Donatello X April: TMNT’s Biggest Mistake

[@SarcasticChorus]

Thanks to Mutant Mayhem, April is now 3 for 4 brothers. . . . GOD DAMN ITTT!!!!!!!!!

[@GodlessCreature_04]

I’m scared to imagine what this comment means 😭

[@hashitorani2566]

i need the translation of this phrase

[@nicoleflores2054]

i haven't seen the movie but spoilers You're talking about that Leo has a crush on April in the movie, right?

[@Sunnysideupsummer]

Raph is next…

[@bobi200samatar6]

@@Sunnysideupsummer actually, back when TMNT 2012 was in development, it's thought that Raph was going to be the one with the crush on April, not Donnie. The only evidence for this is one piece of concept art, but it's still something.

[@mitkitty]

Also, given that all the bullshit with Shredder started because of him being possessive over Splinter's wife, it is BAFFLING that Splinter didnt step in when Donnie started exhibiting similar traits towards April and Casey. That could have been an interesting moment of character development and bonding, but no...

[@planta-ray]

oh that would have been such a cool episode or two, that would be a much better lesson than just dropping everything right before the end of each episode

[@ribottostudio]

see cause that would require EFFORT. Something the 2012 writers apparently HAD but also DIDN'T have whereas at LEAST with the 2003 boys THEY HAD ALL THE TIME.

[@ligtningdog6399]

What? Have an adult, in a show aimed as 8-13 year old, come in to say that main character is being cringe and actually be treated as right? They can't have that happen.

[@raphaelrodgers7407]

He did, in the episode with mutagen man. He gave him a whole lesson about how you can’t force someone to like something.

[@autumnyuki3744]

@@ribottostudio i know right don't even get me started or how they're supposed to be Masters and their field in regards to their weapons but they don't even have the basics down like I get in the beginning but _why_ Sais are defensive weapons and more specifically made to go up against the bo-staff (and he keeps on making fun of the weapon when it's one of the most deadliest) but Donnie just puts the bo-staff to shame honestly you're only ever supposed to do an overhead attack when the enemy is on the ground but he keeps on doing it and get swatted out of the air Don't even get me started on how raph is holding his weapons wrong Leos ok? Mikeys ok too? At least Mikey and Leo are believable and you don't really have to do a lot of research to make there's looks somewhat okay and I'm fine with letting them go because it's like sorta beginner level stuff I'll let it pass but what they did to raph and donnie is unforgivable Honestly if Donnie had been given more opportunities to go in the field and practice with technology he would have been a lot better and better off using it instead but no splitter wanted him to be traditional-

[@MichaelHaneline]

I was in the audience for a comic con panel for this show (admittedly waiting for the panel after it) and I still remember how exasperated the voice actor for Donny seemed with this ship when someone asked about it. He literally laughed while rubbing his face and then replied “you guys know he’s a turtle, right?”

[@freelancerthe2561]

With some fans, its hard to tell if they know whats fiction or reality.

[@Equalizer4]

Do you have the link to this specific panel like a video, I just want to see if it’s legitimately true bc if it is that is just embarrassing

[@MichaelHaneline]

@@Equalizer4 you're just going to have to take my word for it

[@doomthekid7400]

Really? that's kinda strange I always assumed Rob Paulsen was into the Apriltello ship I watched a few comic cons on youtube and he seemed to be onboard with the shippers but maybe that was him poking fun at them without trying to be outright mean.

[@jewelmillian3719]

​@@doomthekid7400Tbf, when you get asked about it enough times, you could get tired of it.

[@CookingChicken-yt7ed]

Maturing is realising that Donnie was high key acting like a creep a lot of women would be nervous around

[@SoobleTbh]

Yeah but he has a reason, not an excuse, but a reason. He had never seen a real person or girl before and became hyper focused. Like what he did was technically worse than April’s leading him on but at least he has redeeming character qualities. But April had like, zero character or personality lol

[@venusgin7779]

@@SoobleTbh they tried to give her character but 2012 was NOT the year for strong girl personalities that actually work (somehow Winx did it way earlier, but I digress)

[@beatrice_656]

​@@venusgin7779 fr

[@smcphee8499]

And yet April gets all the hate

[@letsparty3106]

They were both in the wrong.

[@valentinkambushev4968]

You know, it's funny how the biggest jerk of the turtles ended up having the most game. And I am not talking just about the 2012 show. Ever since the 90s, Raph has been getting some from lizards, salamanders, and foxes.

[@shamainebest4031]

Which is kinda ironic when you think about it.

[@venusgin7779]

I mean he is a jerk to ppl, but he does have Gomez game when it comes to the ladies that can kick his ass

[@micah459]

Ralph definitely has rizz

[@thebeavpercabethftw9604]

It's saddening that he and Alopex are currently broken up in the IDW Comics.

[@venusgin7779]

@@micah459 he genuinely does. Like he is the better version of “man fumbling bc he fell for a girl”. Like he is an artist of the family and he names the woman after a painting since hs is a bit of dumb and can’t say her name

[@5Crows]

With Leo's romance I gotta say- with the way the mutigan stuff works, it's possibly they're technically more than step siblings. Like with Splinter's DNA mutating the turtles, that could technically make the turtles share DNA, making them related to him, and so on. Just something to note

[@valentinkambushev4968]

Thankfully, this ship didn't get nearly as much attention by the show.

[@loppie_445]

Yeah their like at least half siblings (genetically)

[@falconeshield]

​@@loppie_445This feels like a fu to the viewers at the time. "We can't have DonPril? You can't have this either!"

[@hybridvenom9]

I could remembering this wrong but i think ralph in this show has a love interest

[@DarkYashaRyoko]

@@hybridvenom9 He does but she's only in a few, maybe one or two, episodes. And I could be remembering this wrong, but I don't think we ever see her after the space adventures.

[@archermaniaford7157]

Imma be real with y'all. I watched this when I was a kid and I think this ship gave me a terrible viewing on love to the point where I did EXACTLY what Donnie did TWICE. Moral of the story, you shouldn't have to concoct grand schemes or change yourself to make someone fall in love with you. That person will just love you, and you might never know what you did for them to feel that way. Just be your best self, work hard and eventually, someone worthwhile might take notice

[@PikaLink91]

Emphasis on "might".

[@Storybook5571]

Ouch.

[@MrSumme345]

Both 2012 donnie and marishit give a bad view on love to kids

[@lesterwilliamsjr649]

Raphael and Mona were the best couple in TMNT 2012. It's such an amazing thing getting to see a couple that isn't toxic or overly romantic.

[@2bdaqueen268]

He just loves the kind of woman that can kick his shell

[@tailedgates9]

Dude if I could highfive you I would. Raphael and Mona's relationship was so freaking enjoyable.

[@ajisaac]

@@2bdaqueen268 plus the two are at least both reptiles

[@nadiarey4196]

Pfff. No. Just no. Mona / Raph was an absolute train wreck. No dynamics, they didn't even met and plot decided they were already in love in the cheapest, most forced way possible - and the reasoning why Raph likes her? Because she "kicked his shell"...?? By that logic, Raph must be secretly head over hills for Shredder.

[@shadetee234]

@@nadiarey4196 Plus, she is also an adult. So....

[@GoldenAfternoonsInHell]

What really got under my skin is how the show makes it seem like April is leading him on. Every time Donnie gets over it or switches focus, there's some scene to pull him right back in.

[@ahmadewing5287]

I mean wasn't she technically doing?

[@venusgin7779]

Like as a kid I hated her, but as an adult I have to ask “why kiss him?” “Why use him?” Like there is no reason for her to do that- he would’ve still helped her, he would’ve still cared for her, but his teenage hormones could’ve been lessened

[@melissa6912]

I know, right ? The writers clearly wanted us to like her, so how did they not realize that it was making her look like a terrible person ?

[@venusgin7779]

@@melissa6912 just like they wanted us to see her as an independent badass but compared to the boys who trained their entire life she just couldn’t be up to par, so when she would be snapping that she doesn’t need help only to yell at them bc they weren’t quick enough to help her, leaving her to look like a bitch for no reason

[@captaincrunch784]

@@venusgin7779 There was no follow up like "I gave you the kiss you always wanted so you know what it felt like" and end it but NOTHING happened!!! I screamed in shock when she did that... and it was terrible timing after an apology just confusing him and the fans more.

[@SluggyCanDraw]

Rise Donnie: Best Character 2012 Donnie: S.I.M.P

[@misabelrodriguez1163]

Totally agree with this. Rise Donnie and April is the absolute GOAT

[@mendlests]

​@@misabelrodriguez1163 A gay sissy with a ridiculous black mary su de su April oneil? He's crazy (and that's why the rise fandom sucks)

[@kayleehutchens8453]

2012 Donnie is a simp but I think I like him more than Rise Donnie no offense also I ship Donnie x April and I have no regrets.

[@yvngstrm6355]

Squirrels In My Pants?

[@Shinotheblackcat]

Tbh every character is the best they've been in Rise

[@CellSpex]

This ship is one of the bane's of my existence, a titular example of how making someone a romantic interest ruins their character, because April is never allowed to truly allow to be her own character, because whatever she does has to be written around how it will affect Donnie or how Donnie feels about it. On writing level she is chained to him. I hate this so much. I thought we were done, and then the movie need to do it AGAIN...

[@lilrqlovesanime650]

The movie just HAD to do it again…. But with Leo this time! But let’s be real, April is blamed for this too with Donnie. She left him hanging on a god Damn thread after the Big Foot episode, and makes her motivation VERY noticeable in hindsight; she LIKES to be fought for. But give it to MM, at least that April told Leo “I respect your feelings, but I can’t be the one for you” (Although it’s entirely possible Leo and April could be canon down the line, considering denying his feelings cause he’s a turtle was never said)

[@SarcasticChorus]

The audible groan I gave in theater when it happened again. Bringing it up in my Movie review. But in the last 10 years April has been shipped with every turtle EXCEPT Raph. Mikey had the hots for her in the Bay films. 💀

[@dai5967]

It really hurts me how much this ship hindered both Donnie and April’s character. Like I'm gonna be honest, when I was younger most of my hate for her was cuz of my crush on Donnie but now that I'm older I realized she just wasn't written well at all...

[@jmann531]

MM was honestly the best scenario though, leo didn't come off as creepy and was just shy.

[@ellagreen77]

@@jmann531so glad they didn’t make him a stalker

[@delphoxhoopa7289]

I loved this show growing up, and it's still one of my favorites, but this ship made a lot of episodes *painful* to watch. It really was a disservice to all the characters, especially April. Casey and Donnie at least got believable development. April was really underdeveloped because of being a romance device.

[@kmmk5022]

10:24 what series is this?

[@delphoxhoopa7289]

It's a show the Turtles watch. Super Robo Mecha Force I think?

