Casper High (This is the Link) WEBSiTE UPDATE: After two and a half months since the last episode I wrote, I give you the revised summary and review of "My Brother's Keeper". I also reviewed two non-DP related media: Scott Pilgrim and Super Mario Galaxy 2. Enjoy!
Selling Stuff
Still: neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/3… (Since no one seems to be interested and the few that are have yet to response to my notes in a good long time, I may just donate all these. As long as I get rid of them.)
- Chess Piece has a club. If you're interested, please join it. It's still new, but we're getting somewhere. _______________________________________________________
SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!
Transformers Animated [DEFINITELY more then meets the eye]I'm not a Transformers fan. I didn't grow up with the franchise, even though I would be at the right age to do so. Granted, I'm not an 80s child, but the damn thing is 25 years old, chances are, I would have had some exposure to it.
I did. It was called Beast Wars. It was my first experience in the TF fandom and one of my gateway to blissful childhood memories. It was a deeply complex, dark and mature, but still accessible show for children of my age that adults can also appreciate (I assume, I haven't seen the show in ages and this is largely from what little memory I have and olda' fans reminiscing fondly, so correct me if I'm wrong). I managed to last all the way through Beast Machines where I gave up halfway because I got bored. But other then that, I knew so little of the franchise that I ONLY learned Optimus Prime was originally a trunk (and "NOT MUNKEY") a couple of years ago (shamefully, I am serious). I haven't looked back on Transformers since...until recently.
It took two attempts, but
managed to convince me to give Transformer Animated a chance. I don't regret wasting hours watching all 39 episodes. This is an entertaining endeavor of a show. Cybertrorians (sp) Optimus Prime (the leader), Ratchet (team medic and all around cranky grandpa-type), Bulkhead (big, but gentle), Prowl (stoic ninja), and Bumblebee (the immature one) crash-land on Earth 50 years ago, only to wake up years later to find themselves trapped in Earth. With the help of a young eight-year-old girl named Sari (who possess a key able to fix anything mechanic after having contact with the Allspark), they must survive their unscheduled course, find a way home, oh, and stop the brutish Decepticons. If this all sounds childish, it is...sort of. The first season as introduction is the most lighthearted. Dangers are standard for children's show and everything seems rather simple and frequently fun. Most of the enemies here are humans with hilariously supervillan-ish gimmicks because Megatron is currently pushed to the side and the other Decepticons ass around looking for him with no clause (and some occasion Starscream interruption), but none of the complications to give Batman's rogues gallery a run for its money. For example, there's a completely goofy-looking Green Arrow-type with a hokey Shakespearean accent, another is a young girl named Professor Princess whose "villainous" goals is to remove all things boyish. Seriously. The main characters do get into tiffs, but it's not epic and it often mashes with their current personal dilemma and slice of life event: camping, characters not getting along due to opposites, low self-esteem issues, and generally trying to understand
It all seems standard, but underneath it lurks hidden depths that a patient watcher will be rewarded for. "Thrill of the Hunt" gains the show its voice when we dive into Ratchet's past and realize why he is sensitive about his time during the great war. It is a diabolically dark episode that shows no matter how heroic you can be, sometimes sacrifice must be made and even then, it still hurts to see what the outcome becomes. Then there's "Along came A Spider" which challenges Optimus when he must confront his former friend (and somewhat love interest) Aelita-1 who was transformed into a Techno-Organic being after he and Sentinel Prime had to leave her when they thought she was dead. Season One's simpler nature shouldn't also be taken as a bad thing. The one thing Season One has over the other two: character-centric episodes. The focus on the main cast is phenomenal here, situations the other two seasons don't do as sharply. True to its beginning roots, nearly each episode focuses on the five 'bots and Sari and each are enjoyable in their own way and open up a part of their character. And it helps because this is the kind of show where I didn't hate anybody.
