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frozenmiwa · 4 years

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Review: Attack of the Mousers

So here we go again, this time with TMNT 2003. They released Disney+ in Finland during the week and I’ve been watching some Disney movies for whole day, I think it’s a good thing to take a break and watch something else I enjoy – that being TMNT. I especially enjoy watching this version of TMNT because it feels so nostalgic being the show I grew up with. Don’t get me wrong I do love me some 2012 show as well, but there’s just something about this version 2012 didn’t get right – and not just what the later seasons did with my childhood hero, April. But we get to that when we get to that.

I’m not saying, 2003 show doesn’t have problems, it does, especially during later seasons, but for now let’s just enjoy both shows for what they are.

For the plot it’s fairly simple: April wakes up in the lair after events of the last episode, where she is introduced to the turtles and Splinter. After being in denial for a bit, she accepts this is probably the weirdest thing that has ever happened to her and we are told the origins of the turtles. 15 years ago, they were just normal tiny turtles who were exposed by mysterious ooze after ending up in the sewers. Splinter who was living in the sewers took pity on the turtles and decided to take them along – getting exposed by the ooze in the process. We all know the story from this point: Ooze changed them and the turtles got their names from famous renaissance artists. Splinter taught their ninjutsu but lefts out the bit how he came to know martial arts himself.

This story is followed by a news broadcast about bank robbery taking place earlier. Turtles recognize foot prints made by M.O.U.S.E. R’s which leads to April figuring out what her former boss, Stockman used the robots for – robbing banks. Turtles decide to pay Stockman a visit but doing so they need April’s help as she used to work there.

While Stockman appears very pleased with his robots, his boss is not as pleased. He reminds doctor Stockman to not fail him because if he does, there will be consequences. When the night falls April takes the turtles to Stockcronics via sewers, turtles help April to gain access to the main computer and April shuts the cameras as our heroes are on their way to Stockman. Thinking they are intruders Stockman plans of disposing them, but turtles don’t make that easy for him, as they manage to corner our doctor fairly easily. Stockman alerts his M.O.U.S.E. R’s and gets away as April is trying to shut the system down but has little luck in doing so. Instead she manages to overload their programming which causes M.O.U.S.E. R’s to explode. Turtles escape with April while Stockman runs into troubles of his own – with his boss, who isn’t too happy with him.

April having lost her job isn’t entirely sure what she’s going to do next but rest is assured: Turtles have gained a new ally for themselves. Doctor Stockman however isn’t quite as lucky…

What I liked about this episode:

+ Interaction between Raph and Mikey. I liked how their bond as brothers was shown – Raph teasing Mikey every now and then but when things get serious you can tell he really does care about his youngest brother. And way it was done was really sweet.

+ April and Donnie. In general, I quite enjoyed April’s character in this episode but if I had to pick what I really liked about this episode in general, it would be her interaction with Donatello. They have a reason to interact here and it came out naturally.

+ Action movie lines. Yep, 2012 Leo isn’t the only one guilty of them, his 2003 counterpart (as well as Raph) has his moment (in this episode) at least.

+ April getting to meet Splinter. I know this might not be such a big deal but since we didn’t get to see April meeting Splinter for the first time in 2012 show, it made me appreciate this scene a lot more than I thought possible. While their relationship in 2012 series is nothing but flat, this is in one way iconic scene and I wish 2012 show had included it.

+ Menacing presence that is the big bad. I don’t want to say too much about him, just in case someone reading this hasn’t seen the show, but Shredder in this show means business. While 2012 series had very ominous presence, this Shredder shows he isn’t all talk right when he’s on screen. If you don’t believe me, just look at Stockman next time he appears (and that is not the worst he’s going to get).

What I didn’t like about the episode:

I’m trying to find something I didn’t like, okay?

- As an episode this was pretty good one, not the best 2003 has to offer but not the worst either. Sure, they could’ve focused on action bit more – I felt like the action scenes came fast and were done almost as soon as there was some action involved.

- I also found M.O.U.S.E. R’s robbing banks as very generic plot point, I know what its purpose was, but it still felt bit bland to me. Then again this is a show from early 2000’s…

As for Back in my day…

I remember watching this episode from TV when it first aired, but I don’t have any memories about it, other than it aired on Sunday morning and that I made sure to see the whole thing.

The dubbing is… decent. It’s not as bad as the last episode, but it’s not as good as the original. It starts with April not really sounding like her voice actress (Elise Langenoja) is acting for the first lines she’s delivering, but after that it gets better. It’s not perfect but better than in the last episode. I should probably mention we have a lot of repeating voices such as Raine Heiskanen, who voices both Donatello and Shredder during the first season, Arto Nieminen who voices Baxter Stockman and Hun and Pauli Virta who voices Raphael and some minor characters in season 1 – like the bank manager in this episode.