[@kmmk5022]

@@delphoxhoopa7289 ahh okay

[@khanolval9848]

This is all me, love this show hatethe ships

[@littlesparrow303]

Yeah but even though the 2003 was the first introduction to turtles. I still prefer the 2003 version & 2007 movie. 2018 is really great too

[@thefabuloustrash05]

Raph and Mona Lisa were the only GOOD Turtle centered ship in the series and it’s sad but also hilariously ironic that they were one of the last couple Turtle couple ships to appear on the series and yet they were the best one. We spent four seasons, watching Donnie be an obsessive stalker, Leo going to sweet home Alabama, and Mikey being a skirt chaser, then FINALLY we get to Raph’s love life and it was actually very sweet and well written despite how little this couple appears in the show. It wasn’t love at first sight like the other 3 turtles, so how Raph fell for her was funny but also very in character for him, he fell in love after she beat his ass, showing Raph’s personality peek through with his romantic interest in Mona, while also establishing what his type is. And throughout the rest of the series they are a very cute couple, constantly showing that they love, care and support one another, making out during random times and fighting by each others side. Raph loves that she’s “bigger, stronger and a better fight” than him and never once does he try to put her down or say that her being stronger than him threatens his masculinity. In fact, he likes that she’s better than him! Mona even admits that over the course of their little season 4 fling that she has fallen in love with Raph! Yes, they did hit a road bump when Mona betrayed him, but even then she didn’t betray him because she never liked him or cared for him. It was because she was blackmailed, and was forced to choose between him or her entire planet. And when back on Earth, Raph stayed loyal to her until they reunited again by S5! They were the only canon couple that I liked with my other 2 favorite ships not even being Turtle focused ships (Shinirai & Bopsteady) RaMona was over all the best couple in the series and they deserved more screen time than Donnie and April.

[@SteveCrafts2k]

I often forget that Leo and Karai are step siblings.

[@hassanalkhalaf1115]

Bobteady really needed more time

[@chaoticmadness122]

@@SteveCrafts2khow is that Alabama they are literally not related whatsoever it’s not like splinter birthed the turtles

[@SteveCrafts2k]

@@chaoticmadness122 I would assume some of Splinter's DNA was carried over to the Turtles during their mutation.

[@chaoticmadness122]

@@SteveCrafts2k by that logic if i received a blood transfusion from my step mom than It would be incest if I married her daughter. (It’s not) just because I received part of a strangers dna

[@ultravioletdrake4551]

As a Donnie fangirl since 2010, I can say with absolute certainty.... he's on the same stalker level as Marinette (Edit: I'm still a donnie fangirl, tho it's mostly cuz Rise donnie redeemed my nerdy turtle's name♡)

[@segevstormlord3713]

...oh no.

[@falconeshield]

Daaaaaamn I felt that

[@themintypup4682]

……………….shi-

[@delphoxhoopa7289]

Nah, she's still worse. Donnie's bad, but he didn't learn April's blood type, break into her house and smell her pillows, sniff what he thinks is a wax statue of her, and learn her schedule for the *next three years.*

[@demetriam2408]

He made me watching the show as a little kid really uncomfortable. Also I think Marinette is worse in the earlier seasons but season 4 Mari is wayyy better.

[@thefirely1439]

Is it annoying? yes. Do I hate it? yes? But does it make sense? also yes. The turtles grew up in a sewer and they are now in their teenage years. They have no concept of human interaction, and they have been isolated their whole lives. Bad combination. All the turtles have their issues aswell. Raph is angry, Mikey is very immature, Leo struggles with being the "leader". They could have handled the situation much better though.

[@freelancerthe2561]

Sounds like normal teenagers to me.

[@christopherbennett5858]

@@freelancerthe2561Normal teenagers who were raised underground for 15 years with no other social interaction outside of their dad and each other. No school. No trips. No neighbours. Just them, comics, video games and the television. And raised by the golden child of a ninja clan who lost his entire family in one life by the hands of a man he called his brother. People were going nuts during lockdown after six months. Imagine 15 years of it.

[@venusgin7779]

@@christopherbennett5858 not to mention their father 1) ignored them 2) beat the shit out of them 3) gave fortune cookie lines as his main form of parenting. It’s a miracle they are even as socially apt and adapted as they are- plus the food they ate up to that point? •shivers• can’t not be ridden with diseases

[@ynat2198]

THIS is how i viewed their ship. I saw Donnie, being a very focused personality, become hyper focused on April because he's been trapped for so long with just his science as a hyper focus. I don't fault his character but the writers didn't need to make April, a character with friends and socialization, act the way she did. It was so messy. SO GLAD Rise didn't have that, i just loved watching her be chaotic and screaming her name while hitting people 😂

[@T_E_G]

Fr they could have, the series is flawed but you can honestly TRY to make SOME sense from it despite how messy it is lol

[@BurningOrchid9888]

3:03 I read an interview where one of her creators said that April’s race (while obviously being at least part Irish given her last name) varied depending on which one of them you asked. The one who worked on the original show imagined her as a redhead while another saw her as mixed. And I think there was a third who saw her as part Asian. So what I like is that this is something that can/should vary between adaptations depending on what best suits the story

[@richborn6700]

Okay but why do they keep making her black now?

[@kennethsatria6607]

@@richborn6700 Because that's the times we live in I guess

[@witchplease9695]

@@richborn6700She was originally non-white. Why make her white in the first place? The hypocrisy is blatant, you guys are fine with whitewashing but complain about characters being Black

[@ltb1345]

Okay, just don't make her super overweight for no reason.

[@BurningOrchid9888]

@@richborn6700 There are only two iterations of her that are black (that I know of). Rise of the TMNT was genuinely trying to explore different aspects and interactions with these characters. Compared to that show’s version of Splinter, April’s character barely changed. I’m not sure what influenced April’s design in Mutant Mayhem. It’s possible it could be brand synergy, where they’re trying to make her as similar as possible to the most recent iteration of April. But it’s also possible that they did a race blind casting and then designed the character in the movie after the fact.

[@lindenbree9188]

I just assume that April, in this show, had no interest in romance. But she never outright shut down Casey or Donatello because she liked the attention. While that's a crappy thing to do, it could be an interesting exploration. Like maybe she just wants to feel normal in all this chaos, and two boys fighting over her feels like a normal teenage girl thing. If she was called out and learned from this, AND Donny learns to stop simping, it'd be a decent lesson. But the show never has an angle like this... it's just a love triangle with no conclusion with April flip-flopping randomly. And it sucks

[@ribottostudio]

why is it that headcanons are almost always better than canon DAMMIT

[@ShapCast]

@@ribottostudio Head canon's benefit from the power of hindsight

[@ribottostudio]

@@ShapCast but sometimes they develop WHILE people are watching the show so the information we learn about the character is in tandem to what IN UNIVERSE characters learn. Not hindsight. So the fact that even those headcanons can be better just floors me lol

[@SeaweedRain]

Honestly it makes so much sense, though! There was so much going on and boys were just fighting over her! Like why else wouldn't she comment every time Donnie made a weird statement about her? She was going through A LOT! She's just a teen! A really bad thing to do to mess with their emotions and she probably should have just gone to therapy! But getting attention? She probably just felt wanted while she had literally no one- now I kind of wish this was touched upon! It would have been SUCH a good episode. She could have learned a lesson, Donnie could have learned a lesson, and maybe the 3 of them (her, Donnie, and Casey) could have made a good B team without all the flirting and shippers could have still gotten the fuel they wanted just from character interaction.

[@GoeTeeks]

YES! The way she gasped like she got scared when Donnie told her he was going to back off and leave her alone practically screamed "I don't want to lose this attention I've been getting." At least, that's how I interpreted it when I watched it.

[@xantheburns-price1929]

2018 donnie and April is just a million times better than 2012, they are so fun and wholesome together, instead of just akward and cringey

[@cureidolsmile9820]

I don’t even ship them, but if I had to pick between 12 Apriltello and 18 Aprtitello becoming canon, I’d pick 18 any day of the week

[@falconeshield]

And April is finally black again I mean true fans will not cry

[@hybridvenom9]

True i was actually watching that show and it binge watching it all from season 1 and i would say she's the best april

[@silverdrag0n_]

rise!apritello has me in a choke hold at the moment (their queerplatonic vibes go so hard 🤌)

[@hybridvenom9]

Wake up better not be a spoiler i only seen all of season 1 that could be a joke then i don't really care

[@Bibliosection]

No joke, Donnie's crush on April made me immediately "nope" out of watching 2012 TMNT. Donatello has always been my favorite turtle and I was no going to suffer watching him in such a cringey lovestruck way (that being said, 2018 is my favorite Donatello and you calling him an autistic GOAT is both accurate and hilarious)

[@Rembreiker_lychec9257]

The April TMNT 2018 version is like the best version I've ever come to see and the first I ever liked. It's so wholesome to see her dynamic with the brothers: them protecting her, her protecting them (which is the biggest thing we never get to often see from previous Aprils) and her showing to be just as capable of fighting as the turtles, like she isn't no damsel in distress. The best version of her where we don't get to see her constantly causing trouble for the turtles and actually helping them.

[@Powderpuff1234]

Facts.

[@freelancerthe2561]

So you're digging the Big Sister vibes?

[@christopherbennett5858]

Also, like the 80’s version, she’s got her own public life. 2003 had to hide in her dad’s old place after the first episode. 2012 had literally no one outside her dad in the plot to the point of her being a blank slate and/or Jean Grey rip-off. She had Irma but then it turned out Irma wasn’t real. April is always working and trying to find herself. Sometimes it’s plot related, sometimes it isn’t. And sometimes, she wants to live her best life and run laughing when she thinks she’s seen actual ghosts.

[@darinanikolova9929]

Nothing against her being your favourite but it's wrong to say she's the first that wasn't damsel in distress and that didn't cause trouble, considering that April from the 1990 movie and 2003 both exist.

[@thomasjohnson1885]

2003 April did the same

[@valentinkambushev4968]

I love 2012 TMNT. Always have, always will. It has its problems, just like the rest of the TMNT shows, but this ship is just awful.

[@venusgin7779]

And Leorai too •closes eyes, cover them with my hands and plunges my head into a bathtub full of bleach•

[@shamainebest4031]

​@@venusgin7779 Woah, at least Leorai was good and made since

[@NoGoodClownWhore]

​@shamainebest4031 yeah until the writers decided they were brother and sister lol

[@valentinkambushev4968]

@@shamainebest4031 it was basically incest! It's only saved by the fact that Leo and Karai had other interesting stuff going on that didn't involve them being together.

[@venusgin7779]

@@shamainebest4031 except it was incest… both in biological and emotional sense….

[@Greenkitten45]

"Raph's husband's beard," is my favorite line regarding April's relationship status. 😂😂😂

[@jubileebaby0]

Talk more about Leo X Karai, cause some people were pretty upset and grossed out since their basically adoptive siblings (even though Splinter didn’t raised her)

[@falconeshield]

I barely watched this version of the show, making them step siblings was dumb.....unless the writers love X videos

[@jubileebaby0]

@@falconeshield Sadly, I haven't watched much of the show

[@ManiyaVinas]

Wouldn't they be half siblings? Since the turtles became humanoid due to splinter's dna

[@theSixPathsOfTrains]

Step turtle what are you doing? Lol

[@falconeshield]

​@@ManiyaVinasStill incest

[@myellegreen7717]

Honestly, a good idea would have been if the writers of the show made an episode about April openly and clearly rejecting Donnie and how he deals with it. I feel like this would have been a good lesson to young boys who watched the show. Like, ‘It’s okay to like a girl and for her to not like you back, here’s how to deal with it like a man instead of like a 5 year old.’ This idea could have even gone on for several episodes so that boys could understand how heartbreak can feel, how long it can last, how you can still be friends with the person who rejected you, and once again, how to deal with conflicting emotions RESPONSIBLY. The writers could have also used this idea to show the few females who watched the show how to deal with a boy who they aren’t interested in. It could have given the lesson of ‘When a boy likes you and you don’t like him, here’s how to let him know. (In a kind way ofc)’. On top of that! The show could have had April fall for Casey while still being friends with Donnie and explored the idea of ‘How to deal with a crush who loves someone else’. They could have explored how Donnie gets over April and how it could have developed the both of them more as a characters and break the stereotype of ‘A boy and a girl can never just be friends ‘ by making Donnie and April’s friendship strengthen! NOT TO MENTION, Donnie’s brothers and Master Splinter could have supported Donnie in his depression fit while also letting April know that she wasn’t in the wrong for rejecting Donnie and that because she did, she isn’t any less of a friend/honorary family member. SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY WAS MISSED!!

