Apparantly, "Transformers: Armada" going to be on Cartoon Network's Toonami. This is definitely a good sign. At least for me. Because A) Beast Mashines, made for Fox, was nowhere near as good as Beast Wars, and B) Robots in Disguise is on very early in the morning when I am getting my much-needed sleep. I have faith that a series made for Toonami will be at least quasi-decent, and I'll be fully conscious when it's on.
And it's going to be with a new He-Man series. *shrug*
I too was dissapointed with Beast Machines. I've never been one of those "OpTImSUS pRime IS A TRUCK not A MOnkey!" sort of people. In fact, I thought Beast Wars was an excellent series, and the Transmetal line of Transformers some of the best they have ever done. They were the perfect combination of cool to look at, fun to transform, and poseable. too much nowadays they sacrifice one at the expense of another (even as far back as TMII Dragon Megs. You can't argue that he's a seriously cool looking toy, but transforming him takes the better part of a weekend. Same with Fire Convoy/RID Optimus Prime).
As to the Armada designs, I keep flip flopping between "They look really cool! Optimus is like Star Convoy" and "They look like late G1 stuff, and about as poseable".
Posted by CaptAlabin (Member # 733) on :
Armada is supposed to be in Cell animation not CGI. There was a small preview of it at the Toyfare.
Posted by Saiyanman Benjita (Member # 122) on :
Cool! Looking forward to a decent showing. "Robots in Disguise" is pretty decent, but the only times I got to see it was when they were showing it in the afternoons. Now it's like they gave up.
Posted by Chris StarShade (Member # 786) on :
Robots in Disguise? Decent? Its the worst Transformer series yet! I remember the original Transformers.
Transformers looks good in computer animation, and in the original cartoonistry, but transformers in ANIME?!!!!!
Sucked big time. Optimus Prime was supposed to be a semi, not a fire truck. And when since do characters yell the name of their attacks and moves when they do them?
No, I like the pre-predacon era, and pre-maximal.
The time when it was just plain old Decepticons Vs. plain old Autobots, with a few con and bot thrown in for fun. (like Constructicons, Dinobots, Aerialbots, Insecticons...)
And when Megatron was a gun instead of a t-rex.
Posted by Chris StarShade (Member # 786) on :
Oh and, by the way, the one in Beast Machines and Beast Wars is not Optimus Prime, but "Optimus Primal" okay... very punny...
Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :
I've so lost touch with Transformers. Like Legos, it's nothing more than a distant memory of my childhood. And, like giving my Legos to my cousin, I really regret taking apart all of my Transformer toys.
I only got to see one episode of Beast Machines (I suppose that was it; it was on FOX). The problem is that it always came on about the time I headed out for class. I was getting into Robots in Disguise. It used to come on the half-hour before Trading Spaces. But, for reason the local FOX affiliate dumped it. Maybe I'll actually be able to follow this one (since Cartoon Network doesn't make radical schedule changes).
Posted by CaptainMike (Member # 709) on :
New He-Man!?!?!?!?!?!?
*hyperventilates and dies*
Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :
Is a new "He-Man" cartoon really a good thing? I mean, it could spawn more trouble than it's worth. Do we really need another "Masters of the Universe" live-action movie? Do we really need to resurrect "She-Ra?"
Posted by U//Magnus (Member # 239) on :
"Do we really need another "Masters of the Universe" live-action movie?"
MORE THAN I NEED MY NEXT BREATH YES.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
quote: Optimus Prime was supposed to be a semi, not a fire truck.
To use a common TF newsgroup and forum quote.
"OPTmuS Pr!mE 1s a TRuk n0T a M0nk3Y!"
quote: Sucked big time. Optimus Prime was supposed to be a semi, not a fire truck. And when since do characters yell the name of their attacks and moves when they do them?
You never read the comic, did you? "I, Cliff Jumper will make you pay with my glass-gas gun!"
quote: Transformers looks good in computer animation, and in the original cartoonistry, but transformers in ANIME?!!!!!
