Line #99 YMMV/TransformersRobotsInDisguise2015


1	YMMV for the 2015 animated show ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRobotsInDisguise2015'':
2
3	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
4	** Did Scowl really agree to not attack people? Scowl's appetite for destruction doesn't seem like something he could just stop, and he doesn't regard Humans, who he calls Screamers, too well. Yet when Grimlock shows up to arrest him, Scowl looks outraged and shouts that he held up his end of the bargain (Grimlock wouldn't arrest him, if he didn't attack humans), and only after that does he go on his rampage. Was Scowl truthful in his promise, and if he was would his love for violence just lead him back to wrecking stuff?
5	** Nightstrike has the ability to mess around with the signals that Bots can emit, and he lures the Autobots to his cave with five Decepticons symbols (his, Righty's, and three others). Did he generate these other signals through his powers, did the jamming metals in the mountain just split his and Righty's signals into five, or did he just find and kill three prisoners in his quest to eat?
6	** Grimlock's fear of Kittens was speculated to have a [[http://adhesivesandscrap.tumblr.com/post/121805561911/cosmicpowernap-i-was-talkin-to-the-bae-about darker undercurrent]].
7	-->"you know, when you think about it, it makes sense. What else has a bigger head to body ratio, big eyes, and sharp teeth in the TF universe? ''scraplets''”
8	** Steeljaw invites tons of this, naturally. Even without the DracoInLeatherPants there's still a certain amount of theorizing in how sincere he is at building a Decepticon Utopia, and, to an extent, how sympathetic Steeljaw himself is. Many signs point up to his "just cause" being little more than an attempt to seize power for himself (especially with his YouHaveFailedMe attitude), but there are other moments. Notably when Megatronus attempts a show of force by having Clampdown tear an arm off, Steeljaw intervenes in-spite of the fact that Clampdown is his least-useful minion. In the comics he springs his old team from confinement, even after they abandoned him to Megatronus and in a quieter moment admits that he trusts them, but afterwards he attempts to dispose of his Vehicon minions just to act on his old grudge. During his VillainousBreakdown against Megatronus, his MotiveRant lends credence to the idea that he sees himself both as a savior to Decepticons and a power-hungry tyrant.
9	** Starscream's recounting of how he [[spoiler:killed Skylynx and Darksteel]]. The flashback is told in a very obvious UnreliableNarrator, where Starscream tells a story of him bravely killing the pair, whilst the flashback shows him running away, triggering the base-defenses, and killing them by chance. However, seeing as this is Starscream who can go from buffoon to threat in under a minute, it could be possible that both versions are correct in that he ran away scared from them, but also purposefully lead them through a fortress that he was familiar with to kill them.
10	** Steeljaw's brief absence from the battle between Bee Team and the Cybertronian High Council. Its possible he awaited for all the Cons to pay their full attention on Bee to strike or possible he underwent a VillainousBSOD learning that it was ultimately Decepticons that imprisoned him and others like him in the first place and his final actions were his way of severing ties with Decepticons forever.
11	* AntiClimaxBoss:
12	** While Megatronus and the Pack all get fight scenes in the Season 1 finale, [[spoiler:Fracture and his Minicons]] are taken out off screen by Optimus in a few seconds.
13	** Despite Optimus claiming Menasor was responsible for destroying an entire planetary system, he's fairly pathetic as combiners go and is defeated by Ultra Bee despite that being the first time Bumblebee's team have ever combined under combat conditions.
14	** The Cybertronian High Council prove to be this as well, as their identities are revealed and the entire plot wrapped up within an episode of being introduced. Compared to the finale of the preceding series (where both sides geared up for what they all knew would be a final battle), the confrontation felt like it wasn't worth sticking to the end of the series.
15	** Related to the above, the Council's combined form of Galvatronus is quickly defeated when the TokenGoodTeammate (who forms one of the arms) refuses to harm Ultra Bee. It's pretty clear that the only reason the Bee Team won that battle is because of the distraction caused to Galvatronus, and if the Council had actually been united in purpose Ultra Bee would've been destroyed.
16	* ArcFatigue: Sometime after Menasor was defeated, it was revealed that there were several mysterious benefactors who had set Steeljaw's pack free and were gunning for Bumblebee's team. It's not until the final two episodes of the Combiner Force season that it's revealed who these benefactors really are. And considering the show has gotten flack for doing a poor job of giving good character development for its main villains, with the obvious exception of Steeljaw of course, it naturally felt like the writers once again dropped the ball and dragged out a storyline for too long with almost no payoff or any good villain buildup until the series was as good as over.