[@mendlests]

Damn, I mean, they hate the 2012 one to death but they get mad if they say something to rise and Mutant Mayhem? You're sick in the head because of the garbage you invent

[@charlesb7781]

Seriously! Another reason why I hate the writers with a passion

[@FainthedCherry]

THIS RIGHT HERE!! Tho I disagree w/ "few girls". Have you SEEN the amount of PMVs that flooded KZbin back then with the 4, made by fangirls, and watched by fangirls like me. Gals ate this show UP, just as much as boys. 😂

[@mikebipping6166]

Jesus Christ, just go write your own show. shit sounds like a poor woman's fanfiction

[@TheUtubers]

They literally did make an episode regarding that. If you've watched the show you'd know remember the big foot episodes??!

[@nataliawashington872]

It irritates me that Donnie cares for April most of the time more than his brothers getting hurt or even during serious situations. The only person who actually gave Donnie a reality check was Splinter (in his nice mentor way) and Ralph but like you said Splinter then gave him hope of getting with April at the end of the episode. Ralph did refuse to help Casey get with April but that doesn’t count as him accepting April’s behavior it’s just him being a good big brother. Also….this is beastiality! Too! Like if they were gonna give Donnie a love interest then give him a mutant/non-human like Mona Lisa with Ralph. I won’t lie the mutant-human part is the least of my concerns, I hate that like you said they just did a complete 180 of April’s feelings and made her like him despite her never showing interest until the big foot episode

[@Wandasolosurfavs]

U think i value family more than my crush??? uhm what

[@PikaLink91]

It irritates me that at least one of the turtles always have a crush on April. I mean I find her attractive because I'm human. It's biology. But why would a mutant turtle find a human woman attractive?

[@jasonone8726]

@@PikaLink91 I mean, they only interact with humans most of the time, not any other species besides a rat.

[@PikaLink91]

@@jasonone8726 So if you only interacted with pigeons you whole life, you think you’d develop romantic feelings for one?

[@jasonone8726]

@@PikaLink91 I didn't know pigeons can talk. 😆 🤣

[@SpeckO_Stardust]

A good example of something that was set up basically identically, but actually ended really well can be found in Gravity Falls, with Dipper and Wendy.

[@falconeshield]

Stars vs is the worst tbh

[@valentinkambushev4968]

It didn't end well because the writers kept returning to it till the very end.

[@ligtningdog6399]

But Dipper/Wendy wasn't meant to be taken seriously at all. Don/April was being pushed as the main romantic subplot.

[@Loifey]

Well they never ended up being together plus Wendy is older than dipper so I don’t think actually making them together is an especially good idea. Of course dipper can have a crush but them dating is a no for me

[@freelancerthe2561]

@@Loifey What about 4 years later? Time skip season coming to streaming service near you!

[@akilcharles3473]

I thought it was cute at first with how Donnie had like a puppy dog crush he had for April until it got weird and I slowly hated the idea then. To be absolutely frank the Donatello in the Rise of the TMNT has to be one of my favorite rendetions of the character and his relationship with April in that series is more believeable than what we got in 2012 series. He's much more charming, has more of personality than he ever has (thank you Josh Brener) and the show didn't try to force another Donatello x April relationship by making Don overly inflatuated to her. In fact I feel they more likey to have a brother/sister dynamic rather than shipping material. Also sidenote and personal hot take: I'm not much of a April x Casey Jones ship either, it never actually felt anything about those 2 together tbh.

[@christopherbennett5858]

Honestly, I get you. Frankly, April and Casey always had that “obligatory straight ship” feel to it. Or, it was just Duncan x Courtney or Gwevin but usually stretched out and played straight.

[@nadiarey4196]

I honestly didn't think there was a problem with this ship. I think there's a problem with April's lack of character development. And the show ran for too long and didn't know how to end things when the plot was still somewhat sane...

[@christopherbennett5858]

@@nadiarey4196 The thing is April had character development but it wasn’t to facilitate the ship. It was to make her a bargain bin Dark Pheonix.

[@ShockwaveFPSStudios]

@@christopherbennett5858I mean it’s not like the Ninja Turtles rips off other superhero comics. *Cough* _The Foot Clan and Splinter are just the Hand and Stick_ *Cough*

[@nadiarey4196]

@@christopherbennett5858 Dark Phoenix is exactly an example of a character having no character development. Jean Grey was a blank canvas, there only to be someone(s)'s romantic interest and issuing conflict. Dark Phoenix tried to give her character, but only made her a blank canvas villain, as some sort of agent of chaos with no motivation or desire outside of "being evil". Having things happen to you don't make for character development. If you want a Dark Phoenix plot done right, that's Rouge's "dark persona" (Captain Marvel) episode from the 90's animated series. And mind, I agree April uses (and suffers the use of) the same BS as the Dark Phoenix plot. That's the whole point. So I stand by my original comment: April has no character development.

[@Goatman_Gamer]

What really boggles me is at 12:35 Donny explicitly states that the boy she's on a date with is "human" as if that's weirder than an interspecies relatioship with a turtle.

[@ShinobiPXO]

3:15 Apparently, the reason April was de-aged to the same age as the Turtles, was because the writers thought it didn't make a lot of sense for a grown woman to be hanging out with teenagers. Make what you will of that statement.

[@falconeshield]

Honestly April's job in the 80s cartoon gave her a good excuse. Same with Eliza in Gargoyles. Her friends are vigilantes they do half of her job done. But you remove their job it gets weird.

[@rappingbeaniedog347]

I thought she was fine being a reporter, it just weirds me out that they had to ship her with one of them once she was their age. It feels weird to me for multiple reasons.

[@Therealones745]

@@falconeshieldwell to be fair she wasn’t originally a reporter but a scientist

[@superthorc6894]

But they are mutant turtles I think logic is ridiculous

[@mikemorro140]

I don't actually mind her being a teenager, or hell around college age when she first meets them

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

This never needee to happen. Hated it ever since it first appaered

[@owlhousefanandfriends1729]

Lol

[@valentinkambushev4968]

Me too.

[@micah459]

Facts. Like they really just can't keep Casey and April be a thing. Donny x April is some fanfic shit that never needs to be canon

[@calvinmccaskill-iw3ds]

Honestly i hate and dispise this ship alot, i ship mikey and april cause i think its cute

[@boonduckgod1655]

I loved it

[@Maswartz226]

THANK YOU! There were so many times where something important was happening and all Donnie could think about was April. Like his brothers would be in danger, her father would be mutated and all he'd talk about is April. Not to mention the fact he didn't trust her and Casey to be alone together at all without worrying they were gonna start making out the moment he left.

[@sonianevermind7258]

Gosh this ship was just a huge nightmare for the tmnt fandom especially april's character is just awful in 2012 version💀 that made fans hate her

[@Muppet567]

Wait, was April bad on her own too? I remember thinking she was pretty cool.

[@justsomeguywithadogpicture2622]

​@@Muppet567that doesn't mean much since you were probably a toddler back then

[@Muppet567]

@@justsomeguywithadogpicture2622 I was not

[@mitkitty]

​@@Muppet567aside from stringing Donnie along in a really stupid way, I don't think shes BAD, she just doesn't really have much of a character at all-she's Girl, sometimes she likes horror movies... That's about all

[@Muppet567]

@mitkitty that sucks. Doesn't she have powers too? That's probably why I remember her being cool.

[@IrkenProperty]

Fan of TMNT since the 2003 TV show was airing ... This ship was honestly so out of left-field and cracked, it put me right off the 2012 version.

[@ribottostudio]

Yeah same. It just rubbed me all the wrong ways.

[@trika91]

Been a fan since 2003 too (kinda started when watching the second movie on VHS). Liked the April x Donnie dynamic as platonic friends; especially in 03 when they were science nerd buddies. Was mildly intrigued when 2012 came out and tried to build upon the dynamic by giving Donnie a crush on her; but the way is was dragged out, how cringey it was, and April’s overall attitude towards the turtles (being a bipolar relationship at best), I grew to greatly dislike their dynamic. Thank god the 2018 series salvaged their relationship by making them close buddies again (Donnie seriously gives me ‘Gay Best Friend’ vibes).

[@Idontwantomakeupahandle]

Same! I was loving the pilot until Donnie got heart eyes for April.

[@ribottostudio]

@@trika91 With the 2003 iteration, I loved the fact that Don was ALWAYS in April's corner, but not out of anything creepy like in the 2012 show. It was just because he cared about her and loved her like a sister. And I love the fact that they STAYED platonic. And it's good to show audiences that no, not all male and female leads need to be romantically involved.

[@freelancerthe2561]

If it was gonna happen, I figured it would had been Mikey. I'm 100% sure they went with Donnie because its easier to justify both the awkwardness and the autistic tendencies, to make the comedy of it easier. Little did the writers know they were typing "@[=g3,8d]\&fbb=-q]/hk%fg" followed by Delete.

[@ventusxzephyr13]

The whiplash of watching 2003 tmnt vs 2012 was so jarring to me growing up. Even though 2003 has it's issues, it really doesn't get enough love for having a more serious tone with some light hearted moments.

[@JustAPrayer]

Yes the 2003 version deserves more love, and I don’t know why it isn’t talked about more. I love every version, but the 2003 show is the one that really tried to follow the comics closely, its the one that the original creators of TMNT loved, and it’s got my favorite depiction of Casey Jones outside of the original 1990 movie

[@princevibe375]

2012 donnie and april always feels like- the writers WANT to teach Donnie a lesson to not force April to like him- but as soon as they try to teach him that lesson, they or Nick get scared of losing the shipping fuel that they retract the whole thing- and they just keep going back and forth with it constantly for so many episodes until that last one where the whole idea of them is left out to dry. Its so painfully obvious the show doesnt know what they want to do with these 2 and it's mind meltingly painful to watch sometimes. the shipping in this show is so bad minus maybe raph and mona and they barely get the screentime in comparison to the other ships. I love this show but the shipping was always the worst part of it

[@ibrid_loves_bull_and_gigagoo]

The episode about Bigfoot is the biggest clue of what you’re saying.

[@SpencerPhillips-co7sx]

Agreed

[@bobi200samatar6]

They really had a chance to bury this ship in season 3. That episode with big foot being exactly as creepy to Donnie as he is to April was very well written and, considering this is a kid's show, would have a taught a solid lesson to kids about not being obsessed with people and take that 'no' in stride. But instead, April decides 'nah, this has to go on indefinitely' and so it does for the rest of the show. They're relationship hardly progresses for the rest of the show and it sucks. Imagine if they let Donnie get over April, they could have given him a new love interest a season or two later, pull a Finn and Flame Princess. And April can get with Casey, or just stay independent, it would have been sick.

[@cartoonking1789]

That was my thought exactly!

[@mendlests]

You're wrong it shows that you never understood the chapter and you hate her for how ridiculous your point of view is

[@syre5458]

@@mendleststhe hatred in the comment is directed towards how the ship was handled, not April

[@mendlests]

@@syre5458 Maybe why do you take it out on a ship that apart from not being bad as described in the video, you take it to heart as if this ship did something bad,Haven't considered going to therapy?

