Transformers: Cybertron

Why aren't you watching Transformers Cybertron? Still mad at how Armada and Energon turned out? Well, forget everything you've seen from those shows, because Cybertron is definitely the best Transformers show since Beast Wars.

Transformers Cybertron is the dubbed version of the recent anime series "Galaxy Force" currently airing in Japan. Quite honestly, Cybertron is my least favorite visually of the Transformers (The TF's stand out a bit too much visually compared to the hand-drawn animation), but the animation is miles better than anything seen in Armada and Energon. Like Energon, the Transformers are also computer animated, although this time done by the more professional anime studio Gonzo. Unlike the stiff and cheap movements on Energon, the characters have much more fluidly quick movement and expression. Not to mention the action scenes are very fast-paced, well-animated, choreographed and exciting to watch. Unlike the "Zoids" stylings of Energon, the TF's look a lot closer to Mainframe's work on "Beast Wars." Cybertron certainly has the best writing out of the three recent TF shows. The Dub uses a lot more self-referential humor and there are also a lot of sly references to earlier Transformers shows that really made me smile. Not to mention the Transformers have a lot more personality and depth compared to the stale clichés of Armada and Energon. Hot Shot's character really works the best as a youthful and learning hero, and he, like a lot of characters on this show grow and change throughout it's progression. I never really felt for any of the characters like this ever since Beast Wars. A lot of people may find the idea of using different accents for the characters strange, but I think it makes the characters stand out much more. (And I'm sure people will remember the G1 characters also having accents) Thundercracker's "hillbilly" accent made him a humorous character and the comic relief of Decepticon cronies Ransack and Crumplezone have a lot of shades of "Laurel and Hardy." Optimus Prime is much more likable a character in this show, and actually proves himself as a reliable leader, and Starscream, well without spoiling anything, kicks MUCH more butt than even his G1 counterpart could hope to do. Megatron tends to get his butt kicked too many times, but that changes later on in the show. Even the humans, which have been a main complaint that many Transformers fans had with the recent shows are handled much better here. Unlike the irritating Armada children and the angsty Kicker, they feel more like real people and have a lot of character development as well, and actually do a lot to help the Autobots. And at least these Autobots have enough sense to keep them out of trouble. They have much more of a purpose on this show. Overall, the character interaction is great, while not quite up to the brilliance of Beast Wars, but it still comes very close.

The show actually has a lot of original elements too. A lot of the Transformers on this show are factionless, and there's some genuine intrigue on which side the new characters will join. Also, the show has a much more realistic touch compared to past shows. In Cybertron, the Autobots do their best to keep themselves disguised from humans, and unlike the past shows, the humans don't conveniently disappear during a major battle. Sometimes humans actually notice what's going on, changing the plans of the Autobots. This shows much more actual direction.

Also, the show's pace is very different from the past two shows. But there's a LOT more going on in a single episode of Cybertron. A lot of the episodes tackle multiple subplots at a time during an story arc. While some might not like this sporadic pacing, I think it keeps the show exciting and full of activity. Its a definite improvement over the dragged out single-minded plot arcs of the last two aforementioned shows. As the story progress people change, new alliances are forged and stuff actually happens. Safe to say, I think Cybertron is the best Trasformers show that no one is watching. Forget Armada and Energon, this show is the real deal. And it makes me happy to be a Transformers fan again. I actually look forward to the next episode.

* A Side note: Don't try connecting Cybertron to Armada and Energon storywise, this is a completely different universe.

Overall this is a great Transformers series (Nothing beats G1, but that's common knowledge). However, I have one small gripe. Why does Jetfire have an extremely over exaggerated 'Australian' accent (Think Steve Irwin)? As an Aussie I can tell you, we don't talk like that (I have the same problem with Outback, a G1 character who appeared in several episodes in season 3). The CG transformers are combined with the more traditionally animated human characters quite well, and the show doesn't take itself too seriously, there is also some very clever dialogue written for some of the characters, which has raised more than a chuckle. Overall I would strongly recommend this series, although any Transfan worth their salt knows that Megatron should be a gun. BAH WEEP GRAH NAH WEEP NINNI BALM!!

