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The is a line of
mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japanese is ...
toys produced by Japanese company
Takara Takara Co., Ltd. (株式会社タカラ) was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955. In March 2006, the company merged with Tomy Co., Ltd. to form Takara Tomy. The Takara motto was 遊びは文化」("playing is culture"). Products Toys In 1 ...
(now known as
Takara Tomy is a Japanese entertainment company that makes children's toys and merchandise. It was created from a merger on March 1st 2006 of two companies: Tomy (founded in 1924 as Tomiyama, changing the name to Tomy in 1963) and long-time rival Tak ...
) and American toy company
Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...
. Initially a line of transforming mecha toys rebranded from Takara's '' Diaclone'' and ''
Micro Change was a science fiction toyline created, manufactured and marketed by Takara, Takara Co., Ltd. from 1974 to 1984 as well as from 1998 to 2007. The ''Microman'' line was a series of action figures with accompanying vehicles, robots, playsets and ...
'' toy lines, it spawned the ''
Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms ...
'' media franchise. The premise behind the ''Transformers'' toy line is that an individual toy's parts can be shifted about to change it from a vehicle, a device, or an animal, to a robot
action figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually mark ...
and back again. The franchise's taglines, "More Than Meets the Eye" and "Robots in Disguise", reflect this ability. The ''Transformers'' toy-line is typically divided into two main factions: the heroic Autobots and their opponents, the evil Decepticons. They are known in Japan as the Cybertrons and Destrons, respectively, although more recent releases often use the English terms. Many spin-offs are based on the toys including a comic book series, an animated television series, and the feature-length animated '' The Transformers: The Movie''. The original TV series has a number of spin-offs and reboots. A live-action film series was launched in 2007 by director Michael Bay and had 5 movies.


Conception

The ''Transformers'' toy line was created from toy molds mostly produced by Japanese company
Takara Takara Co., Ltd. (株式会社タカラ) was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955. In March 2006, the company merged with Tomy Co., Ltd. to form Takara Tomy. The Takara motto was 遊びは文化」("playing is culture"). Products Toys In 1 ...
in the toy lines '' Diaclone'' and ''
Micro Change was a science fiction toyline created, manufactured and marketed by Takara, Takara Co., Ltd. from 1974 to 1984 as well as from 1998 to 2007. The ''Microman'' line was a series of action figures with accompanying vehicles, robots, playsets and ...
''. Other toy molds from other companies such as
Bandai is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...
were used as well. In 1984, Hasbro bought the distribution rights to the molds and rebranded them as the ''Transformers'' for distribution in North America. They approached
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
to create a
backstory A backstory, background story, back-story, or background is a set of events invented for a plot, presented as preceding and leading up to that plot. It is a literary device of a narrative history all chronologically earlier than the narrative o ...
with names and short descriptions for each character, which were written by
Bob Budiansky Bob Budiansky (; born March 15, 1954) is an American comic book writer, editor, and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel's '' Transformers'' comic. He also created the Marvel character Sleepwalker and wrote all 33 issues of that comic. ...
. The designs for the original 28 figures were made by
Shōji Kawamori is a Japanese anime creator and producer, screenwriter, visual artist, and mecha designer. He is best known for creating the '' Macross'' mecha anime franchise and the ''Diaclone'' toyline, which were in turn the basis for the '' Robotech'' ...
,


Reception

In 1986, film critic Richard Martin called the original toy series a more fun counterpart to Rubik's Cube in " elpingchildren develop their hand-eye coordination and their spatial reasoning skills, but Hasbro kept quiet about this, believing no self-respecting 10-year-old boy would bug his parents half to death to buy him an educational toy". He said " ids masteredits difficulties in no time ut it makesgrown-ups feel like klutzes". He said the resulting TV show "has topped the ratings every week since its debut in 1985, thus setting the stage for '' The Transformers: The Movie'' (1986) hich isdesigned to sell more toys to more kids. ..Transformers don't really die, they just become new products."


Legacy

Ralston produced breakfast cereals based on 1980s cartoons, including ''Transformers Chocolate Flavored Cereal'', similar to Cocoa Puffs. The official international Transformers convention is BotCon, but other fan events include Auto Assembly and TransForce in the UK and past Transformers only events have included BotCon Japan, BotCon Europe and "OTFCC". The first larger Transformers convention in the Nordic countries is called "The NTFA Mini-Con", with official support from Hasbro Nordic, and was held by members of the NTFA - The Nordic TransFans Association, for the first time on November 3–4, 2007. The second NTFA convention with official support from Hasbro Nordic, now renamed "NordCon" (to avoid copyright problems with the name "Mini-Con") was held in Aalborg,
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
from 19 June to 20 June 2010. It featured Simon Furman as a guest of honour. In 2011, NordCon and Auto Assembly joined forces to create a new convention called Auto Assembly Europe, which first took place in
Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the c ...
, Sweden, in November 2011. A Transformers Hall of Fame was created in 2010. The Botcon 2010 inauguration included
Bob Budiansky Bob Budiansky (; born March 15, 1954) is an American comic book writer, editor, and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel's '' Transformers'' comic. He also created the Marvel character Sleepwalker and wrote all 33 issues of that comic. ...
,
Peter Cullen Peter Claver Cullen (born July 28, 1941) is a Canadian voice actor. He is best known as the voice of Optimus Prime in the original 1980s ''Transformers'' animated series, reprising the role many times since 2007. He has also voiced many other ...
,
Hideaki Yoke is a Japanese entertainment company that makes children's toys and merchandise. It was created from a merger on March 1st 2006 of two companies: Tomy (founded in 1924 as Tomiyama, changing the name to Tomy in 1963) and long-time rival Tak ...
, Ōno Kōjin, and the characters
Optimus Prime Optimus Prime, , is a fictional character in the ''Transformers'' franchise. The Transformers characters were developed for an American market after Hasbro representatives visited the 1983 Tokyo Toy Show. The characters were modified and the ...
,
Bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related genera ...
,
Megatron Megatron is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the ''Transformers'' media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. Megatron is the cruel and tyrannical leader of the Decepticons, ...
, Starscream, and Dinobot.


Video games


References


External links

*
- Takara-Tomy's Official Transformers Web Site

Transformers.com - Official Transformers Web Site
{{Hasbro Action figures Hasbro brands Hasbro products Takara 1980s toys 1990s toys 2000s toys 2010s toys Transforming toy robots