Transformers · 8:30pm Nov 28th, 2020
Okay, so I've been slacking on these blog posts, but I figure I'd try to get one or two more in, something that played another major factor for my interests today.
Transformers.
How can I not love this franchise? It's a relatively simple but at the same time, complex series about a race of transforming robots engaged in war for the survival of their race. It followed a group of peace-loving Autobots led by the big bot himself, Optimus Prime, against the hatred-filled and loving-every-ounce-of-evil Decepticons led by the tyrannical Megatron. Their battles get taken to Earth where humans get involved, and the Autobots learn about Earth through said human friends and try to find resources to create their energy without harming their human friends or the planet they're on.
This franchise has had several iterations over the years, starting from the original 1980s cartoon, leading to the CGI animated Beast Wars, to RID, Armada, Energon, Cybertron, the Bayformers franchise, Animated, Prime, another RID, Cyberverse, the new Knightverse launch (yes that's what I'm calling it), to the current War For Cybertron series that's on Netflix. This is a franchise that will NEVER die, and why should it? This is a fun and imagitive concept, and it's had many ups and downs throughout the years.
But what I'm gonna talk about are the shows and iterations that I grew up with, or ones that I've watched more over others, cause I'm not like everyone. So to start off, let's talk about my first exposure which was oddly, the 2007 Michael Bay movie.
Now I still enjoy the first movie as a guilty pleasure, even though the others are barely flickering 
... but this was my very first exposure to it. I remember going into a hospital one day, and I was in the waiting room, and this was on TV. I remember seeing the first Decepticon character I ever saw, which was Blackout. I will never forget that moment where the military is just wondering how the hell this downed helicopter is flying and who it is, until when it gets to the base and the human inside starts flickering like a hologram, and BAM. Too late, everyone's dead.
And the Autobot team that's in the film was also my first exposure as they were the first characters I knew. Optimus, Ratchet, Ironhide, Bumblebee, and Jazz. Still hated how Jazz died so easily, like everyone else. Barely had any lines and you axed him off.
And as time went on, I did see the other movies as I got older... and my opinions started to deteriorate for the worse about the films. And so did my attitude towards those who enjoyed them. Now, let me make one thing clear. I did review these movies back in 2017, even reviewing the Last Knight at a later time. I still have a shit-ton of problems with them, and I still have very few things I like about them here and there. Opinions change over time, as do people when they grow. And without thinking, I didn't realize how much of an ass I was to those who did enjoy them, cause I did have followers and friends who enjoy those movies, and I feel like I was a jerk to them.
Let me make one thing clear. I do not hate anyone who likes a film, show, or whatever. ... as long as it's nothing illegal, mind you. As such, if you like these movies, please continue to enjoy them! Do not let this lunatic behind a blepping avatar upset you or make you feel shitty, you are entitled to enjoy what you love! Just like how I'm not a fan of one franchise, there will always be fans of said. We all have different thoughts, and there's nothing wrong with that. I just wanted to make that clear to you all, cause it is something I've never taken consideration about before, and it's something I feel as if I should remedy in some way.
Now with that's said... let's talk about another Transformers franchise I fell in love with. Transformers Animated!
Which also has probably one of the best intros to a Transformers cartoon which they need to bring back. Bring us back the classic theme song Hasbro, da hell is wrong with you!? Why won't you bring it back!?
Anyways, I was just OBSESSED with this show when it came out. I love the characters, I loved the world, I love the action, it was just a really fun cartoon, and it's clear based on the fandom, it resonated with a lot of people as well. This show once again had the same plot of Autobots vs Decepticons, but this time focused it on an entirely different set of characters. We follow a small crew of Autobots consisting of Optimus, Ratchet, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Prowl who get into possession of the All-Spark, a powerful Cybertronian artifact, while dealing with slews of villains, other monsterous threats and of course, the Decepticons who make it to Earth. 
This show followed like many action-oriented cartoons. We have a few standalone episodes with many being a sort of 'monster of the week' scenario, but most of these episodes usually would build to story-arcs later on in the season or seasons. Hell, some standalone episodes you wouldn't think would be vital to the story come back and play some vital role later on, and that's a great thing about this show. Little things you wouldn't think would be important or are just there to explain something, most of the time they come back and have a major factor in the story.
I also loved the general team we followed, I thought they were great, and yeah they're based off some normal action cartoon stereotypes, but the show gives them more depth as it goes on. Most of them. 
And it still amuses me that our main human is voiced by Twilight Sparkle herself, Tara Strong. Now I cannot unsee it, hehe.
Even the Decepticons are great; now we mostly follow Megatron, Starscream, Blitzwing, Lugnut, Shockwave, and Blackarachnia, but they're all fantastic characters and they have their own distinct personalities that make them fun to watch. And while not a major character, I always loved this show's interpretation of Soundwave, though maybe that's cause his voice is AWESOME. Soundwave has the most kick-ass voice in these series.
Sadly like many great shows, this series finished at the end of Season 3 and though many fans prayed (myself included) Season 4 is not happening... frick. 
And the next series I eventually got hooked on was the original G1 series. 
I'm not gonna go too heavy into this series, I've said more than enough about it. Yes it's got some silly moments, and the writing is nothing complex or grand, but it was still fun. It knew what it was and it had some fun, and hey, it had a wide range of characters for you to enjoy as each episode focused on different characters allowing you to decide whether you liked them or not. And yeah, animation errors are HEAVY in this show, and it still amuses the hell out of me to see some.
And of course the original Transformers The Movie... yeah, no divisive opinions there. Tooootaalllly no divisive opinions there. ... Though I think we can all agree the Transformers theme in that film was F@CKING AWESOME, and the animation was beautiful. Amazing what you can do with a higher budget.
