Why do people hate Casey Jones?

[Papenbrook]

In this version of TMNT, people seem to voice their opinions concerning the role and characterization of Casey Jones. Most of the opinions I have seen as of late are negative in response to Casey Jones. I want to listen to your thoughts on Casey Jones in order to determine why he is, in your opinion(s), a bad character.

I never actually hated Casey Jones, so I don't have anything to say on the character as a whole.

[pennydreadful]

I'm assuming you're referring to 2k12 Casey, as Casey Jones in general is an extremely popular character.

Overall I am extremely fond of Casey - the sole exception being Casey in 2k12. I feel 2k12 Casey is, well, gross - he seems to spend 90% of his on-screen time hitting on April, butting heads with Donnie over who gets April, and trying to impress April... and there's not much else shown of his character other than that which is particularly charming. The distinct lack of bro-time with Raph really hurts his likeability for me.

Admittedly Donnie spends just as much time mooning over April, butting heads with Casey over who gets April and trying to impress April - but his personality is more well-rounded and we have been shown a lot more of him outside just his April obsession.

Just my opinion though; it's a fairly rife subject when it comes to the Nick toon and people have fairly divided opinions on the matter.

2k3 Casey on the other hand, is hella awesome - and I think if 2k3 Casey met 2k12 Casey, he'd put a friendly hand on his shoulder and tell him to cool it a little when it comes to the April-chasing.

[THGhost]

I love every version of Casey. What is there to hate?

[IndigoErth]

I don't hate Casey, though I've never really been impressed with him and this newest version is so far kind of a little pain in the ass.

[Mellie]

I like him. He's a lil' punk, just what a teenage Casey Jones should be. I just wish he'd get some screen time that doesn't involve April. Bro it up with the turtles already!

[BabyTurtles]

I don't hate this Casey....but I'd like him a whole lot better without this love triangle thing.

He seems like a cool character when he's just doing his crazy vigilante thing and not hitting on April.

I also have the same problem with Donnie, except I'm also annoyed that he hogs lots of episodes so Casey gets point for not doing that.

[Shark_Blade]

I don't hate Casey either. He's supposedly "best buddies" with Raph but we don't really get to see that. Sure they hang around together but I want MOMENTS that solidifies that. Maybe Casey talking about his parents to Raph, Raph talks about his problems with Casey, etc. Regardless, I feel 2k12 Casey is the best Casey Jones carnation so far.

Oh btw I hate Timothy.

[travelingcat]

It's the love triangle. I enjoy any scene with him. It's just the times when he's more focused on getting April's attention than whatever mission they're on that are annoying.

[BabyTurtles]

Originally Posted by travelingcat

It's the love triangle. I enjoy any scene with him. It's just the times when he's more focused on getting April's attention than whatever mission they're on that are annoying.

hmm when you think about it...getting rid of April solves everything. XD

[Powder]

I pretty much agree with Penny. In the OT he was too psycho, in 4kids he was too stupid, in Nick he's too cocky. IMO the first film was the only series that got him right.

Casey is my favorite non-turtle character, so I can't hate him, but I'm not a big fan of his personality here (or, as previously stated, in other versions outside of the original comics). I think his design is really cool though.

[pennydreadful]

OT Casey cracks me up. You simply cannot keep a straight face when he's coming out with gems like "Face stern justice, appliances!" and "Even machines must face the law!".

To wit:



Back to the love triangle with 2k12 Casey though (which I have a feeling was supposed to be the focal rallying point of potential conflict for this thread ) - I'm way over it. I don't like feeling like I'm being pitted against two characters who I really like. Initially it was an interesting new part of Donnie's personality, but I think the crush has been taken way too far.

Serious question, and I'm not sh*tting on anyone who is in favor of this - but does anyone actually find love triangles romantic? Are there people out there whose hearts do beat a bit faster at the thought of two people fighting over them? I'm genuinely curious, because it's a trope I see all the freaking time as some supposed fantasy that women have. I'd like to know whether anyone here is actually down with that, or if the appeal of fictional love triangles is that people more prefer the idea of redirecting that aggression into a threesome, but show-writers and authors dress it up as a romantic battle for monogamous physical and emotional exclusivity because society is uncomfortable with the idea of women owning their sexuality that way/not being in single-partner relationships.

