Apologies for all the spoilers. If you haven't already, I'd recommend watching Armada before this show; it'll make a bit more sense. 😅

Transformers: Energon. I'd say it was a great show if it didn't keep hitting me in the feels. 😓

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of great things about it. There are lots of familiar characters from older shows in it (Arcee, Rodimus, Inferno, Jetfire, etc.) It has plenty of new, interesting characters to balance them out (Strongarm, Tidalwave, Landmine, Wing Dagger/Wing Saber, etc). Most of them are memorable, even the minor ones (some of which become major). The story gives motives to each character and event and packs enough surprises to keep you interested and on your toes.

But.

A lot of the well-loved, classic characters are only similar in name (and sometimes appearance). Ironhide, Prowl, and Downshift are prime examples. In Energon, Ironhide is a rookie looking to prove himself at every opportunity. Prowl practically blends into the background; there's no trace of the stern, table-flipping cop car we all know and remember. And Downshift bears an uncanny resemblance to Wheeljack, with no trace of the scientist or the crazy Wrecker in his personality.

There's also almost too many plot twists and changing of sides occurring (Megatron's habit of forcefully converting bots doesn't help any). It's difficult to keep track of who's on who's side and what the main objective is. Although perhaps that's what makes it a good show. The audience is almost as confused as the characters, keeping us more involved and interested in the story. Armada had a similar predicament, though not quite on the same scale as Energon (to be fair, Armada has fewer characters).

One thing that I didn't really like is the inexplicable disappearance of the characters from Armada. Blur, Sideswipe, Scavenger, and Wheeljack are nowhere to be found. I know Energon takes place a decade after Armada, but that's an insignificant amount of time for a Cybertronian. The rest of the Armada crew should still be around somewhere helping out the cause.

Another of my pet peeves in Energon is the tendency to take interesting characters and turn them into boring, background characters, foremost among these is Starscream, Demolishor, and Scorponok. Starscream had his memories wiped and became completely devoted to Megatron. Demolishor kind of became the next Armada Starscream, questioning whether his sympathies lay with the Autobots or the Decepticons. He was eventually 'fixed up' by Megatron to be another boring, devoted soldier. The same thing happened to Scorponok, although he got to keep his old armor and most of his personality.

A few more points in favor of the show: the character development is a little better paced. In Armada, it seemed like some characters *coughhotshotcough* could become leadership material practically overnight. Energon (I think) does a better job of developing the characters. Take Ironhide for example. Despite my reservations against him as an obnoxious rookie, I have to admit he's started to grow on me. He and Kicker start out as rivals and gradually become friends. He's stubbornly loyal to his friends, even when they've apparently turned traitor (even though he's angry at them, he tries to convince them to come back). He's the only one who seems to really care about them.
And while he does act impulsively, he doesn't do it all the time. More often than not, he's willing to follow orders, even if he strongly disagrees with them. However, he stays true to his sense of right and wrong, and won't hesitate to act accordingly. Optimus understands this and allows him some freedom to do so (such as following Alpha Q to discover the truth for himself).

Overall, it's still a pretty good show. Most of the characters are great and the story is interesting. The pacing is a little weird, but it's overlookable (is that even a word?). I think it's worth watching, even if it hurts in the feels.

TTFN
~Lethasa