I'll have to admit, with some regret, that I didn't catch this show in its original runtime in Cartoon Network. I wasn't that great a fan of Transformers to begin with, and I didn't find the overall look of the series all too impressive (but this was when I was being a bigger nitpick than now and didn't know that the character designer of the Teen Titans series was on as art director). I didn't pick this up until later last year, and I certainly found lots of things to enjoy here.
There's really not a single main character I can bring myself to not liking; they all face their own unique conflicts, have a balance of positive and negative traits, and I think I'm more endeared to this incarnation of Optimus Prime than the more common messiah figure in the other series. The character designs are also very clever and distinctive, and are certainly an update from the blockier molds of old. The great humor and entertaining stories are helped by the talented cast of voice actors, most all of them fond echoes from my childhood.
If there was a legitimate complaint, it's that some characters are a little sillier than the story might require and that the pacing for the unfortunately last season was evidently screeching to the point you could see the skid marks on the dangling plot threads. But otherwise, it's an entertainingly light-hearted and action-packed series that might even get you a bit misty-eyed at the end, and can be enjoyed as a reboot as well as a work of its own.
A great reboot for G1 fans and newcomers to enjoy
I'll have to admit, with some regret, that I didn't catch this show in its original runtime in Cartoon Network. I wasn't that great a fan of Transformers to begin with, and I didn't find the overall look of the series all too impressive (but this was when I was being a bigger nitpick than now and didn't know that the character designer of the Teen Titans series was on as art director). I didn't pick this up until later last year, and I certainly found lots of things to enjoy here.
There's really not a single main character I can bring myself to not liking; they all face their own unique conflicts, have a balance of positive and negative traits, and I think I'm more endeared to this incarnation of Optimus Prime than the more common messiah figure in the other series. The character designs are also very clever and distinctive, and are certainly an update from the blockier molds of old. The great humor and entertaining stories are helped by the talented cast of voice actors, most all of them fond echoes from my childhood.
If there was a legitimate complaint, it's that some characters are a little sillier than the story might require and that the pacing for the unfortunately last season was evidently screeching to the point you could see the skid marks on the dangling plot threads. But otherwise, it's an entertainingly light-hearted and action-packed series that might even get you a bit misty-eyed at the end, and can be enjoyed as a reboot as well as a work of its own.