#Don flashbacks immediately show up. one of the other cast members is trying not to be the third wheel and is failing miserably

[theinfinitedivides]

note to self do not try and watch BTS clips from SRK films at ungodly hours of the morning, your gay ass will regret it one way or another

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE SERIES: My Favorite One Piece Arc with Steve Yurko

  I love One Piece and I love talking to people who love One Piece. And with the series going on 23 years now, there is a whole lot to talk about. As the series is about to publish its 1000th chapter, a true feat in and of itself, we thought we should reflect upon the high-seas adventure and sit down with some notable names in the One Piece fan community and chat about the arcs they found to be especially important, or just ones they really, really liked.

  Welcome to the next article in the series "My Favorite One Piece Arc!"

  My next guest in this series is Steve Yurko, co-host of The One Piece Podcast, a podcast with a subject you can probably guess. He's also a former storyboard artist for Rick & Morty and is currently working for Netflix Animation. As a ride-or-die Sanji fan, Steve chose the Baratie Arc, where Luffy and the gang run into an East Blue restaurant with a cool chef that loves to cook and kick.

  A note on spoilers: If you haven't seen the Baratie arc yet, this interview does contain major plot points. Watch the Arlong Park arc starting RIGHT HERE if you'd like to catch up or rewatch!

    Dan Dockery: So a friend tells you, "I'm done with the Syrup Village arc and I'm not sure if I want to watch this next one. I think I might be tapped out on this whole One Piece thing. In one sentence, how do you get them to stay and watch the Baratie arc?

  Steve Yurko: The Baratie arc laid down the foundation and created the formula of the One Piece arc as we know it.

  That's pretty good!

  Yeah, I’d say that, when I first started it, One Piece was my third favorite. I was more of a fan of series like Shaman King and Naruto, but after Baratie, things shifted. It was a turning point for me. I would hope that it would do the same for anyone who’s, say, previously apathetic towards the series.

    How old were you when you first read it? Or watched it?

  It feels weird to say this, but my introduction to One Piece was Chapter 1. Like Dragon Ball Z, the first episode I can remember watching was, like, Yamcha training on King Kai’s planet, and I’d get Goku and Yamcha confused and stuff, because I had just dived in. So for me to start a story like One Piece from the beginning is kind of rare. I was 15, I think.

  So, we're jumping into Baratie, and we first see the guy with the brass knuckles, Fullbody. He's trying to act cool on a date and he's being mean to everyone else. And then we have Sanji being typical Cool Sanji and Fullbody acts up and Sanji just tears through him. How did you react? Did you know immediately that you'd like this waiter?

  Well, I don't want to alarm you here, but my first thought was “Sanji’s cool!” I’d seen images of him before, and I saw his black suit and blond hair and I figured, “Oh, another crew member, probably. Looks distinct enough.” So I often have to look back and wonder “Did I like him because of his edgy coolness?” but I think now it’s because there were more layers to him. Like, he definitely stands out from the other Straw Hats, but he also has this distinct fighting style with cool reasoning. He’s a cook and he doesn’t want to bust up his hands trying to punch people in the face, so he uses his feet. So, he does like these cool capoeira kicks, which only gets better as they go along because I feel like so many anime characters, the stronger they get, the more they start to fight the same with fast volleys of punches and laser blasts. So Sanji’s kicks are a great way to differentiate himself from the main cast and other anime heroes. 

  So, then we have Luffy, he shows up by damaging the Baratie. Enter: Zeff. Full disclosure: In my infinite naivete when I first watched One Piece, I thought Zeff was going to be the new crew member. And then I thought Gin was going to join the Straw Hat crew. And then when Sanji finally joined, I was like, "This guy? Really? Dark horse candidate over here."

  You didn’t know yet?

    I guess I hadn't watched the first ED yet — when the crew slowly shows up and stands beside one another.

  You saw Usopp’s silhouette appear and thought, “Eh, I’ve seen enough.”

  "That must be all of them."

  It happens.

  So, you meet Zeff, and you learn about Sanji and Zeff's relationship, and we get a big One Piece flashback. What do you think of that? Because it would become a staple of the series to kinda pause, see what happened to an important guy, and then come back.

