The Energon Pub

[Sabrblade]

I am suprised no one said it yet, but while the proportions are along the lines of Animated, the style comes from the Santalucia Evergreen designs.

Yeah, I was just about to mention that. That Bumblebee is pretty much the evergreen design run through a more cartoony-looking filter. I guess this is Hasbro next step in creating more visual consistency across the brand.

As for the story premise, the description give off a vibe to me of the show possibly being one of those lighthearted simpler shows consisting of 11-minute short episodes rather than full-length 22-minute episodes. If this is to be the case, then as long as the writing quality is less Teen Titans Go! and more, say, Arthur, or even Sonic Boom, I could dig an 11-minute format.

[Cmdr. Trailblazer]

4. Really hope this isn't connected to anything like the aligned continuity, and that we can finally have something different. I feel that everything right now is restricted, and that RID kinda flattened my excitement for TF cartoons.

It won't be. As much as I like the Aligned Continuity (minus RiD), I believe it's run its course. Which is good. New reboot, fresh universe to explore.

[Decepticon Stryker]

As much as I'm excited to see what the show will be like, I find myself slightly put off by Bumblebee's door wings. I know it's kinda become a staple for him, but I'm beginning to find it overused, even though this is the third incarnation to have them. Can't wait to see the Decepticons.

[Decepticon Stryker]

So I've just read a few of the previous comments and....... I'm gonna get some popcorn.

[WreckerJack]

I legit thought bumblebee was a female at first. IDK why but he just looks sort of feminine. (Not complaining, robots are sometimes androgynous.) But the windshield and his side kinda give him an hourglass shape so its not my fault.

[Qwan]

I legit thought bumblebee was a female at first. IDK why but he just looks sort of feminine. (Not complaining, robots are sometimes androgynous.) But the windshield and his side kinda give him an hourglass shape so its not my fault.

You're kinda right, he does have quite the thin waist. Plus he has that 'robo-panties' look going on that Windblade tends to end up with. I don't at all mind Transformers being less generically-buff and boxy, though; Bumblebee can kinda go either way (I also think he looks good as a short squat 'bot) but he tends to carry a lithe build rather well

[Ultra Markus]

I legit thought bumblebee was a female at first. IDK why but he just looks sort of feminine. (Not complaining, robots are sometimes androgynous.) But the windshield and his side kinda give him an hourglass shape so its not my fault.

yeah like the square masculine chin and massive fist were a dead give away

[Nexus Knight]

So I've just read a few of the previous comments and....... I'm gonna get some popcorn.

You can't sit on the sidelines! Fan the fires! PO as many as you can! Be adventurous!

Also, ugh. Bumblebee... I love you. You're amazing. You're like an underdog (sometimes). But... you need a vacation. At least step back. Give us a chance to have fun with someone else in the limelight, even if you can't remember being in it yourself.

However, this memory lost idea is an interesting one. Hopefully, we'll get a really cartoon out of this. Also, something else I want to point out is this- this series (based on the premise) will not be focused on a team of Autobots on a certain mission. Just two of them trying to put one's life back together. I don't think we've had very many TF series that focuses on one or two main characters. This'll make things interesting.

And to you godforsaken idiots that are judging the show based on the aesthetics: Grow the heck up and let it actually be bad be you decry this as childish.

[Burn]

You can't sit on the sidelines! Fan the fires! PO as many as you can! Be adventurous!

THIS!
Wait...oh.

[BattleConvoy]

Hey look it's RID again!
Fantastic.

[Stuartmaximus]

looks very TFA

although I agree that Bumblebee should take a rest and give someone else a chance to take centre stage(he's been front & centre in RID which is finishing soon to make way for this! + he's getting his own live action movie) so it feels lately like there's no other characters OTHER than Bee to centre a series on

[Decepticon Stryker]

So I've just read a few of the previous comments and....... I'm gonna get some popcorn.