17	* BadassDecay: In ''Prime'', Bumblebee came off as a much more competent and skilled warrior, pulling off pretty decent feats like getting the upper hand over KnightOfCerebus Decepticons like Airachnid and Shockwave, and even managing to kill warriors like [[spoiler: Skyquake]] and [[spoiler: Megatron himself]]. In ''Robots in Disguise'', however, Bumblebee is more subject to the StrongAsTheyNeedToBe principle, getting beaten down or captured easily due to a combination of incompetence, overconfidence, and/or the needs of the plot for him to undergo TheWorfEffect so that either the whole team or an individual teammate in need of a spotlight episode can take down the bad guy. While Bumblebee still has his moments(especially if it's his spotlight episode), he's still significantly less competent than he was in the previous series and if he's not the focus of an episode, it's almost guaranteed that the latest MonsterOfTheWeek Decepticon will pummel him to the point where it resembles child abuse.
18	* BaseBreakingCharacter:
19	** Megatronus. He's either a badass, well designed, threatening BigBad who ramps up the stakes for the season finale, or a bland GenericDoomsdayVillain who wasn't foreshadowed enough. The fact that the supposedly canon Covenant of Primus fiction depicts Megatronus as a misunderstood and manipulated AntiHero who was tricked into killing Solus and has no real reason to desire revenge of any kind, while the cartoon shows him as little more than a revenge-driven murder machine doesn't help things either. It should be stressed however that the Aligned novels have mentioned that Megatronus/The Fallen has felled further into corruption.
20	** Steeljaw being the BigBad of this series. He has fans who enjoy him for his smooth talking voice and evidently having long-term plans, as well as technically being a new character (previous Steeljaw's in the franchise had little to nothing in common with this one beyond canine features), whilst others feel that with Megatron out of the picture, they could have easily had another, far more well known Deception step up and take charge and that for all his charisma, Steeljaw just isn't badass enough to be anywhere near as threatening as other Deceptions have been. Thankfully, for those who thought the latter, ''Soundwave'' (from ''Prime'') has stepped up to join the BigBadEnsemble for ''Combiner Wars''.
21	** Windblade's also caused a divide, both in the changes to her personality and role in the story. While many are happy to see her make the jump to animation, some fans dislike the AdaptationPersonalityChange, and feel it makes the character less nuanced. Some dislike the changes to her backstory, while others would counter that her backstory would be far too complicated to actually fit into Aligned canon, much less this show. Then there's the TerritorialSmurfette dynamic with Strongarm. Some find it annoying and cliche (especially since Windblade managed to avoid this trope back when she debut in the comic), feeling that it leads to some... dubious handling of gender politics, while others fear it could be the start of a love triangle between the two and Sideswipe. Still, other fans don't mind, seeing as the tension between the two is gone after the Windblade's first episode, and said fans like having another female Autobot on the main cast.
22	** Drift-- some are unhappy that he (a notable BaseBreakingCharacter in and of himself) has been getting a ton of [[SpotlightStealingSquad exposure]] lately (first in the films, and now in RID), while others think his new samurai-themed design and Minicon partners are cool. Still others-- mostly fans of ''[[ComicBook/TransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye More Than Meets the Eye]]''-- are upset that he's not exactly like his IDW design, seemingly taking more cues from the live-action movie version instead.
23	* BrokenBase:
24	** The new art style being cel-shaded CGI with traditionally painted backgrounds rather than the full CGI of ''[[WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime Prime]]'' has caused a divide. Some wish they would have kept ''Prime's'' animation style, and find the series far less visually impressive than its predecessor, which could truly achieve some [[SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome spectacularly cinematic style visuals at times]]. For others, the style is colourful and vibrant and feel that by limiting the technical capacity needed to make a single episode, the series also allows for a much wider variety of character designs and settings than ''Prime'' did.
25	** The tone of the show being LighterAndSofter than ''Prime'' as well. Some are OK with it, feeling that ''Prime'' became ''too'' dark and serious at times. Others, of course, liked the more serious approach and feel that making things too different in tone could set up a MoodWhiplash between the two series.