  Such an incredible story and so gruesome and terrifying. Sanji’s original flashback is so underrated because it could happen to anyone! Like, you’d have to go out of your way to get stranded on an island, but going days and weeks without food or any real comfort? I think people underestimate how traumatizing that would be. And then Zeff losing his leg because he hacked it off for food, it’s brutal. Just thinkin’ about that, I feel it in my shins. Because that almost happened to me with a minor injury. I let a minor injury get infected, and I could’ve been close to losing a leg.

    Wait, what? Gahd.

  I was doing box jumps at a gym, and my shin hit the corner of this wooden crate.

  Yeah, those things have no give in them.

  Absolutely. And at the time, I thought it was just this dark spot on my shin. And I figured it was, ya know a bruise. So I let it be. And then I picked at the scab and I realized “Wow, that’s a little deeper than I thought. I guess I’ll go to the doctor if it gets worse.” And I kept going to the gym, wearing pants over like this open wound. And my left leg is so swollen. So I went to two different doctors, as the first one did tests and then sent me to another one. And when this doctor saw me, the look on her face said “Oh, this is bad.” So I laughed out loud about how dumb I was and the doctor turned to me and said “This isn’t funny. This IS SERIOUS.” It had gotten infected with bacteria and it was spreading, and she just took a sharpie and drew around the infected area, and gave me antibiotics and was like “You have to keep this elevated, and if the redness goes outside of this line, go to the hospital.” But luckily, I recovered, even though the doctors were like “Honestly, we thought you’d go to the hospital.” So when Zeff severs his foot with a rock, how does anyone not feel that? 

  Do you think that's one of the reasons Luffy is fascinated by Sanji at first? His mentor, Shanks, lost his arm and was cool about it. Zeff lost his leg and was cool about it. Basically twins.

  That’d be an interesting conversation that we never got to see. Just two dudes talking about how weird it is that both their father figures did that, with only Luffy thinking it’s cool. 

    Don Krieg's ship gets blown in half by an incomprehensibly cool character, Mihawk, the first Warlord to appear in the show. You see Mihawk arrive — what is your reaction to him? Because it's not a case of "The villain of the villain is my friend," but rather "Oh, he did that to the villain? I hope he does not do that to us, as that would suck."

  It’s almost like the good guys meeting the bad guys, and then a tornado comes in. But here’s the thing: I missed the issue of Jump where Zoro fought Mihawk. So I assumed that Zoro had just won. The greatest swordsman in the world shows up and Zoro beats him. Boom. The climax of his character arc has been achieved. Nothing left for Zoro. 

  He just did it.

  I didn’t find out until so much later that Zoro lost. I wasn’t quite aware of what made for a captivating story yet. At that time, an obstacle appears, an obstacle gets taken out, ya move on. I almost want to apologize to Mihawk. 

  I love how One Piece does this though. They do it with Smoker and Aokiji and the like. It reminds me of The Witcher III when you go off the path a little bit, and you're at a Level 4 and then a Level 39 Gryphon swoops down and decapitates you. It keeps the "power levels" interesting.

  Luffy starts up Breath of the Wild and goes right for Calamity Ganon. But Mihawk is like the analogy for the Grand Line. He represents it, without revealing too much. Mihawk is like a Pizza Hut demo disc of danger.

  I really like that. And no one knows, to this day, exactly how powerful he is. Over 20 years later, and we're still wondering how he matches up against Shanks or Blackbeard or whatever. One Piece has so many characters where Oda hasn't shown his full hand in regards to them, yet we're totally emotionally invested in them. That's good storytelling.

  He’s doing something right. And I love that Mihawk has a little character arc here, too, where he shows up nonchalantly slicing up Krieg’s ships, probably doesn’t expect much, and then he’s taken aback by Zoro’s gusto, because he hasn’t seen anyone like that in a while. And he slices Zoro down. But he respects him, when in the beginning, he clearly didn’t respect anyone around. Mihawk wants to see him be better and try to take him down one day. For him to willingly build someone up like that is rare. Like Frieza wouldn’t do that.

    So, Don Krieg — what were your opinions of him at the time? Because he's a really bad guy surrounded by more morally grey guys like Mihawk and Gin.

