Animated Jazz Feedback Thread

[Paladin]

My thoughts on this guy-



Jazz is yet another character with origins dating back to the very, very beginning in 1984. He appeared on Cybertron shortly before the launch of the Ark, fought bravely against the Decepticons on Earth, was nearly eaten by Unicron before being rescued and then.... kinda just disappeared. A side effect of his voice actors' (the legendary Scatman Crothers) tragic death. With no voice, Jazz fell deep into obscurity, sending the protected trademark concerning his name into oblivion.

He remained virtually forgotten for many years until the Alternator line revisited his character. Without access to his proper given name, Hasbro chose to use his Japanese counterpart name, Meister as the name of their Mazda RX-8 Transformer. This was the first step of Jazz's rebirth. Several years later, the re-christened Autobot Jazz joined Michael Bay's live action movie lineup.... and got shafted, because a three-legged chihuahua was given better character treatment & development than him.

Now, Animated has given the proud Autobot hipster one more chance to shine!




Jazz's vehicle mode is a high-performance luxury car, like nearly all of his other incarnations. It's obviously a very expensive yet still futuristic model of transportation.

It should be noted that Jazz is the first to bear the Autobot Elite Guard symbol; which features elongated "wing" decals atop the usual Autobot symbol (not entirely unlike the Vanguard mark from Galaxy Force).





In Robot Mode, we see that Jazz has spent all those years off-camera in Cyber Ninja Training. He's a lot like Prowl; expertly proportioned and very slick. The traditional car-chest makes him a tiny bit top heavy.

Jazz's main weapons are a pair of nunchucks which are normally mounted on his arms. His hands are actually too small to grab them outright- you need to slip the rope part in first and then adjust the grip accordingly.







Jazz is very awesome and a much-needed update to this old favorite. Highly recommended!

[@l3x]

there are a lot more pics now, i can't wait to get it.

[Poho]

this is a perfect example of why i love this line! it has such a wicked G1 feel and simplicity, yet some amazing stylistic...styles? lol

[My03Tundra]

I can't help it. I put a bid on Jazz. He is just SO damn awesome and I hope I get him. He looks wicked. A slight re-mold and a few tweaks and he could pass for a Decepticon. I'm REALLY liking the whole Animated line and the plethora of G1 references in toys, and in the show.

[My03Tundra]

Jazz literally slipped out of my hands today... really.

I was driving around today doing errands and in the process I stopped at SEVERAL Targets and Wal-Marts TRYING to find Jazz, Soundwave, and Snarl. Well, I found Soundwave and Jazz and I was stoked. I opened them both in the car and even played with Jazz between at stop lights.

His car mode is a mix of a Porsche, Audi and high-end Saab style sports cars with other elements from various high end Euro-cars. He is very nice, and low slung. His car mode is short, though, and is even smaller then Bumblebee's.

Well, the robot mode I really liked and his visual look an appeal is definitely Jazz. But mine had two right hands. So, I returned him (SECOND Animated return after Starscream, YUCK!) to a different store then where I bought him. I went to FOUR other stores after that and could not find another Jazz. I felt robbed in a way as he is a spectacular Animated figure and easily one of the best deluxe figures. He (despite the two right hands on mine) could easily be the BEST deluxe figure once I get one that has the right hands on the right arms.

[My03Tundra]

Okay, so thanks to BBTS I can have another go at this in more detail.

Despite the sad passing of Jazz' original voice actor Scatman Crothers, Jazz hasn't lost too much character. He is still a white race car, with blue and red race stripes. He's lost ALL of his Martini racing decals and all of his race numerals and demarcations. He has a, somewhat fitting, Autobot Elite Guard decal. The lines of the symbol actually go with the race stripes. I do wish, however, that the racing stripes went the full length of the vehicle.

His non-realistic car mode has elements from various past versions of himself, with the exception of his Alternator (RX-8) form. There is the signature large headlights like from a Porsche 911, and a similar hood shape He differs from the 911 design with his semi-frenched rear tail lights and bulging rear fenders. His car, in essence, is a cartoon version and amalgamation of the Porsche and other high-end European Sports cars. It is a very nice, and sleek, car mode.

His transformation is one of the simplest to do, and to describe, of all of the Animated figures. All you do is push down on his rear tail lights to pop up his legs. From there you simply extend them down and fold down his feet from the inside. After folding down his feet, on the underside there is a small flap to help with his robot mode chest. Flip that down. Now, fold out the arms and push them in so the wheels are at an angle. Now, fold down the chest. Position the arms and spin the doors around so the "exhaust" aims forward. Remove his exhuast (his energy chucks) and set them aside. Now, rotate the pieces they came out of back up and you're done.

Now you have one stylin' robot. One of the first things I noticed about Jazz was his signature visor, and of all things, what resembled DJ headphones/cans over his ears. He looks like he is missing his turntables or he'd be ready for a sound and light show! Now, take those nunchuks and place them in his hands like mentioned. Try sliding them in from the bottom. With him holding his nunchuks you can see what he is spinning now, and with STYLE.

Despite my initial concerns and problems, Jazz is one of my FAVORITE deluxe figures. He has great articulation in his ankles, lateral bending knees (with a swivel joint just about them), a twisting waist and plenty or joints in his arms. Like his ninja-brother, Prowl, he can hold plenty of poses and the two together look great.

My grade.
A or a 9.0
(Point taken away because of my first one and it's QC)

[microclone]

jazzis one animated toy that i was hoping to look a bit different, more chunky. As it stands i wish the designer had allowed the rear wheels to be swung down so they sat at the ankle or behind the foot somewhere, they look rather in the way sat around the knees. anyway minor gripe but hes still neat, but wish hed been less of a 'prowl' ninja and more of a little boxer!!

[Gears]

Car mode is tiny but bot mode makes up for the size and is true to a deluxe. The panels in the car mode don't line up as good as they should. In bot mode, his chest doesn't really clip down and can be a minor nuisance. But overall, aside from the chest, all his joints are nice and tight and posing is great. Awesome figure.

[Torque]

dang he is awesome! cant wait to find him-hopefully when i come back from my weeklong camping trip he'll be in my area...

[solidus]

I'm just so lucky yesterday, I got myself a TF Animated Jazz and the best part is winning a box set of Optimus Vs Megatron TF animated .