[Mesnick]

I'm rewatching Ninja Turtles: Next Mutation as an adult. I have to commend the show for its high-quality animatronic costumes. The Dragon Lord is also a pretty scary antagonist for a kids' show. But the downsides still outweigh the upsides. The main drawback, perhaps, is the turtles themselves; they seem too dumb and perverted. And while the turtles' downsides can be forgiven, how can you deal with the dimwitted Splinter? And all this is against the backdrop of new characters who are quite competent and goal-oriented. It feels like the turtles are completely unnecessary to this plot and were added only for popularity. They could have been replaced by anyone, including the X-Men, or Batman and Robin, whose poster, by the way, appears in the first episode.
Fans of the characters don't forgive this, just as they don't forgive Shredder's abrupt and completely unimpressive demise. Add to this the typically unconvincing Saban voice acting, where the character speaks cheerfully without the slightest hesitation while actively fighting. And the humor is even worse, as in Power Rangers, Beetleborgs, and even Masked Rider, the writers more or less understood when jokes were inappropriate. Here, however, even when Splinter is dying, his students continue to practice their stupid jokes. So, in short, it's watchable, but with very often facepalms. Although I remember practically nothing from the show, so it might pleasantly surprise me in the future.