Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-25684889-20141209175355/@comment-995426-20160221103920

Zobovor:

The 1987 series came on the heels of Mirage TMNT and Palladium TMNT which came first, in 1984 and 1986 respectively. They were what made me a fan. To me, TMNT is a deep dark ninja drama for adults with sporadic comedy elements. The 1987 series kiddified TMNT in the most horrifying ways&mdash;TMNT really should never have been for little kids in the first place, and indeed a lot of Mirage fans didn't like the 1987 series.



And Slash was introduced in a different universe, Archie TMNT, where he was actually a serial killer. Archie TMNT took the first couple of episodes of the 1987 series (which were relatively well-made by Toei Animation) and branched off an entirely different imagined universe with very different character personifications and a more adult tone. Rahzar was actually introduced in the second TMNT film, which wasn't that good even when it was new. I don't care for most of those characters you just listed, though I did come to respect the Archie versions of Bebop and Rocksteady.

I like the versions of TMNT for adults&mdash;Mirage TMNT, Palladium TMNT, Archie TMNT, IDW TMNT and MNT Gaiden. The 2003 series was mostly based on Mirage TMNT but with a much more G-rated plot, and Peter Laird specifically didn't want it to be any kind of continuation of the 1987 series. I initially respected the 2012 series for its depth and continuity, but it got really, really bad during season 3, and completely terrible by season 4.

So yes, I do think the 1987 series was garbage. The first two or so episodes weren't terrible, but weren't fantastic either, though they formed a decent foundation for Archie TMNT to start from (and later heavily retcon). But the rest of the 1987 series...no, thank you. I don't like transparently toyetic formulas, one-dimensional plots or characters, or shallow love interests. None of that.

Now these are some ways you do good TMNT:

TMNT is perhaps always going to have two very different kinds of fan bases that have very different tastes for very different genres, and aren't always going to see eye-to-eye. I for one don't mind if it gets more lighthearted at times (and indeed sometimes it can be nice that way), as long as it remains something an adult reader/viewer can respect and take seriously as an adult, and not just enjoy out of some kind of nostalgia for something they watched when they were 7 years old.