Is Teen Titans As Great As We Remember? - Part 1 | A Complete Review of OG Teen Titans 

The beginning of Teen Titans was what I like to call "horribly endearing". I guess what I mean is that it has tons of problems and really makes you wonder what the team was thinking starting it off like this, but it's because of these problems that leads you to appreciate how much the show improves. Instead of the usual cartoon format (in my experience of course) of having a strong start and then it falling off as it goes on, TT starts off with weak villains, character backgrounds, and stakes, and improves all of these aspects as the story goes on that make you come to love and grow with the characters as they do. TT certainly isn't as perfect and flawless as we remembered, but it has so much character and unique concepts that shine through every now and again that often aren't portrayed in "average" cartoons. And I think that's the main thing about TT that I love and still appreciate to this day: it's a flawed but important show that has just as many good features as it's bad ones. I had fun watching this one from you, of course I love almost all your videos so I wasn't too surprised lol. I'm looking forward to the next part of this for sure.

Short Answer: Yes. Long Answer: Yeah.

Raven was my sexual awakening

I remember the conflict between Robin and Slade so intense when I was younger- I remember it being so impactful and deep. It was one of the best cartoons because it had a deeper plot line instead of just for entertainment like spongebob for example

I recently rewatched the whole series and i have to say it was even better than when i watched it as a kid, back then a lot of the more mature themes just flew over my head, but i still knew what was going on kind of and i think the character development and their individual arcs that gave us new informations about them made me feel invested in the characters. For me at least it was not just kid nostalgia, it is a legit amazing piece of work

Some of the stories were a bit clunky. What really made me fall in love with this show was the characters and their development with each other.

I respect your opinion but to me the blurry, action line backgrounds always felt closer to a comic book action scenes rather than a anime one.

I’m going to have to disagree with the “Sum of His Parts” criticism. It shows that Cyborg doesn’t like that he has limitations now that he isn’t completely human and decides to ignore his robotic side. In “Only Human” (season 2) he does a complete 180 and decides that he can ONLY do what the machine part of him can do. In season 3 when his arc is completely explored, it shows that he wishes he were human again. When Brother Blood offers him his humanity back, that’s when his arc comes to a full circle. I also believe that the “Divide & Conquer” episode makes much more sense in the season three context (how Cyborg is older and wants to be team leader and move up in the world) - like why it’s in season 1 (outside of the whole Slade storyline) is beyond me.

Even as a kid, I didn’t need an into for them. The first episode I watched was Transformation, and that was all I needed to see to know that they were all close and cared about each other. The next episode I randomly saw was How Long is Forever, and I learned how important friendship is. Maybe I’m simple-minded, but I still like it.

The show does get off to a bit of a slow start, but I think it starts to find its identity about halfway into season 1. After that it becomes a really interesting and compelling series. I especially love the places they take the Slade/Robin dynamic later on. It gets really dark at times.

You know Teen Titans were like the first cartoons with the anime-influenced artstyle & aesthetics, and this was before Avatar: The Last Airbender. Man I hope, just like with Samurai Jack, they bring the original series back and give it a complete story & finale.

My favorite episode was when Cyborg and BeastBoy went into Ravens room, found a mirror that sent them into Ravens mind. Anyone remember that episode

"The Apprentice part 1" and "Haunted" are probably the two darkest episodes of anything that have ever aired on carton network.

Raven episodes are always great imo. Nevermore, Switched, Fear Itself, Spellbound, Hide and Seek, Bunny Raven, and her Season 4 arc are all excellent.

Saw the title My reaction: yes it is as good as we thought it was.

Btw the clocks in Slade's lair are symbolic of his master plan fitting together and working flawlessly. But I think revealing anything about his character in any obvious way would only serve to downplay that frightening feeling of his manipulation and the helplessness of trying to stop him. I say this in a way that sounds exaggerated, there wasn't a massive dread when he was around of course, but it's still the concept that I think is very well done.

Rewatch the slade fight in his lair and think of the gears. The gears are symbolizing planning, and eventually the gears stop. The titans never figure out slades end game, just that hes always up to something, and multiple plans and actions are always in motion. All of them don't seem related but if one fails it can stop the whole machine.