Some do better job better when doing these “double voices” as I like to call them. Pauli Virta for example does a solid voice for Raph but as the bank manager, you can still hear it’s the same voice actor even if the voice itself is softer. Then we come to those that pull it off much better. One of them being Raine Heiskanen, who I just found out voiced both kind-hearted Donnie and ominous Shredder. I literally couldn’t tell they were voiced by a same person. When it comes to Shredder, he does have smoother voice, that can still sound threatening when the situation calls for it, so that’s a plus. Who however ended up surprising me was Arto Nieminen as Hun. Honestly, I thought they had different actors but no. They are voiced by the same person and it’s something you can’t necessarily pick out. I must say I quite like Hun’s Finnish voice, while not as deep as Greg Carey but for what it’s worth I think he is the best voice actor for Hun in the Finnish dub, as he really sounds the part. It’s too bad they replaced him after season one, I kind of feel other picks for the part didn’t sound as good as Hun as the first one did.

….Then again I seem to remember this one losing his shine on the character later on… :/

If I were to complain about couple of things I would for one tell you that the weakest part of when it comes to Finnish dub, it would be Ari Wirta as Mikey, as much as I love this version of Mikey and how he sounds, it felt at times like he was just reading his lines instead of actually acting – such as the scene where Stockman escapes the turtles. He didn’t really sound like someone doing an action scene, just a dude talking.

Another complaint would go for the translation. Some of the translation choices felt odd, but I think it mostly came down with lip syncing the lines. However, there’s one line I think translators didn’t really understand. It would be the one where turtles are cornered by M.O.U.S.E. R’s, Mikey and Raph have these lines:

Raph: This is it. It’s been fun guys. Mikey: Even me, Raph? Raph: Even you, Mikey. Especially you.

I really like that scene, because while Raph is impulsive hot head who loves to tease Mikey, this scene shows he really does love his youngest brother even if he doesn’t always show it.

Yet in the Finnish dub he merely says “Even you, Mikey. You were fun” and the way he says it, still sounds like Raph is teasing him. I think they didn’t really understand what Raph actually meant or were too lazy to translate it correctly. Maybe I’m reading too much into this. ._.

Anyway, this review took less time I thought, which is a good thing mainly because next time I’ll be reviewing one of my favorite episodes from TMNT 2012, so stay tuned for that!

But first have some screenshots.

April meeting Mikey.

..And she is not having this. She must be asleep right?

April meets Raph.

And here she’s meeting all of them. I really like this scene though!

....Especially because we get to see April meeting Splinter.

...This is her reaction.

“You have a way with ladies, sensei” - I swear Donnie has the best lines.

Raph waking up Mikey.

We are in for a story!

TCRI... where have I seen that logo before?

Splinter finding the turtles.

I’ve always thought the turtle Splinter is holding here is Mikey.

I said I liked character interactions in this episode? Did I mention I liked interactions between April and Raph?

April and turtles watching TV.

April taking charge. I really really love April here. She already seems like she’s part of the gang, not because she’s some damsel but because she knows what she’s doing. Not because she wants action but because it is the right thing to do.

Introducing Donnie.

Here’s Stockman arguing with someone.

April and Donnie working together. Did I mention I love these two in this version?

...What? I really like this screenshot of April. (You couldn’t tell she’s one of my absolute favorite characters?)

Turtles sneaking into Stockcronics.

Ready for action.

“What are you?”

Stockman being cornered by the turtles and April.

Raph roughing up Stockman.

April trying to help with the M.O.U.S.E.R situation.

Cornered by M.O.U.S.E.R’s.

Mikey holding M.O.U.S.E.R.

Stockman running into Hun.

More April and Donnie.

April officially becomes part of the gang!

Meanwhile Stockman is trying to explain himself out of the trouble.

..But his boss isn’t having it.

Stockman realizing he’s in big trouble. You might want to remember his face for the next time we’ll see him on screen.

Stockman’s boss witnessing the last image M.O.U.S.E.R’s were able to see.

...Something tells me the turtles have gained a new enemy.

#tmnt2003 #tmnt2003review

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frozenmiwa · 4 years

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Review: Rise of the turtles, part 2 (TMNT 2012)

Here we go again, I know it’s been a while. Originally, I meant to get this review out during the quarantine last March but I never got to it. I got the first season on DVD during March and I thought of just watching the episodes from DVD instead of finding them online. During June I got myself a problem however: My TV broke (or more precisely: speakers broke) so I couldn’t really watch anything with any kind of audio. Now that I have my new beautiful TV, I thought nothing would be more suitable for my first watch than some TMNT.

With that, I decided to take a notepad, sit on my sofa and watch the second episode.

