(39 episodes)
What’s it about ?
Do I really need to give an overview of the Transformers franchise ?
As far as this series goes, it’s a complete re-imagining of the concept, divorced from any of the previous animated series ; it got retooled a bit for the US broadcast in 2001. And that is what I’m watching, as I couldn’t find the version that went on Japanese airwaves.
Characters
Megatron, leader of the Predacons (no, not the Decepticons) is an EVIL tyrant from space who wants to conquer Earth and drain its energy. Oh, and he’s a transforming machine, of course.
Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, is here to show that not all transforming machines are evil ! They’ll fight Megatron and his henchmachines ! (The fact that not only have they infiltrated Earth, disguised as common vehicles, but also set up a secret network of tunnels that allow them to go anywhere in the world, is not creepy at all.)
Dr Onishi is the leading human authority on energy (and archaeology, because one needs hobby) ; he attends some world conference in the US and gets targeted by Megatron. Being a good man, he refuses to cooperate.
Koji, his son, is obviously distressed seeing his dad being captured on live TV. (Er, why are you calling his cell ? And how the heck is he answering ? Is Megatron patiently waiting while the professor takes the call ?) I have no clue why Megatron goes to the trouble of retrieving the kid in Japan and bringing him to the attack’s location, as he’s worse than useless.
Production Values
Decent enough ; I presume the weird background music and the clunky CG transitions were added for the US version, as they don’t fit well.
Overall Impression
… Why does the English dub sounds like it’s voiced by LittleKuriboh ?
Seriously, this is full of terrible acting, always on the verge of underlining on the plot holes, but not enough for it to feel deliberate. And dear gods, are there many plot holes indeed ; it’s hard to take what’s happening seriously.
I have better things to do than spend hours mock-watching this crap, however unintentionally hilarious it might be.
