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[Burn]

To be fair, though, how many are writing off the whole show based on this one episode rather than just writing off this one episode on its own?

A good portion of those discussing it across a number of Facebook groups/pages.

[Deadput]

Most episodes also run more than five minutes. I think people (not necessarily you) are being too quick to write this off just on five minutes.

For those who aren't impressed, may I suggest until waiting for all episodes to be released then watch them in one sitting? You might find it more enjoyable then maybe?

I will watch the rest of the show but so far I'm just really disappointed!


I wanted to like it but I just don't and this is coming from the guy who pretty much likes or doesn't mind everything besides Kiss Players.


I'm mostly disappointed by how the combiners are just seemingly going to be treated like individuals instead of the combined forms of the teams like the Technobots and Stunticons as well as how Menasor dies in the first episode with no mention of the Stunticons as a whole.


And I hate how Windblade is portrayed in this and I usually like or don't mind most characters but damn she is so edgy in this it's sickening.

[Kurona]

To be fair, though, how many are writing off the whole show based on this one episode rather than just writing off this one episode on its own?

A good portion of those discussing it across a number of Facebook groups/pages.

Perhaps, but we're more civilised than Facebook.

... we are, right? ... right?

[Sarahthecutevixen]

You can cut Diamondium with how much edge they given Windblade. Hell you even Diamondillum doesnt stand a chance against the electro matter sword they seem to of given Windblade. That's the only way i can see her cutting into menasor like that,

[Sigma Magnus]

To be fair, though, how many are writing off the whole show based on this one episode rather than just writing off this one episode on its own?

A good portion of those discussing it across a number of Facebook groups/pages.

Perhaps, but we're more civilised than Facebook.

... we are, right? ... right?

More often than not, thankfully...

[Autobot N]

I think this image sums up Windblade perfectly:

Ow_the_edge.jpg (62.99 KiB) Viewed 6616 times

[Burn]

To be fair, though, how many are writing off the whole show based on this one episode rather than just writing off this one episode on its own?

A good portion of those discussing it across a number of Facebook groups/pages.

Perhaps, but we're more civilised than Facebook.

... we are, right? ... right?

Yeah, I haven't had to ban (let alone warn) someone for a while.

[Madeus Prime]

To be fair, though, how many are writing off the whole show based on this one episode rather than just writing off this one episode on its own?

A good portion of those discussing it across a number of Facebook groups/pages.

Perhaps, but we're more civilised than Facebook.

... we are, right? ... right?

Yeah, I haven't had to ban (let alone warn) someone for a while.

Oh...jinxed it.

[RAR]

I was going to rip this ep to pieces but then I found one thing about it that sums it all up :

Voices supplied by so called Celebrity Youtubers (no that isn't a joke).

---

P.s. No I won't watch any more for a while - maybe when they are all done.. but for the moment I can't see any positive reason to watch it - all it is going to do is make me dislike Windblade.

Besides any attempt to re-purpose IDW fiction as some sort of "G1 replacement" leaves a horrible taste in my mouth - one I wouldn't have if they were more upfront about treating it as more like Transformers Prime or the Movie Universe as "other" - but re-writing people's childhood doesn't sit well with me - so it's another reason for me to not show much enthusiasm for the fiction that accompanies the 'Prime Wars' concepts to date.

But who know maybe they can one day come up with a rational story explanation for Titans Returns if it ever gets that far.

But it's a bit odd to have them throwing out Windblade with no backstory to her - even making it seem like the audience is supposed to know who she is and her back story as some sort of Horse Whisper for City bots.

Despite that begging the question of why a Citybot needs a Horse Whisper in the 1st place.

Anyway best of luck to those who want to stick with it - but I can't see this having any more impact on me than Cyber Missions did.

[karyuudo]

Well, Combiner Wars seems to have met most of my expectations given the fact that we've only seen 5 mins of it. So far I'm happy with the voice acting. Nothing has been cringe worthy as of yet. Although, I do agree with most constructive criticism comments out there, that Menasor's voice is different take on what we would have expected. I actually don't mind the change, as it does fit that Stunticon street-punk crazy type of voice. Windblade and Maxima have perfect voices. Sad that we won't see more of Maxima after this. As far the negative criticism that's been mentioned of the YouTube voices, I really don't agree. I've heard far worse voice acting coming out of many ADR studios in my time, this is like a dream compared to some of them (at least in episode 1).

As far as the animation goes, it works. It's definitely nowhere near TF Prime quality, but then again, that was a show with a HUGE budget. So considering this is a FREE web series, the animation is really nice considering this must've had a limited budget.

One of two things that I do echo others on, is that 5 mins is too short for an episode to really establish anything. However, we all knew this was going to be the case when watching this series. I do hope that if Machinima does do another TF webseries, that they would consider breaking it up into 10-15 min segments, just to give everyone a little bit more to savor until the next episode is out.

The second thing, is Windblade being too overpowering. While there might be an explanation for this, having her cut down Menasor takes away the idea that the Combiners are a real threat. If it took a lot more to destroy them, then maybe we'd understand more as to why they're hard to stop.

