Hello everyone!

This is my first thread and as a service to the rest of the community I desided to make it a discussion for the G1/Movieverse debate.

Now as a reminder, please read TFW2005 site rules before posting.
tfw2005-rules

And due to the nature of the subject I must include thread rules:

#1
This thread is for literal discussion on the pros and cons of BOTH G1 and the Movieverse.
And while other continuities (G1 Japan, BW, Aligned, TFA, UT, RID 01, etc.) are always welcome, please remember that this is the main theme.

#2
I must clarify that this thread is not just limited to just the Bayverse movies or just the G1 cartoon, but can also include any media (comics, video games, cartoons and movies).
However, due to the category of this thread (general discussion), heavy discussion on toys should be excluded.

#3 and this is the most important!

This thread is for members who wish to debate and share their views on Transformers in a "free and safe" environment.
Controversies surrounding this subject in the past or in other threads will not be brought here.
Personal opinions and preferences are welcome and encouraged, BUT will be expressed politely and other members must be responsible and respect opposing viewpoints by not harassing each other.
TALK TURKEY, NOT POLITICS.

And everyone please remember, like the site rules state, this thread is for ALL Transformers fans and outbursts of utter "hatred" or any other extreme emotional bias over movies, cartoons, studios, designs or directors WILL NOT be tolerated.
Members that insist on arguing, bickering, shouting or provoking OTHERS TO DO SO will have their posts reported immediately.
PLEASE KEEP THE THREAD CLEAN.

The subject of this thread is to be discussed, debated and enjoyed by everyone.
If you do not agree with these rules PLEASE DO NOT POST HERE.
This is the first (apparent) attempt at having a thread on this subject, please don't make it the last.

Thank you everyone!
Please enjoy!
Enerjon Monkey.

 

The Bayverse is the post-G1 continuity that shares the most with the G1 cartoon. It is superficially the most different perhaps in terms of designs, but it is closest in terms of its core story and timeline. 2007 is like the pilot episode. RotF and DotM are like later Season 1 and Season 2. AoE and TLK are Season 3.

 

Oh boy this won’t end well.

In terms of action scenes like combat and fighting I’m gonna give the gold to the live action films. They’re some of the best fighting scenes in action films. G1 does it ok but obviously it can’t be compared to the fights in the Bayverse.

In terms of characters and their designs, G1 takes it by far. You can’t beat the classics, especially not the live action films. The Dinobots from AoE have nothing on the og Dinobots. The humans in G1 are also more tolerable. Some of the Bayverse designs are good like Optimus, Bumblebee, Sentinel Prime and TLK Megatron. The others are just a bunch of hobbled together pieces of scrap metal.

In terms of story telling, I think G1 handles it better since it’s not constricted to a 2 hour format. It can tell stories in multiple parts since it’s an episodic show.

In terms of voice acting, I think both do it quite well. Maybe a slight edge to the movies since I feel Peter Cullen does a much better job as Optimus in live action.

Comedy goes to the G1 cartoon, I had a few laughs with the movies but I won’t consider the comedy good. Grimlock and the Dinobots always made me laugh with their antics.

I prefer G1 much more over the movies. But again the movies do something’s better then G1. So you got my two cents.

 

Didn't this already happen back in 2007?

 

There shouldn't be a side between G1 & the first few live action movies, they can be enjoyed in their own way. I like both since they have a lot of story potential not necessarily tied to the main popular continuity.

G1 I find intriguing since it was experimenting with different ways to begin the franchise like the various books, audio stories, comics, toy line and cartoon. The world is almost mystical while having a sci-fi action feel to it.

The movies themselves are great when you want to watch a simple movie but there are so much meat in the universe with books, games and toyline continuity.

 

Going good so far lmao!

This is what we all need, opinions that are on point, but personal, unique and informative!

Not sure how that came out, but I'm happy and hopefull that this will be a success.

Thanks everybody... really.  

It might have, but by God we're gonna do it right this time!  

Just read the thread rules and have fun.

Spot on!

Bayverse also had an awesome tie in comic that I thought really expanded on the story imo.

 

Beasties?

Beasties?
Sir, we stan BEAST WARS in this house.