  What I like about the East Blue saga is that every main villain is an antithesis of Luffy and what makes Luffy a truly great captain. Buggy is all about treasure. Kuro is about ambition and the fortitude to be a pirate. Krieg is about might and strength, and Krieg thinks he has both of those because of his weapons and armor. But Luffy has willpower and ambition and doesn’t let the world change his views. Luffy is incorruptible whereas Krieg is willing to poison his own crew when stuff starts going south. Krieg isn’t fondly remembered, but he really serves his purpose in the story.

  So, after Krieg is defeated, Sanji turns down Luffy's offer to join the Straw Hat crew. Now, he knows this is a bad idea. He's not gonna find the All Blue floating around on the Baratie. Why doesn't he go immediately?

  Well, he knows it’s a bad idea but he’s completely misinterpreting Zeff’s sacrifice. He feels that since Zeff sacrificed his leg, he has to repay him by working for him indefinitely. But the reason that Zeff did that was because he wants Sanji to live on and chase his dream. That’s why Zeff took pity on him in the first place. He’s an older, worn-down man now, and he stopped chasing his dream. And now he wants to see Sanji or someone get a win. It lifts his spirit to see Sanji and live kinda vicariously through him. 

  So, the second time I ever cried over One Piece was during Sanji's goodbye and Zeff's "Don't catch a cold." The first time was when that little dog was trying to protect his dead owner's shop in Orange Town, but that's a different story. But this shot of Sanji on his knees thanking Zeff with all the cooks surrounding them is so iconic, and Sanji's acting like it's a gift that Zeff gave him that Sanji could never repay, while as you said, Zeff just wants Sanji to be happy. What did you get out of that? I assume that you're a human with human emotions.

  I cry every time I watch that. When I first saw it, I was like “How? How is a series this good?” And there’s so much to that ending sequence. Because the Baratie is built on this rough, angry masculinity. Just these dudes being mean and fighting each other and customers all the time. There’s never a time or a place for lending a shoulder to someone else. No emotional embraces of any kind. Just everyone berating everyone. No one can open up — just stupid man babies. And then you get to this moment where Sanji is leaving and they’re all trying to be cool while playing it off. Especially Zeff, who can’t give a legitimate goodbye, but rather a “Don’t catch a cold.” But there’s so much to that statement and the facade crumbles. All these grown men start bawling. 

    I've never thought about it that way. There's all these little hints of kindness, like feeding the bad guys, and it's a masculinity powder keg. And then Sanji, in an ultimate display of putting his heart out there, bows to the man who saved him and the keg explodes. That's really cool.

  ONE PIECE LIGHTNING ROUND!

  Favorite One Piece character?

  Sanji

  Favorite One Piece villain?

  Enel

  Favorite One Piece moment?

  March to Arlong Park

  Favorite Straw Hat Crew pairing?

  Luffy and Zoro

  Favorite moment of the new Wano anime arc?

  Soba Mask’s debut

  If you could eat one Devil Fruit, what would it be?

  Whatever Kanjuro’s fruit is

  Moment that made you cry the hardest?

  Sanji leaving the Baratie

  Moment that made you cheer the loudest?

  Straw Hats at the Tower of Justice standing across from Robin

  One Piece location that you'd like to live in?

  Whole Cake Island. Ya eat well, ya know, you can survive Big Mom

  Favorite fight scene?

  Sanji vs Mr. 2, of course

      Stay tuned for the next installment of "My Favorite One Piece Arc" as we speak with Botchamania creator Maffew about his favorite One Piece arc: Alabasta!!

        Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features.

By: Daniel Dockery

[thisisusfan388]

This Is Us - season 2 finale

Ok, so I’ve watched the This Is Us season 2 finale last night.

 Wow- it was such an amazing finale!!! It was perfect, just perfect, everything that I’ve hoped for in a This Is Us season finale. It was a brilliant combination of flashback, present time and flashforward.

Do not read ahead if you haven't watched the episode, you've been warned...

