Reviews

In a rare occurrence of Transformers media, the villains carry more personality and competence in comparison to the new set of protagonists for this show, the blundering Maximal recruits headed by Big Convoy. The only real reason the Predacons get thwarted is mostly because of plot convenience and dumb luck for the first half or so. Big Convoy more often than not has to be compelled by an outside force to lecture the group under him to get their act together. Unexpectedly, the one recruit who has severe anxiety manages to get more done plus following orders better than the majority of his peers, and this same recruit is the one who seems to get the most development. Stampy being the one who slowly but surely finds his place. Few high praises can be said for many of the other recruits. Colada wavers between bull stubborn and getting things done, but I find his grumpy butt endearing. His sense of responsibility which sometimes pops up is probably what has him get along best with Stampy. Heinrad is negligible in personality and story development aside from the times he serves as a necessary, begrudging crux. Big Convoy could stand to be more involved, but due to his lone wolf nature, he struggles to connect with his recruits for a long time. It's not for lack of trying since he's gradually pushed to bolster and encourage them, lightening up in the process too. The other Maximals are generally a "see for yourself" kind of thing.

The Predacons are really the ones stealing the show here character-wise:

Magmatron has a reserved, threatening air and a reputation preceding him. The history regarding the fate of his home has him holding a deep-seated rage. Magmatron has a potential for power only matched by few like Big Convoy. The three dinosaur body shtick is admittedly goofy, but it carries a certain oomf with some of the animation.

DNAVI, the Dinosaur ship's local menace and necessary arbiter of teleportation. You will call her by her chosen name at the moment or no teleporting back to the Dinosaur for you. The D stands for Devil for a reason.

Guiledart may as well be one of Magmatron's hands. Unflinchingly loyal when the others want to abandon ship from Magmatron. Does not take flak for some doubting him, and he's somewhat justified in that. Very briefly becomes a father figure.

Archadis comes into the picture a little later and rather snarkily. Pretentious chicken of an Archaeopteryx. Adept in sharpshooting, being nagged by Guiledart, and flipping his affinity for factions on a whim. Has the best laugh (it even calms down a baby).

Sling, his poor synapsid soul, seems to be the metaphorical punching bag of the Predacons. He still tries his best where he can.

Saberback has his mind set to vanity, often commenting on the beauty of things or the lack thereof. He wields powers of illusion and... magic? Not an entire jerk because he marginally cares about Sling.

Dead End does little besides brooding and what he's ordered to. His character manages to be weaker than the sidestory Predacons' personalities.

Hydra is not a main Predacon, but nonetheless a standout in his short screen time. Awful jokes, nerdery, and loyalty up there with the likes of Guiledart.

Neo has a slow, if annoying, start as the Maximal crew sets out on their pursuit of collecting Angolmois capsules before Magmatron and his crew of Predacons can get to them first. Right from the get-go, the Maximal recruits bicker among themselves while all Big Convoy can do is carry on with the mission given from higher-ups. Things ramp up with the introduction of the Blentrons, becoming the bigger problem at hand for both the Maximals and the Predacons. Other giant unsavory forces arrive at their doorstep too. Can the conflicted Maximals and Predacons do something about it?

One of Neo's strongest points is the performance of the voice actors. I personally feel Holly Kaneko (Guiledart), Ren Tamura (Archadis), Show Ryuzanji (Magmatron), Junichi Inoue (Big Convoy), and Makoto Ueki (Colada) knocked it out of the park with their characters. They lend very well to their roles. It's hard to describe without hearing them in action. What I can say though is I can tell they had a blast doing it.
Also, Break's VA may sound very familiar.

Visuals... are a mixed bag. The characteristic transformation sequences as per usual are a delight, satisfyingly having the characters change into their modes. Character designs are distinctive and more in my opinion: stellar, but they might not be a viewer's fancy if they're used to or far more like the classic inorganic robot look of Transformers. Occasionally animation errors pop up that are very distracting. Among the memorable ones: Guiledart's face being a void for a hot minute and the animators never knowing how to settle on a single look for Archadis' mouth.

Following on the heels of Beast Wars II, Neo's opening and ending themes do not disappoint. Absolute bangers. The ambient music tracks do their job fine without taking from the moment. Not much else is notable with sound... maybe the Matrix Buster sequence though.

Despite the drawbacks, there's still charm to be found. The very first Beat Wars series this is not - definitely not in the realm of plot complexity. Most of the enjoyment comes from how less seriously Beast Wars Neo takes itself. Neo is highly episodic until the later serious plot points settle in. It has the carefree tromp and goofy sincerity like a lot of 90s anime, and it's almost a last send off of shows of its time since it released the year before the next millennium ticked over. This is one of the Transformers shows where one will need to take "Your mileage may vary." to heart.