When Animated first came out, I really didn't like the way the bots and cons looked, so I did not watch any of the shows. After several years, I decided to give this show a chance seeing as so many people (not everyone, but a lot) on here seem to think its almost like the holy grail of TF shows. I watched all 42 episodes and, to be honest, I just don't get the love it receives. Was it written well? I guess when compared to some other TF shows, yes, it kind of was. I just don't look at writing as the say all, end all reason a show is good. I honestly did not like the direction of the voice acting, its animation style, the overall all plot ideas, or the concept of a lot of the Autobots being kind of douchebags. To me it really seems like a typical Cartoon Network show, which may be another reason I don't feel the love, as there are a lot of shows on Cartoon Network I really just don't like. So, to the Animated lovers out there, do you just base how much you like the show on the writing? Or do you like everything about the show? Please keep your answers civil. If you just want to say I am stupid for not liking it, fine, but that doesn't help me really understand why you like it so well. To the Animated haters, I ask that you stay civil as well. Tell some good reasons for why you don't like it and not just "Animated sucks." If you haven't watched the show, please don't post anything.

 

You don't HAVE to like it, you've already said you didn't like some of the reasons I found it great. I liked the use of the flat-style, which was something we hadn't seen before (and it blew my mind how it was translated into many of the toys), I liked the idea of some of the Autobots being elitist assholes and Optimus being pretty low on the totem pole, for once. I liked the dynamics between the humans and the cybertronians, and how the show managed to find ways to make the humans legitimate, or at least entertaining threats for the purpose of storywriting. I liked the voicework, and found that a lot of the characters, such as Ratchet, were developed over the course of the series in a way that had, well... "Heart" I guess. I liked all the nods and references to past shows while being able to toe the line between tribute and fanservice/regurgitation.

You can like what you want and not like what you don't like. That's fine. What would you have done differently to make it more into something you'd like? That may help people to explain what they see in the show.

 

I understand it not being everyone's cup of tea, but here are some of the things I personally loved about it.

1. The designs. I don't care for how Wyatt actually drew some characters (like all his humans), but the idea behind the designs were so good that I overlooked a lot of that once I really got into it. I love how with one look, I could tell Ratchet was a grumpy old man, Starscream was a prideful backstabber, Bulkhead was a gentle giant; etc. With the transformers brand formerly being the poster boy for Dull Surprise, this was a very welcome change.

2. The overarching story. As the series went on, so did a plot. We got to learn about characters and see them grow over time. The world only became clearer and more detailed overtime so that by the third season, everything you've already learned comes together in a cohesive finale that works both as the end or as a could of been lead into season 4. As Furman says; it never ends.

3. The characters. I love that some of the Autobots are douchbags as you say. Every character is filled to the brim with character and they all have flaws and make mistakes. Even Optimus of all people made a big mistake once (Elita 1) and you see him regret that decision.

4. The colorful fights. I'm very glad they decided to give characters special abilities and weapons. It makes the show much more amusing to watch than if they just played laser tag with each other.

5. It was crammed full of references and cool in jokes to other Transformers series that only transformers fans like us could truly appreciate. They could have filled the crowd with generics, but instead we got Cosmos, Seaspray, Powerglide and many more.

And I think that helps to sum it up. Just proves that everyone has their own opinions because a lot of the things I like are the things you listed that you don't like.

 

The animation style hurts the show. I can get past it and I like it but some people don't bother to watch it because it has that art style. The series got better as it went on unlike prime where it season 1 was good but 2 didn't improve. The story and unique ideas is why I like the series.
I don't mind people not liking the series. I just don't like the fans who don't try a show because of 1 thing like the art style and never watched it.

 

Don't feel bad about it. It's just not your thing, simple as that. No product is 100% loved, even if it's of good quality. You tried - and fully finished! - watching it, so at least you know what you are talking about when you say you don't like it. Kudos!

