Transformers: Animated

As a fellow Transformers fan, there's a little confession I would like to make: I was almost a Bayformers fan!!! But don't worry, even though I thought the first movie was good, it still wasn't enough to make me a genuine "Trans-Fan". My best friend knew much more about Transformers than I did, as she grew up with the franchise, so I've mostly learned about the main premise of the story from her.

Anyway, by 2007 I knew almost nothing about G1, Beast Wars, or the Unicorn Trilogy (though, from what I've heard, I didn't miss anything from the Unicron Trilogy). Then it just so happened, on Cartoon Network, I came across a TV promo for this new show simply titled, "Transformers: Animated". The moment I first saw their new designs I thought, "It would never catch on, the proportions of the robots look all wrong!" However, when the show finally aired, I took a look at one episode. My first thought was, "Well, the story seems pretty basic, but this Starscream guy looks like a cool character (by the way, this was the show that made me a Starscream fan-girl).

A couple years later, I soon forgot about it, until my friend show me the Allspark Allminac (which is a book that has information about everything from the show). Eventually, my interest for the show lit up again, and I've watched reruns of it on The Hub, then I realized everything I first thought about this show was wrong. The main Autobots, for example, are not the Superman archetypes you see in the original show, in fact Optimus here isn't even leader of the Autobots, but the leader of a small group of rookies. I really like this change, because not only does it make it a lot easier to root for them, but it also makes them more realistic and sympathetic.

Now the main human character, Sari, is another interesting aspect of this show. At first, she appears to be an annoying tag-a-long that never does what she's told. This of course, was a very common trope in Transformers since G1, but instead of just being a tag-a-long, Sari actually has a story arc in this series! She's also not as useless as most Trans-Fans like to believe, she actually helps the Autobots multiple times. Her father, Prof. Isaac Sumdac, is one of the "weaker" characters in the show. He's way too trusting towards Megatron in Season 1, and is clearly irresponsible letting his 8-year old daughter handle the AllSpark Key, but he's not too annoying and you'll eventually grow to love him.

I was also impressed by how the Decepticons were portrayed. Megatron doesn't get a very big role in the first season, but he is BY FAR superior to the clumsy G1 version, and the bland TF: Prime version of the character. The other Cons are also very well written. Blackarachnia and Waspinator both have tragic and interesting back stories, Blitzwing the triple-changer is given a split-personality, and Shockwave is given a more prominent role in Season 3.

It just makes me said that they were never able to release a Season 4 before it got canceled! This is a vastly underrated show, that has more emotional depth than "Transformers Prime", and much more character development than G1.

My Overall rating-- 8.5 out of 10!

I was a kid when the first generation of Transformers came out, and it swept me off my feet. Later came umpteen different incarnations of Transformers and none of them managed to interest me. Either the stories were too far fetched and impossible to follow, or the animations were so clunky I just couldn't watch it.

Transformers Animated is different. Some people don't like the light hearted animation style but it's a fresh approach to the franchise. Also the story line actually makes sense, and it's easy to follow without feeding you with a tea spoon.

All in all, a great reboot, with lots of content for new fans and old ones alike.

When it was announced that a new Transformers series had come out, I was initially a bit sceptical, but as time passed, I grew to love those character designs and the robots personalities from the clips. I had hoped that this series wouldn't let me down, and boy, was I right. The first three episodes so far have given this franchise a kick-start, and from the very first minute, I was hooked to the screen. The art doesn't really distract you, and you'll find yourself becoming used to it later. The storyline was great and the voice-actors sounded like they were the characters - not just merely reading their lines or so. In conclusion, this series might seem a little too kiddy for those who grew up with the original Transformers, but it's really worth watching. Try it and see for yourself if you don't believe me.

Being a G1 die-hard, I was naturally skeptical about this new series (especially after catching glimpses of the questionable character design). But I have to say that after watching the first 3 episodes (or was it a full 1 1/2 hour mini-movie?), I think this new series is pretty good. Not great, but good.