Finally, I would strongly recommend those bashing this series to wait until all the episodes are out and then cast final judgement on the series as a whole.

[Tyrannacon]

To be fair, though, how many are writing off the whole show based on this one episode rather than just writing off this one episode on its own?

A good portion of those discussing it across a number of Facebook groups/pages.

Perhaps, but we're more civilised than Facebook.

... we are, right? ... right?

If this were the SW fandom complaining about how the old EU is relegated to Legends, panning the Prequel Trilogy for not being like the Original Trilogy, and complaining about TFA/Episode 7 because it was too much LIKE ANH/Episode 4 of the OT. I would say no? The only fandom that I know is much worse is the Jurassic Park and larger dinosaur fandom. As it is really chaotic. Don't get me wrong, I am a multi-fandom kind of guy, but I would say this fandom is pretty decent in some ways (especially here) in response most of the time. There are still circles though however and I do a lot of lurking.

Yeah, I haven't had to ban (let alone warn) someone for a while.

The times this would happen when I was running my Jurassic Park site we would considered this a worrisome thing for the fandom. Mostly because, like minature-sized meatbags, if you don't hear anything; you know there's trouble brewing of some kind.

[Thormind]

Wow, this was bad. Does not feel like the 1st episode of a series. It's more like a really long publicity for CW toys or a long teaser for a video game... Animation is uneven, voice acting is bad, no context, no plot, no meaning. Just big robots fighting. This i meant for an adult audience?

[Bumblevivisector]

WOW. I was really looking forward to this. I was a little disappointed that the Menasor/Computron fight mostly consisted of them playing a steel-drum duet on each other, but assumed things would get more interesting once they did enough damage for someone's components to disengage and transform.

And then...we never got any sign that their components could function independently. Which, when combined with that animation style, I'm sorry to say, can't help but evoke memories of the last quarter of the Energon cartoon. You know, how the Maximus trio just stayed combined 90% of the time, weren't significantly bigger or more impressive than the older characters, and when they did disengage, each quartet of limbs seemed to be little more than drones following their torso, because there just wasn't room to develop 15 new guys that late in the game. I remember not caring that much at the time, because eventually, I'd learn all about their personalities in the Energon Profile Books from Dreamwa--

...yeah. So, maybe I'd feel different if I wasn't 6 years behind on IDW, but all this first ep did was dredge up some BAAAAAAAAAAAAAD memories, not connected to any G1 universe.

But Energon took a long time to slide that far downhill. I still feel it charged out of the gate stronger than any other TF cartoon, partly because it was a sequel and therefore had a lot going on at once without needing to establish everything. So maybe this series will get a lot better after this, like the Armada cartoon!

Errrr, bad example? Seriously, it did keep getting better as it went along. No, I'm not being sarcastic.

It just seems strange to kick off a Combiner Wars universe without any combinING. Can't help but give me flashbacks to a dark time when the very act of combining had lost all meaning due to its pointless overuse, which is why the Autobots forgot all about it before the Cybertron cartoon started...

Ah, pre-fab trilogies. Well, assuming this series does get better, maybe Machinima will do better still on future Prime Wars toons.

[Sarahthecutevixen]

why does windblade's hair fan look like a seashell?

[Ultra Markus]

i like the animation

[Emerje]

Man, they really built up my expectations only to crush me with disappointment. When they were boasting about how this was being properly animated in Japan after all of the complaints the first prelude got I was expecting something really impressive. In the end this didn't look any better than any of the amateur cartoons that can be found on YouTube. It certainly didn't look any better than the first season of RWBY from three years ago. And seriously, who goes to Japan for CG animation? You go to Japan for 2D animation, their 3D stuff is rarely any good without a big budget.

Maybe if they animated it locally they could have saved some money and given us longer episodes. Or at the very least spent money on some decent actors because Menasor sounds like some punk teen and Computron sounds like the least advanced guy on the planet. I get the whole "speak less to reserve brainpower" thing, but even G1 Computron wasn't that lifeless and "robotic". Thankfully they're both apparently dead so we don't have to put up with that any more. And agree with everyone else about it being dumb for the entire team to outright die if the combined form is defeated.

I'll keep watching, but my expectations have really sunk.

why does windblade's hair fan look like a seashell?

Probably because it's sticking out of the middle of her head rather than proper behind it. It looks weird to me, too.

Emerje

[Kurona]

Yeah this p much sums up how I feel about Maxima

https://twitter.com/toygrind/status/760556789532336128

[Ultra Markus]

my thoughts are its a cartoon doesnt need to be perfect it has some great potential and it somewhat brings me back as a kid watching the G1 combiners on tv, but for what its worth its a nice salute to what transformers used to be,

[ricemazter]

Well, I can't say that I'm disappointed since I had no idea what to expect, that and this show wasn't really on my radar. That said, I can't really call this episode "good"

The animation quality, ranging from adequate to poor, doesn't really bother me. Having your robots be stiff and less fluid is something you can get away with by virtue of your characters being robots. Though, I do have to wonder about the lip syncing and whether the voices or the visuals were done first. What does put me off is the overall pacing, which is crucial when working in such a short time frame.

