''This page is a master list of the assorted animated television series based on the Transformers toyline. For information on the numerous comic book series about these characters, see Transformers (comic), and to learn how both cartoons and comics separate and inter-relate across various fictional universes, see Transformers Universes.

Launched in 1984, the Transformers toyline was promoted through both a comic book by Marvel Comics and an animated series produced by Sunbow Productions. Although the comic outlived the animated series by a number of years, it was the cartoon which truly captured the hearts and minds of children worldwide more so than any other piece of Transformers media from its twenty year history. With the original show's conclusion in 1987, original series exclusive to Japan were created which ran until 1990, and the franchise was later reimagined with the CGI Beast Wars in the late 1990's. The current run of cartoons have been co-productions between America and Japan.

Generation 1

The term "Generation 1," or "G1," is a retronym, coined after the advent of 1993's Generation 2. Although frequently used to simply refer to the original 1984-1987 animated series, the term encompasses all Transformers fiction from 1984 to 1992.

The Transformers

Debuting in 1984, The Transformers began with a three-episode miniseries (later titled More Than Meets the Eye or Arrival from Cybertron) that introduced audiences to Optimus Prime, Megatron and their armies, as they travelled from the metal world of Cybertron to Earth in search of new sources of energy. The final episode ended on an open note, should the series prove popular enough to continue. And continue it did - a standard season's worth of 13 more episodes were commissioned, expanding the Transformers universe and debuting the Dinobots, Constructicons and Jetfire. With popularity rising, the second season soon followed in 1985 at a mammoth 49 episodes (in order to bring the total up to 65, for syndication). Dozens of new characters were introduced throughout the season, including the combining teams the Aerialbots, Stunticons, Combaticons and Protectobots, the Triple-Changers and more new Autobot cars and Decepticon jets, while many new ideas and concepts began to establish the history of the cartoon universe.

These 65 episodes were exported to Japan in the same year, where their airing order was restructed and the series was broadcast under the title of Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers. An OVA exclusive to Japan entitled Scramble City was released which cast focus on the combining teams and introduced Ultra Magnus, Metroplex and Trypticon, although it does not fit into the continuity of the American series due to its different origin for the latter.

1986 marked a huge change for The Transformers with the summer screening of The Movie, which jumped the action forward in time twenty years to the then-future of 2005 and pitted both the Autobots and Decepticons against the menance of the giant planet-eating robot, Unicron. Optimus Prime met his end at Megatron's hands, and Ultra Magnus briefly replaced him as a leader before being suceeded by Rodimus Prime, while Megatron himself was recreated by Unicron as Galvatron. Many more of the old guard fell in battle as their toys departed store shelves to make room for a new cast of characters created for the movie.

1986 also saw the start of the third season of the animated series, which took its cue from the movie, picking up precisely where it had left off with Rodimus in command and the Decepticons in exile with Galvatron missing. The season opened with a five-part mini-series entitled Five Faces of Darkness which saw Galvatron return and brought to prominence the Quintessons, multi-faced aliens introduced in the movie who were revealed to be the creators of the Transformer race, and who became a recurring third factor as the season continued through its setting of 2006. The addition of Flint Dille as story editor saw a strong sci-fi aspect infect the season as the Transformers' battles spanned many alien planets, while continuity between episode was tighter than ever before as plot concepts were revisited and expanded to truly flesh out the show's history. Running to 30 episodes, the third season ended with the two-part Return of Optimus Prime, bringing the legendary Autobot leader back to life. Broadcast in Japan once again, the series was retitled Transformers 2010, advancing its setting to the eponymous year.

1987 marked the end of the original American series, mirroring its beginning with a three-part mini-series entitled The Rebirth. Penned by regular series writer David Wise (who had previously written several of the series's mythology-building episodes), this finale story introduced the Headmasters and Targetmasters, as well as several other characters. Concluding with the restoration of Cybertron's Golden Age, the Decepticons stole the final scene of the series to prove that their threat still lingered.