[@syre5458]

@@mendlests why would I go to therapy over someone else’s opinion

[@marywallace3620]

Yea, I can understand why Donnie or one of the other turtles having a crush or a slight infatuation with April if only it was because April was literally the first human they ever really talked to and got to know (barring Splinter/Hamato Yoshi who was literally mutated into a rat and raised them). But they have Donnie being absolutely obsessed with April and April not really acknowledging it or denying, just being mostly neutral to it. It's definitely painful and hard to watch. Kinda made me focus all the harder on Le's story arc because he wasn't obsessively stalking Karai, he was just trying to help her and bond with her, trying to help her see how cruel the Shredder is.

[@AmyreThigpen-dc9vz]

This is exactly why Raphael and Moana are the only best couple in this show, it’s actually a healthy relationship, not toxic and not forced.

[@venusgin7779]

And Mona can beat the shit out of Raph (which is why he loves her) which I can appreciate

[@hackerninjaexe5791]

​@@venusgin7779even tho the ship felt kinda forced since it was a instant a relationship-

[@venusgin7779]

@@hackerninjaexe5791 yah- but then again they are super cute and it’s funny Raph was like “shit, she can press me into a coin” so it’s forgivable

[@nadiarey4196]

You kidding? It's the most forced of all the romances! "You are mutant female that fights, so I must love you" is not a healthy relationship XD Also, I'm overexploiting this joke but, if beating his butt would cause Raph to fall in love, he would have been secretly deeply in love with the Shredder...

[@keshiaanders6452]

I strongly disagree with that. It's just as bad as the others & went nowhere either. 1.) It made Raph come off as a total hypocrite. It's okay for him to fall for a girl outside of his league, but wrong for his brothers to do the same thing? 2.) How they "fall in love" was ridiculous. She punched him in the face (which could've been fatal due to Igythba/Mona almost breaking Raph's air helmet), and all of a sudden he's turned on by it!? April, Karai, and many others had punched Raph in the face before, yet he wasn't turned on by them. What made Igy's punches any different (other than she was so close to killing him)? Plus, Raph usually takes that as an assault to his pride & would want vengeance on the person/thing that beat him. 3.) Raph quickly fell in love with Igy way too fast & was portrayed as more of "girlfriend" in that "relationship." That's NOT how Raphael is suppose to act/react when in love nor a relationship! Raph is portrayed as anti-social & he's one of those characters that takes time to get use to/accept new things. When it comes to be in a relationship, again, it takes time, patiences, and kindness to win Raph's heart. Also, Raph isn't really open about his feelings too much, so he'll try to hide his emotions so that he won't get embarrassed by his brothers nor his enemies.

[@prettyspectrum6371]

I hated how almost every relationship with a guy April had, they started to crush on her. And she didn't seem to be interested ! A no is a no, but not an answer is also a no ! And the characters always kept trying again and again. It felt like the show itself put April in situation where her " friends" didn't really see her as a person but only something they needed to have

[@nellionthetellie]

she was really living the y/n life

[@nadiarey4196]

Honestly, that part of the show was extremely relatable to me. Teenager boys saw us (me, friends, sister) not as people but opportunities to get laid. Frankly objectifying anything female, and that is putting it lightly. I'm glad we now live in a society where there are people who think this behavior is cringe weird and dehumanizing.

[@prettyspectrum6371]

@nadiarey4196 yes, but what makes it worse is that the show treats this behavior as right. Donnie doesn't change and gets rewarded for being a creep. April kisses him showing " Oh she was into it all along" And that's a horrible lesson to show on a kids show

[@nellionthetellie]

@@prettyspectrum6371 straight facts

[@sonic_solo_fiction]

🤓

[@BPROedits]

This review is made a lot better by the fact that Sarcastic Chorus sounds just like Donatello, so it's like Donnie in a higher dimension contemplating about how terrible one of his previous incarnations was

[@robindelorenzo1120]

You gotta love how Rottmnt fixed their mistakes

[@enyo6139]

Yea rottmnt april was better than tmnt2012 april

[@robindelorenzo1120]

@@enyo6139 And Rottmnt Donnie

[@bunnybutt5664]

​@@robindelorenzo1120 Agreed, I loved both of these of these two interpretations of the characters along with all of the other characters. Thank God they didn't make the mistake of shipping these two ever again...

[@cc13556]

rottmnt donnie has my heart

[@alixdixon611]

2012 April And Donnie Were Better, The 2018 April Was Trash, Black Does Not Fit Her.

[@futanahriadventures]

I grew up with the 90's movies, watching the cheesy musical band, and playing Turtles in Time almost non-stop. Seeing a Donatello x April ship makes me want to gouge my eyes off.

[@Eric_Black134]

Maybe it's just me, but the fact that Donnie/Mikey/Leo X April (Raph hasn't fallen in love with her in anything yet) is a relationship between a turtle and a human isn't the worst part. The turtles have more in common with humans than real turtles anyway. Remove the shell, give them a nose, and change their skin color, and what you have is a 6-fingered human being. What bothers me is the fact that, if the romance is focused on for any longer than a few quick gags, it feels incredibly forced and awkward. We spend way too much time with (in this case) Donnie trying to come up with different ways of trying to impress April, only to either fall flat and have April be mad at him, or he succeeds and she kisses his cheek or something... FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES.

[@Piiiiiiiiit]

I can’t get over how watching this ‘relationship’ unfold made me feel like I was watching MIRACULOUS LADYBUG. Which I don’t think I should have to tell you is NOT something I want to feel while watching the damn ninja turtles. I can only stomach so much cringe and secondhand embarrassment before my brain simply implodes, and this show gets it crammed to maximum capacity whenever these two are given even an iota of focus. I get that it’s largely a me problem, plenty of people are able to look past it and enjoy what the rest of the show has to offer, and I wish so bad that I could be one of them, but just this element (and whatever in the Sweet Home Alabama Leo and Karai have going on) make some parts of this series just borderline unwatchable for me.

[@Piiiiiiiiit]

@@artichokespectre agree!! I’ve seen plenty of clips where the romance isn’t involved and it just focuses in on him and his individual struggles as a character, and there’s so much interesting potential there!! But it feels like as soon as April enters a 50 mile radius all of it just gets thrown out the window in favor of a completely different, much more annoying guy. It’s to the point where it makes him harder to root for even in different contexts, because in the back of your head you’re always gonna be like “Oh yeah this guy is a gross weirdo”

[@nellionthetellie]

agreed, i rewatched an episode or two a couple months back and i really couldn’t stand watching donnie act like a total idiot and creep when april was just briefly mentioned, i grew up with this show so actually sitting down to watch the show being older and seeing donnie’s character around april was just… made me feel sick to my stomach to say the least

[@Zvwry]

This is worse than miraculous 😂

[@Lou-dj7ce]

You just opened a can of worms and now you are contractually obligated to talk about the ACTUAL WORST mistake of TMNT 2013: Leonardo and Karai. May God have mercy on your soul Edit: The replies of people defending this ship are crazy : " It had inc*st *BUT* ..." Y'all stay safe out there

[@falconeshield]

.... I liked Leo X Karai *Don't kill me*

[@BlurroBlue]

Aside from the incest, it wasn't that bad.

[@emphobia2268]

​@@BlurroBlueit wouldn't have been bad if it weren't for the fact karai was splinters daughter 😭😭😭

[@falconeshield]

​@emphobia2268 They're only related in the 2012 cartoon

[@BlurroBlue]

@@emphobia2268 That's what I just said.

[@carljameson3082]

I still can't get over how weird it is that three out of the four turtles in this series have human love interests. It might have been something you could look past if the turtles were humans before being mutated, but they weren't. It almost feels like they realized how weird that was by the end because Raph actually gets paired up with another mutant and it feels a lot more natural

[@Yuna-ve5xh]

Raph is the non-dating human king and I stan by that

[@madeegaindraws]

hate to be that guy- but Ralph is dating an alien not a mutant

[@woogiestwoogie]

I mean, they are still sane intelligent creatures with almost same lifestyle as humans, not real turtles that can't communicate, so why not? Didn't watch 2012, watched 2003 as a teen with Donny/April and Leo/Karai were on hints level, but it didn't irk me, I also liked their personalities a lot and thought that I'd definitely have a crush in a fucking mutant turtle if they're charismatic enough

[@TheGaMerPrOvince]

@@woogiestwoogie I had the same thought as the OOP but then I used the Reverse Twilight logic (Reverse the male vampire/werewolf pinnig for a girl and you get a yandere vampire and a wolf girl that are into a boy and suddenly I get why Twilight is popular). If I learned something on the internet is that if Donnie was a cute turtle girl there would be a bunch of people into him.

[@bbyyxda4915]

Technically April was a mutant! She was part kranng and she had those powers and she couldn’t be affected by mutagen.

[@mitkitty]

Frankly, if April HAD to be shipped with any of the !12 turtles, id prefer Raph or Mikey- Raph bc of the concept art showing them together as a couple and it being actually kinda sweet, Mikey because !12 disrepects the poor kid at EVERY turn (not even his dad cares that much) and they had a commonality right from the start, both feeling undervalued and ignored by everyone

[@nicoleflores2054]

technically if it was Mikey crushing on April, I would've just imagined they would have the same dynamic as Beast boy and Terra except April wouldn't have trust issues and have someone manipulating her to be evil. edit: now that I think about it, they just work pretty well in a friendship/family bond dynamic.

[@venusgin7779]

Yah, I get that- I think even Leo would’ve been better- actually… scratch that, I think Leo would’ve been the best like plot wise. Mikey and April have this very much big sister/little brother dynamic. Raph is the only turtle who takes her seriously (earlier on at least) and they are besties. Leo and her have this special bond which is kinda siblingy but can be also adapted to be two people extremely comfortable with each other. I mean Leo tells her about his crush on… mm… yanno who… and she is so excited for him. Also by the end they are definitely a duo to be reckoned with. When it comes to Mikey I think the only choice was Mondo Gecko. Rennet was just.. out of nowhere and presentation-wise it just felt odd? Idk- I can’t see Mikey in a fully romantic relationship bc In my eyes his ass is aroace- but that’s just me. I also would’ve loved to see donnie just… give up on the girl… since not many shows do that, like maybe even encourage her to get with Leo or Casey or someone completely different yanno

[@DrDabYT]

​@@venusgin7779W comment

[@nicoleflores2054]

​@@venusgin7779I see your point, it's for a reason Casey and April is the easiest pick for her to have a love interest, the majority of the media of the turtles and her have a family bond. also, Aroace Mikey is based.

[@venusgin7779]

@@nicoleflores2054 Especially so since until 2012 April was generally older than the turtles.. But yah Casey is the easiest love interest and I wouldn't have minded if he was the endgame, but at least give us one

[@skysiren4113]

Even as a kid, the end of A Foot Too Big really annoyed me that they wuss out about Donnie having some development with his relationship with April just to continue the dumb love triangle As much as the 2012 series will always hold a special place in my heart as being my tmnt show, I can agree that the show isn't perfect and understand why some wouldnt like it as much (remember you can still like a piece of media while also acknowledging its flaws) even the hardcore fans can agree that this relationship was handled badly

[@JustAPrayer]

I absolutely agree the relationship between them wasn’t written well at all. I was kinda on board with it at first as sort of an innocent crush from a creature who’s never been around another female before of any species, but it definitely started to affect all the characters the more they kept teasing it. Especially April’s relationship with the other three brothers. It felt the shows writers prevented her from bonding with them as much as she could have because that would take time away from her interactions with Donnie. I still remember in season 1 when she helps them out on a mission and Michelangelo goes to give her a big hug only for Donnie to get jealous for no reason and push him off. Heck one of my favorite episodes of the show was the mutant eagle episode because April and Leo had to work together to save the others and it was the first time we really got to see them bond. And she rarely ever got a moment with Raphael, except maybe when she hugged him in the background during the car episode. Especially frustrating because I felt like Raphael could have helped April a lot when she was being possessed by the crystal and losing control of her emotions. If there’s anyone on the team that understands doing things you regret because of anger it would be him.

