Happy Holidays!! More Cartoons!

OH YEAH!! Who else had an AWESOME Christmas?

I got the COMPLETE SERIES of Teen Titans on DVD this Christmas! For you guys, that means higher picture quality when I post snapshots to make fun of, for me that means I get to be an utter dork about the special features. SQUEEEE!!! I'm going back through most of what I've already seen this morning, and there is no comparison DVD to YouTube (though I am still very grateful for the people who posted the episodes online)

Here's Proof

I also got the first season of Young Justice, and I think I know what I'm going to review after I'm finished with Teen Titans!! (More DC Cartoon Awesome? Why yes, of course, I am an utter nerd for DC, after all)

So I hope you all enjoy the rest of the holidays as much as I am!

Oh yeah, and I also got the most recent manga installment of Higurashi and all of Madoka Magica's manga, but I think that I'm probably going to change the focus of this blog from Anime to western cartoons or superheros or something. (As you can see, the name has been changed to Sarah's Geeky Blog instead, don't worry, I still love anime, I'm just too busy geeking out over DC right now.)

Episode 7: Switched

This episode focuses heavily on Raven and Starfire. (Hey! That's two episodes in a row for Raven! No fair!...Nah, I don't care, I'm enjoying it. WOO HOO!!) Their bodies are switched, hilarity ensues. I think this is another good episode, so without further ado! Let's be on our way!

We begin with...a puppet show. Somebody is narrating a puppet show about a villain defeating the titans. He drops the puppets, the curtains close, aaand-
(Everybody say it now!)
"Opening credits!" We've got our old English opening back, but this episode is still relatively lighthearted.

Now we actually begin with Raven meditating. She's floating over a rock in a vast and quiet space-until Starfire interrupts her thoughts. She can't find the other Titans, Raven hasn't seen them, because she was meditating until a second ago. Starfire suggests that they can do "the hanging out" because "conceivably it could be fun.". Raven's reaction is priceless.

"You wish to be left alone?"
"How could you tell?"

Obviously she wants to be left alone. Starfire leaves her and she begins to meditate again. Seconds later, the boys return, snapping her out of her trance once again. They have fan mail, a box full of little Teen Titan puppets. (the ones we saw in the opening). They're pretty impressed at the detail that was put into them, (Cyborg's has a light-up eye, Robin's has little gadgets on the belt, etc). The boys make their puppets fight, but when Starfire suggest that she and Raven do the same, Raven tosses the puppet to her and walks away, unimpressed.

Later that night....
Something else comes out of the box.

Dun. Dun. DUUNNNNN!

All the titans are asleep, their puppets near their bedsides. Starfire wakes up when she hears the Puppet Master walking around the tower. He uses his control to take the spirits (or something) of the sleeping Titans and put them into the puppets. Starfire wanders around, unable to find where the sounds are coming from while he puts Beast Boy, Cyborg and Robin's into their respective puppets. Starfire's wandering around has also woken Raven, who comes out into the hallway to investigate.  Suddenly they're attacked by Cyborg, Beast boy, and Robin for no reason. They are restrained by Cyborg while the Puppet Master (PM from here on out unless I feel like it) approaches, intending to put their spirits into their puppets like he has already done with the guys. PM reveals to them that he has put the titan's into puppets and taken control of their real bodies. As he tries to take out their spirits, Raven begins a spell of her own, which interrupts the process. Starfire and Raven's spirits are released, but they reenter the wrong bodies (shown by Starfire's spirit being orange/yellow and Raven's being blue) They escape, but quickly discover their predicament: They're stuck in the wrong bodies. (Shown by Raven speaking in Starfire's voice and Starfire speaking in Raven's voice.) Since all they did was switch bodies I will still refer to them as the character they are, not the body they're in. Starfire accidently breaks the light with Raven's powers, and they are left in darkness as the scene fades to black.

...This is either going to be really funny, or really awful

They reemerge on the streets, Starfire making a manhole explode, which they crawl out of. (Stealthy.) Starfire is ranting and panicking as they walk down the street, making everything go to heck. This would be fine, except that Raven's powers are way out of control with Starfire acting the way she is. Parking meters are bent in half, newspaper bins open and fly papers everywhere, and she melts a mailbox before Raven tries to calm her down. Raven's powers are driven by emotion, which Starfire is having a lot of. Starfire continues to panic ("But what if they find us? What if our friends are doomed? What if I am stuck looking like this forever?!") She makes a traffic light explode during this, and realizes that Raven is right and she should calm down to prevent further destruction. Of course, while she tries to calm down, a car explodes, flips over, and lands upside down.

"Screwed" doesn't even begin to cover it. 