 

One detail I will always appreciate from the Bay movies, is that they showed the Transformers speaking cybertronian. We've seen cybertronian texts in G1 and Beast Wars, heck there was a huge push for translating cybertronian texts during the WFC Trilogy, but we don't usually hear Transformers actually speak in their native language, I think the movies were the first time we actually heard some semblance of cybertronian (gibberish).
Although it was mostly the Decepticons who spoke it, it helped empathize these are still aliens that haven't gotten used to Earth's language, or otherwise they reject other languages

 

Bayverse to G1:


But seriously, I think that conceptually they are actually closer than many people like to admit. Their respective "main" source of content, the movies/cartoons, also don't really hold as much narrative value as their respective tie-in comics, video games, and novels.

 

They're both fine, might have to give the edge to the movieverse since it brought in god knows how many millions of dollars for the franchise. They're two different takes on the same source material, and just like G1 the main media that sells the toys kinda sucks. The G1 cartoon gave us a bunch of cool moments to re-enact, but in terms of character growth (beyond Rodimus) it didn't do much, like how the Movies have displayed backwards progression if anything. The secondary media like comics, games, tie-in novels and so forth did a whole lot more for fleshing out the characters and making them something more than a cool design with a nice vehicle mode.

Plus, they've both given us so many cool toys I don't particularly care to say one is better than the other. I love Doritoscream and I also really like G1 Bumblebee, it's not a matter of which style I like more, just which designs.

 

Approximately how long until the 700 page book length posts come about how Bayverse or G1 is the worst thing on the plant start? I need to prep my popcorn.

 

For the bayverse designs versus the G1 TOY Designs... I think they're on par. They are creative, detailed, very interesting, and full of character. But now, for the G1 animation models fersus bayverse... No competition whatsoever. The original G1 models, while completely fine for the time, are just flat marshmallow men. I've seen the G1 show, and it is for the most part very enjoyable, but the designs are just boring, all flat panels.while for the animation of 38 years ago, they were mighty on par, they just suck compared to the modern designs such as movieverse, with all it's detail and and interesting design

 

It’s really apples and oranges. But, I’ll always prefer the storytelling, characterizations and dialogue in the G1 toon over Bayverse. G1 did not insult my intelligence…some of the plot elements and dialogue in the Bay movies (especially the later ones) were simply unenjoyable for me. I don’t hate the Bayverse either. I’ve watched all of the movies multiple times…and I’d even like to see them tie up the TLK cliffhanger. But the characters were way too one-dimensional and inconsistent for my tastes. I could never really relate to anyone. G1 felt a lot more grounded and real…as real as an 80’s cartoon about transforming alien robots can be, anyway.

 

This!

 

This! Both exist, both made significant contributions (putting it lightly) to the Transformers franchise, and said contributions can be enjoyed by anyone at anytime (and both are receiving product support in the current era, which is great to see), or ignored by anyone should they not be a fan of it.

I personally prefer the design aesthetic and some of the concepts (especially in the expanded media) introduced in the Movieverse, but I really appreciate the great, wide-open baseline G1 provided in terms of a large array of characters and lore. One of my favorite parts of the franchise are the attempts at "neo-G1" like the more modernized earlier CHUG figures and the WFC/FOC video game universe.

 

I enjoy both about the same.

• I like the aesthetic of g1 a bit more for some characters

• I believe the movies tell a story better

• Movies have less animation flubs

• Bumblebee movie is probably the best watchable transformers media IMO
• G1 has more heart to the characters

 

The movies became thematically depressing with AOE & TLK. In short, Earth is a robot, Transformers have been stomping around on Earth since the age of dinosaurs, they’ve been (not-so) secretly shaping and influencing human culture and advancement since the days of King Arthur & ancient Egypt, and by the end of TLK, planet Cybertron is still hanging in orbit, wrecked the moon, and oh yeah, the main hero of the first 3 movies may have been killed off-screen. Most depressing of all is Anthony Hopkins character in TLK, who appears to have devoted his life to the transformers, doesn’t seem to have any family other than Cogman the butler, and when he dies, all Cogman can say is that he was by far the coolest master he had ever known. I know it’s not meant this way, but his line seemed to trivialize his death and reduce him to just some cool dude Cogman used to know.

For as hokey as the G1 toon could be, we also got glimpses of greatness with episodes like “The God Gambit,” Webworld, and “The Ultimate Doom parts 1-3.” Of course, the toon got 96 chances to tell its stories too, and there’s a lot of duds in there.

I still think the first movie & Bumblebee hold up well though.

 

I like and dislike aspects of both versions of the franchise.