You mean like the movie pretty much was?
quote: The time when it was just plain old Decepticons Vs. plain old Autobots, with a few con and bot thrown in for fun. (like Constructicons, Dinobots, Aerialbots, Insecticons...)
And Stunticons, Protectobots, Combaticons, Predacons, Horrorcons, Technobots, and so on (and we're not even going to touch the various "...masters".
quote: And when Megatron was a gun instead of a t-rex.
Megatron hasn't been a T-Rex for about 5 years now. And has been shit pretty much since he stopped being a T-Rex. Although to be fair, i haven't actually seen Megatron/Gigatron/RID one in action.
quote: Robots in Disguise? Decent? Its the worst Transformer series yet! I remember the original Transformers.
Bully for you. Do you not also remember that is was often really, really bad?
Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :
Apparently, I've missed out on a lot in the Transformers universe.
Posted by Chris StarShade (Member # 786) on :
Apparently, that is because you do not remember it.
The two names for Megatron were Megatron and Galvatron, where did "Gigatron" come from?
The original transformers series was no worse than the stuff they have on now, and was in many respects better. I liked Soundwave, the first Decepticon to sneak into the Autobot base. (just transform into a tape recorder, and let the kid pick you up on his way there...)
Starscream has been immitated by many later Decepticons (particularly "Terror-Soar")
And now, with the Beast Machines thing, and all this talk of "sparks." and what-not... Okay, when was the last time you saw a machine being mystical? Ahh well, not that it matters...
Posted by CaptainMike (Member # 709) on :
The original Transformers series was, sometimes, quite awful. But I love to watch it.
Later Transformers series are also quite awful, with the added bonus that they keep changing the characters away from the things that made the show fun in the first place. Quite frankly, in my eyes, Optimus will always be a truck, not a monkey.
Posted by Grokca (Member # 722) on :
Beasties was designed to make the kid buy a new version of the character every season. Kinda a smart selling idea. Sucked if you were a parent.
Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
I just got the first issue of the new Transformers comic book.
I haven't read it yet, though.
I've also picked up the "Cybertronian" Unofficial Transformers Recognition Guide, V1-4 (5 coming soon) which details all the Transformers toys and provides summaries of the show, comics, and movies, and is kind of cool.
JEEZ, I wish I'd bought Fortress Maximus when it came out. You can't find an intact one except on ebay for like $500 now.
Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :
quote:Apparently, that is because you do not remember it.
And this is quite clearly the case because, as I mentioned earlier, I lost touch with it and stopped reading the comics, watching the series, and buying the toys until recently. It's kinda hard to remember that which I was not present for.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
quote: The two names for Megatron were Megatron and Galvatron, where did "Gigatron" come from?
Gigatron was the original Japanese name for the Robots In Disguise Megatron. I prefer to call him that just to keep the number of Megatrons down to a minimum.
quote: Starscream has been immitated by many later Decepticons (particularly "Terror-Soar")
Fair point. Although "Terrorsaur".
quote: Okay, when was the last time you saw a machine being mystical? Ahh well, not that it matters...
So the comic book idea (which ran with the original cartoon, I might add), that the Transformers has a god, called Primus, who was the mortal enemy of the chaos-bringer (Unicron) doesn't count as being mystical. And when was the last time you saw a machine doing ANYTHING that the Transformers do?
Captain Mike: Later Star trek series are also quite awful, with the added bonus that they keep changing the characters away from the things that made the show fun in the first place. Quite frankly, in my eyes, the captain of the Enterprise will always be Kirk, not Picard or Archer or Jesus.
(I'll point out that I also think that Beast Machines is quite bad. Beast Wars/Beasties however is excellent. It is).
quote: Beasties was designed to make the kid buy a new version of the character every season. Kinda a smart selling idea. Sucked if you were a parent.
The original transformers did the same thing, except it just released about 30 new characters each year, whereas the Beast Wars approach was to change the characters form ever year.
quote:JEEZ, I wish I'd bought Fortress Maximus when it came out. You can't find an intact one except on ebay for like $500 now.
