I love how 4Kids was notorious for censoring anime to comical levels, while they air this and its easily one of the darker adaptations of the TMNT and its full of moments that you'd think the censors would say no to.
Unintentional double standard maybe? In any case, it is amazing that 4Kids let this show go ham with how dark it can get. And I love the fact that it didn’t get so dark that you mistaken it for a Batman show… it’s still TMNT, but with a tone that’s more… epic Shonen anime rather than 80s cartoon.
That's because anything dark in TMNT is made safe, and this is coming from someone who likes it for what it is. There's nothing your average normie would bat an eyelid at. All the death is either off-screen or bloodless. A lot of the combat is "attack the screen" angle, so the hits are never actually seen making contact. More often then not the guns, which are a big no-no to US censors, are lasers or some other fictional variety, which automatically makes it okay for some reason. Those last two examples are common ways they get action cartoons put on TV while appeasing execs. Contrast this with, say, setting people on fire and buzz-saw kills in Yu-Gi-Oh or point blank guns to heads in One Piece, for example, and the difference is obvious. I mean, it's still my favorite Ninja Turtles series, but you have to step back and look at how it's portrayed, and not that it happens.
If I had to guess Anime tended to get extra scrutiny in media. And to be fair a lot of it had fan service and was geared towards slightly older audiences so they wouldn't mind smoking or booze when it made sense which obviously got it censored as Cartoons are for kids was easier for Adults to understand. Shows like Archer, Rick and Morty and others simply didn't exist and weren't around to challenge norms that Cartoons could be for older age groups. Now a days just because something is animated doesn't mean it's safe for children and TMNT 2003 would have fallen in either kids safe mode or have been made for older audiences.
@@ShockwaveFPSStudios Huh… never thought of it that way… but now that you call it out… I may have to rethink how I see the tones of each TMNT series… because you are making a lot of sense. Anyway, I’mma agree with you on this… especially with 2012 being an anime in terms of plot.
@@ShockwaveFPSStudios So I did. Wow both in 1999. Still that doesn't really change much, a lot of the people who'd censor kid shows would still be more aware of the ones coming from overseas, and Family Guy and Futurama were only four years old at that point now maybe they were aware of those shows but I'm not really in a position where I can state fact just my own opinion But growing up with a show and it being on air while you're older are two different things. I specifically mean by that the people involved with 4Kids and whatnot would be likely in their 50s and be thinking of shows like Looney Toons if they even watched cartoons at a younger age. I think perhaps we'll never know why TMNT got away with so much, maybe someone with clout managed to push more through or maybe no one was paying that much attention to western animation.
Ch'rell's appearance in "Same As It Never Was" is my favourite design ever for the Shredder. The fact that he's full on showing his Utrom form and yet, he still uses ancient Japanese Decor and wearing his Daimyo Shredder helmet shows that he's completely embraced his persona to an insane level.
@@dr.feelgoodmalusphillips2475 Ok, the next incarnation of the Shredder NEEDS to be secretly a HUGE otaku, maybe have this hidden part of their personality on full display in some comedic, filler, slice of life kinda episodes. Oh and Karai could be one of the few that (and is allowed to live..) knows about her master's double, double life, much to her cringing at her adoptive father's...strange tastes in media and odd hobbies.
Brings into mind Disney's Gargoyles and X-Men/Spider-Man: The Animated Series even more compared to the surprisingly disconnective DC Animated Universe.
Bishop was already shown to be stronger against more opponents so it would probably just be a hard loss for Shredder making him even less intimidating.
@@somedudewatchintv5297 I think what topped it all off was having the real demon shredder come back. That for me completely made the utrom shredder look so much weaker and less intimidating.
You know I never realized Bishop and the Shredder never even interacted. I could see though an episode where the Shredder goes along with Bishop thinking the turtles are aliens to try and help get rid of them. With a moment of Stockman saying “you can’t possibly trust the shredder especially since I know he’s not human” and bishop says he knows it’s just a temporary alliance. And it revealed the shredder is also planning to double cross Bishop.
Or better yet - _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge._ Karai has already made the transition. So why not have Bishop himself to join the fray?
30:09 I frickin love the sound effect of Splinter going “ Ohhhhh!” that they play every time the Shredder is shown, mentioned or does something evil. They seem to use it more and more as the seasons go on too, like the creators knew it was hilarious 😂
I first heard that sound bite in a bunch of Max0r’s videos (he’s a RUclipsr who reviews/covers a bunch of different games with a more RUclips Poop style of editing); but, I had no idea this is where that sound bite came from.
10:02 That movie deserves respect for having been Mako's final project. He was the VA for Splinter, passed away a week after all his lines were recorded, and the movie was dedicated to him. Rest in peace, Mako.
As an adult, I can confirm 120 dollars is STILL a lot of money. And I make more than a living wage. You're a more patient consumer with the godawful 3. DVD releases of TMNT 03. I just want complete season DVD's or Blu Rays.
38:23 Interestingly enough, this is a premise they're kind of using for The Last Ronin which is the book by Eastman and Laird about Mikey in a dark post apocalyptic future
In Shredder's Exodus, for the ultimate punch of humiliation, Stockman's rocket references the Nedry scene from Jurassic Park. (46:30) I'm surprised you didn't catch on to that.
@@demontorch University sports rivalries, mostly, but also, there was a literal war between both states over territory that was right on the border of both of them called the “Great Toledo War”. Also, both states are very opposed, politically. Michigan is a more liberal state, historically, and Ohio is more conservative. Both states view themselves as superior to each other when it comes to where people would rather live as well. Michigan boasts about they’re natural beauty, lakes, and having a huge part in the US industrial revolution. Ohio boasts about they’re amusement parks, the Rock and Roll hall of fame being located there, a couple widely popular zoos, and they’re own natural beauty. TLDR: Petty shit for the most part, but it boils down to football
Imagine if Baxter had been turned into a fly like the original series and after seeing himself says something like, "I think I was better off as a brain in a jar."
*To the uploader:* I hope you are reading this because there are tons of comments right now and I'm not sure if you will read but I'll express my thoughts and opinion anyway: I searched and digged youtube for reviews specifically for the 2003 TMNT and never found as perfect as this and I have to say that u did the TMNT justice by not only making the video almost 1 hour long which I absolutely love about your TMNT videos but also brought up your experience collecting DVDs as well as other really interesting details that I wanted someone else talk about. I wanna say please do continue making more and more of these awesome 2003 TMNT reviews *even if you're done of all seasons* as there are soo many things to discuss and talk about in some scenes in many episodes. Thank you so much for making this review!
I feel like the most similar modern tv episodes are Amphibia’s “True Colors” and “Olivia and Yunnan”, due to just how scarring their darkest moments are.
Season 4 is peak, amazing Leo arc, Karai revenge, amazing Bishop, Stockman darkest episode in the series, battle nexsus, rat king(episode called "monster" where the true monster is actually Leo), Hun as a leader of new purple dragons, mutant Donnie, mutagen in whole city, Mystics trick up Bishop and etc, this season gets just too dark for a kid show and that's why i love it
I'm currently in the middle of a TMNT 2003 re-watch, off of my DVD copies. I'm about halfway through season 4. Watching you dump ALL those DVDs on the floor, before explaining just how much of a nightmare seasons 3 and 4 are on DVD, was so cathartic.