Additionally, a fifth season of sorts was aired in 1988, serving as a kind of "best of" collection of the series. The most notable feature of this twenty-episode run was the new intro and outro segments added to the episodes, which consisted of Powermaster Optimus Prime (rendered in a mixture of puppetry and CGI) relating the events of the episodes to a human boy named Tommy Kennedy. The opening sequence comprised animation taken from contemporary toy adverts, and Prime occasionally referenced new toy characters like Cloudburst. Apparently rever re-run after its original airing, the series aired More Than Meets the Eye Parts 1-3, The Ultimate Doom Parts 1-3, Five Faces of Darkness Parts 1-5, Dark Awakening, the out-of-place Surprise Party, The Return of Optimus Prime Parts 1-2, and most notably, The Movie, split up and aired in five segments, with Stan Bush's music video for The Touch included in the final part.

Transformers: The Headmasters

Rather than import The Rebirth as a conclusion, Takara, the Japanese producers of the Transformers toyline, opted instead to continue the Generation 1 universe by creating the full-length 35-episode series, The Headmasters (two additional clips episodes were produced after the fact for direct-to-video release). Supplanting The Rebirth's position in Japanese continuity, The Headmasters occurred one year after The Return of Optimus Prime, introducing the titular characters to the Transformers universe in a wildly different way. Whereas in western fiction, the Headmasters result from the merging of a Transformer with an organic alien being from the planet Nebulos, the Headmasters of the Japanese series are a group of small Cybertronians who departed the planet millions of years ago and crash landed on the inhospitable planet Master. To survive its harsh climate, a select few of the most-highly trained constructed larger bodies called "Transtectors," to which they connected as heads.

When a group of rebellious Headmasters led by Lord Zarak joined with Galvatron's Decepticons in an attack on Cybertron, the Autobot Headmasters, led by Fortress returned to their home planet to aid in its defence. The situation soon went from bad to worse when it was revealed that Vector Sigma, the mega-computer at the planet's heart, was destabilising, and Optimus Prime again sacrificed his life to save Cybertron. This soon proved to be only delaying the inevitable, however, when a bomb attack instigated by Zarak turned Cybertron into a burnt-out, inhospitable husk. Rodimus Prime departed to search for a new planet for the Transformers to live on, leaving Fortress in command, operating from the planet Athenia. Meanwhile, Zarak replaced Galvatron - who had vanished in the explosion - as Decepticon leader, constructing a personal Transtector so that he could battle Fortress's own giant form, Fortress Maximus, and redubbing himself Scorponok.

Although populated mainly with new characters, The Headmasters did continue to feature characters from all previous seasons, including new versions of Soundwave and Blaster, rebuilt after a duel that destroyed them both as Soundblaster and Twincast. Human Daniel Witwicky and his young Autobot friend Wheelie also played major roles in the series, serving as the youthful characters for the audience to identify with. More new characters continued to pour in when Galvatron returned to leadership and the Decepticons embarked on a space voyage, ransacking planets in a chain of stories that introduced the Horrorcons and Autobot and Decepticon Clones. The return to Earth was no less momentous, as the Decepticon ninja six-chainger Sixshot killed Ultra Magnus, and the Autobot Headmasters finished off Galvatron. When the Decepticons then returned to Master, refugees from the planet were caught in a plasma bomb accident that fused them to the arms of several Autobots and Decepticons, creating the Targetmasters, and in a final move, Scorponok attempted the destruction of Earth, only to foiled, thanks in part to a traitorous Sixshot.

Never professionally released in the United States, The Headmasters was dubbed into English in Hong Kong for broadcast on the Malaysian TV channel, RTM 1, and later the Singapore satellite station, StarTV, where it attained greater fame, leading it to often be referred to as the "StarTV dub." The dub is, however, infamous for its poor quality, full of mistranslations and incorrect names, clearly the work of a small group of individuals (literally, less than half-a-dozen actors fill every role) with little knowledge and less talent. This dub was seen some DVD releases in the United Kingdom, and the entire series was released in a dual-language format in 2005.

Transformers: Super-God Masterforce

The second of the Japanese-exclusive animated series, 1988's Super-God Masterforce takes place some years after The Headmasters, introducing the Powermasters and Pretenders to Japanese fiction in ways even more different from their portrayal in the west than those of the Headmasters before them.

