Why Teen Titans Was SO MEMORABLE?!

cartoons i feel for the longest time have always  gotten a bad rap it seemed like no matter what the   quality of what was on screen was it was always  being minimized because cartoons are for kids   and don't get me wrong there are a lot of  shows out there which are simply stupid   visual clutter to distract your children for 10  minutes but within that clutter of mess are born   some absolute gems completely subverting the  audience's perception of what it's supposed to   be and creating a product that will stand the test  of time and today we are talking about teen titans   i don't know a single person who hadn't watched  this series and to this day whenever i see these   characters referenced by fans it's almost always  this iteration of these characters this show left   a massive footprint on pop culture but what made  teen titans stand out from the rest even after all   these years were the characters really that great  was the story truly compelling or was it all just   one of robin's smoke bombs so join me as i go  through and see why teen titans was so memorable   teen titans was originally released in july  of 2003 and aired for 65 episodes across five   seasons on cartoon network the show followed five  heroes robin starfire cyborg beast boy and raven   as they fought crime protecting their city all  while dealing with their own personal struggles   like most cartoons at the time the format was  told episodically meaning that each episode was   its own self-contained story for the most part  it didn't matter which order you watched it in   this format really allowed the writers to  focus on delivering the greater messages   and themes they wanted the viewers to take away  something that would later get the show praised   for in the future were these more mature themes  but it wasn't always like this in the beginning   of its inception teen titans was supposed to be  made for kids six to eight-year-olds to be exact   the executive producer at the time brought up  how other shows like justice league and samurai   jack were catering more towards teens while the  younger demographic were being left out so this   led the show to adopt a very comedic style from  the get-go inspired by japanese anime character   expressions would often be over-exaggerated and  much of its comedic elements would resort to   over-the-top slapstick scenarios but when it came  to the actual substance being delivered this is   where the show truly got its fan base while teen  titans was still technically a kids show there   is a vast difference between making a show for a  younger audience and treating the audience like   their kids teen titans quite frankly never treated  its audience as though they were kids despite the   initial sales pitch being that they were intending  to target a six to eight-year-old audience many   of the themes and lessons present in each episode  were very much more relatable to teams and i mean   it should be for a show named teen titans you'd  hope that teens would be the target demographic   and i don't know if this was just simply a  disconnect in perception because this claim   was made in mid-season too it was in the middle  of the terra arc and that arc is not a kid's arc   maybe back then the standard for what a kids show  was was much higher but at least for the people   making the show they seemed to be aware that teens  were most relating to their story and they evolved   adding much darker storylines as time went on and  i guess i'll briefly mention the show's design   glenn murakami was one of the series producer  but he was also in charge of its animation   at the time he was working on justice league  when he was approached to work on a new project   they really wanted to take it in a direction  completely different to that of justice league   and part of that was the aesthetic of the entire  series glenn had seen anime and manga influence   make their way into comic books but he'd never  seen them make their way into cartoons and so   this spurred him to design what would later be its  iconic art style a lot of japanese inspiration was   taken when the show was getting made plus just to  wedge this in here somewhere they also got their   theme song to be sung by japanese pop rock duo  puffy amiyumi in both english and japanese and   it is and i un-ironically say this on the mount  rushmore of theme songs teen titans is up there a bonus fun fact is that the series actually uses  the japanese version of the theme song in one-off   episodes that deal with more comedic tones but  anyway back to the art style it came across great   in each of the titan's main designs part of a good  character design is being able to tell who someone   is simply by looking at them robin the only one  who wears a mask almost as if it's his uniform   and he never takes it off because he's always on  the job it adds an air of mystery to him despite   not being the most mysterious member starfire  incredibly bright and bubbly both in personality   and costume she wears a lot of vibrant colors and  shows a lot of skin like she has nothing to hide   and in complete contrast there's raven almost  the exact opposite to starfire she dresses in   dark colors and covers up as much of herself as  possible she's hiding something she's not an open   book like star beast boy is always given the most  expressive facial features usually making him look   the goofiest thus the comedic relief and cyborg  well he looks like a cyborg he's the tech guy   but he's also physically