Raven was definitely the highlight of this show for me.

Your video has a problem. Cartoon network shifted around the early episodes so it made more sense. It started with the episode "Final Exam", which introduced Slade, HIVE and other recurring villains. The order you watched it in was the production order, which is how it will be sorted now.

Don't underplay the "a joke isn't always a joke." Literally last week, this came up at my job. (I'm 27 and my boss is in her 40's) I jokingly said she was lying about cleaning something often when I KNEW she didn't(she wasn't looking and thought I was referring to something else) and she got super pissed at being called a liar, her life's full of shit, etc. Granted, the episode's situation was _quite_ a bit more extreme, but this is a very important lesson. This lesson also easily leads into another one about being careful with your words/actions, that not everyone was raised the same as you and can have very different outlooks on the world. I want to say more about this, but I really have no idea how to articulate it, so I'm just gonna end it here.

I’ve heard multiple times that they had the air dates wrong during the beginning of the series, which is why that was the first episode

The thing is, this show's purpose wasn't to introduce everyone in episode one. Just like Cowboy Bebop it tries to have most of the episodes be stand alone. Obviously it won't start too deep, but slowly flesh out the characters. You're supposed to be left confused on episode one and continue onwards wondering that this is a team of super heroes yet they don't get along. You get little info on the characters, but character development on these new opposing personalities of Robin and Cyborg. If you didn't know the Titans wouldn't you too be wondering why the oldest, Cyborg, isn't in charge? The message wasn't great and it isn't the best episode overall but it's fine to be the opening episode. Once you see the second episode focus on Starfire you start to understand, hey these episodes are on their own with the adventures of this team, but it seems to be very character focused. They don't world build at all, because that's not the focus at all. They don't want you to care for the city their protecting but rather understand why they care to be the ones protecting it. It's just a typical boring city that villains want to take over. Later on in the show you learn they are in a world of superheroes, pretty much the dc universe, and all the heroes are protecting their city. That's it to the world building. You can tell the writers never cared about that, this show is about the team, the Teen Titans. Also I understand that you wish Slade got more of an introduction for the overall arc, and I do too. In all there are only like 4 episodes that contribute to the main plot of the season. However Slade is still introduced in subtle ways leaving the viewers to wonder, who is he and what is he doing. He was in the third episode in the beginning and the end even if it was a little. He was also in the fourth even if you don't realize it's the same guy or what his intentions even are. Lastly episode 4's message was more of the idea of "it's just a prank bro" can go too far. You're constantly having fun, reaching for more and more of this type of fun that eventually you go too far. This shines in Beast Boy, and how these guys are similar to him in personality, and if Beast Boy goes too far he could possibly get to this point as well. Raven might not have cared as much as Starfire did emotionally from this prank because they are very different. Starfire takes things too seriously and can't understand when people aren't being nice or apologizing. You can already tell that from the small development Starfire has already gotten. It's a nice episode because you can see Beast Boy understands better than them and wouldn't be influenced by Slade to do these things. I really liked that in the end Starfire helped teach Beast Boy to show them what the right path is. Again, I agree the first few episodes of Teen Titans were in no means good, but I feel you may be judging too critically and ignoring what the show is truly trying to do.

I'm sorry, but so much of what makes teen titans so great, went right over your head. They didn't have fans yet because they were trying to make a name for themselves. Robin just left Batman. Starfire just made it on Earth, and the way the rest of the group acts shows that THEY dont get each other yet. The other villains are there to show a more cohesive team and inspire them to get their act together. The worst opinion was the cyborg episode. Cyborg's robotic parts are portrayed as a disability that Cy must learn to accept and live with. He doesn't want to be a burden to the group, but he cant live normally like they can. He will never be fully human. The Villain tries to convince him that if he just let go of what makes him human and fully become his disability than he'd be better off. It's a Grade A tale about identity when you have a disability.

