amtm wrote:The biggest problem with Transformers Prime is the aesthetic. It's a mishmash of the TF Animated look and the TF Movie look. Neither one is appealing.
G1 was great because, for the most part, the early seasons featured robots that turned into realistic looking vehicles or devices. You know, "robots in disguise." They took plenty of liberties with the animation models, but the toys still looked like regular old cars, trucks, guns, and so on.
A few iterations based on shows since then have done that in some form or another, but in the efforts to "innovate", none has really matched G1. The Bayformers have unnecessarily complex, ugly bot modes (every Decepticon looks like an insect or a chicken), and the ones based on Animated or TF Prime just look too stylized and goofy. Stuff like Kreo has its own issues, though frankly I'd love to see a full-length Kreo stop motion movie.
Ultimately, while the acting in TF Prime is good enough for me to forgive the visuals, I don't buy toys I don't like the look of. (That includes almost the entire DOTM line.) And my nephews feel the same way. They don't dig silly.
If Hasbro would just get back to basics and think about what really made Transformers work from the beginning, it might be easier to sell toys. A Transformers show and movies with the same basic visual look as the Universe/Generations Classics toys--i.e., realistic alt modes and basically humanoid robot modes--would be the best thing ever. Ditch the crayons and aliens, and you'll sell some toys. The Binaltech line and what Kenji Ishida has done with Brave Robotics would be a great creative starting point for a reboot.
I'm afraid I completely disagree. I think the show's aesthetic is one of its stronger aspects. It's very stylized, and doesn't feel the need to show all the moving mechanical parts like the live action films. It's distinct and impressive without trying to look real. It doesn't look like much else on TV. The Decepticons in particular have great designs, and these are probably my favorite looks Ratchet, Bulkhead, and Arcee have ever had. Prime Soundwave may not be as iconic as his casette playing boombox self, but I'm willing to wager you knew who he was in his first appearance, and know what a badass he is without any lines of dialogue whatsoever. If that isn't a testament to the capabilities of the animation (storylines notwithstanding), where an emotionless,
voiceless aerial drone is one of your favorite characters, I'm not sure where to begin.
On to season 3 conclusions... well, until Megatron is dead-dead, I really don't think there's any way for the story to be over. If he goes into hiding, even with the Nemesis and the New Kaon fortress gone, he'll still be the scariest, most insane mofo in the galaxy. No matter how much they tie up this season there'll be dangling unresolved plot threads and much fanwank will ensue.