Three things redeem Cybertron somewhat, the character of Megatron, the use of the Transformers, robots in disguise line in the theme song and the dynamic voice acting of Garry Chalk and David Kaye. Apart from them, the voice work is a mix of over-compensating, uninterested under-playing and inexplicably weird accents, sad seeing as from their other work there are some talented voice actors here. The characters are not very interesting, in fact the human characters are very annoying(not exactly old news though, they were in Armada- this show is marginally better than that, Armada was a mess- and Energon). Starscream has always been an interesting character but he's bland here, and the writers clearly had no idea what to do with Scourge(shame he had potential) he is not that fearsome and the constant changing of sides got confusing and you are like make up your mind already. The animation is very little improvement either, the traditional cell animation is rather flat and sloppy and the CGI is over-saturated. Not only that, the mouth movements of the characters are far too Nutcracker-like which was very distracting, and the Transformation sequences are all flash and no subtlety. The theme song has one good line which is gone to waste by a generic hip-hop-styled tune with inane lyrics that gives the music a dated feel. The rest of the music is dull and forgettable, lacking expression or atmosphere. The dialogue is the very meaning of clunky, the light-hearted moments veer on awkwardly goofy and the more intense moments almost too grim and over-serious. It also seemed really stilted. The basic story is a good idea that is sadly also too thin structurally and too padded. The story lines just don't engage for that reason, as well as the uncompelling dialogue and characters and lack of tension and excitement in the action sequences. To conclude, Cybertron is the best of the Transformers franchise's Unicron Trilogy but that doesn't say much, it really did disappoint hugely and really not one of the franchise's finest hours. 4/10 Bethany Cox

After two shaky series, Transformers Armada and Energon, Hasbro as now given us Transformers Cybertron. Though far from perfect, this show is a lot better than its two predecessors. It seems to incorporate some of the best elements of past Transformers fiction.

• A sprawling, multi-arced, space epic from the comics

• A good balance of some lighthearted elements with more heavy duty sci/fi from the original cartoon

• Exceptional voice acting, scripting and a sense of fun from Beast wars

The overall plot is nicely summed up via the show's opening sequence. "Our worlds are in Danger. To save them and the galaxy, we(the autobots) must find the 4 cyber planet keys, before the decepticons can use them for evil.".

The overall plot does not feel stretched or padded for the most part. Some episodes near the middle of the series do tend to get repetitive(especially the part on Velocitron) but thanks to some entertaining scripting and multiple story threads being addressed within a single episode, they are still watchable without feeling like useless fillers. Things might start off a little slow at first, but unlike Transformers Armada, the pace picks up after only 6 episodes following its debut(which throws you thick into the action with the Autobots already in the process of evacuating their home planet).

The first act incorporates many easy-to-relate to themes, especially involving the three human protagonists. A number of episodes convey moral teachings about the importance of rules, responsibility and honesty among many others without sounding too preachy. The style for this act may come across as a little juvenile, along the lines of Digimon(which is not surprising as the director also directed a number of digimon series) with rather tame action scenes(compared to Armada and Beast Wars) and lots of time dedicated to the kids' hi-jinks instead of on the Transformers themselves.

Then comes the second act. Once the setting moves into space and across the galaxy, the story likewise soars to new heights. The writing and script changes into something better that even older teenagers can relate to, throwing in some darker aspects and more thought provoking underlying themes.

The core achievement of Transformers Cybertron, is that throughout the show's evolution into a darker storyline, it never loses its sense of fun, just like the original cartoon in the 80s. Scripts are peppered with in-jokes and homage references to past series that would please any long time fan of the franchise. The high spirited and entertaining script is help along by some of the best voice acting in Transformers since Beast Machines. Very strong performances are turned, giving each character a distinct voice and personality. Some might have found the accents distracting but i personally loved them as they added variety. Accents are, afterall, not a new thing in Transformers with a number of characters from the original cartoon did sport a variety of different accents and speech patterns.

