jindrak wrote:So with both ends of the current series covered, I naturally want to get into everything that's transpired during my long hiatus. Beastwars complete series is on netflix! Perfect!
But..I just cant get past how much it shows it's age. The sound effects and CGI are straight out of Everquests era, and I just am unable to just enjoy it for what it is.
G1 one is even more old and aged than Beast Wars. If you can get passed the "80s retro" feel of G1, then Beast Wars should feel like a similar "90s retro" feel to it.
jindrak wrote:So tell me; is beastwars the G1 of the generation after mine?
In a word, yes! It was far more complex and compellingly made with its deep character-driven plots and story arcs. Aside from G1, it is most likely the most influential Transformers series ever made, with every series to come after it owing something to it. It is widely regarded as one of (if not THE
) best Transformers cartoons of all time.
jindrak wrote:Is it beloved because it was what people grew up with and their nostalgia glasses let them overlook the age of the series?
Some might think of it nostalgically, but for the most part, it was really well made and even fans who didn't grow up it, having been born later, have watched it and enjoyed it greatly.
jindrak wrote:I hear great things about it from just about everyone on every board, and don't want to miss out, but it's tough to get psyched up about.
Well, like I said, it's a "retro 90s" series. It was one of the first CGI cartoons of its time and is ntarually not going to be quite up-to-date with the technical production quality of today's CGI shows.
jindrak wrote:OK, I can definitely give it a shot, especially knowing that it develops more as the seasons progress!
Are there any series to wait until last to watch? I've heard Armada and Energon are pretty poor.
Here's a rundown of every cartoon after Beast Wars:
- Beast Machines - sequel to Beast Wars, a very dark, mature, and philosophical series
- Robots in Disguise - a Japanese-made, fun-loving series with a lot of humor and a postive atmosphere
- Armada - A series focusing on the Autobots and Decepticons fighting for control over a smaller third faction called Mini-Cons
- Go-Bots - A four-episode video series geared towards preschoolers, based on the Playskool toyline of the same name
- Energon - the 20th anniversary cartoon featuring a plethora of G1-inspired character designs
- Cybertron - A galaxy-spanning series in which the Autobots must save Cybertron from a black hole by finding four scattered magical keys (this was the inspriation for TF: Prime's Omega Key story arc)
- Animated - A bright and colorful series starring a young Optimus Prime and nearly as good storytelling as Beast Wars
- Rescue Bots - A non-war-based series set concurrently with Prime, in which there are no Decepticons and the Autobots are all civil servants that aid humanity in emergency response missions (though intended for preschoolers, this show is top-notch quality family entertainment for all ages).
Regarding everyone's opinions about these shows, I think it is only fair for one who has never seen these shows to simply watch them themselves to form their own opinions about them.
Also, on the other side of the Pacific, Japan produced several Transformers cartoons of their own that were never released in English in the U.S.:
- The Headmasters - a direct sequel to G1 which ignores the final "The Rebirth" episodes and tells an all new story about the Headmasters and Targetmasters
- Super-God Masterforce - a very human-centric series in which the Autobots and Decepticons recruit humans into becoming actual Transformers to fight in the war for the planet, meaning ANYBODY could be a potential enemy.
- Victory - a futuristic series set in 2025 with lots of Combiner-based characters
- Zone - a one-episode sequel to Victory that was canceled after its first episode
- Beast Wars II - a cel-shaded animated cartoon that told a story about a different Beast Wars set elsewhere from the U.S. Beast Wars cartoon
- Beast Wars Neo - sequel to Beast Wars II picking up where that series left off with a new cast of characters
The first four have been released on DVD in English-speaking countries, but only in Japanese with English subtitles. Though, there are some DVDs that have optional English audio tracks for some of these, but these English voice tracks were made in Malaysia and are excruciatingly terrible. The Japanese language versions are the true versions of these stories, whereas the English versions of these have been botched up and mangled into something worth less than a drinking game.
As for the latter two, they have yet to be released to English-speaking countries in any subtitled form.
PrymeStriker wrote: jindrak wrote:
Oddly, I find the fact that the Predacons and Maximals are balanced 5 on 5 rather than the 10 to one odds the poor Autobots seem to suffer in every other series
In the overall series, there a few more Predacons than Maximals. I don't remember how they kept the balance in each season, though. It's been a long time since I have seen Beast Wars.
The numbers mostly remain even for the entire series run, even when both sides gain (and lose) more members.
Nutimus Prime wrote:
Im watching all the Transformers series with my daughter, most for my first time too.
At least what I find age appropriate so we skipped Japanese stuff because of the subtitles
Subtitles are no reason to skip a series. Granted, while a child may not take to them, you could still watch them yourself.
Nutimus Prime wrote:and will probably skip Beast Machines from what Ive heard.
Beast Machines is probably the most intellectually stimulating of any Transformers cartoon, being very highbrow and philosophical in its story.
Nutimus Prime wrote:
We started with G1 and we just
finished season 2 of Beast Wars. She loves it and I do too. My little brothers watched Beast Wars when it aired but I never really did. Now that Im going through Transformers history I have to say Beast Wars IS amazing. Characters, story, everything. I dont usually judge older stuff too harshly on visual quality, etc. because technology always gets better. You cant flat out say a movie is crap because its black and white and was filmed in the 20s. Other aspects need to be evaluated. Classics and all that.
We watched "Code of Hero" last night and I just thought wow she may not really be getting this all right now but I am
and holy crap. Now I see why its a fan favorite. "A deed once done cannot be undone.." Thats all Ill say.
"The rest... is silence."