"Teen Titans Trouble in Tokyo" Proof More was Possible

    I'll start this review off by saying I absolutely adored it, and thought that it was a sign that Teen Titans had more left in the tank after an unceremonious exit in Season 5. I mean after all, this cartoon was heavily inspired by anime, so it only made sense for them to finally explore the roots it so obviously admires. Moreover, this film was allowed to stretch its legs both creatively and visually, exploring more mature themes of death and love, while also having fantastic visuals to go along with it.

    One of the things I really loved about this movie is that it understood its strengths and never overstayed its welcome. While this movie is still catered towards children like most comic book movies of the time, it made sure that it didn't stretch or drag anything too long in order to reach the 1:40 + mark that many movies tend to do. What this creates is a movie that never gets too boring, allowing the series to successfully shift mediums without it ever feeling too dull or losing the interest of an audience used to snappier scenes. 

    Moreover, another benefit of the movie medium was the larger budget, which really showed in the colorful and bright fight scenes that illuminated the tokyo skyline. Gone are the mostly black backgrounds of season 1 with minimal set pieces and in are dozens of bystanders with vibrant villains who paint the city with their lavish colours. I really thought that the villain was unique and their abilities were fun to witness since too often in the series do things seem a bit barebones due to constrained budgets.

    While I would have liked a real season dedicated to Starfire, I feel like this movie was a taste of what was to come, because frankly her character has a lot of directions it could have gone in. For example, a point of contention between her and Robin is the ambiguity that exists between their relationship, while technically they function as boyfriend and girlfriend, the reality is every time they seem to "solve it" they simply go back to being status quo. Therefore, in this film they finally address the awkwardness and have them make some progress, in the form of kissing and intimate touching.

Final Score: 77/100

    Ultimately, I really liked what I got out of this movie, and thought it was a swan song that managed to not only satisfy fans, but show them that more could have been done and that they deserved better. While its certainly no brain twister, and remains relatively short, is succeeds at carrying the same charm as the tv shows while also taking advantage of the new liberties provided by the movie format.

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