I'm really not into Animated at all. I think you guys have seen my random rants in the animated board. But there's something about the "Battle Begins" 2-pack that makes me want to pick it up. I really like that version of Prime, it's both traditional without being too picasso the way most of the line is. And the Megatron, though it's darker than the Voyager, still has a great Alt-Bot mode combination.

Anyone else have this problem?

 

I don't have this perticular problem. I like the show and it is starting to sell me toys (I guess it is doing it's job).

I don't think you have a problem though. You don't care for the show (that's fine and dandy). You however do have an apreaceation for the toys and the engenering that goes into them. That is a good thing. This hobby of ours has something for everyone and everyone should enjoy it in a way that makes them happy.

 

From what I've seen, I think the cartoon is junk, but I will definitely pick up the Grimlock if I get a chance. I think you can dig the simplistic, kid-friendly style of toon-based toys without enjoying that toon, especially if it is targeted toward little kids like Transformers is.

I personally love Minimates for their simplicity and for their iconic representation of well known characters, even though they look like something little kids would dig.

 

I think it's perfectly reasonable to like the toys and not the cartoon. I've been doing it for years with the AEC stuff!  

Although if you like the two-pack Prime, you might want to check out the Voyager version when it hits. With the faceplate up, he's got quite a traditional, but not too cartoony look to him.

 

I like the leader Megatron & everybody knows how much I despise Animated. I also like the Starscream toy but I'm waiting to see what Skywarp looks like. If Skywarp is a repaint of Starscream I'll get him.

Even though the show is a total abomination you just know some of the toys will come off looking good.

 

It's worth noting that while the toys look like the cartoon designs, they are still easy to appreciate as toys in their own right, and do expand upon the cartoon models in a few ways. To give a couple examples (the only examples I have), Voyager Bulkhead has little rivets and vents and such molded into the vehicle mode, along with lots of little details in the black stripes on the arms. Voyager Optimus has similar stuff going on, most notably some circuit-board-like detailing on the backsides of the chest windows. To me, they don't come off 'simplistic' or 'cartoony' as much as standard Transformer character toys with a more swoopy style applied to them, in much the same way Movie toys have their own distinct style.

 

Like in Cybertron... though with that one it's more of a translation issue. There were only a handful of Cybertron figs I liked like Hot Shot, Primus, and Voyager Starscream.

I like the 2-pack Prime more than the other Primes in the Animated line, but the deluxe Megs is not nearly as flashy as the Voyager version. Oh well, at least I get 2 for the price of 1.

 

I feel the same way. I was a fan of the designs for the characters when pics first started showing up during the summer but have been disappointed with the cartoon. I had a hard time watching the Animated movie and a few subsequent episodes. Don't like the humor, and found the voice actors for the characters annoying. Though Megatron and Starscream are great.

But I think the toys look great. Especially Voyager Prime, Megs, Bulkhead, and Grimlock. But don't know if I'll be picking up any, might try and end up buying them all if I did. I've never been one to pick up toys if I wasn't a fan of the source material.

 

its because theyre awsum and you are weak. mwahaha

 

While some episodes are better than others…these toys are quite amazing. Should have went from alternators to animated bypassing movie toys all together…

As for that Battle begins 2 pack I plan on having it be the center of my showcase (packaged) and pairing cons and autobots on their respected sides.

 

For your information; this version of deluxe optimus prime has the unique transformation that was never been done this way. I 'd call it innovative. That is why I like it so much and I bought the cybertron's mode when the price was right...

 

I love Animated, so why don't I want the toys?

 

QFT. all i plan to get from the Animated line at the moment is grimlock (although since i have seen Lugnut, i am softening up my 'tude towards that one as well) and be happy.

I don't like the Movie figs- all i have from that is blackout and incinerator- but i liked the movie. go figure...so to speak.

Personally, i am overjoyed that with the classics and even animated figures, we are getting the best of both worlds- easy as hell to transform and appropriate for a large range of kids and adults.

 

I started of hating both show and toys... but after acting ebay middle-man for LoC-Soundwave so he could get his Animated figures I started to look at the figures/toys and thought they actaully looked very nice - it's very different having things in hand instead of watching them on a PC screen or magazine. So he dragged me into it, got more Animated figs for him and he told me to give it another go at the Animated cartoon... foolishly enough I did so and now I like the show very much, it's so different and has a fresh touch to it... humor works fine with TF I realize now too  
So now I collect the figures and watch the cartoon.... and i was a die hard anti-animated fixated.

 

It's weird. I never saw the entire movie. Not that I didn't enjoy what I saw, but the focus on the human storyline was so much so that I kinda stopped paying attention. And yeah, I dont like the movieformers either. I only have ML Prime and 08 BB.

 

I can sympathise with your point of view as I am coming around to the same way of thinking myself.

Initially when we saw previews of the figures, my reaction was 'wow, the show can't fail to be good with this toys'. After the watching the show for a few episodes my reaction is now more akin to 'Jeez this show is pathetic, but at least the figures rock'.

This could be due to the fact that the show is aimed squarely at the young person which is only fair considering that we adults got the movie only recently(even if the narrative of the movie was astonishingly bad and hard to follow). But even taking that into consideration, I am finding the animated show to be a little too far below my expectations to bother watching it. I find some of the characterisations to be one dimensional and trite.

Which brings me back to the point of this thread and to me agreeing with you that the show is a bit pants whereas the figures are pure win  

 

i agree that toys should be appreciated or not for their own qualities. I can never understand the type of reasoning like as follows:

I hate that toy because its not like its Gen1 version.
I hate that toy because its purple and not greyish purple like in the cartoon.
I hate that toy because its out of scale with some/all of the others.
I hate that toy because its a repaint.
I hate that toy because i hate the cartoon.
I hate that toy because its part of the animated line.
I hate that toy because its a red car and its not called sideswipe.
I love that toy because its just like in the cartoon.
I love that toy because its an exclusive.
I love that toy because i love the cartoon.
I love that toy because its called sideswipe, and he was my fave G1 toy.

of course liking is always preferable to hating.

ive heard the most bizarre arguments on TF boards regarding toys and why people do/dont like them. admittedly we are all guilty to a degree, there are masses of beautiful toys out there that i dont own, SOC for eg so in a way im buying TF 'x' because i like it but also because its a transformer.

personally i like the animated toys, the cartoon however is a very, very mixed bag, megatron rising part 1 was great, nature calls was like an episode of 'captain caveman' and thats not good, unless you are 5, which is of course the point!!

 

its really quite simple, something about the 2 pack triggers 'something' in your brain that says 'i like' whereas other aspects of the animation/toys do not, its a bit like enjoying driving but not enjoying changing a tyre/tire in the rain, all things connected to animated are not equal, just like all things connected to driving are not equal.

 

I'm not a big fan of the show, but the toys are damn impressive. I'm picking up Voyager Prime, Earth Megatron, Grimlock and Starscream for sure!

 

The more the better! I believe judging toys based on fictional characters by their toy value alone is missing the point. It's a representation of something bigger, not just a toy. A toy car can be a toy, but it can also be a scale replica, a race car, a gimmicky car, a movie character, a paperweight, a prototype, an RC car, everything. Whatever it relates to will define the toy itself, what it was meant to be and what it actually is.