Continuing the last episode, Turtles realize who ever took April and her father, may have some answers to what happened to them 15 years ago so they end up interrogating Snake, the man who was driving the van. While they find out the “people” doing these kidnappings are called “The Kraang” and that they have been kidnapping scientists from the city, they don’t find out why. Snake himself doesn’t know the answer, he tells the turtles where they can find the Kraang but manages to get away from them later on. While he is listening in Leo and Raph trick him into believing they are going to use his van to drive in as they are attempting to save April and her father – which is not actually way they plan to use his van. The turtles return to the lair to gear up for their mission. Raph has a tender moment with his pet turtle while Mikey pops up and ends up being chased by Raph with spoon. While Leo is having doubts whether their plan will be a success or not, Splinter then encourages Leo by telling about his past, of how Splinter – as a man lost everything due to a feud with a former friend, Oroku Saki. While Splinter may have lost his family and his name, but he eventually gained a lot of things, like his sons. Leo not completely sure about things, he is positive they will make it through the mission somehow

In the Kraang headquarters April makes a hilarious attempt on escaping and failing at it, while Snake and the Kraang guards outside are waiting for the turtles to arrive. Turtles are on their way alright, using the van as a distraction while they themselves use a different way of transport. When the turtles have found their way inside the building, it turns out it is not something you’d see every day as the place is filled with alien robots. After a while they manage to find April and her dad, however once the turtles are about to get them out, the Kraang appeared and took both humans away. Turtles chase after them but a newly mutated Snake (later named Snakeweed by Mikey) shows up and turtles find themselves yet another battle. This leaves Donnie to save April before she’s taken away by the Kraang. While Donnie manages to save April, her father isn’t quite as lucky as he is still at the clutches of the Kraang.

In the end rest of the turtles manage to take care of Snakeweed – even though not permanently. April moves in with her aunt and is determined to get her father back somehow, the turtles (or mainly Donnie) offer their help in the matter and thus gain their first human ally. So, all is well – or as well as it can be at the moment.

Or is it?

As turtles find out, one of their shuriken ends up in the news, while turtles think it’s cool, Splinter tells them to be more careful from now on as they are mainly meant to say hidden for their own good. And he is right about that as we find out someone very sinister is seeing this very same news broadcast in Japan and plans on visiting an old friend…

What I liked about the episode:

+ Over all this was a very good episode, it had a solid plot, good pacing and great action scenes. Even that one where April tries put up a fight. I found that scene very comical and entertaining. However, my favorite fight scene had to be the one where the turtles face off newly mutated Snakeweed.

+ Speaking off Snakeweed, I’m glad we saw what his mutation process looked like. As far as I can remember I don’t think we have seen mutation scenes in previous shows, so I haven’t really payed the process much attention until now. From what I could tell the whole process was painful and it had horror-esque feel to it, so that’s a plus.

+ I know I didn’t give April much of praise on my first review and it is no secret I hate her with burning passion, but in this episode, I found myself kind of liking her character. She wasn’t someone I would go nuts over, but her personality showed off nicely. Nothing of her personality came off as forced and I liked her interactions with Donnie even though I do not ship Apritello in this version.

+ I really liked the ending, it wrapped out the episode nicely but also brought up a new threat in Shredder while not giving away too much when it comes to his appearance. This helps to keep his character as sinister as he should be.

What I didn’t like:

Honestly, I don’t think there was a thing I didn’t enjoy about this episode, and that’s a first. My only complaint doesn’t have to do with the episode itself but the way the episode was put on DVD. I’m perfectly aware this episode was meant to be one parter, but it in some releases it was presented as a two parter. I remember seeing this one as parts 1 and 2 myself when it aired in my country. I would have liked if the DVD did the same, but oh well, at least I got to watch the whole thing as it was intended.

…I don’t have lot to say about the dub Finland eventually got, simply because I don’t remember much about it. What I do remember I did enjoy Shredder’s Finnish voice. He was voiced by Jarmo Mäkinen, who voiced Valtor from Winx Club as well as Savanti Romero and Zanramon for the third season of TMNT 2003. While he didn’t have deep voice like Kevin Michael Richardson but that didn’t stop him from sounding menacing. I think Mäkinen is similar Markus Bäckman who voices Splinter in a way they sound great as villains. What I like about Mäkinen is that he is able to portray his villains (and I’m mainly talking about his interpretation of Prime leader Zanramon in the season 3 of TMNT 2003) as chill one moment and threatening the next. So, I would say he was a good pick for Shredder. Now I only wish I could have a good memory of him voicing Shredder.

And now, some screen shots!

Turtles seeing the mutagen cannister. I really love their expressions here.

Raph about to do some interrogation....

...In a form of mutation roulette. One of my favorite scenes in the episode. I like the glowing effect they did with the ooze here.

Kraang base.

“What? I can be the only one who’s hungry.” - I can relate.

Everyone here: Mikey, weren’t you supposed to do something?

Leo and Raph looking for Snake.

Snake hiding.

Donnie at work.

