Ok, I love Prime, but having just rewatched Animated I gotta say it takes the cake. Its fun, creative, and the characters are great.
Prime is awesome but not as fun, atleast not on the same level Animated is. That's not necessarily a bad thing though since the two shows just have different goals for the tones they're going for.

I only have two major complaints about animated:

1. A lot of great characters were not given a proper conclusion to their story arcs, albeit that was out of the creators control given the show was prematurely ended.
2. Sentinel Prime was a piece of sh*t and all he ever got was a slap on the wrist. He's corrupt, selfish, and judging from what we saw at the end of the series, he's got some serious dictator vibes. Optimus would say that he's got issues but he's a good bot, yet Sentinel has never displayed any redeeming qualities. He's honestly worse than Megatron, both as a leader and on a basic moral level. Megatron indirectly calls him out on that in "This Is Why I Hate Machines". If we ever miraculously get a season 4, even if its via comics, I would hope they make him the big bad because he needs to get taken down. He is as arguably a bigger threat to Cybertron than Megatron is. Honestly, if I were to compare them to other popular characters, I'd say Megatron is President Snow and Sentinel is Alma Coin from the Hunger Games. They're from two sides of a big war, but are two sides of the same coin. They are both bad news. Albeit, Alma Coin's intelligence and cunning is light-years ahead of Sentinel's but thats besides the point.

 

Prime by a slim margin it had some problems like when arcee sparing airachnid, bulkhead getting hurt and getting better really quickly , and miko but each episode kept me wanting to watch more especially during s2 and s3

Animated was great but s1 was kind of a chore to watch I only liked the 3 parter, the episode with lockdown, and the finale
S2 and S3 were great but If they didn’t do any of the human villains ( who were god awful with the exception of meltdown) and gave the show an actual ending it probably would’ve been my favorite TF show

And plus animated doesn’t have knockout

 

Animated was supposed to get an entire fourth season; however, a multitude of factors led to Hasbro cancelling the show in favor of focusing on the Movieverse and their new, in-house "definitive universe" project (that went on to include TFP) that was supposed to do away with the regular cycle of reboots.

 

Animated was the first Transformers show I ever watched as a kid, so I have a lot of nostalgia for it (although not as much nostalgia as I have for G1, since my dad was a fan of the original series and, as a kid, I assumed that Animated was somehow part of/the same show as the show my dad had watched as a kid). Nostalgia aside, though, I do actually think Animated was better. I don't dislike Prime, but I felt Animated handled its characters and story arc better than Prime did. It definitely handled PTSD better than Prime did, and its Optimus was much better than Prime's Optimus. Also, Blackarachnia is much better than Airachnid.

That being said:
-I like Prime Soundwave better than Animated Soundwave (but I like Animated Laserbeak better than Prime Laserbeak, amusingly enough).
-The Starscreams and Shockwaves of the two shows are about equal. So are the two Ratchets.
-The animation styles are equally weird looking. Animated's long chins are weird, but so are the lack of noses and huge eyebrows in Prime.
-Knock Out is great. I think I like him better than any one character in Animated (Optimus Prime is the possible exception here).
-Ultra Magnus was totally useless in Animated, so I'd say the Prime version is better overall.
-
Seriously, Knock Out is terrific (what the Internet has done with him is....less terrific.)

 

Animated.

TFA Optimus Prime is the first and so far only Optimus Prime to be a fully-developed and three-dimensional character.
He's definitely the ideal incarnation of the character here.

TFA Megatron is the most threatening Megatron yet.

The original characters such as Lockdown and Lugnut were characterized extremely well — enough to be incorporated into future works of the franchise.

Thematically exploring the differences between old bots who fought in the war and young bots who were protoformed after the war was a great plot thread for the overarching story of Transformers Animated. It actually gave significant age differences between the characters more weight.

Prime was just an incoherent and tonally-deaf mess that wanted to be mature, but came off more as wannabe-emo.
Younger, emo teen me loved it.
Older, adult me despises it and instead adores Animated as his favorite incarnation of the franchise.

 

Welcome to the boards, @Magnus Leader! I commend you on your taste in TF shows.

