Transformers Animated: Transwarped

I recently was able to watch this due to the vigilence of an unnamed Transformers fan on Youtube and I've got ot say I wish I was able to see this show on television. Youtube does not do it justice! I'm not going to write a huge review on it here, but I do want to give me thoughts on a few things.

First, I'm so disappointed with Hasbro over their possible treatment of this great series. If they do indeed decide to end it after this season, they are doing a horrible injustice to the fans. I know they are not all fans of it, the vast majority I have seen do indeed like the cartoon and will miss it a lot if it goes away. It's sad to see it only last three short seasons when stinkers like Energon and Cybertron go on for 52 episodes.

Second, this movie had a lot darker aspects to it than previous episodes have. Considering Sari's relationship with her father and the changes she goes through, along with Shockwave's actions, this episode deals with more mature material than almost any other Transformers series has. I know Starscream's sacrifice in Armada was supposed to be touching (I've never seen it), but I find it hard to imagine that it would be as heart-wrenching as this. And it was a lot worse than any death in previous series because of how cold and gruesome it showed Decepticon could really be. I do want to point out that no matter how bad it was, I do suspect (and really hope) it is only temporary.

Third, it was really great to see all the new characters show up, even if their screentime was minimal. Strika, Cyclonus, Spittor, Blackout, Rodimus, Hot Shot, Perceptor, Wheeljack, Red Alert, Mainframe, Highbrow, even Alpha Trion - All homages going back from G1 to the recent movie and everywhere in between. Oil Slick was the only character I saw that was created strictly for Animated. Bonus points for even getting Judd Nelson to come back and reprise Rodimus's voice (but points taken away for Perceptor's Hawking imitation).

Overall, this movie was incredible, filled with a respect for the past, a more mature storyline for the older fans, and a ton of potential for the new season. Let's just hope it's not the last.