Transformers: Armada

I was shocked to see how bad reviews this got. I thought that this show was amazing! It was the favorite cartoon show that i watched when i was younger. It had an intriguing story. The last episodes when their in space were epic. It had scenes that almost made me cry when i was younger. I just recently re watched it and it was still amazing. And i get why some people hate it; The voice acting is kinda cheesy and the sound effects really weren't there. But overall the story is one of the best, and it's my favorite transformers cartoon show (untill i finish watching G1) You can argue that this doesn't deserve 10/10, but i find this show excellent and fun.

While I didn't see Armada when it came out in 2002, I am aware that this show has a very divisive reputation among not only Transformers fans, but in general. After doing a bit of research it seems that Cartoon Network wanted this show ASAP and for it to air six months ahead of the Japanese version called Micron Legend. When we got the animation in the United States, it was still incomplete and several miscolorings are still present. The dub was also rushed with the translation sometimes having character call each-other the wrong names. I'll be honest in that the first time I saw the show, I didn't notice most of these issues aside from episodes such as "Decisive Battle" which look like it was done on someone's lunch break. That said, the animation early on is mostly poor even without the animation errors. The movement is unnatural, and the characters look blocky. One aspect that complain regarding this show is the human kids and while I get why many would find them annoying, I didn't mind them that much. I will say that the show focuses on them a lot in the earlier episodes, and they are quite bland personality wise, but as the show focuses more and more on the Transformers the human kids become more background characters. If anything, I thought that they weren't that well developed aside from Alexis. One time I was watching Armada and I realized that It's not until the show's end that we finally see Rad's parents and get some idea of what his home life is like and what he's really like as a person. I also thought that there were too many kid characters, when the show started it was just Rad, Carlos, and Alexis. But, by the shows end two other characters, Billy and Fred, start becoming regulars and they added nothing to the rest of the show. Really the biggest issue with Armada in its early run was that it felt as if the stories "we have to find the Minicon" every week and it became very repetitive. Not to mention that the show would try to have some sort of character growth like Hotshot learning to get along with Red Alert and the Autobots saving a forest from a fire and acting like Captain Planet.

If I'm being honest, first time I saw Armada I was ready to give up after the whole Star Saber arc. However, something incredible happened when Scavenger and Sideways were introduced and the show finally got its act together and got good. Granted there were still occasional animation and dub mistakes, but the animation in general was smoother. The Transformers themselves were given more focus and development, especially Hotshot (this continuity's mix of Hot Rod and Bumblebee) and Starscream, who isn't the backstabbing opportunist like he was in G1, but has a long character arc in this show which I'll touch on later. Also, new additions like Scavenger, Sideways, Smokescreen, Blurr, Jetfire, and Thrust were nice additions to the series since it gave the initial characters more to interact with, as well as having fun and colorful personalities on their own. The show also became more mature with Hotshot going through multiple betrayals throughout the show (Sideways, Wheeljack, and Starscream), and even get put in charge of the Autobots at one point. Starscream I especially like with this version initially quite loyal to Megatron, however he overhears a conversation where Megatron says that he'll put Starscream into a suicide mission. After hearing this, Starscream actually, genuinely defects to the Autobots. However, he gets convinced to join back into the Decepticons by Thrust who is conspiring with Sideways. But that's what I liked about this show, it had character with different allegiances as well as serialized storytelling that was handled very well and it's a shame that Armada started off on such a bad note, if the show started off this good, I think it would have been regarded much more fondly.

I also enjoyed Armada's takes on both Optimus and Megatron, while neither's past is explicitly said or shown like in G1 or Prime, you do get the sense through their dialogue (in the Armada dub at least) that not only do these characters have a history, but some form of respect for each other since Optimus and Megatron do have quite a bit of banter. I'll even say that for all the dub's faults, it does have it highlight with some funny dialogue (Megatron rescuing Optimus at one point and exclaims "I can't believe I've just saved Optimus Prime" in front of his troops made me chuckle) as well as the voce talents of Garry Chalk, David Kaye, Scott McNeil, and the late Kirby Morrow giving it their best.

