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Transform and roll out again
Delzhand
Registered User, Transition Team regular
Registered User, Transition Team regular
For those of you who took one look at the latest Transformers designs and dropped all expectations of decency, prepare to reconsider your positions.
http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/animated/
But they look so stupid!
Let's be honest, it's a kids cartoon. Yes, in static pictures, they look a little... doofy. But as Gabe pointed out a few weeks ago, this allows them greater levels of expression, particularly in robot mode. The pictures of Prime are a bit disingenous - his faceplate is almost never there, even in combat. It's not a dealbreaker - I've gotten used to seeing Prime with a mouth.
But they're so exaggerated. How do the transformations even work?
It's a cartoon, mang! But having said that, the toys look amazing.
http://www.seibertron.com/toys/gallery.php?id=1355&size=0&start=0
This is Bulkhead, I'm sure photos of the others will be forthcoming eventually. The sculpts look to be very faithful - I'm surprised.
Okay, what about the characters?
Let's get this out of the way first - there's no continuity with anything, but the series seems blissfully self-aware of this. The first episode makes reference to the Allspark (from the Bay movie), as well as the first episodes of the G1 cartoon). Continuity aside, there are the universal themes - Starscream is believably treacherous, Megs is suitably menacing (and fuckin' huge to boot). As for the Autobots, Prime is apparently a dropout from an elite academy for Autobot soldiers. Bumblebee takes on the "young" role previously filled by Hot Rod (G1) and Hotshot (Armada). Prowl is a ninja, Ratchet is something of a mix between the Ratchet and Kup - a grizzled veteran medic. Bulkhead is probably my favorite character - he's the loveable oaf, and he provides most of the comic relief along with Bumblebee.
It sounds stupid.
Listen, it's not War Within, and I don't think Furman is connected to the project. It's designed to sell toys to kids, and maybe a few adults. We're not going to get deep monologues on the nature of leadership or duty - the message is standard kids' stuff - work together, be true to yourself, etc. If I believed in the concept of a guilty pleasure, this would be one. If you don't enjoy it, that's your prerogative.
It sounds awesome!
Glad you think so. I'm not sure when it airs, but search YouTube for "fanoftransformers" - s/he's a user who breaks up the episodes by commercial break and uploads them. IIRC, Cartoon Network is usually pretty decent about YouTube videos. They left the entirety of Metalocalypse on YouTube until a month or two before the DVD release. So far, there are three episodes - a 90 minute intro episode (Transform and Roll Out), and two regular episodes. The first showcases Megs' awakening as a Unicron styled giant head (Home is Where the Spark Is), the second is the Dinobots episode (Blast From the Past).
So, regarding Grimlock... "Me Grimlock no dumb dino, me king! or Me Grimlock, badass!"
So, who else here enjoys the show so far? Has anyone else noticed when it comes to Transformers, the things that are expected to be awesome are terrible (the movie, Beast Machines, Energon), whereas the things expected to be sucky are awesome (Beast Wars, this)?
http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/animated/
But they look so stupid!
Let's be honest, it's a kids cartoon. Yes, in static pictures, they look a little... doofy. But as Gabe pointed out a few weeks ago, this allows them greater levels of expression, particularly in robot mode. The pictures of Prime are a bit disingenous - his faceplate is almost never there, even in combat. It's not a dealbreaker - I've gotten used to seeing Prime with a mouth.
But they're so exaggerated. How do the transformations even work?
It's a cartoon, mang! But having said that, the toys look amazing.
http://www.seibertron.com/toys/gallery.php?id=1355&size=0&start=0
This is Bulkhead, I'm sure photos of the others will be forthcoming eventually. The sculpts look to be very faithful - I'm surprised.
Okay, what about the characters?
Let's get this out of the way first - there's no continuity with anything, but the series seems blissfully self-aware of this. The first episode makes reference to the Allspark (from the Bay movie), as well as the first episodes of the G1 cartoon). Continuity aside, there are the universal themes - Starscream is believably treacherous, Megs is suitably menacing (and fuckin' huge to boot). As for the Autobots, Prime is apparently a dropout from an elite academy for Autobot soldiers. Bumblebee takes on the "young" role previously filled by Hot Rod (G1) and Hotshot (Armada). Prowl is a ninja, Ratchet is something of a mix between the Ratchet and Kup - a grizzled veteran medic. Bulkhead is probably my favorite character - he's the loveable oaf, and he provides most of the comic relief along with Bumblebee.
It sounds stupid.
Listen, it's not War Within, and I don't think Furman is connected to the project. It's designed to sell toys to kids, and maybe a few adults. We're not going to get deep monologues on the nature of leadership or duty - the message is standard kids' stuff - work together, be true to yourself, etc. If I believed in the concept of a guilty pleasure, this would be one. If you don't enjoy it, that's your prerogative.
