I decided to take this opportunity to do a little review. I feel the show is one of the best things to come out of Transformers for a while. I will try and avoid major spoilers, as I am trying to make people go out and see it if they haven't. But there will be some in here. So, to start off, what is Transformers: Prime?
Transformers Prime is set in the so-called 'Aligned continuity'. This means the series is set in the same universe as the War for Cybertron and the Fall of Cybertron video games. So if you are a fan of those, that's something to be aware of. There are obvious traits taken from the Michael Bay movies in the sense of character designs and such. Bumblebee also doesn't speak in this one, though instead of playing clips from the radio, he makes blips and squeaks that people have come to understand.
The story focuses around a small group of Autobots on Earth, consisting of, to start, with Optimus Prime, Arcee, Bumblebee, Ratchet and Bulkhead. You may have seen some shots with Cliffjumper in them, but unfortunately..
"I, Starscream, have killed you. After you've been beaten and two people are holding your arms."
I know I said that I would avoid spoilers, but this happens in the first episode. It helps set the tone that this show isn't playing around. I'm not saying it's a complete gore fest, but you will see named characters die. The show lets the fact that they're robots let them get away with things that wouldn't fly on a 'normal' kids show. You could make a drinking game out of brutal deaths in Tron: Uprising, which uses the excuse that people turn into glowy blocks. Thankfully Prime never gets that bad.
As the show begins, the Autobots already have an understanding with the american government. You are spared any long set up so they can get right into the action. They are provided with a secret base and help assist in Decepticon related matters. After the events of Fall of Cybertron, Cybertron is left dead and thus the Transformers have no home any longer. For reasons that become clear as the show goes on, Earth seems to have a large amount of Energon deposits, so the Decepticons are quite interested in it. Before I move on, let me address one issue.
Wait... noooooo...
The dreaded 'human characters.' And not only that.. but kids. Up there, in order, are Miko, Raf and Jack. Now, they are not that bad. They have a larger part at the start of the show, I wonder if it was due to producer meddling, but they never disappear. Unlike some previous Transformers shows, however, the main focus is not on them, they are just part of the cast. They end up taking direct part less and less towards the end. I don't want to sound like the kids are just an irritation that is thankfully limited, however. They are good characters in their own rights. Miko is generally the only one who I feel grates sometimes, but she also gets a crowning moment of awesome or two.
What makes these kids special is that they aren't special. To explain, it doesn't feel like they're forced into things. In Armada, the kids had a bond with the mini-cons and thus, had to be around. In animated, Sari was the only one who could use the magic key. This show handles writing them in as characters, rather than the plot forcing them to be around. There are many character moments along the way on both sides.
"Look at me. Tolerating this human. My character is developed. Can I go, now?"
You can't have a story without good villains, however. I must say that this Megatron is one of the best I feel has ever been in a show. His only competition would be Beast Wars Megatron for me. Prime Megatron is very powerful, but also very intelligent. He does not come up with cartoonish plans. He is quite capable of both manipulation and punching your face in. You have to be able to respect a villain to consider a villain a threat.
Starscream comes off as a combination of various incarnations of Starscream. At times he can be cowardly. He has a definitely thirst for power and for taking over from Megatron. He manages to be a threat as well, though. I will admit, at times he is the Decepticon whipping boy, but you never feel like he's a guy you can blow off as merely a joke. Starscream gets some surprising character developments here and there as well.
"My 'someone is complimenting me' senses are tingling."
Next up has to be my absolutely favorite incarnation of Soundwave ever. He does not speak, but he does not have to speak. He is the quiet bad-ass. He doesn't even have a face, instead his face consists of a viewscreen. He simply communicates, most of the time, with either his actions or displaying something.
I like his design in general.
This Soundwave does not turn into a cassette player, but one of those unmanned flying drones. He does still have Laserbeak, however, attached to his chest. When Soundwave is out in the field, you know things are going to get done.
There are more Decepticons, of course, as well as a horde of faceless 'Vehicons' that the Autobots are allowed to mow down left and right. On top of this, there's even some human villains. There is a criminal organization known as MECH who believes that he who has the best technology, wins. Once they become aware of the existence of the Transformers, they obviously want that technology for themselves. Even if they have to dissect them to get it.
What about the good guys? Well, Optimus Prime is.. Optimus Prime. He doesn't change very much between his incarnations. Bumblebee has been a soldier for some time, though his inability to speak makes most of his expression come from his gestures and actions. Ratchet is a grouchy old medic, who at first is rather annoyed by having to deal with humans. Arcee is a soldier who has lost more than one partner in her time, as such, she is hesitant at forming bonds. Bulkhead is a former member of a group known as the Wreckers, and as such, his best talent is smashing faces. This is the intro cast. All of them will learn and grow as the series goes on.
Which brings us to a big reason why I like the series. There are story arcs. This isn't 'Megatron tries to cause trouble, The Autobots stop him, I'll get you next time, Prime!'. Events from one episode lead to the next. Things that happen matter. You want to come back for the next episode because you want to see where it's going.
The CGI is quite excellent. There's a style to it, so it's not trying to look completely realistic. But if you click on some of those images, you can notice details on the models even down to scratches in the paint. The voice acting is also excellent. Optimus Prime is once again voice by Peter Cullen, whom was Optimus back in Generation 1 and in the movies.
The action is always well done in both style and animation. There are some darn good fight scenes that take place over the course of the series.
"One shall stand..." ".. not saying it."
I want to babble more about the show, but I don't want to ruin things for people I may have interested in watching it. Maybe for me, the show ending is a bad thing. But for you people who haven't seen it, it means it's all there for you to watch. You don't have to wait to see what's going to happen, it's all there. So what's stopping you? Go on then.
Final Verdict:
If you're a Transformers fan, this is a must see. While there is humor to be had, the show approaches things in a mature manner and does not treat it's audience like it's dumb. It's one of my all time favorite incarnations of the show. If you're not a Transformers fan.. since this is a new story, you don't need to know anything in advance. Although it takes place after the games, they share any information you require. If you don't like to see transforming robots doing things, I suppose this might not be the show for you.
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