Updated the original story to include the write-up from @Superquad7 . Everyone go read it!  

 

I was 5 at the time, and I missed out on the comics at first, but I remember when I started seeing the toy commercials and got very interested. My best memory if from September, in 1st grade when I came home from school. My dad was in law school at the time and was always home in the afternoon and we always watched "He-Man" together. Well, on this day in particular, He-Man was pre-empted to show a "special 3-part presentation", which of course turned out to be the first G1 mini-series. I was instantly hooked after that, couldn't stop talking about it. A week or so later my dad went on a trip and when he came back gave me a Bumblebee figure, it was awesome, I never let that thing out of my sight. Birthday was about a month later and I got Prowl, Optimus, Soundwave, Sideswipe and some cassettes. It definitely made an impact as here I am, age 40, and still a fan

 

Just want to say that I love seeing all this love.

 

My brief history of Transformers. Oh yeah plus cartoon wise Arrival from Cybertron and Megatron's Master Plan over and over again from the local video shop.

 

I actually think Huff was my 1st TF too. Pretty cool. Then maybe Grimlock. My friend at my Bday party when I got Grimlock, somehow recognized the shape of the wrapped present, and said "Hey I know what that is. I have that. It''s Grimlock." LOL.
Nice collection and display layout! Someday I might have to take inspiration from your's, to make one for me.  

 

I was introduced to Transformers through Transformers Energon and through my first Transformer known as Transformers Energon Deluxe Steamhammer. Then, during the run of Transformers Cybertron, I got several of the figures and liked them and the show better than the Transformers Energon toys and show. And then Transformers 2007 arrived in theaters. My interests in Transformers exploded into what it is today when I saw it with my best friend in the theater and when I saw the toys on store shelves. Fast forward to the present day and my main focus for collecting is the designs from the original Live Action Transformers Trilogy with Studio Series and Masterpiece Movie Series. My nostalgia for the movies is great enough that my Birthday haul for my 27th Birthday was all movie toys. My favorite from the haul is MPM-6 Masterpiece Movie Ironhide.

 

Wow, a little late with this thread but . . . fun stories!

In my case, I grew up in the 80's but we were too poor to afford or want cable, so I never saw an entire season of any Generation 1 Transformers cartoon. I don't even remember what happened to cause us to rent a VHS of any Transformers cartoon but from then on . . . I was hooked. I remember watching at least most of the first season on VHS with episodes like More Than Meets the Eye Parts 1 - 3, Fire on the Mountain, Fire in the Sky and the one that still has a tender spot in my heart, Divide and Conquer. That was, if memory serves, the first episode I ever saw of Transformers. It became my favorite. I would beg my mom and dad to let me rent it over and over again and when I couldn't find it at a rental store I was upset, and sometimes my mom was like, 'no, get something else, you've already seen that.' That always made me so mad! I didn't care! It was my favorite! It, to me as a little girl, showed the best of Optimus Prime. It became the episode that created my love for him as a character, a hero.

And then came 1986. I have hated Hasbro ever since. I have never forgotten the anger or the disappointment. I never cried . . . but I was hurt. My hero was gone. I have NEVER seen that movie again since and NEVER WILL. I stopped watching any Transformers cartoons because . . . Optimus was gone.

It wasn't until a few years later that I stumbled upon the episodes The Return of Optimus Prime parts 1 -2. I was like, oh cool! But it was too late, you know? I was growing up. Even gave away my Powermaster Optimus Prime . . . and threw away the only picture I had only drawn of him. Because I was, you know, growing up. Young girls shouldn't play with toys anymore.

I'm still so, so bummed I did that. I LOVED that picture of Optimus. Why did I throw it away? THAT actually makes me cry sometimes. Oh why did I do that?

THEN! Then comes 2007. I remember seeing the advertisements and hoping it would be good. I remember going into the movie theater and sitting down feeling anxious and excited. But scared. Really scared. Was this REALLY going to be Optimus Prime. Or was it going to be some poor soul trying to replicate the voice, the spirit that was my hero?

I was not happy with all the Bumblebee fest in the film and that Optimus came in so late, but in a way that works. He's so iconic that bringing him in too early can almost take away the majesty that he has as a character. Even so, when he started speaking I had to sit and listen a minute. Really listen. And I started to get excited. I started clapping my hands and bouncing on my butt. I felt like a little girl again! It was Optimus Prime! It was him! It was him! His voice was deeper . . . but it was HIM!!! I think I almost cried.