And yes, this includes freakin' Bumblebee and SARI. From the description I read of those two, I thought I would hate them the most. Bumblebee is an immature idiot who clearly enjoys fun and tends to bend the rule to gain said fun. And Sari is a spunky eight-year-old and if there's one thing I hate about kids, it's them being spunky. But I don't fuckin' hate them! I can't hate them! Bumblebee may be a perpetual idiot, but he's not a child (or what passes for kids in Cybertron). He is an adult who is fully aware of what the Decepticons are capable of; he will put on his serious face go straight to work when the situation calls with no hesitation. Sari who IS a kid doesn't understand as well as Bumblebee and often tries to tag along whether the Autobots like it or not. Why she isn't so annoying is that she isn't completely useless. She's rather clever and often proves she can take care of herself which already gives her major brownie points that I don't give to Max from Batman Beyond (who does similar things once she more or less becomes Terry's sidekick, but tends to FUCK UP before actually getting it right). She's bratty, but never to the point if frustration, mainly because of her resourcefulness and intelligence (but hey, that's what happens when you have a scientist for a father). In short, she doesn't drag the team down. If there was only one major concern with her, it's her key which serves as nothing more then a plot device that easily solves whatever technology mess that needs fixing, including damaged Cybertronians. This really doesn't work well for Ratchet, the team's doctors and regrettably, we don't get to see many of his skills in action because of that damn key (though the writers were kind to make this a driving issue in a Season 3 episode). It feels like they gave this powerful device to her as an excuse to make her useful instead of fully embracing her resourceful personality to drive said usefulness.
Season One, for all its lightheartedness, paces very well and concludes with an excellent finale when Megatron returns with a full body, unwittingly built by Sari's father (who thought he was an Autobot), and ends with the fabled Allspark broken into pieces. It finishes well enough while opening up for the more hectic second season.
Season Two turns with a slightly darker prospect because of Megatron's return, though it suffers more then the first season. It's not as so heavily focused on character and the pacing is atrocious. I swear the first three episodes is nothing more then Optimus telling Ultra Magus and crew (especially egotistical numdnut Sentinal Prime) that the Decepticons are still alive. After a while (and some general, "Oh, come on! They should have believed THAT by now!"), it got really fuckin' tiresome. To make up for the lack of character, this one is more story-driven as the heroes must go on a "Gotta catch 'em all quest" to find and reunite all the missing Allsparks...er...sparks scattered around the world. One that proves impossible when it inhabits some machines, turning them into Cybertronians themselves. The Constructicons, aside from building the space bridge, are useless and annoying. Any Detroit robots that speak with a New York accent needs to be launched into space. Fortunately, this season gave us motherfuckin' Wreck-Gar, a cuckoo garbage trunk bot voiced appropriately by Weird Al. He is awesome. This season also had "SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy" which is actually a fun episode centering on the human villains (SloMo has an absolutely beautiful outfit which compensates for her cheesy moxie talk). And it also teases a Lockdown and Prowl rivalry (and the launch of a thousand slashy fanart).
The other story arc is Megatron slowly but surely building a space bridge that can be used to defeat the battle against the Autobots. He also has to deal with Starscream who may be his best here. He is so meticulously flamboyant and passionate in all his bitchy glories (seriously, he made a female clone of himself), but he is a bot of a thousand lives (thanks to one of the AllSpark embedded into hid forehead) and a master manipulator enough to give Megatron a run for his money and MAN, is Megatron a magnificent bastard (with a seeeeeeeeeeexxxxxxxxxxxy voice). It's too bad Megatron suffers from "big bad lazies around until the big event" syndrome in this season though. Season One was justified - he was nothing but a head and hand, there's no excuses here.
To add to the pile of complications, there's a troubling tale of a double agent that could be spying the Autobots for the Decepticons. And all the more deadly when said double agent isn't the person Bumblebee thinks he is (and it will bite him in the ass later). It's not a perfect season, but it ultimately ups the story and tension - Earth once cheered for the Autobots now live in fear since the Decepticon attack. Season One mostly had one major plot that neatly worked its way through all thirteen episodes, but Season Two opened up a lot of arcs and branched out. It terrifically sets up for the third season which is good on its own merits...
