Talk:Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/@comment-38773833-20191226223933/@comment-995426-20200125201926

What "looks like" TMNT is a relative concept. Characters can vary in appearance even within the same series. The Rise of the TMNT version of in particular wears his bandana and wields tonfā in a way that makes him appear similar to preteen  in the 1986 Mirage TMNT story The Passing.

And in the ongoing IDW TMNT comic book series, the Turtles recently changed their usual outfits and they wear pants, with even more coverage area than the Rise Turtles' boxer briefs. This is increasingly important when they may be walking openly among a population of other fully-clothed mutants so that they won't look like they're streaking. Special outfit mentions:

In Mirage, this obviously didn't last, given Raph's appearance was destined to change to his more familiar look. And the IDW change may ultimately not last, either.

In terms of physical appearance, the Rise Turtles may no longer all look identical, but the 2012 TV series Turtles also had differences in physical appearance not characteristic of earlier versions. And special mention goes to Rise being a red-eared slider (the original TMNT mutant turtle species) with actual visible red markings. The Mirage Turtles had all worn red bandanas as a nod to this (usually only visible in cover art since the comics themselves were in black and white), but this Leo can wear blue and still wear his natural red. And it was also quickly observed how much Rise Raph actually physically resembles Slash's character template, such that I mentioned he looks like he could be 2012 and 2012 's biological son.

Visual changes are not always a bad thing, if managed well. And the Rise Turtles, to their credit, are designed and animated well for the unique incarnations of the characters they are. It's not the same, it may look different from what some viewers are familiar with, but it can and still does work.