 

While I don't hate TF Animated by any means of the imagination, I have to go with TF Prime as my favourite Transformers series by far. Mainly because that it has everything that I ever wanted in a TF series, taking the best elements of both G1 and the live action movies and rolled them into one brilliant package. Animated on the other hand, I just couldn't get into it to be completely 100 percent honest, the animation style was not my cup of tea, some of the robot designs looked off, TF Animated Bumblebee was a bit annoyingly cocky in my opinion and don't even get me started on those super villains, those lot were just completely unnecessary. TF Prime superior, TF Animated inferior

 

After rewatching it Imho prime was almost everything I have ever wanted from a transformers show it has a dark tone, has a lot of humor, has great action scenes, has a great villain at least imo, was pretty well written at least imo, has a great cast , and the humans weren’t god awful, and it has a great ending I still have a few problems with it like not explaining how raf can understand bumblebee, what happened to airachnid, and arcee sparing airachnid, but they don’t bother me as much as it did other people, but animated on the other hand, before rewatching it I barely remembered any of it, I knew a few things ( like sari was cybertronian,and omega supreme was the spaceship), and everybody on this site was saying it was the greatest cartoon ever, so I went with high expectations and was kind of disappointed don’t get me wrong I love this show, but season 1 was such a chore to watch I had to put off watching it for a week, there were some good episodes like the pilot, thrill of the hunt, and the finale were amazing, but the episodes in between were so hard to watch, but seasons 2 and 3 were amazing, the cast was great but not as good as prime’s was imo, megatron was amazing, it was really well written at least season 2 and 3 were, the action was surprisingly great but not as good as prime’s, but the only two things that keep it from being my absolute favorite transformers show ever is the fact that it didn’t get an ending and the human villains, they were god awful they were a mix of everything I hated about miko and billy and Fred from armada and somehow way worse except for meltdown he was pretty cool, so I prefer prime over animated, also animated doesn’t have knockout, but the one thing that animated has against prime imo is that it doesn’t have a crappy sequel

 

Exactly, Knockout was Juicy

 

TF: Prime's charm is that is took a somewhat more serious approach to a series, which to me was very welcomed over the silly tongue 'n' cheek method to appease younger kids. That's not to say it didn't have its flaws nor could have improved in certain areas. The biggest nitpick I do have about TF: Prime is Miko. They could have eliminated that character all together from the story line and the series would not have suffered.

TF: Animated was fantastic! Though it did have its silly moments, it was done in a more humorous fashion that both kids and adults could appreciate. Though it too had its flaws, it wasn't the drole, catering to too young a crowd schtick common of many of that type of animation. I really wished they had continued the series to see what occurred after Megatron was finally arrested and taken into custody.

 

It's a shame that the 4th season was cancelled.

 

Some people may hate prime and some people may hate animated but we can all agree that they’re both a hell of a lot better than this shit

 

Nope. I actually prefer that shit over TFA and TFP. I feel 2015 RiD's less ambitious approach helped it a whole lot. It didn't want to tell an ambitious story or have an ongoing arc. It just wanted to be a fun show. Yes, again, there are some major flaws, but I could at least sit all the way through it (whereas I struggled all the way through TFA and TFP).

TFA for me was pretty disappointing and really, as I've said before, it should have been an anthology show with all the designs of established characters it had. TFP promised to be a daring show, but it just remained predictable and broke all those promises immediately with annoying characters and some very underwhelming plots. I've explained why I dislike the shows in previous posts so I don't think I'll bother again.

 

No, the story of TFA was about Optimus becoming a hero, and thus that's why he is young, most of his team is young, and the focus of the show is on them growing stronger as a force for justice in a universe that doesn't seem to need them.

What you call "missed opportunities" were just intended to be fanservice as icing and sprinkles on the cake at most.
The story was never about those other characters.

It was about Optimus Prime, and it was a damn great story too.

By the way, you said on another thread that TFA didn't even have a Cold War subtext like G1 did.
Well, that's because it's the 2000s and not the 1980s, mate.

TFA did have subtext, only it was about the War on Terror and President Bush's policies rather than the Cold War which was already over for more than a decade.

And if you seriously like RID 2015 over Animated, then don't complain when we get shows like Cyberverse coming out.