For me I liked both the story and the artstyle. Transformers is a property that can go multiple ways in both story and art: dark and serious, or colorful and fun. In the current era were the common opinion seems to be 'grittier = better', Animated was a fresh breeze with awesome designs and an interesting story, that balances fun with serious undertones. Utter joy, and clearly a love letter from all those involved.

I don't think it hurts the show at all. Animated was/is actually very popular within the existing Transformers fandom. I cannot tell you how good/bad it did among general viewers (I don't work at the network, or Hasbro!   ) but don't let the very vocal minority tell you different.   I'd make a point that the artstyle is actually the best part of this show, but hey, that's my field of work so obviously I find that more important.

To say that this show would be better, or at least less of a turn off if it had a less radical style, would be unfair. I'd rather have this and turn people off than try to please all and go with a more generic style. In the end, fans, or people in general, will always find something they don't like. That's life, you can't please everybody.  

I totally agree with you though, there are people who are simply not willing to give this show a chance simply because the art doesn't resonate with them. Too bad for them, I guess.

 

Your dislikes of the show mirror mine...but my main issue was the animation. I tried...but I just didn't like it and couldn't get used to it. There were somes good episodes in the series, but mostly it came off to "kiddy" (and I know that was the target audience) for my taste. It had interesting takes on the characters...but it didn't work for me.

 

Yeah that was my reaction as well, lol. There's a lot of emphasis on humor and that's great, but it's the kind of humor that would have seemed hilarious when I was 8, but only produces polite chuckles now, heh.

Not saying G1 was Shakespeare, but its humor was occasionally a tad more sophisticated, such as Megatron and Starscream's bickering. You could laugh at that as a child and still laugh at it as an adult because you understand the absurdity of the situation even more.

 

Sophisticated is not the word I'd use for most of G1's quirky humor.  

But I do love watching G1 episodes for the outright bizarre stuff happening!

 

What did I love so much about the show? Pretty much everything.

I love the art style, and how expressive it allows characters to be. It breaks the mold with Transformers designs and creates something completely unique compared to the rest of the franchise.

The character design is fantastic, with every design conveying the personality of the character at just a glance.

It did the unthinkable in the first episode - took Megatron out of front lines action. He was still around as a behind the scenes player, and through that we got to really see this Megatron shine. Even as just a head in a lab, he was cunning and manipulative. It's during his time as a head that this Megatron became my favorite in all of Transformers.

I love Sentinel Prime, the big chinned asshole. I like that he shows that the autobots genuinely don't all get along like in previous shows where infighting was always pretty minimal and short lived.

Ratchet was the main character of the show, not Optimus. Ratchet, the PTSD medic. This was his story more than anyone else's. That takes some guts to do in a "children's show".

If I get into the characters as deep as I would want to, we will be here all day and I will produce a wall of text that no one would want to try to read, because I could generate several paragraphs talking about how well thought out and executed they were, and how well they played off the rest of the cast. So I'll try to be brief. I liked that Bumblebee talked, and despite seeming to learn lessons, never really did. Despite this immaturity, he sacrificed his dreams of being in the elite guard to save his only friend. I liked that Bulkhead appeared to be the big dumb brute, but was actually incredibly intelligent, and the foremost space bridge expert on all of cybertron. He was just too big for the world he was on. Prowl was a ninja who didn't get along with any of his team mates, had no respect for Optimus, and overall a very unhappy guy until finding peace with nature on earth. Eventually he'd sacrifice everything to save his team and the planet he loved. Ratchet was touched on above, but I have never felt so sympathetic for a transformer in a TV show until I found out his backstory. For the decepticons, the new spin on Blackarachnia and her relationship with Optimus and Sentinel is fantastic. I always loved it when she'd cross paths with Optimus, because you got to see she was much more than just a friend to him. Knowing Sentinel Prime, I was always worried about him meeting up with his dearly departed ex girlfriend because of how he'd react, but at the same time I really wanted to see it. When it finally happened, I felt awful for them both. Blitzwing's multiple personalities to go with his multiple modes was genius, and I'm amazed it took that long for someone to do that. He wasn't incredibly deep, but he was always entertaining. Lugnut, oh man. Lugnut. His borderline insane worship of Megatron is a very strange type of adorable. He and Blitzwing stole every scene they were in. I really wish we would have been able to learn more about them. Starscream... I loved him in season 1 for being a successful backstabbing asshole. Season 2 was Still good with the clone stuff, but season 3? ehhhhh. Not my favorite starscream or animated character by a mile. He was entertaining, but not much substance. Shockwave? Best Shockwave. Infiltrated the elite guard and became the head of intelligence, manipulating the autobots from the inside for a very long time, until he finally fears his cover was blown and decides to take out Ultra Magnus, the supreme leader of the Autobots, by himself. The constructicons? Well, I really didn't like them at all. So yeah. The cast isn't without it's faults.