Damn don't know how you miss the fact cyborg doesn't like his robotic side that much yet went in deep with raven analysis, I guess the raven love is still strong as it was back then

I didn’t think season 1 was bad. I just rewatched it a couple days ago and it’s a lot of fun. Good action, charming characters, and villains that make sense for the beginning of the show.

Cyborg always reminded me of those big apple monitors that came in different colors with their transparent housings that schools would always use.

The ONLY problem with this video is that you made a deadly assumption: Adults are better versions of children. While in fact, we're not, we're just different. Why is this a problem? Because you start re-watching the series with the wrong mentality. You forget what it's like to be a kid (short attention span, mind full of wonders and all that) and assumed everything you enjoy now, you'd also had enjoyed as a kid, and no, that's not it at all. There are a looooong list of things I enjoy nowadays that I know for sure I wouldn't look at for longer than half a second as a kid. Kids are not lesser, incomplete version of their adult-self, they are simply different. We all change as we grow up, and most of us don't realize it, we think we're still the same, but we're really, really not. So a cartoon that kid enjoy might not be what adult enjoy, and vice versa. That doesn't make the thing itself any worse, it just make it different. And since this show's target audiences were children, NOT adults (well, maybe it's for adults as well, but certainly not the primary target), it was FINE, and AS GREAT AS WE REMEMBERED IT TO BE. Then you need to take THIS into account: Kids don't need long introduction, they don't need episodes after episodes showing them the characters' background. They can jump right into the action and enjoy it JUST AS MUCH. In fact, what do you think attract a kid's attention and make them decide to stay with a show? THE ACTIONS! Why do you think Tom and Jerry, a show with literally no introduction whatsoever, needs absolutely no beginning, middle or end plot throughout, is so popular with children of all generation?! Back to the show at hand, IF we did get characters' background episodes first, A LOT of us, as kids, would have dropped the show and never watched another episode because "it seemed boring". While starting IMMEDIATELY with the actions and conflicts drew in and captured young minds. After they're already hooked, they're more likely to stay and watch the other episodes that would seem boring to them if they had seen it first. And as adults, we've done our fair share of research before start watching it, so we don't need the introduction, either. So again, the show did fine.

Personally, I loved every part of the series, watching the characters grow. Of I had to pick an episode, it's the episode where Beast Boy's old team gets captured and he goes to rescue them. The episode showed that despite his childish demeanor, when shit got real, he dropped the attitude and got serious, he knew the stakes, and we didnt see him make a single corny joke until the bad guys were defeated, as if the weight was gone and he could relax again. It showed that he really did care a lot about his teammates and that he was loyal to his friends, even the team that had cast him aside, he was loyal and was willing to do whatever it takes. But if I'm completely honest, the finally special was the greatest. The Titans going to Japan and Robin getting together with StarFire finally settled that sexual tension everyone had seen since season 1. Just fantastic.

Its funny ..the creator of Teen Titans didn't want Slade to be called Deathstroke cos it was to menacing for the kids...but the name Slade ended up be way more terrifying than the name Deathstroke ...plus his voice..instant shivers

It wasn't perfect, but it's still so much better than teen titans go

Gizmo was my sexual awakening

i just found Teen titans a week ago and im hooked im already on season 4 and i have to say its one of the greatest shows ever.

the idea behinde the Cyborg episode you brought up was simply a crisis of humanity. While your proposed ideas for how the episode COULD have been are solid ideas and could've worked just as well. The idea was suppose dot be that cyborg is unhappy with being a machine now. For all the cool gadgets he has, there's drawbacks. He doesn't *feel* human anymore. Then here comes this asshole who decides to take away what little humanity he has left? by striping away what he felt was "unnecessary?" It was supposed to be cyborg's worst nightmare come to life. However it doesn't just paint cyborg's parts a bad thing either. the fact that he's used these abilities to be a super hero is already proof enough that they've done some good for himself and others. But also the kid you mentioned not just contextualizes the world and how it views the titans. But that at the end of the day people don't see cyborg much different. the parts about himself that he laments are special, and him being a kid with a fake hand contextualizes that. it was to show cyborg that being part machine wasn't so bad. he could cope with it as long as HE knew he was still in essence. human. and that others saw him that way too. but it was also a character arc for the villain of the episode, to help him realize that the things he felt were unnecessary, were the most necessary parts of being alive. Which he realizes in the end, and moves on. while i woudl argue the other cyborg episodes tackle these ideas better, and in various angles. I'd still argue this episode does a good job with it.

