Femmegasm

Hey, everyone, I finally got around to seeing some new cartoons on Hasbro’s new cable channel, The Hub, and I’d figure I’d give my quick impressions on them so far. I will warn that they’re maybe some spoiler-ish stuff, so beware.

Transformers Prime – Well, it’s Transformers related, so my chances of liking are pretty high, and while it’s not where near as good as Transformers Animated, I have to say I still like it quite a bit. I think I’m mostly surprised with how incredibly dark this show is. In the three episodes I’ve seen, I’ve seen an Autobot get killed rather terrifyingly, then be brought back as a zombie only only to be cut to pieces and killed again. Hell, the whole plot revolves around Megatron using the blood of Unicron (dark energon) to bring to life an undead army of robots, which actually makes for some creepy visuals for a kids’ show. It’s also a surprisingly unique plot for a Transformers cartoon, so I like it. Not to mention a serious take on the franchise isn’t a bad idea after Animated’s mostly silly take on it.

I also have to say that so far I’m REALLY digging Ratchet on the show. His disgruntled cranky attitude makes him a fun character in the show. Bulkhead is also amusing and I like the fact they made Arcee into an action girl character rather than just… well… “The chick” character. Not to mention having Peter Cullen and Frank Welker reprising their roles as Optimus Prime and Megatron is beyond bad ass.

I also got to mention that I’m surprisingly digging the character designs on the show. It’s an interesting mash up between all the character designs ever in the Transformers world with some characters leaning more to some designs than other. For example Optimus Prime and Bumblebee are heavily influenced by their Live Action Movie designs, Bulkhead and Starscream seem to lean towards their animated designs, Cliffjumper leans towards his G1 design, and Ratchet seems to lean towards his Marvel Comics design. The best part being they merge all theses design ideas together real well and no one looks remotely out of place. It’s amazing.

Also a lot of people I’ve seen complain about the human characters (especially the kids), personally I didn’t have a problem with them, and with how dark the show is, I kinda’ felt the kids were needed to lighten the load a bit. Not to mention Ernie Hudson is in the show as Agent Fowler, THAT alone is awesome.

There are some negatives in the show, though. All the backgrounds seem to be barren of life outside the characters in the show. The lack of people in the background makes the show feel like it’s in a damn ghost town. I’m also not really digging this show’s take on Screamer, he feels more like generic right hand man, than the lovable traitorous bastard we’re all used to. I’m also not digging Steve Blum’s Screamer voice, but I’m told it gets better after Season 3, so I guess the jury is still our.

Overall I like the show, it’s a bit early to tell, but with how things are going I’d say it’s my fourth to favorite Transformers series at the moment. Meaning I like it better than the Live Action Movies, Robots In Disguise, and the terrible Unicron Triology, but I like Transformers Animated, the original G1 cartoon and Beast Wars way more. Still it’s a fun show and a neat new take on the property. I recommend it.

G.I. Joe: Renegades – I have to say A-Team the Animated Series… I mean G. I. Joe: Renegades was a surprisingly awesome show. As you can guess from my opening comment, this new G.I. Joe cartoon more than slightly steals from classic TV Show, The A-Team, but it’s okay, because it works. It’s an amazingly fresh direction for the series, and I have to say I REALLY like it.

The plot of the show works like this, unlike previous Joe cartoons, nobody is aware that Cobra is this big terrorist organization, and instead Cobra has covered up it’s nefarious doings under the guise of a big charitable business organization. A group of soldiers stumble upon the underground doings of Cobra, and when they go to tell the world, they get their evidence destroyed, framed for murder, and now find themselves running from the law as they try to prove their innocence and stop Cobra once and for all. Like I said, neat new direction.

I really like this show, it’s written well, fun to watch, and is action packed all the way through. Best of all, the characters are all pretty likable and the voice acting is great. I like that they got someone who is actually Russian to play The Baroness and the fact Kevin Michael Richardson is playing Roadblock (I must get a voice clip of his “This ain’t your mama’s Cobra.” line).

The bad parts, I’m not really digging the character designs in this show. Some characters like Lady Jaye and The Baroness look okay, but most everyone else looks kind of wonky to me (like Roadblocks bald head and giant Wolverine level sideburns), I especially don’t like Cobra Commander’s designs. The animation also seems a tad rough in spots, but I think it’s one of those things that will get better as the show progresses.

In short, I like the show. It’s a neat new take on the franchise and despite some negative issues, it’s a hellova lot of fun. Like Transformers Prime, I totally recommend giving it a look see.

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic – Look, before you say anything, KEEP IN MIND I have an eight year old daughter, so I’m going to be watching girls cartoons from time to time. With that being said, I have to say I found this show to be surprising awesome. I’m not kidding, it’s a good My Little Pony show. I think a lot of this has to do with the person in charge of the show, Lauren Faust, who happens to be the wife of Powerpuff Girl and Foster’s Home of Imaginary Friends creaor Craig McCracken (she also worked on his shows). With that said, she puts together a great show.

First off the animation is amazingly good, especially for a show animated in Flash. The character designs are done with a neat stylized art style and are cute and likable. I really like the visual look of the show, but I’m also a bit of a sucker for GOOD stylized art.

Second the characters are incredibly likable and all have unique personalities. I think Spike is my favorite character, but that might just be because he looks like a Bubble Bobble dragon. I do have a weak spot for cartoony looking dragons.

Last the show is well written, funny, and just plain enjoyable. Outside the fact that it’s embarrassing to say I like a show that’s SO not aimed for gender, I really don’t have anything bad to say… well… other than I kinda’ want to punch Rapid Dash in the face for being a selfish bitch, but I guess that’s part of her character trait. In short, id you can get passed the fact it’s a girl show, I highly recommend watching it.

And that’s the new shows I watched. I definitely have to say Transformers Prime is my favorite of the three (that shouldn’t be a surprise), but all three shows are awesome and I recommend checking them all out.