Fortunatly he's been rereleased about 70 times now. You could pick up the most recent "Brave Maximus" (which is the japanese version from Car Robots, the 2000 anime series that's just been dubbed as "Robots in disguise") for around $200 if you look carefully. Possibly cheaper. I don't know if there's been a "Robots in Disguise" version though.
I'd much rather have Jetfire. And I have just spend �40 that I don't have on a LeoConvoy.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
quote: It used to come on the half-hour before Trading Spaces.
That explains a lot. Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :
Well, Amy Wynn Pastor is pretty hot.
I used to have Fortress Maximus. I got him in early '88 I believe. Included his Headmaster and the Headmaster's headmaster. I remember it took me four months to save the eighty dollars to buy him. I didn't like the toy a whole lot. It was a pretty freakin' big toy and had a lot of little plastic guns and stuff.
Posted by Saiyanman Benjita (Member # 122) on :
Ahem:
[rantmode]
quote:Robots in Disguise? Decent? Its the worst Transformer series yet! I remember the original Transformers.
So do I. It was great, it was fun. It was also for eight year olds. Robots in Disguise is also made for eight year olds. Too bad the eight year olds of the original Transformers can't be eight for Robots in disguise, else they'd enjoy it more.
quote:Transformers looks good in computer animation, and in the original cartoonistry, but transformers in ANIME?!!!!!
That depends on how you describe anime. If you mean with the "big eyes" and "face-faults", then yes. I agree, "Robots in Disguise" looks more like "Zoids". If the tools they have now in animation were had then, then the original Transformers would look the same as "Robots in Disguise". Personally, I like the animation better. I also like "Justice League" better than "Super Friends", but I remember Super Friends from when I was a kid. Back then, that was good TV, but now it sucks (Which is why I hate Scooby Doo, but that's a flame of a different temperature).
quote:Sucked big time. Optimus Prime was supposed to be a semi, not a fire truck.
Um, Prime was a semi because that's what Teletran-1 (ed. note: My bad. Fixed) could make up. He wasn't originally a semi. Soundwave was origionally some leaning listening post, and ended up being a tape recorder (my first TF toy. God I loved it, but could only find it with the condor).
quote:And when since do characters yell the name of their attacks and moves when they do them?
KA-ME-HA-ME-HA!!!!!!!!!!!! Supaa Goosto kamikazee attakku!!!!!!!! Jupitaa Ook Evorushonu!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's pretty common in most animation. Unless it's a simple kick, punch, or use of a sword or simple gun, it has a name. The original Transformers had basic laser guns. Primes and Megatron's were more powerful, but not very special. The ones nowadays have powers, like the Blizzard cannon. I don't see anything wrong with that.
quote:No, I like the pre-predacon era, and pre-maximal.
So do I. That's why I enjoyed RiD. For some reason I didn't quite enjoy Beast(whatever). They just didn't fall right.
quote:The time when it was just plain old Decepticons Vs. plain old Autobots, with a few con and bot thrown in for fun. (like Constructicons, Dinobots, Aerialbots, Insecticons...)
Dinobots, ugh! Constructicons were cool, as were the Aerialbots. Insecticons I could do without. Not all the stuff from the original was great.
quote:And when Megatron was a gun instead of a t-rex.
He was a T-rex? I thought the Dragon was bad enough. The dragon wasn't bad, but I don't think I could stomach a t-rex as Megatron. [/rantmode][biggerrantmode] BTW, I hate Skybite. He's just a Starscream wannabe, and Starscream was a whining pussy. And I don't like how everybody has to be a "combiner" except Megatron, who's a dragon-bird-two headed-robot-(I think there's more). It's a little too much.[/biggerrantmode]
Don't get me wrong, Chris, RiD wasn't quite as good as the original, but it's still watchable.
[ April 13, 2002, 11:28: Message edited by: Saiyanman Benjita ]
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Actually, I can still watch the old episodes (I have alomost all of them here on my computer) and find them interesting (though nostalgia might have something to do w/ that). But RiD just looks like some kind of Pokémon-esque crap.
