Does anyone else want these to return? While I'll admit they don't fit Prime, it'd be fun to see again. Especially if they threw in throwbacks to the original 80s bumpers.
It'd depend on the tone of the series, really. If it was something like Beast Machines or Prime it probably wouldn't gel too well (though really, Prime definitely needed more fun, less-serious parts to it, eyecatchers depending on how they were handled could've helped).
Those were awesome techniques of 1980s anime shows. But I think they've decreased over time? Still if they're eye-catching enough, then sure they should come back.
I've always wanted Gurren Lagann inspired eyecatches for Transformers. Something that can tie in with that specific episode.
I think the bigger problem is that they are a time-muncher. But yeah, I loved them in the older TF cartoons. Especially Masterforce's.
Two drawings per episode? Even if it's only a 13 Episode season, that's still 26 high-quality drawings needed.
From what I remember, seemed that they only used 1 or 2 per episode each season... but maybe, it's more of an 80's thing and today's crowd wouldn't care for it too much. I know it gets a little old when watching the older series on DVD, they still include them for each segment...but it beat commercials any day.
I think most of the old bumpers were products of the days when syndicated cartoons were a more common thing, and the TV stations could not be relied on to handle the transitions themselves (and they also provide a buffer for sloppier video switching) I like 'em just fine, but it does start getting redundant when the Hub network runs their little 'back to our show' message with some inane Optimus Prime quote, followed immediately by "We now return to the Transformers".