Recap: The Sun

Hello everyone, and welcome to my final Transformers Energon recap for this blog! I thought it would be fitting to end my coverage of this series on the final episode; since I'm eager to finally put this clanker behind me. Even though I don't know how Bumblebee will do, I can't imagine it being worse than this. So, let's open up "The Sun" and send this scrap on a one-way ride there!

One way I can damn this show with faint praise is the opening, which is a fairly decent remix of the Transformers theme with an electronic dance music style. Much better than the rap they have next season, and I will tell you more when I'm done with my top 13 worst anime openings.

Though this is the 52nd episode of an anime that barely had enough plot to sustain half that length; the opening is on an unconscious Scorponok and Ironhide conversing with each other in their current state, somehow!

In space, Unicron has also been reduced to a small orb, and while Kicker wants to destroy it; he's instead beckoned by Primus to wait; citing that Unicron can destroy, and create. Well, he did rebuild Megatron into Galvatron more than once, even if he has been living on a steady diet of planets since 1986.

"Proceed on your way to oblivion."

Elsewhere, on the Jungle Planet (yes, that's actually what it's called), Optimus Prime is also unconscious after absorbing Unicron's essence into his Combination Spark. Rodimus, still apparently having confused his voice and personality with Ultra Magnus; says that it's what he wanted, and the other Autobots must respect his wish. Given what happens later, however; this is yet another mistranslation, and I once again thank the tfwiki.net article on this episode for helping with some stuff I wouldn't have known about otherwise, since there was no way I was going to watch Super Link for frame of reference. It doesn't make much more sense anyway.

"Do not grieve, soon, I shall be one with the Matrix..."

So, at this point; it's a given, but the animation is pretty terrible. While the designs of Galvatron and Starscream are technically toy-accurate to a fault (even homaging their original G1 designs), the CGI is still noticeably worse than Beast Machines just a few years prior, and Beast Wars a few years before that. I honestly don't know what to expect from Bumblebee, but at least it will look pretty with about a cool $100 million on a period piece about 1980s robot action.

"You want me to gut Ultra Magnus?" "There's plenty of Autobots for you, Ultra Magnus is MINE."

Bulkhead and Roadblock then make their way to Jungle Planet to assist reviving Optimus. I must say, for a Transformers finale, this is pretty dull. Fitting for this anime, to be sure. Stray observations before I continue: Roadblock is more common for a character name in fellow Hasbro IP GI Joe, and Bulkhead would later be used to greater effect in Transformers Animated and Transformers Prime.

The fight over Unicron's essence continues in space, through some very staggered animation and editing. I submit it would take a whole boardroom of accountants to make this idea boring in execution. These guys did it with just 22 minutes or so of screen time. To make things even more confusing, Omega Supreme arrives to join the fray!

Omega Supreme only $39.99 wherever toys are sold!

Somehow, Unicron's essence gets into Galvatron's body, giving him a new form as Primus tries to form a new sun made out of Energon. To once again paraphrase the elder Han Solo: "that's not how the sun works!"

"How dare, Unicron: Cybertron and all its moons belong to me!"

With the power of all the Autobots' combination sparks, Optimus Prime awakens from his stasis and goes to stop Galvatron from destroying the new sun before it finishes forming! Even with the usual problems of not rescaling the CGI, I am just glad to finally be almost done with this pile of slag.

"Why throw away your life so recklessly?" "That's a question you should ask yourself!"

Long story short: Galvatron gets hurled into the sun, which is apparently the last push it needed to send its light throughout the universe. Not sure that's how that works, based on what I learned in astronomy; but whatever ends this episode and this show is fine by me at this point. Ironhide takes one last look at his partner, still looking less animated than the action figure they're trying to sell.

Ironhide only $14.99 at fine retailers everywhere.

Kicker also has apparently warmed to the idea of robots than can fit in fast cars, and Brad Swaile takes one last line read to work off a speeding ticket before he goes on to bigger and better things: least of all, a young man who has the powers of death at his fingers. 

This was not a great episode, but it's fitting for an anime that was already the nadir of the Unicron trilogy to begin with. While Cybertron wasn't originally a direct sequel to this anime in its original Japanese, it was later made part of the trilogy, with its counterpart series. Remarkable, isn't it? Though it ultimately has little bearing on this ending, since even when I was younger, I thought this was really fracking dumb. I mean, if you can't even entertain a 12-year-old for a half-hour; there's no hope for you. Whatever happens with Bumblebee, I can't imagine it being worse than this. I will most likely go see it after I hear what other people think; and work more on finishing my other projects by Christmas Eve. Plus, still enjoying my new Switch and my copy of Let's Go Pikachu; and I will most likely have come to a decision of what I want to do for my next blog in 2019 after Christmas. 

However, you all know what the best part of me getting this finished is? I'm done with Transformers Energon! Until the day, till all are one!