They see Beast boy-or rather mind-controlled Beast Boy and have to run. More problems, Raven can't use Starfire's powers either. Starfire explains that her powers are also tied to emotion, albeit different ones. She must 'feel' flight, that is, be really happy, in order to fly. Needless to say, 'unbridled joy' isn't really something Raven's good at. They go through a few more power options for Raven's use, (Starbolts= righteous fury, Super-Strength= boundless confidence) this obviously isn't going to work. They run down an alley and are met by zombie-Robin, however it seems the puppets don't have quite the coordination that the actual Titans do, so all it took was an easy dodge to send Robin into Beast Boy. However the three zombie-titans do manage to corner Raven and Starfire. Raven instructs Starfire to levitate them out of there, she enthusiastically shouts Raven's mantra and they shoot up into the air flying erratically and badly. Starfire wants to stop flying, seeing as she can barely control it. As Raven begins to explain, Starfire reacts too quickly, sending them plummeting into a bunch of trash bags. They hide there until the boys pass on, unable to find them. Starfire almost gives them away with her lack of control, but hangs on long enough for them to leave. PM decides that they don't need to catch Raven and Starfire before a cryptic 'ceremony' that will make him have control over the titan's bodies forever.

He's not really that important though,
the episode is mostly about Raven and Starfire

Starfire wants to go and rescue the boys, but Raven points out how stupid that would be, seeing as they can't use each other's powers at all. Starfire gets angry and emits a dark aura of energy, yelling at Raven for being unable to do, to her point of view, the simplest act of flying. ("Even a newborn infant can feel the joy of flight, but you are too busy being grumpy and rude to feel anything at all!"). Raven points out that her emotions are pretty destructive, so there is a reason for that. They may be in each other's bodies, but they don't really know anything about each other. So they begin explaining their pasts to each other (presumably, we don't see anything beyond Raven beginning with "I was born in a place called Azarath..."* )

Of course, this seems a little strange after we actually learn more about Raven's past and origins, and the fact that she doesn't really want anyone to know about it in any great detail, so Starfire must have gotten the heavily edited version or something. I wonder what exactly they told each other. Starfire's past and origins aren't greatly expanded on at all during the show's run from what I can remember, aside from the one episode they go to Tamaran, and the episode where she goes through alien puberty. Raven gets half a season dedicated to her! Come on! Oh well...

MORE STARFIRE BACKSTORY!!

They've apparently finished their little chat and are ready for some action to save the boys! They see BB guarding the entrance and decide they'll have to go to the roof. Starfire tells Raven to fly them up there with a joyful thought. Raven sighs, but must have come up with something, because they gently float up to the roof and land a few moments later. Starfire wonders what made Raven joyful enough to fly, Raven sheepishly evades the question and sarcastically replies that it was the thought of Starfire not talking. (At least that's how it seemed to me. Come on, Raven has emotion and she has been shown to genuinely like all the titans, I know she had a legit happy thought, it was just too mushy for her to say aloud.). Next Raven instructs Starfire on focusing her energy on a lock so they can get down to where the boys are being held inside. She carefully snaps the lock, she gets excited at her success and jumps for joy, flinging the door open.

PM is about to get his ceremony underway. He makes some sort of magic fire that's supposed to destroy the puppets the titan's spirits are held in forever. Starfire manages to levitate them away, and hugs them joyfully. They seem a bit confused at Raven speaking in Starfire's voice and hugging them, but now is not the time nor place for explanations. Now they'll have to fight the three other titans using each others powers. This is probably a lot more difficult than what they had been doing, as in a fight you have to act on a moment's notice instead of being able to focus on a specific task.

Anyway, despite the fact that they only just learned how to control each other's powers, Starfire is fairing remarkably well, just seeming a little more clumsy than usual, but not really incompetent, she is able to subdue Robin with a rope and sand bag. Raven has trouble summoning Starbolts (though it looks like she's got the hang of flying) She does get to use Starfire's super-strength though. Score one for Raven! Starfire levitates Cyborg away from the puppets and into a mind-controlled Robin. Starfire asks Raven for help and she mangages to grab Robin away from her fight, but it's not Starfire that needs help! PM has the puppets again and is about to drop them into the fire.

NOBODY MESSES WITH MY FRIENDS!
See? She really does care!

Okay, this moment, to me is really sweet. Raven still can't get her Starbolts to work, but as soon as she see's PM about to drop her friends into the fire. BLAM! The explosion knocks the Puppet King's controller into the fire, releasing the spirits of the other Titans and defeating him for good. Raven and Starfire are happily put back into their own bodies. Starfire hugs Raven in celebration. The PM meanwhile, goes back to being a sad little puppet, not that any cares or anything.

Later, Raven is meditating in the living room again. Starfire approaches, but not to bother her or ask where the boys are, this time she wants to join her. As they both begin meditating, Raven mentions that she wouldn't mind going to the mall with Starfire later. They continue meditating as the sun rises.

Seeing Starfire mediate is both hilarious and heartwarming

The end!

While my last post was pic-heavy, due to all the awesomely hilarious expressions and wackiness going on, this one will be rather text-heavy because there's a lot to discuss. Yes, this is just a funny little episode about a Freaky-Friday switch with Starfire and Raven, but you can look at it to find out a lot about them as characters. They're as different as night and day, and they're the only two girls on the team. Raven must keep herself in constant control of her emotion, while Starfire's unrestrained emotions give her power. Also does anyone else think it's interesting that as soon as Raven loses control of her abilities (when Starfire has her body), her powers immediately destroy everything around her, like maybe..that was their intended purpose? Also due to the descriptions that Starfire gave of her powers, she probably enjoys battle, seeing as she must feel joy to fly, and is constantly flying during pretty much all her fight scenes... Seeing as how often her super-strength flings things around even in comedic scenes, she's probably pretty confident too (this is more obvious though). This all may be reading a little too much into things though.