I’ve watched the series hundreds of times. It still stands up.

I can already tell this is one of those pieces of analysis that's going to circle a good point but uses either bad arguments or arguments in bad faith to try justify various nitpicks. Here's some notes from standout beats; - "We don't know these characters" Plenty of stories start In Medias Res. Since the nature of the show is very episodic, a formula that works for broadcast television much better than it does for internet streaming and DVD boxset binging, the idea is that you flick the channel to Cartoon Network and you wouldn't need the context, or very much context, from the last few episodes. Starting in medias res is usually the best way to go, it skips over lengthy introductions and gets right to the action. The narrative arc from there is worth criticizing, and since the editing, pacing, characterization and dialogue isn't as strong as people might remember, I'd agree a more in depth autopsy is worth enduring. - "Teen Titans definitely doesn't put it's best foot forward" Can't argue there but cartoon pilots can be notoriously bad. I mean, The Simpsons also has an awful pilot episode but the point usually isn't to wow, it's a promise of potential to come. Like an orchestra tuning up, if you can see the instruments are there to make good music, the moments before are worth sitting through. However, I don't want to be misunderstood; bad pilot episodes aren't something general audiences want and shows have to do better. Our time is limited and in this day and age, we can't do a five episode run of anything. However, in 2003, this kind of thing was more acceptable. Doesn't make it better, but the historical context is worth pointing out. - "External factors" Contentious. Backseat writing like this often doesn't do any good and I'd advise avoiding trying to suggest fixes that you have no practical way of knowing would work, unless you have another example to contrast it against. Your best friend here is a comparison to the much more competently written show, Young Justice. External sources of conflict aren't necessarily the best way to get to know a group of people better, just well realised conflict is needed. The first episode's conflict is muddy because it can't decide if it's about questioning Robin's ability as a leader or calling the group's teamwork into question. Starfire's conflict with her sister is a more personal story and reveals things about her character, even if it doesn't forward the over-arching narrative, and those kinds of conflicts work in character driven stories since the overarching narrative isn't as important as the relationship between the Titans. If anything, these micro-conflicts are good ways of warming the audience up to the characters while containing the entirety of the story to the short episode run times. -"These guys are causing destruction, beast boy played a prank" The overall message is clear, "Be empathetic." The through-link is that neither party considered the feelings of other people or the unintended consequences for their actions and thus their self-centered behaviour was detrimental to the people around them. This didn't need higher stakes, I personally think the weather villains were goofy and more plot device than antagonist but the stakes were definitely not the problem here. -"The places characters are should tell us something about them" No. I can agree with your argument for more spatial coherency within shots, even if I don't think it was within budget or scope for the animation team at the time but ideally your world should support interesting scenarios for your characters. A vague abandoned warehouse can just be a vague abandoned warehouse as long as what's happening inside is interesting. This is some of the worst heights of bad faith criticism. -"Wouldn't it make sense for Cyborg to wish he could get rid of his human parts" Knowledge from the future; No. Cyborg's internal conflict is really easily apparent, he has a disability and heavily relies on prosthetics to function to the degree of normal people, although those prosthetics allow him to accomplish superhuman feats. Put Cyborg in a wheelchair and make the story about cutting off his lower half and the story still works out fine, what's left of his human body might not be super optimal but it represents his humanity and he wouldn't feel complete without it. While I'd agree it's not the most elegant version of the story, it's clear and doesn't have any egregious problems in writing. -"Becomes the ultimate edgelord" No big comment here, just found this the worst kind of a lazy joke. Other notes, you waffle a lot your script, you leave a lot of arguments unsubstantiated or the accompanying visual doesn't in any way substantiate your point, and you keep circling a good point without getting there or giving it a solid argument. I just spent 16 minutes wishing I was watching this being done by a Dan Olsen or Lindsay Ellis or KingK, and one day you might be at that level; But this is a project that might be outside your punching weight. Hopefully you'll develop in future, but until then; I remember coming back to the show and thinking the most egregious errors were in the editing. Somehow you've managed to make a video where your problems directly mimic the problems of the very thing you're delivering criticism on. And that's an accomplishment.

