Ditto. Teared up, I did. >_< Beautiful.

As with many nostalgic things in life (at least for me,) it's not only the fiction itself, but the era of my life it denotes. That was probably the last proper cartoon cg or otherwise (until the recent Star Wars stuff) I actually truly got immersed in and wanted to watch every time it was on, as though it were an event. And it was a palpably memorable period, as with a lot of other things in that era of my life, because I was a teenager. And you know how teenage memories are some of the most intense of your life. This show is no exception. Nothing but warm fuzzies everytime I think of it. *Sigh* :')

 

Is there a bigger version of this?

 

 Happy 20th Anniversary BEAST WARS!  

This series is for me, an impressive, creative, and strong third chapter in the TransFormers narrative that brought us the greatest depth of writing, fantastic voice acting, innovative animation, and the most fun of any TF cartoon. It's connection to G1 was surprising and awe-inspiring, devising episodes which remain a favorite of mine to this day. G1' s epic, ground-breaking, world of characters and stories, and it's myriad of legendary voice-actors (Cullen, Welker, Messik, Stephenson, Bell, Angel, Gilvezan, Blu, etc. ,etc.), is rivaled by it's successor, Beast Wars, which edified and expanded the TransFormers mythos. It pioneered the concept that TransFormers could exist in infinite, alternative, multi-universal realities, and timelines, with a limitless number of fresh stories, characters, and interpretations. It blew the TF world open to boundless possibilities for future cartoon & comic-book series, and toy-lines.

The Beast Wars toy-line introduced better cartoon-accuracy, greater ball-jointed articulation, the first Supreme-sized TransFormer toy since Fortress Maximus, standardized size/price classes still used today, and even re-introduced rub-signs and Combiners. Bat/Gorilla/Optimal Primal, Cheetor, old & new Rhinox, DepthCharge, Croc/T-Rex/Dragon Megatron, LioConvoy, BigConvoy, LongRack etc. remain favorites in my collection all these years later. Some Beast Wars toys were at least as weird as G1 Ironhide, but are still as memorable and fun as 'ol sticker-face still is. RID2000's toys would not have been as well-articulated or cool if Beast Wars hadn't paved the way in toy-design technology. TF toys now owe a lot to the innovations made in the Beast Wars era.

Like Star Trek with it's spin-offs & movies, TransFormers benefits from having multi-generational, multi-universal stories & characters to help expand it's mythos and it's reach into the imaginations of it's fans for years to come. It sells lots of toys too!

 

That's the largest version I could find unfortunately.

 

Also Garry Chalk (Who is actually one of my followers on Twitter!) voiced Prince Rutherford of Yakyakistan.

"This no taste like Yak food! YAKS DESTROY!!!"

 

I remember watching preview night on YTV when they announced that Beasties was coming up next. This was a year CGI cartoons were the big thing, we already had Reboot and Insektors, and the Short Circuitz shorts. They had mentioned Beasties was another CGI show, but that was about it, and it was getting close to the end of the night (there was probably previews for shows like Are You Afraid of The Dark and Goosebumps, the scary shows were popular back then), so I thought we'd seen the best of what we were going to see.

But when the show started, it instantly grabbed my attention. I spent the first couple seconds trying to figure out the premise, and then they announced the title, and "TRANSFORMERS" printed itself underneath. And that's when I lost it, just in time to see Megatron transform. Hooked. You have to remember, I got to experience G1, but G2 was when I really fell into Transformers, and with G2 effectively done, I had no way of knowing the brand would continue. But Beast Wars rewarded me, time and time again, with great characters and amazing storytelling.

The Beast Wars memory that sticks out the most to me is probably another one from a YTV "special event" night, probably around a year after the preview night. YTV did a sort of "you vote for the best show" countdown, and while I didn't vote, I was hoping Beasties (and a few other shows) would do well. I thought I had figured out what the most popular shows would be, and that Beasties would end up 4th, maybe 5th. It was a Transformers CGI show, after all, sort of a niche product in an age of live action horror shows. So when spot 5, then 4 rolled around, and no Beasties, I thought maybe it would do better, and then 3, and 2 were again, no Beasties, and I was convinced that Beasties had been completely forgotten and was nowhere on the list and how unfair that was. And when the #1 show came on, there it was. Beasties. And that's when I truly realized, maybe there was more to this show than met the eye, and maybe that greatness wasn't all just in my head, and maybe I wasn't the only one that felt the way I did about Beasties.

 

Happy Birthday Beast Wars! The best Transformers show around still and I am so happy I got to grow with Beast Wars thanks to the 10th anniversary line and reruns!

 

Yes. Happy Birthday to Beast Wars. I needed it after Generation 2. I vaguelly remember Rodimus Prime so I thought he was the Gen 2 leader. Beast Wars was the first kid show that I noticed outside references... and made me cry. Code of Hero is the best episode ever. I had no issues with their names because I was used to Inferno, Dinobots, and Ratbat. This series was when my collection was officially started. (Didn't have much G1) As I notice on the releases of the Japanese Series, the TF Universe was heading towards Beast Wars.

I'm happy that later Transformers shows are more story driven, however I still see Beast Wars as the last TF show that didn't have annoying Humans. (Even Daniel is tolerable to today's humans).

 

Had to watch Code of Hero again after reading this article. *sniff sniff. That episode was so good I've got goosebumps.

 

I've just been watching some clips from the Beast Wars PC game on YouTube. So awful, but so great!

 

But mostly awful

 

Haha, maybe so, but hearing the sound effects and the music, it brings back fond memories nonetheless.

 

God, I always loved Beast Wars. Just seeing the end of Coming of the Fuzors Part 1 still sends shivers up my spine.


It's so cool, 3 vs 5, the base not even being able to afford being shaken less they lose Primal forever, and Mainframe's genius move to not put Transmetal Primal in the intro to not spoil the outcome? God, I was giddy in my seat when I watched it as a kid (I was young, and I was used to watching Transformers: The Movie and S3 of G1, so I actually thought Primal wasn't going to come back and Rhinox or Cheetor was going to become the new leader at the time).

 

Fantastic article. Makes me really want these kind of retrospective posts on Animated, the movies, hell even Prime as good as you wrote it!

20 years, huh? I thought it was in May for some reason.

Anyway, man. Cheers to just about the best Transformers story we've ever had. Code of Hero is still probably the best episode of the franchise and Dinobot's death is still the best moment bar Rewind's message.

 

Here's to Beast Wars! Never forget that sick-ass intro music!

 

Very good write up! I appreciate the middle-ground perspective on Beast Machines, focusing on why it is considered bad and good by the fandom without vehemently defending one side.

BEAST WAAAAAARRRRSSS!!!

 

Still my absolute favorite Transformers ficiton of all time. Whether it's cartoons, movies, comics, videogames, or whatever- Beast Wars is my high water mark and IMO has yet to be topped.

Considering its place in the franchise as the series that revitalized the brand and injected it with new life, it's appropriate that it saw its debut in the spring.

Also, we get to hear David Kaye recite Christmas poems every year now because of Beast Wars. You can't beat that!

 

Make sure not to forget to watch my groups English sub of Beast Wars II. Karyuudo Fansubs　狩人ファンサブ: [Release] Beast Wars II / Beast Wars Special - The 20th Anniversary Collection

 

My all time favorite Transformers series!!!!  So many memories!!! 

 

Happy late birthday Beast Wars, one of the Transformers series I grew up with and the one that introduced me to the brand that I'd come to love. Still bad-ass as ever.