I would also like to point out that while their powers are completely different in the story, in most visually, their powers look very similar, almost to the point of Raven and Starfire being pallet-swaps of each other. They both fly, they both can shoot energy from their hands, their main difference in most small battles involves Raven throwing things and making energy shields and Starfire's super-strength. In episodes that focus more on Raven she often uses other abilities like astral projection (her "soul self") teleportation, and mental abilities and magic that pretty much allow her to do anything the writers call for. (....but more on that later)
Also, if you think about it, they were both born with their powers so there's that...(It probably affected their personalities growing up into who they are today!)
Well, then Raven's story arc goes and screws up any notion that they're alike in any way whatsoever.

Also if anyone noticed, I have been linking to TV Tropes because I can. Get used to it.

My other comments on this episode involve the animation, while in each other's bodies Starfire's eyes and mouth were animated to be more like Raven's since Raven was in her body, Raven's expressions were much more exaggerated than normal due to Starfire being in her body (her head even spins around comically while she was in distress). It was a nice touch, and definitively helped show more how obviously different they were from each other.

Anyway, I can spend all day reading into this episode and look for character foreshadowing, but I won't torment you any longer.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! I'll be up north for Christmas and my grandma has no internet, so have an awesome winter break and I'll see you all after the end of the world, or the new year, whichever comes first.

Episode 6: Nevermore

OMG!! It's our very first Raven-centric episode!! WOO HOO!!! I am so excited for this episode! Why? CAUSE RAVEN IS AWESOME, if not a little bit overpowered. I remember that she was, hands down, my favorite Titan growing up. Her snarkiness was hilarious to no end, even in lesser episodes, and when she was serious, the show got serious. Personally some of her episodes were some of my favorites as a kid, I can't remember if this one of them, but I'm pumped! ONWARD!

We open with a fight from another small villain, Doctor Light. His powers and weapons are kicking the Titan's butts. Stunning them and shocking them into submission with a storm of light-based puns, and his weapons of course. Of course after he's beaten down Robin, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Cyborg, there's no one left to deal with this imbecile and stop his puns but Raven, whose's powers always have been dark. (Which is kind of funny, seeing as how normally dark is evil and light is good, but it's reversed for this fight.)

"Soon you will all see the LIGHT and enjoy my jokes!"
(Me: oh god, someone kill him..)

Unfortunately for him, Raven is NOT in the mood for him and warns him to stay back. He continues to taunt her, and then suddenly...She...

...That's...normal...
....Right...?

Apparently you don't want to get on her bad side. Before something seriously nasty happens, Robin snaps her back to her senses, leaving the heroes to comfort the trembling wreck of a villain curled up on the ground as they prepare to take him to jail. Raven quickly decides to disappear, still obviously upset by something.

(Me: That's what you GET for making those lame puns!)
"*Whimper*"

Opening Credits time~ And even better! This is the first appearance of the Japanese version of the theme song! This version of the opening usually appears in episodes that are most definitely not connected to the main story arc of that season. Usually they're funny and wacky, but seeing as Raven's our main character this time around, and judging by the opening to this episode I doubt it'll be as cheery as it usually is.

The next morning, when Raven comes down for breakfast most of the team takes the cue to tread softly and not set off their friend with freaky powers who quite possibly scared a super villain for life. Beast Boy, however acts as he usually does, causing Raven to make breakfast explode.

Even though Raven is having some kind of super-powered PMS, and she DID kind of blow up breakfast, Robin suggests that Beast Boy go apologize to her. Beast Boy is upset that Raven is always secretive and moody, and that if they don't understand her, how are they supposed to trust her?!

"She's our friend, what more do we need to know?"
Who else finds this line hilarious after season 4?
Or almost any Raven-themed episode for that matter?

Robin obviously trusts her at least, and makes Beast Boy go apologize. He reluctantly loiters outside her room and tries to get out of it. Cyborg, seemed to think this would happen and is trying to make sure he actually gets around to apologizing to Raven. Cyborg's knocking, knocks down Raven's door to reveal that she isn't there. Curious, Beast Boy enters her room, where nobody should EVER go. As we've previously been told by Raven.
Her room is filled with strange objects and is dark and generally creepy looking. Beast Boy picks up a mirror laying on a table, after a moment  of looking at it, four red eyes appear and a hand reaches out and sucks him into the mirror. When Cyborg tries to pull him out, he gets sucked in along with Beast Boy. A strange sort of portal dumps them on a rock in the middle of nowhere.

Literally. Cyborg's censors think they're inside the tower though, not helpful... Luckily as they argue about what to do next, rocks shift to from a pathway leading somewhere, unable to do anything else, they decide to follow it.

Somewhere nearby, a raven, (as in the bird, not the character) with four red eyes watches them. They speculate as to where they are: Raven's home possibly? (Nope. Guess again.) Before long, they find a group of cute...yet creepy little ravens who are chirping in monotone childish voices to "turn back" more of them appear and they all chirp in unison.

Aww...aren't they the cutest little-

-KILL IT!! KILL IT!! GET THEM AWAY!!

