Teen Titans – Review: Date with Destiny

A creepy criminal known as Killer Moth threatens to destroy the city with a flying army of mutant moths, unless — Robin takes his spoiled-rotten teenage daughter Kitten to her junior prom?!? So while the other Titans are scouring the city in search of Moth’s secret hideout, a reluctant Robin has no choice but to go along with the villain’s bizarre demand. Can Robin survive his date with destiny?

Review by Bird Boy
Media by Bird Boy

Titans Voices
Greg Cipes as Beast Boy
Scott Menville as Robin
Khary Payton as Cyborg
Tara Strong as Raven, Kitty
Hynden Walch as Starfire
Thomas Hayden Church as Killer Moth
Will Friedle as Fang

Note: Theme aired in Japanese

If you thought the description sounds weird, it’s cause it is. If you thought the preview for this looked weird, it’s cause it is. If you thought the opening theme song was weird, it’s cause it…well, it was in Japanese.
Teen Titan’s fans should know by now to expect the unexpected from this show. Not in terms of character writing or plot twists–just pure, out of the ordinary and twisted animation. And if they haven’t begun to expect that by now–you’ll learn to to after this episode.

Did it do a lot different? No.
Did it add anything to any of the characters? Not really.
Was it fun to watch? Hell yes, it was!

The episode, like everyone this season, has featured some of the best fight/chase scenes this side of the DCAU–both in animation and choreography. It’s insane how much flipping, twisting and turning these characters (and the city, and the vehicles) do in this show, really giving you a more action-packed feel than any other cartoon (that I’ve seen anyway). I guess one could tire of all of this if this was all the show consisted of, but it doesn’t–it usually has some sort of nice character interaction, or Beast Boy throws in a good one liner, giving the episode a nice, rounded, complete feel to it.

I’ll admit one thing–I did lie about the character progression. We get a huge development with Robin and Starfire–it’s obvious by the way Starfire freaks out over Robin’s “date” with Kitty (“Meee-ow!”), that she has feelings for him in some way. I guess everyone has to have someone–Robin has Starfire and Beast Boy has (or had) Terra; I guess we just wait for the Cyborg/Raven episode where they express their true feelings for one another.

Even if the episode didn’t do a lot, it was just a well-constructed episode, complete with the little quirks and quips we see so often on this show. The show is indeed growing one me to a great extent–I never thought I’d see the day when I’d welcome more of those wonderful little anime-effects that were so prevalent in this episode. Consider me a fan of the Titans, 100%.