Toransufômâ: Kârobotto

I don't understand why alot of people are bashing Robots in Disguise. I am one of the biggest fans of the original Transformers series, and I know this dosen't compare to the original, but you can take it many ways..

Try this on for size:

After G1 Optimus Prime and the Autobots returned to Cybertron(sometime before 2001, when this new show takes place)to fight G1 Megatron and the Decepticons, R.I.D. Optimus Prime (from around the time Beast Machines ended) was sent back in time to watch over the earth. This would explain stasis pods, references to the vehicons,ect....

Now, so they wouldn't be detected by the other Autobots, they took their earth vehicle forms and remain hidden until they know that other Autobots have left the planet. (Two different Primes running into each other would more than likely have some sort of effect on time) Same with Megatron and the Predicons.

Now, that might make R.I.D. fit a little better. So, the lines can be a little cheesy, and and some of the names are kinda BLAH...... but some other great anime have been known to have some bad names. (i.e. Ranma 1/2 with Shampoo, Cologne, and Mousse?) Don't get me wrong, I love Ranma 1/2. But a name is a name. This new show is not as bad as some people think. It was made to target kids. Now, if you have to sit there and write 500 words to explain why you don't like this show, you definatly need to get a life. Yeah, I'm sitting here writing this, but I do other things besides spending all my time engrossed in bashing kiddie shows. IT'S A KIDDIE SHOW, SO GET OVER IT....

A relatively entertaining show that is not that bad but could have done with improvements. From a personal perspective, it's not the waste of time that is described in some reviews(though the complaints do have validity), but some of the favourable commentators really need to relax, last time I checked there isn't a rule about everybody having to like the show and any other opinion is wrong, isn't that what the word "opinion" means. There are things that Robots in Disguise does have in its favour. The character designs are nice and sleek, while the music is catchy and in keeping with the tone of the show and the jokes do tickle the funny-bone, complete with some clever subtle references to the original show. Sky-Byte is a cool character, Kelly is likable enough and Scourge is very interesting here(at least Robots in Disguise knew what to do with him, which is more than can be said for Cybertron). Not all the characters fare as well, Megatron has been much more menacing and authoritative before and since, here he comes across as too dumbed-down and too much of a clown.

The rest of the characters have a uniqueness to them but are not particularly interesting, Tow-Line is too monotonous and Dorrie Dutton is annoying and often pointless. The voice acting doesn't really work either, Barry Stigler as Scourge and Peter Spellos as Sky-Byte the only ones that properly stand out in a good way, the rest range from overdone(David Riordan's Megatron) and bored-sounding(Lex Lang's Tow-Line). The jokes are funny but could have been better placed and maybe not used as much, at times it felt like overkill which interfered with the tone. The story lines could have had more complexity and did feel on the juvenile side, it's not quite as bloated as the Unicron Trilogy Transformers shows but there is too much of a filler-feel with Robots in Disguise. And not all the animation is consistent, the sleek character designs and vivid pastel colours are nice, but the static backgrounds, the tendency to look too over-saturated(could have used more foreboding colours) and lack of fluidity, not so much.

Overall, Robots in Disguise is better than Energon, Cyberton and especially Armada-the three parts of the Unicron Trilogy, and not really worth bothering with-, also Beast Machines(but only just), but for better shows in the franchise look to the original 1984 show, Beast Wars, Prime and Animated. From a personal point of view, Robots of Disguise is not a bad show but it fell short. 5/10 Bethany

I am a TF fan I loved Generation 1 (the original series from the 80s), Beast Wars, but didn't care much for Beast Machines.

In this series, the Autobots are back. This series takes place in the year 2000/01. It takes place on Earth but possibly a alternate version sing none of the Gen1 characters are in this show. It is a dubbed version of the series Car Robots in Japan.

Basically involves Megatron kidnaps a young boy's (Koji) father. He is the foremost expert on energy. Megatron does this so he can learn the location for energy theft and his agenda. Out to stop him are Optimus Prime and the Autobots.

