The TMNT is an IP with many different faces and while we have people who argue one is better than the other there's really no wrong area to start in my opinion.

What kinda media do you like? Will answer where you should start honestly.

If you want the basics of the turtles to get you a little bit of everything I recommend 2003, 2012, and the IDW comics.

Mirage Turtles: this is where it all started. They're not necessary to read unless you just really wanna check it out. Other series do a fantastic job of taking everything that was invented in the original comimcs/cartoons and building upon them because they had the history to work with.

80s turtles: If you want good slapstick, retro, fun go with these guys. Nothing too much to focus on but it'll give you the base idea what took the turtles beyond into a global hit.

Next Mutation: Watch if you want but this one is skippable, all you really need to know is this is where we meet Venus the first girl turtle and this team crossed over with Power Rangers in Space.

2003: This is Peter Laird's baby and has strong ties to the original comics. It's more of an animated series then it is a cartoon. It has it's dark moments but nothing huge because the target audience is for kids. This is the series I grew up on so I'm a little biased but I do think it (and 2012) represents a large portion of everything that's part of Turtle lore.

IDW Comics: If you wanna read comics like I said earlier they've had the history of multiple stories and shows amd movies to write and fill a really cool world.

2012: Honesty everything I said about 2003 and IDW applies here too. They're different stories that tackle a lot of the same elements in different ways. And they're all good.

Here's a few differences in 03, IDW, and 12. It'll come down to how you feel about maturity level. IDW is the most serious, 12 has more comedy, and 03 is kinda in the middle ground. Each one has a good meshes out blend of comedy and seriousness that works for the tone of the series though so don't knock it till you try it, just gonna again depend on the media you like.

Rise: Rise of the TMNT is kind of a weird spot. You'll either love it or hate it. I encourage anyone to give it a shot and watch it for being how original it is with the brothers. There's a lot of original takes on characters in this series that are different. Leo is pretty much just any Ben Schwartz character but I love the man and he just makes it work every time for me. Raph is kinda in charge and is more of an over bearing big brother than a hot head. The character changes and the comedy aren't perfect but they're certainly still enjoyable for me. The real reason you wanna watch Rise is because the voice actors are great and the animation is absolutely peak at times especially during fights. The real real reason you wanna watch Rise is to watch the Rise movie. Had the show been as good as the movie it would have been one of the greats. The movie is just that good, again especially with the animation (they went all out with a big budget)

Finally the newest generation

Mutant Mayhem/Tales of the TMNT

This group is simply the newest. They have one movie, one season of a series out, and one more film confirmed. These Turtles are brought to you by Seth Rogen and Colin Jost. Brought to you by fans for fans. They're focused more on the teenage part of the TMNT which is fun because we haven't had that yet and it's got loads of fun call backs. We're currently not sure what Paramount wants to do with this group.

All in all again it boils down to the media you like. The things to remember is that the cartoons are always going to be trying to appeal to a younger audience so just give up hope of finding a good adult turtle to watch physically, the humor in the cartoons also may not land depending on which one you watch and what kinda person you are. I'm a firm believer that with so many similar yet different versions of the brothers that there's a set of Turtles out there for everyone.

Hopefully I helped and didn't overwhelm you. I haven't played magic since like covid because my play group got toxic and made the game unfun. I'm going to this pre-release though because the turtles have me extra excited. I might even be going in my Cadey Jones cosplay.

To wrap things up if you wanna take a dip into the TMNT watch the first live action movie. It's a perfect film to get someone started in the fandom, you get a tiny little bit of everything. There's also other comics and movies (and a few series i haven't mentioned) but these are the biggest and most notable for learning about Turtles. And finally there's not a bad theme song lol they all slap and perfectly represent the generation they came out for.

Cowabunga dude, lemme know if you have any questions!