[ssjup81]

I don't have too much of a problem with Casey in this series, but I will agree that I LOVED OT Casey as a kid! He was insane! He went on a job interview wearing a mask and a suit, and got the job although he was swinging a bat around! Still sucks he was around less than I actually remembered.

Anyway, going back on-topic slightly, Casey in this series acts like a typical teen to me. He has his moments, though. The ones I like best, are those like in Target April O'Neal when he was telling the story about how he and his friend grew apart because of his accidentally hitting him or in the ep where he met the turtles for the first time, how he was writing about how he wanted to protect those he cared about, which shows he has a protective streak. I do wish they'd show his family, though, but maybe by the other half of season 3 we'll get to see them.

So yeah, there are things I like about his character and that outweighs anything I may dislike about it...but then again, with me, it's difficult for me to literally hate a character. My list of "hated" characters is very short and the characters that tend to get on there are usually those who are completely selfish and uncaring towards those around them or gives off a slight haughtiness like he/she is better than everyone else around them or a character whose existence or actions may feel forced and unnatural. Here are some examples...

Spoiler:

Miki from Marmalade Boy I found a bit irritating in some ways. Her insecurity issues were very bothersome. Miki's constant worrying over Yuu's finding someone else was highly annoying. Now, for the manga, I didn't have any problem with her character. I prefer her manga counterpart to her anime one. She kept making drama that wasn't there.
****
Miaka from Fushigi Yuugi came across as selfish to me where Tamahome was concerned. It's like if all of her comrades were hanging on for dear life over a cliff in a car filled with dynamite while over a pit of poisonous snakes and a vat of acid, and Tamahome was sitting under a tree, and gave off a cough, I'd see her running to his aid before the others. If the anime didn't mean for her to come across this way, then they did a terrible job in doing so since she definitely did come across this way, imo, and then there's the fact that while she was hanging with the others, her friend Yui, who she was separated from, was gang raped. That whole thing was just ...so sad for Yui so her hatred of Miaka in some ways was actually warranted...
****
Kikyo from Inuyasha I found bothersome too for her vengeful nature. I understand why she had hatred towards Inuyasha, so in the beginning, I didn't have much of a problem with her character, but later on, even after finding out that Inuyasha didn't betray her, she still seemed to have ill feelings towards him and those feelings weren't warranted. I don't know if this changed over the course of the series since I did stop watching as I'd finally grown bored of it about 100 or so eps in, but...yeah.
****
ChibiUsa/Chibi Moon and Chiba Mamoru/Tuxedo Kamen from Sailor Moon, bleah. I disliked the way ChibiUsa's character was because she came across as disrespectful when it came to Usagi and a bit spoiled and ungrateful on a bothersome level. I can get the spoiled thing, as she was an only-child, but it seemed a bit extreme to me. This really really bugged me, but don't get me wrong. I love her for the manga, flaws and all, I just felt the anime didn't do her much justice.

Anywho, for the most part, I definitely preferred the manga versions of both Mamoru/Tuxedo Kamen and ChibiUsa. As for Mamoru, he actually did stuff for the manga, had real attacks, and even a combo, father/daughter one with ChibiUsa. For the anime, seems all he was good for was to deliver cheesy lines and get himself kidnapped or brainwashed. I kinda hated his Damsel in Distress role, even though some of these things happen in the manga, but he still played more of a role.

ChibiUsa was a lot less bratty and shows a bit more respect towards Usagi. For the manga, I really liked the both of them. The anime just screwed them over and made me want to scream every time they showed up.

