Beast Machines a Classic

Sorry again to you all for the delay. This week I wanted to talk about the Beast Wars’s sequel series Beast Machines. A semi-controversial series for its unique art style and direction. Like its predecessor, it is a CGI show, but it takes a less formal hand in design with unique characters that are not all attractive, but they stretch just what can be a transformer with one that can transform into a plant and another that is fully organic. With that, there are far fewer characters in this show, making it easier to follow, but it has less variety for character relations and conflict. I’m not going to go over each character like last time since because of such a smaller cast. The standouts are Tankor, the soul-displaced Rinox, who takes from one of the best episodes of Beast Wars. This is a super interesting plot that flips character dynamics and increases the drama. To a lesser extent, this happens to Silverbolt as well, but he loses his fun, heroic nature to become a brooding sad boy, which is interesting, but I don’t feel like the trade-off is equal. Cheeto leaves the yellow character role and moves into the leader in training role, which forces conflict with Optimus Primal, which is the right move. That yellow role is filled by Night Scream, who is just a bit annoying. He is a moody goth kid who just is nothing outside of that which is boring.

But what I like most about the show is the plot. Most Transformers plots are about war. It is a childish version of war, but still war. In Beast Machines, There is a plot about war, but it is more about evolution and, in a way, about eugenics. Megatron, in this show, is obsessed with the mechanical perfection of the people who view any abnormality of his race as disgusting. The Maximals in the show are not the accepted class by the ruling authority; thus, they are attacked by the authoritarian state. This is not a perfect analogy by any means. However, I like the SIFI stuff in this about a new stage of Cybertronian evolution. This show had a big impact on how I think about transformers.

On an unrelated note. One of the things that I truly love about Transformers is just how progressive it is a lot of the time with introducing fem presenting characters into a boy's franchise. Or it having openly queer characters in the comics and even having genderqueer characters in their shows. This is a franchise that understands that it is for kids and that it has a responsibility to represent those kids in its franchise. Despite the Michel Bay movies making them at times an over-glorified nudity car calendar with poor writing and just odd cinematography, the lesson from the birth of the franchise has been held at its core. Be someone who is strong enough to be gentle.

Sorry for the short post. Next week, I will be on time and have a longer post covering my childhood show, Transformers Animated.