2003 TMNT was my autism special interest for my entire childhood and there are no words for how amazing it feels to watch such a well done and thoughtful retrospective/analysis done for the whole series! i've never been so excited to be watching a video series as it comes out, insta-subscribed and turned on notifications before i was even halfway through episode one. thank you so much for the effort you put into these, really looking forward to part 4! i remember being so impacted by the episode same as it never was when i was little, sitting with my thoughts and feelings after watching that episode is a memory i have never forgotten and i think it's one of the things that led to my interest in really dark fiction as an adult. definitely am one of those who considers it my fav episode of the entire show, it's even the first one that i remember when thinking of the series. (also, wrt to collecting the series, i'm sure this won't count as really collecting to some but if anyone is looking to watch the entire series in good quality but doesn't wanna spend a lot of money i know there are torrents out there. i used one to get the whole series and it was pretty good quality so i intend to burn it all to dvd's myself at some point. if you're torrent-savvy that could be an option to consider as well!)
Same As It Never Was is by far my favorite episode from the series. The dark tone and more mature direction broadened my imagination as a kid, still holds up in my opinion
I love watching reviews like these. As a kid I always knew these shows were more than just “kids shows”. That they were actually well thought out and cared for shows that tackle adult themes sometimes. Now that I’m older, looking back and watching these reviews makes me appreciate them even more. So thank you
Exodus was the defining moment of TMNT 2003. A gutsy, dark and dramatic change to the status quo. Season 3 already had great stuff like Bishop, the show-changing invasion six-parter, and the Ultimate Drako arc. But Exodus was a perfect cap of the show and definitely its peak (I adore Season 4 as wel)
One thing i want to point out is, when they teleport shredder to that ice asteroid... It wasn't utrom teleportation device animation at all. Looks more like they disintegrated him, in a very painful way... Which borns a conspiracy that's exactly what the creators wanted to do but were forced to censor it. Also makes sense given how much Shredder was shocked, and how much angry Karai was...
@@Soundwave1900 that would be cool, it’s something somebody would have to try to confirm with Peter Laird or something, but it’s a cool speculation nonetheless. I still think the final shot of him screaming in rage at his exile finally being defeated was terrific and truly powerful.
So happy I found this channel. Not only have I loved the game reviews, but seeing another review series that loves the forgotten gem that is the 2003 TMNT series. I really wish this series was held in much higher regard these days as I think it is still the best adaptation of TMNT I've seen to date. The animation, the action, the atmosphere, the story, the writing, the soundtrack, sound design, character designs and the voice acting is just top notch! I'd buy the complete series on Blu-Ray in a heartbeat if they released it!
I completely agree with you! The 2003 series kind of has become a hidden gem, now that I think about it! I'd buy on the spot as well if they ever released a whole collection, no doubt.
@@zenkudama2849 100%! I really wish Scottie Ray got more work and recognition, his performance as the Oroku Sakis and Shredders were some of the biggest highlight from the show. I regard his evil laugh to be up there with the likes of Mark Hamill's Joker. I wish the TMNT films would try to replicate the tone and atmosphere of this series as I believe it was the peak of the franchise 👌
@@ImEmpathyTV You're speaking the truth! I adore the voice acting in this show! It is truly high quality! He's by far the best Shredder voice we've heard so far!
@@zenkudama2849 I've liked most Shredder voices too like the original 90s film, Kevin Michael Richardson and of course the late great James Avery. I just think there's just the right balance of a power hunger, evil, manipulative and wicked sense of humour that Scottie Ray has in his versions of the Shredder!
@@ImEmpathyTV See, I forgot that James Avery did the Shredder there for a while! 😶 I appreciate the other Shredder voices, but there is definitely something special about the Scottie Ray iteration that clicks with the character perfectly! I also highly regard Michael Sinterniklaas as Leonardo. I adore the acting from all 4 turtles in this show, but Michael's voice is awesome! Especially in the later seasons when you can hear the grittiness and emotion!
If I had to guess, I'd say Raph's nightmare of his face under Shredder's mask is a reference to the Image Comics era of TMNT, where Raph actually did assume the mantle of the Shredder for a time so that they Turtles could more easily keep the Foot under control.
This video series is SO HYPE. Can't wait for the next season overview! But I will say im surprised there was no mention of Hun+Stockman in Donny's "future" episode, always thought it was interesting having them work with the turtles only to be betray them and be killed by the shredder shortly after
Well. Just seeing the clips of the turtles getting defeated, I still had my hands over my mouth in shock. That's how effective it was to me when I first saw the episode. And that also includes whenever season 3 is mentioned to me, the first episode I remember is Donatello's episode 'Same As It Never Was'. Thanks for this vid. I had been waiting for it. And yes. I believe it is true. Season 3 being the best season of the 2003 series. It's why I enjoyed the show so much.
Enjoying the retrospective a lot. I collected most of the old DVDs from back in the day. Still missing Fast Forward since I didn't like that season and was so mad about what they did to The Lost Season/Ninja Tribunal at the time. (Though I really wish I could rewatch it and BTTS now.) We DERSEVE a full season box set of this show!!! It's the best TMNT cartoon and I have always resented the fact that the fans of it have had to jump through hoops for decades simply to watch it. So that rant feels like one I've have bottled inside myself for a very long time.
Personally season 4 is my favorite. Being a Leonardo fan with high amount of self discipline, his trama gained from season3 finalie really hit home, and the episode "The Ancient One" literally changed my life. Thanks again for reviewing this great series!
I enjoy these very much! 2003 TMNT was my childhood and I love it to death to this day, but I so rarely ever hear people talk about it! Thanks for letting me geek out with you over it. 😄
Hun on the run is one of my favorite episodes. Seeing Bishop take on all of them by himself was dope! Plus I thought it was funny how the turtles kept trying to fight hun, but he was trying his best to just save Karai. The turtles were so confused.
Hearing someone talk about 4Kids "Bargain DVDs" takes me back to when I bought one of the Sonic X DVDs which only had 2 episodes on it for $5. Those were dark times.
Always brings so much nostalgia, this was my entire childhood. I always tear up when I rewatch it wishing I could go back and watch it for the first time again with the same excitement and joy.
The 2003 series was the starting point for me and the series, specifically the first dvd of fast forward. I know a lot of people aren’t fans of fast forward, but I loved it and It made me want to watch the rest of the series. So glad it’s getting the recognition that it deserves.
Glad to see someone else that was introduced to this show by fast forward hell I even owned a backpack of it as a child. It's not my favorite season but it is defiantly one I look back to fondly for introducing me to this show.
FF is underappreciated because the plot is less tense and slower than the rest, as well as the show was pretty much finished after S5. Nonetheless, FF visits some great things, like the turtles being able to relax more and enjoy themselves, you can basically see them be uncles/big bros to Cody and how that would play out for April's and Casey's kids, and it also visits some interesting ideas like Bishops redemption, Stockman finding peace, and (a fav of mine) the dark turtles, which bring out a analysis of nature vs nurture that I wish was given more room to explore.
Ultimately, I don't think it matters what you're reviewing or doing a retrospective on. We don't watch your videos primarily for a specific type of content, we watch your videos because you're passionate about what you do, and that shines through regardless of the content
One thing I always found kinda odd is that between seasons two and three, they changed the Shredder's (or rather, C'hrell's) voice. In the second season, when C'hrell speaks outside his suit, he has a higher-pitched version of Shredder's voice. They completely dropped that in this season and just made the Shredder sound the same whether he was in the suit or not. Not sure why they changed this, but it always struck me as kinda weird.
Great video! I appreciate the comments on the DVD releases. It was too hard to keep up with as a kid and I honestly wish there was a complete series collection. Seeing the old promo for exodus reminded me how tense it was watching it air (and how traumatic Same As It Never Was felt as a kid) looking forward to the next one!
Hebi being an absolute Saturday morning cartoon villain as opposed to the scheming political mastermind he is in the comics is one of my favorite things about the Usagi appearance in ‘03. Its like Hebi knew he was in a cartoon.