Another thing I disliked that the anime seemed to do that the manga didn't was the whole crush on Mamoru thing from ChibiUsa's side. She seemed to have a crush on the guy, even after finding out that he was to be her father in the future. If the anime didn't mean for it to come across that way, then they failed miserably. That was just way too creepy for me. The whole ChibiUsa and Pegasus thing was too. For the SuperS manga, you got the impression that she was in love with Helios, for the anime, it almost seemed like she was in love with Helios, but in Pegasus form. *Coughs*beastiality*Coughs*
****
I found Ayeka from the Tenchi Muyo series annoying with the way she kept pursuing Tenchi, but I found her snobbish attitude more so bothersome and, imo, I feel this is my main problem with her character. To me, she came across as a spoiled brat, yet, her sister, Sasami is, to me, the complete opposite and I really liked her character. I do admit to Ayeka bring some interesting situations to the series, just those character traits I have a problem with, even though it could be due to the fact that she was raised as royalty...then again, so was her sister...

She came across as being haughty and better than everyone else.
****
Takada Kiyomi from Deathnote. Her character was really annoying to me for both the manga and the anime. I mainly disliked the way her character was because, like with Ayeka from Tenchi Muyo, she came across as snobbish (about the only way she can be compared to Ayeka), and acted as if she were better than everyone else or saw others as being beneath her and thus treated them that way. The way she treated Misa was just terrible. I've always disliked that trait in a character.
****
Yagami Raito (Light) from Deathnote. Even though his intentions were...somewhat admirable, I guess, I hated his attitude and personality thinking that his way was the right way or that his view was correct and acted as if he were some kind of a flawless Godly Dictator. He came across as very selfish to me, and disliked the fact that he would even dispose of his own family just to achieve any of his goals or ambitions.
****
Chris Thorndyke from Sonic X. Season 1, I was okay with him, but seems that anything beyond that, his character just got on my nerves. I guess it's because he took the parts of some of the other characters. Like how instead of having Amy talk sense into Shadow, like how it played out game wise, if I'm remembering right, they decided to use Chris instead. Bah, I don't know what it is. Maybe it's his, to me, unnatural obsession with Sonic that irked me or the fact that the writers were reaching for ways to have him included past season 1. It didn't seem natural at all and pretty much everything dealing with his character past season 1, seemed very forced. At least in season 1, he did contribute to the story naturally, but beyond that he could've been absent for the majority of it, and the story still would've gone on fine and it did bother me that years went by (human world) and Chris was obsessed with seeing Sonic again. Yeah he succeeded, but season 3 wasn't so bad with him, but that still bothered me.

So yeah, characters like these usually end up on my list. There's nothing about 2k12 Casey that can make me straight up hate him. He's a good friend who wants to protect those he care about. Yeah, he comes across as a horny teen at times (Plan 10), but that's just normal.

Originally Posted by pennydreadful

Serious question, and I'm not sh*tting on anyone who is in favor of this - but does anyone actually find love triangles romantic? Are there people out there whose hearts do beat a bit faster at the thought of two people fighting over them? I'm genuinely curious, because it's a trope I see all the freaking time as some supposed fantasy that women have. I'd like to know whether anyone here is actually down with that, or if the appeal of fictional love triangles is that people more prefer the idea of redirecting that aggression into a threesome, but show-writers and authors dress it up as a romantic battle for monogamous physical and emotional exclusivity because society is uncomfortable with the idea of women owning their sexuality that way/not being in single-partner relationships.

I never thought about it, actually. At this point, for me anyway, the triangle doesn't bother me and is very easy to ignore anyway. I'm still indifferent to it. I like all three characters to some extent, even April (though I don't favor either Casey or April), but the triangle doesn't affect how I feel about them or have changed anything. April is still a stubborn redhead (which is a trait for her that I do like), Casey is a bit arrogant and cocky, but has your back, and Donnie is still the compassionate, friendly one of the bunch that does seem to sometimes take things personally when things around him aren't right or he was the cause. They still have these traits, which is why it bugs me when people hate a character just because of this love/romance stuff. They still have the core personalities you liked in the first place about said character.

Maybe if I were younger or a teen myself, I'd be really into the triangle thing or going all, "That's so cute, he's trying to impress her! I wish a boy would do that for me." As a 30 something year old, no, I'm not too interested at all. lol Like I've said elsewhere, in season 1, Donnie's crush at times was a bit cringeworthy (and funny) because he was constantly trying to impress April, but since season 2, he hasn't as it was toned down a lot. As someone else said, Donnie seemed to act more like himself compared to how he was in season 1. Occasionally, he might, but not as much as season 1 and I'm glad for it.

