Now the title of this may be misleading. But I have decided to embark on a dangerous journey. Something I may thoroughly regret. I plan to attempt to find/watch everything ever made in the way of animated TF series. I will then chronicle my thoughts on these shows. I encourage other thoughts and comments on the shows and suggestions for what I should watch next. This place will be a veritable minefield of SPOILERS for those who have not seen the series in question so be aware of that.
So here's what I have seen so far:
All of Transformers G1 American (Seasons 1-4 and the Movie)
The Headmasters (although I am attempting to watch this as an English dub as it comes out)
Super God Masterforce
Victory
Zone OVA
Beast Wars
Transformers Animated
Transformers Prime (as it comes out)
The Michael Bay movies
What I would like to watch:
Beast Machines
Robots in Disguise
The Unicron Trilogy (Armada, Energon, and Cybertron)
Beast Wars 2
Beast Wars Neo
Anything else Japan has cranked out that I am not aware of
I'd do comics too if those were readily available, but as I would have to spend a lot longer hunting down comics than I would an animated series, that can wait. The point is I am interested in learning about what passes for TF storyboard writing across time. The different interpretations of the TF universe. And I want to provide my complaints about them.
So I am currently watching Beast Machines.
Status Report:
Have watched nine episodes so far. I had heard that this show was awful and a bastardization of everything good about Beast Wars. So that was the atitude I took going into it. I had also seen a couple of episodes with TT and have his commentary to draw off of. I am impressed that they are attempting to continue the Beast Wars epic story and I genuinely liked the show until about episode 8 or 9 when they lay it all on the line. I have some things I like and many more things I don't here.
Like:
Megatron is still pretty much the same guy he was in BW. Thus he's awesome.
Rattrap and Cheetor are completely different characters and in some cases that's great. Cheetor instead of being the whiny kid is now a competent warrior and decent leader. I like that.
I enjoy Tankor, Thrust, and Jetstorm a lot. Though still not as much as the likes of Inferno, Quickstrike, and Waspinator.
The series is still written well and the episodes are entertaining.
Dislike:
Worst.Optimus.Ever. Thus far he has only whined and whined about their 'destiny' and not done anything to LEAD. Cheetor and Nightscream have both made decent cases against his behavior but he continues to be wishy washy about everything. Something tells me he'll get better but up until now Optimus is the low point of the show.
Nightscream is a horrible idea. Whoever came up with him should be shot.
Whoever decided they were going to rape Rhinox's character should also be shot. I hear that Thrust is Waspinator and Jetstorm is Silverbolt too. Great. More terrible ways to mess up what happened at the end of BW.
Apparently the entire point of BW was so that they could understand what it means to be organic and make Cybertron organic. This is so stupid I can't even believe it. So there was no point to anything that happened in BW, great? Way to shoot down your own show, writers.
There is no Maximal team. Did they all completely forget how to work together after BW. Everyone hates Rattrap, Optimus couldn't lead his way out of a paper bag, etc.
At least they came up with a decent reason for the characters to be reverted back to their original beast forms, but it's still stupid that Megatron has various forms of 'instant win' just laying around like his 'virus' and his 'turn you back into beasts attack'.
Have watched 13 episodes now. The end of the first season has a nice premise. But I kind of hate how they just keep using names of things from G1 and distorting their purpose: The Matrix, Vector Sigma, The Key To Vector Sigma, and The Plasma Energy Chamber. It's getting rediculous. At least I can't think of anything else they can take and use for their own purposes. At least Beast Wars had taste in how they used elements from G1. Also the character's don't really get enough development with all of the 'action' they are throwing around. Optimus is a maniac, Cheetor is right.