Can we please talk about how the Utroms, Ch'rell included, no longer have higher pitched voices when not in disguise as humans? This was an inconsistency that ALWAYS bothered me and I feel like nobody's ever addressed this.
The Croatian dub actually adresses this, in it's own way. Ch'rell is actually consistant. He has 2 seperate voices for both seasons 2 and 3. Despite his Shredder voice having a different voice actor from Season 3 and onward, the function of the 2 voices is still intact. Then we have Mortu which was an absolute mess in the Croatian dub. In Seasons 1 and 2 he had his first 2 voices and that's fine, then comes season 3 and a whole bunch of confussion with it. First up, Mortu and all undisguised Utroms have the EXACT SAME voice, including Ch'rell who is the only Utrom to keep his OG undisguised voice and Mortu also had a new disguised voice as well. The cherry on top is the scene where the Utroms save the turtles from the exploding space ship. Mortu first speaks in his undisguised voice and the next line immediately is in the disguised voice. Why? I have no fucking clue.
I am absolutely loving these! This series has been a huge part of my life since I was a child, and watching these videos is bringing back a wave of nostalgia! The idea to do a retrospective over each season was a great one! I'm definitely excited for the season 4 video! I highly appreciate the time and effort put into these. By far the best TMNT 2003 videos I've seen! You encompass everything, big and small regarding detail, which is super enjoyable to watch. Keep doing your thing! I'm here for it!
Ive watched this series more times than i can count and remember every single episode like the alphabet. So its refreshing to finally see a good in depth review of the series. Thank you.
I subbed to you because of your TMNT Retrospective series, you're really doing an amazing job with these. Not only are they a great, they really are nostalgic to me. Even as a 32 year adult, I'm a huge fan of TMNT and the 2003 series is definitely my favorite.
Oooohhh these videos have been a delight so far and I can't wait for the rest. Bishop is definitely one of my favourite villains of all time. He's so fucked up and his action scenes are just so pleasing to watch.
Shredder was my favorite antagonist, so his disappearance in the series as a recurring threat honestly wanes my interest immediately. Season 5's antagonist was cool and Karai's role in Season 4-5 respectively was pretty interesting. But I'm glad they brought him back in Turtles Forever, cementing Utrom Shredder as the penultimate threat to the Turtles multiverse.
I always thought that the writers of this series made a point of saying that the Shredder was a legacy of evil that started with the Tengu Shredder, but that despite not coming first, Ch'rell was the one true Shredder.
Idk, I think it’s good that they got rid of him, simply because it adds more variety to the threats the turtles face. Also, glad to see another Soulcalibur fan!
I love how you go through all the different merchandise and use all the different dvd openings!! Almost like a time capsule of the 03 turtles. This is also my favorite tmnt series so I love watching these video's, I was honestly so disappointed when the video ended because I was so excited to hear about season 4 haha keep it up dude the series is dope!
Just found your channel through these retrospective vids. As an avid collector of the TMNT videos, I was lucky enough to have an allowance when the episodes first went to home release. I distinctly remember that at that time VHS was the main home video option, but DVD's were just coming around. Any time I saw a TMNT video I knew I had to buy it immediately or risk never seeing it again, so for a while my collection was a mix of VHS and TMNT. Later on, when I was a full salaried adult, I was able to hunt down the DVD equivalents of my VHS volumes and now I have everything on DVD's. This is my favorite franchise of all time, and I absolutely love this specific run. Thanks for the healthy heaping of nostalgia.
Aussie viewer here, can confirm that we got much more well looked after, home release-wise. Seasons 1 and 2 were released in full season DVD jacket collections, 3 and 4 were released in half season sets and 5 was the full season DVD. Was lucky enough to grab them all back in the day.
I feel it’s necessary to say thank you for all the amazing reviews for some of my favorite shows. From the DC animated universe and now the TMNT 2003 you truly are one of the best when it comes to reviewing series on the platform. Keep up the amazing work and I can’t wait to see what’s next
I remember watching (and maybe even having) Hun On The Run and the Ultimate Drakko episodes, including the one that sets up the later ones where he nabs the Time Scepter. It was dope.
Really enjoying this retrospective series, the 2003 series was the series I grew up on and definitely my favorite series personally. I do want to point out a few things I think you might have gotten wrong in this video though, the H.A.T.E. acronym actually stands for Humans Against The Extraterrestrials, yeah it's one of those where they randomly decide to count the "the" just because it sounds better. In Same as it Never Was, you said future Leo was blind, however I don't think that's actually the case given there's nothing (besides the sunglasses) that would imply that he's blind.
At this point I don't remember if it was a confirmed "fun" fact or just a, fan theory, but supposedly he blinded himself after failing to save Splinter. He felt responsible and the immerse guilt ate at him from the inside. It was also the reason why he and Raph split up, causing Mikey to stay on his own as well. In the end, it was such a brilliant but such a tragic story, i always end up reminiscing about it.
The creators have stated that they didn't have an implied intent on making Dark Future Leonardo be blind, as seen in TV Tropes' Trivia page. However, they didn't discount the possibility being canon, so it *may* be true, it all depends on you.
Please PLEASE do make more videos on the TMNT. I have loved them since I was a kid but never actively kept following the franchise. I'd love to see more!
For me personally I don't see Mikey's line about Leatherhead as obligatory recap, I see it as he developed the closest bond with Leatherhead thus he was worried about him the most, after not seeing him for so long. I count that as one of their special bonding moments. I lost it, when you said some people thought Raph swore, that was hilarious! These reviews are very fun and well put together, for sure!
I love the Usagi episode. It was a great exploration of his world and I really wished the 2003 version of Usagi got a spin off show. TMNT 2003 was my first introduction to Usagi Yojimbo who would become one of my favourite comic book characters.
I grew up with this show and I always loved it, but that Donnie episode where half of the characters die just always hit me. It legitimately made me cry
I watched this show as a kid but it was a Saturday morning thing, I didn't come in at the very beginning or see every episode in order, so it's cool to see the whole series laid out chronologically like this an how everything fit.
Im so happy you're making these videos. I watched the entirety of this show back in 2015 but somehow completely forgot all the insane stuff that happened this season. I need to rewatch this show again
Literally the only episode of this I ever watched in full was 'Hun on the Run' and I loved it. He's a bad guy lieutenant everyone laughs at after too many failures, desperate to reclaim his former respect in the organization. You actually feel sympathy for him, especially when he's pitted against Bishop, who can apparently beat him and the Turtles together. Imagine if Bebop or Rocksteady got that kind of episode where they for once got truly passionate about claiming a victory... although it wouldn't have as much weight since they can't be punished or made to understand that this is their last chance.
No wonder Peter Laird grew to like him in spite of initial dislike during the show's start. Shame his post-Season 5 self felt too weak, although Turtles Forever nicely brought him back to the foray.
Definitely heard "flunky" in my case. The "L" sound was too obvious for me XD I appreciate these videos you're putting out, even if there are things you said about season 2 that I disagree with. Ironically, thanks to this retrospective I realised that season 2 was not a 'weak season' for me because I marathoned the whole series lol. I felt that season 3 somewhat answers and helps conclude more from what was left off in season 2, making season 2 still solid for me. Definitely, season 3 was a total improvement from the previous ones. At this point of when I was marathoning TMNT 2003, I was always conflicted as to whether I even had a favourite episode because there will always come a better one next. It's a series I'd love to have some physical copy of my own at home, but I can see that even someone who has the convenience to search and buy them had so much difficulties in collecting them, can't imagine me trying to do that when I live outside of the western side of the world. If only Nickelodeon just releases a nicely-ordered dvd collection of the series, and makes them more globally accessible (nah, streaming services don't count) And yes, Nobody is the best Batman stand-in ever! His 'Nobody' lines are cringe but when he makes them it just sounds so cool XD
I like to think the Gargoyles episode Future Tense inspired Same As It Never Was as they have a lot of similarities like Hudson/Splinter (the oldest of the group) being dead, Broadway/Leo becoming blind and Lexington/Mikey losing an arm, not to mention Demona/Stockman and Hun being on the heroes side and Xanatos/Shredder taking over the world
Though mostly minor, there's the X-Men: The Animated Series and the futures lived on by Bishop (not to be confused with the uber-awesome TMNT '03 agent) and Cable. Also, Dragon Ball Z's Future Trunks storylines.