After a few seconds they morph into demonic four-eyed ravens and chase Beast Boy and Cyborg around. Cyborg accidentally  blasts the floor they're standing on and they end up hanging from a ledge when suddenly-

Raven is wearing pink.
And smiling.
Sanity has OFFICIALLY left the building.

At this point it's only fair to warn you that nonsense will ensue until the end of this episode. Not really actually, it's just cryptic until the end, and all of this is hilarious in hindsight. PinkRaven is really nice and cheery, unlike how she normally is. She tells them that the only way out is a forbidden door at the end of the path, as they walk down the path they enter...

....What.

A really cheerful place that comes right out of nowhere.

Meanwhile, at the hall of justice!
Err...Titans Tower (had to make fun of it at least once!)
Robin and Starfire come to tell Raven that the door to her room has been knocked down, she bursts out laughing for a second, before standing up and saying that she needs to be alone. Starfire and Robin are freaked out at her bizarre reaction. Raven finds the mirror laying on the ground.

Meanwhile, back at the plot!

Sad Raven is Sad.
(Also, notice the raven reflected on her jewel? That's always been there, you just never notice it.)

Raven has apparently ditched BB and Cyborg, and the world goes back to the dark void it was when they first entered wherever they are. There, they meet a sad-looking Raven wearing grey robes. As Cyborg sees the gate PinkRaven mentioned he starts to run toward it. As soon as he does, the three of them are trapped in maze, which GreyRaven offers to lead them through. "But when we reach the end...you won't like me anymore ..he already doesn't like me." Cyborg and Beast Boy are baffled at her complete change in demeanor. After a scene change, where it is implied that GreyRaven has spent their entire time walking through the maze apologizing for every little thing she's done to them, they reach the end.

Of course something weird happens and a statue near the exit of the maze turns into some sort of monster with swords and two heads and attacks them. GreyRaven whimpers that she knew they wouldn't like her anymore and vanishes.

Starfire wonders if they should go check on Raven, but Robin doesn't think they should.

Cyborg and Beast Boy start trying to fight it, but it's easily stronger than them. We are quickly introduced to another Raven, who is wearing dark green, and is really awesome at fighting! Not only is she good at it, she even seems to enjoy it (she is visibly smirking as she dodges the stone monster thing). She quickly deals with it and slices it in half...somehow. Apparently she's a ninja in her mind.

Times Raven has fought hand-to-hand:
2
(Seriously, just use your powers! They're made of complete AWESOME for a reason!)

Oh yeah, they finally figured out where they are by the way! Cyborg figures out that all the different Raven's are different sides of her personality, meaning they're inside her mind. Raven herself arrives, and is not happy to say the least.

Some of these reaction pics are just too perfect.

Raven: "I'm surrounded by idiots."

Before more can be explained, some ravens fly off and Raven quickly tells them to leave. Beast Boy demands more of an explanation, but before that can happen a HUGE monster thing comes out of nowhere. It declares that "Hatred shall rule!" Raven explains "I have issues with my father."

...Oh yeah, I can totally see the resemblance

.....Now since we're in her head...The question can be raised "Is this how Raven's MIND portrays her father, or is this how he looks?" The answer to these thrilling questions will be revealed....in season 4. For those who know: How did we miss that!? They told us the answer and then...use it as a some sort of HUGE SECRET later on? (Well, since we don't know who or what he is at this point, he's not even named, it is a sort of revelation.)

He starts blasting and attacking Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy, who run toward the exit. She protects them and tells them to run (in the middle of this Starfire asks to see if Raven's doing alright for a second.). They refuse to let her fight the huge monster by herself, and Raven tells them that if she loses, they'll be stuck in her mind forever. Dang. Raven's father blasts through her shield completely and she looks totally awesome for a moment as the smoke clears. (the image is later used in countless AMVs, you know it's cool.) However it's less awesome if you can't see the smoke moving so I won't post it. Also this post is pretty pic-heavy right now. Her father blasts her again, and for a moment it looks like he's won, he has Raven right in the palm of his hand (literally). Then, Beast Boy and Cyborg attack, saving Raven.

Ladies and Gentlemen:
THE most popular couple on Fanfiction.net
(Of course, I'm weird and don't actually ship them, just like Star/Robin, sue me
RAVEN/ROBIN FOREVER)

She seems kind of confused as to why they'd save her (which is weird, aren't they all BFFs? Ehh, it IS early on in the series...Maybe they haven't known each other for that long yet.) Raven and Beast Boy have bonding moment.

Unfortunately, bonding will have to wait, as Raven's father isn't finished yet. They're attacks just can't seem to actually do more than knock him off balance slightly.

Starfire really wants to go see if Raven is feeling better.

They can't beat him like this, even with Cyborg and Beast Boy's help she can't win. Cyborg suggests that she call her other personalities, but she knows from experience that none of them can beat her father. Beast Boy points out that while they can't defeat him alone, together she might win. After all, all of them make up who she is. The boys distract him, while Raven calls her other sides.