I loved teen titans, they did do a meeting episode later of the origin of the group. In hindsight, that episode should've been the pilot. I personally feel the argument against the background can been explained as the creators didnt want the background to be distracting, so your focus is on the characters and their personalities.

Short answer: Yes. Long answer: Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees.

I’ve been watching for the last days, as far as quality, action, story, character development it all holds up. Even the vocabulary is superb for a kids show.

Honestly I think the reason you're so harsh on it is because it's not what you wanted it to be. The pilot was obviously made to give you a better idea of what the show would be like, not to introduce you formally to its setting and characters. The episode where cyborg is nearly converted into a robot is a really solid one, and while it may not be thematically symmetrical, it's a good look into cyborgs fears of being a machine, and his internal conflict with what he inevitably is. You being upset that it subverted your expectations and did something different is... I'm just surprised, it's really one of the episodes that I think really speaks to cyborg's willpower and humanity.

Cyborgs right arm was my sexual awakening

Even as a kid loving TT I was aware of bad writing in the first episode and all the things you just mentioned about it. :c But animation was still unique, darker and more dynamic than anything I've seen before so I enjoyed more. Surprisingly, this show was the first piece of media to ever inspire my atheistic philosophy of life later. It blew my mind that Raven knew about the end of the world and how it can't be avoided and yet decided to be a hero and a good person overall till the end. No other show at the time presented me with such strong, truly compassionate character and I really appreciate it.

Cinderblock was my sexual awakening

Solid video, but I do have an issue with your dissection of ep 5 "The Sum of His Parts." The conflict is actually excellent in my opinion; Cyborg wants to be human, to act human, to not have the limitations of a robot. However, in refusing to recognize the amalgam that he is, he ends up in peril. The antagonist is the opposite of Cyborg, but with Cyborg's same reasoning: "Humanity and the human aspect of you is weak, and to replace it would improve you." Or to put it simply, Cyborg blames the tech aspect of him for his inadequacies, while the antagonist blames them on his humanity. Cyborg in the end chooses to maintain his humanity, but comes away acknowledging, or at least being more acutely aware of, the integral role his machine side plays in his life, a lesson giving Cyborg the wisdom to deal with his problems instead of reject their existence. It also ties in nicely with the episode where Atlas, a better robot, easily crushes Cyborg because Atlas is fully robotic and so 'more powerful.' The lesson Cyborg learns from ep 5 actually helps create another weakness while giving him strength; he refuses to try and beat Atlas because he thinks that, as only part robot, he physically cannot compete with Atlas, completely ignoring his adaptable human side. The Sum of His Parts is a fantastic episode, and as with most of Cyborg's episodes, teaches that no one aspect of what makes you you can be ignored; you are the way you are, and pretending otherwise doesn't change reality.

Honestly, that Raven episode was one of my favorite episodes of the show as a whole.

In the beginning of its run, Teen Titans wasn't popular. While Justice League & Unlimited made its run, many wondered why the "Americanime" art style, and not the "Bruce Timm" look?A lot of people may not remember this, but I sure did.

I thought I heard somewhere that CN aired the first season's episodes out of order

Guess who my favorite character is!

Writing teams don't just appear out of nowhere with PHds in writing great stories. In fact, there are very few J.D. Salingers in the world. Becoming a good writer is a journey that often takes many years, and most professionals start with varying degrees of skill. If you read Fahrenheit 451, you should realize that the concept is great, but the writing skill is terrible. Judging the first season of any new writing team has an element of unfairness about it. While you are right that the first season is lackluster, their last two seasons are far better. The writing team learned a lot, improved a lot, and just as they got good, it was over. And I never agreed with the complaints that ended the series. The new TTs, while written for a much younger audience, made fun of people, ethnic groups, and lifestyles far more blatantly than the original TTs. Why not shut them down as well? The truth is, the show was cut down in its prime - just as the writers matured into good story tellers. Cancelling the show when they did was a grave disservice to the fans and the industry alike.

