Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #18 concludes the Ujigami Saga that has taken up the opening stages of Gene Luen Yang, Freddie E. Williams, and Fero Pe’s run on this series. It has certainly done a lot to alter the state of the TMNT series with how Splinter was brought back to life. This has made things even more personal between the Ninja Turtles and Foot Clan. Thanks to IDW Publishing we got the chance to check an early copy of the conclusion for the Ujigami Saga. Find out how it turned out with our review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #18.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Gene Luen Yang
Artists: Freddie E. Williams III and Fero Pe
Colorists: Andrew Dalhouse and Luis Antonio Delgado
Letterer: Shawn Lee
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #18 SOLICITATION
“The epic conclusion to the Ujigami saga! Although Splinter has returned to the land of the living, he is not yet whole. Splinter’s essence has been fractured, and the Turtles must work together to make their master whole again while fighting off the monstrous minion Shinigami has brought from beyond the veil! Will Clan Hamato finally be whole once more?” – IDW Publishing
REVIEW
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #18 certainly delivers on giving us an epic conclusion to the Ujigami Saga. There is never a slow moment in this final chapter to the saga. At all times you have a feeling of moving forward as things continue to escalate until there can be whatever you may want to call a resolution. It is certainly not clean as the conclusion creates many branching paths that the series can take from here. Being left in that state creates satisfaction with how epic it all is.
Ujigami Saga’s Adventurous Conclusion
Throughout Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #18 what captures your attention is how it feels like we are on one big adventure. Gene Luen Yang, Freddie E. Williams III, and Fero Pe structure the conclusion to constantly have a sense of movement. We are constantly shifting between scenes that all have distinct settings. And with characters running around in whatever location they are in it created that sense of tension.
Capturing this type of tone makes you fully buy into all the magical things that are going on in this story. You never feel like the characters are out of place. Instead you are constantly wondering how the Ninja Turtles can stop Shinigami and Karai.
TMNT Family Drama
The thing that grounds this magic based story is the emphasis on the Turtles family. Particularly with how Yoshi and Shen factor into this story. Yang makes great use how connected fans have been in Yoshi and Shen’s relationship during this IDW Publishing era for the series.
Diving into the Yoshi and Shen relationship makes you get further behind how Splinter was brought back. Not only that but you are constantly hoping that the Ninja Turtles can find a way to win. Because if they do it means all the drama they’ve been through will be worth it. Which in turn helps elevate Shinigami and Karai as major threats because they are the cause of everything the goes on.
What Will Does the Conclusion Mean for the Future
The ending for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #18 creates a lot of branching paths for the series to take moving forward. The exciting thing about this fact is that we don’t know what path the series could take. There are so many players involved when all is said and done you could see many different things happen at the same time.
That is certainly emphasized by the final few pages of this issue. There are big developments that open the door for greater exploration of every character and their dynamics. It is a fun place to be for the series.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #32 lives up to its promise of being an epic conclusion to the Ujigami Saga. Gene Luen Yang, Freddie E. Williams III, and Fero Pe create a story that has such a controlled chaos tone to its direction that you just can’t help but want to see the ride that it takes you on. The ending creates a lot of questions around what direction this TMNT series will go as we have major game changing developments occur. Where all this lead to will certainly be fun to see.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
For more opinions on anime, comic book, movies, and sports you can follow Kevin on TikTok, Bluesky, Instagram, Threads, and Twitter/X.