Why a ‘Teen Titans’ Original Series Reboot Should Be Pure Anime Goodness

The Teen Titans Go! To the Movies post-credit scene revealed an exciting new possibility for the DC Animation Universe, in the form of a revival of the original Teen Titans 2000s animated series, which preceded the 2013 Teen Titans Go! reboot.

Well, if the original Teen Titans series is poised to make some kind of return (and there’s no official announcement on that yet), then there is one suggestion we’d like to make: A Teen Titans original series revival, done in the style of anime!

Anime Is So “Fetch” Right Now

If you haven’t been keeping tabs on trends in popular entertainment in the last year, anime is killing it. Japan’s animated form of sotrytelling has grown form a sub-culture in the west, to a global mainstream powerhouse, with series like Dragon Ball, Attack on Titan, Naruto and My Hero Academia helping with the breakthrough. With more and more networks (Cartoon Network) and streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Crunchroll, Funimation) collecting, compiling or even producing big anime blocks, now is definitely the time to get in on the trend. DC animation has been “borrowing” anime style since the early 2000s (after the heyday of Bruce Timm/Paul Dini), so fully embracing the genre – at a time when it’s never more popular – seems like a no-brainer.

Superhero Anime Is Growing

It’s not just anime on the whole that’s growing in popularity: anime focused on the superhero genre is becoming an intensely popular and successful sub-set of the genre. In the last two years, series like One Punch man and My Hero Academia have successfully melded the Western superhero genre with anime tropes, and fans have embraced that synthesis whole-heartedly. Both Marvel and DC have dipped toes into anime divisions (Marvel Manga, Batman Ninja), but a full-on series that already has a big fan following could be a game-changer if it connected. DC Animation has always been the bigger pioneer out of the two companies, so cracking the “anime code” could open doors for the whole brand to distinguish itself, and seize on a popular trend at the same time.

Titans Do Satire So Well

Teen Titans Go! became a hit not by following the conventions of a superhero TV show, but rather by mocking them. The entire premise of Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is that the Teen Titans Go! series – with its irreverent jokes and superhero satire – has made the Titans into the least superheroic team in DC’s stable. While we’d want a return of the original series to may focus more on some conventional superhero action, there’s nothing stopping it from being able to not only have fun mocking the superhero genre, but the anime genre, as well. From the voice cast being able to play with their style of delivery, to visual gags in the animation style, opening up anime to be skewered by the minds behind Teen Titans Go! would be a whole lot of fun. Don’t believe? Just watch episode 38, “The Art of Ninjutsu”.

Style Change Is Needed

Teen Titans Go!’s arrival wasn’t universally embraced; fans who loved the original series, the classic Timm/Dini style of DC Animation, or successors like Young Justice, didn’t necessarily like the kid-friendly animation and irreverent humor of TTG!. So if the original series is making a comeback, then a big stylistic change from Teen Titans Go! is going to be required, in order to make the sell to the fans who jumped ship. Young Justice: Outsiders will be bringing back that classic style when it premieres on the DC Universe streaming service, so a Teen Titans revival will need a style that young and adult fans both embrace, but haven’t necessarily seen form the series before. Can you say anime?

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What would you like to see form a Teen Titans revival? Would some anime be flavor be a good choice? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Teen Titans Go! To the Movies is now in theaters; Teen Titans Go! airs new episodes weekly, and (extensive) blocks of re-runs daily, on Cartoon Network.