The latest iteration of traditional animated Transformers has been met with much discontent within the fanboy community. When previews started being shown at ‘Cons and leaked onto the Interweb, people were highly critical of the new anime-inspired look and the fact that it doesn’t fall anywhere within canon.

I haven’t seen nearly enough to make a judgment call. The character designs are radically different approach from what we are used to. I’m sure the criticism that is being aired now was very similar as to when Beast Wars came on the scene with its radical CGI animation. I was sent a promo pack which included this shot of the main Autobot cast.

Familiar faces like Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, & Ratchet are recognizable at first glance. Prowl is there too as a police motorcycle but is ninja-like in appearance. The big tank guy is Bulkhead whose alt-mode is a military transport. He’s brand new. I’ll wait to see before I make a hyperbole filled statement. The 90 minute premiere will air on Cartoon Network on December 26th at 8:00pm. For character bios, downloads and more head over to Transformers.com