Color-coded for your convince:
Red Eyes: Awesomely scary is about to happen
White cloak: AWESOMELY EPIC is about to happen

They combine and form a super powerful Raven with a white cloak (which we will see more of in the future!)  She actually restrains her father and then, it's a battle of wills between them. Raven wins and the monster is shrunk down to a very small red-cloaked, four-eyed raven. Raven absorbs it and turns back to her usual self. She faints, but Cyborg and Beast Boy are there to catch her. They all share a cute moment together.

Starfire finally can't take it anymore and is standing at Raven's door to see if she's okay. Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy appear, when asked where they've all been they reply that they were "just getting to know each other." Since it's obvious Raven and Beast Boy aren't mad at each other anymore, Starfire wants to celebrate with more breakfast! Raven agrees that breakfast sounds nice, and Cyborg and Beast Boy race to the kitchen.

YAY!! I seriously love this episode, mostly because Raven is awesome and stuff, but it also definitely hints at darker sides to Raven...which will be explored in detail later. She attacked Dr. Light viciously in the opening and her inner rage was certainly quite powerful in her mind. However, it also hints that she is a lighter person on the inside, with her pink personality, and that she's more like the others than she lets one, with the green(brave/confident) and orange(rude/sloppy) personalities.

As to why I don't ship BB/Rae: Yes, I know the logic behind that ship is that 'opposites attract' but in most of the fanfics of them, they just seem really OOC to me. Some opposites attract, but I think they're personalities would clash too much to make a relationship work.

ANYWAY...I didn't come here to discuss fanfiction. This episode was well done, nicely set up, nicely animated, and the story was interesting and helped develop Raven quite well. (As a testament to the really cool animation, in almost any given AMV that's about Raven, or the Titans as a whole, you will see bits and pics of most of the fight scenes from this very episode!)

Oh yeah, and now that I'm older I finally understand the title of this episode! It's the very first Raven-centric episode and what's it called? Nevermore. Ha! Quoth the Raven "Nevermore." That has to be some kind of bonus for older audiences, seven-year-olds aren't going to get the reference. ANOTHER reason to rewatch this show! BOO-YA!

Episode 5: The Sum of his Parts

UGH!!! Sorry if this review seems a little rushed, I HAD a full and nice review written but then while trying to edit it from my iPod the WHOLE THING got deleted JUST as I finished writing it, and now I have to start ALL OVER. So if I'm a little short with this episode on the second viewing, I apologize in advance.

She drinks mustard.

The episode opens with the Titans having a picnic at the park. Cyborg eats ribs, Robin eats a hamburger Starfire eats...uh...mustard. No, really. Beast Boy eats tofu dogs. Some of the humor here is actually pretty funny (I love the line "I respect that you don't eat meat, please respect that I don't eat fake meat." Also Starfire and mustard, what more do you need?) After eating they decide to play football. During the game Cyborg's batteries die and he falls over. After the opening credits he reboots and wakes up, the titans looking on worriedly  He explains that  he just needs a new power cell and that they should keep playing.
He begins to walk home, on the way he is interrupted by a boy with a prosthetic hand who thinks Cyborg is cool. On his way home, he gets a distress signal from the titans, he decides to join in on the fight.

Would any NORMAL villain throw bunnies at people?
THAT'S why I love Mumbo

Our villain of the week is Mumbo Jumbo! I love this guy, he's just so crazy and weird that it's fun to watch. Cyborg has a backup external battery pack he strapped on so that he had enough power to join in on the fight. Unfortunately during the fight his battery pack gets knocked off and he turns off and falls into a hole in the junkyard. The titans think Mumbo has taken Cyborg and give chase.

Our minor villain:
You can't NOT love this guy

Meanwhile Cyborg is dragged into the darkness by lots of tiny, creepy little robots. When he wakes up he discovers that a robot called 'Fixit' has found him and repaired him. Fixit has thousands of little robots all around.

Our actual villain:
He's pretty dang creepy

The Titans still can't find Cyborg and keep going after Mumbo.

Cyborg thanks Fixit and tries to leave. Fixit however, insists that he stay, while Cyborg was knocked out he discovered many 'serious flaws' in his system and asks Cyborg to stay while he repairs him. Cyborg tries to call his friends to tell them where he is, but Fixit blocks his signal, making Cyborg think that something really is wrong with him.

The Titans have an easy time finding Mumbo by following the trail of weirdness. (hoping mailbox with bunnies in them, flying people). It's funny but Mumbo is actually a somewhat effective villain and he does manage to slow down and avoid the Titans for some time, it's just that everything he does it played for laughs so it's not effective for very long. They continue chasing him while MEANWHILE back at the creepy underground lab, Fixit asks why Cyborg would ever want to leave, there's enough power and spare parts. Cyborg replies that he couldn't live down there without sunlight, fresh air or food. Fixit omniously claims that he doesn't need those things "and when repairs are complete-neither will you.". As Cyborg tries to leave, Fixit's robots shock him into submission and tie him to the operating table again. Fixit believes his 'biological components' are imperfect and must be replaced by full robot parts.

For a horrifying moment it looks like Cyborg has gone full robot-then it's revealed to just be a dream, Fixit is calmly preparing the robot parts to be grafted onto Cyborg.
The Titans catch up to Mumbo and discover that he didn't do anything to Cyborg. They almost run straight to the junkyard, but decide to drop Mumbo off at the jail first.
Just as Fixit is about to begin, Cyborg makes another escape attempt, only to discover that his weapons have been disabled. As he struggles to free himself from the robots, he rips off Fixit's cloak.