You never watched the actual episode 1 called "Go"? It's the very first episode when Starfire crashes on Earth and the team comes together to drive off her captors. I guess it's technically Episode 0 but it's still the true first episode.

They had that funny zany tone, focuced on relationship with darker undertones since the beginning. The villains are not that important because the series main focus is even in the trigon arcmostly in relationships. And it makes a really good cartoon, because of that. I will not lie, i love the series because of raven. Especially her mirrow episode and trigon arc, but every character has a compeling arc, even starfire in several episodes.

So, originally when I started watching this video I was expecting a perspective that contained some ...feeling? Personality? To be frank I counldn't finish due to the overtly negative narrative, especially considering the blandness of the narrator.

Teen Titans the episode "Haunted" 1) When our vision is distorted by hatred We often miss simple pleasures in life and it's a shame 2) If you let the anger and revenge consume you you will feel unable to contemplate the magnificent views in front of you

Silky was my sexual awakening

Reads title Answer: yes it is End of question

I really liked the Cyborg Fix-it episode. I feel like it established that he hated his robotic side and that he was hoping to improve it to at least feel more human, but fix it wanted to go overboard, which is what freaked cyborg out.

My favorite and most chilling episode was Haunted. Just hearing Robin asking or rather begging Slade to stop only for Slade to persist was chilling...dark..and I loved it.

Cyborg was my favourite character. The episode of him vs Atlas was the best - acknowledging your limits and then pushing past them.

Beast boy was my sexual awakening

Slade's voice was my sexual awakening. also "the apprentice" episodes were truly *chef's kiss* STILL GOOD.

The Raven episode tried to show how she does her best to separate and control her emotions because of they go out of control the demonic origin of her power can begin to bleed through. She doesn't want to be closed off but feels that she had to be for everyone's safety. She also really resents the origin of her power and is afraid that if anyone knew the truth about her they would be afraid and no longer like her.

I agree that Teen Titans didn't start off with a great pilot episode and like you, I didn't start to really enjoy it until we got the more character-driven episodes, like Sisters and Nevermore and Switched, where we dive more into the characters and get to know them by discovering their relationships. I mean, considering that Final Exam shortly follows Divide and Conquer, how am I supposed to feel upset when Cyborg leaves when I just met him, or the fact that in Final Exam, Robin "dies" when this is just the first couple of episodes and I hardly know him in this universe and what he means to the team? It takes away any emotional weight or punch and when both characters return in their respective episodes, it's more like, "Knew they'd be back, it's only the FIRST or SECOND episode" rather than, "OMG, WHAT JUST HAPPENED?" But still, I love both episodes mostly because they are bits that I find funny. And like you said, the show gets better as you go along, so it's not really a downer for me (:

The Raven episode was my favourite too! In fact, I still remember most of it to this day! Thanks for reminding me of the show, it encouraged me to rewatch it. :D

Well I’m almost 30, watched again and yes, it’s still as good as we remember. Even as adult I can appreciate how good the relationship of the characters was, the wonderful way in which they mix humor and drama and the deep it and focus all protagonist were given. Even the final chapter still manages to makes feel sad. If you are watching such an old show as this you don’t expect so much a great animation or some of the modern liberties that were added over the years. And still it was wonderful. I still miss them and if the ever do a show about them I will watch it.

As much as I have dear nostalgia towards Teen Titans, I'm so happy to see more people admit and criticise the show's faults.. It wasn't as amazing as many make it sound like, but it is fun for what it is. I do however wonder how the CN show compares to the comics.. And it is nice knowing the show still holds a fanbase and although TT GO doesn't quite hold the standard to the original, it has helped introduce the cast to a new audience and raised interest.

I feel that the second half of Season 1 is when it started taking off.