Optimus Prime this time around transforms into a fire truck. His voice is remenisint of G1 Prime. Some of the other major players are:

X-Brawn who transform into a Mercades SUV and talks like a southerner (Hey it works). His younger brother Prowl, a Diablo police car, who is the serious one of the three. And the youngest Sideburn. He is a young kid who wants nothing more than to chase the girls, well red sports cars that he THINKS are girls.

They are later joined by 3 trains that can also merge into a giant gestault robot, 4 construction vehicles that also form a gestault, 6 ninja expert robots know as the spychangers, and two more autobots.

Megs also has his lackies. There is SkyByte the giant robotic shark, Slapper the frog, Darkscream, and Gasskunk a giant robotic skunk. Later they are joined by Decepticons.

The voice work so far has been very well done. It can be kiddish at some points, but it does work for the scenes.

For example, in one scene X-Brawn pretends to run off on an errand so he can get the jump on Slapper. Slapper shouts asking X-Brawn what he should do till he gets back. X-Brawn shouts that Slapper should measure his tounge or something. A moment later Slapper says "42 feet 3 inches! That's impressive." Sure a little kiddish but it was still funny.

Overall it is a very worth addition to the name Transformers.

ROBOTS IN DISGUISE. THE TRANSFORMERS. Why is everyone being so critical of this new series?

OK, so Optimus isn't a semi truck. BIG FREAKIN DEAL! You should be happy he's not a gorilla for once (even though I had no problem with that, what would a semi truck be doing hanging out with a rhino and a cheetah in a show called Beast Wars). Optimus is still awesome, his new voice is just fine and he looks sweet. He's still a great leader and cares about his commrades.

And leave Megatron alone! So what if he looks like a Terrorcon when he turns into his two headed dragon mode! His robot mode looks just like the Epyon Gundam from Gundam Wing. Just look at the two, they both turn into two headed dragons for crying out loud. His voice is mean and a lot more threatening than people give credit.

I like the new Scourge, he's an evil Optimus Prime! He's not the G1 loser we remember with *PINK* fingernails and those lousy Sweeps! Scourge and his Decepticons (formerly known as Combaticons to us G1ers) are great. Ruination is a cool name, so what if Bruticus is a dog now. Remember, this is a series for KIDS.

Kids today live off of, sigh, crap like Digimon and Pokemon. Robots in Disguise targets today's kids. However, there are plenty of moments and characters for us G1 fans to appreciate and enjoy. Look at Ultra Magnus, he's way cooler than the old Magnus who always got beat up. This Magnus is a bad ass, and he's a creation of Alpha Trion. If that ain't a G1 reference for old fans, I don't know what is. There are even references for Beast Wars fans, with stasis pods and slapsticky bumbling Predacons.

Who wouldn't like a singing Sky-Byte?! That's the anime touch for you, a bit of silliness. If you ask me, this new series is just fine. Don't call it G1. Don't call it Beast Wars. It is it's own entity. It's like Gundam Wing or Gundam X to Mobile Suit Gundam; an alternate universe series. Just kick back and have a few laughs!

Every time the latest iteration of Transformers comes out, old-skoolers like me immediately run out and disparage it for not being as good as the last. As a big G1 fan, I can honestly say that the guys who did the translating and voice work for RID did a fantastic job. They took something very foreign, Japanese, and weird (and I say this as a die-hard anime fan) and reworked it into something extremely funny and entertaining. No, it's not as serious as TFBM, and since they didn't have control over storylines like they did with Beast Wars, the character development was dictated by decisions made in Japan. Nonetheless, the finished product looks good and is a blast to watch. The voice actor for Sky-Byte must have garnered the envy of all the other VAs for getting the best lines and funniest dialogue and emotional rampages. No, RID isn't self-possessed and serious. But it *is* entertaining and fun, and for a show about giant robots, I don't think that's such a bad thing.