After years and years of intentional neglect I finally sat down and entered the world of Beast Wars/Machines via dvd. First off it really feels good/refreshing to finally see a Transformers cartoon not imported in from Japan, and filled with noncomprehensible plotlines/bad dubbing/translation. :thumb

For a first time through I found it mostly enjoyable and well scripted and overall a lot of fun to watch. Personally I loved the darker/edged tone though I can see how Beastwars would in terms of content be more balanced but either way it kicked the hell out of the Armadaverse. I found even with the leaden tone and constant action it did have it's comedic moments scattered throughtout. I really liked Rattrap and his inability to transform properly and when he does manage it somewhat he damn near gets everybody slagged. Priceless.:lol Also noticed that despite it's tone the creators still felt they had to toss in a muscle bound dumbass this time around in the form of Tankor. (teh Hulk meets Tidalwave.) classic. :tflaugh I Really enjoyed some of the plot devices earlier on despite what some thought. The reformatting of the Maximals, and the need to learn how to transform really added well to the excitement/intensity of everything happening. Though not anywhere near the Armadaverse it had a similar plot device. Rather than searching out Minicons/energon the Maximals are charged with searching out fellow Maximal/Autobot sparks being held captive by Megatron who IMO is just freaky in both modes. It works but isn't it funny how history just keeps repeating itself in the later installments

Animation was amazing and some of the camera/action shots were well ahead of there time. Very cool prematrix effects shots. The character designs/transformations were incredible. From earlier reports I understood the transformation was simply the beast mode glowing than pictured as a Maximal. :wtf Was that ever an understatement. The beasts glow at first then morph into the bot mode. Spetacular visual effects for the time. I also couldn't help but notice though it was all CG some of it had a very cel shaded comic book look as did several very cool insert shots. (think 24)

the only problem I had with Beast Machines was the pacing itself. Please for the love of Primus slow it down. I must be getting old but why is it I find things the most interesting when things aren't exploding everywhere, and everything in sight isn't being sprayed in laser blasts? The characters and storyline was immensely entertaining and leagues above what was G1 but just as it becomes interesting Vehicons rush in and blow the hell out of everything for the next five minutes and like G1 it gets very repititive very fast. Especially when everythings happening at the speed of light and the edits are so fast you have no idea what the hell just happened. The music was another thiing. Cool in an updated Terminator 2/Techno way but grows repetitive since it's traveling about the same click as the action senarios therefore not giving things a lot of time to slow down.

Not huge complaints, and definitely not enough to turn me away from the series as a whole. Questions. Where does the story go from here, and when can another BM release be expected? :clap

IIRC, the Volume 1 isn't in chronoligical order. I bought one from Canada not too long ago and after comparing it to the TF book, I found out that it's no where near in order.

 

But after doing some reading, it looks like things get kinda stupid with a side of interesting. I hope that Rhino release Season 1 soon.

IIRC, the Volume 1 isn't in chronoligical order. I bought one from Canada not too long ago and after comparing it to the TF book, I found out that it's no where near in order.

 

But after doing some reading, it looks like things get kinda stupid with a side of interesting. I hope that Rhino release Season 1 soon.

Interesting. I checked out Tvtome and the eps are aired in the same order they play through on the dvd. I thought everything felt in order. On a side note I knew it was the same guy voicing Megatron fro Armada/Energon but I never would've guessed it was the same guy doing Primal. He's excellent in Beast Machiens so why was he reduced to such a take it shovel it wimp in Energon? I say Energon because he still portrayed OP fairly decently in Armada. Personally I blame Hasbro for dumbing him down. :grr

IIRC, the Volume 1 isn't in chronoligical order.  I bought one from Canada not too long ago and after comparing it to the TF book, I found out that it's no where near in order.

 

But after doing some reading, it looks like things get kinda stupid with a side of interesting.  I hope that Rhino release Season 1 soon.

Interesting. I checked out Tvtome and the eps are aired in the same order they play through on the dvd. I thought everything felt in order. On a side note I knew it was the same guy voicing Megatron fro Armada/Energon but I never would've guessed it was the same guy doing Primal. He's excellent in Beast Machiens so why was he reduced to such a take it shovel it wimp in Energon? I say Energon because he still portrayed OP fairly decently in Armada. Personally I blame Hasbro for dumbing him down. :grr

It has to do with the fact that for Armada/Energon he has to record his dialog to match the animation. In BW and BM he was able to act out his part with his full range and then the CGI model was made to match him.

Ahh, welcome to the light my friend..

Nice post, AL. One thing that's interesting about BM is how some people say it's too fast-paced, and other people say it's too slow. Overall, the series has both plenty of action and plenty of slower moments.

 

BM is the most intelligent TF series I have ever seen, by FAR. And I found myself caring about the characters in a way I never had before. What I loved about it is the way that the entire series was conceived as a whole from start to finish. Actually, I loved everything about it.

 

P.S. Beast Machines aired after "The Matrix" came out... nevertheless, Blackarachnia does have some cool moves. :thumb

IIRC, the Volume 1 isn't in chronoligical order.  I bought one from Canada not too long ago and after comparing it to the TF book, I found out that it's no where near in order.

 

But after doing some reading, it looks like things get kinda stupid with a side of interesting.  I hope that Rhino release Season 1 soon.

Interesting. I checked out Tvtome and the eps are aired in the same order they play through on the dvd. I thought everything felt in order. On a side note I knew it was the same guy voicing Megatron fro Armada/Energon but I never would've guessed it was the same guy doing Primal. He's excellent in Beast Machiens so why was he reduced to such a take it shovel it wimp in Energon? I say Energon because he still portrayed OP fairly decently in Armada. Personally I blame Hasbro for dumbing him down. :grr

It has to do with the fact that for Armada/Energon he has to record his dialog to match the animation. In BW and BM he was able to act out his part with his full range and then the CGI model was made to match him.

it's all down to the animation processes, with bw and bm the lines were done before the animation so better character development could happen and playing off lines of other characters as well. with imports the animation already exists so a script is written that roughly fits the story and there is no room for improvisation

IIRC, the Volume 1 isn't in chronoligical order.  I bought one from Canada not too long ago and after comparing it to the TF book, I found out that it's no where near in order.

 

But after doing some reading, it looks like things get kinda stupid with a side of interesting.  I hope that Rhino release Season 1 soon.

Interesting. I checked out Tvtome and the eps are aired in the same order they play through on the dvd. I thought everything felt in order. On a side note I knew it was the same guy voicing Megatron fro Armada/Energon but I never would've guessed it was the same guy doing Primal. He's excellent in Beast Machiens so why was he reduced to such a take it shovel it wimp in Energon? I say Energon because he still portrayed OP fairly decently in Armada. Personally I blame Hasbro for dumbing him down. :grr

It has to do with the fact that for Armada/Energon he has to record his dialog to match the animation. In BW and BM he was able to act out his part with his full range and then the CGI model was made to match him.

it's all down to the animation processes, with bw and bm the lines were done before the animation so better character development could happen and playing off lines of other characters as well. with imports the animation already exists so a script is written that roughly fits the story and there is no room for improvisation

or "acting"

beast machine Prime = worst prime design ever... IMO

I have yet to see BM, so I'll take you're word for it HR...

 

 

 

:redface 22