It sounds awesome!
Glad you think so. I'm not sure when it airs, but search YouTube for "fanoftransformers" - s/he's a user who breaks up the episodes by commercial break and uploads them. IIRC, Cartoon Network is usually pretty decent about YouTube videos. They left the entirety of Metalocalypse on YouTube until a month or two before the DVD release. So far, there are three episodes - a 90 minute intro episode (Transform and Roll Out), and two regular episodes. The first showcases Megs' awakening as a Unicron styled giant head (Home is Where the Spark Is), the second is the Dinobots episode (Blast From the Past).
So, regarding Grimlock... "Me Grimlock no dumb dino, me king! or Me Grimlock, badass!"
My first real disappointment with the series. Grimlock is very much just a stupid dinosaur.
So, who else here enjoys the show so far? Has anyone else noticed when it comes to Transformers, the things that are expected to be awesome are terrible (the movie, Beast Machines, Energon), whereas the things expected to be sucky are awesome (Beast Wars, this)?
Delzhand on
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The toys are ... ugh. Megatron is about the only one I like. The glossy piant job was also unessecary.
The show itself is mediocre. That travesty of a Dinobot orgin is inexcusable. Also super allspark 8 year old is a most unwelcome plot device.
The pilot "movie" didn't really do much for me either. The kids are as annoying as ever, and the giant termite was dumb. And then there's the fucking allspark. They did get a good voice actor for Starscream, though.
The dialogue is also terrible.
Prime: "Maybe I'm not programmed to be... a hero."
I'm not outraged about it or anything, though. If the younger audience likes it, good for them. It's definitely better than the movie.
And the results from the rape kit test on my childhood - positive. Yes, my childhood was raped again.
The premiere had a lot of promise... unfortunately I haven't been up early enough to see the other eps that have aired.
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Wait until GI Joe comes out. Be sure to sure to bring the KY for that round or else there will be tearing.
Somebody in Hasbro R&D is related to Jay Leno. Starscream is bad but wait untl Ultra Magnus and Sentinel Prime show up it's like fucking family guy.
THAT'S NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN!
This man begs to differ.
I did watch a little bit of this new transformers and it sucks robot monkey balls(that have chins apparently). Optimus always came out as the leader right off the bat, but in this one he like some dumb kid who doesn't want the responsibility.
I've been following the details of the new series since it emerged and I have never liked the direction it headed. I love me some Teen Titans and I'm glad the crew gets more work but it is so not TRANSFORMERS. It's Teen Titans in fucking ARMOR!
The toys are also hella fucking ugly. Screw designs, if you can't make them *look* aesthetically pleasing than you lost the battle right there.
Wii U - 'Nocero'
XBox ID - therealmasume
PS4 ID - realmasume
Why is 1/3 of Terrence Trent Darby going to disagree with me?
And, uh, yeah, the armor is still terrible. Round? How does round work as a robot shape when there's transforming into boxy vehicles I can break on Christmas day to be done?
This isn't just for kids- but for kids. The kind with attention spans that measure in microseconds.
The only thing I liked was the "war documentary" using the original cartoon as footage. That was awesome.
I've yet to see the toys outside of Comic-Con last July. I thought they looked pretty good. I'm just waiting patiently for all the remaining TF movie garbage to be cleared out of the action figure aisle so that the good stuff can come back. (psst- Hasbro... Nobody wants the Optimus/Bumblebee walkie talkies or the Starscream arm/gun thingy...)
That and Hasbro won't be putting out the toys until June or July, I forget which of the two
Is it anything uber-amazing? No.
But you know what? The last good Transformers show we had was MOTHERFUCKING BEAST WARS. I WAS BELOW THE RECOMMENDED AGE WHEN THAT FUCKING SHOW CAME OUT. And if you're a 'trukk not munky' type, it's been TWENTY GODDAMNED YEARS.
I will accept ANYTHING that is better than the schlop they fed us for the unicron trilogy.
Plus, dammit, Soundwave comes with a guitar, at least two characters have Kamina-brand shades, and one is a half-insane German. I have to at least enjoy it as a guilty pleasure, if nothing else.
And, come on! The Angry Archer! How can you not love the Angry Archer?
But watching this for a few minutes makes me realize it sucks balls. I don't know what the OP was trying to sell us.
It was asking for it.
Plus, the girl looks like a Wind Waker character, which is smile-worthy to me.
Would I just about blow my load for a "grown-up" cartoon written by Furman? Hell yes, I would. I just read Origin: Megatron last night and loved it. But since that's not in the cards, I'll take this, and hope that TF continues to be a marketable franchise.
It's just you, me, and the dude who does Shortpacked against the world.
Unless you're the dude who does Shortpacked, in which case it's just you and me.
