Cyberverse cartoon first clip

[griffin]

The Cyberverse cartoon is the next series of animation for Transformers, and with its imminent release on western TV screens, Cartoon Network has posted up a 2 minute video clip on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9n73hC84is).
We see Windblade, Bumblebee and Thundercracker fighting in the desert, and it looks like Bumblebee has lost his memory (and a lot less serious than in RID... if this is supposed to be in the same universe).

[i_amtrunks]

I can feel the fan boy rage already.

It’s not a good clip for anyone over the age of about 4...

We could play a lengthy game of “media trope bingo”, silent antagonist, female with a sword who fights worse with it, last second stopping of heroine getting harmed by hero, hero gets lucky shot in, but only paralyses, protagonists take eye off villain for no logical reason, bad jokes, dumb, obnoxious main protagonist, whiny female lead, oh and MEMORY LOSS!

I know we are not the target audience but wow that was not a strong first look. Prime and Animated both had better teaser clips.

[shockNwave]

Sad that the devolution that would follow the brilliant Animated series wasn't just going to be in the toylines but also in the cartoons.:(

[BigTransformerTrev]

What’s the rule regarding spoilers discussing this? Would like to comment but don’t wanna spoil it for anyone else :o

In lieu of anything specific, the tone and animation look like they could have some appeal, but I reckon some movieverse concepts could have been left behind

[Handsprime]

>Bumblebee doesn't speak, instead he talks through the radio like the live action films.

Am I the only one sick of this? Already lost any interest I had in this show after hearing that.

[BigTransformerTrev]

(since others have mentioned what happens in the clip I'm guessing there is no 'spoiler' rule :) )

*I think this is showing how much the cartoon is going to support the movie since they have reintroduced Bumblebee talking through the radio. The powers that be obviously think you can't have two different media with Bbee in it where one talks and the other doesn't. Personally I would have liked to see the concept binned after all these years.

*One wonders if there is a potential spoiler for the movie in this. Bbee has amnesia and doesn't know where he is or who he is. Is this what Bbee is going to be like in the prequel flick? Quite possibly.

*I don't really like the animation style, but then I didn't like the animation style of the Prime teaser clip when it first came out for that cartoon so I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. I will say Bbee looks better than he did in RID, I never liked his big-chinned look in that cartoon.

*None of the bots look very powerful. I mean Thundercracker is a giant robot that turns into a fighter jet and one of the elite Seeker warriors, yet his lanky appearance makes him look like someone that would have constantly been beaten up in the cyber-schoolyard.

*Why doesn't Cracker use his weapons or a sonic boom during the fight? Windblade uses her blade, why doesn't he try to blast her when he has a gun on each arm? Is he being chivalrous? Considering he flew down and kicked a femmebot in the gut I doubt it - I think its just not a lot of thought was put in and he is there just to further the little plot - I mean he doesn't even speak!

*Overall I'd say that I'm underwhelmed by the clip, and given the poor toys associated with the Cyberverse line I'm not filled with hope. So I am really hoping I end up being pleasantly surprised by it turning out to be good.

[GoktimusPrime]

Some people still aren't fans of the Prime designs -- no noses and caterpillar eyebrows with huge chins ... that whole Cartoon Network x Bayformers aesthetic. I get it. But it's not the same as animation quality. Regardless of what you think about Prime's designs, it was a very well animated show.

And even though we all love G1's designs, we know that the animation quality in the G1 cartoon varied wildly e.g. Both Toei and Akom followed the same Floro Dery Sunbow designs, but we know that the animation quality greatly differed. And then even more so in TFTM with its movie budget.

Transformers Prime had consistently excellent animation quality. Even the cheaper flashback sequences that was done through painted stills were still really well done. The first flashback scene done in that style was done so because Polygon had lost a third of its staff after the extremely devastating 2011 Tohoku earthquake & tsunami disaster (from which that region still hasn't yet fully recovered :(). But Hasbro Studios was so impressed that they chose to make all future flashback scenes animated in the same style to maintain continuity in visual narrative.

RID must've had a smaller budget than Prime since they went with the relatively cheaper option of cel-shaded CG animation. But for it was, the animation quality was decent. Nowhere near as good as Prime, but it was okay and not terrible. But the animation we're seeing in Cyberverse looks awful -- it looks like some low budget Flash animation. I would prefer good old fashion hand-drawn cel animation over this.