 The Past

 The scene of young Kate asking Jack if she could marry him, and Jack telling her that she’ll one day find someone who’ll be even better than him, then bringing us back to the present where Kate walked don the aisle, wow, I really loved that! So heartwarming. <3

 The Present

 First off, Kate’s dream sequence in which the old Jack made an appearance and Jack and Rebecca celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary was just soooo beautiful!!! <3 <3 <3 I loved each and every scene of the anniversary. It’s such a joy to see Jack and Rebecca still so much in love with each other and everyone being happy for them. It was wonderful especially to see the looks of joy on the Big Three’s faces. Like Mandy pointed out in an interview, this is the first time that Milo got to shoot a scene together with everyone else besides her and the kids ( yes, he shot a scene or two with adult Randall and adult Kevin before, but this is the first time that everyone was there) so shooting this scene was a big deal for the cast members :)  She also mentioned in the same interview that the photos of the old Jack and Rebecca weren’t supposed to leak out and they were bummed that it did. This entire scene was supposed to be a pleasant surprise and a lovely tribute to all the fans! Also, loved Mandy singing Moonshadow <3

 All the scenes leading up to the wedding itself were great too!! :)

I love that they used the cabin as a place to spend the night to prepare for the wedding- it’s so nostalgic for them indeed. Also, Kate having the pre-wedding jitters and freaking out about not being able to find Jack’s old T-shirt, loved that! It is understandable that she wanted badly for her dad to be present in some form at her wedding, which Is why she was frantically trying to find something belonging to her dad to wear or bring to the wedding. She even went all the way to the ice cream shop they often visited only to be disappointed. Finally though, she found the only solution, and it was to let go of her father a little. It doesn’t mean that she’ll forget her beloved dad completely, she’ll still cherish her moments and memories with him which will last forever, but she needed to stop clinging onto memories of him which prevent her from enjoying her future and moving forward to the present. Jack was her past, Toby is her present and future. Which is why I really loved the scene of her siitting next to Jack’s urn and telling him that she needed to let go of him a little. This was what she actually needed.

 I loved Kevin and Randall’s scene in the car too, playing the ‘worst case scenario ‘ game and then talking about how they’ve ‘failed ‘Kate.

 Back at the cabin came the scene which made me cry. Rebecca, trying her best to pick her words to Kate carefully as she didn’t want to set her off, was about to leave the room as she didn’t want to ruin Kate’s moment. This is so sad, that Rebecca feels that she can’t be near Kate because every single thing she does or says would set Kate off ( which is true). But what Kate said next was what brought tears to my eyes. She said that actually, Rebecca was her way, and she wanted to be just like her- beautiful, a singer, and having a loving husband. Rebecca started crying and so did I. This scene was so profound and personal for me. This scene itself explains Kate’s behaviour towards Rebecca all this while. And it also mirrors my relationship with my mom, which is why this scene really got to me.

 Toby- I’m so proud that he told his parents off when they expressed their reservations about Kate. While it was understandable that they would have reservations about her after what happened to Toby’s prrevious marriage and his bout of depression after that, what Toby said was right. Kate is not his ex-wife and they should give her a chance. I’m so glad and proud of Toby for standing up for Kate :)

 We also are introduced to Zoe- Beth’s cousin, who was brought up by Beth’s parents, and so is like a sister to her. Off the bat, I already like her, she seems like a sweet and cheerful person. What I like the most about her is how she managed to talk to Deja and convince her to wear a nice dress. ;) I’ll talk more about Deja later.

 As for the wedding itself, it was soo beautiful1!! Kate really looked stunning in her wedding dress. :) And Toby looked handsome too. I loved seeing Tess and Annie be the flower girls and I really loved Kevin and Randall walking Kate down the aisle. If her dad couldn’t walk her down the aisle, at least her brothers could. In Grey’s when Amelia walked down the aisle alone in the season 12 finale, I really wished that Derek was still alive to walk her down the aisle. :(

Anyways, back to This Is Us- it was such a beautiful moment when Kate and Toby looked at each other and kissed, full of love for each other. <3

 The wedding night was beautiful too, with Kate dancing with Miguel and Toby dancing with his mom. Of course, it has to be ruined by something right? When Kate went Toby’s mother inadvertently set Deja off by saying that she ‘looks like her dad’, Deja goes to smash Randall’s car. This, I’ve to admit, has gone way out of line. I mean, I sympathized with Deja in the previous episodes , and can totally understand why she would be mad at her mom for giving up her parental rights towards her, but this is way too much. This is not how you repay a family who was kind enough to take you in again and again and give you a safe and warm environment to stay in and care for you. That time when they immediately went to check on her after returning from Vegas, and let her return back home to them, it showed that they really cared for her. Her behaviour has gone overboard. Enough is enough. It’s clear that Randall loves his car so much, so he would be devastated when he finds out.

