I know much of it wasn't great, but do people think it would have been better if the animation was better? Not that it was terrible, it was just sort of bland for lack of a better word. Some episodes looked really good, but most of it was meh compared to seasons 1 and 2.
shareI would so have watched S3 a hundred times over if it was all animated in the same manner as Call of the Primitives, or even the episode with the Dweller.
I actually didn't mind most of the season that much, I found some of the stuff the writers experimented with quite interesting, so for me, the biggest gripe about it would probably be the horrendous animation. Especially in the earlier S3 eps, there are shots where, simply put, nothing looks right.
I did notice a couple of times where there seemed to be an unusual number of close ups, likely so they could avoid doing backgrounds.
Even with better animation though, I'd still want the old characters back, lol.
"Starscream cookies are more than meets the icing!" --Nostalgia Critic
It wasn't even the animation itself so much as the logic. 5 parter to open the season was loaded with characters they just showed dying in the movie which preceded it.
I also think while the most concise season story wise, the absence of Earth & humans took a lot of connectivity out of the show. Endless made up planets (the size of asteroids) became tedious for me- the show's look & feel of black outer space was too much a departure from the sunny blue skies of seasons 1 & 2.
Sorry, truth is truth.
Better animation wouldn't turn season around but it would make watching it more enjoyable. I hated how they got cheap and farmed most of it out to Akom.
They pretty much took the "this is cheaper and kids won't know the difference" route. It really made for some painful visuals and nonsensical direction at times...
There are a few season 2 episodes that look bad, like "The Core" and "City of Steel", but most of it still looks good considering how old it is. The movie's animation was great, but the 5-part opening of season 3 was blah. "Call of the Primatives" and "The Burden Hardest to Bear" were really good though. And a few others.
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There were some shockers in season 1 & 2 but nothing compares to the lazy error laden mess that was Five Faces of Darkness. Carnage in C Minor was bad but you think for a storyline they dedicated 5 episodes to they would have tried harder but I guess it depends how rushed the production schedule was.
Call of the Primatives looked very nice it's just a shame it had a cop out ending and of course there was the existence of Primacron or whatever the heck the name was of the midget monkey thing.
Yeah that seasons animation was inexcusable. Transformers was really hot at the time so why didn't they invest in animation? And no Prime being killed off had nothing to do with that as these were animated b4 the movie hit theaters.
shareI'm guilty of really liking season 3. That's not to say the animation isn't a mess. As much as I adore the animation from 'Call of the Primitives' I think it's great in a 'one shot' kind of way. If every ep was of that quality, I don't think it would have been appreciated. My ideal animation style (for the ongoing series) would have been that used in 'The Ultimate Weapon.'
I did enjoy space and didn't really miss earth all that much, but I'd put that down to seeing the movie before the show, although I did see mostly pre movie eps straight after that before moving onto season 3.
Zozogogo is right. AKOM is the real blame in my opinion for the faulty animation. The pilot looked great.
Then, season 2 had better animation except those episodes animated by that s h i t t y Korean company AKOM. As EmperorGalvatron pointed out, City of Steel, The Core, The Autobot Run had horrible drawings which were made by AKOM. Everything looks flat and with insufficient detail and one-point perspective.
The worst episode in the entire series was Kremzeek! which was also made by them. I believe Five Faces of Darkness was also animated by AKOM which accounts for the countless errors in continuity and character design. The same holds true for Carnage in C-Minor which also has dead characters looking very alive.
Aside from this, I like some things from season 3. Galvatron's return as a maniac from that lava pit on Thrull which also explains his change in voice was very cool. The return of my favorite Transformer Starscream through an interesting plot hole was a nice touch.
The third season later featured music from The Movie which you all can appreciate. It's so good I have the CD.
TI'LL ALL ARE ONE my fellow Trans Fans.
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Use the Force.