bigger than everyone else  which makes him more boisterous than everyone else   this show didn't invent these characters but they  did do a damn good job at staying true to how they   are and now we get to the titans themselves a very  interesting prospect the show made out to do since   the beginning was never addressing the secret  identities the producers found it important for   kids watching to be able to identify with the  characters and this involved boiling everyone   down to their most basic element the alien  the robot the witch the shapeshifter and so on   the moment a secret identity is thrown in they  become less relatable and while this seems like it   might be a hindrance in a sense this perspective  really did help out the show secret identities are   important there's no denying that but what  wound up happening is that by ignoring the   secret identity entirely who the titans are is  simply just who they are their strengths their   weaknesses and most importantly their personality  is just them we don't have to witness dick grayson   act like a normal functioning member of society  and then turn on into being a slightly edgy hero   he just is always a hero the show doesn't ignore  their identities altogether though each of them at   one point or another is either directly called by  their real name or alluded to who they are except   for raven there is good and there is evil but the  line between them can be almost impossible to find   robin i would say is actually the least relatable  of all of the titans he more than the other sticks   true to a comic book character he's the leader  he's stoic selfless brooding stubborn and yet   also kind he actually resembles much of batman in  terms of his leadership and dedication to the job   however gets much more breathing room to act like  a teen and goof off with his friends from time to   time but probably the most important aspect about  him is that he's the only one without powers   in this show he's the embodiment of showcasing  that you don't need superpowers to be a hero he   works hard and is determined and it is through his  attitude that supports and props up his friends   to make them the best versions of themselves  that they can be observe i am a rorfian zopgar on my planet this is hilarious starfire is often  used as the most relatable character when it comes   to the problem she goes through she's sweet  and cheerful while also being a bit naive but   not stupid her problems are more often than not  something that a large portion of the viewer base   can relate to jealousy insecurity and feeling like  you don't belong accentuated in her case since   she is an alien in the episode sisters we are  introduced to blackfyre starfire's cooler older   sister all of the other titans almost immediately  take interest on her and she fits in with the   group quite well and this causes starfire to feel  like she's being replaced and it's only further   perpetuated when cyborg suggests that she joined  the team she's constantly in her own mind about   the whole situation like her friends no longer  like her because they're making another friend and   this almost causes starfire to leave the team all  together believing that everyone will be happier   without her but at the end of the episode after  it's been revealed that blackfyre served a more   antagonistic presence robin reassures her that she  was never in danger of losing them as friends i am   just glad that the truth was discovered before i  was replaced what are you talking about well you   everyone was having such fun with her  and then cyborg said look your sister   was interesting but she could never take  your place no one could ever take your place   not only was that smooth as silky by robin but  starfire was effectively in her own head the   entire time yeah it did coincidentally coincide  with her sister actually trying to take her   place but even had she not the message would  remain the same starfire is still starfire and   all of the things that we like about her aren't  going to change because someone similar appears   in fact this is a common theme for starfire which  appears multiple times throughout the series in   the episode transformation starfire goes through  what is effectively tamaranian puberty obviously   one of the most relatable subjects for teens  watching but this time she feels like she doesn't   fit in due to her physical changing and similar to  the lesson learned with blackfyre it is who she is   that they care about not how she looks please do  not reject me i am almost normal you're exactly   as you should be no matter how you change on the  outside you'll always be starfire on the inside but speaking about who starfire is probably  her strongest and most endearing asset is her   kindness and no episode better showcases  this more than season 4 episode 6 truck   this episode is one of the most renowned in  the entire series and for good reason in this   episode we are introduced to valyor an alien hero  who's traveling the galaxy destroying his enemies   by all stretches of the imagination he is a hero  similar to the titans more in fact as he's meant   to be grown up and professional he gets along  with everyone very well he's incredibly personable   and in the eyes of everyone he is a true hero the  image of what they're going to become when they're   adults but there's one not so hidden trait about  him he's racist specifically towards tamaranians   and throughout the episode he subtly and not  so subtly continues to disparage starfire   