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freakadr0id · 2 years

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ROTTMNT Charater Fighting Style Analysis - Part 5: April O'Neil

Oh, would you look at that? It's finally here! After three weeks, multiple rewatches, and several pages of notes and drafts in Word, I've made it to the final individual character* analysis.

This is a continuation of my series of posts analyzing each of the Turtles' (+April's) fighting style, their strengths and weaknesses in a fight, and how Rise uses that to highlight different aspects of their character. I highly encourage you to read the first one (Leo's) before hopping into this one for full context. There is a bit of a TL;DR at the end.

[Part 1: Leo] [Part 2: Raph] [Part 3: Mikey] [Part 4: Donnie]

Last, but ABSOLUTELY not least, is our Girl with the Plan and President of the Dorky Pals for Life Club…

April O'Neil: The Scout/Jack-of-all-Trades:

My analysis for this one might be a bit of a surprise for some, considering a few people have said they already have an idea of how I might categorize her. Going into my analysis, I too thought I had a pretty solid understanding of the way she fought, but by the end, I found that there was so much I missed - I ended up coming to a conclusion that was quite different than what I was expecting.

Fighting Style:

Dynamic and Precise

April is a very strong, energetic, and multifaceted fighter, which allows her to hold her own in battle, even when she's the only human present. She is a primarily offensive fighter with a diverse skill set that she is able to utilize in almost any situation. With her bat, April demonstrates a surprising amount of physical strength as her weapon requires a significant amount of force in order to be truly effective. She also has gymnastic skills that make her a notably agile fighter, giving her an advantage in both speed and maneuverability. She approaches battles with great enthusiasm, amplifying her overall movement and attacks.

In this sense, April's fighting style is rather similar to Mikey's, as they are both quick, nimble fighters that excel offensively while implementing acrobatic movements to deliver quick attacks and make up for a defensive disadvantage. However, she distinguishes herself with a weapon that is very different from Mikey's and by having a larger, more practical set of skills that require unique tactics. Instead of mystic powers, she has a wider range of general skills that end up being incredibly beneficial in battle. She has a fluid fighting style that undergoes the most changes in the show as she learns new techniques from both her allies and enemies and incorporates them into her method of fighting.

Despite the energy she brings into battle, April is surprisingly meticulous in the way she approaches her fights. Instead of running wildly into battle, she is actually quite deliberate in when and how she attacks. April doesn't blindly attack enemies and only goes in for a strike at opportune times, aiming to deliver a few quick, accurate hits that efficiently damage her foe. This gives April the ability to participate and contribute to fights as a human without putting herself at unnecessary risk or becoming a liability.

Strengths and Roles in a Fight:

Jack-of-all-Trades

April is the generalist of the team. While the other members of the family tend to stick to one type of technique or a particular style of fighting, April has knowledge and experience in multiple fighting techniques, skills, and occupations that make her an adaptable fighter. This makes her perfect for "rounding out the team" by providing some extra strength and making up for any weaknesses that may be present in the team. Because of her dynamic fight style and ever-growing list of skills and techniques, April occasionally fights with an amalgamation of the other turtles' roles and fighting styles. April is seen acting as the Wild Card by keeping enemies on their toes with fast movements and nontraditional weapons; a Bruiser/Pummeler (a slugger, if you will) by delivering multiple hits in quick succession with her bat; or even a Striker by going for those accurate, singular attacks. If there's a role that needs to be filled in a fight, odds are April can deliver.

April also has the largest set of practical skills on the team, thanks to the experience she has gained from her numerous (former) jobs. In situations where a very specific set of expertise is needed, April can usually provide that to some degree. This makes her a versatile asset to the team in ways that even Mikey can't be, particularly with battles set in urban or unconventional environments. One of April's greatest strengths as a combatant is her ability to use the environment around her to her advantage - that comes with her dynamic fighting styles. Granted, that applies to all members of her family, but because of the considerable variety of knowledge and experience at her disposal, she has more options when it comes to utilizing her surroundings. Some of her skills are incredibly hyperspecific, however, usually limiting which ones she can use at any given point.

The Scout

April also acts as the team's Scout [No - I'm not just saying this because she happens to have a bat]. She is the one that usually goes ahead of the others before, or at the start of, a battle and gathers information about the enemy and their movements. This typically involves April disguising herself in some way and infiltrating the enemy from within, but there are times when more conventional stealth is needed. She is small and quick enough to sneak past enemies and through different environments, giving her multiple options for her investigations. April also provides information to the team during battles, as she can still apply her "stealth" abilities and use her agility to move around the battlefield quickly and mostly unnoticed.

April's precise fighting style also plays into the Scout role as she can quickly get in and out of fights when needed, which is beneficial both when she is by herself or in a group. A scout needs to be fast, precise, and agile to make up for their lack of defensive capabilities - this fits April's fighting style and abilities to a T. The Scout role plays directly to her strengths as a combatant and decreases her risk of harm as a human in chaotic mutant battles.

