January 11, 2009

What do you get when you mix Autobots, robots with old grudges, a handful of annoying planes and a young girl? What you get is Transformers Animated: Season 2 on a 2 Disc DVD Set. In this season the Autobots face the scrutiny of the human race again, a group of human villainy and Sari must face a very harsh discovery.

For those of you not aware of the newest series in the Transformers universe, this show is the 5th reiteration of the Transformers and the first to take on a look never before seen in the Transformers Universe. This series unlike most of the others is completely animated, kind of like the Gen 1 cartoons but obviously with a much more anime inspired look in the likes of Teen Titans. I first have to admit that I have seen way too many cartoons in my lifetime, few of which that I actually still like throughout their constant rebirths. Transformers have always been a part of my life and I have actually slowly grown to like Transformers Animated.

The new season starts off with the Autobots repairing the city after their battle against the revived Megatron at the end of season one. To make matters worse the human race is freaked out that the Autobots will level the other half of the city to the ground, not thanks to the Decepticons that have miraculously disappeared of the face of the Earth… or have they. Old grudges between Sentient Prime and Optimus flair up as the Cybertron Elite Guard arrive on Earth. They are determined to extract the Allspark only to find out that it was shattered all over city. Once the Elite Guard believes Optimus and his crew that the Allspark still exists, they leave Earth and let Optimus search for the Allspark Shards. And that is where the trouble ensues.

This 13 episode collection features episodes such as “Return of the Headmaster,” "Rise of the Constructicons," “Velocity” and the two part final episode "A Bridge Too Close.” The entire season is good but my personal favorites are “Black Friday’ and “A Bridge Too Close Part 1 and 2.” In “Black Friday” Blackarachnia returns after her encounter with the Allspark. After busting Meltdown, from season one, out of prison thanks to the Dinobots, she persuades Optimus and Grimlock to work together to rob Powell Tower. The two recover the part, and Meltdown begins to remove the corrupted part of her being. Only Meltdown and Blackarachnia’s idea of corruption is far from the same.

In “A Bridge Too Close, Parts 1 & 2”, the Autobots must stop Megatron from activating the Space Bridge that would spell certain doom upon the planet Cybertron. The Autobots revive an old friend with the help of Sari to help battle the Starscream clones and Megatron’s unstable lackeys. In the final stages of the battle Sari is reunited with her father and Sari soon finds out something that will rock the foundation of her very life.

Filmmaking: 9
The filmmaking of Transformers Animated is fairly good to be honest. While there are too many directors to name as this is an animated TV show they pull of a fairly good show and bring a diversity of different Transformers lore together. The inclusion of characters like Blackarachnia, Arcee, Ratchet, Blitzwing, Prowl and even the Dinobots will surely make any fan of the Transformers appreciate the details that the people are committing to create a show worthy of continuing the Transformers Saga. Transformers Animated: Season Two is a definite improvement from the series beginnings. The first season set up everything and this season opened up the doors for what could be a very cool third season.

Graphics: 7
Graphically Transformers Animated: Season Two looks just as good as the first season. The animation is smooth with no apparent glitches. The TV series looks to be shown on TV in widescreen, but for the DVD is presented in Full Format. Transformers Animated: Season Two also contains two animated shorts on the first disc. The first features Starscream making outrageous faces and motions behind Megatron’s back. The second features Lugnut and Blitzwing making a giant crater in the middle of a forest.

Sound: 8
Transformers Animated: Season Two is presented in Dolby Digital so it sounds fairly decent. Every explosion and metal clashing fight sound is pretty good in my opinion. While the overall sound of any show is important voice acting is even more important if not crucial. I must say that this Transformers: Animated doesn’t skimp in this department. Again one of the reasons I kept watching this show is due to the voice behind Sari Sumdac. Tara Strong provides Sari’s voice and coincidentally does the voice of Roger on Juniper Lee and the voice of my favorite Teen Titan, Raven.

David Kaye, known for doing the voice of Megatron in the Beast Era and Unicron Trilogy returns this time to do the voice of Optimus Prime. This is perhaps why I don’t like Optimus’ voice as much as he is younger in this series then all of the previous series. Corey Burton performs the role of Megatron for the short while we actually see him before he is blown to pieces. Corey is known for various roles including doing several voices in the original Transformers show back in the 80’s.

Value: 7
Transformers Animated: Season Two retails for about $18-20 dollars which isn’t bad for the 13 episodes that are in this 2 disc set. The first disc also features a photo gallery with Waspinator, Shockwave and a few others. There is also an audio commentary for two of the episodes on the first disc. It was pretty cool to learn some inside stuff from all the guys that do the show.

Overall: 8.9
Overall, I have definitely grown to love Transformers Animated. The show has gotten better and better and I actually can’t wait to see what happens in Season Three. The animation is good, the stories are solid and the special features are pretty cool. I recommend this title to anyone who has been watching the show from the beginning. However if you haven’t seen the first season you can now purchase Transform And Roll Out and Season One together as well, which I also highly advise.