You can't sit on the sidelines! Fan the fires! PO as many as you can! Be adventurous!

You can't tell me what to... Oh I'm out of popcorn..... Might as well get involved...

[Graviton]

Are there any more conventions or events this year where we could get a preview of the cartoon and toy line?

[william-james88]

Are there any more conventions or events this year where we could get a preview of the cartoon and toy line?

None, but Hasbro had shown this year that they can easily reveal a ton of toys through website articles like they did with the TLK exclusives and RID toys.

[Octobotimus]

got to love how transformers shows look like they are getting lower and lower in animation budget.....wether the story is good or not, the animation looks to be cringe worthy on its own.

[Graviton]

Are there any more conventions or events this year where we could get a preview of the cartoon and toy line?

None, but Hasbro had shown this year that they can easily reveal a ton of toys through website articles like they did with the TLK exclusives and RID toys.

Thanks.

[Cmdr. Trailblazer]

got to love how transformers shows look like they are getting lower and lower in animation budget.....wether the story is good or not, the animation looks to be cringe worthy on its own.

What's wrong with the animation? It looks fine, at least in stills. Don't got anymore to go on until we get a trailer/teaser of some kind. Even so, there's not much, or anything really, wrong with the style. Guess it's a bit simplistic in look, but so?

[Sabrblade]

I don't see any animation. All I see is some stilled artwork.

[Qwan]

got to love how transformers shows look like they are getting lower and lower in animation budget.....wether the story is good or not, the animation looks to be cringe worthy on its own.

What's wrong with the animation? It looks fine, at least in stills. Don't got anymore to go on until we get a trailer/teaser of some kind. Even so, there's not much, or anything really, wrong with the style. Guess it's a bit simplistic in look, but so?

I mean it's a bit pedantic for me to say, but we literally have no idea what the animation is going to be like. We haven't seen it, at all. We've seen the visual aesthetic - whether you think that looks good or not is up to the individual, but an aesthetic that you personally dislike also has nothing to do with budget either.

Personally, I think the aesthetic looks decent for this show. Somewhere between the styles of current RiD and Animated (still my personal favorite TF show). Nothing to judge the rest of the show on obviously, but I think it looks pleasant enough and very characterful, while also being fairly in-line with the aesthetic that recent Transformers series seem to have been nailing down over time.

EDIT: Beaten to the punch by... 27 minutes. This is what I get for getting distracted in the middle of writing a post.

[Skritz]

You know, just because I've got five minutes to kill I'll expand a bit on my previous knee-jerking post about how this didn't seem good. I'm fairly certain it was probably left alone because knee-jerking fans are the bread and butter of this fanbase as we all know. So why am I bummed about Bumblebee and Windblade? Because neither are generally interesting characters and both have been overused as the franchise mascot for, in my very biased opinion, a bit too long. You could argue the same for Optimus and Megatron but they're the respective faction leader even if personally I'd never mind a TF show where neither is a main character so long as its good.

The problem is...I'm just tired of Bee. Generally speaking he has no particularly interesting trait beyond being the young, hot-headed kid appeal character or a generic kid sidekick with no personality who speak in bleeps and bloops. Not only that but he's just been on shelves so long that its hard for me to even care about the toyline collection part and it make me wonder if even the kids won't get tired of yet another yellow-and-black-car-transformers. That and we can assume that he'll be available in all size class and then some.

As for Windblade I'm really cold on her. She's a fan-voted character and generally is rather forgettable in personality not to mention that she reminds me of Rey from Star Wars in that she's the character we are SUPPOSED to find cool and want to be the new heroine. Now granted, its entirely possible Cyberverse may end up a decent show with a decent Windblade which may make me appreciate the character more but right now I can't really find anything notable or interesting in her: she's a female jet-autobot with big wind fans and a geisha makeup face. Admittedly, a pretty unique design but design alone does not sell me on a character. Overall I'm just left with a big old 'meh' on people trying so badly to push Windblade and telling me she's cool. Don't TELL me she's cool SHOW me she's cool and maybe then I might like her. Until then it sound like Hasbro is trying to shove a character down my throat.