When you said turtles forever I was a bit confused but when you showed the 3 seconds of it at 8:17 I realized that I actually watched turtles forever on DVD when I was like 7 and had fond memories with it as my first real introduction to the series, where I later watched the early portions of the 2012 series.
Haven't seen the video yet but just wanted to say - This shit is like my SOAP OPERA!! Love the deep analysis into these old shows I never really thought much about as a kid. Keep it up friend! 💎
S.A.N.W is such an incredible episode that it's basically a trademark of its own among fans. You can find heartwrenching fanart of it, pre and post ep which varies from headcanons to how the turtles ended up mutilated to a straight up depressed Donnie having to deal with knowledge he's cursed with. Or find fanfics that one way or another visit the episode, go Canon divergent from it or use as base to do their own depressing apocaliptic world.
Agent Bishop is one of my favorite characters in this series. Dude was a beast, I'm pretty sure he smacked Hun with his shades in that fight with the Turtles and Karai. It was also cool seeing how Bishop turned out in the future. Also Morpheus, you looking a little green there 39:06
thanks for reminding me how fire this show was. My memory recalls going through these episodes once or twice, but several re-runs of just the first season they always aired messed with my memory of this season.
I love this season, it's by FAR my favourite. A clustef*ck of awesome battles, drama, memorable funny gags,and character development. I didn't really like how they brought Fugitoid back after that sad and honorable sacrifice of his (I mean, Zog's sacrifice was memorable because he ACTUALLY never came back), but I can't deny that seeing him again was wholesome. The Ultimate Drako arc (also thanks for comparing Clock-La to Ultimate Drako, now I can't unsee it) was phenomenal with Donatello and Leo (I didn't enjoy Raph and Mikey episodes that much because they felt VERY forced to their respective passions, still nice tho). I wanted to hear more from you regarding Touch n' Go because (among some TMNT 2003 fans, me included) they were really good underappreciated villains. Tell me what do you thing of them here if you can, I'm DAMN curious. And don't get me started on Bishop. I always tought that he was EVEN more twisted than Shredder, blinded by his "duty" in "protecting" the world. Never really saw him as a true villain, but more like a Thanos like villain, with an actual meaning to his murderous actions (I mean you too compared him to the purple dude). Also, weird side note about 34:00. Funny enough, I remember making a very old video on my channel regarding Raph saying (in the Italian dub) "scoviamo quel criminale" which basically translates to "let's hunt down that criminal". But the way he said "scoviamo", for some weird reasons, sounds like "scopiamo" which is an Italian slang meaning "hump" or "rape". Making him sound like "Let's rape that criminal". I don't know what's wrong with Raph's voice actors, they but happened to fool me twice.
I understand the DVD problem. I remember watching the 2003 Turtles mostly through the DVDs the Library had, which was Season 1 and Season 2, the second half of Fast Forward, and Turtles Forever. Plus whatever episodes were broadcasted "Over the Air" for the missing portions, when they were on the CW children's block on Saturday.
Fun fact: The "Ah ah ah, you didn't say May I" bit was a clever Jurassic Park reference. Something I didn't realize until years later after watching that movie again as an adult. The things the creators slip into these shows is just part of what makes them that much more enjoyable as an adult.
Awesome video! I have autism, and the ninja turtles have been My special interest since I was a kid so these videos are really special to me. Thank you. 😇
I love how 4Kids was notorious for censoring anime to comical levels, while they air this and its easily one of the darker adaptations of the TMNT and its full of moments that you'd think the censors would say no to.
Unintentional double standard maybe? In any case, it is amazing that 4Kids let this show go ham with how dark it can get. And I love the fact that it didn’t get so dark that you mistaken it for a Batman show… it’s still TMNT, but with a tone that’s more… epic Shonen anime rather than 80s cartoon.
That's because anything dark in TMNT is made safe, and this is coming from someone who likes it for what it is. There's nothing your average normie would bat an eyelid at. All the death is either off-screen or bloodless. A lot of the combat is "attack the screen" angle, so the hits are never actually seen making contact. More often then not the guns, which are a big no-no to US censors, are lasers or some other fictional variety, which automatically makes it okay for some reason. Those last two examples are common ways they get action cartoons put on TV while appeasing execs. Contrast this with, say, setting people on fire and buzz-saw kills in Yu-Gi-Oh or point blank guns to heads in One Piece, for example, and the difference is obvious.
I mean, it's still my favorite Ninja Turtles series, but you have to step back and look at how it's portrayed, and not that it happens.
If I had to guess Anime tended to get extra scrutiny in media. And to be fair a lot of it had fan service and was geared towards slightly older audiences so they wouldn't mind smoking or booze when it made sense which obviously got it censored as Cartoons are for kids was easier for Adults to understand.
Shows like Archer, Rick and Morty and others simply didn't exist and weren't around to challenge norms that Cartoons could be for older age groups. Now a days just because something is animated doesn't mean it's safe for children and TMNT 2003 would have fallen in either kids safe mode or have been made for older audiences.
@@ShockwaveFPSStudios Huh… never thought of it that way… but now that you call it out… I may have to rethink how I see the tones of each TMNT series… because you are making a lot of sense. Anyway, I’mma agree with you on this… especially with 2012 being an anime in terms of plot.
@@ShockwaveFPSStudios So I did. Wow both in 1999. Still that doesn't really change much, a lot of the people who'd censor kid shows would still be more aware of the ones coming from overseas, and Family Guy and Futurama were only four years old at that point now maybe they were aware of those shows but I'm not really in a position where I can state fact just my own opinion
But growing up with a show and it being on air while you're older are two different things.
I specifically mean by that the people involved with 4Kids and whatnot would be likely in their 50s and be thinking of shows like Looney Toons if they even watched cartoons at a younger age.
I think perhaps we'll never know why TMNT got away with so much, maybe someone with clout managed to push more through or maybe no one was paying that much attention to western animation.
Can I just say that "Nobody" is a _fantastic_ codename for a Batman-style dark vigilante? It works on like, every level.
Great Odyssey reference as well
And his voice by Goku 🤌🏾
I freaking love Bishop. Skilled fighter with excellent improv skills, no real weaknesses, sleek design and his voice acting is just perfect.
Me too. He's a total badass
He shoulda been the main antagonist after shredder
Overpowered Agent Smith. I hated him. Nobody is that many steps ahead
He reminds me of that guy from Generator Rex. What was his name? Agent Seven or something
@FireRising86 Are you forgetting Bishop is over a century and half old?
Ch'rell's appearance in "Same As It Never Was" is my favourite design ever for the Shredder. The fact that he's full on showing his Utrom form and yet, he still uses ancient Japanese Decor and wearing his Daimyo Shredder helmet shows that he's completely embraced his persona to an insane level.
Ch’rell is the ultimate weeb
@@darthvader7888 I don't think he's into anime.