Not everything is sunflowers and rainbows however. This series does suffer from an over usage of stock footage in the Transformations(which seem a lot longer than previous series, with some single transformations lasting a whole half a minute.) and the battle scenes. Thankfully, in the English version, dialogue is written into the otherwise repetitive and boring stock sequences. These inserted lines range from planning battle strategy, to highly comedic in-jokes. Sometimes characters even break the fourth wall by asking each other why they have to undergo the same transformation animation all the time.

Just like Energon, this series uses a mixture of 2D and 3D animation. The 2D animation does not seem as polished as in Energon, with many of the human characters and 2D artwork looking flat with only basic color filling and minimal detail. Movements are jerky at times, even for a TV series standard of animation. The 3D elements, which involve mostly the robots, are a huge step up from Energon and Beast Wars. However, they are only slightly on par with Beast Machines which was produced 5 years prior to this show. Movements are smoother but there are still scenes where the 3D models "snap" from pose to pose like photographs in a slide show instead of actually move. The style metallic shading as opposed to the previous cel-shading causes the highly detailed 3D elements to jarringly clash with the simple 2D art. Such jarring differences in the animation are especially apparent when the 2D characters have to physically interact with the 3D ones.

One would think that utilising 3D animation would allow the director more freedom and ease to choreograph a good fight scene. That is not the case. Fights tend to get repetitive with boring camera angles and sometimes lengthly monologues. Later into the series, the fights DEVOLVE into something out of Dragonball Z. Most of the combat involves each combatant charging up their power and flying at each other, smashing together in a explosion of badly rendered CGI effects. Wash, rinse and repeat the cycle, throw in some clichéd dialogue and do it all over again.

I must say that Transformers Cybertron is the best among the post-2000 co-produced Transformers series. Sub-par animation and repetitiveness is saved by its marvelous scripts, story and voice acting. Do not let the bad reputation of the other series prevent you from watching this. Sure it might not be on par with the original, or Beast Wars, but it definitely worth checking out, and a good show for which to introduce newcomers to the Transformers Franchise.

Billed as the final entry in what is called The Unicron Trilogy (with the first two shows being Armada and Energon), Cybertron is a show I saw some of, but not all due to Cartoon Network placing it in a timeslot that is after the Adult Swim block goes off the air.

In this series, the destruction of Unicron has created a black hole that threatens to swallow Cybertron, the population evacuates to Earth after one of the Autobots, Landmine, is warped there by Vector Prime during a battle with the Decepticons. Now in hiding and with air of three human kids, Coby, Bud, and Lori, the Autobots must collect the four Cyber Planet Keys, one on Earth and the other three on different planets with their own Transformers, to save Cybertron from destruction. However, the Decepticons also seek the keys, but instead of saving Cybertron, they seek to use it to destroy the Autobots and rule the galaxy.

This anime can get a bit bumpy. While this was connected to Armada and Energon in America, for its Japanese release as Transformers Galaxy Force, it was made as a different continuity, thus requiring a lot of additional scenes and script edits for the English dub in order to connect it to the past two series. Also, while some of the voice actors do return, some of them end up giving their characters foreign accents (Jetfire now speaks in an Australian accent, while Red Alert, who was in Armada, but absent from Energon, is made British), a move possibly done to show Transformers can be different in more ways than how they look. The show mixes traditional animation for the human characters with the CGI used for the Transformers, and it makes it work. Coby, Bud, and Lori serve as replacements for Rad, Carlos, Alexis, and Kicker (which is due to the Japanese version being its own universe), and thankfully, they are better than Kicker, and even have more of a role aiding the Autobots in some situations. And while the script has some continuity errors, they are well written, and the show does explore other planets (like Jungle Planet, a planet with Transformers who adapted animals as their alternate mode). While not as good as Armada, Transformers Cybertron fixes the many mistakes that Energon (considered the worst of the trilogy in my book) made.