It seems to me that the episode is basically an extended fight scene with overall poor direction and prioritization of scenes. The opening where Menasor and Computron fall through the space bridge is problematic especially. Almost a full minute is spent with both combiners rhythmically punching each other, when a 20-30 second punch, punch, punch, laser, punch would have sufficed before both hit Caminus' surface. With that additional 20-30 seconds the episode could have explained more of the context behind the fight. As is, however, I have barely any idea what's happening or why.

Normally, I can excuse a bit of mystery. Unfortunately, the time constraints and the episodic format means that every second counts. In the service of audience investment, then, it's important that we know the stakes as soon as possible.The tone of the dialogue makes it sound like combiners are their own faction yet both Computron and Menasor wear the autobot/decepticon shields. Windblade's motivations are largely unexplained. She's clearly angry at combiners regardless of affiliation though exactly why is a mystery. Something happened to Caminus and its people we just don't know what or how. As it stands, the episode feels like it starts and stays in medias res. This wouldn't be a problem if the format were different and we had assurance that things would be explained yet we don't.

The voice work is also a bit strange, possibly because the actors are trying to match the lips rather than the other way around, leading to some strange delivery. I can see where they're going with Menasor, trying to make him more articulate, but it doesn't come off well.

[Deadput]

Thankfully they're both apparently dead so we don't have to put up with that any more. And agree with everyone else about it being dumb for the entire team to outright die if the combined form is defeated.

Emerje

This was easily the worst part about it while I'm sure Computron is not dead yet Menasor is and he was on the bleeping cover for the show in what show or movie does someone on the cover die in the first episode that is not a bait and switch protagonist?

Yeah there was Cliffjumper in Prime but he was clearly going to die with Dwayne Johnson announced to be voicing him.

If Computron is dead then that means they killed every single character introduced in the first episode except for special snowflake Windblade so two combiner teams and a pallet swap with no character I felt more sad to the death of that one stormtrooper in the beginning of the force awakens then I did here for anyone.

Where was the amazing show Hasbro and the creators of this show were so proud to brag about?

I knew Hasbro did not care and it shows Machinima can make good animated DC movies but what happened here?

[Sabrblade]

Machinima can make good animated DC movies

Machinima didn't make those, they just aired them as a distributor for them. DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation, and Blue Ribbon Content made them.

[Mr Skram]

Straight away I was in, cheesy fight scene in the sky aside, I liked it. Right up until they crashed down and Menasor spoke. I'm not sure why he sounded like an angsty teen but it was extremely off putting. He should have kept up the psychotic screaming for every line. Or they should have had the sense to pick someone else for the job.


I liked some of the animation but the quality of movements seemed pretty erratic. The art style and character design were actually great. I'd like to see a full length show in this style for sure.

Let's hope they can pull out of this nose dive of a first impression. If they cast the other characters properly I feel like they could go a lot farther than just a mini-miniseries.

[ZeroWolf]

I was going to rip this ep to pieces but then I found one thing about it that sums it all up :

Voices supplied by so called Celebrity Youtubers (no that isn't a joke).

---

P.s. No I won't watch any more for a while - maybe when they are all done.. but for the moment I can't see any positive reason to watch it - all it is going to do is make me dislike Windblade.

Besides any attempt to re-purpose IDW fiction as some sort of "G1 replacement" leaves a horrible taste in my mouth - one I wouldn't have if they were more upfront about treating it as more like Transformers Prime or the Movie Universe as "other" - but re-writing people's childhood doesn't sit well with me - so it's another reason for me to not show much enthusiasm for the fiction that accompanies the 'Prime Wars' concepts to date.

But who know maybe they can one day come up with a rational story explanation for Titans Returns if it ever gets that far.

But it's a bit odd to have them throwing out Windblade with no backstory to her - even making it seem like the audience is supposed to know who she is and her back story as some sort of Horse Whisper for City bots.

Despite that begging the question of why a Citybot needs a Horse Whisper in the 1st place.

Anyway best of luck to those who want to stick with it - but I can't see this having any more impact on me than Cyber Missions did.

This is only loosely based on IDW, so it is an 'AU' so I'm not sure what you mean about rewriting childhood. G1 toon is going to be what it has been. It'd quite clear that hasbro aren't touching that specific timeline again

[primalxconvoy]

The front page news article at the main site (regarding the YouTube video of Episode 1) is in error.

The YouTube video too, is geo-locked. I cannot access it in Japan.

In order to watch it outside the USA (if your country has been blocked), simply copy the url of the video, Google search "download YouTube online" and paste the url into the search box of the website you've chosen from the results. You should then get an option to download the video.

Then again, I kind of wish I hadn't bothered. The episode was bollocks.

[X3ROhour]

5 MINUTES!?

Whaa?