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Review: RISE OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES – Mystic Mayhem

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back! Now that their amazing series on Nickelodeon has ended, they are returning in an all-new take on the franchise. Does it live up to its predecessor? Or does fall in the endless sea of bad reboots? Well, let’s take a look at the show’s first episode.

The first major change is that the show went from 3D animation back to 2D animation. The character designs are closer to the look of the films, and now Raphael is the leader of the group (transformed from the norm by the nuclear goop). The series is going back to a more comedic take on the Turtles. After the last two series’ were more action an and plot focused, this show is going in the opposite direction. Think more like Teen Titans Go! with an actual focus on action.

The plot of the first episode is incredibly simple. The Turtles and April find and alien cat-like creature and want to keep it. Only for it to be taken by aliens. They have to travel to Dimension X another world to save him. Now, each of the four gets their jokes in, and the delivery is perfect. The show is genuinely funny. The downside is that they all start to blur together. In the past, each Turtle had their role. Leonardo leads, Donatello does machines, Raphael is cool but crude, and Michelangelo is a party dude. In Rise each turtle has that “party dude” trait. They all still resemble what we’re used to seeing, but at times it gets old. This affects Leo the most. He is no longer the leader, and now that he’s telling jokes, it feels like he’s a completely different character. Same with Master Splinter. He is acting like an old bum instead of the wise master that we’re used to. I actually like the idea of them all having a humorous side, but this might be overkill.

The animation is fantastic, it’s fluid and bombastic. Its style is vastly different from the other shows. The only thing is that they are fighting faceless villains. They fight these two guys who work for Baron Draxum. They want to mutate the world by using mosquitos that carry mutagen. Why were these random villains and not Bebop, Rocksteady, Krang, and Shredder? I don’t know. It would’ve made these battles that much more engaging. At times it feels like the show is trying so hard to be different than it misses what made the series fun in the first place.

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a decent addition to the Turtles mythos. Relying on its humor and wit more than its story. It’s a fun time but lacks that gut punch the previous series had. I say check it out. Who knows, maybe it’ll find its footing and become something great.

Nick has released the first episode of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on YouTube. Check it out for yourself down below!

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