This shouldn't come as a surprise for those who've been following me for so long. I figured I'd try to space out my ramblings on the show before bringing it up again, but really, I just want to get a definitive block of reasons onto the table. I had some review from ages ago done, but that was around the time before I got the hang of reviewing, always best to revisit old concepts.
And for those of you who're anticipating another entry like this on Avatar, I had done so already ages ago, well before I started "Why I Don't Like", and funnily enough while it was divisive back when I published it in 2017, it's getting better comments this year for some reason: https://www.deviantart.com/channeleven/journal/What-I-hate-about-Avatar-the-Last-Airbender-718363644
I won't go into my history with the show just yet, but I will say for certain that I have seen many of the episodes, going on record saying I watched Cartoon Network more than Nickelodeon back in the day and I remember watching this show a hell of a lot when I visited my grand-uncle. I had a history with the show, but then shit happened and while one certain torpedo left an impact, time away from the show had made me more and more cynical toward it. Plus my sudden aversion to teenage-drama action affairs.
Not a Big Fan of the Animation
This should be obvious based on the various shots I made toward the show. I have nothing against the anime style, it works well in most shows, but it's not that it's bad, but that the show is inconsistent with it.
For perspective, specific characters are in the anime style, other characters are fashioned like those from other DC cartoons from the time, notably Justice League.
As you'd expect (or basically know, this isn't some obscure show.), the style clashes heavily with the tone of the show, once they get around to settling with one. One of the biggest hangups people have with Teen Titans Go is the comedic nature of it, but in this, the show's humor is just as cringeworthy, with the addition of anime tropisms that annunciate how childish it all feels.
However well it's animated is meaningless, because it was actually (or expectedly) costly to manage, which led to something one could never forget.
They could've easily kept with the style in other Timmverse shows, this was around the time Justice League Unlimited came out, but I guess one person couldn't hold back his Japanophilia.
Make Up Your Mind on the Tone
I called Teen Titans schizophrenic for a reason. Other shows that mix comedy and action at the very least keep a consistent tone, like Static Shock for instance. Here, there're stark jumps between comedy and darker action. They could've easily made an X-Men-esque show, but instead, we got a show that hasn't a clue what it wants to be.
We go from a Bat-Mite antagonist and Monty Python-type shenanigans, to allegories on drug abuse, racism and a satan stand-in. The shifts between each are enough to give you whiplash. It takes effort to incorporate both separately, it takes even more effort to strike a proper balance. Invader Zim pulled it off because it was a black comedy, with the comedy being exhibited through dark jokes, so when it came to darker aspects it wouldn't be out of place.
Not to mention, the anime schtick doesn't help matters, cartoony reactions in more serious scenes. And people treat this like the be all, end all of cartoons. At the very least Teen Titans Go stuck with one tone, this show feels just as lazy, as there was little rhyme or reason.
Dark My Ass
Along with the anime tropisms and cartoony expressions removing any seriousness from the situation, it also really wussed out when it came to major issues. Drug abuse? Relegated to a speed function. Satan, just my original character, Blatan. You already have a giant red demon, just call him Satan and have it where Raven was a demon sent to destroy the world before gaining a conscience and becoming a hero.
Not to mention dumbing down a discussion on racism. Once more Static Shock did it better by having it be point blank. Any show that relies on allegories is wussing out, and both were on the same network, so there was no excuse. Not to mention, I've seen no notable deaths on this, for a show heralded to such a degree you'd think they'd make no stops, but no, everything returns to the status quo.
Yeah, another thing, major catastrophes conclude quite swimmingly. That deal with Trigon? The entire city is restored and everyone reassumes their normal deeds. Any serialized elements can be chalked up to tracking down one particular bad guy.
If you really wanna go for dark and comedic, have it be indicative to the villains present (and that means no anime tropisms and whatever else the show has.)
Writing's not so good
I'm being harsh on this show because people love it so much and because it became the basis for an ongoing hate-boner for one certain show. Because it persists (albeit not as prominently as it was back then), it's a huge dealbreaker between me and this show.
But at large, many of the episodes have a lot of missed opportunities. People forget this is a dumbed down rendition of the comics.
There were so many directions many of the episodes could've gone, but we weren't so lucky. That episode where Beast Boy mutated, perhaps they could've had it where Beast Boy is framed for destroying the city by Adonis and the Titans get scrutinized. But no, it's entirely relegated to the Titans. This could've worked as a season one cliffhanger, where Beast Boy becomes a villain for a while, and is only able to realign with the Titans once he is able to merge both of his forms together.
