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More TMNT rambling
May. 24th, 2013 02:02 pm...'Cause hey, I guess I have nothing better to do.
I saw someone make a post about how they wish Leo and Donnie's relationship would be a focus in the 2k12 cartoon, because it wasn't featured in the 2k3 cartoon. And that made me stop and think about it for a moment.
I think the reason for that was simply that Leo and Donnie never had any significant conflict. In contrast to Raph and Mikey, Leo and Don are both (generally) pretty calm and level-headed, so they get along well. Plus, Don is pretty much always on good terms with all of his brothers; as far as I remember, he basically never got into any arguments with them.
Leo and Raph's relationship is always a focus because they're always at odds with each other. Don and Mikey sometimes share the spotlight in order to counterbalance the spotlight on Leo and Raph ("Junklantis," anyone?), and, in the words of Wikipedia, their more passive natures set them apart from belligerent Raph and authoritative Leo. Raph and Mikey interact a lot because Mikey likes to annoy Raph.
But that doesn't mean Leo and Don didn't have a close relationship in the 2k3 series; it's just fairly subtle, because it's not in the form of arguing or conflict.
Recall the fact that Leo always turns to Don to explain what's going on when weird things appear. Recall that Don was the first to try talking to unconscious Leo during "Tales of Leo"; recall that Leo shows a lot of concern for Don during the lead-up to "Adventures in Turtle-sitting" and during the whole "Good Genes" arc. Also recall that Don was the one helping Usagi defend Leo during the "Big Brawl" episodes; actually, I don't think I've ever seen Don get as angry as when he was being protective of poisoned Leo during that story arc.
So it's not super overt, but I think it's pretty strongly implied that Don and Leo have a strong relationship in the 2k3 series.
Sidenote: It's interesting to contrast it with Leo and Don's relationship in the IDW comics. I read a Tumblr post on how Donatello's character is the most inconsistently written across the various TMNT incarnations, and I think I have to agree. Leo is pretty much the same, but IDW Don is hyper-rational and because of that gets into a lot of arguments with Leo (in place of Raph, before they track him down), because he refuses to believe in things that don't have scientific proof, like reincarnation. He's a bit colder, more standoffish, and more aggressive in this version.
I saw someone make a post about how they wish Leo and Donnie's relationship would be a focus in the 2k12 cartoon, because it wasn't featured in the 2k3 cartoon. And that made me stop and think about it for a moment.
I think the reason for that was simply that Leo and Donnie never had any significant conflict. In contrast to Raph and Mikey, Leo and Don are both (generally) pretty calm and level-headed, so they get along well. Plus, Don is pretty much always on good terms with all of his brothers; as far as I remember, he basically never got into any arguments with them.
Leo and Raph's relationship is always a focus because they're always at odds with each other. Don and Mikey sometimes share the spotlight in order to counterbalance the spotlight on Leo and Raph ("Junklantis," anyone?), and, in the words of Wikipedia, their more passive natures set them apart from belligerent Raph and authoritative Leo. Raph and Mikey interact a lot because Mikey likes to annoy Raph.
But that doesn't mean Leo and Don didn't have a close relationship in the 2k3 series; it's just fairly subtle, because it's not in the form of arguing or conflict.
Recall the fact that Leo always turns to Don to explain what's going on when weird things appear. Recall that Don was the first to try talking to unconscious Leo during "Tales of Leo"; recall that Leo shows a lot of concern for Don during the lead-up to "Adventures in Turtle-sitting" and during the whole "Good Genes" arc. Also recall that Don was the one helping Usagi defend Leo during the "Big Brawl" episodes; actually, I don't think I've ever seen Don get as angry as when he was being protective of poisoned Leo during that story arc.
So it's not super overt, but I think it's pretty strongly implied that Don and Leo have a strong relationship in the 2k3 series.
Sidenote: It's interesting to contrast it with Leo and Don's relationship in the IDW comics. I read a Tumblr post on how Donatello's character is the most inconsistently written across the various TMNT incarnations, and I think I have to agree. Leo is pretty much the same, but IDW Don is hyper-rational and because of that gets into a lot of arguments with Leo (in place of Raph, before they track him down), because he refuses to believe in things that don't have scientific proof, like reincarnation. He's a bit colder, more standoffish, and more aggressive in this version.
