The abstract concepts.

[Darth Shredder]

I think a lot of fans are drawn to the 2k3 toon. It's a fresh take for a modern time, and it's a breath of fresh air for Mirage Comic purists.

Let's get this out of the way: I like the OT more (see my thread "Does anyone still prefer the Classic series?" in the other category).

At the same time, I do enjoy 2k3. One of my favorite YouTube hobbies is to do searches for these episodes, kick back, maybe eat some pizza to consumate the mood, and watch to get my fix.

For some, the best things about this series aren't the more realistic concepts. For me, I find the Sci-Fi origins of the Utrom Shredder VERY interesting. Here you have this ninjutsu master hellbent on crime, and we come to regard his threat. All of the sudden we find out he isn't human at all. He's this unintimidating brain-esque pink creature with stubby tentacles. It's reminiscent of Return of the Jedi when Luke takes off his father's mask, and you realize that intimidating demonic figure in inky black armor is really a powdery pale old man with a Humpty Dumpty head.

Then there is the fantasy. It's a call back to my days as an avid Dungeons & Dragons role-player. Speaking of dragons... that episode with those four reptilians taking on a fellow dragon Shredder was amazing animation, great writing as far as mimicing ancient legends, and successfuly (again) augmented the sheer complexity of the Shredder of 2k3. Sure, we found out Ch'rell was a wannabe Saki in the end, but that by no means makes him less of a super villain.

So thumbs up to 2k3 for nailing the abstract concepts.

[Sage Ninja]

I think the abstract concepts is what makes the 2k3 series distinct in the 4KIDS cartoon line up. It has solid continuity and good characterstions and ongoing story arcs. Not that other cartoon shows on 4KIDS doesn't but alot of them just seem so gimmicky and shallow and most of them just like to pass them off as some sort of animated card or board game.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by Darth Shredder

I think a lot of fans are drawn to the 2k3 toon. It's a fresh take for a modern time, and it's a breath of fresh air for Mirage Comic purists.

Let's get this out of the way: I like the OT more (see my thread "Does anyone still prefer the Classic series?" in the other category).

At the same time, I do enjoy 2k3. One of my favorite YouTube hobbies is to do searches for these episodes, kick back, maybe eat some pizza to consumate the mood, and watch to get my fix.

For some, the best things about this series aren't the more realistic concepts. For me, I find the Sci-Fi origins of the Utrom Shredder VERY interesting. Here you have this ninjutsu master hellbent on crime, and we come to regard his threat. All of the sudden we find out he isn't human at all. He's this unintimidating brain-esque pink creature with stubby tentacles. It's reminiscent of Return of the Jedi when Luke takes off his father's mask, and you realize that intimidating demonic figure in inky black armor is really a powdery pale old man with a Humpty Dumpty head.

Then there is the fantasy. It's a call back to my days as an avid Dungeons & Dragons role-player. Speaking of dragons... that episode with those four reptilians taking on a fellow dragon Shredder was amazing animation, great writing as far as mimicing ancient legends, and successfuly (again) augmented the sheer complexity of the Shredder of 2k3. Sure, we found out Ch'rell was a wannabe Saki in the end, but that by no means makes him less of a super villain.

So thumbs up to 2k3 for nailing the abstract concepts.

But the science fiction concepts are always a major theme in the 1987 cartoon too.

[Darth Shredder]

I never implied they weren't.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

The best with the 2003 cartoon is that they don't use the same plot ("Krang, Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady need energy for the Technodrome, Channel 6 reports about a masked man and a rhino and a warthog being seen near a power station") almost over and over again.