Energon takes place in the universe established during the oft-maligned Armada series. Unlike Cybertron, Energon's tenuously linked sequel, most of the Transformers retain their appearances from Armada and will even reference elements from that series. Energon also continues with the concept of the series taking parts in story arcs, rather than one big series. Similar to series like Bleach or Naruto, the series is broken into four, 13-episode arcs that tell their own story as well as playing into a much larger plot.
The first arc takes place ten years after the Mini-con War at the end of Armada. With the death of Megatron, the Decepticons have been forced into an uneasy partnership with the Autobots and their human allies, who have joined the Cybertronias in a search for Energon. Meanwhile, in the husk of the long-dead planet-eater, Unicron, the Quintesson, Alpha Q, creates a new race of Transformers known as the Terrorcons and their leader, Scorponok, to attack the Autobots and steal Energon. In a bid to win the Decepticon's help, Alpha Q tricks them into thinking that he wants to revive Megatron.
Despite Alpha Q's best efforts, Megatron is able to engineer his own revival and stages an all-out war against the Autobots from the body of Unicron. In response to the attacks, Optimus Prime and the Autobots begin construction of an Energon Grid to protect Earth from the Decepticon's attacks. With Earth protected, the Autobots head to Cybertron to focus their attention on Unicron and the Decepticons. While on Cybertron, the Autobots form an alliance with Alpha Q, who introduces the Autobots to a group of Transformers led by Rodimus. The Decepticons attack and during the battle Unicron is reactivated, causing a fissure in reality that transports all of the combatants into a universe untouched by Unicron.
From here, the last two seasons spinoff into an all-out war between the Decepticons and Autobots. New characters are introduced, treaties are made and broken and well, if you've seen any of the other series, you have a rather good idea about how things eventually turn out... sort of.
One of the really cool things about the Energon series is in how it manages to weave a fairly long and complex story. Episodes aren't self-contained, but rather parts of a much larger series. The long-form storytelling allows for more character development (imagine that... character development) and always means that there is a new mystery to uncover. At the same time, things can become rather complex and unless you watch several episodes, you might forget one or two seemingly insignificant plot points. While it doesn't twist around as much as Lost or Heroes, it is still fairly complex compared to most kids' shows that forget their continuity from week to week. Despite this, most episodes come to a satisfying conclusion, so you never feel like you're being strung along with promises of "bigger things yet to come."
Generation One (G1) fans who have, until now, avoided anything that doesn't resemble their childhood memories may want to give Energon a look. In Japan, the series was meant as a 20th Anniversary celebration, which translates into several homages to the original series. Several bots in the series look like their G1 counterparts, or at least take design pieces from the series.
By now I've had the chance to review at least a sampling of episodes from the different interpretations of the Transformers universe, and I can easily say that Energon is one of my favorites. The long-form storytelling keeps things interesting while the G1 undercurrents give everything a familiar feel. Even if you're one of those aforementioned G1 fans who has been avoiding the series since childhood, Transformers Energon: The Ultimate Collection might win you over.
