Occasional flashes of brilliance hampered by rushed pacing. Really didn’t like the fact that every generic was a pallet swap of someone else and the fact that a good chunk of the Decepticon suddenly had a moral high ground, but the story seems to have some promise.

6.5/10

 

You know, it’s only been done once before, but what if background artists integrated main-character “traits” into the landscape. So when Autobots are looking for camouflage there are areas where they literally blend in. Maybe some sort of hack 3rd mode between vehicle and robot form.

Random crates that look like Optimus’s chest, wall panels that look like Bumblebee, street lights that look like Prowl’s wings, etc.

I could see Emgo doing that right now.

 

The whole idea with the earthrise figures is in the spec... They become the battlefield which is as close to blending in to the landscape as we can get. From an earthrise pov greasepit transforms into a gas station of sorts so again it's landscape integration or as close as we are going to get.

 

So far, I watched 3 episodes. Going to watch the 4th one after dinner, then I will save the last 2 tomorrow. So will we expect series from Earthrise and Kingdom too?

 

Yep, netflix and rooster teeth are already contracted for the full trilogy

 

Also Barricade uses Prowl's rifle, instead of the twin shoulder guns the toy comes with. I was hoping we'd get to see at least one cyber-Datsun with the shoulder guns.

 

I really don't get why they don't do that. There's nothing to say they can't hide from each other. G1 even had Soundwave hide as a lamppost. Working stuff like that into the show would be so much funner and more clever than just having them use their alt-modes as a mode of transportation.

 

I simultaneously understand this argument, but then also think about how one of the most popular things over the past few years was the countless Seeker variants we got from the Tetrajet and ER Jet molds. Which was, itself, born from animators cutting corners and reusing models.

In the now, it seems off to reuse so many models, but from a collector/customizer standpoint we've got a bunch of potential to start fan-canoning these guys in to new characters, much like the Rainmakers and Welcoming Committee etc etc.

If you knew your enemy could disguise themselves a elements of your architecture, you'd change what your architecture looked like.

Soundwave's lampost, for example. I'd like to think that wasn't his default alt mode. He turned in to a lamp a few times as a temporary disguise because it worked. But that'd only work in areas where those lamp posts already existed.

 

That reminds me, I’m disappointed I didn’t see Shockwave’s and/or Soundwave’s alt modes. At the very least Shockwave’s armor upgrade.

When Megatron ordered Shockwave to extract information from “the prisoner” I thought for sure the torture device would be based off Shockwave’s additions.

 

I thought we did see shockwaves but maybe I'm mistaken

 

Two episodes in and there are major problems.

*What is everyone's motivation? Why are the Decepticons bad? Why are the Autobots good? What are the ideological and policy differences between the two groups? Even if it's simple. This is clearly a new universe with a gritty unaligned Bumblebee, but it's piggybacking off of existing universes where we know who the good guys and bad guys are. I need clear motivations and conflicts for this new universe.

Prime is the biggest offender in this department. He's written as an unreasonable irrational zealot, but because of past Primes from other universes, we're just supposed to take it that he's good and correct. His actions and words show otherwise.

Speaking of actions and words, we are told the Decepticons have an overwhelming advantage. But even when the Autobots blindly walk into a trap, the Decepticons lose the battle. Words and actions don't match, and it's jarring. There is no story-given reason why the Autobots win that battle. They just do, and it throws the words we were given before into question. How are the Decepticons on the brink of victory? Actions indicate they they are losing.

Then there's the plot. Find a single artifact and win on the spot. Just, no. No more of this plot, ever. I don't care how it's written. It's not compelling.

On the upside, the visuals are passable and Elita's voice actress is several notches above the rest of the cast.

 

I didn’t mind the pallet-swapped generics, CGI is expensive, especially for a TV series. There are countless times CGI shows re-used assets for random background characters. Were people really expecting unique models for guys who’s only purpose was to make the armies look bigger? I’d imagine we will see more characters as the show progresses.

Also, I liked how they tried to spice some things up with the characters this time around, instead of just “G1, but CG.”

This is also one of the best Arcees we have gotten in a while.

 

Its compressed storytelling. 6 episodes 22 minutes or so long. No waffling. No real back story. It's not for brand new viewers it's for long time fans who know who everyone is. There's isn't time for world building in the way we might want it. Leave that for other media.

There is no time for character building or reasoning either. Set pieces, events, moments. It works and is enjoyable but it's not an in depth look at this universe. It's like a kid playing with his toys in the toy box. Line them up, pew pew

 

There isn't much mass shifting in the show, whereas Soundwave and Shockwave have huge size changes between robot and altmode.

 

Not necessarily considering their siege versions turn into fictional vehicles

 

Looks like Gary Chalk ( optimas primals voice ) didn't like the voice acting. from his post

 

Firstly I was maybe a little overly excited? I mean when Rooster Tooth, the people behind one of my favorite shows RWBY is now making a new Transformers cartoon it was hard not being excited.