...and bad for the rest. The three-parter starts off interesting, mostly with Sari's shocking reveal when she discovers she is a robot. Naturally she reacts poorly and is quick to blame her dad for not telling her (understandably). She embraces who she is quickly and uses her key to transform herself into a more powerful, teenage self (with a VERY disturbing transformation; seriously, it's right up there with ChibiUsa turning into Black Lady). The key itself is gone, but her new reveal doesn't do any better because NOW Sari herself is a walking plot device, doing exactly what the key did before. Throughout the season, her situation remains static and underdeveloped, making her reveal completely wasteful and utilized poorly. Whenever she does make an appearance, expect her to pull off a dues ex machina and figure out a solution with her abilities with annoying convenience. This is most likely from the executive meddling who wanted a more robot-focused season...which makes it all the more irritating since she IS part Cybertronian and any potential discoveries of her origins COULD have been traced to Cybertron or anything "robot-related". Sheesh!
To up the ante on how much shit is going down, the second episode alone kills off Blurr...onscreen...in the most disturbing, violent death a kid's show could get away with (and most likely could because he's a robot). It's a foreshadowing of the madness that lies within. Oh, the series itself, even with the deaths, never becomes unbearably angst-ridden and mature that kids can't watch it, but the happy times of the first season is gone and it's clear a war is brewing once more. Oh, there's some breather moments sprinkled here and there (the Christmas specials "Human Error" two-parter is a look at the Autobots if they were humans - oh, Prowl, you could belong with the Village People), and machine-challenged Fanzone has to deal with his day in Cybertron with hilarious Monster, Inc-like reactions from the bots when they see an organic, but these are much more rarer then Season One's more kid-approved surroundings.
The characters self-discoveries are replaced with their traumatic pasts: Bumblebee is forced to confront the Wasp-issue and discovers what it feels like to be singled out by his best friends when he is mistaken for the enemy (which poor Wasp got when he was falsely accused). Prowl only grows stronger, but by relieving the past and death of his beloved mentor (also, I ship Prowl/Yoketron *snerks*), the wise and powerful leader Ultra Magnus falls when betrayer Longarm reveals himself and steals his precious hammer, and Megatron unleashes his biggest plan by the end. The two-part conclusion "Endgame" starts off very promising when Megatron uses Starscream and his cloning technique to create powerful robots based off of Omega Supreme, but then it plummets in the end when it rushes the hell out of it in the last five minutes or so. The ending never becomes outright bad, but it could have been loads better. The battle is awesome, but forced. Most of the AllSpark fragments had to be pulled together at the last minute instead of a slightly better pacing and the last major scene is ruined because it never reaches the emotional climax I wished it had. When you see the body of a beloved character getting dragged in an open coffin and you see robots cheering, it becomes awkward, victory celebration or not.
There are also some major plots that have yet to be concluded. Aside from the Sari deal, there's Blackarachnia. Last she is seen, she's dumped to some jungle along with Waspinator and that's that. No resolution to her character or whether Optimus would get him some spider-booty. There was also too much of Sentinal Prime that it annoyed me. I get he's a jerkass and all for a reason (and it is interesting to look at, especially his interactions with Optimus), but I reaaaaaaaaaaally didn't need to see that in spades, especially moreso even AFTER he gets a character development. Also, I don't give a flying fuck about either Jetstorm and Jetfire and I was glad when the Constructicons blew up (then annoyed Scrapper fuckin' survived, though his straw hat looks kinda adorable on him). There was also that one possible time-error where it hints Prowl is older then Optimus which is something I don't really like - Optimus, though inexperienced, is clearly a more mature individual and while Prowl is a levelheaded bot, he is just as much a "young bot" as Bulkhead and Bumblebee with his aloof mannerisms and selfish desire to be alone (not to mention his drug-like need for mods in "A Fistful of Energons"). Also, Starscream's death is cheap. For such a complicated baddie, he dies so quick and abruptly when I feel the scene should have ended a lot more longer and potentially crazier.
But don't take this to mean I hate Season Three. It doesn't live up to the others, but it's not another Danny Phantom. TFA's season three doesn't suck balls - it just made a few choices that didn't work to its advantages. It doesn't ruin the show nor the wonderful offering it does give. What especially draws me to the show is the lovable cast of characters. Each of the five Autobots get their own personal issues and develop from it near-magnificently throughout the three season run.
