Transformers Energon: The Complete Series (7-Disc Collection) [DVD]
Release Date: Now Available on DVD
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Disc Rating: 9/10
Plot Summary:
Ten years of peace have passed since Unicron’s destruction, but all of that’s about to change. A mysterious enemy has unleashed the Terrorcons on the Autobots’ cities, gathering energy for plans of total domination. Enter a newly revived Megatron and the universe is in for a war unlike any it’s ever seen between the Autobots and Decepticons. And once again, Earth is caught in the middle!
‘Transformers Energon’ is the second chapter in ‘The Unicron Trilogy’ and picks up ten years after the events that occurred in ‘Transformers Armada.’ One thing I feel that I should point out before I begin going into detail regarding the storyline of ‘Energon’ is that it does indeed directly follow the events of ‘Armada’, so if you haven’t seen ‘Armada’ and want to avoid enormous spoilers from the series, stop reading right now.
If you’re still here, then here we go. ‘Transformers Energon’ takes place ten years after the destruction of Unicron and the defeat of Megatron and finds that the Autobots and humans have been working together for many years and have successfully constructed ‘Cybertron City’ as well as assisting in the search for Energon which is a crucial factor in both the lives of the Transformers as well as in furthering the technology that they have been working toward all of these years. Far off in another part of the Galaxy, minions of Unicron have begun collecting followers in order to help steal Energon so that they might resurrect Unicron and as old villains as well as new begin appearing and attacks on supplies of Energon become more and more frequent, the Autobots and humans will have to work together in order to protect what they have worked so hard to build.
‘Transformers Energon’ is definitely a lot of fun and it’s really great to see the series connect so directly with ‘Transformers Armada.’ It introduces a fair amount of new characters, including new human kids, but surprisingly doesn’t disregard the previous kids that were the focus of ‘Armada’ and has them still present as young adults which really helps make this series truly feel like an extension of ‘Armada’ even with an animation style and character designs being different. It’s also great to see the favorites like Megatron and (one of my personal favorite characters) Starscream being brought back into the mix and with some explanation and creativity to boot.
Fans of the Unicron Trilogy as well as’ Transformers’ fans in general will absolutely want to pick up a copy of this complete series DVD release as it features all 51 episodes in the series in one great 7 disc collection and at a great price.
Fellow ‘Transformers’ fans should also make sure to keep your eyes peeled for even more great ‘Transformers’ releases hitting soon from Shout Factory, including ‘Transformers Animated: The Complete Series’ in June as well as the final chapter in the Unicron Trilogy ‘Transformers Cybertron: The Complete Series’ set (thought I’m not sure if the date is concrete or tentative at this point) to arrive in August.
VIDEO:
The video on the DVD release of ‘Transformers Energon: The Complete Series’ is presented in a 4×3 1.33:1 aspect ratio representing the aspect ratio in which it was originally broadcast. The video presentation looks pretty fantastic for a DVD release. While there is of course be some pixilation and other minor issues visible here (most noticeable in the space sequences with heavy black colors), it should be expected to some degree with an older cartoon presented in 4×3 on DVD, yet overall it looks pretty fantastic on my 46” HDTV and I think fans will be pretty pleased with this release. It certainly looks far better than I imagined it would.
AUDIO:
The audio on the DVD release is a Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack on all fifty-one episodes in the series. For a lossy stereo soundtrack this one is absolutely top notch. I listened to a number of episodes in stereo, while I watched the majority using the simulated surround method (Dolby Pro-Logic II X) on my receiver and in both instances everything sounded clear, discrete and without any issues or static present, even in loud action sequences (which there are certainly plenty of). I personally found the series to be a lot more fun with the simulated surround implemented but either way this is without question an impressive Dolby Digital stereo track.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Once again, as with the complete series release of ‘Transformers Armada’ there are no special features included on the release. I think fans will still be pretty thrilled with this collection though as it includes all 51 episodes in ‘Transformers Energon’ in a great 7-disc collection and at a great price.
*Please note that the above images are taken from the DVD and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this DVD release are the property of their respective owners.
Disc Rating: 9/10
‘Transformers Energon: The Complete Series’ is now available to own on DVD from Shout Factory and you can pick up a copy today directly from Shout Factory’s site by clicking here!