And since I don't wanna waste time, let's talk about another series I enjoy a lot; Transformers Prime.
This is a series I didn't think I'd get into, mainly for the looks and CGI. But to my surprise, I ended up enjoying it far more than I thought. This is again another simple take... at first. This show really gives you a major feel of how serious war can get, especially when it's down to a few people left to carry the fight.
Hell the first episode kills someone right off the bat! First episode! That sets the tone of what's to come later on, and it still ends up being one of the most famous moments of the show. Not to mention, the characters... they're all fleshed out. We do have the Transformers Animated slew of having only five main leads, but the real difference is that Prowl, the motorcycle bot is replaced with Arcee. And my god, I love this Arcee. This i one of the few times where a character is redesigned entirely and I am 100% fine with it, cause this show's version of Arcee is awesome.
Actually, all of the characters are awesome. The Autobots are great and have tons of chemistry, and the Decepticons are equally fun and dynamic as well. I don't think we were ready to have Knock Out on us, cause he is just a delight. 
Also this gives a far more plausible reason for Bumblebee not having a voice than... that... other... thing I will not mention cause it's getting old and I'm being hypocritical.
But still, this is a great show, definitely recommend.
And this brings us to RID 2015.
This... is not that great. This show is a sequel series to Transformers Prime following Bumblebee... and sadly the show's darker and serious tones got replaced by way too damn silly cartoon antics.
Now this show is not terrible or the worst mind you, but it does not make the best continuation to Prime. The animation is... more or less to be desired. Most of the characters are obnoxious with a few exceptions, and most of this show is just the same formula and it gets really repetitive after a while. The only times this show breaks from this is within the finales, and one special episode in Season 2 where a Prime character returns which was awesome.
And even though the 'monster of the week' threat should have been resolved by the end of Season 2... it went straight back to monster of the week again. Guess the whole 'captured every Decepticon' meant only capturing just a large group of Decepticons, huh? Also the Season 3 finale was rushed as hell, showing a plot that should have been the focus from the very start, and it ends up being a rushed mess which is just... sad. A lot of opportunities got squandered which is real disappointing. But once in a while there's something cool, but it's not enough. I say give this show a watch even if it's just once. It's not great, but hey, it will entertain your kids.
And the last thing I'll talk about since I don't wanna stretch this blog any further... it's Bumblebee.
I cannot stress enough how much I adore this movie. After countless bad films, they finally made one that feels like Transformers and take it back to its original roots. WHAT THE HELL TOOK SO LONG?
When the first trailer came out, even though it didn't' show much, I was excited. It looked different. There was... color. Simplicity. It didn't portray itself like a war drama or horror film. And it looked like it was cute and sweet. And then the next one came out and HOLY SHIT!!! My excitement grew. Not only did we get to see more of Bee, but the Transformers in this film actually look like Transformers. They have some of the Bayformers aesthetics, but it was mixed with the G1 cartoon simplicity, making it easy to tell what they transformed into, but also making it believable like they're in a real world. I don't care what anyone says, colorful simplicity is all you need, not big walking gray skeleton monster things!
And yeah, I still love this movie, and I still rewatch it. It's easy to follow, I love Bumblebee who is so damn cute, and Charlie? The main human Charlie, I actually love her cause she's not a psycho bitch who's constantly sweaty and hyper, and only thinks of Bee as her personal property, she calls Bumblebee her FRIEND. FRIEND. These two have a real friendship. And every second with these two is delightfully wholesome.
And extra points for having interesting antagonists. Yeah, Shatter and Dropkick aren't the most complex Decepticons, but considering the other Decepticons who don't get much screentime, these two are a breath of fresh air. Hopefully these two will be resurrected at some point.
But seriously though, I love this movie. I squeed so hard watching this movie, so many moments that just made so happy, I felt like a little kid.
And that's the most I got for it. I still look back on some of this with fondness, though I haven't been watching too much of Transformers as of late. Been delving into a lot of Star Wars this year, more than... well, more than I ever have. But I wanted to make this for the hell of it, just to get my thoughts out there, and just so I have something new to update.
Either way, I hope you all enjoyed it, and have a good Saturday! ^^
The first live-action was also my first exposure to this franchise. It was my favorite movie at the time, because robots turning into vehicles was a concept too awesome for my 8-year-old brain to handle. However, now that I'm much older, I realize that it's not as awesome as I once thought. I still like it as a gouilty pleasure, but the sequels do become dumber and more boring as they go on, in my opinion. With that said, Bumblebee was a much-needed breath of fresh air and even though it's far from perfect, it does set up a bright future for the franchise.
Transformers: Animated was also the first Transformers show I ever watched as a kid. I still like it to this day, because like you said, both the characters and the lore are really great. It's not my favorite Transformers show, though. That honor undoubtedly belongs to Transformers: Prime. On top of having amazing characters and lore, it has the perfect balance of light and dark tones, and way too many epic moments to count. Also, I really love the fact that it expands on the complex relationship between Optimus Prime and Megatron. In fact, this version of Megatron has one of the best villain backstories I have ever seen in an animated series.
Too bad RID proved to be an unworthy sequel in pretty much every aspect.
By the way, I have not yet seen the entirety of G1 and Beast Wars, but from the episodes I did watch, I can safely say that both of them are really fun and I can't wait to see what happens in their later seasons. Also, I think the G1 movie is pretty awesome despite having an overabundance of goofy moments.
The movies did add the touch of the Pretenders
https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Pretender; and the triple-changers
Oh, I loved Bumblebee. It did what the Bayverse didn't and stayed true to the original designs. I loved all the characters you could see in Bumblebee's flashback, even if they weren't in it for long, I still liked getting to see them!
How many people actually remembered prime