What elements have to be present in a Transformers series/comic/toyline, etc... for it to be considered "G1" or some interpretation of G1?

EDIT: There's been some confusion on the nature of the question I'm posing. I'm not asking WHEN G1 occured, rather I'm asking what people consider G1 as a subline or subsection of the franchise. In other words, if you had your own forums and had to file things under the "G1" heading, what would you consider to be G1? Or more specifically, what standard do you use to make that classification.

 

Character aesthetics, correct names, complete cast and correct alt modes.  

 

G1 is the Transformers toys produced between 1984-1992, the Marvel Comics series, the Marvel UK Comics series, and the 4 seasons of the Sunbow cartoon. Plus whatever TF-related merchandise was produced up through the year 1992.

That's it. Nothing else. Nothing after.

Toys, comics, whatever else can be produced that homages Generation 1. But not that become part of Generation 1. Any more than you could birth a baby today that would be part of Generation X. It's impossible. That generation has ended.

 

That it draws most of its characters from the G1 toyline.

IDW, for instance, has drawn in a few characters from Beast Wars and RID and so on, but at the end of the day it's mostly filled with guys like Misfire and Brainstorm and Pipes and Sky High and Longtooth who basically exist solely as guys from the original toyline.

So if, say, IDW came out with a comic continuation of, say, Transformers Animated, would that comic not count as Animated because the cartoon ended in '09?

 

Google James Roberts. He's taken the whole G1 concept to a new level.

 

Japanese G1 is G1 as well.

 

"Animated" is not a generation.

Do people really not understand the word "generation" or its usage here?

Once Generation 2 began, that meant Generation 1 had ended.

Whoops, yeah, you're right. Dumb of me to leave that out.

 

That's it exactly (except that Japanese G1 is included, too). G1 was over when they introduced G2. MPs are homages. IDW comics and CHUG toys might be considered neo-G1 because they're updates or re-imaginings.

 

My own personal G1 is a bit different. My main source of G1, aside from the toys obviously, is the Sunbow cartoon. The comic is what I would consider an "alternate universe."

In addition, for me G1 is pre-animated movie/death of Optimus Prime and Megatron and G2 is post-animated movie/reign of Rodimus Prime and Galvatron with the movie acting as a bridge between the two generations. It just makes sense to me to jump to G2 with new leaders in place, regardless of what fandom dictates as "G2." I guess technically, the return of Optimus Prime/Rebirth can be considered my G3, but it's so short that I usually just group it in with my version of G2.

Like I said, my own personal taste and timeline.

 

I'm sure this has happened to many TF fans, but when I got back into TFs because of the excitement of the first Bay movie, I didn't understand the lingo and assumed G1 meant the pre- '86 movie figures and characters and G2 were the new figures and characters from the movie on up. I was never aware of the actual G2 when it was out because I was in high school at the time and didn't play with or buy toys.

 

It has nothing to do with the fandom. It has to do with what Hasbro and Takara dictate.

 

G1 is Generations 1, the first generation.

*INB4 Nicholas Cage you don't say face?*

 

I'm going to give the silly answer: it's hard to write down in exact words or rules, but you'll know it when you see it.

I mean, if you were to write down rules on what makes something (inspired by) G1, you'd write down things like:
-characters aesthetic, but then you see that IDW's version (which I consider 'a' version of G1) is no longer strictly adhering to the blocky G1 cartoon/comic looks.
-characters clearly based on the ones found in the original material, but that gets problematic as characters have been interpreted in radically different ways even between comic and cartoon.

But again...you'll know it when you see it. It takes only two seconds to see IDW or Dreamwave's comics are a form of G1. How War for Cybertron/Fall of Cybertron are its own thing, but find their roots in G1 too.

It becomes fun when you take the current toys into account. Would you consider the Minicon Assault Team G1, when they appear in fiction based on G1, even though they're homaging a concept from a fully different Transformers era (A/E/C), while aesthetically being Prime figures?  

 

I tried this in another thread, and was misunderstood. To me G1 starts and ends with the cartoon. In my mind it makes no sense for a toy that came out in 1991 to be considered G1 even though techinically they call it that. Further, the introduction of the headmasters ended G1 for me and most of my friend's at the time. Even back then we knew that was "jumping the shark."

So, seasons 1 - 3 and the characters involved in them, and them only, are G1.

 

You and your friends not liking the direction the cartoon took does not mean you get to rewrite history for everyone else.

You weren't misunderstood in the other thread, you were shot down.

You don't like Headmasters? That's fine. I'll do you one better and say I hate the Actionmasters. HATE THEM. But that doesn't mean they weren't G1. Because they were.

 

But that's not an honest and factual reasoning of what is G1 and where it ends as an era. That's making it very personal and simply shutting out the part you don't like.  

Which is fine, by the way (I'm personally not the biggest fan of cartoon G1 after season 2). Nothing wrong at all, even if I don't agree with it.

 

You're getting things a little confused. G1 isn't a continuity, it's an era.

G1 consists of the original toys, cartoon, and comics, which are made up of various continuities.

G2 was the second toyline, comics, and recut G1 episodes. The eropean original molds are also considered honorary G2, since they used many of the same ideas. Mainly the use of 90s style neon colors.

After that was the Beast era, which consists of Beast Wars (including II and Neo), Beast Machines, and technically RiD. Though some would debate RiD.

Then there's the Unicron Trilogy era.

We are currently in the movie era. This consists of the movies, Animated, Prime, Rescue Bots, Classics, Universe, Generations, and the IDW comics. The overwhelming success of the movies is what's currently driving the franchise.

 

The definition of G2 isn't some fandom concept, it's what Hasbro "dictated" when they created a toyline called "Transformers: Generation 2".

 

is regeneration1 G1? it isn't from that era but it continues the marvel US comic continuity.