26	** The Dinobot character having been revealed to be Grimlock has brought forth a whole bunch of mixed feelings (certain fans hoped it would be an original character when revealed that a Dinobot would be in the series). Among them his redesign lacking his traditional colours, as well as a new very different face to any prior versions of Grimlock and his personality is also clearly more comical than the warrior seen in ''VideoGame/TransformersFallOfCybertron''. And then it was revealed he was a former Decepticon who crashed on the prison ship, that without an in-story explanation brings forth a ''whole bunch'' of {{Continuity Snarl}}s to the Aligned universe that not even BroadStrokes would be able to solve fully. On the other hand, his redesign still has the same basic shape as most other incarnations of Grimlock, Grimlock's personality being somewhat comical has happened before, fans were already coming up with theories to help his last Aligned appearance make sense with this one, and there are fans who simply love the audacity that in a series titled ''Robots In Disguise'' (with Bumblebee even making it verbally clear they need to have them), that Grimlock is part of the team with his Dinobot form completely exposed. However, [[WordOfGod producer Adam Beechen]] [[https://twitter.com/sonnova/status/606586570980749312 later clarified]] that this Grimlock [[DecompositeCharacter isn't]] the same character as the ''[=FoC=]'' one.
27	** The new animal-themed Decepticons are either visually interesting and quirky, or completely ridiculous even or perhaps especially by the standards of other Transformers with Beast forms. Bisk in particular. He has people who find him entertaining, whilst others have already started comparing him to [[Film/ThePhantomMenace Jar Jar]] [[TheScrappy Binks]]. And then there's Thunderhoof, who is either CrazyIsCool by virtue of being a robot with giant moose antlers that turns into a combine harvester, with said antlers turning into the vehicle's harvesting claw, or an utterly ridiculous disgrace with a name that sounds like a bad [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic MLP]] OC.
28	** [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars Airazor]] and [[WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated Slipstream]] being in the series as male characters, not helped by the general lack of female characters (''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' also had very few female characters, but the use of Airazor and Slipstream as names for males seems to be the main cause of the brokenness--never mind that the characters in question are Minicons, glorified accessories who rarely have much in the way of personality, and are known for reusing names from more distinctive characters), nor likely ''VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron'' ([[Franchise/TransformersAlignedUniverse set in the same universe]]) featuring a version of the latter that was more true to her namesake.
29	** The toyline being heavy in simplistic and gimmicky products. Some are okay with it seeing as the show is marketed to kids, and the toyline selling keeps the executives happy, while the older fans can go spend their money on the Generations line instead. Others wish there to be more standard Transformers models (here called Warrior class) mixed in with the younger aimed toys, as they provide more accurate and articulate models based on the shows characters.
30	** The notion of Optimus Prime and Megatron not being TheHero and the BigBad respectively. Some are OK with it feeling it a fresh idea for a series. Others miss having the two biggest figures of the franchise not having lead roles.
31	** The series is surprisingly [[BroadStrokes very light]] on continuity relating to past fiction. Some feel it's better this way, allowing them more flexibility in making an enjoyable show. Others feel, that as a sequel series to ''Prime'', it doesn't feel ''enough'' like a sequel as a result.
32	** Soundwave's new body in this series essentially mixes together aspects from both his previous body in ''Prime'' and the character's classic ''Generation One'' appearance, keeping the head design, tentacles and method of deploying Laserbeak from ''Prime'', whilst giving him ''Generation One'' style body proportions and colours as well as that version's shoulder cannon, with a somewhat ''War For Cybertron''-esque alternate mode. Fans are split on whether this design is a nice composite of Soundwave's different appearances, or between finding his design here an improvement or downgrade from Soundwave's ''Prime'' design due in no small part to the more notable ''G1'' elements.
33	* CompleteMonster: [[GreaterScopeVillain Megatronus]], once a member of the Thirteen Primes, was locked away for betraying his comrades and murdering Solus Prime. [[LeakingCanOfEvil Still having influence outside of his prison]], Megatronus causes the Decepticon prison transport ship, ''The Alchemor'', to crash on Earth, unleashing dozens of Decepticons on the planet. Contacting [[BigBad Steeljaw]], Megatronus manipulates him into releasing him from his prison, and uses his psychic powers to force one of Steeljaw's soldiers to begin amputating his own arm to convince Steeljaw to work faster. When unleashed from his prison, Megatronus betrays Steeljaw, tries to murder both him and the Autobots attempting to thwart him, and reveals he plans to use the power of Unicron and the Allspark to [[OmnicidalManiac destroy both Earth and Cybertron in one fell swoop]] as revenge for his imprisonment. [[FaceHeelTurn Perhaps once a good person]], Megatronus shed any heroic traits and replaced them with pure sociopathy and blind hatred.