>Bumblebee doesn't speak, instead he talks through the radio like the live action films.

Am I the only one sick of this? Already lost any interest I had in this show after hearing that.
^100% agree. Although it's better than Bumblebee speaking through digital farts as he did throughout most of TF Prime. That was banally stupid. But it's definitely a big step backwards considering that Bumblebee had his voice restored by the end of TF Prime Beast Hunters and he spoke throughout all of RID. Please don't tell me that he "forgot" that he can talk, cos that's just really dumb. Remember how Beast Machines started off with the Maximals forgetting how to transform and they had to relearn how to do it? (especially Rattrap) It was stupid then and is stupid now!

And... why do they blink?!? :eek:
Okay, if you want them to blink then do what Beast Wars did and have their optic light levels dim and brighten. Why would robots need eyelids?!? It just feels like they're further talking down to the audience by adding this in. It's not necessary! Or if you're going to make them blink, give them more defined looking robotic eyelids. Cos that's what Rescue Bots does, and that's aimed at a younger audience! Actually, the animation quality in Rescue Bots is much better than Cyberverse, and the designs don't feel as condescending either. Rescue Bots actually has a pretty good story that's driven by character development. The main difference is that it doesn't have violent conflict -- they're Rescue Bots so each episode's complication is based on saving people as opposed to doing combat. Rescue Bots is actually better written than Bayformers. It has characters!

[hYpNoS]

^I think the blinkers are windshield wipers LOL

...but yeah I wasn't feeling it, rescues bots would have fit in just as well for whoever the target audience of cyberverse was going for

[BigTransformerTrev]

*I think this is showing how much the cartoon is going to support the movie since they have reintroduced Bumblebee talking through the radio. The powers that be obviously think you can't have two different media with Bbee in it where one talks and the other doesn't. Personally I would have liked to see the concept binned after all these years.

*One wonders if there is a potential spoiler for the movie in this. Bbee has amnesia and doesn't know where he is or who he is. Is this what Bbee is going to be like in the prequel flick? Quite possibly.


This also could be why Windblade is asking Bbee if he knows where the Allspark is. Since the upcoming movie is a prequel, it stands to reason they haven't found the Allspark yet. So could be once again similar themes spread across both the new cartoon and new flick, especially since both are aimed at audiences younger than they usually are so will be viewed by a lot of kids new to the franchise. Of course, I'm not suggesting the movie and cartoon are set in the same continuity (all the cartoon characters are the right colours for a start :p)

[DELTAprime]

Ah? Well? WTF?

:confused:

[UltraMarginal]

I think you guys are getting a bit carried away, it's a small amount of footage.
perhaps it's reflective of what the 'general populace' is responding to these days. look at the outrage over the other recent 80's property animated show previews. it's similar: simplification, cutification, 'kidification' of the old property.

maybe the market research is leading them there.

I'm not saying it's good, but keep in mind that many transformers shows have had lots of issues over the years. from animation, design style/choices. If this loses a lot of customers, I'm sure it will be canned quickly and replaced with something different again.

[BigTransformerTrev]

I think you guys are getting a bit carried away, it's a small amount of footage.

Bwah haha! Very true and guilty as charged :D

But let’s face it, if we were to stop fans needlessly overanalysing every tiny bit of test footage and how it could possibly relate to toylines, overall branding etc etc etc we might as well shut down Ozformers and all the other fansites and, you know, get on with our lives and worry about stuff that is actually meaningful.

And that is a scary friggin thought! :eek::p

[M-bot]

I showed it to my 3 1/2 year old and asked him what he thought - all he wanted to point out was that there was a Teen Titans Go! ad on the side banner.:D

[BigTransformerTrev]

I showed it to my 3 1/2 year old and asked him what he thought - all he wanted to point out was that there was a Teen Titans Go! ad on the side banner.:D

That show is my sons favourite show at the moment too :)

I gotta admit - it’s bloody funny! And it caters to all ages with its popculture references, from rollerblades from the 90s to music from the 80s, and even old sitcom references going back to Gillian’s and Fantasy Island :D

[GoktimusPrime]

I was typing a reply to this thread but it ended up being focused on the toys instead of the show, so I posted it here (http://otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?p=593576#post593576) instead. ;)

[M-bot]

That show is my sons favourite show at the moment too :)

I gotta admit - it’s bloody funny! And it caters to all ages with its popculture references, from rollerblades from the 90s to music from the 80s, and even old sitcom references going back to Gillian’s and Fantasy Island :D

I love it too. There’s a feature film coming out soon that I’m dying to take my boys to. Despite the film getting good reviews, there’s apparently a heap of fanboy whining because it’s not enough like the Teen Titans cartoon of the early-mid noughts.