[travelingcat]

Originally Posted by pennydreadful

Serious question, and I'm not sh*tting on anyone who is in favor of this - but does anyone actually find love triangles romantic? Are there people out there whose hearts do beat a bit faster at the thought of two people fighting over them? I'm genuinely curious, because it's a trope I see all the freaking time as some supposed fantasy that women have. I'd like to know whether anyone here is actually down with that, or if the appeal of fictional love triangles is that people more prefer the idea of redirecting that aggression into a threesome, but show-writers and authors dress it up as a romantic battle for monogamous physical and emotional exclusivity because society is uncomfortable with the idea of women owning their sexuality that way/not being in single-partner relationships.

Not me. It's just a lazy padding tactic for romance. Why develop a serious, mature relationship when you can just throw in a love rival and keeping things spinning eternally at the awkward crush phase? (Looking at you Code: Lyoko) Seriously, I can't think of any good love triangle.

[IndigoErth]

Originally Posted by Powder

IMO the first film was the only series that got him right.

Agree. If I have to choose one it's that one for sure.

It will be interesting to see what the next sequel does if they bring the character on board, if he's as good as the first movie or just 'meh.'

Originally Posted by pennydreadful

Serious question, and I'm not sh*tting on anyone who is in favor of this - but does anyone actually find love triangles romantic? Are there people out there whose hearts do beat a bit faster at the thought of two people fighting over them? I'm genuinely curious, because it's a trope I see all the freaking time as some supposed fantasy that women have. I'd like to know whether anyone here is actually down with that, or if the appeal of fictional love triangles is that people more prefer the idea of redirecting that aggression into a threesome, but show-writers and authors dress it up as a romantic battle for monogamous physical and emotional exclusivity because society is uncomfortable with the idea of women owning their sexuality that way/not being in single-partner relationships.

For me, nope. I imagine maybe some desperate attention seekers who think it makes them feel more valuable/desirable might be into that, but I am not one of them. Have more brains than that and seek personal value elsewhere. Nor do I appreciate being pursued unless the feeling is mutual, so I'd really hate to be put into that, esp some triangle situation, if I personally did not have any solid feelings happening. Talk about uncomfortable.

Edit: In terms of the show's triangle... really doesn't help that it was off all summer and now we've sat waiting for another half a month... just makes the whole thing seem to be lasting longer than it is.

[pennydreadful]

At least when they had The Trio chasing Angela in Gargoyles, she turned around specifically told them "the winner does not get to keep me" - after which they actually apologized, backed off and let her make her own choice.

[ssjup81]

Originally Posted by pennydreadful

At least when they had The Trio chasing Angela in Gargoyles, she turned around specifically told them "the winner does not get to keep me" - after which they actually apologized, backed off and let her make her own choice.

The main problem with the triangle is neither Casey nor Donnie, it's April. She hasn't been clear herself about whom she likes or whom she doesn't unless she is genuinely confused and likes something about both. She's yet to be shown saying, "Dude, leave me alone! I don't like you in the way that you like me and your always trying to show off isn't going to help me like you in that way!"

Personally, I think her character is a bit confused over that.

[Netkeeper]

Originally Posted by pennydreadful

Serious question, and I'm not sh*tting on anyone who is in favor of this - but does anyone actually find love triangles romantic? Are there people out there whose hearts do beat a bit faster at the thought of two people fighting over them? I'm genuinely curious, because it's a trope I see all the freaking time as some supposed fantasy that women have. I'd like to know whether anyone here is actually down with that, or if the appeal of fictional love triangles is that people more prefer the idea of redirecting that aggression into a threesome, but show-writers and authors dress it up as a romantic battle for monogamous physical and emotional exclusivity because society is uncomfortable with the idea of women owning their sexuality that way/not being in single-partner relationships.