As for the art style itself? Hardly care, given I loved Animated and that was one weird-looking show.

[PrymeStriker]

I'll give it a shot. Just so long as it's not a part of the Aligned continuity. Let it die its whimper death with RiD.

[WreckerJack]

although I agree that Bumblebee should take a rest and give someone else a chance to take centre stage(he's been front & centre in RID which is finishing soon to make way for this! + he's getting his own live action movie) so it feels lately like there's no other characters OTHER than Bee to centre a series on

I hear you there my dude. I think Bee keeps getting pushed into the spotlight because he is the "pikachu" of the series. Yellow is a bright, friendly, happy color that catches the eye so kids and parents will see him on the shelf easier. And of course it's hard to hate on Bee, even though I am kinda bored of him being in the story I can't help but like him a little.

I wish the shows were as good as the comics in terms of using other characters other than the big three we always see in leading roles. (Optimus, Megatron and Bee - not that I needed to even say their names.) I will say that RiD did do a good job bringing back some characters we have not seen in a show for a very long time and some new characters we have never seen before. I hope that Cyberverse continues to do this by introducing some old favorites.

[Qwan]

I think I've finally nailed down why I, like many others here, am averse to the idea of Bee being the protagonist of another show even though I don't really hate the character in general. The problem is in his nature as a 'kid-appeal' character - as Skritz said, a hot-headed turbo-revvin' young punk who, over the course of the series/movie/whatever, learns how to take responsibility and matures into your generic competent and serious (if still wisecrackin') warrior.

And that right there's the problem. Kid-appeal characters tend to have exactly one character arc, and it's indisputably one that's best left in the background of a show. Any time Bee (or a similar character, say Hot Shot or... Energon Ironhide...) takes over as the protagonist of a show, then the protagonist's character arc - the main arc of the show - becomes an attempt to force the same tired kid-appeal progression into a starring role in the story. Boring and predictable, sadly, seems to be the name of the game when a character like Bumblebee takes the spotlight (in kid-focused media at least; I haven't read much of IDW but from what I know Bumblebee takes a primary role in that on occasion and he doesn't suffer from the same issue).

The good thing about this problem is that variety - any variety, really - can all but eliminate the entire issue. Even just properly good writing can do a lot to help! Animated Bumblebee has a similar arc to the one described above, but because his character goes from that of a child to a mature child (rather than the, IMO, more common immature-adult-to-adult - an important if fine distinction) I really enjoyed seeing it and it didn't feel forced or boring.

With any luck, the amnesia angle will help the plot of Cyberverse be more interesting than having a traditionally-kid-appeal character headlining would suggest - I won't count this show out just yet! But still, if you're relying on probably the most cliched trope in all of adventure media to make your adventure media seem interesting based on the synopsis, it might be worth thinking about better angles for marketing at the very least.

[Sabrblade]

Honestly, I get the impression that the most adverse reactions to this show are due to how "cute" the art style and description come across as seeming, which calls to mind the age-old distinction/mindset of "cute is for girls, cool is for boys".

Not gonna get into the whole arguments for or against progressiveness and such, but that longstanding way of thinking does seem to be at the heart of some of the reactions given here.

[Skritz]

Personally I don't really see the 'cute' angle except on Bumblebee and arguably that's because he's meant to be the kid-appeal character who look nice and friendly. Same for what is most likely Optimus in the background but, again, it make a certain level of sense you want heroic characters to look 'comforting' (if thats even the right term) unless they are meant to be the team's jerk or sour old man, like say Animated Ratchet. You'll notice Windblade look positively scowling if not grim-looking. As in I'm-going-to-slice-you-level of grim. In fact she look almost constipated rather than angry.