34	* DracoInLeatherPants: Steeljaw. Maybe it's the voice, [[EvilIsCool maybe it's the charisma]], [[VisionaryVillain maybe it's the rhetoric]]. Whatever the reason, Steeljaw's got a lot of admirers who feel he's in the right in building a new Decepticon utopia. Some of the justifications borrow aspects from the IDW canon in which Beast-Transformers were considered inferior due to FantasticRacism. The other Decepticons get this as well to different effects.
35	* EnsembleDarkhorse: [[EnsembleDarkhorse/{{Transformers}} See here]]
36	* EpilepticTrees: Grimlock being revealed as a former Decepticon in this series with a different personality and appearance to what he's had prior has made it so that a number of theories regarding this change have started to sprout up before any official reason has been revealed, including potential memory loss and forced rebranding.
37	** The release of several official character profiles from Hasbro Studios has only further confused matters-- Grimlock's profile seems to put paid to the whole "former Decepticon" thing by saying that he was unjustly imprisoned, but it also mentions that he was locked up "eons ago". Which brings into question just ''how much'' time has elapsed between ''Prime'' and this series, among other things.
38	* EstrogenBrigade:
39	** It’s pretty much common for many a fan to admit they have a crush on characters such as Steeljaw, Thunderhoof, Fracture, and Saberhorn. With a series dedicated to attractive [[MonsterOfTheWeek Decepticons of the week]], who can blame them?
40	* EvilIsCool:
41	** Steeljaw, being a charismatic leader whose schemes drive the story arc. The fact that he isn't an infallible fighter gained him even more fans, as people liked to watch him scramble and improvise on the fly to try and draw some semblance of victory out of his defeats.
42	** Fracture because of his tactics, cool gadgets, and effective fighting style, along with his Minicon partners.
43	** Soundwave's return received a lot of praise, with him being just as cool and threatening as he was in ''Prime''.
44	* {{Fanon}}:
45	** Wildbreak is [[WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime Breakdown and Knock Out's]] son.
46	** Lots of fan fics features Sunstreaker as Sideswipe's twin brother, just like in G1 Transformers fiction. (On the show itself, Sunstreaker only appears as part of a blink-and-you'll-miss-it Easter egg with seemingly no connection to Sideswipe.)
47	* FanonDiscontinuity: Some fans reject the series altogether, due to being dissatisfied with how it follows up on the ending of ''Prime'' and the DarkerAndEdgier ''Prime'' suddenly receiving a sequel series that's much more light-hearted and comedy-based.
48	* FanPreferredCouple: Bumblebee/Grimlock and Strongarm/Sideswipe are definitely the most popular ones. Dragstrip/Wildbreak, Drift/Fracture and Drift/Shadow Raker also have a fanbase.
49	* FountainOfMemes:
50	** Thunderhoof for his “AYOOO!” catchphrase.
51	** Grimlock due to his lovable antics throughout the series
52	** Bumblebee is this thanks to providing many reaction memes.
53	* HarsherInHindsight: It is heavily implied, if not outright confirmed in all but words, that the new High Council are a bunch of glory hounds who are desperate to ensure full blown war never happens again, as they happily demoted Bumblebee to beat cop, they are known to have a dislike for Autobots, especially Team Prime, and very likely are corrupt and imprison anyone as a Decepticon for minor acts. This essentially means that Megatron's original uprising and all the lives lost were for nothing, as the status quo returned, and this time more bitterly. It really isn't hard to feel sorry for Steeljaw or any of the inmates imprisoned, and for the Autobots as well. [[spoiler:Then again, it's revealed that Council was usurped by Decepticons themselves.]]
54	** During Starscream's monologue about how he escaped from the Predacons after the events of ''Predacons Rising'', it's revealed that [[spoiler: he led Darksteel and Skylynx into a trap inside the Decepticon citadel which ended up killing them. In ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', Predaking's story revolved around how he was the only one of his kind and the SeriesFinale movie finally gave him some closure as he was united with Darksteel and Skylynx, thus giving him a Predacon people to rule over once more. In this series, however, assuming Starscream isn't an UnreliableNarrator and was telling the truth about Darksteel and Skylynx's deaths, then that means Predaking is once more the last of his kind and is no better off now than he was during the previous series.]]