[@Magicghost23]

Good thing this ship didn’t get carried over in the other tmnt shows.

[@valentinkambushev4968]

Yet...

[@lilrqlovesanime650]

…….. *yet*

[@falconeshield]

I am a Batgirl X Batman survivor. Here's hoping we don't have a Bruce Timm bring this back even in the comics.

[@nicoleflores2054]

everyone is saying yet but it's been years since this ship existed, there's literally no tease going with Donnie and April anymore in recent TMNT media, they're just friends now canonically.

[@neon-leon-]

Mutant Mayhem has Leo x April And it's not a spoiler, it's literally on the merchandise, like a Leo t-shirt with the L+A in a heart

[@nunouno001]

This relationship is the reason why the 2012 show will always only be my second favorite TMNT show. Whatever issues the 2003 show might have, the writers there were smart enough to never throw their April into a romance with any of the turtles. Instead, she was their most trusted confidant and given the best romance with the best Casey Jones. It also helps that she became badass in that show on her accord, and not because she was born with alien DNA. I really love the 2003 show for that, among many, many, many more reasons.

[@Pero-zl4jp]

I think the 2003 version is the best and most faithful adaptation of the turtles (until s6 where it got insane but still enjoyable but that’s probably nostalgia).

[@Max25670]

2003 April was the best, she was a genius who later trained in martial arts, so she can defend herself and longer had to rely on the turtles and Casey to rescue her. April being in her 20s, made her the big sister to a group of teenage brothers, while Casey was her love interest from the beginning.

[@T1N4-jv1er]

Awsum!!! 2003 April the best! Like, y’know? She was the most well-design and character development among all the Aprils, not hating others Aprils expect April 2012. It’s soooo goddamn relief that the writer did not make April or any of the turtles in 2003 catch feelings for each other like the 2012 series. Beside, April a grown badass women who’s a smart-ass scientist then a amazing fighter after knowing the turtles and Master Splinter. And last, I love the ship April x Casey 2003, they just fit in what my kink is. Unlike 2012, ship all over the place, it’s like the writes of 2012 series want to give each turtle a gf at least. Like bruh, do I have to start with the ship Leo x Karai? They’re adopted siblings even they don’t grow up together. Mona Lisa x Raph? Well, not bad but also not good in my opinion. Renet x Mikey? Well.. Also nice, but not entirely as well. And… **Donnie x April** or **Casey x April**… just no. I hate that ship the most, I keep wondering why the TMNT fandom still supporting that two ships even tho April clearly not entirely have feelings for Case or Don, she just want attention or sumthin..😢

[@NarwhalEntertainment]

Even Next Mutation, the show that brought in a female turtle (Venus), and made the turtles NOT sibblings so they COULD have a romance didn't go this bad.

[@natallyemonteiro2114]

LIE

[@reyfan011]

I was saying that back in season 2 but felt like I was in the minority. It is no exaggeration how hard people shipped this pairing. At least from what I saw. Maybe I was seeing a small portion of the fandom but for me, this was seen as the eventual endgame

[@nellionthetellie]

you were deffo not seeing a small portion of the fandom, back then ya couldn’t even search up “tmnt 2012 donnie” without being bombarded with fan art of him and april

[@bradleybourgeois4710]

It doesn't surprise me that out of all the brothers, especially in this era, that Rapheal has the best romantic relationship out of his brothers. His relationship with Mona in the 1987 or 2012 series works for each version of the character. For '87, Mona Lisa has a very playful personality often teasing others and be coy, which compliments Raph's own sarcasm and tendency to crack jokes (usually a bit rude and at the either the situation or person he's dealing with). Raph is clearly smitten by Mona and admits his attraction to her, while grows to appreciate his kindness to her and his heroism as one of the Ninja Turtles. 2012 keeps up with Raph's attraction and Mona growinig fond of the former, but with a few differences. Raph is amazed by not only Mona's beauty, but also her combat prowess. Mona herself comes to respect Raph as a fellow warrior and slowly grows fond of turtle through this respect and the compliment given to her when Raph nicknames her Mona Lisa. Following episodes continue to develop this relationship, with the last episode involving the two resulting with Mona Lisa moving to Earth to be with Raph.

[@immortalbeast]

But like, no? Raph is under aged and Mona is a grown woman.

[@keshiaanders6452]

I strongly disagree with that. It's just as bad as the others & went nowhere either. 1.) It made Raph come off as a total hypocrite. It's okay for him to fall for a girl outside of his league, but wrong for his brothers to do the same thing? 2.) How they "fall in love" was ridiculous. She punched him in the face (which could've been fatal due to Igythba/Mona almost breaking Raph's air helmet), and all of a sudden he's turned on by it!? April, Karai, and many others had punched Raph in the face before, yet he wasn't turned on by them. What made Igy's punches any different (other than she was so close to killing him)? Plus, Raph usually takes that as an assault to his pride & would want vengeance on the person/thing that beat him. 3.) Raph quickly fell in love with Igy way too fast & was portrayed as more of "girlfriend" in that "relationship." That's NOT how Raphael is suppose to act/react when in love nor a relationship! Raph is portrayed as anti-social & he's one of those characters that takes time to get use to/accept new things. When it comes to be in a relationship, again, it takes time, patiences, and kindness to win Raph's heart. Also, Raph isn't really open about his feelings too much, so he'll try to hide his emotions so that he won't get embarrassed by his brothers nor his enemies.

[@bradleybourgeois4710]

@@keshiaanders6452 You are right in what are Raph's intial traits are. Yes, Rapheal is more closed off compared to his brothers and has a harder time opening up to others. However, both Raph's from the 1987 and 2012 cartoons deviate from this. 1987 Raph was toned down compared to his original comic portrayal, with them replacing his aggression with wisecracks, rude jokes, and sarcasim. With his more lighter portrayal it makes sense that he would be more open in his affections to Mona Lisa. In the case of the 2012 show, Raph and Mona Lisa meet in season 4. By this point Rapheal has become less abrasive and more open to his brothers and friends, so he's be more open to romance than he did at the start of the show. Besides, each of the brother's relationshps has bit of comedy in them: Donnie falls for the first girl he sees; Leo develops a crush on not only a member of the Foot Clan, but Shredder's daughter, both of which have tried to kill him and his family; and Mikey's immaturity gets in the way of his attempts to be sauve or romantic. Raph's comedic factor in his relationship Mona Lisa, is that he fell for her at first punch. If you're not into the romances that Raph goes through in either show, that's fine. These romances aren't for everyone. However, each show had their plan on how to use Rapheal's character, develop him, and how his relationships would pogress. All I ask is that you at least acknowledge that. Take care and have a good day/night.

[@fightingmedialounge519]

​@@keshiaanders6452 1, when has Raph specifically made fun of his brothers crushes for being out of their league? 2, there's pretty big difference between how he met April and Kara and how he met mona.

[@Asmodeuslvr]

Having 2012 Donnie be my favorite iteration, i agree that this ship was dragged out. I actually don't mind Donnie falling for the first girl he saw and being SUPER cringey about his crush the whole time because teenagers ARE cringey, especially when it comes to romance. I hate the unclear resolution we got with them. This would have been a great lesson for young boys to take the hint and not go after girls who show no interest in them. But April never gave a hard no. :( I remember when the big foot episode aired and I screamed in frustration when April kissed Donnie 😭 i thought we were finally free

[@kansastagai9081]

Honestly, this might have been OK if they didn't shove it down our throats so much. The first 2 seasons in particular just do not let up on the creepy Donnie moments. It dominates his personality more the tech nerd stuff that is supposed to be his main attribute. Having one of the turtles fall for the first girl he veer met isn't that bad when you remember they are 15 and lived in a sewer cut off from the world their entire lives. But the fact they just kept running with it for so long and even all the way to the endgame is what made this so painful.

[@venusgin7779]

Yah, especially on rewatch I feel like a person watching a musical and skipping songs bc I hate songs (I don’t but it’s just an analogy). It’s impossible to skip without like cutting away 60% of the shows content

[@nadiarey4196]

Dude, being tech savvy is not a personality. I honestly like this Donnie way better than any other itterations because he has interests, a personality and even *because* of all the cringe. I was laughing.

[@JamesRichards-zk2hl]

​@@venusgin7779I disagree the kind of story they were trying to tell is going to be a bit goofy on purpose but there are things to like about it.

[@Sonicstriforce]

@1:12 It's so funny how I had to back up cause I wondered what sounded wrong, and realized "Ninja" was said before "Mutant" and it somehow f*cked me up XD

[@catbatrat1760]

5:55 I kinda wish you'd shown the part right afterwards where Raph goes "Isn't she the only girl you've ever seen?"

[@Zinervawyrm]

Oroku Saki became the Shredder after being jealous of his closest friend, Hamato Yoshi, married the same girl he also liked, tried to kill his friend, accidently killed the woman he loved, and then kidnapped Yoshi's infant daughter. Writer 1: Hey, should we write an episode or 2 highlighting Donnie having a realization that he could end up like Shredder if he isn't careful about his jealousy over April liking Casey? Writer 2: Nah, let's just make it a running joke and have April be a tease towards Donnie.

[@phlpcockrell]

On April's side it always felt like she was using the turtles; and since she knows Donnie's simping hard he's just the easiest to manipulate. With that in mind she would ignore, hand wave or tolerate Donnie because he's a mean to an end. She needs the turtles, especially Donnie, to get her dad back, and gives him those little kisses to bread crumb him into continuing to help her. Then when they fumble the bag and mutate her dad and the mission failed, she could finally tell him to get lost and wants nothing to do with any of them. It's only when she gets in trouble and needs help that she calls him (because she knows he's the only one that hasn't blocked her). She only "wants" him when he's useful to her.

[@denzeldubois4978]

Id say there is a genuine reason why she uses the turtles. She was kidnapped by Aliens in robots and only saved by ninja turtles. After they try to capture her again it makes perfect sense for the human girl to want to be around the mutant turtles who could do martial arts and can protect her. Also she was learning from Splinter how to defend herself so she wouldnt be captured again. After her dad was mutated she was angry and also annoyed with what her life had become. She had no human friends and her life was kind of insane and so due to this she blamed the only thing she could the turtles. She tried to live a normal life but after Karai and the kraang attacked her even when she wasnt with the turtles she realized she could never have a normal life and she was better off with the turtles which is why she called for help. I'd say originally she noticed donatellos reactions to her but since she was new she decided to just ignore it since she needed to be good with the turtles and breaking one of their hearts wasnt a good idea. And the reason she called Donnie first was because he was the nicest to her and also he is the tech guy he is the one most likely to pick up the phone and when you need to be saved from an evil ninja girl you call the person most likely to pick up. I don't think April was using the turtles because even after her dad was cured she still hung out with them and kept doing her training so she did like being around them. The thing with Donnie and Casey to me is just she didnt want to hurt either of their feelings so she just let it happen assuming whats the worst that will happen. Dumb sure but she was only a 15 year teenager so it's understandable she wouldn't understand how to deal with there crushes. Sorry for the rant but i've seen so much April 2012 hate and I think its important to look at both sides of a problem. Thanks for reading if you got this far.