"Thomas and the Magic Railroad" Oh god. I definitely didn't see that in theaters, but that cover looks very familiar. For whatever reason, I was big into trains as a little kid, and at some point that interest just disappeared. I don't know where it went, I don't know how I got it in the first place. It was just there...and then it wasn't. As for Teen Titans...this is another one of those "this was my childhood" shows that I just missed out on. I'd be interested in checking it out eventually, but, like Yu-Gi-Oh, I wonder if I ever will.

The first episode you're talking about is actually the third episode, btw. "Divide and Conquer"

When i initially saw Slade toying with Robin, i was convinced that he's Bruce trying to help Robin improve. But then he went full blown villain and i was like "maybe not".

Fun fact: The first and third episodes on the DVD are switched. "Final Exam" was the first episode aired. "Divide and Conquer" was the third episode. So you still watched the show out of order.

I was at first confused because the first episode to air was the technically the third episode. The first season was designed more for younger audiences. Good video.

I've actually always been glad there wasn't much exposition at the start of the series. It always kinda told me a message that meeting people, especially potential friends isn't about their backstory, it's about them in the present. Their bearing, how they act, interact, and process in different situations. Then it's about how they adapt over time. Their past is best left to be filled in naturally over time.

subscribed, i love taking an honest look at series. really liked your commentary

Great video! Haven’t seen this show since I was a kid, but it’s weird to hear that’s what the very first episode was. I remember the episode about Raven’s Psyche was awesome, but now I appreciate it more. Haha. Keep up the great work Lowart!

No it's not.. It's way better than we remember.

If you were into cartoons, this was the GANGSTA. This should be an interesting analysis on the childhood hit.

The beginning isn't always the best place to start. By muting the backgrounds and having the first episode about the interactions of the team, the show sets a precedence that this show is about the character interaction and the overcoming of their own egos. Teen Titans is not only an action show, it's a show that slowly builds as a coming of age story for each of the characters. It isn't concerned with rushing you through the details of the characters. Instead the show slowly familiarizes you with every aspect of them as if you yourself were building a friendship.

It was as _good_ as we remember, at the very least. And by we I mean me. The entire state of Minnesota.

subbed, E2 pls

Awesome piece of content. Keep up the great work! :))

The themes of Robin going through mental insanity due to being so fixated on stopping Deathstroke was something I missed the first time I seen it.

I am almost 100% sure episode 3 was the first one that aired here in the states on KidsWB, I woke up early in the morning for the first episode of Teen Titans, the one where they fight the three hive members, just an intersting note if you weren't aware.

I thought I was the only one that felt like the first season wasn't that great lol, and I kinda feel the same way about Avatar The Last Airbender. Both of those shows started off a little rocky but you still wanted to see where the story goes because the world was interesting and they had some good episodes here and there. The writers learned from some of their mistakes and they did their best to improve the shows. It also makes sense for the first season of a show to be mediocre at times because the writers are still trying to figure out what works.

As a kid who had low self esteem about my body and my mind, who hated myself enough to hurt myself, episode 5, while feeling a little aimless as an adult, really impacted me. I was weird by my own consideration, mentally different from my peers in ways that impacted my ability to spend time with them in the way Cyborg's mechanical parts impacted him. That episode saved me from seeking unnecessary psychoactive drugs which would've dulled the parts of me I grew to love, it gave me a seed of self-love for all aspects of myself which, while it didn't blossom into anything useful at the time, has killed the self-destruction I had when I saw it, scenes from the episode are in my internal monologue in my darkest moments, bringing me back out. Raven's rage in Nevermore was really relatable, and helped me in accepting that part of myself as still me, but I never got the message of accepting help from others.

I remember reading somewhere that Divide and Conquer was the third episode made. The first two being Final Exam and Sisters respectively. But I read that back when I was a kid and didn't know how to use a computer well so I haven't been able find that website I was on. Maybe having Cyborg leave the team in the third episode would make a bigger impact.

I was a bit startled about the chronology because the way it was on the sites I watched it and IMDB Final Exam is actually the first episode. It doesn't made Divide and Conquer any better and most of your critic still stands but I just wanted to point out that the chronology of episodes can be different depending on where you look. I personally found the Teen Titans to be an endearing watch (I watched it last winter), and most episodes had something I liked about them. it was also one of the first times I saw a cartoon have a somewhat continous plot soooo that was nice. And it made me much more open to watch more cartoons.