I didn't like that Megatron could whoop him so easily but . . . meh.

Do any of you remember the promo they did for the movie? I remember my sister telling me about it. You would text this number and then Optimus - yes, OPTIMUS!!! - would call you back and leave a message. It was something along the lines of "So-and-so, this is Optimus Prime. I am sending you this message . . ." and blah blah blah, I don't remember the exact words. But he was asking if I was willing to stand with him and the Autobots in the fight against the Decepticons, and I was like HECK YES!! And the best part? He said my friggin' name! I can go to every store in AMERICA looking for a stupid key chain with my name on it and NEVER find it . . . and HE SAID MY NAME!!!! I was so over the top excited! He even said it correctly! I was like a little kid again jumping and clamping my hands. It was the silliest sight ever but it was so fun! I must have texted that number four or five times . . . which meant I was charged $2 every time but .... OH WELL!

But unfortunately the movies weren't enough to get me interested in Transformers again. The continuities in the films were always screwed up and there were was a LOT of lewd jokes and inappropriate interactions and innuendos that was really disappointing for me. That sort of thing should NEVER grace a Transformers film. EVER.

While Transformers Prime was frustrating in the sense that it did so little with Optimus as a character, I felt like it captured his gentler side far better than the movies ever could. I've heard people say he was boring . . . and that hurts a bit because I know he's a better character than what we got. But still I loved the idea behind his backstory and who he is and was. I loved that scene when he returns from fighting MEgatron, is exposed to Dark Energon and just smiles at Raf. That was so sweet! Honestly, for the most iconic character in the history of Transformers, Optimus gets jipped. A LOT.

But he's still my favorite and he's still the one I root for, no matter the cost.

 

Where it all began for me. Woke up one morning in 1983 to find this on my Bed. As I said in my earlier post my Father had brought it back for me from a business trip to Japan. After that I begged for more and then Transformers Launched and I had a Mix of Japanese Diaclone and Microman (and starting in 85 Transformers) from Japan as well as the various International Releases from his trips to spots all over the world to augment what I got in stores from Hasbro. I was also lucky enough to go to the Golden West College Swap Meet in Huntington Beach, CA where I would regularly get high quality Micro Change and Diaclone Knock Offs with my Allowance and money I made from odd jobs.

 

Wow.....hard to believe that 35 years ago I was all but done with toys at age 13! It was a time to get ready for high school football; baseball & soccer.....and the girls of course!! Then a comic book was placed on the shelf of my local comic book shop and I bought it and the rest is history!! What a great concept robots that could turn into cars, trucks, planes, guns, cameras and tape decks with cassettes that also Transform. And then they came on tv in September of 1984 and to see what I had been reading in the comics on tv......it is still the coolest thing I have ever seen!!

Through high school and later in the USMC my interest became less and less until I was sent to Okinawa, Japan! Lo and behold Transformers were still big there and I got my hands on a few and just figured that they would be nice additions to those I still had back home.

Fast forward a few more years and I was back home and not on active duty with the USMC anymore and I figured that I would look at/play with my collection here and there. Put them on display and just remember them from my childhood. Then a serious relationship came along and before I knew it I was getting married. Really time to put these toys away for good.....or so I thought!! Waking up my step-daughter one morning for school and what do I see on her tv.....reruns of BEAST WARS! Forget getting to school on time (much less work) I sat an watched and was drawn in all over again!! Now I had a step- daughter and newborn son to teach about Transformers!!

Fast forward a few more years and new cartoons (Beast Machines, RID; Car Robots; Armada; Energon etc) and buying toys for my kids as well as myself and TRANSFORMERS were part of my life again!! And rumors turned into a live action movie

 

My love of Transformers started back in the fall of 1998, when Beast Wars would come on my local Fox network before school. i started out just watching it to pass the time between getting ready for the day and heading out to catch the bus, but I very quickly found myself getting hooked. I would even get up earlier than before just to be ready for school before the show came on. It was like a gateway show for me, as episodes like Possession and the Agenda 3-parter, with their heavy references to G1, got me curious about the original series. When my mother got a computer and would led me on, I'd head over to various Transformers fan-sites to look at pictures, listen to audio clips, and read profiles for G1 characters. I'd have to wait until the turn of the Millennium to really watch the show though.