@@dr.feelgoodmalusphillips2475
Ok, the next incarnation of the Shredder NEEDS to be secretly a HUGE otaku, maybe have this hidden part of their personality on full display in some comedic, filler, slice of life kinda episodes. Oh and Karai could be one of the few that (and is allowed to live..) knows about her master's double, double life, much to her cringing at her adoptive father's...strange tastes in media and odd hobbies.
@@navilluscire2567 Imagine gamer Hun vs weeb Ch'rell but instead of fighting they just play dragonball fighterz lmao
@@navilluscire2567 rtrdd shy I seen so far
The "I'm sure this won't be a story later." being used so often is just another reason for how brilliant this show is.
It's very tightly written. If an outcome doesn't seem like it has enough finality, chances are you should be paying attention.
Brings into mind Disney's Gargoyles and X-Men/Spider-Man: The Animated Series even more compared to the surprisingly disconnective DC Animated Universe.
It is a crime against fandom that we never got a one-on-one fight between Shredder and Agent Bishop.
Bishop was already shown to be stronger against more opponents so it would probably just be a hard loss for Shredder making him even less intimidating.
@@somedudewatchintv5297 I think what topped it all off was having the real demon shredder come back. That for me completely made the utrom shredder look so much weaker and less intimidating.
You know I never realized Bishop and the Shredder never even interacted. I could see though an episode where the Shredder goes along with Bishop thinking the turtles are aliens to try and help get rid of them. With a moment of Stockman saying “you can’t possibly trust the shredder especially since I know he’s not human” and bishop says he knows it’s just a temporary alliance. And it revealed the shredder is also planning to double cross Bishop.
Bishop is definitely one of the best villains in this series. I really hope we get to see him in live action at some point.
Or better yet - _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge._
Karai has already made the transition. So why not have Bishop himself to join the fray?
Bishop had some badass quotes too like “seems as the odds have changed, too bad I don’t play the odds” and “ outnumbered maybe but never outclassed”
I've always loved how dark 2003 TMNT can be. It felt like this series respected the kids that were watching it, making the series all the more better.
30:09 I frickin love the sound effect of Splinter going “ Ohhhhh!” that they play every time the Shredder is shown, mentioned or does something evil.
They seem to use it more and more as the seasons go on too, like the creators knew it was hilarious 😂
I first heard that sound bite in a bunch of Max0r’s videos (he’s a RUclipsr who reviews/covers a bunch of different games with a more RUclips Poop style of editing); but, I had no idea this is where that sound bite came from.
I’m excitedly waiting for each of these video’s releases now and always pay off
Istg
I came into the comments looking for ya lol pay off, I thought I’d find you here mr blade
Don't downplay your series dive too, that was legit.
To JaxBlade same I fully agree
The Goat
10:02 That movie deserves respect for having been Mako's final project. He was the VA for Splinter, passed away a week after all his lines were recorded, and the movie was dedicated to him. Rest in peace, Mako.
As an adult, I can confirm 120 dollars is STILL a lot of money. And I make more than a living wage. You're a more patient consumer with the godawful 3. DVD releases of TMNT 03. I just want complete season DVD's or Blu Rays.
I 100% agree
There are so many shows I wish got complete Blu-ray releases. But companies have gotten stingy with the advent of streaming services.
I want both the 03 and 2012 series in a blu-ray collection.
@@KnowledgeLost I didn't like 2012 Series. But I am glad some does like it
@@ThePreciseClimber which shows ?
38:23 Interestingly enough, this is a premise they're kind of using for The Last Ronin which is the book by Eastman and Laird about Mikey in a dark post apocalyptic future
In Shredder's Exodus, for the ultimate punch of humiliation, Stockman's rocket references the Nedry scene from Jurassic Park. (46:30) I'm surprised you didn't catch on to that.
Was just about to comment about this
Yes! My guess is that he forgot, didn’t watch Jurassic Park, or was being coy.
@Sarcastic Dude Nah, in Detroit, watching Jurassic Park is also a prerequisite. He’s banished to Ohio.
@@yaboytroy357 what do you blokes have against Ohio?
@@demontorch University sports rivalries, mostly, but also, there was a literal war between both states over territory that was right on the border of both of them called the “Great Toledo War”. Also, both states are very opposed, politically. Michigan is a more liberal state, historically, and Ohio is more conservative. Both states view themselves as superior to each other when it comes to where people would rather live as well. Michigan boasts about they’re natural beauty, lakes, and having a huge part in the US industrial revolution. Ohio boasts about they’re amusement parks, the Rock and Roll hall of fame being located there, a couple widely popular zoos, and they’re own natural beauty.
TLDR: Petty shit for the most part, but it boils down to football
Imagine if Baxter had been turned into a fly like the original series and after seeing himself says something like, "I think I was better off as a brain in a jar."
He was in the 2012 show
@@jordandillow3423 never seen it but it's on the list
Okay dokey smokey
He did there was episodes reference that fly horror body movie
*To the uploader:* I hope you are reading this because there are tons of comments right now and I'm not sure if you will read but I'll express my thoughts and opinion anyway:
I searched and digged youtube for reviews specifically for the 2003 TMNT and never found as perfect as this and I have to say that u did the TMNT justice by not only making the video almost 1 hour long which I absolutely love about your TMNT videos but also brought up your experience collecting DVDs as well as other really interesting details that I wanted someone else talk about.
I wanna say please do continue making more and more of these awesome 2003 TMNT reviews *even if you're done of all seasons* as there are soo many things to discuss and talk about in some scenes in many episodes.
Thank you so much for making this review!
Same as it Never Was messed me up as a kid. Especially the part where Raph is crawling towards Leo’s body.
I hated seeing Mikey missing an arm.
I feel like the most similar modern tv episodes are Amphibia’s “True Colors” and “Olivia and Yunnan”, due to just how scarring their darkest moments are.
Season 4 is peak, amazing Leo arc, Karai revenge, amazing Bishop, Stockman darkest episode in the series, battle nexsus, rat king(episode called "monster" where the true monster is actually Leo), Hun as a leader of new purple dragons, mutant Donnie, mutagen in whole city, Mystics trick up Bishop and etc, this season gets just too dark for a kid show and that's why i love it
I'm currently in the middle of a TMNT 2003 re-watch, off of my DVD copies. I'm about halfway through season 4.
Watching you dump ALL those DVDs on the floor, before explaining just how much of a nightmare seasons 3 and 4 are on DVD, was so cathartic.
I just watched part 1 and 2 yesterday and I'm blown away at how fast you produce these videos. Keep up the great work!
And they're well edited too
Agent Bishop is such a cool villain.
And I love his redemption later on as well.
I'm 7 months late but I absolutely loved Bishop. As soon as I saw him first feature I always thought he was the best villian and the most badass.
Bishop has gotta be the best villain with a great redemption arc, it is one of the best things that came out of TMNT Fast Forward.
Baxter Stockman putting a block on the computer that says "uh uh uh, say may I" is a great nod to Jurassic Park.
2003 TMNT was my autism special interest for my entire childhood and there are no words for how amazing it feels to watch such a well done and thoughtful retrospective/analysis done for the whole series! i've never been so excited to be watching a video series as it comes out, insta-subscribed and turned on notifications before i was even halfway through episode one. thank you so much for the effort you put into these, really looking forward to part 4! i remember being so impacted by the episode same as it never was when i was little, sitting with my thoughts and feelings after watching that episode is a memory i have never forgotten and i think it's one of the things that led to my interest in really dark fiction as an adult. definitely am one of those who considers it my fav episode of the entire show, it's even the first one that i remember when thinking of the series. (also, wrt to collecting the series, i'm sure this won't count as really collecting to some but if anyone is looking to watch the entire series in good quality but doesn't wanna spend a lot of money i know there are torrents out there. i used one to get the whole series and it was pretty good quality so i intend to burn it all to dvd's myself at some point. if you're torrent-savvy that could be an option to consider as well!)
