To me Tranformers is sci-fi.

 

Somewhere in beteween the super hero and super robot genres. A good mix of American and Japanese culture, wrapped up into a nice bundle.

 

Nope. It's space opera and depends from the incarnation it has mecha or sentai mixed in. It'd be clearly mecha genre IF the Cybertronians were written like robots, but since they're essentially metal humans... Even the mecha trappings are very superficial.


The closest it ever got to the superhero genre was the Animated and a very brief mention in the Budiansky's Marvel G1 take on Micromasters.

 

I think the argument should be rephrased.
Super Robot
Real Robot

Super Robot:

The act of Transformation is somewhat Super but like Veritech or Gundam Zeta, everything else is grounded.

Transformers is closer to Real Robot with mortality possible for any character and explanations for most things. I think a motion picture which takes the physiology of a transformer dead serious is possible but has not yet happened.

I would love to see a Transformers Movie start in Medical facility where Ratchet and company are rushing to save battered allies and we get to see glimpses of Transformers' vitals like Transformation Cogs, Spark Casings, Innermost Energon, Brain Modules and other implied organs.

 

No. Its part of the action and sci-fi genres. If you want to be more specific, its part of the mecha genre.

 

No. The closest is animated but the majority is not even close. I mean I used to call TFA a DC kind of thing, to be fair it kinda was, but transformers is a story about a race of alien robots torn apart by a civil war between the Autobots and Decepticons. Superhero genre, by my belief is a bunch of heroes wearing their underwear on the outside, battling villains who for the most part are completely useless except the arch nemesis.

 

The thing is, it's based upon the gimmick that's shown, if any. e.g. Cybertron is a superhero genre because each Transformer has a superpower, i.e. Cyber Keys. Energon is a half-qualifier because only the Autobots are shown to combine, and the Decepticons don't have this. However, all the other series don't fit in the superhero genre, as only a few characters have actual superpower, for example, in the G1 cartoon, Optimus has the Matrix, Punch is an undercover that can turn into Counterpunch, Trailbreaker can generate forcefields, etc. However, most Autobots and Decepticons don't have superpowers, so the G1 cartoon isn't a superhero show.

 

Wouldn't the TFs' sentience make them super robots? (After all, they were called "Super Robot Lifeform Transformers" in Japan).

 

Plus all the ridiculous combinations and characters, and everyone from Victory is a straight up Super Robot.

 

If you go with how it's presented, it's the same as Star Wars: a space opera, nothing more.

Too many magical or non-logical elements to be anything else.

So while it's similar to the super-hero genre, you don't have the same foundation of a "unique" element that a super-hero would have... they all have abilities as part of themselves, as a whole population as part of their daily lives, it's their normal so nothing "super" about it, and their ability to transform is a standard thing for all of them and doesn't really impact the story.

 

It was conceived as a super hero show. It was written by Marvel with super hero conceits, like super powers, ability to fly, etc. Transformers The Movie borrows heavily from Galactus (Unicron) and Silver Surfer (Galvatron). The comics involved characters like Spiderman and Circuit Breaker.

But the series evolved. Furman and writers for the TOEI-verse pushed the franchise towards a greater space opera feel, where it mostly stayed (sans Animated and maybe 2001 RiD).

So, I voted "it is". But it hasn't really been for awhile now...probably for a good 3/4s of its run.

 

That about sums it up for me. Well said!

 

And yet Batman and Robin are still considered superheroes

Super powers is not a prerequisite to be part of the superhero genre

and it’s not about their powers and abilities as they relate to each other, but how they relate to the audience

and that’s what makes transformers “in part“ a part of superhero genre ,in that it presents these powers and abilities as being “super” and that the good guys feel they have a responsibility to those that could be considered week to the audience

Well said

 

I think the closest we ever got to superhero was Marvel Transformers Issue #3.

 

If the term "Superhero Genre" includes all of the cosmic spanning material in the Marvel/DC canons, then absolutely. What is Unicron if not a robot Galactus?

 

Thinking about this now, Transformers largely straddle the line thanks to different takes on them. IDW's grounded take on the Great War very much feels Real Robot, but the ridiculousness inherent in having 5 robots combine into a bigger robot, or having a robot turn into another robot's head is very much Super Robot. Even when it leans towards Real Robot, elements inherent to Transformers make them more Super Robot.

 

They have super robot aspects, but if handled correctly would be real robot.

IDW made great strides into the real robot arena by consistently referencing various organs and their function.

G1 was more super robot. The moment their hand slide into the wrists and a different tool pops out it's super robot.
Or when Optimus creates an Energy Axe.

Personally I want a movie that takes Transformers ultra seriously, including perhaps an autopsy performed by human scientists, and uncovering transformer secrets. But as long as Micheal Bays version of Transformers monopolizes the live action franchise, we will never see this.

 

I get what you’re saying, but was what they were called in Japan merely just the best translation that the writers came up with at the time or was it something intended to be more?

 

That's a fair assessment.

Well, without having access to those writers myself, all I can say is that given the concept of what the TFs are (i.e., genuine lifeforms rather than mere machines), it seems that Transformers would belong (largely, at least) to the Super Robot genre. The title then, would seem to be an affirmation of that.