That one where Robin saw Slade and no one else could? This could've been the perfect time (that along with Red X) to also have Robin potentially turn evil due to his obsession with Slade. The worst thing they did was give a reason for Robin's hallucinating. It's not a clever or subversive twist, it shoots a potentially clever idea in the foot. What could've been an interesting psychological thriller turned into another edgy evil villain plot.
The thing with Dr. Light was kinda useless, just leading to another one-way plot. This could've been a chance to create a villain to match Raven as he wants to bring the light to brighten the darkness (to her.), only pay-off to this is a callback later on. But on that episode, it would be interesting to have Raven turn into a demon which is why she is so limited with her emotions (the conflict being her anger would set something off), but neh.
When Cyborg gets transported back in time, it would've been interesting if the woman he saved turned out to be a twist villain and by saving her, cultivated a future threat.
And another thing I'll get to when we get to-
The not so great characters
Frankly the only interesting thing about Robin is his obsession with Slade. As mentioned before, Slade could've been an interesting way to drive Robin to villainy due to his constant obsession. It would get to the point he would throw his friends on the line when he feels he'd get close to a lead, whatever they did here feels like a typical action deal, i.e., not interesting.
It feels like Raven and Beast Boy fell into the teen cliche net, Raven strikes me as a generic mall goth who's traits are little more than predictable, and has the same kind of attitude many cartoon goths have that people latch on to. Plus she's voiced by Tara Strong. Beast Boy is reduced to a sometimes vegetarian, and the comic relief. Nothing too special and any good development feels hollow.
Starfire strikes me as the least good, mainly because she's so ill-developed. You'd think more time on earth would allow her to develop more, but no, she's the same as when she started. Gotta keep up that funny alien-custom schtick I guess.
And I suppose I don't find much wrong with Cyborg, because honestly he's the funniest one on the show.
Slade strikes me as both wasted and generic. First thing's first, he had no identity to keep, but they made it so here to act like the show has a deeper layer of complexity than it actually does, but it can't even pull that off.
Kinda wish we got more on how Plasmus came to be, no episode clued us in to how he became as was, hell, even with his upgrade he's still the same guy. Even Cinder (or whatever the blocky guy is) is confusing.
But now another thing... Terra.
First things first is why she didn't stick around for so long. Wouldn't you know it, the animation style led to higher costs on outsourcing, so they couldn't afford to add another full time regular actor. This had led to one of the worst character deconstructions I have ever seen. It's one very short, very clunky arc.
Firstly when she comes in, it's fine for the first few minutes, but when it comes to the climax, "Ruh roh! My powers suck, guess I gotta scram!", that's truly how it felt. Leading up to it, we're led to believe she has a history with Slade in the first episode, now look I'm all for a double agent set-up, but when you intentionally send clues to throw us off, that's not clever, that's just plain lazy.
I will say that one episode where Robin and Cyborg get transported to take on someone after playing a card game where Terra just suddenly appears could've worked to establish she was providing intel to Slade to set up a twist.
This kind of thing would've been better if it had more episodes to tell the arc, perhaps an entire season. We would be thrown off-guard by her 180 much more effectively when it comes. Because when she is revealed to be the villain, I'm like "Oh wow, I'm not interested."
Another thing I could say is that I like how she was reduced to rock. Perhaps her fear of using her power would stem from the fact that it could be her downfall? Slade could've manipulated her into becoming an ultimate weapon or just claim he had a way for her to relieve herself of her powers. And hello, another Static Shock reference. At this point I question if the writers could handle complex ideas like that.
Unintentional Cockiness
If you don't agree with me on the above, here's something more objective. They had a good finale, at least one appropriate to the show. But it seems the writers assumed they would get to do more, so they threw in this episode, featuring wasted potential incarnate coming back.
If you go into television, heed this advice. Treat every season finale like it's your series finale.
This feels like a dare the writers did when they knew they were about to get cancelled, sorta like what Duckman did for its series finale. Only difference is that this isn't as good of a cliffhanger, and, harkening back to me complaining about the writing, it negates what could've been an interesting aspect to Beast Boy.
From Terra's death on, Beast Boy would become more mature and fight for the world, not for himself but because he has something to fight for. If that was the case, they did a horrible job of showing it.
Conclusion
Teen Titans is rife with missed opportunities and a frankly vanilla feel to it. Compared to other DC shows, this honestly pales in comparison, it feels like the anime schtick was only done to ensure they'd get more people to watch, because otherwise we could leave well enough alone without it.
Honestly, Static Shock was a better DC cartoon from its era, tackling genuine issues head on, properly meshing comedy with action, being consistent art wise, damn, it's just a better show overall. Maybe we should be grateful Virgil never met the Teen Titans.
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