Okay, this isn't really hate; mostly praise and critique about the show.

My initial thoughts going into this was that Animated was a kids show with Power Rangers-level cringe attached to it (if ya'll have seen the early 2000's Power Rangers you know exactly what I'm talking about). Given the splash of intense colors, animation style, and the fact that it is literally intended for kids, I think my opinion was justified. And hearing clips of the voices made me cringe as well; they were just so different.

Peter Cullen, especially, was not Optimus, and that seemed to turn me off a lot (not in a sexual sense you perverts). I mean, Prime (and Bumblebee) are the staples of most Transformers shows and movies, and to take that away seems to take away the core of what makes the characters likable. And in all fairness, Animated knew this was a risk going into it. They were making a show where Optimus Prime was just a name, not a prestigious title, and the secondary characters of the show (aside from Ratchet) had never seen a Decepticon before, nor seen battle. They weren't the war-tested veterans we are familiar with. 

But after watching a few Youtube videos, I found quite a few people who loved Prime and also enjoyed Animated, so I thought I might as well test it. The first couple of minutes made me wonder why I was watching this, as they open like a regular kids cartoon. Silly antics, a few opening statements to give us an idea of who each character is, and they find this immensely powerful and super-important relic (spoilers: its the Allspark). What did impress me though was the casual use of Cybertronian terminology; most shows stuck with human phrases, which though made sense to us audience members, doesn't necessarily fit with giant robots from space.

I figured I could grind through the voice acting too. Hearing young, somewhat naive Optimus was a bit unnerving, but if I can get over Jack's face in Prime I can get over the odd voices. After a few sentences from each character I didn't have a massive problem with any of them.

The Decepticons come on the scene probably about five, ten minutes into the opening act. I cringed at Starscream, though that was probably intentional, and the other Decepticons sounded pretty normal. Then Megatron made his grand appearance.

Holy shit.

I'm sorry, but there was just something about the way he spoke that, ah, "revved my engine" as one might say. If Prime Megatron sounded like that there would probably be a hundred times more fanfiction about him than there is now. He just - I can't describe it. I can't pinpoint what makes me attracted to this sadistic and definitely no good for any sane human robot, but I literally sped through Season One just so I could get to the juicy bits where he spoke or monologued.

Sorry, that probably made all of you guys uncomfortable.

Back on track. So, voice acting wasn't bad - and some were definitely better than others. Establishing plot wise, well, it's a kids' cartoon, so most "foreshadowing" was pretty predictable. I really didn't like the human villains, mostly because to me they were corner, sterotypical, and not all that interesting. I will confess, I did skip those. The Decepticons, I think, were a fresh look at villainy - even the reoccuring characters seen in either G1 or Prime. They were tough, actually experienced in combat, and kicked the Autobot's tailpipes multiple times. The good guys didn't win every fight (though they won most of them, which I can't fault them for because everyone loves a good "heroes win" story). But they were realistically tough against a team of Autobots programmed to rebuild space bridges.

The polt itself also did a good job of wrapping itself up, though some areas were kind of lazy-looking and not all that well thought out (I suppose I should have prefaced this by saying I've only gotten through season one). Perhaps they will be resolved in later seasons.

And honestly, as of right now, I hate the Sumdacs.

First of all, Sari's father is a complete and utter moron. Yes, he is manipulated by Megatron and is used to convey how cunning the Decepticon leader is, but there is no way any sane person would not have at least tried to hint at his existence to the 'bots. 

"Hey, I heard the name Megatron mentioned in one of your guy's conversations. Friend of yours?"

"No he's actually super evil and committed war crimes against our plant."

"Oh, well, I've got some news for you!"

The whole Megatron Rising thing could have been averted if father Sumdac had any common sense or had any of his scientific curiosity that he is supposedly implied to have. Scientists and inventors can't keep their noses out of anything, let alone something as big as keeping a Cybertronian's head in their basement and not wanting to know about the owner from other Cybertronians. Like, really? Really?

Also, I feel like his animation is very underplayed. He's barely expressive, and only using his voice can I actually tell what his emotions are. Did the animators just kind of throw him together, give him lines, and forgot he was somewhat central to the entire plot of the last half of season one??

And Sari. Ooooooooooooooooooooooooh.

The equivalent I can think of is if Prime only had Miko as the main human the Autobots hung out with (aside from Agent Fowler). Cab you imagine how well that would go? For both the characters and the fans?

She is absolutely annoying, childish, selfish, and her voice grinds my ears every time I hear it. I know she serves as a major plot device the Autobots need, and acts as a human reference the children can compare themselves to, but holy shit does she have to be that bad? Maybe she gets development in season two and three, however I am not holding my breath. Honestly, not even Miko in the first few episodes of Prime can compete with how annoying I find Sari. And Miko has a lot of growing up to do as well.

I know I'll probably offend someone and they'll say "Well Sari grows throughout the show and you have to give her a chance."

Quite frankly, even with all the skipping I did, I didn't notice anything different about her from Episode One to Episode Sixteen(?). Maybe I'm being impatient, but right now I feel like the show could have done a better job with creating a role model for us humans. 

Would ya'll like Miko babysitting your children? I think not.

Listen, overall, I really like this show. It's impressed me with more mature themes but set in a light, child-like tone for younger audiences. Yes, some parts are cringy, and some things require getting used to (the chins oh my lord), but the humor is great, the plot consistent, and we find subtle variations throughout each episode like we do in Prime. It isn't like RID (insert puking noises here) where it took a show meant for older kids/young adults and dumbed it down to the point where it is your usual, cut-and-dry episode formula that makes you want to stab the television. Where characters "develop" until the next episode (I tried RID, okay; I was excited for it. But honestly, I found myself cringing in every episode and eventually just turned it off).

I know some of these opinions are unpopular, maybe even offensive to some, but please remember these are my opinions and I don't care if yours are different. That's the beauty of being unique human beings. If you want to make a point about something or try to change my mind, fine, but respect the fact that I probably won't agree with you on everything. It's just not possible.

Like saying Megastar is trash. There is one person in particular who loves MegatronxStarscream and will fight anyone who grossly disagrees to the death, but I'm sure they can respect my perspective . . .