I love this comment! I second that appreciation statement! He has done a phenomenal job with these videos!
Good read good feelings... Have a cookie 🍪
As an autistic person, its the same for me.
I have a special interest in East Asia, and this series is why.
Same As It Never Was is by far my favorite episode from the series. The dark tone and more mature direction broadened my imagination as a kid, still holds up in my opinion
Same here
I could not sleep after I saw that
and a likely inspiration for the last ronin comic
Sure is better than TMNT 2012's "The Wasteland Warrior". Now that was excessive, and thank gosh it didn't become that show's series finale.
I love watching reviews like these. As a kid I always knew these shows were more than just “kids shows”. That they were actually well thought out and cared for shows that tackle adult themes sometimes. Now that I’m older, looking back and watching these reviews makes me appreciate them even more. So thank you
Exodus was the defining moment of TMNT 2003. A gutsy, dark and dramatic change to the status quo.
Season 3 already had great stuff like Bishop, the show-changing invasion six-parter, and the Ultimate Drako arc. But Exodus was a perfect cap of the show and definitely its peak (I adore Season 4 as wel)
One thing i want to point out is, when they teleport shredder to that ice asteroid... It wasn't utrom teleportation device animation at all. Looks more like they disintegrated him, in a very painful way... Which borns a conspiracy that's exactly what the creators wanted to do but were forced to censor it. Also makes sense given how much Shredder was shocked, and how much angry Karai was...
@@Soundwave1900 that would be cool, it’s something somebody would have to try to confirm with Peter Laird or something, but it’s a cool speculation nonetheless. I still think the final shot of him screaming in rage at his exile finally being defeated was terrific and truly powerful.
@@Soundwave1900 some teleportation devices in fiction are implied to disintegrate and reintegrate you.
I love the idea of Raph just dropping a F bomb randomly 3 seasons in lol
I think Bishop is the best contribution to the franchise by the 2003 TMNT. I wish every new iteration of the TMNT would use him in some way.
Yeah when he showed up I was like oh no a government agent that sucks - but he ended up being an amazing new primary villain
Bishop was just badass and looks good fighting. With a voice over that reminds me of Steve Blum brings Bishop to life.
I thought Steve Blum was Bishop…
@@paulgilbert5278 Nope, but one who very much sounds like him
@Enter Name Here I didn't like utrom bishop
Retrospectives of this incarnation of the TMNT is always welcome. Keep up the great work.
So happy I found this channel. Not only have I loved the game reviews, but seeing another review series that loves the forgotten gem that is the 2003 TMNT series. I really wish this series was held in much higher regard these days as I think it is still the best adaptation of TMNT I've seen to date. The animation, the action, the atmosphere, the story, the writing, the soundtrack, sound design, character designs and the voice acting is just top notch! I'd buy the complete series on Blu-Ray in a heartbeat if they released it!
I completely agree with you! The 2003 series kind of has become a hidden gem, now that I think about it! I'd buy on the spot as well if they ever released a whole collection, no doubt.
@@zenkudama2849 100%! I really wish Scottie Ray got more work and recognition, his performance as the Oroku Sakis and Shredders were some of the biggest highlight from the show. I regard his evil laugh to be up there with the likes of Mark Hamill's Joker. I wish the TMNT films would try to replicate the tone and atmosphere of this series as I believe it was the peak of the franchise 👌
@@ImEmpathyTV You're speaking the truth! I adore the voice acting in this show! It is truly high quality! He's by far the best Shredder voice we've heard so far!
@@zenkudama2849 I've liked most Shredder voices too like the original 90s film, Kevin Michael Richardson and of course the late great James Avery. I just think there's just the right balance of a power hunger, evil, manipulative and wicked sense of humour that Scottie Ray has in his versions of the Shredder!
@@ImEmpathyTV See, I forgot that James Avery did the Shredder there for a while! 😶 I appreciate the other Shredder voices, but there is definitely something special about the Scottie Ray iteration that clicks with the character perfectly! I also highly regard Michael Sinterniklaas as Leonardo. I adore the acting from all 4 turtles in this show, but Michael's voice is awesome! Especially in the later seasons when you can hear the grittiness and emotion!
Can't wait for your perspective on Season 5. I love the way it just went *ham* on mystic lore. Plus... Turtle Dragons. Just... *Turtle Dragons!*
At least the ham there was more natural than Back to the Sewer's.
If I had to guess, I'd say Raph's nightmare of his face under Shredder's mask is a reference to the Image Comics era of TMNT, where Raph actually did assume the mantle of the Shredder for a time so that they Turtles could more easily keep the Foot under control.
Revisiting this show through your reviews really surprised me with how hard the plot lines went in terms of continuity.
Tmnt 2003 was definitely one of the best adaptation of the turtles
TALK THAT 03 TURTLES SHIT!!!
This video series is SO HYPE. Can't wait for the next season overview! But I will say im surprised there was no mention of Hun+Stockman in Donny's "future" episode, always thought it was interesting having them work with the turtles only to be betray them and be killed by the shredder shortly after
Same with that connection with Season 5's cut episode "Nightmares Revisited".
Well. Just seeing the clips of the turtles getting defeated, I still had my hands over my mouth in shock. That's how effective it was to me when I first saw the episode. And that also includes whenever season 3 is mentioned to me, the first episode I remember is Donatello's episode 'Same As It Never Was'. Thanks for this vid. I had been waiting for it. And yes. I believe it is true. Season 3 being the best season of the 2003 series. It's why I enjoyed the show so much.
Enjoying the retrospective a lot. I collected most of the old DVDs from back in the day. Still missing Fast Forward since I didn't like that season and was so mad about what they did to The Lost Season/Ninja Tribunal at the time. (Though I really wish I could rewatch it and BTTS now.) We DERSEVE a full season box set of this show!!! It's the best TMNT cartoon and I have always resented the fact that the fans of it have had to jump through hoops for decades simply to watch it. So that rant feels like one I've have bottled inside myself for a very long time.
I freaking love Agent Bishop, he was so cool and so mysterious. Great villain. I remember finding his action figure at a Toys R Us and losing my mind.
Personally season 4 is my favorite. Being a Leonardo fan with high amount of self discipline, his trama gained from season3 finalie really hit home, and the episode "The Ancient One" literally changed my life. Thanks again for reviewing this great series!
4 is best for me also.
I enjoy these very much! 2003 TMNT was my childhood and I love it to death to this day, but I so rarely ever hear people talk about it! Thanks for letting me geek out with you over it. 😄
I feel your pain trying to gather and organise all of the various DVDs. Nothing hurts quite like a random release order and a lack of proper boxsets.
Hun on the run is one of my favorite episodes. Seeing Bishop take on all of them by himself was dope! Plus I thought it was funny how the turtles kept trying to fight hun, but he was trying his best to just save Karai. The turtles were so confused.
Hearing someone talk about 4Kids "Bargain DVDs" takes me back to when I bought one of the Sonic X DVDs which only had 2 episodes on it for $5. Those were dark times.
You're killing it with these videos, man. I LOVED this series as a kid.
Always brings so much nostalgia, this was my entire childhood. I always tear up when I rewatch it wishing I could go back and watch it for the first time again with the same excitement and joy.
The 2003 series was the starting point for me and the series, specifically the first dvd of fast forward. I know a lot of people aren’t fans of fast forward, but I loved it and It made me want to watch the rest of the series. So glad it’s getting the recognition that it deserves.
Glad to see someone else that was introduced to this show by fast forward hell I even owned a backpack of it as a child. It's not my favorite season but it is defiantly one I look back to fondly for introducing me to this show.