 

You hit another thing I dislike. Although I liked Optimus in TFA better than other versions, I just wished his role had been given to Rodimus. And again, the story being about Optimus Prime annoys me too, because we get him in every single goddamn show and it just tires me. Same with Megatron (RiD 2015 mercifully phased him out, even if we still had Blandimus around).

And honestly, if the story wasn't about those characters, then they shouldn't have bothered adding them. I'm not a big fan of fanservice. If you design a character for a show, give it a purpose, a role. Don't have them going around just so the fans go "Oh, this show has this character in a scene, that's so cool". Just tell the story without always shoving these other characters in our faces. Honestly, an anthology show would have been a perfect approach for Animated and I just can't help but feel frustrated that we just got another show with Optimus there.

I don't think I was the user who brought up that, but I agreed with him.

I like Cyberverse from what I've seen. It's not perfect, but at least it didn't annoy me as much as the two most praised TF shows have.

I just am the only person (if there aren't any more people like me out there) who wasn't exactly thrilled with either TFA or TFP. They had good stuff sprinkled in, but they were disappointing experiences for me.

 

Agreed

 

Yes, we know you like Rodimus.

But consider this. If the show had put Rodimus as the main character instead, the franchise in the 2000s would have been robbed of a well-written Optimus.

And since Optimus is seen as the primary main hero of the franchise, that would be ultimately pitiful.
In fact, I suspect that would've done more harm than good.

Between the Japanese 2000s shows, the Bayformers movies, and the Aligned Continuity, we really, really, really needed a well-written Optimus as a main character and hero.

And TFA gave us that.

And yes, you can like Rodimus more (I prefer him as a leader over Optimus too in most other continuities outside of Animated), but you have to acknowledge the fact that most people see the story of Transformers as being Optimus' story.

No, it's good that the production crew bothered to add them.

For one thing, the show is set in a continuity where Cybertron is still teeming with life. How can the show put forward evidence to that being the case if they don't have a background cast?

If the show lacked a background Cybertronian cast, that ultimately would come off as lazy and would be the equivalent of human cities and towns in TFP not being shown to have much humans going about their daily business.

It would be the equivalent of Cyberverse taking place on Earth and yet not bothering to show a single damn human in sight.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case and the production crew put effort into designing those background characters.
Their purpose, basic as it was, was to show that Cybertron was still populated and inhabited, and that the Autobots living there have a society and culture that really isn't that healthy for them, as evidenced by Optimus and his crew being shunned washouts living on an organic planet.

They weren't shoved in our faces all the time, and Optimus' story was told eloquently and excellently.

I'll just remind you again that if Optimus hadn't been the main character in Animated, then the franchise in the 2000s would have been robbed of a well-written Optimus.

And that's why I'm telling you that you're misinformed regarding that particular point about subtext.

There are other points that you have definitely said that I feel we can discuss and debate, however.

So Beast Wars annoys you too?

Remember, most of us on these boards prefer it over Prime.

And to be honest, how can you wish for a better Transformers show when you're busy praising one of the most blandest and laziest shows that the franchise has produced as of late?

 

Maybe, but I would take another crack at Rodimus rather than have another Optimus (as well written as this was). And the problem is that. Transformers isn't Optimus' story. It's the story about all the characters. As flawed as G1 was (both the comic and the cartoon), one thing it did well was showcase characters in very interesting ways. It wasn't Optimus, Ratchet, Ironhide or Bumblebee every single day of the week. You had characters like Rodimus, Ultra Magnus, Nightbeat, Bludgeon, Thunderwing, etc.

And again, I feel they could have done it without using already established characters. In Beast Machines, most of the civilian designs were mainly reused Prowl or Soundwave CG renders, and it still worked well enough for me. There is no need to use already established characters for background scenes when that is the purpose of generics. In fact, putting those characters in that kind of roles I feel harms them more than it benefits them, because to me, it feels like they just don't matter in the overall scheme of things and makes them generic, which is something that they really should not be.

Yeah, I know Optimus' story was told well, but I really feel the anthology approach would have worked much better instead of "gee, Optimus is the leader again". Take a bit of risks, be daring, don't be afraid of what's come before. Putting Optimus and Megatron in a show has always felt like the easy way out for me.