Having watched about half-way into season 2, I have more gripes about the series. But I do have to say that Megatron keeps getting better and better. Now he's a giant floating head, how awesome is that. I also very much like the character of Botanica. Never really thought about the what if Transformers interfaced with plants. But still overall the series does stupid things. I've just begun to accept the 'let's make Cybertron back into an organic world' thing. The problem with this is, they have yet to explain how it ever was organic. I don't doubt that they will, but all the flashbacks they show are of the typical, mechanical Cybertron that we're familiar with. This show is so not canon it's not funny. Also I thought that they couldn't screw up another character as badly as they had with Rhinox, but then they introduced Silverbolt. Not only is his appearance the stuff of nightmares, he is a douche. I understand how they're trying to write the character but he's just a huge jerk and it's stupid. I miss the old Silverbolt. Also I have just been introduced to the characters of Obsidian and Strika. I really don't know what to think of them yet. They'll probably start out strong and become a joke like all of Megatron's other minions, ever. Except Rampage, he was never a joke. I'll probably finish the series tomorrow.
I finish this show on Tuesday, just haven't had time to update this. I liked it overall, but let me reiterate that. It has good writing and an interesting plot. They just never ever ever should have used anything from the Transformers canon universe and called this Transformers. It is nothing like anything else TFs or even Beast Wars. They should have just called it something else and not tried so hard to make it the sequel to BW. All then end up doing is cheapening the ending of BW because nothing that happened matter except Optimus learning how to be monkey (pretty much). I really like that Megatron delivers the final insult by actually getting a body and then having it be Optimus's body from BW. That was a nice touch. The ending of the series had a lot more of the one-on-one showdown type of stuff that I'm a fan of, particularly Cheetor proving himself by facing off against Thrust/Waspinator at the end. I didn't like how it ended and how Optimus becomes the god of Organic Cybertron but the getting there was interesting. I like how the "seeds of the past" turned out to be Megatron and Optimus's rivalry.
Also if you watch on Youtube the comments are pretty funny because some guy posts in every single video that Megatron is compensating for something by having a giant floating head and everyone gets really really annoyed after a while and all the comments are about that.
What should I watch next, I was thinking RID?
Blackjack's Adventures in Obscure TF Series
Moderators: Time Traveller, Kup
So I did decide to watch RID next since it is readily available on Youtube and all. Haven't had much time lately and I probably will continue to have limited time, but I wanted to start this. I'm going to report on RID on an episode by episode basis because I know nothing about the series other than it was made by the Japanese.
Episode 1: Battle Protocol
I can tell already this series is going to be loltastic. The plot seems straight out of G1, Megatron wants all of Earth's energy, Optimus wants to stop him. I imagine this is better in Japanese, but the English dub is hilarious because the voice actors have no conviction in thier voices. Optimus is all like "I'll stop you Megatron" in the most robotic way ever (no pun intended).
So Megatron is about to kidnap this kid's dad and Optimus calls the kid up and tells him to meet him somewhere randomly without saying anything else about who he is or what he wants. The kid is an idiot and leaves his home without telling his mom to meet with some strange guy who could very easily be a pedophile. Then Optimus takes him through his 'ground bridge' thingy to New York where Megatron is without asking and then he tells the kid to 'stay here it's dangerous'. Why did he even bring him along in the first place? When he finally confronts Megatron, we find out that Megatron is an idiot so they match up well. Like most Japanese fight scenes, they yell their attacks out before doing them, but Megatron has this odd habit of doing his maniacal laugh after every single attack he makes (something like heh heh ha!). Then he realizes he's losing and summons a bunch of flunkies to deal with Optimus. But Optimus pretty much just insults them and they give up.
Then the most hilarious and stupid part of the episode happens. Optimus calls up this holographic nurse looking person and registers something called a 'battle protocol'. This is intended to call his Autobot buddies: Prowl, Sideburn (seriously, wtf kind of name is that?), and Ex-Braun (who is a cowboy hick stereotype and I love it). So after much more insult battling, which is by far the best part of this show, the Autobots win. But Megatron kidnaps the kid's father and flies away while doing his awful canned laugh. Then Optimus gives one of the funniest lines ever in his awful, poorly voice acted way "our power is greater than theirs because it comes from a place of goodness, not greed." Then he tells the kid he needs his help to defeat the Predacons. Why, what is this random kid you abducted going to do Optimus? He's no Spike/Sam Witwicky, he's not even as cool as Go Shuta or that other random kid from Victory.
