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Description

Transformers: Armada (2002-03)
Episodes: 52
Network: Cartoon Network

At the start of the 2000s decade and after the 2001 RiD series, the Transformers franchise was rebooted in the anime medium yet again in the form of Transformers: Armada, a whole new anime reimagining of the franchise dubbed in the states from its original version Micron Legends and is the first of a trilogy of Transformers anime shows, which has been known by fans as The Unicron Trilogy, comprised of Armada, Energon & Cybertron.

While the Trilogy as a whole is a collection of varying degrees of quality with the three shows, Armada is the one of the three shows that many fans would agree is the best of the trilogy or at least the one that could be considered the fan favorite of the three. But where do I stand with Armada?

As a change here, I'm actually going to start off with the negatives first....

Negatives:

Outside of a handful we will discuss in the positives, most of the other characters aren't all that great.

The trilogy introduces the new young Autobot, Hot Shot, who was like a mixture of Bumblebee, Cheetor and Hot Rod all in one and before Bumblebee was a more mainstay character currently, is a bit annoying and irresponsible with his actions and feels like a weaker version of Cheetor in Beast Wars but I will admit he does have his occasional good moments as a character.

Some of the other Autobots introduced later are a bit forgettable outside of some of their surface level personality traits and are somewhat just there. There are also a few instances where a character dies or gets killed which almost has an impact on the other characters and raise the stakes but later is nullified when they are brought back later in the show, usually upgraded and outside of a few later that actually stick in terms of leaving an impact, death feels undermined in the show at times or is usually brushed off unless its something more serious.

The teenage human characters here, while not terrible or hateable, range from okay to pointless. Alexis is the best of them and is a decent enough human character with some standout bits of development that I won't spoil, while the main two boys Rad and Carlos are a bit weak in comparison. Rad gets a bit annoying with his needless narrating even during the opening of the episodes during the first half of the show and Carlos is kinda just the typical adventurous Hispanic kid. The former bullies Billy and Fred are the most pointless additions to the human side of the cast as they don't really do any of real significance and can get pretty annoying whenever they're onscreen that I wanted them to shut up. Again, they're not the worst humans in a Transformers show, but aside from one, they're nothing special or to write home about.

I also wish they gave a bit more character and personalities to the Mini-Cons, outside of them just communicating through robotic beeping sounds and just being plot devices in the show's early fetch quest formula ala Pokemon, though it could have been like G1 with there being too many characters to keep track of, had they characterized every one of them.

There are also some instances of errors in the dubbing regarding some mistakes with character names or the execution/translation of the dialogue. Its somewhat of a common flaw with English dubs of anime and the dub I do think is fine for the most part with the voice acting but it does go without saying, there are noticeable dubbing errors here and there (expect much worse in the next show in the Trilogy)

Mixed:

The voice cast of the English dub has some very good voice actors playing the characters including a Beast Wars reunion of Garry Chalk, David Kaye and Scott McNeil as the voices of Optimus Prime, Megatron and Jetfire respectively. I do think they do very good in the roles and while not as good as how they were in Beast Wars or even Machines, I still like their performances. The same could be said for the other VAs in the cast outside of a couple that could've been better or weren't on the level of the rest, not helped by some of the more spotty translations in the dub. However the one thing I'm mixed with is the creative decision to add a robot filter to the voices, a flaw that continues in the next two shows. I don't think it does much in the characters favor and kind of undermines the more human element of them as its just there to pointlessly emphasize the obvious fact that they're robots. Yes, Transformers are alien robots but they're still characters that we the viewers are suppose to empathize with and even relate to in some degree and the robot filter to the voices like Optimus being the big example of it, are unnecessary. Don't get me wrong, I can tolerate the robot voices, they don't annoy me or irritate me or ruin the experience or anything, but they could've done without them.

This is a common flaw with even some of the shows I love but the show does take a while to really get good. I don't dislike the beginning portion of the show as I do think it serves decently as an introduction to the main characters and how the humans get involved in the Autobot / Decepticon conflict and establishing the main overarching plot with the Mini-Cons and what their roles are, its not until the middle /latte half of the show that it picks up and gets really interesting and engaging with the characters and the new twists and threats in the plot. It has a bit of a slow burn beginning half that I am still on board for but still have to wait a while to get to the show at its best.

Positives:

Even with the mostly mediocre cast, there are some really good standout characters of the show.

The show's take on Optimus and Megatron are interesting new takes on both leaders, with Optimus having a bit more of a caring side for his men and brothers in arms in the war and even some bits of humor and Megatron still being a tyrannical villain but at the same time has an honorable and even flawed charm to his character and his interactions with others including his own men and enemies. And their rivalry leads to some very cool and exciting fights and action moments including their bad ass introduction and final fight.