until she finally understands what's going on he  actively avoids including her and when he does   he sends her on dangerous missions which will  likely get her hurt this completely bypasses all   of the other titans as the way he's going about  insulting her is through a nickname truck everyone   else got a nickname but starfire's just so  happened to be in a language that only she would   understand throughout the episode you see avalyar  has effectively lowered starfire's self-worth and   she begins to feel how he's treating her but  it's not until cyborg accidentally mirrors   valjor's language and calls her trock without  knowing the meaning behind it that she divulges   what he's been doing you do not call me that  but about your calls you track all the time   that does not make it right what's up i thought  you said it didn't mean anything no i said it   means nothing when valuer calls me truck he  is saying that i am worthless a nothing star   there are those on other planets who feel  tamaranians are inferior truck is what they call   us but we do get a hilarious response from cyborg  relating to what it's like to be judged based on   how he looks so he's calling you a terrible name  and you know that if you punch him out it'll just   confirm all the bad stuff he thinks about you yes  you know what it feels like to be judged simply   because of how you look of course i do i'm part  robot i mean come on aside from the unintentional   hilarity of that cyborg immediately wants to tell  robin which he does despite starfire's hesitation   and it's incredibly sad to see how willing  starfire is to preserve robin's perception of   valyr he thinks of him as a hero and he's looking  up to him and she doesn't want to taint that image   whether it be true or fake but luckily cyborg  is there to not have her allow this and robin's   response to hearing this is spectacular as well  there is not a moment's hesitation not believing   that it could possibly be a misunderstanding  as soon as hearing the information all respect   is thrown out the window with nothing left and he  almost immediately goes to fight him and force him   to apologize but yet again perfectly understanding  the chain of importance in this episode that is   how robin deals with his problems but this isn't  a robin problem as much as he may want it to be   so instead starfire deals with it in her own  way initially asking everyone to simply ignore   it as they were still on a mission and her  feelings were not as important as saving lives   and on this mission starfire showcases exactly  the type of person she is valeur winds up getting   trapped with a bomb about to explode he doesn't  want any help from a filthy truck but despite   his insults and not wanting any help almost  preferring to die as starfire says you may   not value my life but i still value yours the  two escape the enemies are defeated then by the   end of the episode you might expect valyr to have  changed his mind his perceptions have been wrong   and now he grows from the situation no longer  judging tamranians for simply being themselves   a classic moral happy ending to this kid's  show story but that's not what the episode does   he simply chalks it up to starfire being one  of the good ones his mind has not changed in   fact almost the opposite when the titans stand by  starfire he then considers earthlings to be just   like the trucks and the episode ends with starfire  delivering this message i'm sorry valyor treated   you like that if i'd known i never would have  let it happen none of us would there is nothing   you could have done there will always be people  who say mean words because you are different and   sometimes their minds cannot be changed but  there are many more people who do not judge   others based on how they look or where they are  from those are the people whose words truly matter   truck is one of the best individual teen titans  episodes and it dealt with the topic of racism   in an unbelievably nuanced way they very easily  could have simply had a villain who was already   not a good person in evil just be given this trait  but instead they chose to give it to a hero that   the concept of fighting evil doesn't inherently  make you a good person they didn't beat him up   because he deserved it and he didn't change his  mind because that's what was supposed to happen   what happened here was realistic and it perfectly  showcased the character of starfire dealing with   even the worst people with the kindness of her  heart it built her up without the need to have   her tear someone else down i could turn into the  biggest strongest fastest animals on earth but you   know what dude sometimes it's best to be a slow  tiny turtle beast boy is a tough character for   me i like him and he's very entertaining to watch  the majority of time you see him he'll be cracking   jokes attempting to make others laugh or just  making himself laugh but at the same time he's not   exempt from his serious moments very frequently  often in relation to raven beast boy shows a more   mature side to himself and i think he better  than the others makes you empathize with him   what he goes through is often very genuine the  emotions being felt are raw there's not quite a   message being delivered that you're supposed to  take away you're simply just observing and the   terror arc is a prime example of this i'm going to  talk about the terror arc later in this video so   i don't want to get too much into it right now  but observing beast boy throughout it all