Bottom Line: Optimus sounds like and is about as serious as the Dr. Smoov version of Optimus. So this should be fun.
Episode 2: An Explosive Situation
I couldn't help but watch another one. In episode 2, the worst voice acted character in the series so far joins the Predacons: Night Bite. He talks so fast all the time that you can hardly understand what he's saying. He also talks a lot and elaborates on his plans a little too much. Although the scene at the end of the episode where he is reading classic literature in order to understand humans is quite amusing.
In this episode Optimus abducts Koji (the kid), takes him to his base (Cybertron?) and let's him meet their AI girl, nurse thing. Apparently she is the daughter of Teletraan 1, but whether that means the computer had a baby or the computer created the AI is up for question. Anyway, the plot of episode is such that terrorists have hidden a highly powerful, energy rich bomb inside of a red sports car. Sideburn likes hitting on sports cars (no idea there) and he wants to follow it around. The Decepticons try to steal the bomb. Prowl yells a bunch of generic police officer stuff (you're under arrest). And Optimus uses his water spray to launch the bomb into the atmosphere where the colder air causes it to freeze???
There is a part where Optimus yells 'vehicle mode' to transform and I wish he would have yelled 'truck mode'.
Episode 1: Battle Protocol
I can tell already this series is going to be loltastic. The plot seems straight out of G1, Megatron wants all of Earth's energy, Optimus wants to stop him. I imagine this is better in Japanese, but the English dub is hilarious because the voice actors have no conviction in thier voices. Optimus is all like "I'll stop you Megatron" in the most robotic way ever (no pun intended).
So Megatron is about to kidnap this kid's dad and Optimus calls the kid up and tells him to meet him somewhere randomly without saying anything else about who he is or what he wants. The kid is an idiot and leaves his home without telling his mom to meet with some strange guy who could very easily be a pedophile. Then Optimus takes him through his 'ground bridge' thingy to New York where Megatron is without asking and then he tells the kid to 'stay here it's dangerous'. Why did he even bring him along in the first place? When he finally confronts Megatron, we find out that Megatron is an idiot so they match up well. Like most Japanese fight scenes, they yell their attacks out before doing them, but Megatron has this odd habit of doing his maniacal laugh after every single attack he makes (something like heh heh ha!). Then he realizes he's losing and summons a bunch of flunkies to deal with Optimus. But Optimus pretty much just insults them and they give up.
Then the most hilarious and stupid part of the episode happens. Optimus calls up this holographic nurse looking person and registers something called a 'battle protocol'. This is intended to call his Autobot buddies: Prowl, Sideburn (seriously, wtf kind of name is that?), and Ex-Braun (who is a cowboy hick stereotype and I love it). So after much more insult battling, which is by far the best part of this show, the Autobots win. But Megatron kidnaps the kid's father and flies away while doing his awful canned laugh. Then Optimus gives one of the funniest lines ever in his awful, poorly voice acted way "our power is greater than theirs because it comes from a place of goodness, not greed." Then he tells the kid he needs his help to defeat the Predacons. Why, what is this random kid you abducted going to do Optimus? He's no Spike/Sam Witwicky, he's not even as cool as Go Shuta or that other random kid from Victory.
Bottom Line: Optimus sounds like and is about as serious as the Dr. Smoov version of Optimus. So this should be fun.
Episode 2: An Explosive Situation
I couldn't help but watch another one. In episode 2, the worst voice acted character in the series so far joins the Predacons: Night Bite. He talks so fast all the time that you can hardly understand what he's saying. He also talks a lot and elaborates on his plans a little too much. Although the scene at the end of the episode where he is reading classic literature in order to understand humans is quite amusing.
In this episode Optimus abducts Koji (the kid), takes him to his base (Cybertron?) and let's him meet their AI girl, nurse thing. Apparently she is the daughter of Teletraan 1, but whether that means the computer had a baby or the computer created the AI is up for question. Anyway, the plot of episode is such that terrorists have hidden a highly powerful, energy rich bomb inside of a red sports car. Sideburn likes hitting on sports cars (no idea there) and he wants to follow it around. The Decepticons try to steal the bomb. Prowl yells a bunch of generic police officer stuff (you're under arrest). And Optimus uses his water spray to launch the bomb into the atmosphere where the colder air causes it to freeze???