We have a thriving, fully populated cybertron at peace, which we actually got to see for the first time ever. Cybertron was at peace in Beast Wars, but we certainly didn't get to see it. It was cool seeing parts of actual cybertronian civilization.

The autobots weren't perfect "good guys". They created the Omega Sentinels and purposely gave them lower intelligence so they would be less likely to realize what horrible things they were doing in the war. That's fucked up.

The decepticons returned to being a threat. Optimus Prime's team struggles with even one of them. Might think that's due to them being a space bridge repair crew, but nope, we saw in the season 3 opener that the decepticons are genuinely capable of taking down autobot warriors with little to no effort. The only reason they were defeated in the first place was the Omega Sentinels, and the reason they hadn't tried to retake cybertron was because they have no use of the space bridges, and cybertron has some extremely powerful weaponry ready to blow things out of the sky at a moment's notice. I like that the autobots are only kept safe by those two factors. They don't have the stronger military. They can't match them in combat. The only reason they still exist are the weapons like the ones at Fortress Maximus, and the space bridge network.

It had it's fair share of sidestory episodes, but the main plot and characters were always progressing through the entire series. no squandered opportunities here. If any storyline had an unsatisfying end, it can pretty much be blamed on the unexpected cancellation of the series, given what we learned in interviews and the second allspark almanac.

Human villains, while many don't like them, I do, aside from Slo-Mo and Master Disaster. They let the decepticons take a break from being the threat of the week, so that they could remain a valid threat and not lose every single episode.

The relationship between the autobots and Sari is another thing I love about the show. They become an extension of her family, and for all of season 2, is the only family she has. They pretty much adopt her. She doesn't get along with or even listen to the autobots all the time like the typical human ally. It's also pretty awesome that not only was the only human sidekick in this show a girl, but an indian one as well. Very welcome change of pace.

The show, despite accusations, was not "kiddy" at all. If you pay attention to everything going on, Animated is probably the most mature series in the entire franchise, not just in subject matter, but execution as well. Look at what happened with Optimus, Sentinel and Elita-1/Blackarachnia and the whole intertwined backstory with Lockdown, Arcee, Ratchet, and Omega Supreme. Then we have the big one, the most fucked up moment in the entire show. Optimus Prime willing to turn Sari in berserker mode loose on Omega Supreme, something that could very likely result in her death. This was someone he loved like family, that all the autobots did, and he considered sacrificing her against her will, with her being completely unable to control herself. Luckily, Ratchet wouldn't have any of that. I don't see how anyone could call that "kiddy", and it's that moment alone that makes me completely disregard the opinion of anyone who uses the "kiddy" argument.

And as all these examples show, yes, I loved the hell out of the writing.

The autobots don't use guns. This keeps fights from being boring, shoot back and forth crap. Instead, everyone has their own trademark weapon or ability that leads to incredibly creative fights that you can't really predict the outcome of. It also lets their fighting style reflect their individual personalities.

