My views on the transformers series

Nice, open-minded list of short descriptions. Almost exactly the same as how I view them. For me, it goes like this:

G1 (the American series only): shaky beginnings, and although I liked what little I read of the Marvel comics more, I still have an urge from time to time to watch the cartoon too. It's the many downsides that usually make me turn away from it, but it has a nice atmosphere despite its stupidity, which also goes for the animated movie. Also, an outstanding cast and some great concepts.

I wish they did more with them, but knowing how tight the schedules were and that the basic mantra was "action and advertisement over plot", I'm glad we got at least some deepness and maturity out of it. Too bad that the care the writers gave it ranged from "I do the best I can" to "all I want is to get payed".

Beast Wars: my personal favorite. The early episodes made it clear the writers didn't know much about the franchise, but it was also clear they wanted to make more than just a toy commercial. And when the story found a direction in which to go (as well as the writers finding helpful fans), it resulted in what to me is the best Transformers cartoon season ever to be made.

Strong characters, a stable story, memorable and touching moments, constantly improving CGI... it all amounts to a very enjoyable animated series that I can watch again and again. What I didn't like, though, was how the third season went for more goofy and zany cartoon gags, ruining some well built-up moments. As if the show thought to itself "Okay, I showed them what I'm capable of, now it's time to goof off!".

Beast Machines: another favorite of mine. It's very different from basically all other Transformers shows, and compared to its predecessor, has a drastically different feel to it. This is one of the things people tend not to like about it. It appears to have a somewhat stuck-up attitude, and doesn't feel as welcoming and friendly as Beast Wars. But I applaud the writers for disobeying their higher-ups' orders and studying Transformers lore, and also for trying to introduce all that religious mysticism and deep philosophy into the franchise, gaining a very distinct flavor. I also favor its way of storytelling, in that it gave the protagonists a basic insecurity and made them (or at least Primal) a misguided and fallible character, instead of the usual "the good guy's always right" way of thinking.

I find it awesome how the characters were handled as actual beings with feelings, and how even their smallest of actions had major consequences. Beast Machines is a cartoon that took itself very seriously, and to me, this is one of its main strengths. But I can see why many people preferred the ways of Beast Wars instead, since its story was easier to follow, the characters easier to relate to, and... well, easier on the eyes. But even so, Beast Machines is a very unique cartoon, that manages to be one of the least and the most Transformers-y Transformers series at the same time.

RID: haven't seen it either, save for a couple of episodes. But it's a show of extremes, as I gather -- you either love it or loathe it. It's a parody -- a spoof of anime in general, and of itself. It all depends on the viewer whether this is a good or bad thing. I usually don't get mad at cartoons that can poke fun at themselves, but if they're too annoying and stupid... well, then I do. This show seems to be balancing on the thin line between fun and painful. Who knows, maybe I'd enjoy it. I'll have to give it a try.

Armada: a horrible, barely watchable beginning... and I have to confess, I haven't watched it all yet. Though I've peeked into some later episodes, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Its low production values, error-laden dubbing and incredibly shallow and thin storyline (at least in its early episodes) stand as a fact, however, and because of this, I'm not enthusiastic about watching it anytime soon. It had a great Starscream, however.

Energon: everything that can go wrong with a cartoon, it had them. Terrible animation that made me sick, characters with barely any personality, a story that didn't make the slightest of sense (thanks to the dubbing team omitting one very important episode), and an incredibly drawn-out and tedious presentation. The basic toy gimmick it tried to promote was dumb as well, and every time it did something interesting to its characters, it managed to destroy it within a couple of episodes. Terrible. The only things that I found genuinely good are its rare moments of hand-drawn Transformers animation. Those sequences looked brilliant.

Cybertron: an improvement over Energon in almost every aspect, and I liked how diverse it was with all the planets and Transformers races. Another positive thing is that the dub actually attempted to do something with the source material, and had some thought put into it. But this still doesn't hide the fact that the whole cartoon is nothing more than a toy commercial presented in as a collection of anime clichés. It had its moments, and I liked several of its ideas (Vector Prime, Primus, Starscream working on his own), but it's a shallow and ultimately forgettable show.

The movies: long story short, good concepts, but the execution mostly ranges from questionable to down-right terrible.

Animated: my second favorite of all the shows. Many didn't like its drawing style, the anime-influence, its initial kiddiness, and how it both borrowed ideas from previous cartoons and had original ideas of its own. To a degree, I agree with these. But they don't keep me from enjoying it. It was clear as heck that the creative team behind it were huge Transformers nerds themselves, and the immense amount of homages and references, as well as the huge expanded universe they built around it, is just astounding. It also helped that its creators were a very nice bunch of people that kept tabs on the general fans and that a friendly relationship developed between them.

But the cartoon didn't try rely merely on these (in most cases), it actually had its own story to tell, with unique characters and new concepts. In my opinion, nearly everything in it was brilliant, but it simply wasn't enough. It spent too much time on trying to build up a plot, and when it got the hang of it, the cartoon got canceled. Had it continued and made use of its full potential, it would be without a doubt my favorite Transformers cartoon. Even so, I enjoyed its lighthearted and friendly nature, as well as its surprising moments of darkness and maturity.

The execution of the cartoon left some things to be desired, but at its heart, it was essentially a group of sci-fi and cartoon fans that came together to create a new Transformers universe, had a great time doing so, and tried to share it with their fellow fans. And even after Cartoon Network pulled its plug, with barely any toys left to promote, they continued to work on their "baby", and made a point of keeping their good relationship with the fandom. In that regard, it may well be the best series of them all. ... But not to me, since I don't care for expanded universes and heavy fanwank all that much.


EDIT:

So, I checked out the first handful of RID episodes... and so far, the show is awfully juvenile, terribly goofy and cheesy beyond belief... but it's not much worse than what I expected, and at least the dubbing team did a decent job. I also like how they tried to improve the original anime by editing the footage and including throwbacks to earlier shows. And that Kelly character is fun too. With this in mind, I would call RID a guilty pleasure. It's bad, but at least it's aware of it.

The only 3 I've seen so far are Animated, G1 and Prime (I'm not counting the Bayformers).

I've haven't watched Armada yet, but I've heard some good things about it. :)


"Some things you see with your eyes, others you see with your heart"-(The Land Before Time)