TF fans would never be like that.;):p

[GoktimusPrime]

At the end of the day, the best and really only way for Cyberverse to silence its critics is to produce something GOOD. Just look at what happened when Beast Wars debuted. It was immediately met with virulent fan outrage (TRUKK NOT MUNKY!). I remember being part of online groups like BWADL (Beast Wars Anti-Defamation League) where we would be writing copious numbers of online essays in defence of Beast Wars because the fan hate was that strong.

Never heard of BWADL? It's because the group didn't last long. Because after only a few months more and more Transformers fans could see the quality of the toys and the show for themselves and themselves soon became fans of Beast Wars. Sure, there's always been a number of haters, but they soon became the silent minority as the overwhelming majority of fans became Beast Wars lovers. :) And arguably the reverse happened with Bayformers. When the first movie came out, loads of people loved it (and it remains the favourite of the live action films for most fans). Critics at the time were a silent minority. But with each successive sequel, the critics became more and more numerous, and supporters soon shifted to becoming the minority as the movies became harder and harder to defend as pieces of film literature. And some of the toys became harder to defend as they were based on the relatively kibble-free CGI models from AOE and TLK.

And the same applies for Travis Knight's Bumblebee movie. Fans appear to split down the middle with this, with jaded Bayformers audiences already hating it because it's in the same cinematic universe as Bayformers, whereas others are willing to keep a more open mind because it's a new (albeit novice) director. But the only way for Knight to silence his critics is to release a good movie, and Hasbro will silence its critics on the Bumblebee movie toys by releasing good figures.

Whenever I've expressed wariness over a Bayformers film before its release people tell me that I can't judge it since it hasn't come out yet. And I always say that I dare Michael Bay to prove me wrong. He hasn't done so yet. Nostalgia Critic's "Not Review" of The Last Knight was very telling, where he basically predicted the plot of that film with 90% accuracy months before its release (demonstrating how mundanely predictable Bayformers films are). And I'll issue the same challenge to Cyberverse too. Prove me wrong. I double dare you. I will be glad to be proven wrong here. And it's happened before. I walked into Rescue Bots expecting it to be rubbish (especially after the awful Go-Go-Go-Bots (aka Transformers Big Adventures) cartoon *shudder*). But much to my pleasant surprise, it's actually a really good series given its target audience! And now I'm an advocate for Rescue Bots. Just as Beast Wars converted its critics to advocates. So go ahead, Cyberverse. Convert me from a critic to an advocate. DO EET!

[Trent]

Bwah haha! Very true and guilty as charged :D

But let’s face it, if we were to stop fans needlessly overanalysing every tiny bit of test footage and how it could possibly relate to toylines, overall branding etc etc etc we might as well shut down Ozformers and all the other fansites and, you know, get on with our lives and worry about stuff that is actually meaningful.

And that is a scary friggin thought! :eek::p


I love it too. There’s a feature film coming out soon that I’m dying to take my boys to. Despite the film getting good reviews, there’s apparently a heap of fanboy whining because it’s not enough like the Teen Titans cartoon of the early-mid noughts.

TF fans would never be like that.;):p

Teen Titans Go is a brilliant show. But if you ever wanted an example of a show that has garnered massive rage from the adult man child fan base of those characters, then look no further. I mean, the show makes jokes about how it’s so hated.

I must admit, the clip didn’t impress me. But then, the first half season of any new TF show is typically mediocre. It takes the makers time to find their feet.

[GoktimusPrime]

But then, the first half season of any new TF show is typically mediocre. It takes the makers time to find their feet.
Except for G1 and Beast Wars which roped audiences in from the get go. :)

"Prime told me there'd be days like this."
"And you didn't believe him?"
"I do now!"
- More Than Meets The Eye, Part 1

"Attention Maximals, my name is Dinobot. I have left the Predacons to join your group, as leader."
"What? Did I hear the word 'leader'?"
"This guy's got bearings of chrome steel."
Beast Wars, Part 1

[Bladestorm]

I don't mind the conceptual aesthetic of the characters in this cartoon; definitely an improvement on RID where the Autobot designs were horrible. It kind of looks like a step up from Rescue Bots but in that similar style.