you see   it's just love anger confusion betrayal you feel  for him and i think this gets amplified because   he's supposed to be the funny guy you want to  see him happy so when he breaks character you   know something is wrong he's a joy to watch and  at the same time has a way of reaching your heart   my body may have its limitations but if i put  my mind to it there's no limit to what i can   do aside from being the loud and boisterous tech  guy on the team cyborg's best moments come when   he's truly overcoming the obstacles which face  him mentally his humanity while you'll almost   always spot him building something upgrading tech  and even improving the robotic aspects of himself   through multiple episodes we see that it's not  a simple thing for him to accept and he doesn't   want to lose it in fact cyborg's robotic parts are  often used as an allegory for having a disability   and they tackle this almost immediately in episode  5 of the first season in the episode the sum of   his parts cyborg accidentally runs out of battery  and is dumped into an underground tunnel where   he is saved by fix-it a robotic hermit who loves  to repair broken machines after initially saving   cyborg he deems his human parts biological  imperfections and intends to fix them making   him fully robotic and this prospect terrifies him  as there was genuinely nothing he could do in the   situation but fortunately his memories make their  way in to fix it's view when he's downloading them   and it touches a side of him which he's since  long lost as he too was once human and cyborg   promises to help him regain what he's lost this  episode really taught cyborg to value his humanity   and to really hammer in this point a kid with a  prosthetic arm shows off to his friend how alike   the two are only for cyborg to mention that it's  the arm that it's attached to which makes them   alike while these words of wisdom are incredibly  good-natured in the later episodes we see just how   difficult it is for even cyborg to believe that  in the episode only human cyborg gets incredibly   upset that he can no longer push himself past his  limits like he used to when he was fully human   being a robot these things are just now  pre-programmed to give him a parallel   to face this episode the villain is atlas a 100  robot who initially beat cyborg in a video game   but after challenging him to a real-life fight  atlas yet again wins and declares cyborg being   incapable of winning for being part human it  really attempts to push home the idea that   cyborg is in the worst of both circumstances he  can't beat atlas because of his human side holding   back being an all-powerful machine and he can't  push past his limits because of his robotic side   but in reality it winds up being that his human  side isn't what makes him weak it's what makes   him strong and he's capable of defeating atlas  and like everyone cyborg struggles with the idea   of not fitting in later on in season 3 cyborg  infiltrates hive academy under the alias stone   attempting to uncover a dangerous new device  brother blood is intending to use as stone cyborg   begins living his new life at hive undercover  but at the same time feeling normal he's making   friends competing in school events taking exams  life is how it used to be before he was cyborg   eventually he uncovers the device and brother  blood even attempts to use cyborg's insecurity as   a bargaining chip serve me and i can make you what  you once were i can give back your life none of   this winds up working and cyborg returns back to  his titan life and he has to say goodbye to being   normal an event that kind of saddens him but yet  again perfectly showcasing starfire's character   she offers him words of encouragement i never got  to finish high school because of this and when   i was at the hive for a while there i actually  felt normal i did not know you before so to me   you are normal in a completely ironic sense what  cyborg deals with is very human his insecurities   he knows that being a robot doesn't make him  weak but yet he still struggles with wanting to   fit into the status quo i guess in the end there  really is no end just new beginnings an outsider's   view of someone can often be incredibly skewed not  understanding the truth behind the person on the   surface raven is quiet mysterious intelligent  and often sarcastic but raven is someone who   deals with her emotions and the sometimes  unhealthy way that it affects her mentally   i'm not creepy i'm just different she's  a character torn between two realities   on one hand she wants to be a hero who fights  to protect people but on the other hand she's   the key which will release her demonic father  and destroy the world two completely separate   and conflicting scenarios but both something  that she is hyper aware of and these are where   both her strengths and weaknesses are intertwined  to prevent her demonic father from escaping she   must not succumb to his demonic influence and to  do this she meditates she must have full control   over her own mind and we see both the healthy and  unhealthy ways that she goes about dealing with it   in the episode nevermore raven accidentally loses  control of her emotions and traumatizes dr light   understanding the severity of what she's done  she retreats and tries to get a grip of herself   meanwhile cyborg and beast boy in an attempt  to cheer her up ventures into her room where   they accidentally get sucked into a mirror which  is meant for tapping into raven's subconscious   