Raph busted after having a sensitive talk with his pet turtle, Spike.

“Were you talking to your pet turtle? That is so adorable.”

Leo having some doubts. Luckily Splinter has a story to tell.

Last battle between Hamato Yoshi and Oroku Saki. I swear from this angle young Oroku Saki does remind me of Hamato Yoshi from 2003 series.

Tang-Shen with their baby daughter Miwa, during the battle.

Oroku Saki starting the fire...

...Which kills Tang-Shen (at least it seemed so before season two that is.)

April knows her rights alright..

But because the Kraang don’t care about their rights she comes up with a plan...

...Buuut it doesn’t look like it’s working.

“Well I guess we can just sit here..” - I must say I like coloring of their cell.

Snake and some Kraangdroids waiting for turtles’ arrival.

Snake mutation.

Turtles climbing the wall.

And they made it in. I really like they gave each turtle different eye color in this version but during action scenes they still have white eyes like in the comics.

Argument between Donnie and Raph.

Some alien robots.

...But now they are toast.

It’s a brain thing!

And now it’s biting Mikey!

This is what happens when you pause an episode at a random moment. Mikey looks cute though.

You heard him Raph, we are going that way.

Donnie manages to find April’s cell.

Action with Mikey.

Donnie picking the lock.

“Hey, do you think it’s easy to pick a lock with these hands?”

Not so fast...

...Because these guys are here.

And with them, more trouble arrives.

Like newly mutated Snakeweed for example.

April being taken away by the Kraang.

Leo figuring out the plan to get rid of Snakeweed.

...While Donnie is trying to save April.

And now it’s April’s turn to hang in there.

April saved by Donnie.

Leo in action.

Snakeweed electrocuted.

Turtles have gained themselves some new enemies.

It’s Kraangy! ...Wait, that doesn’t happen until season 2... or 3... can’t remember.

Turtles promise to help April find her father.

Maybe it’s just me but I find April’s pupils creepy looking. They make her eyes look souless... at least to me.

I swear Donnie has the cutest design ever.

Leo talking to Splinter inside the dojo.

Watching the news.

Okay, who dropped this?

Yay, they made it on the news!

So what’s the worst thing can happen?

Well there’s always this omnious person.

Ending still.

Okay I admit, I may have over do it with the screen shots but they are my favorite thing about these reviews, that and getting to watch some TMNT.

So, what’s next? For now, I’m going for the third episode of TMNT 2003. Hopefully it doesn’t take as long as this post. We can always hope, right?

#tmnt2012review

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frozenmiwa · 4 years

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Got these yesterday

So I finally ordered first volume of the original TMNT comics by Eastman and Laird before all this Corona craziness started in my country. I was bit hesitant at first because I had heard some things about these comics mainly of how violent they were. And how they were so different from the cartoony world of 80′s Teenage mutant ninja turtles show. But then again I was never a big fan of it so.. I haven’t read it but I flipped through the pages and so far it doesn’t look that bad.

And uh what’s with that Triceraton? I actually collect TMNT figurines among many things but my collection lacks some older figurines and I’ve been eyeing that thing since last November. After I found out my night clases among many other things were going to be cancelled due to Corona virus I decided to buy it among some DVD’s I ordered.

I found out this figurine is from 1990 and it came with some triceratonian gadgets. It’s in prima condition and honestly it wasn’t even that expensive considering it had all its parts intact. Usually these things are lacking their weapons or such. I didn’t include them here because I didn’t know where to put them.

To be honest I’m pretty happy this comic book arrived when it did because now I actually have time to read it.

#teenagemutantninjaturtles #tmntfigures #tmntcomics

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frozenmiwa · 4 years

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Review: A Better Mousetrap (TMNT 2003)

So, I guess we are continuing with the reviews. This time we are here for the second episode of the 2003 series called A Better Mousetrap.

Plot for this episode is fairly simple, turtles are setting in for their new home and find through a TV interview taking place at Stocktronics that the M.O.U.S.E.R. robots that attacked their lair were invented and created by Baxter Stockman, who is considered to be best of the best in his field. While Raph wants to go up to settle things, Splinter forbids the turtles to go outside as their last visit was a disaster. Meanwhile in Stocktronics, Stockman’s assistant April notices several M.O.U.S.E.R robots being missing and thinks they should investigate the matter, Stockman brushes it off causing April to suspect something is going on. She manages to hear a suspicious conversation between her boss and supposed financial backer. With this April decides to investigate more and eventually finds a hidden elevator that takes her straight to the source where the M.O.U.S.E.R.S are being produces. April is convinced not all is right here as M.O.U.S.E.R’s were marketed for help with the city’s growing rodent problem, this seemed to be too much of an over kill even for that. So, April decides to investigate just what is going on but while snooping around she accidentally triggers the alarm and is caught by Stockman who then sets the M.O.U.S.E.R.S after her in attempt to silence his now former assistant leading April escaping to the sewers. Meanwhile Donnie has managed to get one of the M.O.U.S.E.R.S from last episode working and turtles try to follow it to its source while running into April and saving her before she ends up as a snack for M.O.U.S.E.R.S.