[@venusgin7779]

I noticed that too. Especially while rewatching. She gives him kisses and affection to keep him close, never outright rejects his advances, pretends to like be a strong fighter (she isn’t, not at the start, she was just being dumb) and then DEMANDS Donnie’s help whenever going gets tough (never thanking him, even bitching at him for not being fast/good enough). She flies off the rails at anything the boys do wrong (especially Donnie) even though they are trying their darnedest. Like, I get why I disliked her as much as I did. I know how dangerous saying no to a man can be (I’ve been flirted with by 27 year olds while I was a minor with no escape routes and no friends around, don’t ask-), but the way she does it definitely implies he might have a chance and she leads him on just to use him over and over and over again.

[@venusgin7779]

@@denzeldubois4978 I agree on some points. I understand her fear at the start and maybe even the need to not hurt feelings. However, April is shown to fly off the rails really easily. She is shown over and over again rejecting help she obviously needs, saying she can do it herself, and then not being able to after which she calls Donnie and still snaps at him for helping half the time. I am not defending Donnie, not by any means. He is so gross icky icky gross towards her. Disgusting jail time behaviour in my opinion (but then again their father beats them up, socially isolated them, neglects them for the most part, and then gives them fortune cookie lines they are supposed to use, so like turtles not being socially adjusted teens makes sense). However, april does this to all the turtles, but with Donnie it flies much smoother. Later she is much nicer to Leo (and sometimes Raph and Mikey), having a sibling relationship with him, but we don’t see her changing her approach to Donnie and Casey that much. We don’t see her telling them to stop fawning over her because she doesn’t like them (which she clearly doesn’t, until she does and is giving them pecks on the cheek for job well done-). Like I just wish she sat them down and was like “listen, this isn’t gonna work.” I personally believe that the only good main ship in the series is MonaxRaph. Like they work. Rennet and Mikey don’t work due to weird age gap/travel shenanigans and just Mikey’s general vibe. Leo and Karai don’t work bc same father, shared paternal dna, adopted siblings. Casey and Donnie could’ve worked due to the rivals to lovers trope being so popular, but this is a huge IP, so that was not a possibility.

[@LalaRojas-jd5rc]

I kinda put that together watching this and I've never watched this ever. But if I were in her situation I'd probably use them to get info and so on. Having a genius/protector like Don is just a bonus.

[@phlpcockrell]

@@denzeldubois4978 I did read the whole thing. You started with "she had a good reason to use them" and that after she was attacked on her own she realized she was safer with them, but toward the end said you don't think she was using them since she stayed with them after her dad was cured. So basically she was using them in the beginning for safety and for their help getting her dad back, then once she got her dad back she was just using them for safety. But I think I see what you mean. Maybe their relationship started with her using them (which is fine she doesn't even know them) but after spending years (or however much in-world time passed) with them they formed an actual bond. But she doesn't have to keep kissing Donnie. Like if their bond is genuine she should be able to say "I'm not into it". It's not like she's the type to hold her tongue

[@nightfurylastshadow]

I hated that she kept kissing him. She’s just teases him for no reason.

[@alixdixon611]

Dude, Stop. If You Hate The Ship, Then Don't Watch Tmnt 2012.

[@galaxygimbiino8544]

@@alixdixon611what? They never said they hated the ship?

[@thebobbrom7176]

It's a shame because this would have been a good lesson. Have the relationship with April go nowhere and Then have a second character introduced which he treats respectfully and then ends up in a relationship with

[@falconeshield]

Could've been the perfect way to introduce Venus to a new audience and fix her personality but nooo

[@MakingtheCase]

I think April liked Donnie, but she just wasn't in the right moment in her life to really give him the affection he longed for. Her Dad was just kidnapped by brain aliens, then turned into a bat mutant, and the real pinnacle of it was when she realized her "mother" was experimented on, and she was half mutant. At first, she's looking at Donnie like, "you're a turtle... I'm a human... not going to work but you're a nice guy and I don't want to hurt you because you guys might be the only ones who can help me in this situation." Then, as she realized she's technically not human herself, I think she moved into the understanding that she and Donnie aren't really all that different in both being half-human and half-mutants, who both just wanted someone to understand them. Finally, after her mom and the Sasquatch episode, April realized that Donnie no longer saw her as just a prize to be won, but could actually understand her confusion and discomfort on a different level. I think she understood that Donnie was so invested in seeing her as just "a girl" (which he had no experience with) but then grew to RESPECT her as both a person, who wasn't some stereotypical girl, and as a kunoichi, who had worked just as hard as he had to gain and prove her skills from Splinter! TLDR? Their relationship was ABSOLUTELY painful and difficult to watch, and not at all approached in the right way, but I see what they were trying to do with it. It was about the growth of respect for each other and the maturity they both required to see past the superficial surface of her being "a normal human girl" and him being "a self-conscious mutant turtle" to truly appreciate themselves and each other as individuals. Not the greatest attempt at conveying that, though. Not gonna lie. 😅

[@nadiarey4196]

YES. THANK YOU! This is the right take to make of Donnie/April. April isn't "fishing for attention", or "using the turtles", goddamnit. She's also a teenager figuring out her feelings. The thing the writers handled poorly is giving her no decent screen time to flesh out her character or give her proper development. It could have helped the audience get into her headspace and we wouldn't have so many people end up making all these ill-intentioned assumptions... ... That and the show ran for too damn long. It's painfully obvious they were running dry on ideas by the third season, and dragging on the ship along with the plot.

[@T_E_G]

​@@nadiarey4196 Yeah it was poor writing, but still people are blowing it out of proportion (girl gets hated on too much 😭) Like, it's not just Donnie, they're basically her second family

[@sincerelynotme3522]

My take on this is that neither April or Donatello know what the fuck they are doing. They're young and they're trying to figure it out but just aren't ready. Donnie's not a bad guy but when it comes to April he goes about it the wrong way and comes of as obsessive and vice versa April isn't naive and knows how Donnie feels but doesn't really give a response to how he feels nor answer to how she feels. I feel if the ship was going to happen then it would have to be a slow burn where Donnie slowly realizes he's become obsessed with April and tones it down and shows genuine love and care for her and April slowly starts reciprocating those feelings, I feel like that could work and since April isn't technically fully human it could work. However that requires a lot of nuance and good writing which most writers for TMNT have not had so...yeah, that's an uphill battle. Don't really care either way cause I didn't watch the shows for the shipping anyway but for the fight scenes.

[@MakingtheCase]

@@sincerelynotme3522 -- You know, I agree. They bit off more than they could chew with this relationship. I think the one "AH-HA" moment, where I finally realized what the writers were trying to do, was the moment where Donnie gave April a music box. To most, we'd see it as Donnie making a sweet and innocent gesture, so we can't understand why April cold shouldered him like that. We don't see that April is irritated and hurt that she and Donnie had nearly died fighting alongside each other nearly half a dozen times, but Donnie still chose to give her a gift he thought a "human girl" would appreciate. Not a gift that April, the sarcastic, brooding, and proud kunoichi would appreciate. He could have used his intellectual and robotic skills to craft her a practical weapon or something, but instead he made her a music box. Making her realize Don still didn't really know her, despite her desperately wanting someone to understand her. By Donnie suddenly understanding the importance of personal boundaries and mutual respect in the Big Foot episode, he demonstrated his growth in maturity to her and she forgave him for his past ignorance and awkwardness. She knows he's a smart guy! It's just that Donnie is intellectual intelligence but not social intelligence, which he lags in.

[@sincerelynotme3522]

@@MakingtheCase Yeah it's like I never put too much thought into April and Donnie but looking back at episodes you can clearly see Donatello cares and he really likes her and for the most part pretty harmless but since the Turtles as a whole don't interact with humans on the regular besides April and Casey, Donatello's viewpoint on social cues is almost nonexistent especially when romance is concerned. April feels like she wants to say something to either Donnie or Casey but is scared of what will happen for better or for worse and honestly I can't fully fault her. Each of the turtles have a way with dealing with pain as Leo will devote himself back into his work, Raph will either ignore it or brood, Mikey will laugh it off and pretend it never happened and Donnie just resides himself and is dejected. Donnie of course will still protect April and care but their relationship would essentially be over as friends. Problem is April's solution to do basically nothing doesn't work either as it comes off as stringing both him and Casey along. Like I said, A LOT of nuance has to be done for this ship to work and I believe it can. It's not necessarily toxic just awkward as hell, not to mention that even though April isn't really human, she still appears human, Donnie is a turtle/humanoid hybrid so there's like a mental hurdle that both fans and they have to maneuver in order to give it a chance. Hence why the writer's room needs a person who can handle and has experience with writing these types of things because what fans have mostly gotten with this ship is a mess. I've seen people throw out Wendy/Dipper from Gravity Falls when it comes to this ship and I don't really agree as why that ship doesn't work only comes down to the fact that Dipper is too young...that's it, otherwise they would be dating. Perhaps in the future it happens if Gravity Falls does that like Ferb/Vanessa but it's not the same dynamic as April and Donnie. There's a lot more that goes into their relationship and it's a lot more complexity that goes into it. For the most part I fell bad for both of them as April is never really in a place for a relationship and everytime there is a chance she never goes for it. And I can't fault Donnie because then that's just shitting on a dude that has feelings and can't help the way he feels and that's not cool. Could I see the relationship happen? Yes. But that requires execution, something the writers don't really have at this point and time but it's not the weirdest relationship I've seen. If DC comics can make it work then TMNT can make it work between April and Donatello, just need the right person to write it.

[@AstrumPhasma]

Honestly, the off handed compliments of rise Donnie are my favourite parts of this. Preach on the best Donatello of this entire damn franchise!! Preach!!!

[@VaguelyAlive]

Coming from someone who adored and grew up with 2012 TMNT, I always thought the weird Leo x Karai subplot was worse seeing as they were siblings or something. Donnie x April was terrible, don’t get me wrong, but I just thought the weird insinuated crush Leo had on Karai was hella weird. They had the same father 😭

[@micah459]

That was definitely creepy especially because she was a human at first

[@andrewshearsby8125]

To be fair on Leo he didn't know Kurai was his sister. Donny has no excuses

[@micah459]

@@andrewshearsby8125 The writers did though so they know what they were doing

[@andrewshearsby8125]

@@micah459 true but in universe he didn't so its squicky but we cannot fault Leo

[@micah459]

@@andrewshearsby8125 I don't fault Leo, I fault the writers for being weird

[@TheCommenterDragon]

The 2012 TMNT series is one of my all time favorites! But I will admit that we could've done without the Donnie and April shipping, It was just dumb and pointless.

[@valentinkambushev4968]

We could have done it without a lot of the romance in the show. At least Raph was only into other mutants (and aliens) and not into humans, unlike his brothers.

[@andrewshearsby8125]

Keep it for the first season then delete it when her dad mutated in S2.

[@littlesparrow303]

Especially the finale changing the whole world so it wasn’t necessary

[@keshiaanders6452]

It could've done better without any of the shippings, period!

[@TheCommenterDragon]

@@keshiaanders6452 Well If i'm being honest the only 2012 TMNT ship that I actually liked was Raph and Mona Lisa, Say what you will about them but I for one found the moments between them to be both badass and adorable.