....What the hell?

 Fixit is...uh...something....Anyway, he has biological parts too!
The Titans have found Cyborg's battery pack and follow it down to where Fixit's lab is, being attacked by his robot minions along the way.
OK, I have to talk about this fight scene for a little bit. It was short and only a sideshow for Cyborg's struggle with Fixit in the lab, but it was awesome. It was very different from any of the other fight scenes we've had so far, and so I must post pics. Fighting underground, the only light source they had was Starfire's starbolts. The only thing you can really see are the Titan's eyes and the robot's eyes. Admittedly you can't actually see much of the fight because of this, but I liked the effect and thought it was done very nicely.
Anyway...back to the plot!

Trust me, it was cool. 

Cyborg tells Fixit that his human side is the best part of him, the part that made him who he is. As Fixit starts to download Cyborg's memories, he sees him with the other Titans at the park. Playing, laughing, having fun. He falls to the ground, elsewhere all his robots stop fighting the other Titans. The Titans find Cyborg, and Fixit apologizes. He had forgotten how beautiful the world was, it ends on a sweet and sappy note with Cyborg seeing the kid from earlier and a friend. He tells the kid that it wasn't their machines that made them similar, it was their humanity. (paraphrased, just restate that so that a child could understand.)

This episode illustrates some of Cyborg's inner fears, that he will lose his humanity and become more machine than man. Thinking about it, he's lost almost his entire body, it's got to be strange waking up and seeing over half a robot in the mirror every morning. Of course, it's fluffed up behind a funny fight between the Titans and Mumbo to break up the tension and played down to a kid's level, but this was still a fairly entertaining episode (more so than the last one...).

Also a MIRACLE occurred in this episode. Yes, a miracle. These past few episodes seemed to show that if missing a single member of their team, the titans are basically useless. However, with only four, yes four, Titans, they got Mumbo!

You see? I knew you could do it!
I knew you all weren't completely useless!

I am so proud...*sniff* They grow up so fast. 

Episode 4: Forces of Nature

Ugh... OK, I'm gonna be totally honest, I did not love this episode, it had really great moments, sure, but I found our two villains of the week to be....dull. To make it up to myself and everyone though, I WILL find a pile of gold in this half-remembered heap!

Without further ado!

We open with two beings of some sort playing drums in the clouds over a stormy Jump City (The name of the city was never revealed in the show, but "Jump City" is how it was referred to in the comics based on the show "Teen Titans GO!" and is commonly used by fanfiction writers when referring to the city.) and Titans Tower.
Beat Boy has set up an ingenious prank for Cyborg. Unfortunately, Cyborg isn't on the receiving end, Starfire is. And she is pissed off. To put it lightly.

This pic will represent fangirl outrage with the writers,
that has nothing to do with what's going on it's just a good pic

She declares him a "klorbag varblernilk" which we all assume is the Tamerainan word for "douche bag" seeing as how Raven agrees he is "such a klorbag." (Her deadpan responses make up for at least 1/2 of the great humor on the show.) Before they can get into a pointless argument, Robin declares that there's trouble!

Opening theme~

So the two vague dudes from the opening are wreaking destruction and the Titans have to stop them, nothing new here. Except they seem to have elemental powers or something. And they're obviously not human. What are these guys? Gods? Does anyone care? No seriously, this is bothering me! 

WHAT ARE THEY!?!?

However it doesn't seem to bother the writers.

TELL ME WHAT THEY ARE DARN IT!

Anyway they only seem to want to destroy things, albeit in an childish way, as if they don't understand that it's wrong. In any case the Titans have to stop them. It's a pretty evenly matched fight with no one side getting a clear advantage for a while. During the fight, while Thunder waits for Beast Boy to stand so they may fight 'sportingly' Beast Boy asks him why they're destroying everything. Thunder replies because it is fun, and Beast Boy points out to him all the harm they've caused, and that it isn't funny, just as he's getting through the Thunder, Lightning blasts him away. Thunder only seems momentarily bothered by Beast Boy's talk. 

The Titans have to split up, Beast Boy has to go with Starfire, who is still very upset with him for his prank. (Though Robin's logic confuses me, he has to go with Starfire because Cyborg can't fly-can't he see that BB and Star aren't on good terms right now? Raven can fly, but she's going by herself to check something else out! Why couldn't Beast Boy go with Raven...? Whatever... I get it's because BB and Star have to make up story-wise, but as a leader he should be more aware of these things.) "Star" and "BB" are easier to type, and besides, they have the longest names out of all the Titans!

Thunder and Lighting are destroying things again, but Thunder is obviously troubled at what Beast Boy said. Lighting brushes it off and they move on. Star and BB see the destruction and land. Beast Boy tries to talk to her, but she is still ticked off at him. She even resisted THE FACE

The face-OF A KITTEN
OMG SO CUUUTTTEEE!

She is THAT mad! She resisted the charms of this ridiculously cute kitten. This is Starfire we're talking about, you know, this girl:

LOVE AND JOY!

