TMNT Rants & Reviews

Rant: April O'Neil

See what I did there? With the title? I’m so clever.

 

Let's talk about everyone's favorite redhead. Or not so favorite...

I could go on for days about April O'Neil. Not because I love her or hate her, more like I'm wish-y wash-y. I go back and forth. I really like her character, but sometimes she annoys me. ARG! WHY U DO THIS, APRIL?

It’s April Bitches:

I have to say 2012 April is my favorite. She's no longer just the damsel in distress that needs to be saved every episode like in the 80's. She's also not just there. She's a huge part of the storyline as well as the turtle's team. She has been created as a good role model and stand-alone character.

This April has a more independent personality, which can be a fault too, but we'll talk about that later. For now, it's a good thing. She sticks up for herself, she's spunky, and she can kick butt too. She holds her own ground and goes through nice character development, which I find refreshing for our kunoichi. April is smart, has a good sense of humor and is super feisty. She’s great for girls to relate to.

I also adore Mae Whitman. She is so lovely and fantastic. I grew up watching Avatar the Last Airbender and I loved Katara. It's great hearing her voice again!

I absolutely love that Ciro and crew made April a teenager. It's definitely a nice twist on her character and it suits the story well. I think she relates more easily with the turtles and have better relationships with them. All around, a fun likeable character.

Yay For April:

Most of the time, I rather enjoy seeing April in the episodes. I like her interactions with the turtles. I question where she is when she's not in the episode. Other than when she is cliché-ly kidnapped, I like her storylines. April is one of my favorite female characters in the show (Not that there were many to choose from in the first place, just saying).

 And thanks to Andre the black nerd, we get April’s butt jokes. If those don’t make you laugh…I don’t know. I think it’s funny.

When It Comes To Donnie:

 Oh, Lord have mercy. I want to ship this so hard! Ok, so I kind of do, but I shouldn’t and it makes me sad. I also struggle with deciding between Capril and Apritello. I JUST SHIP THEM BOTH I DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW THAT IS EVEN POSSIBLE.

 Ahem, anyway…Apritello. So, when it comes to Donnie, there are two sides of April that can come out. One: ‘Donnie, you’re the best! Let’s be friends forever’. Two: ‘get the fuck away from me. I hate you’. I feel there is no in between.

 Sometimes, April can be a complete bitch to Donnie. Like, I don’t even understand. He is nothing but kind and nice to her and she just throws it back into his face. Donnie always puts April first. Always.

 Let’s talk about the mutation of Kirby O’Neil for un momento, shall we? It was totally and completely a freak accident. No one could have guessed that would have happened. The turtles felt extremely bad about it. Especially Donnie. But April (maybe rightly so) was so infuriated she didn’t want to see them ever again. While I agree that she had every right to be upset, I just don’t see why all of her anger was aimed at the turtles. Yes, they were indirectly to blame for the incident, but friends shouldn’t ostracize friends over something that was out of their hands like that. It was purely an accident. 

(Unless, plot twist, the turtles whole plan was to mutate Kirby O'Neil for reasons that would later be explained...lol)

 I can’t say what I would do in that situation, but I hope I could see past my anger and realize that I needed my friends now more than ever.

 Plus, Donnie worked day and night to create a retro mutagen to turn Kirby back to a human. It wasn’t like they just left him a crazy bat or anything. I don’t know, that just kind of rubbed me the wrong way.

 BUT Apritello has so many cute moments of bonding that I can’t help but want to squeal with delight. Donnie’s crush can be slightly infuriating sometimes, but it’s also so pure and relatable. We all know that feeling. We’ve all had that crush. We’ve all been there.

When Apirl kisses him on the cheek... XD

 I think they go really well together. They compliment each other’s personality fairly well. It’s cute, fun and light. I love it. I love it. I love it.

Season 1 vs. Season 2:

Just real quick, I’d like to point out that April didn’t have many problems with the turtles in season 1. All the drama seemed to start in season 2…thoughts?

Welcome to the Dark Side:

Let me just point out April’s flaws and judge her for them. Ok? Ok. This is the main problem I have with April. Similar to what I was saying about Apritello, April can be very hot and cold when it comes to the turtles. Sometimes, she desperately wants their help and other times, she wants to do everything herself. 

April’s strong independence can come as a gift or a curse. This is where I get really wish-y wash-y on my feelings. I like it because I like that she’s badass, but at the same time, it kind of annoys me. I feel as though it puts a rift between her and the turtles. Her wanting to handle things on her own sometimes leads her to coming off as standoffish. She shirks off the turtles help and that really gets my blood boiling. She is not a highly trained ninja, yet. Learn to accept help! So sometimes her independence is a disadvantage. Obviously I am having trouble finding where I stand on the matter.

I’m a teenage girl with a lot of different emotions. Judge me.

Rounding it Up:

Alright. I like April. I’ve already established that. I just like nit-picking character flaws, I guess. She’s a good female character on the show and an improved April O’Neil. I think she’s a really great step forward in the ever-evolving Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. Let me know what you guys think of 2012 April! I’d love to know!

  

I think I am going to save Capril for another day. I’ll probably do a Capril vs. Apritello.