However like others I'm really sick of Bumblebee using his radio. I don't mind what he looks like or transforms into but give him that childish naivety with his own voice like he had in G1 so kids CAN connect with his character, and preferably not the wannabe leader voice that was forced out in RID.

I don't mind having Windblade either as it encourages girls to enjoy the show too and I do kind of like that the fight kept her mostly as an equal to Thundercracker although the mention of him not using his special abilities does make me go hmm.

I think in recent times Transformers Prime was so good with its animation and incredible backgrounds that anything that comes after it just doesn't compare.
I hoped RID would have great storylines but alas it really fell flat for me, especially the "I am Optimus Prime and I will now give a soliloquy before we go into battle" trope and the almost lazy animation that made much of the original G1 show look good in comparison.

I hope they give the characters in Cyberverse more dimension this time around and put some thought into the stories. With a shorter time format though I am uncertain they'll achieve that at all. However, I'm willing to give it a chance and will hold my final opinion until we've seen a few episodes.

[UltraMarginal]

These (http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/08/16/gulli-website-france-updated-with-transformers-cyberverse-section-images-370143)character models might be a bit more detailed than the actual show but I think they look pretty good in general.

there is a lot of G1 influence, but there are plenty of nods to other versions of the character, especially wheeljack. It's very stylised, but so was the last incarnation.

I've come to accept stylisation of characters within their own world, if the entire world is that style, then I can accept that while it may not look realistic, it fits within that space.

[BigTransformerTrev]

These (http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/08/16/gulli-website-france-updated-with-transformers-cyberverse-section-images-370143)character models might be a bit more detailed than the actual show but I think they look pretty good in general.

there is a lot of G1 influence, but there are plenty of nods to other versions of the character, especially wheeljack. It's very stylised, but so was the last incarnation.

I've come to accept stylisation of characters within their own world, if the entire world is that style, then I can accept that while it may not look realistic, it fits within that space.

See, for example I got really excited when I saw the image of what Blurr would look like in the new cartoon. Looked a great mix of G1 and Generations.

But then the toy is just a reissue of the RID version with the rounded head, and not even the fairly cool Warrior class version (http://www.bigangrytrev.com/toys-review-rid-blurr-windblade-soundwave/). Its the one-step or 3-step or whatever changer. So it's a bit of a sucker punch in the regard :(

[griffin]

A second clip, following on from the first one, has been posted on youtube by Cartoon Network (US), but this one is geo-blocked to non-Americans if you can't alter your ISP.
This TFW news posting has (http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/08/17/transformers-cyberverse-clip-the-scout-ship-370192) put up some screen grabs from the clip, showing a fourth character that looks to be Slipstream. (it might look like Skywarp, but we know that there is a Slipstream seeker toy in Cyberverse, but haven't heard of a Skywarp toy yet)

[GoktimusPrime]

Non-geoblocked YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSNojwQvgIU)

Okay, the animation in this clip looks a lot better than the last one. :) Still not a fan of the style, but I can't really fault the animation quality. And the blinking isn't as pronounced, which is good.

Still not a fan of Bumblebee being such a 'tard monkey. Does losing one's memories equate to suddenly losing 100 points of IQ? :confused: It would've been more interesting if they just gave him amnesia and kept his ability to speak and fight etc. but Bumblebee would have no idea why he can do these things. Kinda like what happened to Skids in the IDW comics, or Kirika from Noir (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffd4mS2mvGM). Although obviously not with such a traumatically dark reason for 'Bee's memory loss. ;) But even at a PG level you could still do some interesting things with the character as an amnesiac but otherwise functional person. The way he is atm, Bumblebee just looks like a walking and rolling clichéd caricature. :/ Maybe this smiling goofy thing is just a façade which will be lowered later on as the character progresses. Or at least I hope so. Or at least write it in as part of the character, like Honda Tooru from Fruits Basket (whose smiling goofy exterior masks inner psychological issues).

[Dan]

To add my own quibbling over a tiny thing, it struck me that these two jet robots were kinda the same size as the car robot. I want Windblade and Thundercracker to be head-and-shoulders taller than Bee but, I know this is the wrong franchise if scale is my thing...