What I liked about this episode

+ Dialogue between the turtles especially lines between Donatello and Michelangelo.

+ How April was introduced in this series. She’s not just a damsel in distress in need of saving, she’s a character who gets into trouble but tries her best to make it out alive. Unlike her 2012 counterpart in her debut she actually feels like a character instead of some random girl who is someone’s love interest.

What I didn’t like about this episode

Like with the last episode there’s not really anything I disliked. I think this was well rounded episode, it didn’t feel too slow paced, it wasn’t too focused on the turtles and managed to introduce April as a character and as April in a way we knew who she was supposed to be but not relying same stunt as the 80’s show.

If I do have to mention something, I do think Baxter Stockman looks creepy in this episode. It’s not really a minus but something I never really noticed before.

Just look at that. If that doesn’t look creepy I don’t know what does.

And now Back in my day…

This was actually very first episode I ever saw of this series. Or at least the last three or so minutes of it. It aired when I was staying a night with a friend’s place – I used to do that quite a lot due to my mother’s growing drinking problem. I remember watching this with said friend and her little brother – who found Mikey’s last line: “So, can I keep her?” hilarious. Even though I hardly saw anything action oriented, I was determined to watch this series and see what it was all about.

Looking or more like hearing the Finnish dubbed version now, I must say I don’t really like it. The dubbing itself doesn’t sound good – at times it feels like they are just reading their lines instead of acting. The translation from English to Finnish – especially after seeing the original version feels tacky at times. And as for actors, while I really like voice acting of Samuel Harjanne (who voices Leo) usually, his dialogue sounds like he is just reading it from a paper or something as do the other actors. I think this was one of his first roles in voice acting and it shows.

Best voice acting comes from Arto Nieminen who voices Baxter Stockman. While not perfect, he at least sounds like he is trying. Next to him is Elise Langenoja who voices April for most of this series. She may be one of the most experienced voice actors at this point, but I don’t think she embodies April’s character all too well. Especially when it comes to April’s confident side.

Then again, maybe this will pass during the series, maybe lack of actual acting is just during the first few episodes – honestly, I don’t remember if it will get any better, I prefer to watch this show and any other show in English. I know the group that dubbed this series (PVP Voice) will only dub season 1 through 2, afterwards a group called Dubberman will take over the dubbing and from what I remember at least the turtles and Karai will get voices that resemble their original voices better.

I’m probably not going to do this comparison between the original version and Finnish dubbing for all the episodes as I do not have access to all the dubbed episodes. I have some DVD’s in my TMNT collection but not all of them and most certainly – as these are mostly come from second hand shops not all of them work well.

For now, I’ll be doing some comparisons for the next episode after that I don’t have DVD’s numbered 2-4 (episodes 4-12), I may find some from YouTube but last time I checked most the episodes have been deleted. I guess we’ll just have to see.

Anyway, next time I’ll be reviewing more of TMNT 2012, so stay tuned for that!

But for now, let’s enjoy some screen shots...

Some stuff from the old lair. Why I have the feeling that broken canister will be important later on...

Raph and Leo riding home.

Splinter doesn’t approve the M.O.U.S.E.R. even if it’s turned off.

Turtles finding out where that critter came from.

April working with Stockman.

...And she’s getting suspicious.

Mikey imitating Splinter.

Raph is ready for some action which includes his fists.

Stockman’s video call with someone very suspicious.

April eavesdropping the conversation.

And here’s Mikey snoring. Just because.

Wrestle between Leo and Raph is cut short by an escaping M.O.U.S.E.R.

April is ready to do some digging.

Turtles following the M.O.U.S.E.R.

Producing the M.O.U.S.E.R.S

Turtles still tracking the M.O.U.S.E.R.

April confronting Stockman.

April defending herself.

Um, where did that come from?

Turtles being cornered by M.O.U.S.E.R.S

..But not for long!

April in trouble.

..And being saved by the Turtles.

To be continued.

#TMNT2003 #tmnt2003review

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frozenmiwa · 4 years

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Review: Rise of the Turtles part 1 (TMNT 2012)

I know, I know I promised to post this during summer but instead I ended up editing my TMNT 2012 fanfiction. I ended up having some technical difficulties with this post. I did watch the episode but somehow all the screen shots I took just vanished. My guess is some form of Windows update happened and poof, all screen shots were gone.

I actually just got the first season on DVD yesterday – I finally ordered it online three or so weeks ago, I’ve been looking for Finnish release of the show ever since 2014 when it started to air in Finland but we got nothing. Not that I minded, the dub was decent but definitely lot worser than the dub 2003 series got from the group called Dubberman. So I’m more than happy to have the UK release of the first season.