There is a part where Optimus yells 'vehicle mode' to transform and I wish he would have yelled 'truck mode'.
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Time Traveller
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I have continued watching RID after a break where I couldn't seem to find the time to do so. Might still be slow in watching episodes as I will be busy with work this summer.
Episode 3: Bullet Train To The Rescue
So some humans decide to invent the fastest bullet train on Earth and paint it pink. For some reason Skybite (not Night Bite, I was wrong) thinks it is a good idea to steal this train and the Predacons start practicing for their mission by blowing up other trains, which the Autobots don't care about for some reason. For some reason Optimus's pet kid is riding on the experimental first run of this new bullet train. How he could afford a ticket and why he is going alone are beyond me. Apparently Skybite has some way of disabling the supercomputer that runs the train and disabiling the manual override so that no one can slow the train down.
The Autobots try to stop the train but all they manage to do is find the rest of the Predacons who are pretending to sabotage the tracks in order to keep them busy. Optimus is watching the train and realizes something is wrong so he calls Team Bullet Train to help him. They consist of Rail Spike (who is voice by this epic old man who often appears in dubbed animes), Rapid Run (who I think is black), and Midnight Express (who is sort of like G1 Tracks, knowwhutimsayin). Anyway, Skybite's evil plan turns out to be blowing up a bridge so the train goes off the end of the tracks. I guess after that he'd steal it? The Bullet Train group fails to save the train and Optimus has to do it with his bare hands.
Then Skybite tries to threaten the Autobots even though he is vastly outnumbered. He gets owned and Megatron shows up. However Team Bullet Train demonstrates their ability to combine into Rail Racer and they beat Megatron into retreating. I suppose in the next episode they'll have to introduce a Predacon combiner in order to even the odds. This episode really wasn't that funny except that the Predacons are really dumb.
Episode 3: Bullet Train To The Rescue
So some humans decide to invent the fastest bullet train on Earth and paint it pink. For some reason Skybite (not Night Bite, I was wrong) thinks it is a good idea to steal this train and the Predacons start practicing for their mission by blowing up other trains, which the Autobots don't care about for some reason. For some reason Optimus's pet kid is riding on the experimental first run of this new bullet train. How he could afford a ticket and why he is going alone are beyond me. Apparently Skybite has some way of disabling the supercomputer that runs the train and disabiling the manual override so that no one can slow the train down.
The Autobots try to stop the train but all they manage to do is find the rest of the Predacons who are pretending to sabotage the tracks in order to keep them busy. Optimus is watching the train and realizes something is wrong so he calls Team Bullet Train to help him. They consist of Rail Spike (who is voice by this epic old man who often appears in dubbed animes), Rapid Run (who I think is black), and Midnight Express (who is sort of like G1 Tracks, knowwhutimsayin). Anyway, Skybite's evil plan turns out to be blowing up a bridge so the train goes off the end of the tracks. I guess after that he'd steal it? The Bullet Train group fails to save the train and Optimus has to do it with his bare hands.
Then Skybite tries to threaten the Autobots even though he is vastly outnumbered. He gets owned and Megatron shows up. However Team Bullet Train demonstrates their ability to combine into Rail Racer and they beat Megatron into retreating. I suppose in the next episode they'll have to introduce a Predacon combiner in order to even the odds. This episode really wasn't that funny except that the Predacons are really dumb.
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Time Traveller
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Yeah, this is probably the part where Ruination shows up (recolored combaticons with funny names like Ro-Tor Mo-Vor and Mega-Octane (big brother of 89 Octane and 87 Octane).
Also, is this not EVERY stereotypical superhero rescue?
OH NOES! The train is out of control! I have to be super and stop it with my bare hands/body/web/dynamiting the tracks before it reaches the blown track!
Also, is this not EVERY stereotypical superhero rescue?
OH NOES! The train is out of control! I have to be super and stop it with my bare hands/body/web/dynamiting the tracks before it reaches the blown track!