Utility:

As a fighter, April is particularly well suited for individual, one-on-one battles. Her primary weapon, a bat, is a generally short-range melee weapon that requires a good amount of accuracy and is limited by its small reach and defensive capabilities. Her fighting style incorporates this by focusing on accurate attacks and accurate timing while utilizing dynamic movements to increase her optimal attack range. When combined with her established proficiency with her bat and adaptive creativity, April becomes a formidable opponent in fights with a small number of opponents. Even without her bat, however, April's ingenuity, agility, and large skill set make her an extraordinarily capable fighter one-on-one.

However, due to her overall lack of mystic powers, limited defensive strength, and the natural restrictions of her weapon, April can struggle in fights with more enemies. Not only is she at greater risk of harm with so many moving parts, but it also doesn't work as well with April's fighting style - she simply doesn't have the range or attacks needed to affect a wider area. That isn't to say she isn't able to handle herself in group fights (she very clearly can), but it just isn't her strong suit.

Some of April's numerous abilities that give her the title of "Jack-of-all-Trades" can be incredibly situational and require a specific set of circumstances and environmental conditions in order to be utilized. While she still has these skills to use to her advantage, not all of them can be used at one time, although at least one of her skills will probably be applicable in any scenario.

How it Plays Into Her Character:

As a member of a family full of mutants and magic, it is only natural for April to want to contribute to the team by participating in fights - but as the only human in a family of mutants, this also means she is left at a bit of a physical disadvantage in comparison to the others. Most people would likely feel a sense of inferiority or weakness in the face of such a disparity, but not April O'Neil. One of April's greatest strengths as a fighter and as a character is her persistence and clever thinking, which is seen in her fighting style. Instead of getting discouraged at her apparent disadvantage to her brothers, April persisted and found ways to use her own natural abilities to her advantage. She may be physically weaker than the turtles, but by implementing a fighting style that relies on precise attacks and her agility, she is less likely to get hurt while still doing a significant amount of damage to the enemy. Her dynamic and precise fighting style embodies April's ability to adapt and persevere even when things are against her.

April's role as a Scout is indicative of April's intelligence while forcing her to dial back on her impulsive tendencies. It is essential for anyone acting as a scout in a battle to be intelligent and clever to be able to acquire information and make observations that are actually useful to the team. April demonstrates her intelligence and quick wit by always assisting the team with the knowledge that is essential to their success, and constantly observing different elements of a battle, even when not formally acting as a scout. The Scout role does, however, expose a potential challenge for April when it comes to impulsive actions. As a whole, I wouldn't say that April is an impulsive character - she is certainly the most level-headed of the bunch - but as the oldest sister to a bunch of teenage boys, it is only natural for some of that to wear off on her from time to time. April is usually pretty tactical about when and how she goes into fights, but there are a few times in the show where she can rush right in if she's especially passionate about something. In order to fully be effective in her fighting style and roles, she has to be sure to not give into those impulses and keep a steady head throughout the fight.

In a Team Fight:

In a coordinated group attack, April is best suited for an initial or follow-up attack. Her speed and agility mean she can get in and out of a fight quickly and her precise fighting style creates a perfect combination to provide a solid initial set of strikes to weaken or disorient an enemy. This doesn't provide much in the way of setting up the next attack, but it could be followed up with an equally quick attack from someone else. Her fighting style also lends itself to a quick follow-up attack and is particularly effective if the opponent is disoriented prior to her attack. April's quick movements and attacks can add to the enemy's confusion and deal significant damage at the same time.

However, April does not do well in a position that requires her to set up for the following attack, nor is she fit to go last in a team attack and deliver a final strike. Since her attack style implements a small number of precise hits to damage an enemy, she does much better at targeting specific weak points on an opponent rather than worrying about how someone else could further add to her attack. Her physical limitations and lack of mystic powers also restrict her ability to deliver the last attack (at least, not by herself). While it doesn't mean she isn't a strong fighter, being the final attacker in a team attack doesn't work well with her physical strengths and the advantages she has with her fighting style.

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[TL;DR: April is a Dynamic and Precise fighter with very fluid and adaptable fighting techniques and a tactical and accurate approach to her attacks. Her large, diverse set of practical skills and flexible fighting methods give her an advantage by acting as a Jack-of-all-Trades. April also operates as the team's Scout by using her intelligence and precise fighting style to gather information and make quick, opportunistic attacks on an enemy. These all demonstrate her tenacity, perseverance, and creativity by presenting it through her adaptive fighting methods and approaches to battle.]

I have a feeling this one may be a bit divisive... I'm pretty happy with what I've come up with here, but it took some serious self-persuasion to get past the titles and categorizations I already established for her in my brain prior to my analysis - and I think that will be the case with a few others. Hopefully I’ve managed to make my case well enough.

Thank you so much for all your support on this little "series." You have no idea how much it means to me to have people actually read these, much less receive such positive responses to them. I'm thrilled that many of you seem to enjoy reading these posts almost as much as I enjoyed making them. DON'T WORRY - THIS IS NOT MY LAST POST FOR THIS SERIES. I have one more kind of "Wrap-up" post planned after this as an overview of their collective team dynamics, miscellaneous thoughts/"corrections", a brief explanation as to what inspired me to dedicate hours of my life writing these silly things, and (if you guys are interested) a small breakdown of my thought process and approach towards my analyses. I don't have a fully planned time to release that, but know it will be coming at some point in the near future.

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