Dude, you don't need to call it "Teen Titans 2003", or "OG Teen Titans", just call it Teen Titans. And yes, It is still amazing; I watched all of the first season a few weeks ago and loved it

Nux sent me over and I really enjoyed it! Moving on to the next part if its up!

7:55 Thank you for being considerate! Wonderful video!

Honestly yes it was, it's first season was pretty uneven though.

I also watched the entire series again and found out that in the last season, the episode " GO!" is better to watch as the first episode XD

For what it's worth, the first broadcasted episode was Final Exam, and though it is not technically the first episode in the lineup, it is very clearly the introductory episode and watching as a kid, it was very clearly a good pull episode. I think it should be mentioned that the show was introduced in a better way than you portray it. And while you mention it in the second episode, it's kinda glossed over. The first aired episode has a conflict from without, which is one of your bigger complaints in this video, but then when you mention the episode-order-issue, you don't bring it back up. And it might be that the creators intended a release in a certain order, but the producers (or whoever was in charge of the scheduling) saw it as the better introduction. Neither episode mentions events prior, so it helps that they could be aired differently. I guess since it was already cleared up it's not too important a discrepancy, but it still bugged me.

I grew up watching batman the animated series and batman beyond and teen titans don't premiere until I was in middle school. Judging by the quick start and themes of the show, I always thought the target audience was people like me. Its understandable that you would be confused if you didn't know who these characters were but for those who actually knew who these characters were this is a pretty good opening

To everyone who sees this just remember: This series is one of the reasons Young Justice exists and is every way better than its predecessor, however, we just want it back to tie up some loose ends.

Jinx was my sexual awakening

I like the fact that we didn't get bogged down with origin stories, the art style drew its influence from anime thus the simplistic backgrounds so you can focus on the action not go wtf is with that thing we sire for 2 frames it was designed for familiar with the DC universe and was much loved by fans but not by kids thus it getting cancelled because the toys didn't sell. I hated the thunder and lightning episode it marked a simplification in the animation style and a dumbing down of the plot harkening back to being spoon-fed a moral like the end of he-man its fandom of shit like that which why we got titans go, and that fucked up preschool 20-minute fart joke that is the new thunder cats.

I think the reason why there wasn't much of an origin or introduction to each of the characters at the start is so that kids can personify themselves into the characters. I remember reading a post somewhere that claimed one of the writers said that the reason Robin never took his mask off was so that kids could put pretend to be him, anyone could be Robin. This is a very similar mindset to Stan Lee who has always repeated that he loves Spiderman because anyone regardless of age, gender or race could be under that suit. I strongly believe this same approach was used with Robin and probably the other characters too. This makes a lot of sense since the show was originally marketed towards young children, probably around the 8-11 bracket but over time the age demographic changed massively to have more teenagers and adults watching than kids. I personally liked the 'no introduction' dynamic, almost every cartoon or show is always tied down by its first episode origin story and I'm sure that could put people off if that episode isn't done well. Having it jump straight into action and conflict piques your interest in what's going on with these characters and as the show progresses you discover more and more about them and it makes sense. Also having the origin episode 'Go!' being near the end of the series shows how the characters have changed over time and how different they used to be.

You're off two episodes. You have the second and third reversed in order as well; these being the Blackfire episode and the Cyborg Robin fallout episode. The first episode was actually the introduction of the HIVE, as well as Slade. You may wanna consider looking back over these in the correct order ^^'

Gotta be honest raven was always my biggest crush. Damn she made me swoon as a kid. Part of me liked starfire as well bc she’s sweet. But ravens personality always attracted me most

Yes, yes it is. Teen Titans is AMAZING.

I loved the teen titans as a kid, and I watched Young Justice when that came out. YJ does a pretty good job of introducing the characters while not spending an ungodly amount of time on it. I do prefer the art style of Teen Titans, and I think that a Titans reboot could be really great given a good writer.