55	*** Possibly not [[spoiler: while the loss of those two would of course be a devastating loss, there was at least one predacon shown in Predacons Rising in a tube who was just about ready to be brought online. So there is still some hope for Predaking and his race after all.]]
56	* HeartwarmingInHindsight:
57	** Here we learn Bumblebee loves cowboy movies. While this was never explored in ''Transformers: Prime'', it's not difficult to imagine Bee sitting back in the Autobots old command center and watching old cowboy films with Raf.
58	** On Ian James Corlett's page on Behind the Voice Actors, he wishes that he was in more Transformers shows after the Beast Wars franchise was done. Fast forward almost two decades later, he later voiced Shadow Raker for the show.
59	* HesJustHiding: [[spoiler:In "Mini-Con Madness", Starscream reveals that Darksteel and Skylynx were killed by him activating the autogun as he fled from them. However, fans who weren't pleased with the idea that Predaking was once again left to be the LastOfHisKind choose to interpret that they weren't actually killed, but merely knocked unconscious or shooed away, and that Starscream's statements about him killing the two was just another display of him being an UnreliableNarrator.]]
60	* HilariousInHindsight: In the third episode, Bumblebee tries to teach Sideswipe, Strongarm and Grimlock how to work together through trust exercises. Now try to imagine [[WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime Team Prime]] practicing these very same exercises in its early days.
61	** The toyline for ''Prime'' featured a Voyager-class figure of Megatron in the ''Beast Hunters'' line with an explicit Sharkticon theme to it. In this series, one of the Decepticons, Hammerstrike, is a Sharkticon and is voiced by [[Creator/DavidKaye someone who has lent his voice to certain Megatron incarnations previously]].
62	** Thanks to the premise of [[GottaCatchEmAll rounding up escaped Decepticons]], many of whom have animal-themed appearances, as well as the Alchemor prisoner manifest having a log on every one similar to a Pokédex, this series has become the [[Anime/TransformersArmada second Transformers animated series]] to draw comparisons with ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries''.
63	** When Ratchet's toys were released all the way back in 2016, fans were notably unimpressed due to the fact that the vehicle modes for all of them have been non-descript white trucks. This was so bad that a third-party company made stickers to make the warrior class Ratchet's vehicle mode look like an ambulance. When Ratchet comes BackForTheFinale in the final season, he finally transforms for the first time in the series... and his vehicle mode looks ''exactly'' like the stickered version of the toy, despite the stickers coming out at least a ''year'' before the final episode did.
64	* HoYay: Between Bumblebee and Grimlock in the first season. which starts in episode 3 Trust Exercises with Grimlock catching Bee in a Bridal Carry which seems fairly unnecessary for simply trust exercises.
65	** It then happens again in episode 7 Collect Them All with what sounds almost like flirting between the two:
66	-->'''Bumblebee''': Grimlock, we need you!
67	-->'''Grimlock''': Say it again, ''slooower?''
68	-->'''Bumblebee''': '''Just get over here!'''
69	** Between Grimlock and Drift. There are many episodes involving their relationship with Grimmlock calling Drift his 'teamie', wanting to become his student and loves hugging him whenever he can. Drift also shows a softer side toward him.
70	** Between Strongarm and Windblade. Windblade sounds flirty with her sometimes.
71	** Between Drift and Fracture. In their introduction, they seem obsessed with each other.
72	** Between Drift and Shadow Raker as well. Shadow Raker compares Drift's relationship with his Minicons the same way as his relationship with him in the past, and held him close in fear of losing him.
73	* IKnewIt: Many viewers have called it when [[spoiler:in the final episode ''Freedom Fighters'', The High Council are revealed to be Cyclonus and four other Decepticons posing as Autobots.]]
74	* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: Soundwave's redesign. His Prime design was met with the [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks opposite]] trope from a section of the fandom who disliked how different it was from normal Soundwave designs. Now fans of the Prime design fell under this trope; disliking how much it was changed to be more G1-esque.
75	* JustHereForGodzilla: A common fan consensus is that the best episodes of the series are the ones featuring Starscream. The reason? He is by far the most credible threat of the entire series ''without'' the drawback of genericized backstory information. Also, his non-threatening antics are just comedy ''gold''.
76	* MemeticMutation:
77	** It’s pretty much a running gag in the fandom that this series is ''adored'' by the [[UsefulNotes/FurryFandom furries]].
78	** AYOOOO!
79	** Bumblebee listening to Sideswipe’s music player has been a subject of meme edits.