I've been known to like them occasionally. I like romantic tension and adding extra people is a good way to do it, but only when it's done right and in the right setting. This April/Donnie/Casey ******** is none of those things, and badly done romantic subplots of any sort are the easiest way to piss me off.

[Refractive Reflections]

Originally Posted by pennydreadful

Serious question, and I'm not sh*tting on anyone who is in favor of this - but does anyone actually find love triangles romantic? Are there people out there whose hearts do beat a bit faster at the thought of two people fighting over them? I'm genuinely curious, because it's a trope I see all the freaking time as some supposed fantasy that women have. I'd like to know whether anyone here is actually down with that, or if the appeal of fictional love triangles is that people more prefer the idea of redirecting that aggression into a threesome, but show-writers and authors dress it up as a romantic battle for monogamous physical and emotional exclusivity because society is uncomfortable with the idea of women owning their sexuality that way/not being in single-partner relationships.

I think the love triangle is used to amplify the woman's desirability since not only is there one, but TWO guys fighting to get her attention. It makes the viewer/reader think, "Hey if these guys are fighting over this girl, she's gotta have something highly attractive that they just can't ignore since one of them is not getting over it, and moving on to another girl." The more "one upping" the guys do to get the girl's attention, the more it emphasizes just how desirable she is since they are acting more and more immature. Some viewers may see that as adorable since the guys are going progressively more out of their way to make a good impression on her, which could be interpreted as showing "strong, sincere heartfelt intentions" to her. But on the other side of the coin, it can easily transition into making the girl into a "prized trophy" and make the two guys chasing her, seem obsessive.

As Netkeeper said earlier, love triangles can be used to add romantic tension and it can be done right (can be used to explore just how genuine the romantic feelings are for a character since there's now "competition"), but the Donnie/April/Casey is poorly handled. Then again, it's a show for kids, and most romance is going to be used for humorous/cute purposes rather than any type of genuine, romantic relationship depth. Otherwise it gets into that "icky" stuff kids (especially boys, which is Nick's main targeted demographic I'm assuming) don't like to watch.

In Nick April's case, either she has to be one of the most ignorant girls out there to not see the heighten competition between Donnie and Casey (since this happens in front of her), OR she does know what's happening and is exploiting it to her advantage (aka "playa April" ).

[Netkeeper]

Originally Posted by Refractive Reflections

As Netkeeper said earlier, love triangles can be used to add romantic tension and it can be done right (can be used to explore just how genuine the romantic feelings are for a character since there's now "competition"), but the Donnie/April/Casey is poorly handled. Then again, it's a show for kids, and most romance is going to be used for humorous/cute purposes rather than any type of genuine, romantic relationship depth. Otherwise it gets into that "icky" stuff kids (especially boys, which is Nick's main targeted demographic I'm assuming) don't like to watch.

See, my problem with this statement is that just because the show is for kids doesn't mean it can't have well-written content and subplots. Just because kids can appreciate a show without those things doesn't mean the writers shouldn't try, because they've got nothing to lose by writing well.

[Luckyday]

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

For me, nope. I imagine maybe some desperate attention seekers who think it makes them feel more valuable/desirable might be into that, but I am not one of them. Have more brains than that and seek personal value elsewhere. Nor do I appreciate being pursued unless the feeling is mutual, so I'd really hate to be put into that, esp some triangle situation, if I personally did not have any solid feelings happening. Talk about uncomfortable.

I know this sounds like I'm bad mouthing her but maybe that's why April is being a tease about this whole thing. You have to remember that was a time when she had an awkward phase that didn't guaranteed a lot of male attention.

Also, like it or not, she also sixteen and probably is a bit of a romance novel junkie so from her perspective, she in a exciting and unique position.

I think she does love Donnie, but what she doesn't realize is that she doesn't love herself enough to be herself around Donnie (if that's makes any sense ) . Maybe that's why Casey can get April to open up because April doesn't really want Casey so she has nothing to lose.

In a nutshell, April is somewhat a stepford snarker but underneath she's a shrinking violet, and no one wants to be a shrinking violet or in her case a nobody.