Sowndwave76 wrote:I do understand people wanting something left, right, or "beyond" cartoon accuracy... What I don't understand is someone trying to say "perfect fusion" of cartoon design and something
you are correct in saying this can be vague as opinions differ greatly. But a general consensus among those of us that feel that way is a design that not only looks more like the character from the cartoon, but also has all the sculpted detail that the toys and vehicles had, without the scult of the toy being broken up like a jigsaw puzzle. Added with the fact that the mp figures that we got from this style transformed similarly to their g1 counterparts which keeps the spirit of the toys that we loved as kids alive. Also, the fact that they were durable and playable... like I can pick up and play with my mp 10 prime and my mp sideswipe etc and play with them and they dont feel like the are fragile and breakable. Whereas the modern mps feel much mre fragile and delicate. Maybe for some that's a good thing. But I am an out of box collector, and besides putting my grubby little hands on my stuff, figures can fall from shelves for a number of reasons. knowing that if my mp10 falls he's probably ok is good. Knowing that if mp Megatron falls hes probably going to shatter like my mp cheetor did, is terrifying.
black hat says it perfectly, so QFT:
Black Hat wrote:I think the thing with the modern MP line is the direction change from the previously established (and IMO superior) philosophy of design of the MP10/Hasui era. Back then, they realized that just looking as close to the cartoon as possible no matter the cost did not make for a fun toy or a good looking one- redesigning was necessary for a figure that handled well and looked good. Most if not all of the MPs from that era were stellar- Soundwave, the Hasui-designed cars, MP-10 himself (who has become so synonymous with Optimus Prime I sometimes go to call Prime "MP-10") are all absolutely fantastic figures which have stood the test of time, look great, are fun to pose and transform and don't cost a small fortune.
Modern MPs, on the other hand, have good articulation but little else going for them. They cost a ridiculous amount, are nightmares to transform (and egregiously abuse faux-parts), have some questionable QC and worst of all don't look that great. The subtle, quasi-realistic stylings and added details are all gone in favour of barren panels that are then broken up with hinges and joint seams anyway, the backpacks are horrendously clunky, many of the sculpting and painting decisions (such as the rounded fingers and grey faces instead of silver) look a biiiiit weird, and all in service to getting accuracy to a cartoon that A: couldn't stay accurate to itself and B: didn't look all that great anyway. If the animation was inconsistent with proportions but looked uniformly gorgeous (see: lots of late 80s/early 90s anime) I could understand it, or if they based the toys specifically on the concept art and tried to replicate Floro Dery's undeniably talented artwork, then fair enough. But as much as I love it, the cartoon wasn't exactly Escaflowne quality in visuals, and yet they completely abandoned all other influences than the cartoon- and even that they couldn't quite get right!
Whilst 3Ps do exist, and are generally more affordable (and sadly better built) than their official counterparts, they have been playing a bit of "follow the leader" with embracing full cartoon-literalism, meaning for those of us who just want more Hasui-style MPs the choices are very, very limited.
So yeah, I'm mainly frustrated that instead of carrying on with the aesthetic and design approach that gave us joys like Wheeljack and Soundwave, we're instead getting things like Bumblebee 2.0 (YEURCH) and Hound, with skyrocketing prices and plummeting QC to boot.
again though, this is my opinion, and while shared by many others, is still just that. The thing to remember is Takara makes these for the Japanese market, and clearly the current style of MP's is what they want over there.