in this new dimension the two come across all  of raven's different emotions personified while   here the emotion of rage which got out of control  when she was fighting dr light has since taken the   form of her father and is attempting to consume  her completely it's not until the suggestion of   cyborg and beast boy that raven fuses all of her  emotions together to control and subdue her rage   raven's emotions are important to her and more  of a responsibility than others might realize but   probably the most important thing this episode  showed us was despite her calm outer appearance   seemingly being devoid of any emotions she truly  has all of the other emotions they're just pushed   down into a state where she can control them and  controlling them is the key lesson she wouldn't   have been able to overcome her age had she just  tried to fight it it's when she's welcoming in   all of her other emotions when she's truly strong  this episode didn't teach her right away though   as on occasion she still did have a tendency  to simply lie about her true emotions outright   and as you all know lying to yourself only  does more harm than good and this is showcased   in the episode fear itself in it beast boy runs a  scary movie and it shakes everyone to their cores   everyone except raven that is after this the  titans are attacked by a strange being and one   by one they are all taken until raven is the last  one standing throughout it all she's kept denying   the fact that she was scared everything that's  happening isn't getting to her and she's calm   as a cucumber but she inevitably gets pushed to a  point where she is forced to acknowledge her fears   and the monsters all go away the monsters were  actually a physical manifestation of her denial   that she was afraid and by ignoring it it leaked  out into the real world she doesn't have complete   control as everyone suspected in fact it's quite  the opposite in this case she was bottling up her   emotions and pretending like they didn't exist  and that's not a good thing for anyone to do   emotions are not a weakness and pretending like  you don't have them because you don't like them   isn't healthy raven is probably the most  complex of all the titans and putting into words   why she is so great is actually kinda hard  at least for me i know i like raven and i   understand that she's complex but at the same  time she's been the hardest for me to put into   words why exactly i like her probably one of my  favorites though is that she inspires and pushes   people like robin to be better by simply being a  titan even though she's unaware of it she chose   to fight against the fate that was her father  showcasing just how hopeful of a person she was   so much so that when she dies robin travels to  literal hell and back to return her to life even   with the smallest glimmer of hope robin sees that  in her and he puts it better than i ever could   how did you still manage to hope it could all work  out because of you you don't realize it raven but   you're actually the most hopeful person i've ever  met from the day you were born they said you were   evil that you were created to do unspeakable  things but you wished for more you dared to hope   that you could be a hero while i didn't talk much  about robin in his segment it's events like this   that really showcase his strengths as a character  as well and it's so in character for raven to   not realize that she's an inspiration  she thinks of herself quite negatively   as some sort of evil being but by simply being  herself she is in no way different to the others   even when they first met and the team hadn't  been formed yet raven says how they wouldn't   want her on their team but yet again robin seeing  what she just did recognizes that she probably is   just being a bit harsh on herself trust me if you  knew what i really am you wouldn't want me around   i know enough the reason the teen titans work is  because they are a team the defining character   differences and the role they fill all mash  together beautifully they play off of each other   comedically well but more importantly they do the  same thing during its heavy moments one-on-ones   are a big deal in this show they don't just go  through wacky adventures they grow as people   i am the thing that keeps you up at night the  evil that haunts every dark corner of your mind   for a show that's all about the teen titans you  might expect there to be a whole array of complex   villains who perhaps have some sort of personal  history or stake in taking down the titans   especially considering that this is dc dc is  some of the most iconic and memorable villains in   all of fiction however it really doesn't go for  this approach almost ever nearly every single bad   guy that titan's face all have the exact same  motive either destroy the city do some sort   of action that'll make them money or destroy the  titans themselves none of these go in more depth   than their service level appearance while this  may seem like a slight against the villains is   only brilliantly traded out in favor of the titans  themselves for a show that wanted to focus on the   teen titans that's exactly what is done instead of  focusing on the characters who stand in their way   what they are instead used for is a method  of putting the main characters in unique   positions they must overcome while every villain  fundamentally serves the same role they all serve   a unique lesson take for example the puppet king  in season 1 episode 7 switched the