Unpopular(?) Opinion: I don't really want the Ninja Turtles to be dark and gritty

The Last Ronin is the current Ninja Turtles story on everyone's mind and there's even a AAA video game supposedly in development based on it. I'm well into my 30s, and I do love when things from my childhood grow up with me (loved X-Men 97). But it doesn't land with me for the Turtles. I don't really want to watch something where the Turtles are fucking dying.

The turtles exist as is because of the 87 series. The catchphrases, the pizza, the colors. That was my introduction to them and most of the world's. That was still the height of their popularity. 1988-1992 Turtlemania rivaled any other cultural phenomenon.

The turtles getting killed or being in gory violent fights almost feel like having Elmo getting shanked. They were very early childhood characters for a lot of us, and it just feels wrong to me

The original comic was dark and gritty, I know. BUT it was also a parody. It was dark and gritty as a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the dark and gritty comics popular at the time.

Taking the Turtles too seriously kills a lot of the joy of the franchise. And while there can be stakes and danger in some adaptations, the best ones are tempered by the kid-focused goofiness of the 87 show (think the 90 movie or the 2012 Nick show.) I don't think the turtles should ever chase grittiness so much that it ends up looking like TWD or something.