I always liked how the 2003 Leo had that huge gash in the back of his shell after the final fight with Utrom Shredder and Karai. It helps to establish that darker tone that the series was going for.
I always find that Leo is the most consistent design. Whenever we get a new series and everyone gets a design shakeup he is always the closest standard Turtle design.
@@dontreadthis- True, he’s always my favourite design because of this. I think Donny gets the short straw when it comes to redesigning. I don’t know why we always seem to have to give him glasses now because he’s smart.
2003 and 2012 are peak no contest. 2003 just really fits that "stoic leader" vibe. And it just looks badass with the swords out, tie-offs flowin', and rain dripin'. And 2012, idk its just really dope. Honorable mention to Rise cause the red-eared slider look is nice.
His attitude was very different in the 2007 version. Much more serious and somewhat dark. He kills people in the beginning ( jungle). Definitely a different type of leader.
I feel like Leo has the most consistently good designs out of the 4 throughout all of the shows and movies but I could be biased bc Leo was always my favorite. For Leo I think my favorite design is kind of a 3-way tie between 2012, Rise movie, and the original 1990 movie designs. Though my favorite Leo design of all time is without a doubt Mateus Santolouco's designs for all 4 in general. Those designs were like 2012 designs, but tweaked to be even better, and also the fact that those designs are drawn rather than 3d animated also definitely helps.
What I love about Rise Leo’s design is the fact he doesn’t have any knee or elbow pads unlike his brothers. It visually communicates he’s reckless and doesn’t take care of himself, or even overconfident in his ability to not be hurt when fighting.
As someone who grew up with the 80s TMNT, I always liked Leo the least, was always "the boring one" to me, until Rise of the TMNT. He looks so cool there, he can teleport, and Ben Schwartz gives him this effortless charm. A very different version of Leo, but he became my favorite in that show.
Yeah, gotta admit that before Rise, I only ever cared about Mikey, but I thought the Rise versions were really cool. It was nice to see what Leo would be if he didn't have the weight of responsibility weighing him down. And I absolutely agree that Ben's voice fit this Leo perfectly.
great video !! excited to see your rankings of donnie and mikey’s designs !! i think it would definitely be cool if you covered the designs of other characters; splinter, casey, april, also the tmnt villains like shredder, kraang, bepop & rocksteady also^^
My favourite leo is the one from RotTMNT (there's just something about a carefree protagonist associated with the color blue and voiced by ben schwartz that just makes me instantly like that character-) Also- think you can do Donnie next?
I like the 2012 version most. Mostly because it allows for more range of facial expressions. The Batman crossover is a close second due to the art style.
Rise Leo is my goat. He killed it with the humor where the other Leonardos failed at, was given a badass look with the Red Eared Slider look that when in the shadows, looks badass as fuck. And he’s voiced by Ben yet even without that he’s still my fav Leo
I would have ranked these a lot differently, mostly based on legitimate concepts of how character design works. Certain decisions here do show more of a bias than a consideration of the quality of the character designs as a whole. For instance the rise turtles should be significantly higher up, at least higher than the Michael Bay TMNT, as those designs are over-cluttered, whereas the rise designs are sleek and streamlined, the right amount of detail without overdoing it
I like when the Turtles look as little as buff gym bros in green makeup as possible. Therefore, I prefer them to be on the skinnier side and shorter than humans and also with the "frog libs". I also like when they are slightly different shades of green and have different amounts of battle scars and stuff like that. For example, I Raph should have the most battle scars and be the most muscular. I can also get behind him being the tallest. I also like for them to feel as DIY and as Japanese as possible, so the Michael Bay versions' accessories are stupid, whereas '03 Donnie's sports bag filled with tech feels extremely reasonable
I did like the poncho cloak Leo wore at the beginning of the 2007 movie. I know it didn't fit in NYC and its purpose was camoflauge, but I would have liked to see it more. I rather like seeing them wear stuff that isn't battle gear or traditional. Then again, I also like the pirate hat bandanas as well.