With the departure of the Autobots and Decepticons from Earth at the end of The Headmasters, a small group of Autobots remained to guard the planet, having hidden amongst mankind for thousands of years thanks to their "Pretender" powers, which allowed them to shrink down and adopt the forms of human beings. However, the sudden re-appearance of their formerly-defeated Decepticon counterparts, now in the service of the mysterious energy entity Devil Z, means that the Autobots must drop their disguises and return to battle once more. But this is only the beginning of the most unusual Transformer war yet - as the battle escalates, human beings themselves take sides, and, imbued with the power of the "Masterforce", merge with Transtectors sent to Earth by the Autobots in space to become Transformers themselves as the "Headmaster Juniors." But the Decepticons have Headmaster Juniors of their own, and as the conflict rages, events converge on the creation of the most powerful super-robot lifeforms yet - the Godmasters!

The Godmasters are the Japanese version of the Powermasters, with human begins transforming into engines and combining with Transtectors to transform into robots capable of weilding "Chokon Power," the primal energy of life. Most notably, their ranks include Ginrai, a character based on the Powermaster version of Optimus Prime, reinvented as a Japanese trucker, and the Japanese-exclusive character, Decepticon ambassador of destruction Overlord.

Running to 42 episodes, Super-God Masterforce had six additional clip episodes made after the fact for video release, one of which, serving as an overview of the series, was selected to be broadcast as the 43rd and final episode of the series. The 42 main episodes recieved the same dub treatment as The Headmasters, but the dubbed version of the series was not included on the DVD release of the series in July 2006.

Transformers: Victory

Taking place in an unspecified amount of time after the events of Super-God Masterforce (there is a common misconception that the series takes place in 2025), 1989's Victory is the third Japanese-exclusive series, the final complete Generation 1 cartoon. Led by their new Supreme Commander Star Saber, the Autobots battle the Decepticons under the command of Deszaras for control of the galaxy's resources.

In contrast to The Headmasters and Super-God Masterforce, both of which had an over-arcing plot direction, the majority of Victory is directionless, returning to the episodic adventure tradition of the original American series which culminates in the much-threatened attack of Deszaras's planet-destroying fortress. In another difference, the characters and toys of Victory are predominantly unique to Japan, and those that are not are remoulded in unique, distinguishing ways - the series debuts the Brainmasters, Brestforce and Multiforce, all new toys, as well as the Dinoforce, remoulded versions of the American Monster Pretenders. Micromasters also make their debut in Victory.

Of the 38 episodes of Victory broadcast, six are clip episodes containing no new footage, leaving 32 main episodes, which comprise the DVD collection which will be released in the United Kingdom in September 2006. Six further clip episodes were produced for video, taking the total to 44. Victory also recieved the "StarTV dub" treament - when the three Japanese series were broadcast on StarTV, it was under the umbrella title of "Transformers Takara," and all three were branded with Victory's opening sequence.

Transformers: Zone

Originally intended to be a full-length direct-to-video (OVA) series, 1990's Zone was cancelled after only one episode, making it the very last Generation 1 animated project. Following on from Victory, the mysterious three-faced insectoid being, Violenjiger dispatches the nine "Great Decepticon Generals" - Devastator, Menasor, Bruticus, Trypticon, Preadking, Abominus, King Poseidon, Overlord and BlackZarak - to acquire "Zone Energy," destroying the planet Feminia to obtain the world's store. Caught in the destruction of the planet, Star Saber is rescued by Dai Atlas, who then repels an attack by the Decepticons, and is appointed the new Autobot commander at the conclusion of the episode.

The cast of Zone is heavily comprised of Micromasters, who also made up much of the toyline. Dai Atlas is a "Powered Master," so named for his motorized gimmick, as is his combining partner Sonic Bomber - the toyline also featured another partner for them, Roadfire, who was not in the episode. The solitary Decepticons in the toyline were the Race Car Patrol, and Metrotitan, a redeco of the Autobot city Metroplex, neither of whom appeared in animated form. They absent parties did go on to appear, however, in the pages of the Japanese publication, TV Magazine - this monthly magazine had always included Transformers manga and "story pages" (splash page illustrations and prose text) from the beginning, and although no manga was released for Zone (barring a single chapter available through mail-away which simply re-told the episode), its tale was completed through the story pages.

