"Transformers: Animated":

[wayshway]

Ever since Transformers: Armada's debut five years ago, fans have clamored for the one thing neither Armada nor its two sequels ultimately had: U.S. writers. The last three Transformers series (collectively known as The Unicron Trilogy) were produced entirely in Japan, so they featured some great design work and good characterization, but too many episodes functioned as parts of an overarching saga rather than as individual stories. The Japanese style of more homogenous writing; the minimal characterization of secondary characters; some bad translation errors: these had many fans looking back on the original Transformers (and especially Beast Wars) as series that had made the best use of Western writing.

So many were pleased when it was announced that Transformers: Animated, which would follow Transformers' successful live-action debut, would be a U.S. production; but we were also told it would be stylized along the lines of Teen Titans. Now, I love Teen Titans; and Beast Machines had already set a precedent for highly stylized, non-traditional designs. But even I wondered how well such a style would suit a 2-D series about battle-hardened robots from another planet. And I was hardly alone. But although I consider the original series the best Transformers show of all, I think I can see past the hallowed Generation 1 series and give newer concepts a chance.

The first good news is that Transformers: Animated, though primarily aimed at children, does feature some smart lines and distinctive characters, so that it can also appeal to an older fan base. The three-episode pilot, "Transform and Roll Out," even starts with some "historical footage" of the last Great War that is actual footage from the original G1 Transformers series. We then get our first look at the new characters in action. There's no getting away from it: these are by far the most stylized Transformers designs yet. Vaguely human proportions are out; in are top-heavy designs and a vastly simplified aesthetic, reminiscent of the first season designs from the original series. Fortunately, the new designs do make the animation (from Japanese studio Mook) extremely fluid and dynamic. Admittedly, the look takes a lot of getting used to, but once you're caught up in the characters' natural-sounding dialogue and acting, the designs become a negligible concern.

The motley crew, which we find in deep space, is strongly reminiscent of Beast Wars' small cast of characters. Like Optimus Primal, the new Optimus Prime doesn't start out as an all-knowing, all-powerful leader. Rather, this initial story, and possibly the rest of the series, deals with Optimus Prime's evolution into a more iconic role. Even though Optimus isn't quite Autobot Leader material yet, he's clearly more capable than he's willing to admit, and it'll be especially interesting to find out just why he's on a simple space bridge repair ship. As for the other Autobots, Ratchet is a pleasing combination of the original series' somewhat cranky character and the world-weary veteran in the live-action movie. Prowl is quite the lone-wolf, Bulkhead the Transformers equivalent of Ben Grimm, and Bumblebee his ever-eager and enthusiastic self.

It's not long before the Allspark is accidentally discovered in space, and the Decepticons themselves are not far behind. The story immediately sets up Megatron as a credible threat by having him attack the Autobot ship all by himself. (Naturally, Starscream has his own agenda, and as usual it doesn't involve Megatron succeeding.) We also get brief glimpses of the other Decepticons, including a virtually-unchanged-from-Beast Wars Blackarachnia, the intimidating Lugnut, and the three-way schizophrenic Blitzwing (very reminiscent of classic Masters of the Universe's Man-E-Faces). Eventually, the Autobots (and Megatron's remains) crash-land on Earth. Cut to fifty years later in the 22nd century, where the brilliant Professor Sumdac's research has transformed Detroit into a hub of robot manufacturing. One of the professor's advanced experiments accidentally results in