The intro to the episode is a little different than the usual intro's, where one of the main characters, usually the Turtles, sets things up. It was more of an overhead sort of view at the characters as they dock upon the shore of Japan. Where we last left things, Leonardo had grappled with feelings of anger and self-loathing after their final battle with Saki in space ended in a near-suicide and a chance save by the Utroms via the training of the Ancient One and the faith of his friends and family. Donatello's worth had been re-established after a series of battles where he was a key and then after he contracted the Bishop-created mutagenic virus that turned him into a hulk-like Giant Turtle. Splinter was still the same protective father and sensei that he always was, although age seemed to be dulling his reflexes slightly and he had learned that his sons had to go their own way at times, and the best he could do is support them. Casey & April's relationship grew stronger. Raph was no longer plagued by his rage but still had a temper and still had a rivalry with Leo, only it was less bitter and there was still respect, as if Raph set to push Leo to be better if he did ill. Mikey...was still Mikey. Despite instances of being serious, he was the goofy-funny one and by Season 4, his "girly scream" had probably been overused for comic relief. Of course, after FAST FORWARD's overkill of "goofy Mikey", I am sure the Lost Season won't be as outrageous. After saving Don from Bishop, and after Saki's old Elemental Ninja manipulated Bishop into getting an artifact for them, they sought to resurrect their true Shredder, who is apparently a demon.
This is interesting because while Seaon One was fresh, many fans were thinking that Saki would turn out to be a tengu himself, given his "Sword of Tengu" and seeming immortality and unkillablity. Then it turned out he was an Utrom, a move that split fans. I actually thought it worked for the show, but I know that was at times a minority opinion. So in this storyline, I see the writers as literally having their cake and eating it too by introducing a Tengu Shredder. I mean of course I know it allows the Turtles to fight Shredder, or at least A Shredder, again, and new toys and all that. But I think it is interesting.
After arriving in the seemingly mystical Japan and entering the Tribunal's Lap of the Gods temple, the "acoltyes" as they are called are issued amulets that allow them to better harness their chi energy (Raph, distrustful about the whole ordeal and irked that Leo is "going along" with their kidnappers, calls them "dog collars"). The Tribunal introduce themselves and shed their Shredder-esque robes for SAMURAI SHOWDOWN-esque designs. Khan Shi-Sho, the Ninjitsu Master of Spirits, Juto Shi-Sho, Ninjitsu Master of Weapons, the hard-as-nails lady Shikara, Master of Strength, and Hizoma Shi-Sho, master of Stealth. They are all mystically powered and seemingly larger than most mortals, not unlike the Daimyo of the Battle Nexus realm. They seek to train the ninjas in this supreme battle, yet in true "wise one" fashion are deliberately vague about said threat. I actually liked these designs for the Tribunal and they had a very Eastern anime feel for them without going too overboard.
I wish I could say the same of the human fighters; Adam, Joy, Tora, and I forget the name of the black dude with the sword. They're not bad designs, but they seem a little generic, and their characters are not rising to the fore so far. I think it is because all four are shoved at us at once, rather than one at a time to build. The only one of them I like is Adam, the large bald guy with the ball & chain. Joy reminds me too much of the bland Sonya Blade from MORTAL KOMBAT for some reason. Tora and the African Swordsman are again decent enough designs, just not my favorite from TMNT. Part of me would have rather seen warriors that I'd seen before, like Usagi & Gen, or even Jhanna from "The People's Choice". I mean I guess in a way it is nice to get some more "human fighter" characters besides Casey, April, Hun and Karai, it just seems as if so far they aren't growing on me fast enough. They at least give the Turtles other characters to talk and train with besides each other.
One of the storyboarders for the series, with the handle, The Boardman, used to post at SHH and I met him at a NY Comic Con in 2005 I believe, and he and the other artists at that con stated (and showed in their art samples) that they draw influence from anime and manga, and that NARUTO was a fave. That was back before it was being dubbed and aired on CN. Well, this episode had some homages to Naruto to me, with some of the mystical incantations and the hand gestures. Raph even got a quip on it, "Every time they do patty-cake", bad stuff happens (or words to that effect). He also got in line about their "ol' Turtle luck" and I wondered if it was like "the ol' Parker luck". Raph had some good lines this episode.
When the first part of the training involved studying tomes, Mikey groans but Donatello was naturally in his element, being the first one to start to summon chi. Of course, the cynic in us would groan about color-coded chi abilities for the Ninja Turtles and how it fits a video game or toy better than a cartoon, but TMNT has always had elements of magic in it and it does make sense for the Turtles to train in some sort of mysticism. It beats light-saber blades to me. After that, the Turtles and the humans start to train under some exercises set up by the Tribunal which reminded me of that SOUTH PARK skit about "montages", but their lack of immediate progress disturbs the Tribunal and frustrates the Turtles. I would think that at this stage of the game the Turtles should have fared a little better, but I understand it is plot convience. There is a trippy scene when the Tribunal starts to tell them of thing beyond their knowledge and the theme that perception is not all it seems. I was surprised to see one camera shot that, er, focused on Shikara's legs. Not that I was offended, far from it, I just thought it was something you rarely saw on Saturday morning cartoons. That is an, ahem, short kimono. But that is what I always liked about TMNT 2K3, it pushed the envelope, it tried new things. It was rarely content to provide the bare minimum and be done with it. It strived to be more, and not to insult the intelligence of the kids at home.
Just when the arguements are starting to grow dire, Splinter suddenly emerges, demanding that his sons return home (and with the Ancient One in tow). "Ninja Tribunal" ended with Splinter demanding to be taken to the Tribunal by the Ancient One and naturally Splinter would travel though heaven and earth, or at least stretch his will across time and space, to find his sons ("The Real World, Part Two"). Adam seems astonished that a rat is their master (as if large ninja turtles are any less fantastic) and immediately afterward, the fire demon Hyashi-Ocki is seemingly summoned by the Elemental Ninja to kill everyone, and he lays waste to the ninja assembled with ease. I did like that the Turtles naturally had a better "team rapport" than the humans, with Mikey trying to free the Tribunal and Donatello using his chi to fend off Ocki briefly. The animation for Ocki is done well, with cliche tentacles included, even if there was some repeat animation of Leonardo screaming. They all are seemingly defeated and Leo apologizes to Raph about getting them involved, which was the sort of nice, small scenes that TMNT has a lot of. Granted, it was all a spell of sorts, meant to prove the Tribunal's point. It did remind me of "Bad Day" a little, which is ironic as the Elemental Ninja were behind that one, too. Building them as the new threat after being near behind the scenes for ages is a masterstroke; EVERYTHING has repurcussions in TMNT. Because Splinter & the Ancient One did arrive, they had been included as well. The introductions over, now the real training begins.