Optimus Prime struggles being a newbie leader. His humble nature is adorable - sometimes I keep seeing him as this big geek that tries to make it out in the big boy world. He has the know how, but he can't quite get up there because of his "ooh, golly gee, mister, I'll give it my best shot" attitude he's got going. When he tries, it's not always perfect: the season two finale had him yelling at his teammates for a poor work done, not just out of truth, but from easy frustrations. He later apologizes and understands that a leader must be more then just a commander, but a trusted soldier. He also manages to gain the confidence to embrace his rank as "prime" and it comes in full with his final fight with Megatron where he battles him one-on-one in all its badassery. He shouts triumphantly, "My name is Optimus Prime!" Indeed, he is. Even then, he never loses his Superman-like ideal; he doesn't mindlessly kill Megatron, but gives him a far worse offering, letting him live in embarrassment. It's cruel, but it compliments his choices well.
Bulkhead and Bumblebee doesn't really develop as much as the others. The former starts off as big and clumsy. He hates being this way and tries a couple of things to be more graceful, but Prowl he is not. Being the pivotal big guy, Bulkhead's brawn eventually serves him well and he finds a balance where he can use both that and his brains. He fights with his strength in battle, but expresses his sensitive side when he picks up art as well as surprise everyone when they realize he's a space bridge building genius. He is most definitely NOT "big and dumb" and I am glad the show explored that aspect and why Bulkhead is so irritated of being forced with that stereotype.
Bumblebee is a stupid little guy, but his heart is in the right place. His moments with Sari are especially sweet and filled with chemistry - they like all the same things and the two tend to hang around like two peas in a pod. But as I stated before, he is serious when the time comes and is far from useless despite his size and unfortunate name (Sentinal named him that because he considered him a "bumbler"). Most of this is because he is determined. "Autoboot Camp" showed that he was pumped for Elite Guard duty and though he may a shit ton of mistakes, he would endlessly keep trying. It's a philosophy I don't undertake, but Bumblebee is the eternal optimist. He's also a show-off and he likes nothing more then his reputation as the fastest thing alive, so it spoke volumes when he admitted Blurr was better. It's such a shame this aspect couldn't have been explored further given Blurr made like two major appearances (one of which where he didn't speak AT ALL) before buying the harp farm.
Ratchet is a darling. He's the typical old fart whose senility forces him to whine and rant about today's youth and anything else that drives him up the wall. And everything drives him up the fuckin' wall. He will yell at anything if it pisses him off and he is easily flustered...which is why his inner depths are very heartfelt. He has a reason to be an ass: he suffers Vietnam flashbacks to the war and endures the loss of two people important in his life, all because he failed to be the proper medic that he really is. Arcee whose memories he could not save (until the last episode; his success and eventual reunion with her made me "awww" - I think I kinda ship them) and Omega Supreme whom he was forced to care for.
The latter is important: Omega Supreme was designed to be one, giant weapon for war - a sacrificial lamb should the need arise. Never mind that he's a living being, Ultra Magnus is pretty damn clear on the whole "for the greater good" business and Omega is nothing but their tool. Ratchet views this as nonsense, so the first thing he does when Omega awakens? He tells him he's his friend. Not his commander, not his master, his friend. And my appreciation for him raised several points (and I think I almost broke down). Throughout the end of Season 2 and 3, you will see Ratchet and Omega's father/son-ish relationship. Beneath that cranky exterior, Ratchet is the one whom I personally feel possesses the biggest heart and the sweetest demeanor.