And I would point out that, IIRC, Prime (and the other Autobots and Decepticons who crashed in the Ark) was rebuilt by Teletraan-1, not Spike and Sparkplug.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Teletran. Although the computer didn't have a name in the comics. And the ship didn't have a name in the cartoon. Are you getting "Ark" from Beast Wars or the comics Tim?
I find anime quite a visually pleasing cartoon form. And for all it's faults, it can do two things good. Robots, and explosions. Perfect for a Transformers series.
"He was a T-rex? I thought the Dragon was bad enough. The dragon wasn't bad, but I don't think I could stomach a t-rex as Megatron."
The fact that you didn't see Megs when he was a T-Rex must mean you missed out on Beast Wars and only saw Beast Machines. Which is a shame, as Beast Wars was really, really, really good. And Beast Machines was really, really crap. Beast Wars Megs is one of my favourite all time TF characters ever. Ever.
Full marks though for remembering Soudwaves original Cybertronian form of, er, a lamp post. What an exciting toy that would have been, eh kids?
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Actually, I used to recreate that with the figure. It looked pretty easy.
Posted by Saiyanman Benjita (Member # 122) on :
Thank You, PsyLiam for telling me that. You're probably right, and your analysis of the series leads me to believe that I did see the Beast Machines and not Beast Wars. Maybe I assumed that the "Beast" in the title meant the same series. Sort of like how "Gundam" normally means giant robots with little humor *blah*.
My bad on the Spike and Sparkplug thing. I remember little. Of course, I was seven and it was eighteen years ago since I saw that episode. Facts can easily get jumbled when you're looking back that far . At least I remembered that they weren't always cars and jets! (Yeah, what the hell was Soundwave anyway?)
Anyway about anime, most people think of it as just the "Big eyes" and "Giant Robots". Some of it is. However mostly it is the more frames per second that gives it an edge over conventional animation. It allows more range of motion for characters, making it more lifelike. A lot of the Sunrise anime has smaller eyes, more to scale to humans. You can see that in Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, and others. A lot of the Toei, Kodansha-esque anime have the giant eyes and *cutsie* faces (DBZ, Sailor Moon, Ranma, Card Captors, Pok�mon, etc.) Basically Anime, in my eyes, isn't just Japanese cartoons, it's how they're made. I'd more say Batman is anime than Pok�mon is, it's just how it's made. They tried that with Transformers. The better range of motion led to better action scenes. If only 1984 Transformers had the means... *drool*
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Not to sound antagonsitic, but anime always seems to have less fames per second that US animation, especially TV anime. Something like DBZ or Gundam has less FPS than say Gargoyles, Dexter's Lab, or even Rugrats. The movies are different. In fact, anime seems to show the "normal" TV habit of saving it's money for the big stuff. You have sequences (or whole episodes) with hardly any movement so that they can blow you away with a few action scenes. Plus, in Japan, is [i]is "conventional animation".
"Basically Anime, in my eyes, isn't just Japanese cartoons, it's how they're made. I'd more say Batman is anime than Pok�mon is, it's just how it's made."
I understand your point, but you are wrong, really. Anime is anything that's animated in the manga style. Something like Batman can have an "anime-feel", but it isn't anime.
And what is it with people saying that Pokemon isn't "real anime"? It fulfils all the criteria that I can see. Anime does not equal "dark and mature". Anime has much more variety than Western animtion, where it's largely confined to the "it's kist for kids" mentality (rightly or wrongly). Japanese cartoons can be mature, angsty bloody violent shows, or cutesy kiddie pop, and everything in between.
"If only 1984 Transformers had the means... *drool*"
Find the third season episode "Call of the Primitives". That's animated in an anime way all the way through, and animated well. Or watch any of the three series set after that were made in Japan (Headmasters, Masterforce or Victory). "Robots in disguise" is merely the first Japanese TF cartoon to be dubbed, not the first one to be done.
Or you could just watch the movie. That has plenty of nince animation, some anime-style.
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