Character Handedness

[TurtleNinja]

I have a rather odd question to ask, based off something I saw on Wikipedia. While doing research for some fiction(heheh, I still write, even if I haven't posted in forever ), I was reading the article on Shredder and it states that he's left handed. I've been a fan for years and this is news to me. I've looked all over in the various source materials I have at home(episodes, video games, comics, even RPG manuals...) and I can't seem to confirm this.

So my question to you guys is if you've heard this one before and if anyone knows where the heck it says in any official source(because Wiki is edited by normal folks, I can't bring myself to believe ever little thing it says) whether Shredhead's a lefty or righty or if this is some rubbish someone posted to the Wiki page.

Any help would be greatly appreciated and if nothing else, after my question's been answered, feel free to turn it into a discussion about other characters. I have to admit, I'm a bit curious.

[MistyJazlynn]

I'm not so sure myself.

[Michaelangelo]

I heard Donny was left handed... not sure about the other characters...

[TurtleNinja]

According to Wikipedia, it's stated that when Saki has one set of claws, it's on his left hand because he's left handed. Didn't hear about Donny being a lefty.

I'm mostly curious as a fangirl and for fiction purposes. Seeing as how I can't find it anywhere in the info I have access to in my own collection, I was curious if this was stated officially in something I didn't have or in an interview with one of the Mirage crew I haven't read before.

Now I'm curious where it said that about Donny, too.

[Amicitia]

I thought Mike was lefty?

[Michaelangelo]

Well it's because Peter Laird is a lefty, and Donatello is his favorite Turtle.. so he had him left handed.

[FumikoKaida]

If you watch "Tales of Leo" of the 4Kids version of the cartoon, you can see Donatello controlling a remote control left handed.  I'm right handed and for me, it would be more comfortable for me to use my right hand for a remote control.  That seems to be very consistant with what Michaelangelo read.

In the same episode, Raph appears to be right handed, especially when he's surfing.  He has his left foot forward which is consistant with a right handed surfer or skateboarder.  

Leo appears to be left handed, surfing with his right foot forward which is consistant with a left handed surfer or skateboarder.  He could also be ambidextrous because he gives the crock a pressure point with his right hand and he uses his swords almost evenly, never seeming to start with hand first.

However, all four may very well be ambidextrous due to their ninja training as to not favor one hand over another.  This would make sense so that no Foot Ninja can say "this turtle blocks with this hand first and then the other."  This keeps the enemy guessing all the time.

[MistyJazlynn]

i say the whole thing's a mystery. hehe   (,,,) =^,-,^= (,,,)

[Michaelangelo]

hmmm though from the Donatello comic that Peter Laird did himself.. it seems Don was right handed..


http://www.ninjaturtles.com/comics/mirage/donatello/pg09.htm  see right hand...

[FumikoKaida]

I don't think that it was ever considered that completely.  To have Donatello as a lefty one minute and then a righty the next seems rather undecided between all the animators, creators, etc.  This is why I say they're all ambidextrous, able to use both hands equally.

[Amicitia]

If you watch "Tales of Leo" of the 4Kids version of the cartoon, you can see Donatello controlling a remote control left handed.

In "The King", Don draws the stick figure with one hand (forgotten which now), but in "Timing is Everything" (the FF time-travel episode?) he writes the letter with the other hand.

I know there are a couple episodes where Mike shows people pictures he drew... are there any scenes of him actually drawing?

[Ninjara]

  It's not an odd question, TN.   

  I don't have any recollection of either Peter or Kevin ever saying officially which Turtles were left-handed or right handed.

  This question has come up in the past though among my friends.  We looked at the comics to try to determine the answer. 

  It seems that most of the time the Turtles are drawn handling items right handedly.  But they seem to be at times ambidextrous.  I don't know if that has something to with the action of the picture working better with the item in the left hand or not.    Maybe. <shrug>

  Mike is left handed in TMNT #17, in the last page where he is shown after he's finished writing the story and is asking Klunk for an opinion.....

  There are some lefty Mikes in the last few Archies....where the Turtles live in a waterlogged version of New York and Mike is writing and doing art.....

   But anyway, what we came away with on our side of the fence is:

  Mike writes and draws with his left, but can fight and shoot a bow and arrow with both. 

  Raph can fight with both hands, but is decidedly right handed.

  Don can use both almost equally well, but has a tendency to prefer his right hand to write with....

  And Leo is definitely ambidextrous......

 



 

[TurtleNinja]

Wow, that was certainly informative.

Guess it could be something totally random someone stuck on the Wiki article judging by the fact that if Saki's shown with only one set of claws, it's usually the left hand, so they're maybe guessing he's a southpaw by that. *shrug*

I've done similar, to be honest. When writing Sailormoon fiction, I typically cast Zoisite as a southpaw, simply because I noticed in the anime, he tended to wield his ice blades in his left hand. Doesn't necessarily mean anything officially(honestly, I'm lucky to find official heights or ages half the time ), but it's an interesting thing to notice.

Maybe I'll just check out the episodes and dig up my comics and see if ol' Shredhead uses one hand over the other. As a ninja master, I'm betting he's ambidexterous to some degree, but which is actually his dominant hand could be interesting to find out.

[TurtleNinja]

Well, I did my own research and it seems like Saki is apparently a lefty, although in a fight he's quite ambidexterous. I did notice that, in the movies at least, he throws a knife lefthandedly and seems to block with his right side and strike with his left.

Mirage Saki seems to favor his left hand with a blade and also seems to have a lefthanded grip with a katana, although again, he seems ambidexterous as he occasionally switches to a right grip whenever the situation calls for it.

4Kids Saki definitely seems lefty, although that could be because his only set of hand-claws are on this hand, so if he wants to slice and dice something, he obviously has to use the left. Ambidexterous as well, but he does decidedly favor the left hand.

That's what I've found so far. Any thoughts on this? Just wanting some feedback on my own study of the comics, Movie I, and the 4Kids series.