I have recently had the terrible affliction of getting theme songs stuck in my head. The most popular of these seem to be from cartoons, most notably the theme song from “A Pup Named Scooby Doo.” With that in mind, you can imagine how grateful I was to get a copy of Season 2 of The Teen Titans animated series. I can now hum the Titans song performed by Japanese pop duo Puffy AmiYumi. I don’t recommend that you pick your TV based on theme songs, but I can tell you that this one is infectious.
The Teen Titans are from the DC comics universe. They live in a giant T in a city on the west coast, Real World style, without the hassle of parents or secret identities or really anything that might require long, drawn out explanations, back story or episodes full of character development and a lull in the action. In short, in every episode there will a villain who causes some sort of trouble that will require the Titans to sort it out. This often involves quick wit and cartoon violence! The Titans are Robin (whom you might recognize from Batman), Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy (whom you might recognize from Doom Patrol) and Starfire.
Season two sees the Titans coming to terms with whom they are and kicking some serious villain behind. This DVD contains thirteen episodes on two discs. According to wikipedia, the main story arc of season two is based on “The Judas Contract” from the New Teen Titans. It involves the Titans meeting another super-powered teen named Terra, their decision to let her join the team and its consequences. It also involves Robin’s arch-nemesis Slade who is voiced by Ron Perlman. Five of the episodes in this season focus mainly on Terra and Slade. They are entertaining. These episodes also have a subplot in which Beast Boy falls in love, which is both cute and a little heartbreaking.
However, my favorite parts of this season fall outside the main story of the season. They are all character-driven episodes focusing on how the Titans relate to each other and come to terms with their powers, their emotions, and who they are. Cyborg wrestles with his humanity in episode four “Only Human.” Starfire learns to trust that her friends will not abandon her in the face of change in episode seven “Transformation.” Raven learns that it is okay to admit how she is feeling in episode five “Fear Itself” and Robin is confronted by his need to succeed in episode nine “Winner Take All.”
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