These story pages were also used to provide supporting fiction for the remaining two years worth of toylines - 1991's Return of Convoy and 1992's Combination.

Transfomers: Generation 2

When the Generation 2 toyline fully launched in 1993, it began with a small collection of original Generation 1 toys, redecoed in various ways, and equipped with ostentatious new gimmicks such as electronic sound boxes and large, firing missile launchers. Although the toyline itself would grow to include many brand new figures, and the comic book which accompanied it was a continuation of Marvel's Generation 1 title, the Generation 2 animated series stuck very closely to the toyline's opening cascade of "rehashed G1." Around fifty Generation 1 episodes from seasons 1 to 3 of The Transformers were chosen and, as the show's narratar proudly proclaimed, "computer-enhanced" with the "Cyber-Net Space-Cube" - a gimmick that essentially consisted of inserting new, computer-generated borders and scene-changes into the existing episodes. CGI clips from toy commercials served to make up the show's opening sequence and commercial bumpers, while the episodes themselves were shown in no particular order.

The G2 series is generally poorly regarded by fans, with the Cyber-Net Space-Cube derided as intrusive and unnecessary, and one of the great mistakes of the franchise.

Beast Era

Beast Wars: Transformers

Note: Initially released in the west, this series revived the Transformers franchise in Japan as well. The last two seasons of Beast Wars were shown in Japan as Transformers: Beast Wars Metals. The series was named Beasties in Canada, due to Canadian regulations frowning on the use of the word "war" in a show aimed at children. The show was produced by Mainframe Entertainment, out of Vancouver, Canada, who also did ReBoot.

The heroic Maximals, descendants of the Autobots, fight the evil Predacons, Decepticons descendants, who crashed at the same time the Maximals did, on prehistoric Earth. Much like the Transformers that will be revived in the "future", the Maximals and Predicons took on the forms of their surroundings. The Maximals took on the form of Mammals, except in rare cases, the Predecons took the form of predators like dinosaurs and insects. 3D Animated. See Beast Wars entry.

Beast Wars II

Note: After the first season of Beast Wars aired in Japan, it was necessary for two further exclusively Japanese series to be produced, as it would take two more years for Mainframe to produce enough episodes of their Beast Wars series to air in Japan as a season. Beast Wars Second was the first of those two series, and was released in Japan while the second season of Beast Wars aired in the U.S and Canada.

The Cybertrons (led by Lio Convoy) and Destrons (led by Galvatron), who originate from the same future time as the Western Beast Wars characters, square off on a planet called Gaia (implied to be Earth in the far future) for control of the mysterious Angolmois Energy. The series spawned a theatrical movie comprising three "acts" - bookending the original story that formed the second act were a recap of the first Canadian season of Beast Wars, and the second-season episode, "Bad Spark." The movie saw Optimus Primal (Convoy in Japan) transported to the future world of the series and team up with Lio Convoy.

Beast Wars Neo

Note: Aired in Japan while the third season of Beast Wars was airing in the U.S.

At the conclusion of Beast Wars Second, the Angolmois Energy is sealed in capsules and scattered across the universe. Beast Wars Neo continues this storyline, as the new Maximal leader, Big Convoy, leads his team in search of the capsules, to reclaim them before Magmatron and the Predacons do. Along the way, both sides meet opposition from a third faction called the Blendtrons, who want the Angolmois Energy for their own purposes - it is revealed that the energy is the life-force of Unicron, and the Blendtrons seek his rebirth.

Beast Machines: Transformers

Note: Shown in Japan in 2004-2005 as Transformers: Beast Wars Returns.

Continuing on from the end of the Beast Wars series, Beast Machines sees the Maximals return to a Cybertron ruled entirely by Megatron and his massive army of Vehicon drones. Granted new techno-organic forms by the legendary Oracle, the Maximals are now on the run as they attempt to restore an organic balance to Cybertron.

Transformers: Car Robots

Note: Released in the west as Transformers: Robots in Disguise on September 8 2001.