Yeah. 
Anyway, Thunder and Lighting attack again! Beast Boy tries to talk sense to Thunder, but then...THIS GUY!

He shows up and uses a small device to blast Star away. She is buried beneath rubble and Beast Boy runs to her while he talks to two. He claims to have nature-based power like the two brothers and tells them they can destroy as much as they like if they come with him. Thunder is concerned if they will hurt anyone, Beast Boy's words getting to him. The old man replies "Why should it matter if you do?" and leaves, telling them to follow if they so wish. Thunder reluctantly follows his brother. 
Beast Boy is digging through the rubble in a panic looking for Starfire. As he can't find her he breaks down and starts saying he was sorry. He also admits he was being a "total klorbag"(which is my new favorite insult). Starfire appears behind him and smiles, Beast Boy turns into a kitten and jumps into her arms. She forgives him and all is well. Beast Boy realizes that the brothers aren't evil, they just got carried away in their 'fun', like him. 

Yes, he is rubbing his kitten face on her boobs,
EVERYONE ALREADY KNOWS THIS and it's been pointed out already

The mysterious old man tricks Thunder and Lighting into having 'fun' with some sort of cursed bags or something and it makes some sort of ritual that is never explained and-OK they summoned a fire monster and it's never explained how or why, except that the old man wills it. And we already KNOW the old man has no mystical powers, we saw him use a device to create the blast that impressed Thunder and Lighting. 

!?!? HOW? WHY?! I DON'T EVEN-!

But I digress. 
The Titans are all back together again and are taking care of the fire problem as best they can-which isn't very much at all. Robin sees the old man and goes to fight him individually. Obviously by now, they've all but told the viewers he's Slade and he and Robin have their first fight. Ahh, memories. After a strange sequence with Beast Boy and Thunder, the brothers decide to help and create rain to douse the fire by combining their otherwise destructive powers for good! With their rain the fire-beast-thing is destroyed.

Ahh, ANOTHER weird thing this episode never explains!
Seriously though WHAT THE HECK?!

Meanwhile in the forest the old man's mask is knocked off, to reveal Slade's mask!! Though, TECHNICALLY Robin has never seen Slade, even if the viewers have, so it doesn't make much sense.

The brothers apologize for their destruction to Beast Boy, who replies that Starfire was the one who taught him.

So now a rainbow shines over the city as dawn breaks. The titans watch from a high cliff. They now know that Slade wants to destroy the city, but they don't know why. Starfire makes some sort of joke in her alien language that nobody but she understands and she flies off giggling. They return to the tower at the end of the episode.


I've finally realized why exactly I don't really like this episode I guess. By and large it was just...forgettable. The comedy wasn't great, the action wasn't great, the story wasn't interesting, the 'villains' weren't great. We had an odd Slade cameo that doesn't really make any sense and most importantly-SO MANY THINGS DON'T MAKE SENSE! Slade has no magic powers, how did he raise the fire-monster? Nobody knows! What are Thunder and Lighting? Nobody knows! What was up with that random and trippy animation where tiger-Beast-Boy talks to thunder in the purple clouds? NOBODY FREAKING KNOWS!

I WANT ANSWERS!

At least I have that pic to yell at the writers.

Episode 3: Final Exam

YAY!! I got back a bunch of grades at school today and I ROCKED because they were all 100% A+!!!! WOOHOO!!!! Also I have no homework!

But let's talk about Teen Titans!
So, first off this episode was the very first one to air on Cartoon Network I know so MAYBE it should be episode 1 not 3, but WHATEVER. I'm reviewing it now, and after this there won't be any more mix-ups or anything!

It's easy to see why they aired this episode first though, it slowly introduced a few villains, showed us the Titans and their group dynamic, and brought us the ultimate question of season 1:
Who is Slade?

(Slade wasn't named in "Divide and Conquer" which may have been another factor in showing this episode first)

Without further ado let's begin!

It begins with the HIVE academy introducing some minor recurring villains: Gizmo, a kid with a lot of gadgets and bad insults, Jinx, a sorceress with ill-defined powers that bring bad luck, and Mammoth who has super strength (BORING!). (Their number of later appearances pretty much go in that order most to least by the way) Then the video stops and pans out to show a woman trying to advertise the skills of these students to Slade. Slade says he wants to give the agents a final test to see if the students can operate in the real world. His "Final Exam"?
Destroy the Teen Titans.

Gizmo, Jinx, and Mammoth

 OPENING CREDITS~
As a side note I will NEVER get tired of that song.

Back at the tower (which is a horrific mess) Cyborg and Beast Boy are looking for the remote. As they argue, Raven gets visibly annoyed and joins in arguing with them. Starfire and Robin walk in, apparently Starfire has revealed to Robin what the secret to faster-than-light travel is. Starfire suggestions unhealthy junk foods to mend their debate,

Pictured: How adults see teenagers

When the blue mold starts moving, causing Starfire to scream and blast it to bits, they decide to go out for pizza. Once again, they're bickering like children. Beast boy won't eat meat because according to him "I've BEEN most of those animals!", Starfire suggests strange toppings, that aren't actually toppings. They continue to argue as we pan out to see targets placed over them, the HIVE students have begun their attack.