My personal favorite designs from Leonardo are the animated design from 2007, the animated series from 2012 and 2003 and the one from Mutant Mayhem, I know that may not count but I also love Mateo Santolouco's design from the idw comics, definitely the worst in my opinion. opinion are the one seen in the rise of the ninja turtles, next mutation and TMNT 3
My personal favorite Leonardo is the 2012 , prob bc that the one i usually watchbis the 2012 . And i feel like his voice in the 2012 one sounds nicer 😅
Ok the next mutation designs aren’t great but does not deserve to be on the same level as the 90s specials turtles. Low C tier for sure. Agree with everything else tho 😁
Please Turtle Den, could you please make a video ranking your favorite designs in TMNT comics? From the 1984 Mirage designs to the latest in the IDW comics. Thanks in advance!
Leonardo has always been my favorite ❤ I have always loved the 1990 movie version of him the most, but I still love every version of him.....except for the 2018 "Rise of the Turtles"....that is the only version I do not like out of the TMNT franchise in general. All the others are totally fine. 😊
I see where your coming from. All of the Leo’s got deep and dark character development except rise. And when the movie came out they decided to stuff that character development to him in that movie. They did it beautifully, but it can’t nearly amount to what the others have been through (minus 87, and next mutation)
I love Rise Leo especially the movie one, 2012 Leo, 2023 Leo and 2007 Leo the most and would have put them all at S tier lol. Yes I’m a Leo fan but I do agree that the Leo from the first original movie is the best Leo out of them all
My favorite is 2012 because he looks the less ugly, the noise isn’t as out, he’s a teenager so he shouldn’t be to bulky, he has humanoid posture, and he looks like he can sneak around.
I would actually say the original comic for all 4. I know i know.. not on screen.. But i like the concept of them being brainwashed killers with no personality. A story about something as dark as genetic manipulation of animals and deadly revenge should have dark characters and themes. Honestly, always thought it was weird that they turned those books into kids shows.
Can you do designs for Mikey, Donnie, Splinter, April O’neil, Casey Jones, Lord Dregg, Slash, Leatherhead, Karai, The Triceratons, Bebop and Rocksteady, Agent Bishop, The Ray King, Baxter Stockman, The Punk Frogs, Kraang, and Shredder?
I personally like the 2007 the most. All the turtles had unique facial features, which made them significantly different from the previous iterations and they were animated in a very character- consistent way. 2003 is my close second, on par with the new Mutant Mayhem version. 2012 had a very particular art style which wasn't exactly my cup of tea but design- wise I thought Leo was really dope too. And I like how Rise handled the markings. That's a nice touch, pretty refreshing.
S tier: 2007 movie A tier: Tales of the TMNT tv series, 2003 tv, Mutant Mayhem movie, 2012 tv, Back to the Sewers, Batman vs TMNT B tier: 1990 movie, 1987 tv (1st five episodes only) C tier: 1987 tv (red sky seasons), 1991 movie, Fast Forward, Rise movie D tier: 2016 movie, Rise tv, 1987 tv, Next Mutation, 1993 movie, 2014 movie F tier: Musicals
I feel like the diagonal straps are just added on to the design to add context of how Leo and Donnie hold their weapons on the back of their shells I don’t consider it a trait
I’m loving these videos man but the disrespect on the bayverse designs is alarming(I do agree with them being a lil too big tho), I understand why the word old is in the channel name now, clouded by nostalgia with some of these opinions lol
Man it’s hard because my favorite turtle is Leo so yeah probably goin with umm hmm 🤔 2007 Leo/Rise of Tmnt movie Leo/1990 Leo I guess so yeah I’m goin with 2007 Leonardo🤩🔥🔵 BLUE FOREVER
The 2012 design while I like it okay on it's own, I definitely agree the low poly CG look isn't the best, especially when shows like Miraculous and Sonic Boom look better in terms of lighting. Also those frog hands and feet look real bad. I wasn't really bothered about the Turtles looking angular but that depends on the style, as 2003 Leo looks better than Fast Forward or BTTS than those latter designs are more simpler and not as rounded and as muscular as the original, however the Rise Leo is one of my favourites since he was designed with triangles since all the Turtles were designed with specific shapes in mind. That's a different situation.