But the big breakout character of the show is Starscream. This is a very different take on the character as most depictions of Starscream usually are portrayed as a coward or a backstabber or in some cases both. This version is less like Starscream in character and is more close to Dinobot from Beast Wars, right down to their character arcs. Both start off on the villains' side, both switch sides during the war, eventually return to their former side breaking any trust they had with the heroes, and ultimately giving everything they have to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. I really love the new take on Starscream and find it to be a very refreshing and unique take on the classic character and though it unfortunately gets undermined or ruined later on in the Trilogy, as a standalone arc in this one show, it is beautifully done and one of the definitive highlights of the show for me.

The animation also excels later on as the show gets deeper into its run and how it presents the action and fight moments. While the animation in the beginning portion was okay for the most part, it really improves visually and really sells the mood, atmosphere and epicness of the action or moment especially when the show introduces the newest threats overtime and presents some intense and captivating action scenes and character moments.

The music in the show is also on point and helps add to the excitement and mood of the moments whenever its needed as well as the main instrumental theme of the show is badass, being this awesome guitar rendition of the original G1 theme and helps bring out the epicness of a moment whenever its brought up such as the introduction of certain characters.

This show also introduces some standout new characters that have become prevalent in the franchise since Armada's debut that I won't spoil but are certainly worth mentioning and the big new threats brought in add a lot to the show's experience.

Standout Episodes:

+ First Encounter
+ Metamorphosis
+ Tactician
+ Linkup
+ Sacrifice
+ Past
+ Rescue
+ Mars
+ Crack
+ Crisis
+ Puppet
+ Drift
+ Portent
+ Cramp
+ Union
+ Mortal Combat

Final Thoughts:

Despite some of the flaws and some minor problems with the dubbing and certain characters, Transformers: Armada is a very solid Transformers anime series that starts off well enough but gets increasingly better over the course of its run. While its not an extremely high bar, its definitely so far the best of the Unicorn Trilogy and of the anime Transformers shows, this one is easily the best of the bunch. Though the two shows after never reach the same level as this and kind of diminish it in some parts and give a less then stellar reputation as a whole, I would still give Armada a huge recommendation for the unique take on the Transformers series that it is.

8/10

What do you think of Transformers: Armada?

Description

Transformers: Armada (2002-03)
Episodes: 52
Network: Cartoon Network

At the start of the 2000s decade and after the 2001 RiD series, the Transformers franchise was rebooted in the anime medium yet again in the form of Transformers: Armada, a whole new anime reimagining of the franchise dubbed in the states from its original version Micron Legends and is the first of a trilogy of Transformers anime shows, which has been known by fans as The Unicron Trilogy, comprised of Armada, Energon & Cybertron.

While the Trilogy as a whole is a collection of varying degrees of quality with the three shows, Armada is the one of the three shows that many fans would agree is the best of the trilogy or at least the one that could be considered the fan favorite of the three. But where do I stand with Armada?

As a change here, I'm actually going to start off with the negatives first....

Negatives:

Outside of a handful we will discuss in the positives, most of the other characters aren't all that great.

The trilogy introduces the new young Autobot, Hot Shot, who was like a mixture of Bumblebee, Cheetor and Hot Rod all in one and before Bumblebee was a more mainstay character currently, is a bit annoying and irresponsible with his actions and feels like a weaker version of Cheetor in Beast Wars but I will admit he does have his occasional good moments as a character.

Some of the other Autobots introduced later are a bit forgettable outside of some of their surface level personality traits and are somewhat just there. There are also a few instances where a character dies or gets killed which almost has an impact on the other characters and raise the stakes but later is nullified when they are brought back later in the show, usually upgraded and outside of a few later that actually stick in terms of leaving an impact, death feels undermined in the show at times or is usually brushed off unless its something more serious.

The teenage human characters here, while not terrible or hateable, range from okay to pointless. Alexis is the best of them and is a decent enough human character with some standout bits of development that I won't spoil, while the main two boys Rad and Carlos are a bit weak in comparison. Rad gets a bit annoying with his needless narrating even during the opening of the episodes during the first half of the show and Carlos is kinda just the typical adventurous Hispanic kid. The former bullies Billy and Fred are the most pointless additions to the human side of the cast as they don't really do any of real significance and can get pretty annoying whenever they're onscreen that I wanted them to shut up. Again, they're not the worst humans in a Transformers show, but aside from one, they're nothing special or to write home about.

