Before I get to the review, I think it's necessary to explain my backstory with the Turtles. When I was a kid, I discovered the 2k3 show and loved it. I didn't follow the show much, but I was really into it nevertheless. I started getting back into it when the TMNT movie came out, even if it wasn't that great. Eventually I started watching the show again, I realized it was even better than I thought as a kid. I say this to explain that yes, I am biased, and this is coming from the point of view of a guy who wants his Turtles dark, and dealing with heavier stuff. So I'm just gonna say it, I think the new show has some problems (especially casting Jason Biggs), but overall it looks good and I think it has potential. Just to get the problems out of the way, the voice acting is 50-50. Raph, Leo, Splinter, Shredder, and April sounded fine, but Don and Mikey did not. I love Rob Paulson's work, but every time I hear Don, I think of Peck from Backatthe Barnyard. It just doesn't work. Neither does Mikey's voice actor. Speaking of Mikey, that brings up another problem: everyone seems to hate him. Even when he's proven right about the robots, the others don't apologize for not believing him, they just insult him some more. I'm sorry, but I thought they were supposed to be a family. They certainly don't treat Mikey that way. Even Splinter got in on it. Sure, he could be annoying, lots of Nick shows have annoying comic relief characters, but at least he still helped out. That also brings me to the humor. It's also 50-50, but that's par for the course. Anyways, the developing story arc with the Krangs looks really interesting, and I really want to see how that ties in with the Turtle's origin. The Shredder sounds awesome, thanks to Kevin Michael Richardson, and the villains, aside from Stinkweed, seem interesting. Raph, Leo, and Don seem like solid characters that will be interesting to watch develop. April doesn't have much to do here, but she probably will later, and Mae Whitman makes her scenes count. The animation is pretty good, and the backgrounds have a lot of detail put into them. The fight scenes are pretty good as well, with each Turtle having their own unique fighting style, a necessity brought on by their weapons, but a nice touch none the less. Overall, the show's potential makes up for its flaws.
The Pilot
Before I get to the review, I think it's necessary to explain my backstory with the Turtles. When I was a kid, I discovered the 2k3 show and loved it. I didn't follow the show much, but I was really into it nevertheless. I started getting back into it when the TMNT movie came out, even if it wasn't that great. Eventually I started watching the show again, I realized it was even better than I thought as a kid. I say this to explain that yes, I am biased, and this is coming from the point of view of a guy who wants his Turtles dark, and dealing with heavier stuff. So I'm just gonna say it, I think the new show has some problems (especially casting Jason Biggs), but overall it looks good and I think it has potential. Just to get the problems out of the way, the voice acting is 50-50. Raph, Leo, Splinter, Shredder, and April sounded fine, but Don and Mikey did not. I love Rob Paulson's work, but every time I hear Don, I think of Peck from Backatthe Barnyard. It just doesn't work. Neither does Mikey's voice actor. Speaking of Mikey, that brings up another problem: everyone seems to hate him. Even when he's proven right about the robots, the others don't apologize for not believing him, they just insult him some more. I'm sorry, but I thought they were supposed to be a family. They certainly don't treat Mikey that way. Even Splinter got in on it. Sure, he could be annoying, lots of Nick shows have annoying comic relief characters, but at least he still helped out. That also brings me to the humor. It's also 50-50, but that's par for the course. Anyways, the developing story arc with the Krangs looks really interesting, and I really want to see how that ties in with the Turtle's origin. The Shredder sounds awesome, thanks to Kevin Michael Richardson, and the villains, aside from Stinkweed, seem interesting. Raph, Leo, and Don seem like solid characters that will be interesting to watch develop. April doesn't have much to do here, but she probably will later, and Mae Whitman makes her scenes count. The animation is pretty good, and the backgrounds have a lot of detail put into them. The fight scenes are pretty good as well, with each Turtle having their own unique fighting style, a necessity brought on by their weapons, but a nice touch none the less. Overall, the show's potential makes up for its flaws.