Initial thoughts on Robots in Disguise (2015)?

[Doubledealer]

With new Transformers cartoon 'Robots in Disguise' just around the corner, I'd be interested to hear my fellow bots initial thoughts on the new cartoon, it's art style, cast and first batch of toys. Overall, are you excited? Lukewarm? Couldn't care less? Have your say, post pics, go nuts! :D

[Trent]

Ithink it looks good. The animation style, while not as god as Animated, looks fun and is easy on the eye.

And I am very pleased that tey seem (at least initially) to be moving away fromt he Optimus vs Megatron theme. I like that some other characters are being given some focus. Even if it is Bumblebee.

But time will tell :)

[Bladestorm]

I really dislike the animation style and think it is a step backwards from TF Prime which spoilt us with some superb imagery. I really hate how all the Autobot faces now seem to be based on Optimus from TF Prime. I'd rather watch the basic 2D drawings from G1 that the character designs used in RID.

I don't mind moving on from Optimus/Megatron and I don't mind the monster of the week format. I've watch a couple of episodes with my kids translating for me (as they speak enough Mandarin to understand most of the show) and they seem like fun storylines.
I am not a fan of Bumblebee being touted as the next leader but maybe it will grow on me. My kids don't like Bumblebee in this show at all for some reason. They constantly complain about him and ask when Optimus is coming back. They do like Strongarm, Grimlock and Sideswipe though and LOVE the Decepticons. I've already been told they want to collect all the Decepticon toys (well played Hasbro - you better release these guys!).

I'm a sucker for a Peter Cullen voiced Optimus, so I'd like to see more of him in the show; actually I think they should have just split his quest into a separate show as I think both shows would stand up well and they could have loads of cross-over fun a-la Rescue Bots to bring even more of an audience to the fold.

Having said all this, I like some of the toys - my kids have a few of them and LOVE them. The transformations, while not complex make the toys fun for them but not one step. (I haven't brought any of the one steps as the kids weren't interested in them). Strongarm has easily become the favourite of the bunch and my kids play with her a lot. Hero Grimlock is loads of fun even though he is only a 3 step changer and my son takes Legion Optimus everywhere.
I really like the toy aesthetic. I think they actually look better than the cartoon but I am undecided if I will collect any of the Optimus' for my own collection.

[FruitBuyer]

Initially I was against it but it soon came to grow on me. It helps that it's being done by Cartoon Network, who also did Animated.

That and I love the Warrior Grimlock figure. I'm excited for the series.

[liegeprime]

For those who are interested to watch the first thre initial episodes it's now up for viewing at animeflavor.com

the animation style reminds me of that ABC 3 cartoon of those surfing loving teenagers who work in a hotel... (Ive watched it a couple of times but can't seem to remember the title of that show).

The show is just starting so Im gonna watch it with an open mind and no expectations. that way I will get to enjoy it :D

[Omega Metro]

I have not watched it, and have no particular desire to. I saw the toys for the first time the other day and quite like them. I like to think of it as a continuation of Prime series as the toys are the same style.

[Trent]

I have not watched it, and have no particular desire to. I saw the toys for the first time the other day and quite like them. I like to think of it as a continuation of Prime series as the toys are the same style.

It _is_ a continuation of the Prime series ;)

[VERT]

the animation style reminds me of that ABC 3 cartoon of those surfing loving teenagers who work in a hotel... (Ive watched it a couple of times but can't seem to remember the title of that show


yeah the show is called Stoked

[GoktimusPrime]

RiD2015 is animated by Polygon Pictures, the same Japanese animation studio that animated Transformers Prime. I'm guessing that the character designs came from Hasbro, as possibly was the decision to go w/ cel shaded CGI rather than full CGI. It's possible that they could have a smaller budget than they did w/ TF Prime. We've seen this sort of thing happen before; i.e. declining animation quality as budget decreases. AFAIK Hasbro reduced the budget for G1; and there's a perceptible difference in animation standards between each Season. Season 1 was entirely animated by Japanese animation studio Toei Animation (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Toei), but from Season 2 onwards, Sunbow started outsourcing animation to the low-budget South Korean animation studio AKOM (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/AKOM). Canadian animation studio Mainframe didn't want to decrease their animation quality for Seasons 2 and 3 of Beast Wars, so they managed their budget decline by literally halving the number of episodes for those seasons (S1 = 26 eps, S2&3 = 13 eps each); thus BW became more about quality over quantity. TF Prime didn't seem to suffer any decline in animation quality between Seasons 1-3, which is pretty good. The only significant decline in animation quality in TFP was the Megatronus/Orion Pax origin story, but that was because it was animated shortly after the devastating 2011 Tohoku earthquake/tsunami (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_T%C5%8Dhoku_earthquake_and_tsunami) which reduced something like a third of Polygon's workforce, so the still montage sequence was done in order to get the scene done on time; but it was done predominantly to save time rather than money. Subsequent historical recounts were done in the same style to maintain style consistency. So I'm guessing that RiD2015 may have a smaller budget than TF Prime, hence the shift in animation style. And to be fair, full CG animation is pretty expensive. :o

[liegeprime]

plus the CGI animation that TFprime had was always pretty dark. even scenes out in the open it was always like dusk... sometimes hard to make out stuff while viewing with so many shadows. So at least this new cartoon looks a bit brighter, scenes wise.

Ive watched the first 3 eps yesterday but I have a few questions already that's got me a bit confused re: continuity issues with TFP and TFRiD.... unfortunately I don't wanna spoil it for those who have not watched it yet so I'll just keep on watching first, maybe my queries will get answered in the next few eps....

[Sinnertwin]

Nelson Shin was founder and president of Akom, so it seems hardly suprising if he had a hand in getting those G1 episodes made