Well after that final few episodes, I think this is the most I have ever enjoyed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
This is objectively the best the TMNT has ever looked, every episode has incredible animation that if given a bigger platform, would be praised as some of the best stuff in 2d animation. So many incredible sequences just go in a blink and you miss it way and had me smiling from ear to ear.
The story is mostly ok but helped immensely by a pretty unique format. Waiting episodes for the pay off to something like Splinter's new presentation goes from odd to impressive. Definitely a slow start but the animation is good enough to tide a viewer over before it gets to the good stuff. Starting in the middle of the story and not getting an origin story til a dozen episodes in definitely hurts the ability for people to get invested initially & is a clear cause for lower ratings from people who only saw one episode. There's a lot of continuity jokes to reward watching but the majority of the episodes are generally just very pretty one off adventures with simple writing, enough to be enjoyed in the moment and then immediately forgotten, which at least makes it great as a background watch. The one offs range from forgettable to absolutely incredible. Then you get to the final stretch of episodes & hoo boy
GOD DAMN those final few episodes when they choose to tell a continuous plot are legitimately some of the most beautiful stuff I've ever seen from an animated show, the callbacks to the series history, the efficient plot build up, the rock solid jokes. Just turtle perfection & honestly makes it feel like Rise would be best suited as a movie, which it's getting to conclude the saga.
Speaking of callbacks, there's a lot of references both to the franchise(love you Ice Cream Kitty) to pretty much everything from wrestling to anime to chefs, and any show that praises Bret Hart is gonna get props from me.
The final thing to be talked about is the new directuon for characters. Something this series makes fun of is just how pointless the leader distinction is cause everyone with the same personalities are still the same turtles everyone love, April is pretty great & Splinter took some time to get used to but is amazing in his own way. Baxter Stockboy & The Purple Dragons are pretty good when they're on screen but don't get much screen time. There's a lot more unique and original villains and while they're all solid, they all lacking a real defining moment due to the series pacing. Saving The Shredder for the very end and just doing nothing but build up was very bold but also paid off incredibly, creating potentially the greatest moments in franchise history.
Basically stick with this show, if you like The Turtles or 2d animation you will grow to love this
HOT SOUP
This has to be my platonic ideal of the Turtles. It goes back to their fun roots (in animation, at least) with snappy writing and humor that's both outrageous and tongue in cheek. But it enhances that with gorgeous animation and fight scenes that are in the running for the best of western cartoons, rivaled only by the likes of Samurai Jack. It's unabashed fun, with earnestness and heart bursting in every frame, but as the finale episodes show, when they focus on plot and emotion they shine too. This show got a lot of flack for being so unabashedly different from its predecessors, but that daring makes it shine all the brighter. Now it's the one casting a shadow for whatever's next.
It's just hard to tell if the creators of this show have ever seen a TMNT TV show or movie before. Every single character presented in this new show are so different from their previous characterisations that it makes you wonder why they choose to call it Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (In this version, everyone is characterised as an over-eager, snarking buffoon.)
If you can forget that these are supposed to be the ninja turtles, then maybe you'll be able to find something to like about it.
I'm trying to get into this, I really am.. but I'm struggling and I don't think I'll make it till the end. The Nickelodeon series was significantly better and far more enjoyable, even for an adult demographic. I get this series is trying something different, but in all honesty it's falling flat. Everything is just so... upside down. It's 100% geared towards the child demographic this time around with the bright colours, animation style and sounds, almost as if it's something parents put on to capture the attention of their kids for 20-30 minutes.
Review by Billy ShakesVIP 6BlockedParent2021-01-27T16:20:12Z
This show is absolutely phenomenal. Rise of the TMNT is similar in tone and execution to the DuckTales 2017 reboot. This takes characters that were relatively flat (don't get me wrong, I loved the 80s run back in the day) but injects so much more life and personality and depth into all of these characters. Their relationship is much more believable that they are all brothers, with Splinter as more of a comical dad figure. The bold creativity reflects in their new different designs: Raphael is a giant snapping turtle, Mikey an ornate box turtle, Donnie is a soft-shelled turtle (which gives him the excuse to create interchangeable tactical shells), while Leo gets the best character overhaul, a red-eared snapper turtle who isn't just the notoriously boring leader and is arguably the funniest character (what!?). In fact, Leonardo isn't even the leader in this, and Rise of the TMNT is could also be considered the rise of Leonardo as a leader. The animation itself is beautifully stylized and has some GREAT action scenes (the best of all TMNT series) they don't rely on trotting out the same villains beyond Shredder and The Foot. It's a creative and lovingly-crafted interpretation of the Ninja Turtles that honors its past but forges ahead on its own path. Oh, and it's actually FUNNY.