[@Ze_N00B]

I think a big problem is also the contrast of Leo to the other turtles. They all have specific lesson they're given: Donatello learns he can have the girl, a.i. can't have everything he wants and EVENTUALLY lets go. Rapp learns to control his emotions instead of letting them control him, not just with his anger but also in the later seasons his fear. Michelangelo learns his value as an individual in tandem with how to use it for the benefit of the group, both with his childish empathy helping them recruit other characters like Leatherhead and his quick adaptivity making him an expert on Dimension-X. But Leo's lessons, when they finally come around to it in the final seasons are the exact opposite. Especially with him helping and following Karai, he learns that he CAN have what he wants, that he'll get what he wants if he LETS HIS EMOTIONS LEAD and he also learns to leave his team behind in pursuit of his selfish goals.

[@andrerodney454]

In that same episode donnie gets injured cuz they were looking for leo and leo stops working undercover with karai

[@galenpanna827]

i remember being at Fandom at the time when tmnt 2012 aired. i mostly remember everyone hating on april for ignore Donatello. and Donatello having a lot of fangirls that defend him lol

[@falconeshield]

Of course he did

[@galenpanna827]

@@falconeshield yeah, i feel a bit shameful still that i was one of them too lol

[@venusgin7779]

Truer words haven’t been spoken. I was one of em and I just saw April as leading him on but my tween year old brain couldn’t rlly comprehend just how creepy Donnie was bc that was shown as normal and desirable in so much media

[@nadiarey4196]

Donnie was just adorkable, the writing made his story very compelling, and the VA was great at making him likeable. He's also coded as a normal teenager with a mutation problem... You shouldn't feel ashamed at having liked or felt sympathetic towards Donnie. His shortcomings were portrayed in the show as character flaws, not something to support. So why wouldn't you? Honestly, April wasn't leading him on either. She was just a teenager figuring out her own feelings too. The writers' sin was never developping her so we could actually sympathize with her position....

[@janaviselva2476]

In the new TMNT movie Leo is stated to have a crush a On April but it doesn't have that big of a focus. Leo acts more shy and awkward towards her like how any teen acts towards their crush. April is not interested in leo in a romantic but are still able to be friends its better than than 2012's handling of Doni and April.

[@frogmouth2]

The wrote an episode where Donnie directly caused a giant acid monster to follow and capture April for seamingly romantic reasons and somehow the lesson wasn’t “don’t be an obsessive stalker”.

[@SweetOrangeGirl]

If this is bad, imagine someone trying to ship 1987 TMNT April with Donatello. I don’t have to say why.

[@airplanes_aren.t_real]

Why tho?

[@falconeshield]

Wasn't the glasses girl into Donny more?

[@BlurroBlue]

​@@airplanes_aren.t_realMost versions of the turtles are minors.

[@demetriam2408]

​@@airplanes_aren.t_realto build on what the other person said, I believe she's an adult in that series. So yeahhhh...

[@ligtningdog6399]

@@falconeshield You mean Irma? From what I remember, the show joked about it, but the turtles actually found her unattractive.

[@onurbsenutna1261]

I'm 40, and I pretty much was exposed to all of the TMNT versions. I only bothered to watch this version, out of the simple fact that I had nothing better to watch at the time, and surprisingly, it grew on me, to the point that I considered the best version out of the animated shows. But it definitely has its flaws, and this is one of it's biggest flaws! I never understood, why would the turtles have humans as love interest since they were never human to begin with (I would understand if it was Master Splinter, since he used to be human on this version), and why would there be a need for it. It seems more like bestiality to me than anything else. This whole thing was just cringe has hell, and I’m glad they tone it down later on in the show.

[@venusgin7779]

As someone born right in time for 2003 and then 2012 (a bit more so, a tween at the time), I would highly recommend you watch Rise if you haven’t. I think that dynamic wise, they are most family-like and the animation is so good. The story is more sitcommy, but I like that change of pace from the more serialised versions of 03 and 12. Personally, I don’t see the relationship of mutants and humans as problematic and my reasoning is that the issue with beastiality in our world is that animals are not on same cognitive level as us and as such cannot consent to relationships (just like minors or intoxicated ppl cannot consent to such acts either). If there was alien/mutant/Magica species (think elves, orcs, etc) species that was on the same level of awareness as us and had approximately same amount of experience in the couple I’d say it could be morally okay to be in a relationship. Of course, kids wouldn’t happen in this relationship biologically speaking due to differences in chromosome numbers and such, but morally it would’ve been okay. It wouldn’t be for everyone of course. Some species’ individuals would probably keep to their own and not mix, but some would. Idk, it’s kinda complicated? And I guess I’m way more primed for it due to growing up with ti being normalized in media I have consumed since essentially diapers.

[@brainthebrian3690]

I don't think I have to tell anyone not to listen to this case of chronic internet, right? ^

[@venusgin7779]

@@brainthebrian3690 I do think I have to tell you to either re-read your sentence because you’ve forgotten the word convince in it or just go back to school bestie-

[@ltb1345]

Agreed, their love interests should've been other mutants/aliens. At least that was the case for Raphael, and technically became the case for Leonardo.

[@venusgin7779]

@@ltb1345 April is a mutant tho, just a human passing one

[@TDArulesclub4]

20:25 THANK YOU. I love(d) this show for many years but holy fuck the amount of ass shots they had for April was just WAY TOO weird. She literately felt like a self insert giving herself all these plots (and shots).

[@masedaace5473]

At least the previous versions were age appropriate, and even then, they didn't have that many gratuitous moments.

[@thebreaddealer4942]

Stop acting pregnant

[@TheUnamedOne832]

That edited voice over from 12:52 is pure comedy genius coming from Splinter

[@Mr_Muda_Himself]

It could’ve been worse, I’ve read way too many fics with April developing a crush on one of the other turtles and now we’re stuck in an even worse love triangle that also fuck up the family dynamic.

[@naomithornhill2079]

It's ironic that people wrote off tmnt rise for being too different, but it avoided the one thing that everyone hated about the other iterations

[@joshuagonzalez4183]

👍🏻

[@newthejsterjacob408]

I absolutely love this show, one of my favorites of all time, without this it probably would’ve been my favorite

[@katecampbell6464]

I LOVE the TMNT 2012 show but this is the WORST part of the show. I wish it was explained in the show of why Donnie acts the way he does towards April; however I think I may have pieced together a solid reason with the evidence the show provides. I think that Splinter's undying love for Tang Shen, along with the shrine, may have given the idea that romance is their connection to the human world. When the turtles meet April it's like they have an anchor on the surface. I genuinely think that going in to rescue her was more out of concern than lust. When Donnie saved April and she took his hand, rather than run away screaming, he finally felt "Hey I have a chance at love!" I think he's so desperate because he knows it is nearly impossible for him to find someone else to like him. When Casey enters the picture Donnie gets upset because Casey represents something Donnie is insecure about, not being human. The first thing he says about Casey isn't "He's taking my April," instead "he's a punk HUMAN kid." In his head it probably feels like a slap in the face because Casey can have any girl but instead he's choosing to take the only person Donnie thinks he has a chance with. This is not meant to justify his actions! I'm simply sharing my perspective and recontextualizing this relationship in as much of a cannon accurate way as possible.💙❤🧡💜

[@dai5967]

Yeah I feel its pretty clear Donnie is really insecure about not being a human and I wish the show went more into that but without centering it around April. The show has so many good plot points but for some reason never goes deeper into them.

[@christopherbennett5858]

Also, Until Karai comes along, April is the only girl his age he’s ever interacted with. The first person outside of his family he’s interacted with since mutation in 15 years.

[@katecampbell6464]

@@dai5967 I know right!!! There is SO much left to expand on and deep dive into.

[@captaincrunch784]

His window to the human world is education and research too. He can't attend his college graduation/ get his diploma in the 1987 show fron being a long distant student because he's not human. Pretty sure he's in grad school online in the 2012 show and can't be around other hyper intelligent people that truly get him.

[@JustAPrayer]

I agree with you completely. I was open to the idea of a crush at first because I saw it as a good way to explore how isolated the brothers really were. Even Leo’s feelings for Kairi were used to explore how stressed he felt being team leader and following the rules all the time. And it could have been a good way to have his crush eventually fizzle out. Imagine April confronts him and makes it clear that she’s never gonna be interested, and Donnie goes through this realization that his feelings for April aren’t really romantic but a way for him to work through these insecurities. That would have been good character development for him and would’ve strengthened he and April’s friendship.

[@ashlydavis8926]

23:16 - ARE WE GONNA IGNORE THE DEER IN THE BACKROUND!?

[@freshcupofangst]

11:23 Goddamn. You're right. He looks like he's straight out of monster house. How am I supposed to unsee this???? 😭

[@christopherballero866]

2012 TMNT was a really good show but it has 3 big issues. The Donnie/April relationship is the third biggest for me though REALLY creepy. I find Leo & Karai as worse since they're step-siblings. I find pacing to be worse in the show as about the first half of the first 4 seasons are mostly filler with very little character nor story development

[@immortalbeast]

They aren't step siblings. Splinter would need to marry the turtles' mom for them to be step siblings. You guys make wild claims without proof. You people need Jesus

[@christopherballero866]

@@immortalbeast Splinter is Karai's biological father & he raised the Turtles. That makes them minimally really close to step-siblings. Also there was a scene where after the other Turtles found out Mikey replied Karai's their sister. Minimally it's really awkward plus Splinter might've beaten Karai & Leo pretty badly if he found out about their flirting & romantic tension.

[@immortalbeast]

@@christopherballero866 bro, it doesn't matter, the definition of step siblings is two people being brought together by marriage. Their parents have to marry for them to qualify as step siblings ITS A REQUIREMENT! Also being "close" (as you would put it) to being step siblings is not the same as actually BEING step siblings. Also you clearly forgot this but, uh. Splinter already knew. Leo told every about him having a crush on Karai. And yes he did beat him. But it's over now lol.

[@immortalbeast]

@@christopherballero866 Being raised by someone's father is not the same as someone's father marrying your mother lol

[@christopherballero866]

@@immortalbeast not the same but it's pretty close

[@VixxyCopeland]

Idc stop having one of the Turtles crush on April. Its weird. I have always hated it. I prefer April being the Sister to the Turtles like what they did in Rise. April and Donnie's relationship in rise is top tier.

[@Commenter839]

I greatly appreciate that Rise stayed away from romance in general. Idk I always thought romance in this series has always felt out of place, and I prefer watching the characters grow platonic/familial relationships over romantic ones. And it's always nice to see another guy/girl friendship where they're just friends, and there's really nothing going on on either end

[@hannaho1817]

i grew up watching the 2012 one, but for some reason forgot the whole donnie and april thing? like my memory saw that as traumatic and blocked it out. I love that Rise took that and went "yeaaaah lets not repeat our mistakes". The changes made between 2012 and Rise is extreme and intense and threw me away from Rise, but once I gave it a chance i loved it and binged it within 3 days (including the movie- the movie was the main culprit into the series haha). I'm glad to see at least a little appreciation for these two shows and THANK YOU for your words on the cringosity of Donnie and April!!

