Transformers: Robots in Disguise

I don't understand why alot of people are bashing Robots in Disguise. I am one of the biggest fans of the original Transformers series, and I know this dosen't compare to the original, but you can take it many ways..

Try this on for size:

After G1 Optimus Prime and the Autobots returned to Cybertron(sometime before 2001, when this new show takes place)to fight G1 Megatron and the Decepticons, R.I.D. Optimus Prime (from around the time Beast Machines ended) was sent back in time to watch over the earth. This would explain stasis pods, references to the vehicons,ect....

Now, so they wouldn't be detected by the other Autobots, they took their earth vehicle forms and remain hidden until they know that other Autobots have left the planet. (Two different Primes running into each other would more than likely have some sort of effect on time) Same with Megatron and the Predicons.

Now, that might make R.I.D. fit a little better. So, the lines can be a little cheesy, and and some of the names are kinda BLAH...... but some other great anime have been known to have some bad names. (i.e. Ranma 1/2 with Shampoo, Cologne, and Mousse?) Don't get me wrong, I love Ranma 1/2. But a name is a name. This new show is not as bad as some people think. It was made to target kids. Now, if you have to sit there and write 500 words to explain why you don't like this show, you definatly need to get a life. Yeah, I'm sitting here writing this, but I do other things besides spending all my time engrossed in bashing kiddie shows. IT'S A KIDDIE SHOW, SO GET OVER IT....

Every time the latest iteration of Transformers comes out, old-skoolers like me immediately run out and disparage it for not being as good as the last. As a big G1 fan, I can honestly say that the guys who did the translating and voice work for RID did a fantastic job. They took something very foreign, Japanese, and weird (and I say this as a die-hard anime fan) and reworked it into something extremely funny and entertaining. No, it's not as serious as TFBM, and since they didn't have control over storylines like they did with Beast Wars, the character development was dictated by decisions made in Japan. Nonetheless, the finished product looks good and is a blast to watch. The voice actor for Sky-Byte must have garnered the envy of all the other VAs for getting the best lines and funniest dialogue and emotional rampages. No, RID isn't self-possessed and serious. But it *is* entertaining and fun, and for a show about giant robots, I don't think that's such a bad thing.

A relatively entertaining show that is not that bad but could have done with improvements. From a personal perspective, it's not the waste of time that is described in some reviews(though the complaints do have validity), but some of the favourable commentators really need to relax, last time I checked there isn't a rule about everybody having to like the show and any other opinion is wrong, isn't that what the word "opinion" means. There are things that Robots in Disguise does have in its favour. The character designs are nice and sleek, while the music is catchy and in keeping with the tone of the show and the jokes do tickle the funny-bone, complete with some clever subtle references to the original show. Sky-Byte is a cool character, Kelly is likable enough and Scourge is very interesting here(at least Robots in Disguise knew what to do with him, which is more than can be said for Cybertron). Not all the characters fare as well, Megatron has been much more menacing and authoritative before and since, here he comes across as too dumbed-down and too much of a clown.

The rest of the characters have a uniqueness to them but are not particularly interesting, Tow-Line is too monotonous and Dorrie Dutton is annoying and often pointless. The voice acting doesn't really work either, Barry Stigler as Scourge and Peter Spellos as Sky-Byte the only ones that properly stand out in a good way, the rest range from overdone(David Riordan's Megatron) and bored-sounding(Lex Lang's Tow-Line). The jokes are funny but could have been better placed and maybe not used as much, at times it felt like overkill which interfered with the tone. The story lines could have had more complexity and did feel on the juvenile side, it's not quite as bloated as the Unicron Trilogy Transformers shows but there is too much of a filler-feel with Robots in Disguise. And not all the animation is consistent, the sleek character designs and vivid pastel colours are nice, but the static backgrounds, the tendency to look too over-saturated(could have used more foreboding colours) and lack of fluidity, not so much.

Overall, Robots in Disguise is better than Energon, Cyberton and especially Armada-the three parts of the Unicron Trilogy, and not really worth bothering with-, also Beast Machines(but only just), but for better shows in the franchise look to the original 1984 show, Beast Wars, Prime and Animated. From a personal point of view, Robots of Disguise is not a bad show but it fell short. 5/10 Bethany

After the Success of Beast Machines, The Animal transformers series had finally finished along with the original G1 story that started back in 1984. Around 2001, there were rumors on the internet saying that there was gonna be a New CGI TF series, the rumors were fake sadly. But this is what happened.

The Latest Transformers series came along. Just called "Robots In Disguise" The Toyline went back to its vehicle mode idea from the original transformers series. However some changes were made.

The Autobots stayed as they were but the Decepticons however weren't available in the series till later in the middle. So instead we got "The Predacons" back into transformers, Most of the toys and characters were composed of Repaints of Classic Transformers introduced in the late 1990s and of course 1 or 2 Beast wars toys.

It was pretty unusual.

Anyway, The TV series follows the same idea of the Autobot/Decepticon-Predacon battles. and The series actually is pretty well done...

It is in fact and anime exported from Japan and dubbed in English which we didn't know, lol. The Series was dubbed by Geneon (Mahoromatic, Gungrave, Cowboy Bebop, Heat Guy J, etc) and the actors did a pretty good job with the voice work in this series, and I especially like the script work in this series, Its pretty close to the G1 and Beast Wars scripts as our gonna get so be grateful ;) A lot of people say its Lame, Poor and just not worth watching. Well anyone who says that needs to give them self a good punch in the jaw and realise that this was the Last great Transformers series to come along in the 21st century.

and Believe me, This series is got pretty funny jokes and sometimes doesn't have the time to get too serious.

Sadly the series ended in 2002 and then the Unicron Trilogy began which complety took transformers a turn for the worst.

Bottom line...This is a fun, Enjoyable and Great Transformers show which shows you how great Transformers can be without the serious tone which Beast wars and G1 took. Go and Buy the Show on DVD or download the episodes and Enjoy the show ^_^

First off here is a brief explanation of how this series came to be - After the success of Beast Wars : Transformers in America, it was transferred to Japan, where it was redubbed and did just as well. A few years passed and the Japanese audience began craving more Transformer goodness, so Car Robots (later known as Robots in Disguise) was created. To cash in, on the Beast Wars craze of the time the creators set this series in an alternate universe, allowing them to have Autobots, Predacons and Decepticons. The reason many of the names have carried over from the original series is because if they are not used they will be lost to other companies (as an example Rodimus Prime was lost a while ago and is now known as Rodimus Major).

Now, what alot of people tend to forget is that this series had to compete with Pokemon and Digimon, it was also made in another language so many of the jokes dont exactly cross over and it was made with a younger audience in mind rather then those of us who grew up with the original series.

So with all that in mind I begin my review - The two biggest flaws as I see it with Robots in Disguise (RiD) is rather weak voice acting, and the weaknesses of the villains. In many TV series animated or not the 'bad-guys' are either very-smart equal to the hero/s or smarter...or...stronger than the hero/s. In RiD the villains are both stupid and weak, a flying skunk versus an SUV or a flying shark against a firetruck aren't my idea of fair.

So overall I rate this series fairly low when compared to Transformers Beast Wars, and the Original Series, but that isn't what is meant to be rated against. So, as a stand-alone series using Transformers for the core of its story and competing with the like of Digimon and Pokemon, I give it a 6.5 out of 10. If you want Transformers, wait for the next series Armada (due out 23 August, 2002), if you want a fun slapstick series for younger viewers check out Transformers : Robots in Disguise.