Towards the show's end, the action shift to the planet Cybertron where the last episodes titled "The Unicron Battles" takes place. After Starscream's death where he convinces Megatron (now Galvatron) to join with Optimus's forces to defeat Unicron, a massive battle ensues in which Unicron is stopped and Optimus and Megatron have their final battle (at least in this show) and, this really surprised me when I first saw this, Optimus realizes the Unicron was right about his desire for war, and he actually feels unworthy to be the Autobot leader. I'll say that it's quite a gutsy move to have Optimus, the dad character of the Transformers, to admit to liking war and realizing that he's a flawed character. Granted, I wish this character arc was further realized in the later shows. But nonetheless, I appreciate Armada's attempt to change the character.

In all, while it's not as good as Beast Wars, Animated, or Prime nor does it have G1 or even some of Cybertron's charm, I overall really enjoyed Armada in spite of the litany of issues. What's sad is that if the show started after the first quarter, and of the animation and dub in the U. S was better handled earlier on, I don't think Armada would have this infamous reputation that it has in some circles. Armada was also a very well hyped show back in 2002 and it was meant to be the glorious return of Transformers back as Autobots and Decepticons, while the toys sold well the show was quickly forgotten as another dud series. There have been some fan remasters of Armada as well as some websites that have the Armada dub with the improved Micron Legend animation. That said, this year is the 20th anniversary of Armada and I would like to see an improved "special edition" version of the show with fixed dialog and animation. While many would argue to just watch the subbed version, I do like the vocal performances of Armada and with some fixes to the voice clips and having with the improved animation from Japan, this can easily be done. However, considering that Armada isn't considered to be one of the "good" Transformers shows in many circles, and it's not as famous as G1, Beast Wars, Animated, or Prime so I doubt this will ever happen.

In my opinion I didn't think Transformers: Armada wasn't that bad. I thought it was good. This was the first Transformers series I watched and I literally grew up with it. To me Transformers: Armada was sometimes emotional, heart pounding, and dramatic. I really like this show so much that I wanted to buy the DVD.

So to all haters out there at least give this a chance for goodness sake. I think this was the best series c'mon at least they brought back some G1 characters.

If you hate what I wrote then fine but watch Transformers: Armada give it a try. I gave it try when I first watched it.

From what I've seen so far of Transformers: Armada, it's not a bad cartoon. Of course it will never be the G1 series but it's doesn't quite have the same theme to it as the other Transformers series did but I can say that it's good series. I only wish that some of the original cast members could have been asked to do the series again but sometimes it's not possible because a lot of them have since passed away. Not too bad a show when you consider some of the things that were wrong with it.

Transformers: Armada had all the makings for one of the best versions of Transformers since G1. Unfortunately, Beast Wars still holds that torch (Though BW was still good).

First off, the animation is very clunky and not very good. I've seen episodes of the original Dexter's Laboratory that has better animation! The character designs, for the most part, are way too bulky (specifically Optimus, Megatron, and Starscream) and are not pleasing to the eye.

The plot itself is mind-numbingly stupid. Evidentally a race of miniature robots called Mini-Cons have been re-awakened on Earth, and now the Autobots and Decepticons are fighting for supremecy. Not only are the Mini-Cons crappy in the first place, they do not have any personalities whatsoever! They're just mindless drones except when the plot calls for it.

Even though this is the same cast that has been doing Transformers since Beast Wars, the VAs seem very uncomfortable. The acting is just cheesy and you don't feel for any of the characters, especially HotShot.

Though the upcoming Unicron battles are really quite good, it's just not enough to catapult this series above Beast Wars. Tanaka, the creator of Transformers, seems focused on selling to kiddies instead of making the actual product good. They need to hire a good director (such as the director of G Gundam) to take a new spin on the series.