0
0
New Transformers animated series come and go every few years (a must when you want to keep creating and selling new toy lines, I guess)—sometimes tied into earlier series, sometimes rebooting the property entirely. The early 2000s saw three complete series tied together to form what they call the Unicron Trilogy, named after the show’s primary antagonist. Despite some miscommunication in its production—and wavering quality—Transformers: Cybertron closes out the trilogy in an epic style that should satisfy fans who stuck it out through the preceding two series.
After his defeat in the previous Transformers: Energon series, the villainous, planet-devouring Unicron has collapsed into a massive black hole that threatens the Transformers’ home planet of Cybertron, as well as the rest of the galaxy. After fleeing to Earth, Optimus Prime and the Autobots discover that four powerful missing artifacts can help them destroy the black hole and save their home. If that weren’t enough, Megatron and his Decepticons have returned as well, intent on seizing the artifacts for themselves.
By this point, the structure of the series is kind of old hat. The Autobots, aided by a handful of kids on Earth, have to travel around the cosmos, locating the current MacGuffins before engaging in a climactic showdown (again) with Megatron. There’s an added behind-the-scenes wrinkle with this one, though. While American toy company Hasbro commissioned the series as a follow-up to Energon, the Japanese studio that produced it opted for a straight-up reboot instead, using the title Transformers: Galaxy Force.
On one hand, this caused some major continuity glitches, including established characters with different histories and personalities and an overall timeline that doesn’t match up. In this series, for instance, the Autobots have just arrived on Earth, while they’d been living there for a couple of decades by the close of the second series. On the other hand, though, this forced Hasbro to spend considerably more time re-editing the series and creating an English language track that smoothed over some of the inconsistencies. While there are still some confusing aspects for those paying close attention—and really, you shouldn’t be—it’s one of the best English dubs I’ve seen for a Transformers cartoon.
While the script and vocal performances have seen an upswing in quality, the animation is still somewhat unimpressive. As in Energon, the Transformers are computer-rendered, while the human characters and backgrounds remain traditionally hand-drawn. The Transformer designs are a bit smoother and more articulate than before, but they remain blocky and largely incapable of expressing the emotion of the voice actors. It’s not the worst stylistic choice, but after ten or so episodes, the repetitive movement and extended transformation sequences begin to drag.
Despite more than a few missteps along the way, Transformers: Cybertron brings the Unicron Trilogy to a satisfying conclusion. These aren’t the best the franchise can do, but they’re not the worst, either. There’s something undeniably impressive about a saga spanning three distinct series and 155 episodes. As with Armada and Energon, it’s a series best suited for younger viewers with a less critical approach, but even for older fans, there’s more here than meets the eye.