Overall? Consider me excited for the rest of the trilogy, I really liked this! I binged all six episodes before going to work yesterday so I've had time to sit on it and overall I like this incarnation of the Transformers. This is one of those shows where it benefits from binge watching all six episodes together. But at the same time it also makes it feel short, like I really want more episodes which now I have to wait for Earthrise for.

Interesting that they don't attempt to incorporate the Micromasters or Battle/Targetmasters which was a big part of Siege. Nor the weaponizers, yeah Sideswipe & Arcee both use Cog like the toys but where's Six-Gun & Brunt? Eh minor nitpicks. Same goes for no Apeface but maybe he'll appear in Earthrise with Snapdragon. Basically there were still plenty of Siege figures I would of liked to see in this but consider me happy seeing certain characters show up for the first time in animation like Impactor & Spinister.

Also this had an interest take on a lot of iconic characters, its nice to do something new and different to help keep the brand fresh even if you use the same G1 characters over and over again. Like I'm not the biggest fan of Bumblebee but I like this portrayal of him and can't wait to see how he develops more into the Bumblebee we all know hopefully in Earthrise. Also its weird seeing Red Alert going from being the Autobots Chief of Security to now their medic but since he didn't do much its ok. Not a big fan of how they handled Moonracer.

The voices didn't bother me and in fact I liked most of them, the guy they've got voicing Optimus Prime now I'm slowly warming up to and ok if he replaces Cullen when he can no longer voice him. The man voicing Megatron though was absolutely perfect, he needs to voice Megatron more like he should of voiced him in Cyberverse.

For future reference I want Mirage's abilities to now include the Shadow Clone Jutsu sh*t he pulled off in his fight with Reflector, that was awesome and makes sense for a character named Mirage.

I also feel like they nailed the atmosphere in this show like the stakes felt real and I honestly was concerned for everyone's safety each episode. It all makes sense to giving the context of what point in the Transformers history we're at. So yeah needless to say this show really pulled me in.

I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting some key points but this was pretty much my rough thoughts on the show. I'd give it a 9/10; now bring on Earthrise!

 

Marvel G1 was definitely on the brain while watching. That Optimus was willing to make the tough call and actually surrender when he thought it was the only option. This guy just screams about everything and we're supppsed to root for whatever he does.

 

That's not what I've been told. Apparently it is for new viewers unfamiliar with Transformers.

And even for long-time fans that's no excuse. This is a new continuity, so how are we to just assume what everyone's motivations are when everyone acts differently? For example, in this show Megatron and Optimus both have history with Alpha Trion, when Megatron never has before. How does that fit with TF common knowledge? It's not a mistake, it's part of the new story they're telling. What then becomes an inconsistency and what is a new idea if we're relying on our preexisting knowledge to explain things?

Yes there is. There always is. If a movie can give backstory, motivation, and character development in two hours this show can. Six 22 minute episode sis plenty of time for at least the core cast to be developed, and if it's not, then the core cast shouldn't have been this big. Even short films that last ten minutes can have character arcs and development.

People keep acting like the runtime and episode lengths came as a surprise, when they should've written a story that could fit into the time span, rather than do too much.

But there is waffling. There's a lot of wasted time in the show, mostly overly lengthened dialogue.

The story is just ill-conceived and poorly done. It's both a beginning and not a beginning. AutobotAvalanche covered the issue perfectly, where this is both a Prequel story to something that doesn't exist yet also a sequel to a series that doesn't exist. It's a middle tale that feels unimportant since it references development and events we've never seen as if they're important, and sets up for future developments that don't pay off within it. It has no real beginning and no real end, and feels entirely pointless as a result. This should've been the series that started the war, not picked up partway through it. I think the thing that really made me realize this was in episode 3 when Elita references the golden age of Cybertron and its celebration of art and music, and we should've seen that. Without knowing what it was like before the war you have no connection to these characters whose lives have been destroyed by it. This happens a lot, the show referencing past events like we're meant to care, as if the mere fact that these characters have history influences us as much as knowing what that history is. When Magnus tells Megatron they saved each other's lives, it means nothing. Seeing them save each other's lives would've had far greater impact, and made Magnus' death and Megatron's cruel treatment of him have so much more impact.

Now people will try an excuse this by saying we don't have to see these events. I've heard the term 'spoon-fed' used to hand wave away the idea that these core moments of character and story development we hear about aren't important enough to see, just be told about, but to that I say: Can the same not be said for this series? Could we not have just had this entire series explained in expository dialogue, as is done in every other TF series? If the point was to show us how it all started, why did they not show us how it all started?

Or maybe... this story didn't need to be told? It's been told before, in more detail and with more creativity, but the thing with Transformers is it doesn't really get interesting until they reach Earth and disguise and new characters being introduced becomes the norm.