puppet king   is a magic puppet who surprisingly wants to  take over the city with his remote control he   has the power to transfer souls into puppets  and he uses this to infiltrate titan's tower   and capture the souls of robin beast boy and  cyborg he almost manages to get raven in starfire   as well however thanks to raven's own magic she  prevents that but accidentally winds up switching   bodies with starfire throughout the rest of the  episode raven and starfire have to learn how to   use each other's powers if they want to succeed  and that's an incredibly difficult task for these   two because their powers work completely opposite  starfire gains her abilities through expressing   her emotions and letting them flow through her  naturally but raven due to her demonic heritage   is a liability if she doesn't keep herself in  check and it is only through calm meditation   that she can channel the completely chaotic energy  held within her and it was such a great decision   putting this episode towards the beginning of the  series because it shows us a bit of the dynamic   between them they both get infuriated with each  other's lack of control with their powers but that   anger stems from not knowing each other they're  not best friends at this point in fact they're   both semi-strangers to each other so to gain an  understanding they sit down and tell each other   stories about their respective past the episode  ends as they all do with the heroes saving the   day and the puppet king is taken down as a nice  little cherry on top the next day starfire joins   raven in meditation and raven offers to go to  the mall with starfire just the two of them   you see how much the villain wasn't part of the  equation when describing the episode and that's   sort of the point i was getting at the villains  aren't interesting they're incredibly basic   but they put the characters in unique scenarios  and draw something out of them and that's the   least you can ask for out of a villain so long  as they do something like that it doesn't matter   how complex or simple their motivations may be  because it almost always causes you to forget that   they're relatively uninteresting even the main  antagonist slade doesn't break through this mold   his motivation too is the simple downfall of the  titans and the destruction of the city but similar   to the other villains it is what slade brings out  of the characters where his role in everything   truly shines he's better than anyone else at  bringing the worst out of the characters whether   it be the friendship the teamwork the trust that  they've built up through all of these episodes   the moment slade gets involved all of those things  get put to the test and it's never an easy hurdle   for them to overcome when he fights raven she  may be overpowered making him look physically   weak but what he accomplished was showing a dark  and evil side to the titans that make them fear   her but best of all is his dynamic to robin being  the main protagonist and antagonist respectively   these two serve as foils to one another slade is  everything robin has sworn to fight against and   robin is the exact person slade believes he can  corrupt but what truly gets under robin's skin   is just how similar they are they are both  determined and neither of them will stop until   they get what they want and slade exploits this  side of robin robin gets so obsessed with stopping   him that it comes at the cost of his friends  he yells at them he loses his composure and he   doesn't trust them not enough to rely on them  which is why he even becomes a villain himself   and side tangent but red x probably one of  the coolest things to come out of the show   in its entirety especially because it was  a completely original concept and creation   robin's plan of being red x fails and he is set  back even further because he lost the trust of   his friends in the process everything that robin  is his leadership his assured nature all gets   completely thrown away when slade plays a direct  role he brings out the worst version of himself   and even later in the series when slade is  defeated we see just how important he was to   robin in the episode haunted by this point slade  is believed to be gone for good but robin doesn't   believe so he's up until the late hours of the  night scanning footage for any signs that he might   still be around and throughout the episode robin's  suspicions get confirmed as he finds himself yet   again battling against slade attempting to prevent  him from destroying the city but the twist of the   episode is that this slade isn't real robin  is finding himself at a battle with himself   mentally the stress and prospect of slade's  return is metaphorically and literally killing him   it shows just how important slade is to  robin and this episode better than any   showcases how even when he's not there slade  always brings the worst out of the characters   i will say there was one detail at the end  of the episode which i think takes away from   everything just a little bit and it's the fact  that everything was happening to robin due to   a chemical he breathed in when he picked up  slade's mask at the beginning of the episode   i do believe it would have been vastly  more impactful had it all simply just   been spurred on by stress but nevertheless it  was still a great episode with a good twist   when it comes to the villains though personally  i'm a fan of blackfyre and jinx though i genuinely   have no reason to actually like blackfyre from  