 Back to the wedding night, Kevin’s and Randall’s toasts were beautiful. <3 <3 Kevin was right, the 4 of them needed to let go of Jack. They were clinging onto memories of him, and will of course still miss him and he’ll still be in their hearts. But it was time for them to move on and look ahead to their future. I think them taking deep breaths after his speech was a liberating moment for them.

 Randall’s toast was just beautiful. He gave a beautiful tribute to Kate and Toby. The best part of Randall’s toast? It was the fact that it was interspersed with glimpses into the future!! I really really loved that as I have always loved flashforwards <3 <3

 Future

 Speaking of flashforwards, we are now given a glimpse into the future of the characters.

 1 year later- Toby is back in depression and Kate suggests that he visit a doctor to adjust his meds. While it’s so sad that he’s back in depression, Kate is still there with him and I’m sure she’ll support him through this and they’ll get through this together. * fingers crossed*

 Also 1 year later- Kevin is on a flight to Vietnam, with a photo of Jack in his hand. But…hang on a second, he’s not alone. Who is that lady beside him, leaning on his shoulders? It’s Zoe, Beth’s cousin! And it’s obvious that they are an item now. This leaves a lot of questions- how did they end up together? ( We get to see how they meet though at the wedding). And if Kevin is now with Zoe, how about Sophie? I mean, is Alexandra still on the show? Also, will this mean that Justin will take a break from the show or something?

 20 years later- we see a scene of an adult Tess and an older Randall again. Randall suggests that they go to see ‘her.’ But we don’t know who is the ‘her’ he’s referring to. Lots of people would think that it’s Deja, because it immediately cuts to the scene of Deja smashing Randall’s car. Maybe she gets admitted into a mental institution or something. But, I actually don’t think the ‘she ‘he is referring to is Deja. I’m actually more concerned for Beth and Annie, both of whom are absent from the flashforwards we saw so far. Maybe Beth died and Randall is talking about visiting her grave. This would make sense for Tess to not be ready, as she is still grieving over her mom’s death. Or it might be Annie who is debilitated in some way and is lying in a hospital bed in a coma. I really hope not. It also might be another person,, someone we haven’t even met yet.

 Either way, this was a brilliant episode, which warmed our hearts and made us cry again, and leaves us with so many unanswered questions.

 Until then, we’ll have to endure the long hiatus before the next season returns. Fingers crossed I’ll be able to make the hiatus bearable by writing some This Is Us fics :)  Do not hesitate to send me a prompt if you have one. :)

 Please do let me know what you think of this episode ok- you can reply to this post, reblog with your own comments or send me a message- anon or not, it doesn’t matter. I would just love to hear from you!! <3 <3 <3

[satireknight]

TMNT S02E01 - Return of the Shredder

I’m gonna get this out of the way now: the rest of the 1987 series is not as beautifully animated as the first five episodes, and the stories don’t tend to have many arcs or other such things that I tended to praise in the first season. But I’m not gonna bitch about those things, because it’s the norm and shouldn’t constantly be negatively judged by the highest points. 

Anyway, this episode opens an unspecified amount of time after the last one, with Michelangelo and Leonardo shopping for groceries and squabbling about what toppings they’re buying.

I know we’re meant to suspend our disbelief about nobody on the planet being able to notice what they look like under their trenchcoats, but... come on.

Just then somebody robs the checkout counter, so they decide to intervene, and.... why is Leonardo wearing a jacket under his coat?

The one part of his body he decides to hide... is the one part nobody can see anyway because of the coat? I just don’t get it.

Anyway, they whip the robbers using grocery products (a lot of them) and tie them up with a store sign, and are allowed to leave with a free shopping cart full of groceries. I think the store might want the cart back, though. They’re remarkably expensive.