Firstly I’d like to address one thing: I was hesitant to watch this show because I don’t like CGI that much anymore since it’s everywhere these days, but I was interested in it after scrolling some Turtlepedia especially after I saw one of my absolute favorite character from the 2003 show, April. When I read about Donnie’s crush on her, I recalled their relationship in the 2003 series – seeing Donatello and April interact was one of my favorite things about the show so naturally I was interested to see how well 2012 series pulled that off. Then I had this boring weekend and I decided to give it a try. I did and absolutely loved the show, I loved the turtles, I loved what they did with Splinter, I even loved this one character I thought I wouldn’t, what I didn’t love however was April – instead Karai became my favorite character.

But we get to that when we get to that. Let’s start this thing!

Like with the previous post I’m not going to do full plot summary here, instead I’m doing this brief summary. If you are interested in full summary please go to sites like Turtlepedia for that!

Now this episode starts similarly to the 2003 series. We are introduced to our main characters as they are in training session. It turns out the turtles are celebrating their fifteenth birthday today and wish to go top side for the first time even though Splinter is hesitant to let them go. Eventually he does and the turtles get to see the what the world looks like outside sewers. It seems to be full of wonder… and dangers. Turtles witness a family of two, father and daughter getting kidnapped by a group of identical men, but are unable to rescue them due to their inability to work as a team. And Mikey finds out those men weren’t exactly human… but no one believes him. The group returns to the lair and they get scolded by Splinter for letting the kidnappers getting away because they couldn’t work as a team – then again, he does admit it’s partially his fault as he never trained them to fight as a team. While Splinter suggest they have another year to wait until their next visit to the top side, Donnie isn’t having it as he wants to save the poor kidnapped girl, he fell in love with at the first sight. After some convincing Splinter agrees to let them go and save her. Before they go however Splinter makes Leonardo their leader – the group does need a leader in order to function correctly after all, but as to why he chose Leo, isn’t clear. So, to the back side we go, after some time they manage to find one of the kidnappers and chase him until his car falls over. When Raph opens up the back door to the car a mysterious cannister filled with green ooze rolls over – looking a lot like the one broken cannister the turtles have in their lair, the one that had something to do with their current forms. And with that the first episode ends.

What I liked about the episode

+ Turtles actually acting like teenagers. I don’t think we have seen that in any other incarnation despite the show being called “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”.

+ What they did with Leo’s personality. I was so used to Leo being this perfect serious leader who’d win any training session against Raph, seeing Leo actually losing against Raph not to mention having this kind of geeky awkward side to his character was refreshing to see.

+ Master Splinter. I liked how he looked nothing like his former counterparts, I loved how they brought up his personality and most of all now he actually felt like a caring father to the turtles instead of being just their teacher. Not to mention how cool his design looks in this show!

+ The plot in general. For a pilot episode it did good job at presenting our four main characters, showing they, each have different personalities without spending too much on that. It had this sense of wonder when we see the turtles discovering the world for the first time. And there was action included as well but not in a way that our heroes just swoop in and save the day, I liked the fact they messed it up on their first try. I also liked how the episode didn’t end with turtles saving the day but rather with a cliff hanger because that would get viewers to want to catch the next episode – unlike 2003 series where it just ended, personally I wouldn’t have waited to see the next episode, unlike with this 2012 show.

+ Interaction and comedy between the turtles was well done, I definitely did have some laughs here and there.

+ The way flashbacks and ending stills are done in this version. What can I say? I just love the comic book style they went with!

What I didn’t like about this episode

- Well in general I liked this episode fine; it really didn’t have much to complain about, characters were solid, their backstory was solid, story was solid and the action was solid. Over all I’d say it’s a good episode. But if I had to pick one thing I did not like; it would be the way April was presented. Unlike the turtles she didn’t seem like a character, just a pretty girl shown to our faces who needed to be saved. I know that’s how it was intended but if I’d have to pick one thing I didn’t like about the episode, this would be it.

And now let’s say few words about the dub my country eventually got...

When this series finally started to air in Finland you better believe I got up every Sunday to watch this show, not because I hadn’t seen it, it was January 2014, I had already seen the episodes couple of times in English but I wanted to check out the dubbed version especially after seeing the voice cast. Just by looking at the voices seemed like this dub would go either way. It could be good or really bad. Like with seasons 3-4 and 6-7 of TMNT 2003 a group called Dubberman. And I wasn’t completely trusting for the fact they would do the show justice. I mean they did skip over the season 5 in 2003 series – and later season 3 in 2012 series so…

The dub was decent, not great, not the worst we could have gotten but decent. There were some errors like they called Raphael “Rafaello” or “Rafa” for short like in the dubbed VHS/DVD release of 1980 series – luckily, they stopped doing that after few episodes because it bothered me a lot. Another thing was how those Japanese phases were pronounced – in this episode by Leo. They didn’t sound right at least when you compare to the original version.