They lure out the Titans with a runaway bus and a baby carriage. Only the bus had no driver, and there was no baby. After this blows up in their face (literally) the students introduce themselves as "their worst nightmare" and the real fight begins.
Only instead of the Titans beating up these armatures, they're actually pretty good. Gizmo straps a rocket to Cyborg's back which caused him to fly away and Starfire to go chase him down, getting rid of two titans with one...rocket.
Raven and Jinx for some odd reason start fighting hand-to-hand. (Why? I'll never know, they BOTH have powers?) As Raven and Jinx are fighting Gizmo blasts her, leaving only Robin and Beast Boy, who are knocked back by Mammoth. As they start to regroup, Raven and Beast Boy are knocked back. Mammoth opens a hole in the street and throws Robin in.

"Is is me? Or are we getting our butts kicked?"
""It's just you!""
10 seconds later they retreat

Next we see of the Titans, Raven is supporting Beast Boy as they limp back to the tower. He seems bothered by a bruise on his leg, so Raven...heals it. Beast Boy's reaction tells us he didn't know she had this power, and honestly from memory I can't ever recall Raven using her healing powers again in the series. But more on Raven's bizarre one-time-only powers later. Much later if memory serves.

There are so many potential jokes for this picture I can't decide which one to type.
Also: Can I make fun of this ship? We shall see

A moment later, Starfire and Cyborg return. ("I was halfway to Gotham City before Star zapped that thing off my back") Tee hee, Batman reference. Cyborg and Star want to know how the fight went down, but there's no good news to give. Robin is gone with no trace and they got their butts kicked. It's a very dark moment in such an early episode actually and it almost looks like Robin's been killed, all they found was his utility belt. The music is somber and quiet and the mood is sad. Cyborg laments that he should have been there, and Starfire angrily demands they find Robin. Just as they think Robin has returned...The HIVE show up. A fight ensues and the four remaining titans are brutally beaten out of their own home.

Pictured: not so harmless minor recurring villains

It does, however, make for an amazingly animated action sequence. They wash up on the shore, tempers are short and the situation is bleak. Cyborg only has one arm, and is heavily damaged, there's still no sign of Robin, and Beast Boy's attempts at humor are just making everyone more high-strung.

Now, while I DO remember quite a few amazingly dark and bleak episodes from this series (one of the things that made it GREAT) I don't actually recall this one being as depressing as it is. Holy Crap.

Luckily before the mood drops any further Robin shows up to get the team organized and back on its feet.

And where were you?!
No...Seriously... Where the heck did you go for half the episode?!
....This question will never be answered will it?
.....Nope.

Gizmo decorates, Jinx raids the closets, taking Robin's belt and finding Raven's cloak to be unfashionable  Mammoth eats the blue food and utters what I believe might have been his only line: "Tell me about it, all their food is way out of date *shoves blue stuff into his mouth*" I honestly can't recall him speaking at all other than that. Meanwhile Cyborg uses a camera in his finger to remotely control the arm that Gizmo took off, turning on the security systems. Having the upper hand of surprise, they Titans fight to take back their home.

YES!! THIS SHOW WAS MY CHILDHOOD!!!

Back in action, the five of them make speedy work of the HIVE students, who foolishly use the exact same strategies instead of adapting to the situation like the Titans. Prepared for their attacks, the HIVE students are defeated. As the three of them are laying in a pile Gizmo mutters that he's calling Slade. Just as Gizmo opens communications, Robin grabs him asks the driving question of this season:

Who is Slade?

Cut to Slade's lair. The lady assures Slade that the students will be disciplined strictly for their failure. Slade reveals that he never expected them to succeed and that he is very pleased with the results. He merely needed messengers, and the message was received. He pulls up several images of Robin all repeating the same question: Who is Slade?

No, this isn't creepy at all, why do you ask?

Back at the tower another tragedy has struck! Beast Boy's music has been.... alphabetized. Also, they went into Raven's room! O_O, to make matters worse all of the blue and furry food has been disposed of! However, one good thing came out of all this: They found the remote!
I like how they ended the episode with Robin turning their TV on. Plus we got another adorable group shot of them!

They're just like everyone else,
But AWESOME

And so begins (...er...continues?), this totally awesome cartoon!
Also about the 'mix-up' the whole truth is that officially  this was supposed to be Episode 3, but in North America it aired first. Yes, this was the first episode I saw during the original run, but obviously I don't remember much of the original run because I was like eight years old or something. There will be no more said on this subject.

This episode was much more bleak than I remember it, I honestly didn't recall the Titans getting their butts kicked so bad, but hey, obviously I was hooked all those years back by it or I wouldn't be pathetically reliving my childhood online like this. Also the ending felt a bit rushed when suddenly just because they were fighting together everything went their way. I almost want to point my finger at another 'teamwork' message, but they weren't obvious about it.
Seriously though, does it bother anyone else how these awesome heroes just seem to fall completely apart whenever separated from one member of the team?! Yes, they work better as a team obviously, but come on, can't they work at all without the team?!

Unless this is some kind of intentional subtle foreshadowing or something....? I have no idea, I like to over-think things waaay too often.