stella
12-25-2003, 06:25 AM
Have any of you noticed that in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cartoons, it always appeared that Donatello and Michelangelo fought more effectively in that they DIRECTLY hit their opponents, whereas Leonardo and Raphael could NOT directly hit their opponents with their weapons, lest it become a gory cartoon. I think it's easy to explain why. I'm sure you know their weapons:
Donatello - wooden bo staff
Michelangelo - wooden pair nunchakus
Leonardo - steel twin katana swords
Raphael - pair steel sai daggers
In a children's cartoon, obviously killing by heroes cannot be acceptable so for this reason, only Donatello and Michelangelo with their non-lethal weapons were able to hit their opponents directly with them. Hitting an opponent with a wooden stick or nunchakus, while likely to hurt, is unlikely to kill. But slicing somebody with a sword or stabbing with a dagger would definitely mean instant death.
Whenever Leonardo and Raphael fought, it was always against opponents with similar weapons but no bodily contact. For example, Leonardo might be jousting and dueling with an opponent who is always wielding a sword. But neither would get a clean, direct cut at the other as that would mean death - unacceptable for the cartoon.
Donatello - wooden bo staff
Michelangelo - wooden pair nunchakus
Leonardo - steel twin katana swords
Raphael - pair steel sai daggers
In a children's cartoon, obviously killing by heroes cannot be acceptable so for this reason, only Donatello and Michelangelo with their non-lethal weapons were able to hit their opponents directly with them. Hitting an opponent with a wooden stick or nunchakus, while likely to hurt, is unlikely to kill. But slicing somebody with a sword or stabbing with a dagger would definitely mean instant death.
Whenever Leonardo and Raphael fought, it was always against opponents with similar weapons but no bodily contact. For example, Leonardo might be jousting and dueling with an opponent who is always wielding a sword. But neither would get a clean, direct cut at the other as that would mean death - unacceptable for the cartoon.