what i've gathered she has almost no redeemable   qualities whatsoever and doesn't even really  seem justified in her villainous tendencies   she's just bad and maybe that's why i like her but  as for jinx i was pleasantly surprised to see her   get a slight redemption arc towards the end of  the series like i said earlier the villains are   incredibly basic no motivation no development they  simply exist to be the bad guy but in the episode   lightspeed it focuses its attention on the hive  five as they attempt to capture the introduced kid   flash the episode pays most of its attention to  jynx as she tries to prove herself to madame rouge   as a serious villain kid flash by all stretches  of the imagination is much more powerful than   the hive and spends most of his time toying around  with them particularly jinx because he developed   a crush on her he's curious as to why she tries  to go to such extreme lengths to prove herself to   someone who isn't valuing her in the slightest and  we learned that being a villain is all that she's   ever known i'm bad luck good was never an option  for me at least with the brotherhood of evil i   can be somebody i'll get respect you don't need to  hurt people to feel good about yourself and by the   end of the episode she makes a complete 180 turn  she helps kid flash out and abandons her goals   of being part of the brotherhood of evil also  apparently after this she just started dating kid   flash in the comics which i didn't know existed i  don't know what this is but apparently it exists   where she genuinely seems happy and she even makes  another appearance towards the end of the series   where she helps out the side of good i just always  thought that this slight character development in   this one side villain was a pleasant surprise and  a glimpse into other aspects this series could   have had where it was really lacking her name  was tara she was gifted with tremendous power   and cursed with it as well she was  a dangerous enemy and a good friend   and she was one of the bravest people that i have  ever known then there was tara believe me i did   not forget about her i've been talking about all  these greater themes and messages that have been   being delivered in all of these episodes but to  be honest when i was a kid i didn't pick up on   really any of those i watched because i thought  the characters were great the show was funny   and it was action-packed but even when you're  oblivious to the greater meaning of something   some things are just impossible to miss and being  hit in the fields is one of them the storyline of   tara was probably one of the greatest emotional  roller coasters i'd ever been through as a child   out of all of the villains tara might be the only  one to have ever brought emotional stake to the   story and that was because she was so different  to everyone else that they dealt with so far   slade lurks in the shadows and controls things  from there brother blood likes the spotlight mad   mod british guy trigon the devil himself but  all of those villains you never really cared   for they added an element that really focused on  the titans and brought something out of them but   with tara she was the focus and slayed during this  whole thing it may very well be the most devious   he's ever been in the entire series we've seen his  ability to get under everyone's skin but with tara   it hit a bit extra with her it was pure  emotional manipulation and exploiting her   when she was always at her weakest initially when  she made her debut in season 2 she was incredibly   insecure over her lack of control with her powers  and she confided this insecurity in beast boy   and when she accidentally loses control after  an encounter with slade he promises to keep what   happened a secret but at the end of the episode  when she's offered to become a titan robin says   how they can help train her which in her mind was  a complete betrayal of trust and she runs away   but in reality robin just figured it out and it  was all one big misunderstanding but slade uses   this opportunity to exploit her as she's now in  an incredibly vulnerable position and he recruits   her as his apprentice and this isn't even the only  time that he does this in fact he does this in an   even more extreme scenario in the episode betrayal  by this point tara has reconnected with the titans   only this time as slade's apprentice unbeknownst  to them she's worked on regaining their trust and   it does in fact work she infiltrates titan's tower  and intends on ambushing everyone when they least   expect it and this plan does carry through however  there was a bit of an unexpected snag in the whole   thing beast boy upon her return beast boy has  attempted to rekindle their lost flame and he   does his typical thing and through his persistence  tara once again begins to warm up to everyone   but it was too late by the time she recognized  this she had already carried out her betrayal   however she did pull beast boy away from the  ambush not wanting him to get caught up in it   despite the cute carnival montage her betrayal  was still a betrayal and no one knew that   better than slade and all he does to  take full control of the situation   is tell beast boy the truth and this guts everyone  tara realized that she could trust everyone   when it was too late and beast boy was just  betrayed she was working for their sworn enemy and   any perception of what was real and what was fake  he couldn't trust and he turns his back on her   and you can't really