I also wish they gave a bit more character and personalities to the Mini-Cons, outside of them just communicating through robotic beeping sounds and just being plot devices in the show's early fetch quest formula ala Pokemon, though it could have been like G1 with there being too many characters to keep track of, had they characterized every one of them.

There are also some instances of errors in the dubbing regarding some mistakes with character names or the execution/translation of the dialogue. Its somewhat of a common flaw with English dubs of anime and the dub I do think is fine for the most part with the voice acting but it does go without saying, there are noticeable dubbing errors here and there (expect much worse in the next show in the Trilogy)

Mixed:

The voice cast of the English dub has some very good voice actors playing the characters including a Beast Wars reunion of Garry Chalk, David Kaye and Scott McNeil as the voices of Optimus Prime, Megatron and Jetfire respectively. I do think they do very good in the roles and while not as good as how they were in Beast Wars or even Machines, I still like their performances. The same could be said for the other VAs in the cast outside of a couple that could've been better or weren't on the level of the rest, not helped by some of the more spotty translations in the dub. However the one thing I'm mixed with is the creative decision to add a robot filter to the voices, a flaw that continues in the next two shows. I don't think it does much in the characters favor and kind of undermines the more human element of them as its just there to pointlessly emphasize the obvious fact that they're robots. Yes, Transformers are alien robots but they're still characters that we the viewers are suppose to empathize with and even relate to in some degree and the robot filter to the voices like Optimus being the big example of it, are unnecessary. Don't get me wrong, I can tolerate the robot voices, they don't annoy me or irritate me or ruin the experience or anything, but they could've done without them.

This is a common flaw with even some of the shows I love but the show does take a while to really get good. I don't dislike the beginning portion of the show as I do think it serves decently as an introduction to the main characters and how the humans get involved in the Autobot / Decepticon conflict and establishing the main overarching plot with the Mini-Cons and what their roles are, its not until the middle /latte half of the show that it picks up and gets really interesting and engaging with the characters and the new twists and threats in the plot. It has a bit of a slow burn beginning half that I am still on board for but still have to wait a while to get to the show at its best.

Positives:

Even with the mostly mediocre cast, there are some really good standout characters of the show.

The show's take on Optimus and Megatron are interesting new takes on both leaders, with Optimus having a bit more of a caring side for his men and brothers in arms in the war and even some bits of humor and Megatron still being a tyrannical villain but at the same time has an honorable and even flawed charm to his character and his interactions with others including his own men and enemies. And their rivalry leads to some very cool and exciting fights and action moments including their bad ass introduction and final fight.

But the big breakout character of the show is Starscream. This is a very different take on the character as most depictions of Starscream usually are portrayed as a coward or a backstabber or in some cases both. This version is less like Starscream in character and is more close to Dinobot from Beast Wars, right down to their character arcs. Both start off on the villains' side, both switch sides during the war, eventually return to their former side breaking any trust they had with the heroes, and ultimately giving everything they have to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. I really love the new take on Starscream and find it to be a very refreshing and unique take on the classic character and though it unfortunately gets undermined or ruined later on in the Trilogy, as a standalone arc in this one show, it is beautifully done and one of the definitive highlights of the show for me.

The animation also excels later on as the show gets deeper into its run and how it presents the action and fight moments. While the animation in the beginning portion was okay for the most part, it really improves visually and really sells the mood, atmosphere and epicness of the action or moment especially when the show introduces the newest threats overtime and presents some intense and captivating action scenes and character moments.

The music in the show is also on point and helps add to the excitement and mood of the moments whenever its needed as well as the main instrumental theme of the show is badass, being this awesome guitar rendition of the original G1 theme and helps bring out the epicness of a moment whenever its brought up such as the introduction of certain characters.

This show also introduces some standout new characters that have become prevalent in the franchise since Armada's debut that I won't spoil but are certainly worth mentioning and the big new threats brought in add a lot to the show's experience.

Standout Episodes:

+ First Encounter
+ Metamorphosis
+ Tactician
+ Linkup
+ Sacrifice
+ Past
+ Rescue
+ Mars
+ Crack
+ Crisis
+ Puppet
+ Drift
+ Portent
+ Cramp
+ Union
+ Mortal Combat

Final Thoughts:

Despite some of the flaws and some minor problems with the dubbing and certain characters, Transformers: Armada is a very solid Transformers anime series that starts off well enough but gets increasingly better over the course of its run. While its not an extremely high bar, its definitely so far the best of the Unicorn Trilogy and of the anime Transformers shows, this one is easily the best of the bunch. Though the two shows after never reach the same level as this and kind of diminish it in some parts and give a less then stellar reputation as a whole, I would still give Armada a huge recommendation for the unique take on the Transformers series that it is.

8/10

What do you think of Transformers: Armada?