The voice cast was okay. It consisted of some familiar and great voice actors like Jon-Jon Geitel as Leo who has also voiced characters like Jack Frost from the Rise of the guardians or Jake Long from American Dragon: Jake Long – I think this is where I first heard his voice acting. More recently he voiced Aladdin in the live action version from 2019. Another familiar voices we had were Aksu Palmén as Donatello who had voiced characters like Hiccup in How to train your dragon, and Markus Bäckman as Master Splinter – It’s better I won’t go in too much details on his voicing career because he has done a lot of good voice acting in TV and Disney movies. These two were probably the most suited for their roles. Especially Markus Bäckman as Splinter. He sounded just right for the part. Then there was Henri Piispanen who I hadn’t heard much voice acting from before TMNT. I think he was solid pick for Raph – not as good as Sean Astin but they could have gone for worse. Then there were couple unknown actors Miro Loopperi who voiced Mikey and Ella Jaakkola who voiced April.

Miro Looperi did fine job as Mikey but he didn’t really sound like him. This reminds me of 2003 series as Mikey had a voice actor in the Finnish dub that I liked, but one that didn’t sound like him when compared his original voice. This has the same feeling to it. And now Ella Jaakkola, she had this high-pitched kind of bitchy voice I found annoying but at the same time I thought it kind of worked for April’s character because I knew what would become of her character in season 2. I remember thinking: “I can’t wait to hear this voice in Mutation Situation!” – Too bad they changed her voice for season 2.

Now, don’t expect me to do this thing for all the episodes where I talk a little bit about the Finnish dub as I’ve only seen the first season dubbed – I don’t even know when season 2 aired. And I don’t have many notes about the dub. Nor do I remember much of it. I have notes for I think five or so episodes and very good memory for Karai’s debut episode but that’s about it. As I said earlier so far now DVD releases have been made in Finland so I would only have access through streaming services to seasons 4 and 5 – which I haven’t even watched completely yet. I can only hope Netflix or Viaplay would upload the dubbed versions of TMNT to their servers but as we lack DVD releases or reruns of seasons 1 and 2 and season 3 in general that’s very unlikely.

And now some screenshots!

Would you look at that? Leo actually lost to Raph.

Is that supposed to be Splinter? He looks kind of cool - were my first thoughts when he appeared on the screen.

Happy Mutation day! I just love their expressions here.

And it’s flashback time! I really love the way they did and animated the flashbacks in this version.

Splinter holding the broken mutagen canister.

...And Mikey giving it a hug.

They are finally able to go to the top side. Look at how happy they are - I mean even Raph is smiling.

Well I just like this shot of Splinter.

Leo and Space Heroes. I love how proud he looks here.

“Hai, sensei!” - This is probably one of my favorite scenes in this episode. It shows that over protective side of Splinter which is one of the many things I love about the show.

Turtles entering the top side for the first time.

Donnie geeking out at computer stuff while Raph is not interested. Personally being a geek myself, I see lot of myself in Donatello during this moment.

Turtles are about to find out what pizza is.

Oh, look at that it’s a love interest... I mean it’s my least favorite character... I mean it’s April.

And Donnie is in love with her. Just like that.

I know April is supposed to be scared here but I find her expression hilarious. It cracks me every time.

Fighting is not going too well here.

Or here.

Saving April.

I really like this shot of Donnie smiling. He looks kind of adorable. I mean who would scream after seeing that adorable face?

April of course!

I find Donnie’s reaction and posture here priceless, it’s like: “Oh my god, what did I just touch?”

April is being cornered by creepy men.

And Donnie’s offering to help her.

But that doesn’t really work out. Mikey looks adorable though!

I guess The Kraang didn’t fancy April’s screaming either.

And here’s Mikey, facing a suspicious man all by himself.

...That is not a man at all.

Okay what the hell is that thing?

You know what Mikey, I totally agree with you.

Turtles are having a conversation about the leader stuff. And they all can’t believe what they just heard.

Here is Leo facepalming. One of my favorite scenes in the episode.

“I thinking of something green. Green.” “Is it Raphael again?”

Cornering Snake.

Ending still.

Anyway, this was my review for the first episode of TMNT 2012. Next time I think I’m doing review for the second episode of 2003 series, so stay tuned for that. Or something.

#TMNT 2012 #tmnt2012review #tmnt2012season1

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frozenmiwa · 5 years

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Review: Things Change (TMNT 2003)

I know it’s been a while, but I finally got myself into watching some TMNT. I’m trying to do these short-ish review type of things as where the episodes go. At first, I thought of doing TMNT 2012 series - as was my original plan but then I thought why not to mix it a little and do reviews from 2003 series as well? It was the show I grew up with after all.