blame him and what does slade  do once again he takes a now even more vulnerable   terror and manipulates her to hate the titans  more than she ever has it's just so heartbreaking   seeing tara be so manipulated and it's not an  easy obstacle for the titans to overcome either   in fact terra and slade successfully  take over the city and defeat everyone   but to defeat terra they have to completely  cast aside their feelings towards her and   as they put it treat her like she's just another  criminal which goes to show the emotional weight   that she had they've never had to go against  somebody else that they actually cared for   and it's because they care that it's kind of a  weakness and once they cast their feelings aside   they put her on the back foot and she can't handle  them slade obviously doesn't care and demeans   her for being a coward for which she finally  recognizes how little he truly cared about her   she is inevitably capable of breaking free from  slade's control which not only results in her   literally killing him but also her sacrificing her  own life to save the entire city if memory serves   me correct this might have been the first time i  was ever exposed to a villain who wasn't a villain   you see when mumbo robs a bank you recognize  yup that's the bad guy that's what bad guys do   but with tara there was this whole mix of why is  this happening no matter how much she turned to   the side of evil you were always able to recognize  that at her core tara wasn't a bad person and the   titans even recognized that sometimes people are  just caught at their worst but that doesn't mean   that's who they are nor how they're going to be  remembered robin at his worst was a villain raven   at her worst almost ended the world but those  moments don't define them they were just lucky   enough that others were still there to help them  and unfortunately for tara that didn't happen it   was all just one big unfortunate tragedy and what  an arc to scar a child like myself back then with   she does appear later on again in the final  episode of the series where she's alive   but doesn't have any memories of her past as  a kid i had no idea what was going on here   was this tara was it a girl who just looked like  her does she have amnesia and doesn't remember   or does she remember everything but is choosing  to actively avoid involving herself i don't know   and now 16 years later i still don't know i just  want to take a minute to absolutely fawn over the   amazing cast the series had these actors have done  such a phenomenal job bringing these characters   to life scott menville i unironically  think has the coolest voice in the world   plus he also voices lloyd irving from tales  of symphonia which is my favorite game of all   time hinden walsh gives starfire such an endearing  innocence tara strong legendary actress greg sipes   makes beast boy fun because it sounds like he's  having fun and carrie payton i kid you not when   i say this there has not been a cyborg since who  has even come close to ever matching his booyah   and the same goes for the supporting cast ashley  johnson as tara brought so much emotion to the   character which was vital to making her work  and ron perlman as slayed cold calculated   and intimidating the cast was by all means  perfect and to me defined these characters   despite the show's popularity it was cancelled  after five seasons leaving storylines unfinished   it's not exactly known why it was cancelled a  whole bunch of different theories exist but none   that i could find that was just the answer this  was incredibly unfortunate as each season had a   dedicated main focus the only one who didn't  get theirs was starfire and still to this day   fans have been clamoring for a sixth season we did  get a movie later on but despite the fans begging   they instead made teen titans go and we would even  get teased with the original return of the titans   in this series this is the teen titans can anyone  hear us we think we found a way back but yet again   all we got was a spin-off movie which doesn't  carry the heart of the original and instead   focuses on the new iteration and to this day fans  are still wanting and asking for a season six   will we ever get it i do not know at its  core teen titans was a show about friends   at no point in the entire series does any single  character overcome a problem on their own they   always believe in each other especially when they  don't believe in themselves the characters were   not only entertaining and believable but they  were also relatable the subtle nuances of each   of the titans showed that they weren't perfect  and each of them while they are still heroes   they can get frustrated they're insecure and  they have moments of weakness but it's about   overcoming those things leaning on those you  trust to make you a better person the show had   the characters the messaging and the respect to  trust the audience with what it was telling us   you

Channel: EruptionFang

Views: 521,636

Keywords: eruptionfang, anime, theory, animated, teen titans, 2003, original teen titans, robin, starfire, raven, cyborg, beastboy, teen titans go, teen titans theme, teen titans episodes, why teen titans is so memorable, teen titans lore, teen titans story, teen titans characters, teen titans (show), eruptionfang review, teen titans review, teen titans retrospective, teen titans series review, best of teen titans

Id: Mi3REM2XUVQ

Length: 44min 48sec (2688 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 25 2021