It must be a slow day, because April is covering a thwarted robbery at a grocery store. 

This episode also solidifies the supporting cast at Channel 6, by introducing April’s receptionist friend Irma, who is kind of dim and man-hungry; April’s douchebag boss Burne, who is a douchebag who lets his way-younger girlfriend influence his news work; and Vernon, who turns from just kinda sleazy to a full-on oily misogynist prick.

We then switch back to the Technodrome in Dimension X, where Shredder has donned his Whiny Little Bitch Hat and has apparently been pestering Krang to send him back to Earth about half as hard as Krang pestered him for a body. So Krang sends him back, apparently just to get some peace and quiet.

And Splinter apparently gets a premonition about this while the Turtles are busy infodumping each other about stuff they already know. You know, as people are wont to do.

Is it just me, or does that strapping look like it’s coming loose?

Anyway, Shredder gets kinda pissed off when he comes back, first because he was inconvenienced by some muggers, and secondly because he doesn’t have a small army of followers there to back him up. Krang’s attitude is that he can have some backup if he actually manages to accomplish something like killing his enemies. I assume Krang is going to spend his infinite time taking over something in his own dimension.

“Of course, I’m in the Big Apple.” I sometimes wonder if anyplace else exists in this series, to be honest.

Apparently that armor is made out of adamantium too, if a single punch can severe a branch as thick as a man’s torso.

So he does what any respectable villain would do: heads to a crappy run-down martial-arts dojo filled with flabby white guys who couldn’t throw a good punch with a catapult. The most notable thing about it is that the schmuck in charge is voiced by none other than Optimus Prime. I’m not even kidding.

And they highlight what wusses they are by immediately joining him when he destroys a punching bag. Imagine if Megatron had done that.

So in the course of maybe an afternoon, Shredder has managed to whip all the losers into semi-competent martial artists... which really highlights that his talents are wasted as a supervillain. Hell, if he just got enough disaffected people together for a few weeks, he could train an actual army.

And his brilliant scheme? He’s going to have them dress up in Turtle-themed T-shirts and paper bag masks, and have them commit crimes in order to wreck the Turtles’ good name.

I gotta say, this is a step down in writing. I guess if wearing a trenchcoat can disguise every single part of your body, from the shape to the color, then it’s not too implausible that all these incredibly nearsighted people would be incapable of telling actual turtles apart from guys in T-shirts.

But it’s really just such a silly idea for a villain to come up with, especially when the whole idea is “they’ll have to surface to clear their name, despite having spent their whole lives up to this point in hiding.” Even the voice of Peter Cullen can’t make this whole scheme seem anything but silly.

And I think Krang agrees with me, because he just yells, “You call that a plan?” and tells Shredder to stop calling him until he’s actually done something. I like to think he’s prepping for a planetary invasion or something interesting like that, and he’s annoyed that Shredder is constantly pestering him.

So Shredder decides to get some quality help... at the nuthouse. No, seriously.

And now suddenly I’m having visions of a Monty Python skit involving a lot of overacting.

So yes, he’s come there to break out Baxter Stockman, who has apparently been wearing the same clothes for quite some time now. Why? Because if at first you completely fail to kill a giant rat, try try again... using the same designer. So Baxter latches onto the first piece of construction equipment he sees and plans to rework it.

“... not a rat in this city will be safe!” Um, technically that was also what was supposed to be true of your Mousers, and just look what happened there.

April is also stressing out because of the robbers masquerading as the Turtles, which pretty much everybody is assuming are the actual Turtles because... people are kinda stupid. And instead of just making a copy of the tape and bringing it to the Turtles, she insists that they come to the Channel 6 building... and risk getting caught by hostile people. She didn’t think this through, I think.

Then again, they decided to bring their giant blimp with the word “Turtles” on the side. Apparently they aren’t that worried about being seen.

And even though the video only has one guy doing a single martial-arts move (kicking open a door), Leonardo is able to discern the guy’s fighting style instantly, figuring out that Shredder must have taught him. Because apparently the Foot Clan has only two members.

And then they’re chased out by the shrill voice of Burne’s girlfriend, which can double as a torture device.

“And what exactly are you doing here?” “Tell her, snookums...” Um... did the show just imply that Burne is having sex with his girlfriend at work? Talk about getting crap past the radar!