I think we're still in the "character development" stage, insomuch as every character is going to get an introductory episode (I expect Prime will be last). Then we'll probably see more Autobot on Decepticon action. I'm interested in seeing how they handle Blackarachnia, and I've even heard rumors that Waspinator will show up, but I can't find a reliable source for that tidbit.
Regarding chins: It's a little off-putting, yes, but then again, so was Bruce Wayne's clinical diagnosis of Club Chin in Batman:TAS, and that ended up being awesome, so I'm willing to overlook chin-related wackiness.
Regarding Prime's attitude: It's basically the same as War Within, although in this continuity, being Prime doesn't seem to carry the same (or ANY, oddly) weight.
It had Arcee in it. And it was awesome.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
What does this even mean?
How can a present day cartoon show go back in time and alter your childhood? Is it even possible?
Well, Batman had a much more consistent quality to the animation. People will generally overlook a unique look as long as the general quality of the animation is not unappealing. So far, the animation in The new TF series is good during combat. When the characters are lax, the animation seems to follow suit, and that's really unfortunate, as well-drawn still and quiet moments can be just as entertaining and even more memorable than awesome fight sequences sometimes.
Well, it's an exaggerated over-reaction to a way we remember things, a way we liked things, and a resistance to change and unwillingness to let go of those happy childhood things.
It's another thing altogether when you get a show like Beast Machines, which was obviously written to take place immediately after Beast Wars, but is accepted as a complete and utter waste of a show, the sort of thing many Beast Wars fans would like to forget ever existed.
And I've seen a lot of them thanks to my friends' boxset, and they have not aged well. They're pretty terrible and cheesy.
Admit it people. The G1 cartoon is not written as well as Transformers Animated, and certainly not as well as Beast Wars.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
I'll take your word for it. I only saw a small handful of G1 cartoons, and owned one episode which I watched over and over and over again.
Most of my exposure to the Transformers was through the comics and the movie.
But I watched lots of Go-Bots, because my family members took forever to get proper cable.
And I am glad those days are over.
Oversized, needlessly exaggerated body parts, GIANT CHINS, etc.
G1 was much more conservative in its art style, even while crazy stuff was going on.
Of course, it was also aiming at quasi-realism, rather than "cartoony." Not a big deal, but it's usually easier to take things seriously when they more closely resemble reality.
Hard to cry over a Nick Toon. :P
Compare:
http://www.transformersanimated.com/img/wallpaper/optimus-prime/optimus-prime-1024.jpg
vs.
http://anthony.ianniciello.net/blog/optimus.gif
I can see the point you're trying to make, but it doesn't make much sense to compare an animation model to a one-off artwork not meant for animation...
I don't think anyone's going to argue that. It hasn't aged well. But it was a pretty amazing piece of work for something that wasn't based on any preexisting continuity. The show paved the way for many MANY shows to come. The show that we're watching now doesn't have the privilege of being the first show to have awesome transforming robots protecting humans and using guns and lasers out the wazoo.
Oh wait, this new cartoon has almost no guns and lasers. That's kinda shitty huh? Fucking S&P.
That's another thing; This new series has neither the fortune of existing before Standards and Practices anally raped networks for having lots of gunfire and stuff (The Original series), nor the fortune of being in a timeslot that slips under their radar (Beast Wars). If you saw Beast Wars before and after it was moved to Fox (The word shoot was edited out of conversations, realistic gunfire , including Rhinox's Miniguns, was cut out completely.), you can see that anything in popular timeslots can't get away with stuff done in a show that airs early weekday mornings or some o other time when the audience is very limited.
I did watch the show as a kid, and even I'll admit that. People complaining about childhood rapes need to go back and actually watch the show they're idolizing. Transformers was fucking terrible. So was TMNT.
That said, I watched the opening "Transform and Roll Out" movie tonight. It was very cringe-worthy at many moments, but once Starscream started tearing shit up, it got a hell of a lot better. I really like Sari's design (ripped straight from Wind Waker), though the rest of the humans so far are fucking ugly as sin.
The robot designs range from fucking terrible to actually quite decent. Bumblebee's actually kinda cool looking, while Prime still looks fucking terrible. Starscream's pretty hot though, and I might actually consider picking up the toy.
Megatron was suitably badass, and Starscream was spot on.
I'll keep watching, but it's not something I'm going to go crazy for.
Of course, The Real Ghostbusters has them both beat, so why they don't have that out in season boxsets is beyond me.
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Oh yeah, it holds up better than Transformers, but that doesn't mean it holds up well.
Real Ghostbusters I haven't seen since I was a kid. I just assumed it was terrible like everything else I watched back then.
There's no silly dated slang and the animation is all around better quality. Well, until it became "Slimer & The Real Ghostbusters" at least.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
I could care less about G1. The show is awful and the designs are ugly. To cap it all off the toys suck.
Hasbro I want to give you my money but you keep doing shit like this.