The voices were another high point. I never expected to like David Kaye as Optimus, but it works perfectly for this version of him. Corey Burton delivers my favorite Megatron performance, working perfectly with his sophisticated personality. Bumper Robinson nails Bumblebee as the immature and overconfident kid of the team. Jeff Bennett is a perfect match for Prowl's new personality. Corey Burton delivers the perfect angry grandpa Ratchet, that still manages to be versatile and lovable. David Kaye as Lugnut. Glorious. No one could have done it better. Bill Fagerbakke is the perfect lovable gentil giant voice for Bulkhead. Tara Strong is awsome for Sari, as she is awesome for everything she does. Then we have the fanservice voice rolls. Corey Burton back as Shockwave and doing it better than he did in G1. Judd Nelson back as Rodimus Prime. Susan Blu back as Arcee. Weird Al as Wreck-Gar! Everyone fit their roles perfectly, and then you throw in three actors returning to their old roles for the first time in 20+ years. And again, Weird Al as Wreck-Gar. How can you not love this?

I could gush all day on all these topics, so I'll stop now. This has gotten very, very long.

All this said, not every show is for everyone. If you don't like it, that's cool.

 

Hmm, yeah you're right, quirky is more accurate, lol.

Exactly, they truly did "dare to be stupid" and I personally love them for it, lol. ;D

 

^^^

Bravo! you summed it up perfectly!

However, I would of mentioned Blitzwing more  

Transformers Animated Blitzwing Moments - YouTube

 

I'm like you. I didn't like the show at all. First, the design just looks bad to me. I'm getting sick of Autobots looking like average bots and decepticons looking evil and menacing. They don't even look like they are the same race. TF Prime is doing that too. Basically have the good guys looking heroic and bad guys looking evil. Never liked the voices. Corey Burton as Megatron was ok but that was it. Bumblebee was just annoying. As for the writing, getting sick of the whole autobots as the underdog thing. Also, the episodes got predictable. Just watch the last 5 seconds to get the big reveal. Oooooo. The only positive I can give is that at least it was not CG.

The toys were bad too. All flimsy and weak.

 

I want to thank everyone that has posted here so far. Lovers and Haters both. I am glad to see that we can talk about we we liked and didn't like without it getting out of hand. Those who are giving the reasons why they liked it so much, I think I am starting to get your reasoning. Putting it in a way that isn't negative to me not liking it really helps the case for me. For those who do not like it, I appreciate the reasons that you are giving as well, as you are not just saying the animation sucked. Thanks everyone for making this a good thread so far.

 

I love Animated even before the show came out. I was a fan of DJW's designs as I found out he did Teen Titans.

I think this is one of the best cartoons peroid. Best Optimus, Best Megatron and off course new dudes like Bulkhead, Lockdown, Lugnut, Slipstream and Sentinel Prime.

 

I know I don't have to like it, I gave it a chance because it is pretty well received here on TFW, and wanted to give it a shot. No point in disliking something if you don't even give it a chance. now to the parts I would have changed:
A. Make Optimus the leader of the Autobots, not Ultra Magnus. The way the show was presented, I think doing things backwards, like making the show about Magnus or another autobot and his team arriving on earth would have helped me like it better.
B. A change in the art style. The art style was not my cup of tea as some others have stated, which was part of my overall lack of enthusiasm for the show and ultimately the toys.
C. I really didn't like the way the voice direction was handled. David Kaye to me was a little all over the place at times as Optimus. Bumper Robinson's Bumblebee annoyed me the more I watched it. Bill Fagerbakke as Bulkhead did not help me enjoy the character at all. I did enjoy Corey Burton's interpretation of Megatron though, it was pretty good. I also like Blitzwing's voice as it sounds a little crazy.

These are the things that would have made ME like it better, and maybe only me. I am sure a lot of the things I would have changed are the things a lot of you liked about the show, which is fine. I hope this answered the question you had for me Aernaroth.

 

THIS!!!!