80	** The episode, “ Adventures in Bumblebee-Sitting!” became a popular spot for reaction memes thanks to Bumblebee, such as [[https://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/4/4f/BumblebeeSitting_Bumblebee_watches_tv.jpg this goofy face]].
81	** The death of Russell’s TV in, “Collateral Damage” is the saddest moment in this series.
82	* {{Moe}}: Wildbreak stands out as the most popular of the Stunticons due to his ''hilariously ''un-''villain-like'' personality. Fans immediately took notice.
83	* MoralEventHorizon: See [[MoralEventHorizon/{{Transformers}} here]].
84	* {{Narm}}:
85	** In "One of Our Mini-Cons Is Missing" the stolen human tank looks like it's about to run over Drift, and his minicons needs to save him! Except due to the tanks pretty generous ground clearance and Drift's position, it would probably just pass over him and he'd be unharmed.
86	** “Collateral Damage” is ridiculed for the drama over Russell’s TV being broken by Sideswipe. What’s worse is that he never expresses this amount of grief over ''losing his home'' two episode ago!
87	* NightmareFuel:
88	** [[spoiler: Underbite crushing Denny's car, with him in it ''as his son watches''.]]
89	** While all the nightmares have some unsettling elements to them, Fixit's is creepiest with its disembodied muttering arms that put his stuttering verbal tic in a new perspective.
90	* NightmareRetardant: On some level, the writers want to portray Motormaster as being a fearsome BigBad for the ''Combiner Force'' season, with the character being hidden in the shadows for some time and possessing a deep intimidating voice. Unfortunately any fear factor Motormaster could potentially have is dissolved the minute you see him talking about how he wants to control Earth's roads(as opposed to, you know, destroying the human race) and having his minions engage in petty road crimes like running people off the road and entering into human races to try to control said-roads. Considering how previous BigBad villains like Steeljaw and Megatronus actually possessed more serious motives even by the standards of a more comedy-based TF series like wiping out humanity to create a Decepticon utopia or destroying the Earth altogether, Motormaster's schemes to control Earth's roads come off as laughably childish and borderline insulting to the viewers' intelligence in comparison.
91	** The Stunticons' combined form Menasor doesn't come off much better. One might think Menasor means serious business for the Autobots at first glance but it soon becomes obvious that Menasor isn't really that much better at controlling his combined form than Team Bumblebee's combined form. The moment he gets his sword stuck in the ground and spends an extraordinary amount of time grunting and groaning just to pull it out comes off as just so groanworthy and [[{{Narm}} unintentionally funny]] that it's hard to see Menasor as being a frightening or intimidating OneWingedAngel at all.
92	* PopularWithFurries: [=RID=] is one of the few Transformers entries with a sizeable Furry audience (alongside ''Beast Wars''), this is thanks to not only the show's own version of Grimlock but also the very large amount of Decepticons that have animalistic characteristics. The biggest example is [=RID's=] own version of Steeljaw, instead of being an Autobot cassette lion is instead a large strong Decepticon wolf bots that turns into a cool sports car.
93	* RonTheDeathEater: Some fans buy into Quillfire and Steeljaw's ideas about the Autobots being fascists, feeling the imprisoned Decepticons are discriminated against, and Fixit, being a Minicon, was pressed into being a prison guard [[labelnote:For context]] Which does draw on the Aligned Continuity establishing Minicons as Second Class Pre-war, but BroadStrokes being what they are this is dubious[[/labelnote]]. This was not helped by solicitations stating that Grimlock was in jail for his appearance[[labelnote:note]] though in the show the reason is property damage[[/labelnote]]. Helping this case is that Megatron, the founder of the Deceptions, renounced the cause at the end of the previous series, and that thus far all Deceptions in the series seem to be mostly petty criminals and outcasts, rather than former combatants of the Great War, leading some to assume the new government of Cybertron merely slaps a Deception symbol on anyone who infractions their laws. The idea that the majority of them also have robot modes or alternate modes with Beast features also helps implicate some level of discrimination. This is basically confirmed at the end of Season 2 where it's revealed that the new Council dislikes the Autobots, especially anyone who was part of Team Prime, and promptly demoted Bumblebee and further so in [[spoiler:"Enemy of my Enemy", when the Council being revealed to be the Galavatronus 'Cons and furthermore to be disguised Decepticons.]]
94	** Averted with Fixit. It's kinda hard to label as being pressed into being a guard when you learn how DANGEROUS he really is as seen in The Trouble With Fixit. If anything, they made sure he was MORE than prepared for the job.