[@venusgin7779]

I couldn’t watch rise until years later due to the whiplash bc I was so stuck on 12. My first one was 03 (and I watched the 07 part of it too) as I’m 02 baby, but like 12 stuck due to me getting my grabby preteen hands on wattpad and starting to role play (namely with Donnie as my main x). So I was painfully aware of the ship, but I forgot just how creepy Donnie was until I started engaging in it again. Rise is def my fave now and I’m kinda trying to make my own Gen as a lil comic but damn is college kicking my ass (whyd I have to choose genetic engineering, it’s not like I could date the turtles I make anyway- I am not april from the movie-)

[@nadiarey4196]

I actually think Sarcastic is being a bit unfair to the ship because he doesn't like the furry implications. It wasn't so bad honestly. The awkward foot-on-mouth Donnie was endearing and there's something to be said on how many people fell in love with the characters (some literally...) And it's not true people hated this ship, a lot of people shipped him and April like crazy. I honestly don't know where he got his facts. You're totally allowed to like this show and not be bothered by the ship.

[@nicoleflores2054]

​@@nadiarey4196I mean, there's a lot of comments here of people that have watched the show and hated this ship, yes, a lot of people loved this ship, I used to be a big shipper of them but honestly, the fanarts carried this ship because they don't really have chemistry or anything interesting that happens with them, only awkward moments or cheek kissing between them. Interspecies + human relationships aren't new but few times they worked well, the problem with April and Donnie's relationship is how the show pretty much baited the development they could've had along with a nice dynamic they could have then just a awkward nerd's first crush.

[@venusgin7779]

@@nadiarey4196 back when I was on wattpad Donnie fangirls hated April (I should know, I was in their midst), but now most of the hare is coming from the fact that Donnie rivals You on Netflix in terms of how creepy his behavior gets, only one step short of murder most of the time. There were people who really loved the ship (I both loved and hated it), just like leorai was beloved back in the day. I think that it could’ve been cute, but the ship is inherently damaging for both parties and poorly written with no payoff. This is coming from someone who actually would have 0 qualms (and sees it an added bonus) about being in a relationship with an anthropomorphic character. Like Splice creature… Kovu from lion king 2… Ninja turtles in 03/07/12/Rise… BNA wolf… fnaf animatronics… bad guys wolf (and spider oh the spider-)… white leopard and tigress from kung fu panda… death, puss, and kitty from last wish… Agretsuko characters… they’ve ruined me long ago and I ain’t coming back from that even when I’m aro ace.

[@ltb1345]

I didn't watch Rise because it reminded me of TTG. Maybe I'll finally give it a chance.

[@girsitouwu04]

I was 14 when this show was airing and I used to ship them back then, it was infuriating not to give the ship a conclusion and I hated that. However watching it again as an adult I realize why people hated the ship because now I do too :(

[@venusgin7779]

Same bestie- I was 10 when it started and 12 when I started watching it- I thought Donnie was uwu baby- oh gods was I wrong

[@nadiarey4196]

You are allowed to like this show, you know. Sarcastic is being hystrionic. People didn't hate this ship. The majority of the fandom supported it (though did weep the lack of satisfying conclusion)

[@TheHalfblood.Studios]

I found my people 😭

[@TDArulesclub4]

13:00 "Even his dad is telling him to take the L" I almost choked on my ice cream 🤣🤣

[@CesarPerez-mu8ft]

I grew up watching this show when I was 3. But man! I remember being so upset at Donnie here! 16:22 LIKE OH MY GOD DONNIE! YOUR BROTHER GOT KIDNAPPED BY A GIANT SWAMP MONSTER THING AND ALL YOUR WORRIED ABOUT IS APRIL BEING WITH CASEY!? Seriously! The more Donnie cares about April being with Casey, the less he cares about his brothers!😡

[@skye2578]

as a kid i LOVED this show and i honestly loved their dynamic. never once did i ever see them as possible/endgame though. i liked the unrequited dynamic where donnie was just a loser tbh.

[@FelineDeskFan13]

3:58 I think you spoke for most if not all of us watching lol

[@deppygcreations784]

"Donnie uses his genius to invent new new lows to sink to"

[@KirbyIsCute]

As someone who grew up with the 1987's Turtles and watched some of the 2003 one, I was interested in checking this version out when I heard it. Then I heard about how hard Donatello is crushing on April and that it's basically Donatello's main personality how much he wants April, I was just like 'nope'! Donatello was always my favorite turtle and I want him to be the geeky science guy being excited about his latest invention, not about being excited about what his crush is doing. Plus I never cared for characters who are constantly going 'hurr durr, I like this girl'. Not what I wanted to see my boy Donnie go through.

[@venusgin7779]

The thing is they could’ve had it both ways. Maybe Donnie convinced himself he had a crush, because he should yanno. And April was the only girl they knew so he’d be like “yup, this works”. I did that as a tween/teen quite a bit (I still fuck myself over like that sometimes; I am aro ace for context). Like at least if it wasn’t a first glance crush and if april EVER stopped leading him on. They were both terrible (Donnie was worse, so much worse- the stalking and the creepiness is so terrifying from someone you’re supposed to trust)

[@KirbyIsCute]

@@venusgin7779 Agreed, they did April pretty dirty in this one too. Making her not put a stop to this, nor ever saying her true feelings in the whole matter. I guess they had to keep her 'dumb' or something (or have her know and not do anything for some reason) just so this keeps Donnie's obsession going but by doing so they made April more of a prop in this matter - not a character.

[@venusgin7779]

@@KirbyIsCute I agree.

[@nadiarey4196]

This is bull because the show is amazing and the ship is treated a lot more tastefully that Sarcastic is implying in the video. It's definitely worth the watch. At least give the first season a chance. It's pure gold

[@predatorymeteor]

I always saw Donnie's crush as more of a projection of his desire to be human. Unfortunately, the show did not end up exploring that concept...(Gosh there were so many opportunities missed!) but it's how I like to perceive Donnie in this iteration. He is otherwise sweet and intelligent and hard on himself. I like that he is so driven by his emotions, and I would imagine the existentialism of being a mutant would hit him the hardest of the four brothers.

[@Thunderblock7889]

Why woukd tgey even ship a turtle with a human???

[@sleepwalkersqueen2420]

Rise of the TMNT is awesome, and I still hope so hard that we get a 3rd season!

[@christopherbennett5858]

Yeah. Even with recent movie iteration getting a tv series on paramount plus, they still haven’t cancelled Rise.

[@sleepwalkersqueen2420]

@@christopherbennett5858 For real!!

[@brainthebrian3690]

It's not and we won't cause no one watched that dork cringe, and mayhem is taking over, thank the lord.

[@sleepwalkersqueen2420]

Man that really hurt me, why did you say that? U made my day worse :( @@brainthebrian3690

[@Dani_24000]

Omg me too I love it sm

[@rixarts14]

2012 came out when I was in secondary so I was growing into the ages of the core cast. So of course I was into the ships but for Donnie x April, that was weird and though I empathise with Donnie; it was too much and too creepy. Even if I am ashamed to admit, I behaved a lot like Donnie though I didn't act so possessive. The Yeti episode's ending just confused me and it was for the best they gave the ship the axe. If you want a better example of this kind of ship, watch Brooklyn 99 because they handled the Boyle/Rosa pairing with more tact. As for the rest of this show's ships. I admit I was Leo x Karai shipper until the family connection was revealed and it became nearly as awkward as Luke & Leia.

[@falconeshield]

That would probably ruin it

[@PabloComixYT]

Fun fact: The 2012 Donnatello was voiced by Rob Paulsen. Surprisingly, there's another nicktoon that had Rob Paulsen and that's Catscratch. And that character that he voiced is named Gordon and he also has a crush on a human girl kid named Kimberly. Guess TMNT 2012 and Catscratch have 1 thing in common.

[@Tenshii_Artii]

I’m actually glad I found this video. Having been born in the late 90s, I didn’t grow up with TMNT material much throughout my childhood. But I remembered liking the 2012 show as a little kid. A few of the reasons was because of the look, the humour, the Clear anime/Japanese animation influence. And funnily enough, I liked it BECAUSE of the DonnieXApril ship. I basically watched the show without any previous context to older TMNT material, so I thought that ship was adorable. I don’t know why. But I did. But seeing this explanation shocked me. I can’t believe how much things I flew over my head, and now realized why some moments feel so off. I thought 2012 Donnie was funny. But now I feel like he puts Marinette Dupain-Cheng to shame!

[@nadiarey4196]

No, dude. Sarcastic is being overly negative because he didn't like the interspecies romance. The ship wasn't bad. It dragged out for too long (along with the series: it should have had only a couple of seasons) and April's character should have been better fleshed out, sure. But nothing else is there to hate on. This isn't Marinette. I assure you, if this had been a non-animal-coded character, Sarcastic would have found this ship only slightly annoying, and may have even shipped it -__- You are totally allowed to like it.

[@WebbedManiac]

@@nadiarey4196 says there is nothing else to hate on. Also literally points out the two biggest reasons to hate on it.

[@trickshot_katebishop7612]

Ngl I don’t think anyone can outdo Marinette

[@crystalcastro4103]

I’m a huge fan of the 2012 and 18 show honestly, both of them are the best show I was of TMNT

[@venusgin7779]

I am also a huge fan of 2003 (it was made a year after my birth so it was the first one I was expose to) and I think 2003 and Rise are the best, with 2012 having issues but having a great backbone to stack things on top of. I am personally trying to make a little comic project as like my own Gen since I saw ppl doing it and I thought it would be fun-

[@nadiarey4196]

❤

[@copyrightstrike6949]

Rise Donnie:I am a fully fleshed out character who has insecurities, hobbies, and development. 2012 Donnie:I breathe, fight and exist for April teehee 🤪🤓

[@siennasobott9805]

Always loved the 2012 tmnt growing up, but even from the young age of 10 I could recognise that this ship was doomed to fail and a annoying mistake. Which is why I am forever greatful that rise of the tmnt took their relationship close friend direction they should’ve here.

[@Continent_43]

I think the one sided crush was fine. What was annoying was that April lead him on. And I guarantee someone in the comments is gonna say some crap like “she didn’t she was just being friendly” or something like that but she KNEW he liked her and NEVER gave a solid answer or even a no and instead would default to being couply at times while at the same time not. Rise April and Donnie were amazing though and I still think every day about how that show was cancelled Edit: am I the only one that loves the bayverse movies? I think their characterization and designs were GREAT and it was so enjoyable for me as a long time tmnt fan

[@emptinessitself]

I agree with you in every word, and no you're not the only one April is just manipulator for me bc I won't ever believe that she was oblivious or didn't want to hurt their feelings or other shit her defenders trying to say. No, she should've said Donnie and Casey to back off if she didn't felt anything for them, but no she leads them on. Also I love Bayverse too for it's original approach and designs xddd. Even Mikey's crash on April wasn't THAT bad unlike 2012 TMNT. At least they weren't pushing it in our faces.

[@captaincrunch784]

Bay Apriltello had legit, cute chemistry

[@gabrielantunez7642]

you have to remember that outright rejecting him puts her in s terrible situation with all the brothers

[@chris_freaky305]

Fun fact: its confirmed that rise isn't canceled, it's just paused. We still have chances, people.

[@Braylon1997]

I can honestly agree with your assessment of April

[@Enshohma]

I believe that one of the biggest reasons behind this terrible back-and-forth between Donnie and April and while it was never resolved in a healthy manner is Nickelodeon itself: based on what creators and writers have noted, notably the staff of Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Nickelodeon has a weird hang up against story arcs and continuous storylines, preferring everything every episode to be self-contained which leads to some confusing and vexing decisions. Hence, a story where Donnie learns his lesson about not being a stalker gets undone by a last minute April kiss and everything returning to the disturbing normal in all the following episodes.