TFP makes me miss Animated greatly. After Animated, I can't look Optimus Prime the same way again. Animated gave the character a soul, something that made me care about the character. Primus, I could go on all day talking about what I loved about Animated Optimus Prime. I could care less about the all powerful and perfect Optimus Prime take, that does not impress me at all. But this, they made me cared about Optimus. Seeing his struggles, seeing him fail, seeing him rise up when told he was a nobody, that's my ideal Optimus Prime. David Kaye sold the character to me in ways Peter or Garry could never do. It almost hurts me to watch TFP and see this Prime character that hardly has emotion. I missed seeing Animated Optimus shout in battle or when his team screwed up. I missed hearing that soft voice when he tries to cheer somebody up or at a loss for words.

Then Megatron, it was like Beast Wars Megatron should of been related to this Megatron. Animated Megatron to me is the true Decepticon Megatron, he would take any Autobot on, didn't even bother learning the name of Optimus Prime until the end, and kills Starscream. He didn't make a threat and never live up to it, he KILLED Starscream. TFP Megatron really should of took notes on that, he had several times he could of done that and never did. I thought David Kaye was the ideal voice of Megatron, but Corey Burton is a perfect replacement to me if David never voices Megatron again. To me, those two gave rise to the two best Megatrons in transformers history.

I loved Beast Wars from being a kid when it came on, but Animated is the first and only TF series as a grown up that I love with a passion. They even had some better human foes than TFP does. Big deal Mech, you can take transformer parts. Meltdown could walk through a transformer by melting his way through one, beat that.

 

You were not put upon this earth to "get it", Mr. Burton.

 

Well, that's just how you feel. You don't like what they did in the show. It's understandable. It's a very odd and childish series.

I personally don't like the animation style, even if it did fit the show. I also wish season one was a bit better. What I do like isn't even the high quality writing. It's the results of the high quality writing. The characters felt way more alive than most TF series have and the universe felt big and open with so many well developed characters and an alive Cybertron.

Something interesting it did is that it gave us a look at Cybertronian society. The corrupt leaders, the fear of organics and the main cast's fascination with Earth. This also added to the universe feeling big with exploration of another planet's culture.

All these things are bi-products of good writing which is why it's considered good. It makes the characters more alive, the universe feel bigger and the show interesting. But if what they did doesn't fit your personal taste, that's fine. No one can make you or should even expect you to change it. All I ask from people is to acknowledge the quality of the show.

 

Your answer from the first post is actually right here-- you didn't like the show and you would've changed everything about the show to make it something you liked. You don't want to know why people like it, you are looking for acknowledgement that you aren't crazy for wanting it to be something else-- and frankly everyone feels the same about different shows; there's nothing wrong/special about feeling that way against this one in particular.

 

It's hard to explain why I like Animated so much.I mean at first I hated it. To me it looked to kiddy so I never gave it a chance until Megatron Rising. When I watched that episode I was sold on the series.

The characters are done extremely well. The main cast is cool but it's the minor characters like Lockdown, Swindle, Soundwave and the like that are the best. OH YA AND THE SEEKERS!!! Love those guys. Speaking of awesome characters Megatron has to be the best. Even when he was a head he made the episode every time he was on screen. Every single character was better in this series then any other in my opinion. My favorite Starscream, my favorite Megatron, my favourite Prime etc. Also related to characters the voice cast has to be the greatest I have ever heard on a cartoon Maybe I don't watch enough cartoons but man the voice acting was spot on for all characters.

Expect the human villains but really they all sucked expect for Meltdown.

Professor Princess. The worst thing that has ever been in Transformers. But they had Weird Al so that makes up for it.

The series just has this great charm to it. It's very hard to describe. It was so exciting when new episodes would come on because the story was just so good I couldn't wait to see what was next. So I guess that reason I like it so much is the characters. Oh ya and the animation style was awesome. I always favor tradition animation over CGI unless it's on God level like Beast Wars.
The toys kicked ass as well.