As much as I do love the 2003 series I got to admit as where the pilot episodes go, the first episode Things Change isn’t really anything special, it’s not as plot oriented as Rise of the turtles part 1 from the 2012 series. It’s just a basic episode.

I’m not going to write the whole plot synopsis here, you can find it from places like Turtlepedia or if you so choose watch it I think you can find it from YouTube. I’m just going to explain the plot briefly. So here it goes:

The first episode opens up with master Splinter holding a training session to our four heroes, which ends up with other three turtles sort of messing up while Leonardo completes the task perfectly. It causes some bad blood between Raph and Leo, however it is short lived since bunch of M.O.U.S.E.R.S (as we learn in the next episode), break into their lair and pretty much destroy it. Turtles are separated from master Splinter but it turns out he is alright and tells them to meet him in the other part of the sewers. But because this is TMNT, the turtles find themselves unable to go through with the plan due to collapsed wall and instead they must go above ground to find another way back. There they stumble into trouble like the Purple Dragons and eventually the Foot Clan. In the end they are reunited with Splinter who has found them a new home. The End.

Yeah, not necessarily the most exiting episode out there but I’d say it’s a solid start. We get to see the turtles and witness their different personalities and see them fighting against what I like to call very weak Purple Dragons and later Foot Clan.

Since I grew up with this show it’s nostalgic to me. This is what I call the true turtles as I’m not a big fan of 80′s version nor did I watch it a lot when I was a kid. Despite this series being produced by 4Kids - the company that is well known of sugar coating everything that had to deal with violence guns or even Japanese culture, this series is surprisingly dark. One example of this would be the ending of the episode where we see the leader of the Purple Dragons now kneeling before certain someone asking for another chance which is not granted, and he is then killed by that certain someone though off-screen.

What I liked about this episode:

+ Personalities of the turtles were well shown. All be it Raphael’s personality was - for now most distinguishable. But then again Raph’s impulsiveness is the main reason why the turtles get into trouble in this episode, so it works.

+ Relationships between the turtles were shown nicely, especially that little rivalry we saw between Raph and Leo as well as relationship between Mikey and Raph - Raph sometimes shows his “brotherly love” towards Mikey by slapping his head - out of those we get to see I would have to pick their relationship as my favorite in this episode.

+ First appearance of that certain someone was well done. He had this very threatening presence even though he had very little lines, once he spoke up you could just tell he meant business.

What I didn’t like about this episode

- Well if I need to pick out something that didn’t seem right with me was the scene where the turtles are separated from Splinter. I guess it’s meant to be this dramatic scene - or at least Leo thinks so because his reaction just reminds me of this one scene in Star Wars and it sort of takes away the drama and instead made me laugh so I don’t think it worked out well. I know Leo and Splinter are supposed to be close but somehow his reaction just seemed bit too dramatic for my taste, especially when we find out Splinter is fine during the next scene.

And some screen shots!

Just in case you are new to this series, expect to see lot of this.

Here’s Mikey being a goof.

Splinter vs. the M.O.U.S.E.R.S.

Foot Clan makes it’s first appearance.

Donnie working on escape plan.

Splinter leading his sons towards their new home.

Do I need to tell you who this is?

Say what you will but I really like how the Foot headquarters looks in this series.

Now that we are dealing with the series of my childhood, I want to do something special here. It could be called Back in my day or something. I never saw this episode air; I always thought the first episode Better Mousetrap which I watched with a friend when it aired was the first one. I only found out the truth in 2013 when I was re-watching this series a year or so after that I finally got to see the original dub for this show - mind you I’m from Finland and we had Finnish dub for this show. The Finnish dub was decent – though it cannot hold a candle to the original. But most of the characters in this episode were well cast. My favorite had to be Samuel Harjanne who voiced Leo. Sure, he wasn’t exactly Michael Sinterniklaas but he did good, while nowadays I side with the original all the way. While my least favorite was Pauli Virta who voiced Raph. As a child I was freaking terrified of his voice (as well as the character!) While Frank Frankson has quite deep voice for Raph, the one we got in the dub was too deep. He always sounded like he wanted to kill someone even if Raph wasn’t angry at the time. Later I discovered it was his bad guy voice which he used in shows like Winx Club where he voiced Lord Darkar.

I should probably add the Finnish dub was provided for us by PVP Voice, Pauli Virta (Raphael’s first voice actor) worked as its managing director. While they did good job in some of their dubbings (like the first season of Pokémon) I can’t say I’m fond of this dubbing, I prefer the later seasons dubbed by Dubberman to this. They had better voice cast that actually sounded similar to both original English cast while keeping similar sounding voices we were used to in the previous dubbing.

As where do we go from here, I’m thinking of writing these review type of things back to back with the 2012 series so expect to see Rise of the turtles part 1 here soon!

#tmnt 2003 #tmnt2003review

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