5 Stars

*****

When there’s trouble you know who to call?

Remember when Cartoon Network used to have really good cartoons back in the early 2000s, instead of the brain-rotting animated shows that are airing now?  Well, I have a review for one of my all-time favorite cartoons and that is the original Teen Titans.  Yes, I only watched a few episodes around my tween years, but three years ago, I got back to watching the entire series.  To this day, Teen Titans has to be one of my favorite TV series and I love almost everything about it.

Long story short: Robin, Starfire, Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy form their own superhero league called the Teen Titans, and in each episode, they fight crime in their home of Jump City.

First of all, I enjoyed how a lot of the episodes had plots that revolved around the main characters’ developments, their actions, and just getting to know them in this 65 episode series.  Using beautiful writing and lots of emotion into the scenes, writers David Slack, Adam Beechen, and a few others  Also, the arcs in the series revolve around most of the characters: Season 1 (Robin), Season 2 (Terra, one of the important side characters), Season 3 (Cyborg), Season 4 (Raven), and Season 5 (Beast Boy).  One slight problem I had with how the arcs were laid out was that Starfire, one of my favorite characters, does not have her own arc!  Sure, we get to know her throughout the episodes, but in order to have a flawless storyline, there has to be at least more episodes for a single character so that the viewers can understand who that character is and why the person acts the way he or she does.

I would like to point out how unique the animation is in this series.  With more darker, toned colors, edgy facial looks for the male characters, and bolder lines for the outlining, the characters visually have better art designs and memorable character designs than in other animated shows.  Sometimes, when a funny moment rolls around, the characters turn into little chibis, which can be compared to the Japanese anime called FLCL, also known as Fooly Cooly.  (For those who do not know what a chibi is: a chibi is a petite character design used in anime, which is what the Teen Titan’s art is based off of.)  In fact, most of the art is based off of that anime!  (FLCL is a wonderful comedic anime that anime newcomers and veterans should check out.)  And as for the backgrounds, there are simple and cool-looking backgrounds of the city and the Titans tower.  Most of the colors for the background can be bright at times, but darker battles, the art can look a lot better and shadowy than when the Titans are battling during the day.

When it comes to a great cartoon, there should at least be some great music, and this series has really good soundtracks.  From comical tunes in bits of the funny scenes to the sentimental tracks used in the last few episodes of the series, these pieces of music will stay in one’s head after finishing the show, especially the catchy opening song.  Composed and sung by the Japanese band, Puffy AmiYumi, this opening will have one singing along in both the English and Japanese versions of the song.

As for the voice acting, I loved it!  From the tone of their voices to just the sounds, all of the actors had unique voices for their characters.  For example, one of the most popular voice actresses of all time, Tara Strong, voices Raven and a couple of the villains in the series.  To name the rest of the main cast, Scott Menville voices Robin, Hynden Walch voices Starfire, Beast Boy is voiced by Greg Cipes, and Cyborg is voiced by Khray Payton.  Every single one of the voice actors, including the voices for the side characters, put their heart and soul into their characters.

One more pro I have to mention for this show is the use of memorable and heart-pulling life lessons.  All of the characters teach the audience lessons about life and some of them are so true to our society today that they will leave the viewers thinking of changing their attitude towards others, especially the younger viewers.

Since this cartoon is so memorable to me and has so many pros, I decided to give the series a five out of five stars.  Despite the lack of episodes that revolve around Starfire, Teen Titans is a flawless animated that anyone will love, including the older viewers.  For those who have not seen it yet, I totally recommend to check the show out online; it will totally rock your world and change the way one will think of cartoons, instead of the dumb shows that are airing on Cartoon Network right now—Teen Titans Go being one of them, and a few others that I will not name.

Lessons learned in Teen Titans:

Learn to be yourself.

There is always good and evil.

One has to have choices.

Don’t ever run away from your fears.

It is okay to be different from everyone else.

 

I started the series: June 2013

I finished it: December 2013