Goktimus' thoughts on Beast Wars vs Animated

[GoktimusPrime]

Um... <cough>Transmetal Scavenger</cough>. He's probably still sitting on a David Jones shelf somewhere.

Liar. TM Scavenger would've sold better if Hasbro hadn't screwed up and named it "Inferno" as it was obviously meant to be (Takara later released this toy in Japan as Metals Inferno). I think Scavenger's a pretty neat toy... being a Unicron lookalike was funny. Terrorsaur and Waspinator as my least favourite TM moulds (yet they reused TM Terrorsaur for Armada...).

Anyway, that wasn't the point I was making. What I'm saying is that Animated has several different versions of the same character in the same incarnation. TM Scavenger doesn't count because it's a different incarnation (i.e.: Transmetal upgrade) of Inferno. It's different from say Bulkhead where children and their parents can choose between an Activator, Voyager or Leader of the same character in the same incarnation. If I were a parent I'd encourage my child to get the cheapest one.

Now naturally cheaper toys will always move faster than dearer ones... but geez... you should check out TRU Parramatta - look up the very top and behold the plethora of Animated Leaders up there. It's nearly touching the ceiling - I've never seen so many! More expensive figures should be produced/distributed in smaller quantities to avoid them shelfwarming as dead stock. Again, this is purely anecdotal based on my observation and from what I've heard from other fans - I don't have access to any solid sales or distribution data.

[Wheel-J]

My comment just on the topic of bulkhead.

I have a love/hate view of Bulkhead... on one hand I really want to like this character - but Animated writers just don't want to develop his character any deeper than being a big dumb brute. (-_-)

In the animated cartoon, Bulkhead was the Top Space Bridge Technician on planet Cybertron.

Script from the episode: A Bridge Too Close Part 1
Bumblebee: Woah, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up!
Prowl: Did he just say Bulkhead?
Optimus Prime: Our Bulkhead?
Ratchet: An expert? On anything?!

As I said, I'm sorely disappointed with Bulkhead. I so wanted him to be more than meets the eye, but so far he's been pretty much "what you see is what you get." And big dumb lumbering brutes is nothing new, the G1 cartoon Dinobots and Trypticon were pretty much like that.

Not in all aspect...

You can watch Shockwave's report on Bulkhead's "tech spec/rating(?)" from 5:45
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=prQTTleEVis

At least his capable on something mentally challenging even the great professor sumdac (who recreated Megatron in season 1) could testify.

I'll actually go as far as saying I like Animated toys more than I like Henkei/Classics. I know it's very strange for me to say I enjoy Animated toys much more than I enjoy Henkei/Classic.

+1

[Sky Shadow]

Terrorsaur and Waspinator as my least favourite TM moulds (yet they reused TM Terrorsaur for Armada...).

I agree with Transmetal Waspinator - awful toy and a huge disappointment. I love Transmetal Terrorsaur though - he has cool undocumented turny-bits on the side of his chest and a backward-flyer mode!

Anyway, that wasn't the point I was making. What I'm saying is that Animated has several different versions of the same character in the same incarnation.

Yeah, I did get what you meant, but you mentioned "There's like a truck load of Ultra Magnuses/Magni at my local TRU", and Ultra Magnus's shelfwarmth is no different to Scavenger's - neither of them have/had any other incarnations as competition. They're just unloved.

[loophole]

At the moment i would say that i like the BW show more then Animated but i dont think you can really compare the two until Animated has finished its run, i mean if you compare just the first season of both there probally about the same level of interest but when you add season 2 to the playing field BW i think leaps ahead in storyline and charcter development.

As for the toys i like animated way better than BW because i find the Animated toys more fun to play with, but the Beast Wars stuff is more sentimental to me because of the characters in the show and the love i have of those characters.

[Lord_Zed]

I agree with Transmetal Waspinator - awful toy and a huge disappointment. I love Transmetal Terrorsaur though - he has cool undocumented turny-bits on the side of his chest and a backward-flyer mode!

I to am a huge fan of Transmetal Terrorsaur, I thought he was just plain fun, Rhinox is my least favourte because he's a hassle to transform.