95	* SeasonalRot: While the series is often regarded as SoOkayItsAverage, the ''Combiner Force'' season is cited by fans as the point where the show's flaws were at their most prevalent with stagnant character growth and lackluster payoffs. While the season tried to introduce another recurring team of 'Cons for the Autobots to face, the Stunticons were viewed as a major downgrade from Steeljaw for being one-dimensional and uninteresting. Soundwave returns after being built up in the background for most of the season, only to be dealt with in the span of a single episode. While the season managed to improve by bringing back Steeljaw and introducing [[spoiler:the High Council]] as the true puppet masters, the show waits until the final two episodes for the Autobots to even confront them, yet again repeating the show's trend of major villains being defeated almost as soon as they appear. The season is often regarded as the point where the series' flaws are readily apparent and no major improvements are made to the writing.
96	* {{Sequelitis}}: A common complaint towards this show is that it just doesn't measure up to ''Prime'' when it comes to quality. The most commonly-cited flaw is the LighterAndSofter tone compared to its predecessor, but other issues include [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter several characters not getting enough time to shine]] (such as Jazz, the High Council, and most of the villains except for Steeljaw and his pack), the wildly different art style compared to ''Prime'', and other reasons.
97	* SoOkayItsAverage: The series doesn't really break any ground with the usual ''Transformers'' conventions. Fan reception seems to fall into an: "Ehh, it's fine. But we've seen better," kind of mentality.
98	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter:
99	** A recurring issue for the show in general is how many of the major villains (sans Steeljaw) don't receive enough personality or characterization for a satisfying payoff.
100	*** Megatronus is introduced a little over halfway through the first season and doesn't reappear until the two-part finale, and doesn't even interact with the Autobots until the second half of said two-parter.
101	*** The second season introduces Glowstrike as the apparent leader of Decepticon Island, but she's relegated to being a SatelliteCharacter for Steeljaw to highlight the latter's ManipulativeBastard tendencies, and doesn't even receive the dignity of a fight scene before Steeljaw one-shots her with his Decepticon Hunters.
102	*** While Starscream's return was praised and is seen as one of the high points of the show, some are disappointed that he doesn't appear outside the interim season when his return opens up a whole host of interesting plot points, such as him interacting with the new Decepticons like Steeljaw and possibly attempting to reform the Decepticons as a a powerful faction.
103	*** Starscream's bounty hunters don't receive much characterization beyond "HiredGuns of Starcream". One of them, Roughedge, is implied to have been a former Autobot, but this is never expanded upon. The Insecticon bounty hunter doesn't even receive a ''name'' in the show, until Adam Beechen revealed it in a Q/A blog.
104	*** Menasor's dreaded reputation as a planet-destroying juggernaut would have you believe he was intended to be a milestone opponent for the Autobots, but not only is he revealed to be laughably uncoordinated and clumsy, he winds up defeated by Ultra Bee, a brand new Combiner whose components are just barely figuring themselves out, making his aforementioned reputation seem like a joke.
105	*** Soundwave's reappearance in "Portald" was largely praised, but his second go-around in ''Combiner Force'' built him up in the background for much of the season before he finally showed up in person and was, yet again, defeated in the span of a single episode and with almost none of the combat prowess he was known for in Prime.
106	*** [[spoiler:The High Council]], the GreaterScopeVillain and TrueFinalBoss of the series, are certainly a looming presence for much of the season, and in fact the entire series, but don't physically appear until the final two episodes [[spoiler:and only Cyclonus is an established character. Cyberwarp is just the TokenGoodTeammate and the other three Council members don't even have names or speaking lines, making all of the build up feel like a let down]].
107	** Due to AlternativeCharacterInterpretation and his AffablyEvil personality, many fans believe that Scowl would've been more interesting if he also has a HeelFaceTurn.
108	** Jazz is portrayed as a war veteran, Bumblebee's old comrade in arms and a highly competent special agent to boot. Of course he only appears once in the first season and only reappears toward the end of the series as part of Optimus Prime's "All-Stars" team.
109	** Aside from Bumblebee and Optimus, the only characters from ''Prime'' who make return appearances are Ratchet, Bulkhead, Starscream, and Soundwave. Some particularly glaring omissions:
110	*** Arcee's absence means we never see the original Team Prime reunited over the course of the show.
