The animated series was and remains a wonderful and profound work. The attempt to reproduce it in live-action on Netflix suffers from expected sins.
The bot winks because the fan base already exists and the brand is known. As the animated series progresses, it reveals surprising depths and a smart and thought-provoking study of human nature and the cost of wars. It reaches its peak with the brave plot arc of its heroes and villains, who go through not only a coming of age journey but change worldviews.