Alas I have no comment on Animated vs Beast Wars, as try as I might I can't get in to the Animated cartoon and the only toy I bought to sample the line was a flop. Other than Activators that is, I do like them.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

From here.


May I ask why?

I'm not saying that you're not entitled to prefer Animated over Beast Wars, of course you are - but I'd like to know why you feel that way...

No worries, I was going to elaborate but we've had a 45-odd degree day here and I'm getting over a fairly big weekend, so the ol' brain is kinda fried today. I'll get round to it over the next day or two.

[roller]

why are we discussing this?

the thread is clearly "Goktimus' thoughts on Beast Wars vs Animated"

his point of view, i cannae argue with his view, iz his not mine

[Paulbot]

No worries, I was going to elaborate but we've had a 45-odd degree day here and I'm getting over a fairly big weekend, so the ol' brain is kinda fried today. I'll get round to it over the next day or two.

Moderator note: This is a "soapbox"-type thread and please don't feel the need to respond it you don't want to. This is why I renamed the thread from Goktimus' original thread title.

Everyone on this board is welcome to have their opinion and no one needs to justify this to anyone, nor should they be asked to, nor should any other member try to impose their beliefs on others or try to discredit others by implying their opinion is wrong.

[1orion2many]

This discussion could go around in circles forever. You have people who either prefer Beast Wars, Animated, G1, Bleah Bleah Bleah and don't necessarily wish to argue the point of why they prefer that continuity. I have my personal preference which is Beast Wars but I'm not going to sit here and write a long explanation(mainly because I'm lazy) on why I prefer this continuity, I just do. It's my personal opinion and everyone is entitled to there own preference to what they like and expressing that opinion is a matter of choice and cannot be forced, there is no wrong or right opinion it is just that an opinion. Enjoy what you like and expand your horizons by occasionally watching what you don't as you may find over a period of time that the very thing you dislike will grow on you like fungus.

[GoktimusPrime]

Mmm... lichen fresh...

Just want to clarify that this thread isn't meant to be about "my opinion is better/more righteous than yours" or forcing one opinion over another, but merely an opportunity for people to present their preferences and, if they want to, explain why. It's not about proving anyone right or wrong - because there is no right or wrong with personal preferences... merely mentioning which one we prefer and why.

At the end of the day, I doubt anyone will change my preference, but I am curious to understand why people would prefer Animated over Beast Wars - I would like to gain a better understanding/appreciation of people who hold an opposing view of my own... keep my mind open to different opinions out there. Simply stating that people prefer Animated over Beast Wars without explaining why doesn't allow me to gain a more insightful understanding of that opinion.

I'm not seeking to necessarily agree or disagree... merely to understand. Just because I may not agree with someone's opinion doesn't mean I don't want to know more about it.

I hope nobody feels that I am trying to "attack" anyone's opinions here. I know that I can get pretty exciting and passionate in these kinds of discussions, but it doesn't mean that I'm trying to impose my views onto anyone. No disrespect to anyone is intended here. I would just like to have a civil, respectful and fun discussion over people's preferences between Beast Wars and Animated. There's no obligation to participate in this discussion if it makes you feel uncomfortable.

I don't think this would be much of a Discussion Board if we all agreed with each other all the time. We're all individuals with different views and that makes life interesting.

In the animated cartoon, Bulkhead was the Top Space Bridge Technician on planet Cybertron.

Yeah... I think they could've handled that better. I was excited to hear that he was a top space bridge technician, but was disappointed to see him childishly cave into his ego by actually helping the Decepticons build the bridge and refusing to follow along Isaac Sumdac's suggestion of feigning cooperation whilst secretly sabotaging the project... he allowed his emotions to cloud his judgement in a fairly immature manner of oneupmanship.

It's still like he's a 'tard who just happens to have one particular gift/talent, which can happen with some autistic people - or in very rare cases, Savants. But even an intellectually impaired character can still be written as a deep and meaningful character - take Transmutate for example. There's also Noble/Savage who isn't actually intellectually handicapped but as I said, has a semi-sentient (arguably nonsentient) level of intellect/awareness.

I just want Bulkhead to be more than just a clumsy "one trick pony" oaf. Heck... Harry Potter's Hagrid is a much more meaningful character despite also being portrayed as a big lumbering oaf.