111	*** Megatron is often referenced over the course of the show, often by Decepticons who desire to see him return and lead them to victory, indicating they're unaware of, or refuse to recognize, the HeelFaceTurn he pulled at the end of ''Prime''. Due to Megatron never appearing in person, we never see any Decepticons' reactions to what would presumably be a life-shattering revelation. There's also a double missed opportunity to develop Megatron's character and show how he's changed (for the better) during his time in exile.
112	*** Shockwave, despite being one of the few major Decepticons left at the end of ''Predacons Rising'', never gets a single appearance. Considering he's one of the few who could credibly lay claim to leadership of the Decepticons, he could have served well as an overarching villain for the series - [[spoiler:but instead, [[RememberTheNewGuy the High Council is made up of characters who had never appeared before]].]]
113	*** None of the human characters from ''Prime'' appear, meaning we never see how they've grown up, a reunion between Bumblebee and Raf, or the fate of Unit:E.
114	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
115	** Many fans feel a post-war Cybertron in the aftermath of the events of ''Prime'' would have been ideal ground to explore, especially in the wake of Optimus Prime's HeroicSacrifice, and especially since [[ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise the IDW comics]] had also used a post-war Cybertron where Autobots and Decepticons were forced to coexist. Instead, we never get to see the true impact the war had on the planet, and Optimus Prime is brought BackFromTheDead almost right away.
116	** It would also have been refreshing to see the Autobots trying to deal with the Decepticons from a position different than that of an underdog, for a change, which [[WonTheWarLostThePeace wouldn't automatically guarantee that they'd get their way]]. [[spoiler: When a corrupt Autobot High Council does enter the stage, they are revealed to be Decepticons, thus undermining the idea that Autobots can ever be portrayed as the villains. Furthermore, the populace of Cybertron is ''literally'' brainwashed with mind control devices, when a populace who have been genuinely convinced that the Autobots are evil would be a much more complex, interesting dilemma to deal with.]]
117	** It would also have been engaging to see how Megatron would deal with the fallout of his own tyranny. Would he try to keep the peace? Bully TheRemnant into submission? How would loyal Decepticons such as Soundwave react to their leader's HeelFaceTurn?
118	** Seasons 1 and 2 seemed to allude to the new High Council governing Cybertron being corrupt and simply using "Decepticon" as a label for anyone they branded as a criminal. This could have been the setup for a particularly interesting EnemyMine between Bee's Team and some of the Earth Decepticons that could have added shades of grey to the conflict, but it's undercut when [[spoiler:the High Council are revealed to simply be Decepticons in disguise]].
119	* UglyCute: Underbite. Sure he's a giant dog with an unending appetite but you just want to pick him up and snuggle him. Even Website/TFWikiDotNet describes him as adorable.
120	** Not to mention that his tail wags during the pilot after finding some junk in the scrapyard cute.
121	* UncertainAudience: ''Robots in Disguise'' is a relatively close sequel to ''Prime'', to the point that a lot of major plot points and characters, such as Optimus's death and Soundwave and Starscream's appearances, don't make much sense if you haven't seen its predecessor. It also happens to skew much younger in its target audience and spends a lot of episodes doing its own thing with a new cast of characters and many plots from ''Prime'' being abandoned. Because of this, it ends up being a bit of a tough sell, since the older fans who liked ''Prime'' find it too juvenile and that it doesn't do much to follow up its predecessor, but younger fans who want something more lighthearted and kid-friendly have to watch ''Prime'' to understand a lot of what's going on.
122	* UnexpectedCharacter: The penultimate episode features a montage showing blacklisted cards for pretty much ''every'' Autobot in the Aligned continuity, including numerous Autobots who had never appeared until now. Nobody was expecting to see Team Prime, the Rescue Bots, and even long-deceased characters like Seaspray and Tailgate represented.
123	* UnintentionalUncannyValley: While the animation is generally much better than similar efforts by Creator/PolygonPictures utilizing CelShading; Many of the designs look off. This is particularly noticeable on the humans; where the shading makes their exaggerated features stick out like lumpy clay. Some fans have also taken umbrage with lack of noses on the Autobot designs, an issue also present in [[WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime the previous series]].
124	* VindicatedByHistory: Over time, many people warmed up to the series thanks to factors such as the fan-favorite characters in the EnsembleDarkhorse [[EnsembleDarkhorse/{{Transformers}} section]] and good moments underneath the flaws. It also helped that the series used big names in WesternAnimation when it came to voice acting, particularly ''Transformers'' veterans.

Context YMMV / TransformersRobotsInDisguise2015