My true journey into the world of G1 came when my older sister's roommate got the DVD of Transformers: The Movie in the fall of 2000. I wasn't nearly as traumatized by the death of Optimus Prime as most, as I had kinda already been spoiled about it. The movie was still a LOT of fun to watch, and the following years would see me renting the VHS of the movie, along with tapes of various G1 TV episodes, whenever my then-stepfather would rent movies. I would also watch streaming episodes of G1 on a random website that probably no longer exists. Yes, the video quality was slag, and I had to endure buffering because of dial-up internet, but, at the time, it was worth it.

While I was catching up on G1, I would also make a habit of catching the latest episodes of the newest Transformers series whenever possible, starting with Robots in Disguise 2001 and continuing through the Unicron Trilogy.

By 2005, I had finally gotten all of the G1 TV series on DVD. The funny thing about that is that I got the sets in reverse order, starting with the Season 3 Part 2/Rebirth set and ending with the Season 1 set. I still have those DVDs to this day.

Naturally, the talk of a live-action movie got me excited and intrigued, especially when I learned that Peter Cullen would be playing Prime. The trip to actually see that movie at a local theater was a memorable one, as, while en route, I saw a yellow Volkswagen Beetle and a red-cabbed semi-truck, which immediately made me think of Bumblebee and Optimus Prime. Of course, these vehicles conjured up images of their G1 selves, but it still added to my excitement for the movie.

During that time, my obsession with Transformers would wane ever so slightly as learning of a character by the name of E-102 Gamma pulled me into the Sonic the Hedgehog universe. I was still very much a fan though, and considered the premiere of Transformers Animated a suitable belated Christmas present for that year. TFA would be proof to me that you can't judge a book by its cover. The art style kinda threw me for a loop initially, but I eventually fell in love with it to the point of searching out Animated-style re-imaginings of characters from other Transformers series on deviantART. I would quickly create a folder within my dA favorites specifically for the best Animated art I would find.

Sadly, I would miss most of Prime due to not having the Hub on my TV subscription. Fortunately, we'd get temporary access to the channel from time to time through the DISH Network Free Preview program. Hub quickly became my favorite channel that I WISH we would've added to our subscription much sooner. By the time we did get it, there was hardly enough room to record it to DVR, meaning I STILL missed most episodes.

When Robots in Disguise 2015 arrived, I would end up missing most of it too for the same reason. It was so tempting at times to just go in and delete the huge backlog of recordings my parents had on the DVR. My mother was such a show hoarder, and she still is. Good thing streaming services exist, specifically tubi and Itsadurday, which, along with YouTube and Netflix, pretty much cover all the American Transformers shows. Itsaturday even respects the Gargent Cluster by having Challenge of the GoBots.

Happy 35th, Transformers!

 

It’s great to know that you’ve watched a selection of some great Transformers shows.

And welcome to the forums!

 

Thanks, dude. Don't see myself losing my love for Transformers anytime soon. I'm hyped for Season 2 of Cyberverse and War for Cybertron: Siege.

 

I was an '83 baby, so Transformers, like the other classic '80s toons, was something I grew up with. My most distinct memory from G1 was my beloved Springer toy and Optimus' death in the movie making me cry. By the time Beast Wars showed up, I was in "too cool for toys" mode, though I loved the cartoon and was very fond of my brother's Optimus Primal.

Over the years, I've maintained a casual interest, watching a couple of the movies, buying the odd toy for my desk. I read a large chunk of the IDW comics a few years ago, and then grabbed the recent Humble Bundle to read the whole run. I realised that I had the space to actually display the toys for the first time in ages and my girlfriend fell in love with them too, so we've been watching various incarnations of the cartoon and slowly building up a collection. Diving into a franchise that I've always enjoyed has been so much fun, and collecting is another hobby to share with the other half.

Now gimme my Siege Springer!

 

Anybody else here ever do a video search of 80's cartoon intros, just for the nostalgia aspect, then get all giddy when the Transformers intro came up? Sometimes it''s just great to feel like a kid again!  

 

Excellent job with the write-ups, SF! Very heartwarming seeing the impact of Transformers on people.

Wow I Don't even know who my first transformer was. But I do know I started With RiD and Armada/Unicron Trilogy and that my love for the franchise intensified after the 2007 movie. It's great to see it stronger than ever! Long Live Transformers!!!

 

What got me into the TF fandom? Unlike some of you who grew up in the 80\'s with G1, I on the other hand joined in Febuary of last year. True story: I started watching TF memes in YT and few days in, a reccomendation video popped up aka Arrival to Earth from Bayverse, after I clicked on it and listened to it, I wasn\'t feeling it. But until I watched the scene from 2007 and OH MY GAWD that is EPIC, it gives me goosebumps and sends shivers down my spine. Also the score is now my earworm lol.