An entirely new universe unconnected to other continuities, Car Robots or Robots in Disguise sees Megatron (Gigatron in Japan) and his Predacons launch a campaign against Earth, resulting in the emergence of Optimus Prime (Fire Convoy) and his Autobots, operating undercover on Earth in the forms of everyday vehicles. The series returns Transformers to its vehicular roots after the Beast series, and features classic Transformer concepts like gestalts and Headmaster technology. When imported to the U.S., a large number of references to past Transformers series were inserted into the show.

Unicron Trilogy

Armada

Transformers Armada was the first co-production of a series between Hasbro and Takara to create a line for simultaneous release in both countries. The show was written and animated in Japan, though it was created with global sensibilities rather than the more anime-specific tendencies that one would expect in a show of such origins. However, a result of an unreasonable schedule set by Cartoon Network, the series was rushed out of production, resulting in an American version that often contain unfinished, mistake-riddled animation and a transliterated script that frequently disagreed with the action onscreen and got character names wrong. The Japanese version, meanwhile, was released slightly later, and hence contained all the completed animation.

Armada begins a new universe of continutiy for Transformers, taking major elements of Generation 1, and remolding them into a new image, such as the appearance and purpose of Unicron and the purpose and look of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. The series focuses on Mini-Cons (Microns in the Japanese version), a new faction of small Transformers with special powers, added to this series as the larger Transformers pursue them to Earth and begin their quest to find them. If the Decepticons could get the most Mini-Cons, they would up their power and be unstoppable. If the Autobots could find them all, they could prevent the Decepticons from using the Mini-cons as tools of war and liberating them. The Mini-cons later played a large part in the defeat of Unicron.

A companion comic/manga was included with the Japanese DVD releases of the series titled Linkage. This comic told the side story of a group of Mini-cons whose adventures happened in the background of the events of the TV series. A better understanding of the Mini-cons is contained in this comic and has been translated into English.

Transformers: Energon

Note: Released in Japan as Transformers: Super Link (2004), released in U.S. as Transformers: Energon (2004-2005). As with Armada, Energon too was a co-production, but in this case, more of the production was left to the Japanese.

Set roughly 10 years after the events of Micron Legend/Armada, Super Link/Energon focuses on the quest for the energy-rich mineral, Energon (hence the U.S. title), and the toyline's new gimmick, that of combination, a power possessed by the Autobots that allowed pairs to fuse together to create one new, powerful robot, in a process called Powerlinking (previously introduced in Armada as the act of combination), or in Japanese, "Superlinking," (hence the Japanese title). This series includes characters designed and/or named as homages to the G1 universe, such as Laserwave/Shockblast, Megazarak/Scorponok, Rodimus, Wheeljack/Downshift and Command Jaguar/Ravage.

Peace has existed between the Cybertrons/Autobots and Destrons/Decepticons since the death of Megatron and disappearance of Unicron. However, a creature named Alpha Quintesson (See Quintesson) has designs to reactivate Unicron, though his reasons were pure. In the process, Megatron was revived and intended to use Unicron to take over the Universe.

Transformers: Cybertron

Note: Released in Japan as Transformers: Galaxy Force (2005).

A new stage of the Transformers saga opens across the galaxy. A black hole which appears at the end of an intense battle now threatens to destroy the universe. Now, the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime (Galaxy Convoy in Galaxy Force), are in a race against the Decepticons, led by Megatron (Master Megatron in Galaxy Force), to find the Cyber Planet Keys (Planet Forces in Galaxy Force), mysterious ancient powers that can be used to either save the galaxy or to conquer it. On their journeys, the Transformers interact with the inhabitants of various planets, one being Earth.

See also

• Transformers Universes
• Transformers (comics)

External links

• AllSpark.com - Major Transformers fansite
• tfw2005.com - Major Transformers fansite
• SEIBERTRON.com - Massive Transformers fansite
• PARADRON.com - Transformers Fanart, links, animations, forums etc...
• Cybertronian Alliance - Active transfan community with RPGs, galleries, and information.
• Axalon Underground RPG - One of the longest running Transformers RPG's on the internet.
• Transformers (the original series)
• Stanley Lui’s Transformers On-Line Encyclopedia
• Transformers at TV.com
• Teletraan-1: The Transformers Wiki Transformers Wiki

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