And that brings me to my personal favorite: Prowl. I think out of the five, he had the most development. I swear, this isn't me trying to be bias because of how much I like him, I really think he is the one Autobot in the group that changed the most. The other four keeps much of their personality throughout the entire series (well, Ratchet is actually very closely behind Prowl as he becomes noticeably less antsy), but Prowl dramatically changes. He starts off as a obvious loner who doesn't need or want help from others. This is supported in his flashback episode when he is forced to train under Yoketron despite his selfish desire - refusing to offer any help when he received none himself (I keep wondering if the other Autobots picked on him - "Hey, look! Newbie Autobot is playing with an Organic! Quick, let's pick on him!") Because he is stuck on Earth, he is forced to endure Optimus' leadership and the rest of the crew's eccentricities. His brief time with Bumblebee is cute what with him bothering him like an annoying little brother and he develops an unlikely buddy relationship with Bulkhead (big and strong vs. small and stealth, I love it). It's an easy character development trait to write for: the loner eventually warming up to his group of friends and learning the meaning of teamwork and the heart of the card, yadda yadda, but it's very enduring. And it is worth the effort.
His last role is the culminations of everything he's learned: Prowl motherfucking sacrifices himself to save the world. THIS Prowl; the selfish, stoic type who didn't give a damn about getting along. The kind who would rather be alone then hang around with a bunch of douches. The Prowl then would NEVER have thought to sacrifice himself, especially without getting anything in return. But he did. He doesn't ask for anything, he just does it because it's the right thing to do. And that SMILE. OH. MY. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD. Look at most of his scenes: Prowl's smile comes in two formulas 1. A normal generic one that only comes up that isn't much to speak of and really, he does it when the others do because of a "job well done" kinda mood and 2. when he's being a smug bastard. His final smile is NONE of these two. It's sincere, it's kind, it's gentle. This is his, "It's going to be alright. I'll be the one to sacrifice my spark because I want to save the world, because I love all of you, and I want you to go on living." I haven't been this emotionally-invested and devastated since Vlad's villainous breakdown in "Kindred Spirits" (and prior to that, Auron's spirit leaving in FFX). It sucks that he dies, but I honestly would not have it another way. It is poetic and fits VERY well with his character development.
Animation is mostly decent. The artwork is simple and streamlined. Compared to other TF outlooks, the character designs are much more sleeker and skinnier. It is a turn-off at first, but I got used to it in time. Yes, characters come off as stick figure freaks (and Optimus with big lips are tantalizingly scary as fuck), but it's also weirdly elegant to look at. It's nothing to sing home about, but for the TF franchise, it is an interesting turn. The palette of color is bright and the animation can be choppy at times. One thing I noticed is the characters' lip syncing; that is, it's completely OUT of sync. Given this happens in all the episodes, I can safely conclude this is an artistic choice and one you might take some time getting used to.
So yes, all in all, a series well worth your time. You don't need to know the Transformer mytho to get the series and anyone new can jump right in. From what I heard though, there are endless hidden jokes and references for older fans to appreciate, so it's the best of both world. The show started off typical and childish, but it eventually sought out to be an entertaining piece of animation that successfully reaches an all-age appeal. It's not the greatest cartoon in the world and the later seasons, though darker, suffers more then the first's killer pacing/character arcs, it is still a solid, above-average offering. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go hug my Prowl action figure.
8.5/10
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QUOTE OF THE JOURNALI have a plan, but we're going to need to use Bumblebee's greatest strength...your obnoxious personality.
~Prowl, Transformers Animated
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LINKS to OTHER RELATED STUFFREQUESTS: Nope.
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COMMISSIONS: Need to update prices, so link to journal removed for time being. Will get to it when I'm not lazy. For now, I'm not accepting any.
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Chess Piece Crap1. Chess Piece FAQ
A basic information journal where you can learn about my fancomic Chess Piece, including small character and world guide, as well as a question section for frequently asked questions. It hasn't been updated in a while and some of the contents may be outdated, but it's best for newcomers to learn the basic.
2. Chess Piece Pages
Where I place the pages of my CP fancomic in one journal for easy viewing. This doesn't contain every page of CP and really only holds the newest issue. If you want to read the whole thing, see below. Updated constantly with new pages.
3. Chess Piece in TV Tropes
Because I'm a bored egomaniac. (The actual page now, not the DA journal which is now deleted).
4. Complete Archive
Where I posted every single CP pages. Good for newbies who are new to the series and wants to read from the beginning to current. I always update with the newest pages.
