Ever since Warner Brothers created "Batman: The Animated Series", the world of animated superhero shows took a turn for the better. Much like the comic books began to take on more of an adult nature, so did these shows. The style and quality of shows like "Superman: The Animated Series", "Batman Beyond", and "Justice League" all benefited the greatness of this series. But then Warner Brothers did something very strange. They created a new show that seemed to eschew this level of quality and once again aimed itself squarely at children. "Teen Titans" is (loosely) based on the long standing superhero team originally put together by Robin, The Boy Wonder in the comics. But instead of following the style of "Batman" The Animated Series", instead the creators employed a look and style closer to that of "Pokemon."

This isn’t to say that "Pokemon" was bad example, but Anime has a place of its own, and the "Teen Titans" simply deserves better. To make matters worse, even the show's theme song utilizes a talentless Japanese singing duo, saccharinely named Puffy Ami Yumi (insert gag reflex noises here…).

Now for the good news, in spite of the decision made for the overall look of the series, it is still at least somewhat entertaining. If you're wise enough to skip the nauseatingly awful theme song, you will find a few storylines that rise above the level of the animation. But still, whenever I see one of the fight sequences, with the characters frozen in position and the background turned into nothing more than streaking lines (giving that impression of forward motion), I expect to see Snorlax jump into the fray.

Originally, Warner Brothers was releasing episodes of "Teen Titans" in single episode discs, but have finally opted to go to the full season sets (a wise choice that they have also recently made with "Batman Beyond" and "Justice League"). The first set has 13 episodes as well as a number of extra features (both good and bad). The better of the features include a lengthy 'making of' documentary and a featurette on the voice cast. The not so great features focus mainly on the aforementioned Puffy Ami Yumi and come on the form of a video and a brief look at their own cartoon series. There is also an interview of the duo moderated by the animated Robin of the series.

As far as animated superhero series go, "Teen Titans" fairs pretty well in the area of writing, but if you are not a fan of the Anime style of animation, it'll takea little time to get past it.

EPISODES:
Divide and Conquer
Sisters
Final Exam
Forces of Nature
The Sum of His Parts
Nevermore
Switched
Deep Six
Masks
Detention
Car Trouble
Apprentice, Part 1
Apprentice, Part 2

Extras: Finding Their Voices, Toon Topia Bonus Episodes, Comic Creations, Puffy Ami Yumi Featurette, Sneak Peek at Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi TV Show
Specifications: Full Screen, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
Studio: Warner Brothers
Release Date: 2/7/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
Website
Website

We'll give Teen Titans: Season 1 a C.