I binged watched some cartoons (Prime, G1, Animated, Armada, Beast Wars, and new one in 2018: Cyberverse, and the 3 spin offs in Japan: Victory, Headmasters, and in 2019 Super God Masterforce),


watched 2 out the 5 movies from Bayverse (\'07 and AoE) and yet I still understand the memes from RotF, DotM, and TLK even tho I didn\'t watched it, also I listened to all 5 (plus Bumblebee with a new composer) OSTs,


reading IDW TF comics started with MTMTE in November 2018 and the rest is history, until 2019 I started reading chronologically from a user in FB and I started reading right away *2-3 months of binge reading later* what an rollercoaster ride of feelings, out of all that I just read, Chaos Theory is still my favorite.


In November, the Bumblebee movie was annouced its release date for the Philippines (aka I was born and raised) and I was surprised that the release date was the same date as my 20th birthday: January 8.
I was like DAMNNNNNNNN, I felt super lucky. But since they already annouced it, so I have to wait for 2 more painful months to watch.*2 months later* I was reading the last 2 or issues of Lost Light before the movie release tomorrow. And finally, after 2 months later, the movie is now released. So I asked my dad if he has some free time if we can watch a movie and he said \"yes\" (but I didn\'t tell him about Bumblebee tbh), so we went to the mall at afternoon and the first thing we do is buy some things first. After that, we went to buy the tickets and we waited, in the meantime me and my dad eat and I talk about the movie and after that we walk around the mall for 30 minutes (yeah its a huge mall tbh). After 30 minutes, ITS SHOWTIME. *2 hours later* HOLY MOTHER OF PRIMUS! THAT MOVIE WAS AWESOME!!!! Even my dad was amazed and he also loved it too. I loved this so much, it\'s wholesome, the music gives me a 80\'s vibe in a good way, and now Bee is adorable.

Damn 35 years already? Wow. Lemme say about this: From a series that caused some animation errors (G1) to trainwreck live action movies (Bayverse), to characters are now different than the cartoon version, added more characters from Marvel, and a collab with the historian to make a one-shot comic: Chris McFeely (IDW), a movie that once thought was a dream now to a reality and with happy and satisfied fans (Travis Knight from Bumblebee), and a Netflix original series in production til aound 2020 or 2021 of release (WFC). We may have our ups and down of this continuity, but its a beautiful mess imo lol. 


TILL ALL ARE ONE, TRANSFORMERS!
Final words from Historia comic: Every story has a conclusion... but the story of Transformers? IT NEVER ENDS!

 

The mighty power of internet memes (especially Transformers ones)! Welcome to the club!

 

Looks like you've managed to watch and read some of the best that this series has to offer.

And welcome to the forums!

 

What are my most enduring memories of Transformers? I have to say, there are many, many memories I could talk about. So I'll talk about as many as I can!

My first major memory of Transformers hitting home to me, was in the first series of TF that I watched: Transformers Armada. Now, Armada has many, many faults (the dub being horrendous being a highlight), but for all its many faults at starting, it got better as time went on. And then...Unicron happened. I was hooked by this...this...god of destruction and chaos. Up until that point, I had NEVER expected Transformers to get PLANET SIZED, and it hit home how much of a big deal this was to me. To this day, even though Unicron is not my image of the devil, he is still one of the most terrifying beings I have encountered in the TF world, and to think this was the first series he got a toy, and my folks were gracious enough to buy me one of those behemoths? I LOVED THEM.

So, where do we go from Unicron? Well, Energon was a trainwreck, and Cybertron was there for me, but it kinda was not as hype to me as other shows at the time, I think. And then, when I got the 20th anniversary disc? I had a tease of the upcoming 2007 movie. My hype was pouring out of my eyes and mouth I was so pumped. For years, I had wondered what a live action Transformers movie would be. And when I saw that date? I was hyped into the stars. My young, 11 year old self was beyond euphoric when I got to see the movie on the big screen with my parents. And I unironically still enjoy watching it to this day.

Now, the other movies? That's another story. When Sentinel Prime betrayed the Autobots? When Sam went to Robot heaven? I felt upset.

But during that time? I had TF Animated, and while I still regret not getting a single one of their toys, I love the series.

But then, Prime happened. I still didn't get any of the toys, but I unabashedly love TF Prime. It was my reintroduction into Transformers.

So, that's my two cents.