FF is underappreciated because the plot is less tense and slower than the rest, as well as the show was pretty much finished after S5. Nonetheless, FF visits some great things, like the turtles being able to relax more and enjoy themselves, you can basically see them be uncles/big bros to Cody and how that would play out for April's and Casey's kids, and it also visits some interesting ideas like Bishops redemption, Stockman finding peace, and (a fav of mine) the dark turtles, which bring out a analysis of nature vs nurture that I wish was given more room to explore.
Ultimately, I don't think it matters what you're reviewing or doing a retrospective on. We don't watch your videos primarily for a specific type of content, we watch your videos because you're passionate about what you do, and that shines through regardless of the content
One thing I always found kinda odd is that between seasons two and three, they changed the Shredder's (or rather, C'hrell's) voice. In the second season, when C'hrell speaks outside his suit, he has a higher-pitched version of Shredder's voice. They completely dropped that in this season and just made the Shredder sound the same whether he was in the suit or not. Not sure why they changed this, but it always struck me as kinda weird.
I guess he no longer has any reason to try to maintain a separate persona.. i mean he sounds different when he's talking to the mayor and junk, right?
The Croatian dub actually "fixes" this. He has the two seperate voices in season 3
Great video! I appreciate the comments on the DVD releases. It was too hard to keep up with as a kid and I honestly wish there was a complete series collection. Seeing the old promo for exodus reminded me how tense it was watching it air (and how traumatic Same As It Never Was felt as a kid) looking forward to the next one!
Hebi being an absolute Saturday morning cartoon villain as opposed to the scheming political mastermind he is in the comics is one of my favorite things about the Usagi appearance in ‘03. Its like Hebi knew he was in a cartoon.
Can we please talk about how the Utroms, Ch'rell included, no longer have higher pitched voices when not in disguise as humans? This was an inconsistency that ALWAYS bothered me and I feel like nobody's ever addressed this.
The Croatian dub actually adresses this, in it's own way. Ch'rell is actually consistant. He has 2 seperate voices for both seasons 2 and 3. Despite his Shredder voice having a different voice actor from Season 3 and onward, the function of the 2 voices is still intact.
Then we have Mortu which was an absolute mess in the Croatian dub. In Seasons 1 and 2 he had his first 2 voices and that's fine, then comes season 3 and a whole bunch of confussion with it. First up, Mortu and all undisguised Utroms have the EXACT SAME voice, including Ch'rell who is the only Utrom to keep his OG undisguised voice and Mortu also had a new disguised voice as well. The cherry on top is the scene where the Utroms save the turtles from the exploding space ship. Mortu first speaks in his undisguised voice and the next line immediately is in the disguised voice. Why? I have no fucking clue.
I am absolutely loving these! This series has been a huge part of my life since I was a child, and watching these videos is bringing back a wave of nostalgia! The idea to do a retrospective over each season was a great one! I'm definitely excited for the season 4 video! I highly appreciate the time and effort put into these. By far the best TMNT 2003 videos I've seen! You encompass everything, big and small regarding detail, which is super enjoyable to watch. Keep doing your thing! I'm here for it!
Ive watched this series more times than i can count and remember every single episode like the alphabet. So its refreshing to finally see a good in depth review of the series. Thank you.
I subbed to you because of your TMNT Retrospective series, you're really doing an amazing job with these. Not only are they a great, they really are nostalgic to me. Even as a 32 year adult, I'm a huge fan of TMNT and the 2003 series is definitely my favorite.
Oooohhh these videos have been a delight so far and I can't wait for the rest.
Bishop is definitely one of my favourite villains of all time. He's so fucked up and his action scenes are just so pleasing to watch.
Shredder was my favorite antagonist, so his disappearance in the series as a recurring threat honestly wanes my interest immediately.
Season 5's antagonist was cool and Karai's role in Season 4-5 respectively was pretty interesting.
But I'm glad they brought him back in Turtles Forever, cementing Utrom Shredder as the penultimate threat to the Turtles multiverse.
I always thought that the writers of this series made a point of saying that the Shredder was a legacy of evil that started with the Tengu Shredder, but that despite not coming first, Ch'rell was the one true Shredder.
Idk, I think it’s good that they got rid of him, simply because it adds more variety to the threats the turtles face. Also, glad to see another Soulcalibur fan!
"ah ah ah, didn't say may I"
Nice Jurassic Park reference.
Man, you've made me addicted to this format since "Batman Beyond". Thank you very much for your efforts!
I love how you go through all the different merchandise and use all the different dvd openings!! Almost like a time capsule of the 03 turtles. This is also my favorite tmnt series so I love watching these video's, I was honestly so disappointed when the video ended because I was so excited to hear about season 4 haha keep it up dude the series is dope!
Just found your channel through these retrospective vids. As an avid collector of the TMNT videos, I was lucky enough to have an allowance when the episodes first went to home release. I distinctly remember that at that time VHS was the main home video option, but DVD's were just coming around. Any time I saw a TMNT video I knew I had to buy it immediately or risk never seeing it again, so for a while my collection was a mix of VHS and TMNT. Later on, when I was a full salaried adult, I was able to hunt down the DVD equivalents of my VHS volumes and now I have everything on DVD's. This is my favorite franchise of all time, and I absolutely love this specific run. Thanks for the healthy heaping of nostalgia.
Aussie viewer here, can confirm that we got much more well looked after, home release-wise. Seasons 1 and 2 were released in full season DVD jacket collections, 3 and 4 were released in half season sets and 5 was the full season DVD. Was lucky enough to grab them all back in the day.
I feel it’s necessary to say thank you for all the amazing reviews for some of my favorite shows. From the DC animated universe and now the TMNT 2003 you truly are one of the best when it comes to reviewing series on the platform. Keep up the amazing work and I can’t wait to see what’s next
This is one of the most nostalgic shows for me by far. Some more early 2000’s 4kidz content would be DOPE
I remember watching (and maybe even having) Hun On The Run and the Ultimate Drakko episodes, including the one that sets up the later ones where he nabs the Time Scepter. It was dope.
Dude, the nostalgia im getting from this is unbelieveable. I cant wait for the others!
Really enjoying this retrospective series, the 2003 series was the series I grew up on and definitely my favorite series personally.
I do want to point out a few things I think you might have gotten wrong in this video though, the H.A.T.E. acronym actually stands for Humans Against The Extraterrestrials, yeah it's one of those where they randomly decide to count the "the" just because it sounds better.
In Same as it Never Was, you said future Leo was blind, however I don't think that's actually the case given there's nothing (besides the sunglasses) that would imply that he's blind.
As I understand, Leo is missing his shell, that is why he is wearing the coat and Karai slash at his back killed him.
At this point I don't remember if it was a confirmed "fun" fact or just a, fan theory, but supposedly he blinded himself after failing to save Splinter. He felt responsible and the immerse guilt ate at him from the inside. It was also the reason why he and Raph split up, causing Mikey to stay on his own as well.
In the end, it was such a brilliant but such a tragic story, i always end up reminiscing about it.
The creators have stated that they didn't have an implied intent on making Dark Future Leonardo be blind, as seen in TV Tropes' Trivia page.
However, they didn't discount the possibility being canon, so it *may* be true, it all depends on you.
Please PLEASE do make more videos on the TMNT. I have loved them since I was a kid but never actively kept following the franchise. I'd love to see more!
For me personally I don't see Mikey's line about Leatherhead as obligatory recap, I see it as he developed the closest bond with Leatherhead thus he was worried about him the most, after not seeing him for so long. I count that as one of their special bonding moments. I lost it, when you said some people thought Raph swore, that was hilarious! These reviews are very fun and well put together, for sure!
