Seems like yesterday when Nickelodeon’s amazing take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles started back in 2012. Ever since its debut, it has delivered hit after hit episode in a series that just continued to get better as it went on. Sadly all great things must come to an end, but doesn’t mean it can’t go out with a bang. That’s exactly what our half-shelled heroes do and more with the final collection of their adventures in the Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Final Chapters DVD set. Featuring some of the best episodes the show has to offer, this is the perfect send-off for this epic series that fans will treasure.
Our favorite turtle teen brothers Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo have been through years of training, fighting, and saving the world (and universe) these past five seasons, and now they’ve come to the final twelve episodes of this epic series that will push them to new highs and lows as they overcome some of the most crazy villains and challenges of their teenage lives. Kicking things off are a few monster-themed episodes that have the turtles going up against Savanti Romero and his plot to make monsters such as Dracula, Frankenstein, and more take over the city. As if that wasn’t enough to worry about, even more trouble comes along in the form of Raph’s girlfriend Mona Lisa needing their help against an alien threat in the two part “When Worlds Collide” story arc. I’m also super happy to report that one of the most requested TMNT crossovers has finally made its way here with everyone’s favorite rabbit samurai, Miyamoto Usagi. There’s three episodes that make up a samurai arc where the turtles are taken to an alternate dimension where they’ll have to team up with Usagi to find a way home while also fighting off ancient spirits and helping others. Lastly in the 90 minute special, “Mutant Apocalypse”, we’re treated to an older Raphael that’s living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland overrun with mutants and gangs in Mad Max-like fashion. It falls on him to keep the peace as best he can while trying not to lose sight of what he and his brothers stand for.
All in all, this is a very sweet send-off to an amazing show, as these episodes and story arcs show off exactly what has made the series such a success for the past five years. There’s plenty of action, humor, and touching moments that are weaved together perfectly to make some of the best adventures the turtles have gone on. As I stated in just about all of my reviews on these sets, the DVDs look and sound good enough, but I would love to see this series on Blu-ray sometime soon, especially now that the entire series is finished. Sadly there’s a lack of any special features, but all of these episodes running for nearly five hours across two discs should be enough extras for anyone.
I’m sad to see this epic come to an end, but Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Final Chapters has the series ending with a bang….or a ninja kick to the face in this case. The episodes featured here are among some of the best and most fun you’ll have watching this show, and highlight all the awesome things that made this series one of the best adaptations of the turtle teens. I can only hope the next series Nickelodeon is working on, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, can at least try to come close to this one.