Beast Wars I liked, but there were a few things I didn't like about it (Silverbolt was an annoying character for me and some episodes were particularly weak, but other than that, it was good). Beast Machines (which isn't as hated as it originally was, but it still isn't popular) was an overall improvement for me. It attempted to be dark, but unlike TFP, which ended up being pretty bland, BM actually succeeded (IMO) at a darker atmosphere and I actually could feel for all the characters. Character growth was also strong. However, even then I have to concede that there are flaws (Silverbolt's condor mode was awful, but all the rest of him was better than the BW version in my view). But still, I feel the overall story and the character quests make up for that. It took risks. Yes, it took a heck of risks, and I respect it a lot more because of it.

And busy praising Cyberverse? In most of my posts about it, I just say it's decent fun for little kids from what I've seen. Plus, there are other people who have seen more of the show and still like it, so you have to understand that we all have our opinions on shows and there may be people like me out there with rather unpopular opinions and you have to let them be.

Sorry it took so long, but I always feel the need to explain myself when someone replies to me.

 

I hate it that just because shows like animated succeeds it gives people high expectations on shows to come people don’t have to like animated it’s called an opinion and as long as they enjoy it the production team in cyberverse got along and are proud of there work just because a show isn’t as perfect as last doesn’t make it a bad thing we can’t expect the same quality forever eventually people get tired and plus some show teams don’t have the same budgeted as others.

 

Would you say that if said take on Rodimus was written poorly?

What good is spreading the focus to an ensemble cast of characters if the quality is going to vary wildly between each of them?

Yes, I would also like to see Rodimus as a leader in future stories, but I'd rather wait until the writing quality of the franchise jumps back up before pleading and begging for that kind of story.

I'll admit to not having watched Beast Machines, but I've read some of the basics of the plot.

Didn't Megatron take over Cybertron and turn all the civilians into his army of drones by the time the story started?
Army drones don't really count as civilians.

(Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, though.)

Well then, that is an ultimately subjective point for each individual viewer to draw their own conclusions on.

Generic designs just feel lazy to me, although I admit that I'm probably spoiled with masterpiece artwork from Avatar: The Last Airbender, where even the background characters had their own unique designs.

You're free to think that, but in the larger picture, that's only a minor point of subjective concern because in the overall scheme of things, the story of TFA is not about them.

Optimus isn't even the leader again. He's the main character, yes, but the story is about him learning how to truly be a hero.

To be honest, saying that to the show that made Optimus a young, struggling rookie hero, and took place in a universe where the Decepticons were defeated and exiled from Cybertron and the Autobots had won the war a long time ago is frankly being insulting.

And that's being subjective again and letting your distaste for Optimus and Megatron distract you from analysing and appreciating how well-written they are.

Yes, overexposure can get tiring, but you should focus on how characters are written first, as opposed to who is part of the main cast and who isn't.

If a franchise can't even write its own main characters to a high standard, then it should focus on improving itself in that regard before branching out to other characters.

Well you did just say, a few posts ago, that you like Cyberverse and you preferred RID 2015 over TFA and TFP (although saying that about TFP is understandable).

It just comes off as odd seeing you wanting better written Transformers shows while preferring the more recent and worse ones.

And regarding about leaving people be, I don't see you extending that same courtesy to Animated fans either.

You're totally fine loving Beast Machines, though.
It's just that that show is a great show, but a bad sequel.
(Namely because it undoes all of the struggles that the characters went through in Beast Wars with a braindead decision.)

Don't feel sorry about that.

I actually respect those who are willing to debate at length rather than those who just state their claims and don't feel obligated to explain anything at all.

Mate, people are free to have their own opinions.

But one of the reasons why the franchise is in a creative slump as of now is because there are many people who just eat up the drivel that the franchise dishes out for a quick buck.

For example, as Novaburnhilde said (but not on this thread, though): Bayformers could've been stopped before they reached the low quality of the fifth movie if fans had just put up a line of standards that should not have been breached.

Also, it would be good if fans learned to separate subjectivity from objectivity, and smaller points of contention from the bigger picture at hand, when critiquing a show.