[BigTransformerTrev]

Teen Titans Go is a brilliant show. But if you ever wanted an example of a show that has garnered massive rage from the adult man child fan base of those characters, then look no further. I mean, the show makes jokes about how it’s so hated.


Apparently there is a movie coming out next month. Given it’s my sons fav show at the moment I might have to make the trek to Bathurst to take him to it :)


Non-geoblocked YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSNojwQvgIU)


Well the second clip doesn’t have me much more enthused than the first, but it’s working on building the hype in my 5 year old so I guess in that regard it’s effective

[GoktimusPrime]

I was okay with everything in that clip up until Bumblebee started going nuts on the scout ship's controls. Seriously. Still not sure why having amnesia has made Bumblebee become a complete moron.
https://image.ibb.co/htVb8K/cyberverse_bumblebee_raph.jpg (https://youtu.be/AW63_5tLp6o?t=105)

[griffin]

Another clip on youtube by Cartoon Network (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr04LfX_nzQ), called the Memories of the Allspark... and for those who can't see it, some screen caps can be seen here (http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/08/24/transformers-cyberverse-new-clip-memories-of-the-allspark-370577).

There is also a one minute promo trailer on the Entertainment Weekly website (https://ew.com/tv/2018/08/23/transformers-cyberverse-series-trailer/), with its details and trailer copied to here (https://ew.com/tv/2018/08/23/transformers-cyberverse-series-trailer/).

Spoilers, if you don't already know that these toys exist....


The show features Jeremy Levy as the voice of Bumblebee, and Jake Tillman as Optimus Prime. Ryan Andes voices the dinobot Grimlock, while Sophia Isabella is Windblade, who is helping Bumblebee unlock his damaged memory bank.
On the side of the bad guys, Marc Thopson voices megalomaniacal Megatron, Billy Bob Thompson is the duplicitous jet Starscream, Andes pulls double-duty as cyclopian Shockwave, and Deanna McGovern is Shadowstriker.”

[GoktimusPrime]

They're really not even trying with the lyrics...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51Tl2G2TM_w

[griffin]

Another promo clip on Cartoon Network's Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXX-meOVn5A), showing a flashback of Bumblebee (talking) with Grimlock and Optimus.
Unfortunately it is geo-blocked, so some screencaps can be seen here (http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/09/01/transformers-cyberverse-new-clip-entering-stasis-370935).



After getting a VPN, I was able to watch it, and just like Starscream being voicced to try to sound like the Gen1 Starscream, Optimus is voiced to try to imitate Gen1 Optimus.
Also, they annoyingly refer to Teletran as Teletron... like they started to in Beast Wars, before the fans made the writers correct it in-story (Blackarachnia telling others the correct pronunciation).

[griffin]

An artist who must be working on the Cyberverse cartoon has released some of the backgrounds from the cartoon on twitter (http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/09/08/background-stills-from-transformers-cyberverse-released-by-artist-matt-griffin-371435), including Cybertron and Earth.




(the artist has a great name btw :p )

[SMHFConvoy]

Hasbro has the first episode up on their Youtube channel (https://youtu.be/uGhSbxMhiss) and it's not geoblocked

[griffin]

Episode 2 is also on the Hasbro youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgssOMyxASg).

[philby]

An artist who must be working on the Cyberverse cartoon has released some of the backgrounds from the cartoon on twitter (http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/09/08/background-stills-from-transformers-cyberverse-released-by-artist-matt-griffin-371435), including Cybertron and Earth.


some nice images there

[griffin]

Episode three is now on the Hasbro youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg6oUzxQNJ4).

[griffin]

Episode four has also been put up on Hasbro youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UArJLAjVbf8).

[BigTransformerTrev]

Episode four has also been put up on Hasbro youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UArJLAjVbf8).

Its been taken down for some reason but you can still find it on dailymotion

[griffin]

Its been taken down for some reason but you can still find it on dailymotion


Looks like they've now geo-blocked the episodes, as they were available earlier, but now require the viewer to be in the US... or use an IP router (I recommend the free version of windscribe).

[griffin]

Episode 5 is on their youtube channel now (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNhjRteBjNM), for those who can see it.

[griffin]

Now on Hasbro's youtube channel (if you can see it) is episode 6 (https://youtu.be/vMGGFo2-9R0) and episode 7 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oTJH9dnvmw).

[griffin]

Episode 8 for those who can see them (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iyP-4i-9Us).