What I thought was originally a ridiculous/kiddie concept turned out to be far more well constructed and deep than I anticipated. My perception was so far off the mark that it intrigued me to keep reading and eventually I became addicted. The relationships amongst the brothers, their struggles, their successes continued to entertain me.

The stories were well-written and helped me suspend my disbelief in mutant turtles (and a mutant rat). I was able to say, “yeah, okay. TMNT would never happen in real life, but if it did I can see how it could all unfold like this”. The turtles keep themselves well hidden and their encounters with aliens, etc. happen away from the prying eyes of humans. I think the fact that Eastman & Laird were able to take such an outlandish concept and be able to make it very adult and “realistic” is a huge draw for me. That’s also why I tend to shy away from the old Archie comics and the current “the whole world is crawling with aliens and the turtles can roam freely!” storylines. I’m not saying they aren’t well-written or fabulous in their own way, they just begin to depart from what I personally dig about the TMNT concept.

Hmm. I guess I love the exploration of mutant ninja turtles in our ordinary human world, but when it segues into mutant ninja turtles in a world of mutants/aliens, etc. I mentally check-out. I love the family, the fighting, the assortment of enemies, the angst, the laughs, but don’t need a mutant soap opera that incorporates turtles with jobs or girlfriends.

[MoreCowbell5263]

I'm 17 years old, I first got into it by watching the old cartoon because my brothers did and the movies, however I think the first movie went to theaters a little before I was born. I remember my parents telling me that the first movie I saw in theaters was the second Ninja Turtles movie, and since then, I've always liked the second one, even though most people treat it only a little better than the third one, which I can say I don't like nearly as much as the others, but it still entertains me whenever I see it.

When I was a kid, or a younger kid at least, I loved the turtles because of how fun and light-hearted the show and movies I had seen were. I saw the first movie, and I liked it, at the time I still liked the second movie more, but I was still more into the "cartoony" turtles. I still love the cartoon, but further down the road, I started wanting to see them in more emotional roles and stuff like the first movie. I started watching the NT on youtube and gave the show a chance. I remember when it came out when I was about 13 or 14, I didn't like it that much because Splinter was grey, and it seemed darker, and Raph was angry rather than funny like in the OT. After a while, I realized exactly how much better the first movie was than the others and, as a result, started liking the NT more when I realized that it was closer to the original movie and comics.

I don't like reading, so comic books were never my thing, even though I loved superheroes like Marvel and stuff, but for some reason, I just never liked reading about them. I just wanted to watch the cartoons and movies. But I don't mind reading about what happens in the comics from places online.

In short, I started out as an OT fan, then movie fan, then NT fan.

[Spawn Guy]

Tough one. I guess it's just because of how diffrent they were. I was raised on stuff like Fireman Sam, Thomas the Tank and Super Ted, superhero stuff was a major diffrence for me at five. It's hard not to get caught up in the old toon at that age. Then it just kind of blossomed into this bigger world that had a little bit of everyhing, all kinds of attention, all kinds of humor, action andthe just plain bizzare. Maybe it's because it's a parody that grew to become more than that, but compared to stuff like Spider-Man it's just amazingly weird. Kind of like "What are they gonna come up with next?" The family angle helps to. That's one of the best kinds of balances you can bring to any family.

[Scandia]

I like the:

- characters
- plot
- concept
- interactions
- how the characters evolve
- the many laughs TMNT has given me
- how it stimulates my imagination

[SassyGal]

I am an OT fangirl (I admit it freely!!), but I'm not at all adverse to different versions. I always admit that I was not a fan of 2k3 at first because I didn't get to see it often so I spent a lot of the time being confused by the story arcs. But when I finally started seeing it as a whole, I was able to get into.

Anyway, what always draws me to them is the characters. I love the turtles and they remind me of my family, so I can relate to them, even at my age The Plots are usually great, but I always come back for the Turtles and Splinter.

The OT is special to me because it is how I bonded with my brother-in-law when he first started dated my sister. Before that we didn't have a thing in common

This all being said, I feel I am an average fan. I get the dvd's of 2k3 & OT & I have the movies (except TMNT 3, yikes to that whole mess of costumes ) but I have no action figures & only recently got into the comics (yeah, bad fangirl!!!)