And for the second time in as many weeks, Splinter is chased down by chompy robots made by Baxter Stockman. He must be having so much deja vu.

I’m starting to wonder if they keep repairing these walls between episodes. Also, this means that Baxter knows where they live... even though Shredder spends most of the series trying to figure that out. Oops.

The Turtles obviously notice that something smashed down the wall and kidnapped their sensei, so they follow the trail and... end up in a hole barely big enough to crawl through.

I’m going to guess and say that that was not where the construction equipment came up.

But oh no, Peter Cullen and the Pasty Guys are waiting for them there... and it’s not the most suspenseful fight in the world, because I think we can guess which team is going to be triumphant: the super-strong ninjas, or the schmucks who literally only learned to fight the previous day.

One thing that becomes more obvious is that there was probably some censorship issues that came up with the series, because the fights are a lot less weapon-based and brutal, and more about using otherwise-harmless surroundings to disarm and immobilize. Like sofa springs or tires.

Leonardo seems oddly cheerful.

“He left you a message... right there.” Yes, he left you a message on a large easily-seen wall, which somehow none of you saw before.

So Shredder, having finally gotten ahold of the guy he’s spent years trying to murder, decides to outright murder him before the Turtles even show up. Nah, I’m kidding. He goes Bond villain and arranges Splinter in an easily-thwarted, overly-elaborate death trap.

And now I’m having traumatic Dennis McKiernan flashbacks. Also, where did he even find a giant fist-shaped battering ram?

I’m also not confident that the Turtles couldn’t stop it, considering what we’ve seen them do before. I mean, Donatello tore the side off a van with his bare hands with little visible effort. Are we really gonna assume that the four of them couldn’t do something about this?

But then Baxter busts in for... some reason. I think he just wants to show off his construction-equipment invention. 

Also, he seems to have gone round the bend a little. I guess living in the loony bin will do that for you.

Fortunately for Splinter, the battering ram takes several seconds to actually move forward, so the Leonardo is able to free him pretty quickly because... he has swords. And the ratcatching machine gets smashed instead.

And Shredder does something that will soon become very familiar to anyone who sees this series: he loudly proclaims that sure, they’ve won, but he’s totally going to kill them some other day, followed by him scampering off into the distance with his bruised ego.

So the Turtles head home... the compromised home that Baxter apparently knows the location of. April turns up and is apparently confident that some incredibly crappy dojo being destroyed is a wonderful story. No, I’m not sure how. But her report does highlight that the criminal “Turtles” are some schmucks in costumes, which pisses off Burne’s girlfriend.

And if we need further proof that the Turtles are starved for any kind of feminine attention, they start debating over which one of them April was winking at on the news.

Seriously, they need to actually make the acquaintance of more than one woman.

And then she says, “If you must know, I was winking at... Splinter.”

Wait... does that mean she can see them through the TV set? Or are they just so predictable that she knows how they’ll react to any kind of positive attention, and she had the camera people just keep filming her staring blankly for several seconds before she said that?

Look at Splinter’s smile. He’s loving it.

Verdict:

So, obviously this episode was a step down on all accounts compared to the first season, but even taken on average from the rest of the series, it’s pretty mediocre. Mostly that’s because so much time is spent on the Crooked Ninja Turtle Gang, who are basically disposable mooks that Shredder openly admits aren’t actually more than a distraction. And yes, it irks me that Baxter found their lair, but there’s no real consequences for it.

And in case you’re wondering, no, Peter Cullen doesn’t really add anything except me wishing that Optimus Prime would show up.

It does set up something of the model for how the series would unfold after this, with Shredder developing schemes and plans that would never work the way he intended, and usually being sent scuttling away by the end of the episode. Not to mention the Turtles being more public figures that are recognizable by most people, and the dynamic created at Channel 6. 

I do love Krang’s approach to everything in this episode, repeatedly telling Shredder that he can fuck off and stop bothering him. He really doesn’t have any reason to help out if you think about it - he’s gotten back to his home dimension, which he was banished from, and he has all the technology and resources on his side. 

It’s not profoundly bad or anything, but it has a distinct lack of good. 

Grade: C