The high points: They kept the original transforming sound (which is more than I can say for that damn live-action movie). The storyline vaguely follows in G1's footsteps (it's not exactly the same, but it's close enough). Oh, and you won't even notice the funky character design after a while...it's not actually THAT bad after all, once you start watching.

The one low point: Most of the characters have changed significantly. A lot of these new Transformers seem to be combinations of different G1 characters. Ratchet in particular is a perfect 50/50 hybrid of Ironhide and Kup, Optimus seems more like Rodimus, Megatron has vague traces of Unicron, and so on. However, it must be said that the writers/producers had the good sense to keep at least a few key characters perfectly intact...namely Bumblebee and Starscream.

For somebody who loved the original so dearly, this series doesn't disappoint. It's an entertaining take on the cartoon that defined my childhood. If nothing else, it's definitely fun to watch!

I'll start off by saying I've been an active Transformers fan for years, not someone who watched G1 as a kid and then forgot about TFs until the recent live-action movie came out (In fact, I actually hated the movie, as both a Transformers fan and a fan of movies in general). I'm 22 years old, so I was just a couple of years too late to catch G1 when it first aired (although I now own every episode), and although I had seen a couple of episodes of G1 when it reran as G2, I really became a fan of the franchise with Beast Wars. Since then, I've watched at least some of every TF show, Japanese ones included. Beast Wars (especially the second and third seasons) is my favorite show to date, not because it was the first one I watched, but because the story lines, character development, and voice acting achieved a level of depth, emotion and overall quality which has been unmatched in TF cartoons before or since.

With that being said, I was a bit skeptical going into this show. The last few shows left a lot to be desired, and the odd designs for this one were a bit of a departure from traditional Transformers. Still, I did my best to approach this show with an open mind (after all, many people initially dismissed my favorite TF series because of the changes it made to the franchise), and I was pleasantly surprised. The designs, while a bit jarring at first, are something you'll get used to surprisingly fast. The pacing is nice and the voice acting is the best it's been in years (due largely to this being made for American audiences rather than dubbed over from Japanese), especially Starscream. Since Chris Latta's death, nobody has really been able to fill the role well (though considering his excellent work as Cobra Commander in the '90s I've long said that Scott McNeil would do a fine job), until now. Tom Kenney totally nails the Starscream voice, and it's really a shame that the character hasn't been seen since the pilot (though I have little doubt he'll show up again eventually). The script quality varies a bit from episode to episode, but even at its worst it's better than anything we've seen since the Beast era.

As good as the show is, it's not without its flaws. The biggest flaw at the moment (keep in mind, it's still fairly early in the show's run) is the villains. Transformers has always been about two warring factions, Autobot vs. Decepticon (or, in the Beast-era, Maximal vs. Predacon/Vehicon). In this show, the Autobots have yet to face more than one 'con at a time (even when the Decepticon ship came in the pilot, Megatron was the only one they actually fought face to face), and half the time their enemy is human. Granted, Megatron is often pulling the strings of whatever enemy they may be facing, but so far the Transformer presence on the villains' side has been severely lacking, which is a shame since the episodes where they fight a Cybertronian enemy (be it a Decepticon or the Dinobots) are clearly the strongest of the bunch. No matter what powers a human enemy may possess, it's sort of hard to make him seem like a significant threat to five giant robots. Hopefully once the Decepticons arrive in force (preferably sooner rather than later), this issue will be remedied. The other major issue with the show is the tone, which skews a bit too much toward the kiddy side. Granted, this is a show intended for kids, and it's certainly no kiddier than the last few shows, but honestly, it's still a valid complaint. The people making this show are clearly aware that adult fans watch the show as well (as evidenced by all the G1 references), and could easily make it a bit more mature without alienating the kids (ie Beast Wars).

In conclusion, I encourage you to give this show a chance if you are at all interested, and keep an open mind; you may be pleasantly surprised. Granted, it's not be the best Transformers show ever, but it's far from the worst.