[Masked Ninja]

Simply put, for me it's

1) character depth (this covers watching interactions and individual development, and even some fun writing stories/comics where the challenge is to keep everyone acting in character)

2) they are wicked fun to draw.

[Spawn Guy]

Amen to that.

[Aignatius]

There's something fascinating about making non human looking creatures act and react in such a human manner. For me, it's the characters, and the stories. Not to mention how they handle the difficulties they encounter. And I like it especially when they are drawn well.

[Cascadia]

I am considered to be a very casual fan. I know that is hard to believe considering how many postings I have contributed here.

[Spawn Guy]

By yourself or did someone christen you a casual fan?

[Cascadia]

I did...I am not as possessed of TMNT as some of the other 'drome members.

[odupianist]

I like a lot of it, the characters, the way I can relate to each of the turtles some how, the enemies, the storylines, the variety of characters, the irony (one of the slowest creatures in the world being fast ninjas).

[junkboy]

Nice thread.

1) I am 26, i have seen every stage the turtles went through. Ok, i may not remember the very early stages of comics very well ( just blurry ), but i think my age is still enough to keep me old school.

2) Just one word : "My sons". No other thing makes me feel that nice, when Sensei Splinter calls the turtles that way. I am not a too sensitive or such type either but i dunno why, that word has a huge effect on me.

3) It has a good line of comics / tv series and toys. Maybe the best line of production with Transformers in those industries imo.

4 ) Whether it is the new movie, or the start of 2k3 or fast forward or old school series. or the comics. they all take me back to the golden years of the world. when i order pizza and play TMNT on commodore 64 or nintendo. or Usagi Yojimbo on 64 again. And when the pages of comics were not of first quality paper. lol. i like the ****** old school paper type. Their smell rock.

5 ) the first TMNT movie is one of my fave. movies of all times.

6) TMNT has always been related with Vanilla Ice, (at least for me ) lol. Maybe the one and only rap singer i love.

7) TMNT is really funny in every stage, and believe me i am not even a funny guy ( or funny enough ) but weird.. i love TMNT so much...

the list goes on and on probably.

PS : I like mutation, i like ooze... I like Toxic Crusaders. lol ( if there are anyone remembering those old animated series )

[jenna]

Originally Posted by SassyGal

This all being said, I feel I am an average fan. I get the dvd's of 2k3 & OT & I have the movies (except TMNT 3, yikes to that whole mess of costumes ) but I have no action figures & only recently got into the comics (yeah, bad fangirl!!!)

You and me both. I only started reading them after joinging here.

Originally Posted by Masked Ninja

they are wicked fun to draw.

I think that is one of the major things about them. The turltes seem to inspire all sorts of creativity - drawing, writing etc. I've read and seen some amazing art work by turtles fans.

[Rooish]

Oooh, good topic! I also agree with Masked Ninja about the reasons she loves the Turtles. The TMNT are one of the few things I can draw really well (I can't draw people for the life of me!) As a kid I had more diverse art skills, but now it's just the Turtles.

I also love the characters, and the interactions between them. The fewer adulterations (and by that I mean other characters), the better. I love Casey and April and Splinter and Karai and Leatherhead and Bishop and Shadow and maybe some others, but I am perfectly happy just watching or imagining, for all enternity, just Leo, Don, Raph and Mike.

[shuriken]

I'm 18 right now but I like them since I could remember. I used to watch it with three of my cousins and my older brother. We all used to pretend to be a different Turtle with crappy makeshift bandanas and my older brother was the Shredder who used a Darth Vader helmet and a tin foil mask . Yeah those were fun times, I was always Donnie which is probably why he's my favorite. But the first movie I saw was part two, which was a bit confusing because I had no idea why Shredder emerged from the garbage the way he did. Then when I was like 4 or five I saw it on like UPN and fell in love with it.
I really don't know what type of fan I am. I'm not a casual fan, but I'm not really a hardcore fan either. I enjoy both the old and new series and the comics that I've read. My toy collection right now is at a decent 60 figs and vehicles and growing. I would say that from a scale from one to ten I'm a 7. ten being the best.

[Lady Venus]

I'm da Leo obsessed fan girl since I was 6. I been a fan fer 19 yrs now.

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

First watched the cartoon at three or four years old and for whatever reason it fascinated me. It's what started my interest in superheroes pretty much.