I love the Usagi episode. It was a great exploration of his world and I really wished the 2003 version of Usagi got a spin off show. TMNT 2003 was my first introduction to Usagi Yojimbo who would become one of my favourite comic book characters.
The effort you went through just to get the complete DVD set is truly astounding and inspiring
Well that puts an end to me trying to find a complete box set in one. Explains why it's such a pain to collect these series.
No kidding...
I grew up with this show and I always loved it, but that Donnie episode where half of the characters die just always hit me. It legitimately made me cry
Dude these videos are great. Love going back in time and hearing commentary from someone who knows the show so well.
2:17 Something that absolutely NEVER occurred in any of the stores that my parents frequented when me and my sister were little.
I watched this show as a kid but it was a Saturday morning thing, I didn't come in at the very beginning or see every episode in order, so it's cool to see the whole series laid out chronologically like this an how everything fit.
Im so happy you're making these videos. I watched the entirety of this show back in 2015 but somehow completely forgot all the insane stuff that happened this season. I need to rewatch this show again
Literally the only episode of this I ever watched in full was 'Hun on the Run' and I loved it. He's a bad guy lieutenant everyone laughs at after too many failures, desperate to reclaim his former respect in the organization. You actually feel sympathy for him, especially when he's pitted against Bishop, who can apparently beat him and the Turtles together. Imagine if Bebop or Rocksteady got that kind of episode where they for once got truly passionate about claiming a victory... although it wouldn't have as much weight since they can't be punished or made to understand that this is their last chance.
No wonder Peter Laird grew to like him in spite of initial dislike during the show's start.
Shame his post-Season 5 self felt too weak, although Turtles Forever nicely brought him back to the foray.
24:57 apparently that’s a shoutout to an arc in the Mirage Comics where Raph actually inherited The Shredder title.
Definitely heard "flunky" in my case. The "L" sound was too obvious for me XD
I appreciate these videos you're putting out, even if there are things you said about season 2 that I disagree with. Ironically, thanks to this retrospective I realised that season 2 was not a 'weak season' for me because I marathoned the whole series lol. I felt that season 3 somewhat answers and helps conclude more from what was left off in season 2, making season 2 still solid for me. Definitely, season 3 was a total improvement from the previous ones. At this point of when I was marathoning TMNT 2003, I was always conflicted as to whether I even had a favourite episode because there will always come a better one next. It's a series I'd love to have some physical copy of my own at home, but I can see that even someone who has the convenience to search and buy them had so much difficulties in collecting them, can't imagine me trying to do that when I live outside of the western side of the world. If only Nickelodeon just releases a nicely-ordered dvd collection of the series, and makes them more globally accessible (nah, streaming services don't count)
And yes, Nobody is the best Batman stand-in ever! His 'Nobody' lines are cringe but when he makes them it just sounds so cool XD
Absolutely flunky, yeah. Couldn't hear anything else lmao
"Same As It Never Was" is great for Donatello fans, because it makes him the only character in 2k3 canon to successfully kill the Shredder.
I like to think the Gargoyles episode Future Tense inspired Same As It Never Was as they have a lot of similarities like Hudson/Splinter (the oldest of the group) being dead, Broadway/Leo becoming blind and Lexington/Mikey losing an arm, not to mention Demona/Stockman and Hun being on the heroes side and Xanatos/Shredder taking over the world
Though mostly minor, there's the X-Men: The Animated Series and the futures lived on by Bishop (not to be confused with the uber-awesome TMNT '03 agent) and Cable.
Also, Dragon Ball Z's Future Trunks storylines.
When you said turtles forever I was a bit confused but when you showed the 3 seconds of it at 8:17 I realized that I actually watched turtles forever on DVD when I was like 7 and had fond memories with it as my first real introduction to the series, where I later watched the early portions of the 2012 series.
Haven't seen the video yet but just wanted to say - This shit is like my SOAP OPERA!!
Love the deep analysis into these old shows I never really thought much about as a kid.
Keep it up friend! 💎
S.A.N.W is such an incredible episode that it's basically a trademark of its own among fans. You can find heartwrenching fanart of it, pre and post ep which varies from headcanons to how the turtles ended up mutilated to a straight up depressed Donnie having to deal with knowledge he's cursed with. Or find fanfics that one way or another visit the episode, go Canon divergent from it or use as base to do their own depressing apocaliptic world.
Man I do love this series, and it brings back good old memories to me and I enjoyed your part 1 and 2
Agent Bishop is one of my favorite characters in this series. Dude was a beast, I'm pretty sure he smacked Hun with his shades in that fight with the Turtles and Karai. It was also cool seeing how Bishop turned out in the future. Also Morpheus, you looking a little green there 39:06
I really love these videos. It’s been a while since I’ve seen TMNT series and it’s cool to see someone talk about them
thanks for reminding me how fire this show was. My memory recalls going through these episodes once or twice, but several re-runs of just the first season they always aired messed with my memory of this season.
What an awesome retrospective series. I can't wait for the next one. Awesome work man! Looking forward to all the next ones!
Bishop was one of my favorite villains introduced from this series.
I love this season, it's by FAR my favourite. A clustef*ck of awesome battles, drama, memorable funny gags,and character development.
I didn't really like how they brought Fugitoid back after that sad and honorable sacrifice of his (I mean, Zog's sacrifice was memorable because he ACTUALLY never came back), but I can't deny that seeing him again was wholesome.
The Ultimate Drako arc (also thanks for comparing Clock-La to Ultimate Drako, now I can't unsee it) was phenomenal with Donatello and Leo (I didn't enjoy Raph and Mikey episodes that much because they felt VERY forced to their respective passions, still nice tho).
I wanted to hear more from you regarding Touch n' Go because (among some TMNT 2003 fans, me included) they were really good underappreciated villains. Tell me what do you thing of them here if you can, I'm DAMN curious.
And don't get me started on Bishop. I always tought that he was EVEN more twisted than Shredder, blinded by his "duty" in "protecting" the world. Never really saw him as a true villain, but more like a Thanos like villain, with an actual meaning to his murderous actions (I mean you too compared him to the purple dude).
Also, weird side note about 34:00. Funny enough, I remember making a very old video on my channel regarding Raph saying (in the Italian dub) "scoviamo quel criminale" which basically translates to "let's hunt down that criminal". But the way he said "scoviamo", for some weird reasons, sounds like "scopiamo" which is an Italian slang meaning "hump" or "rape". Making him sound like "Let's rape that criminal".
I don't know what's wrong with Raph's voice actors, they but happened to fool me twice.
These videos are great, i can't wait for Season 4, this series is just a treasure
Bishop is the MVP of TMNT 2003, best character by far and the best addition to the TMNT lore! He's a certified BADASS!
Can't wait to hit Fast Forward, so definitely glad to hear the whole series is coming
Absolutely spectacular, this was so much fun to watch. Loved this show growing up!
This show respects how much storytelling kids can take. There is murder and fighting and grim futures. I really miss that.
I understand the DVD problem. I remember watching the 2003 Turtles mostly through the DVDs the Library had, which was Season 1 and Season 2, the second half of Fast Forward, and Turtles Forever. Plus whatever episodes were broadcasted "Over the Air" for the missing portions, when they were on the CW children's block on Saturday.
Fun fact: The "Ah ah ah, you didn't say May I" bit was a clever Jurassic Park reference. Something I didn't realize until years later after watching that movie again as an adult.
The things the creators slip into these shows is just part of what makes them that much more enjoyable as an adult.
Awesome video! I have autism, and the ninja turtles have been My special interest since I was a kid so these videos are really special to me. Thank you. 😇
Bishop is one of the coolest villains I’ve ever seen