It can take months of lead time for comics to be produced as well. Many of the original toy bios and mythos were written by marvel staff, so it's safe to say that marvel had a hand in TF from the very, VERY beginning. Even Sunbow was, IIRC, marvel's animation wing. You're basically speculating that you're right, but I don't think there's really any fact to show the cartoon was developed before the show.

The reason the whole "30 minute commericals" didnt really show up until GI Joe and TF and the other shows of the 80s was due to relaxed regulatory policies on television for kids during the Reagan era, not due to a lack of a market.

 

did not they produce the 4 part mini series all at once..would not this make the process longer than a year..

 

hence why i said they were probally developed around the same time with the cartoon being in longer development given how long it takes to produce cartoons...i have no doubt the comic and cartoon were being develop at the same time...it would be creating double work if they didnt but fact is comics take shorter to produce than cartoons...thats my point if they were being produced at the same time

 

I'm not sure if I was clear, but my issue is with the way you seemed to ignore the comic and make the cartoon sound like the be-all end-all G1(you said G1 was just 30 minutes of robot fighting). I'm not sure if that's what you meant, but that's how it came across to me.

It's true the cartoon was basically a commercial. It's true Hasbro wasn't that concerned with the fiction. However, the comic team didn't settle with it just being a toy ad and struggled to made it much more.

What it boils down to, is that I'm sick of people dismissing the comic as being silly and weak because the cartoon was, when it's actually quite good. Again, I'm not saying you did, but that's been a common theme lately that bothers me to no end.

 

no, 3 to 6 months. The episodes were made side by side.

 

I get that. The comic actually irked me as a kid because they killed off prime pretty quick. The problem lies in everything not making sense with everything else. The cartoon and comic were incompatible, the toy and the cartoon designs were oddly incompatible on some figures, some characters never had a toy or a role in the cartoon that appeared in the comic. Thus the shaky foundation. There was no unified sense to it. As a kid this happened with a lot of properties so it was just accepted.

 

You mean cartoon before the comic?

 

Yes, yes I did.

 

sweet

 

not at all...i just hate the fact that people assume they know it all..i just gave my opinion and different possibilities... i wasnt there and untill someone who worked on the cartoon post in here theyre not right....but neither am i...

did i say there was a market..i said to c if there was a market....2 totally different things...they did not know if transformers or gijoe were going to be a hit.. so they wanted to make a way to introduce these robots/soldiers to the audience..i never said there wasnt a market...

 

*whew* I read through the whole thread (okay, I skimmed a lot of it) and now feel compeled to throw in my 2 cents.

I went with option four because it's the closest to my real feeling, they don't know. That means they are not pre-destined for anything or beholded to some cosmic agenda. They are free, independent, naturally occuring life-forms. And however they came into being it happened in a way so alien to us we're not supposed to understand it.

I like the idea of the Quintessons, if not the execution. Part organic, part machine and the varying forms they take adds another layer to the universe. They are, perhaps, the missing link between races.

I really don't like the idea of Primus. He seems unnecissary and contrived. I can see Unicron as some ancient being roaming the galaxies, somehow balancing a universal equation but to then introduce another universal being that just happens to look and act in exact opposition to Unicron...sorry, I don't buy it. Espesially since an opposing force to Unicron already exsisted in the form of the matrix.

 

Quints are not only the most reasonable story, but would provide the basis for the way the story has continued. The Decepticons emerge as heroic liberators from the Quintessons' rule, then decide that ownership of their own planet and destiny was not enough, that they had the right to expand and conquer the universe. It is a poignant commentary on the nature of power. Power corrupts. The Autobots represent justice, tolorance, and restraint, and become the real heroes of the story, attempting to quell evil, imperialistic expansion and genocide by the Decepticons, who were once the heroes.

Edit: I think it would be good to include Primus as an invention of the Cybertronians themselves, choosing to believe in him or not, as a religion, and the Allspark as an artifact not unlike Vector Sigma, giving sentience to what were once mere machines. It can all be retrofitted together in possible future continuities without precluding the Quintessons.

 

Honestly I'm not sure if the marvel origin should count since it's a retro fit of Galactus's origin (from the death of one universe to the birth of the new one). I went with the Quint one until I started reading the comics from marvel that I missed (I only read the first few issues back in the day and the last few of the series).

 

I wasnt taking sides, merely throwing in my opinion. For example, Im a diehard Warriors fan, but Im still gonna say when a player or certain game sucks ass. Does that make sense?
Knock Out (he is the red one?) is pretty cool, but I dont like his partner. Starscreams look is the Lion King part, what I really meant to say is that it really seems like Disney produced this series. Keep in mind Disney owns a ton of things, under different names. They own Marvel, Wizards of the Coast (TSR), New Line Cinema (LOTR is a Disney flick....), Hollywood Records (American Idol = Disney) BUT, anyway....that aside.

Also, I dont care about your definition of Anime. Season One didnt have crap animation like "The Core" and "Autobot Run" and shit like that, lookin like fuckin Scooby Doo. It looked a hell of a lot more like Voltron and Robotech (Macross for you obviously). Quit bein so picky you sound like my grandma, just saying the opposite no matter what.

And Resolute wasnt anime? Good. Then that must mean it'll be easier for them to make a TF one.   That sword fight with Snake Eyes an Storm Shadow was nuts (give me Drift movin around like that.....)


And I own Headmasters. LOL.

Where is the fanbase these days? Wow.....

 

Wasn't the idea of Primus creating them around before the quints?

 

It's not just my definition of anime. Anime is Japanese-style animation made to be primarily aired in Japan. The G1 cartoon isn't Japanese-styled, and it was made comissioned primarily by Hasbro. As part of Has/Tak's agreement, Takara imported it over for Japan. Like I said, not anime.

Certainly not on a Transformers fan site. No sir, no fans in here!

 

Im not frustrated at all, I just want to make that clear. I hope you are not either, we're just talkin robots.

I still dont see how its not anime though. Keep in mind Im a dumb white guy, but I used to watch Vampire Hunter D, Ninja Scroll, Akira, etc....
Like the part when Spike plugs in a circular piece into one of the autobots, I think its Skyfire, because I think that Mayan girl was with him. That part looks extremely "anime" to me....But like I said, what do I know? Just sayin to me , it resembles Macross more than Scooby Doo.....The angles, the way they make humans look, etc. It all seems quite japanese to me.

 

Wizards of the coast is owned by hasbro and tf g1 falls under american animation since the in betweens were made in america and most of the animation was done in korea or other asian countries. It was far from the anime of Voltron which originated in Japan and Macross.

 

Let me clear this up. I'm white. I am a HUGE anime fan, as well as a TransFan.

TransFormers originated w/ Japanese toys & was drawn by anime companies, but the Story was made by Hasbro, a US company. That alone makes it not anime.

Anime are the shows made by the Japanese to be shown in Japan. TransFormers was hodge-podged together by Hasbro, a US company. It is Animeesque, not straight anime. Headmasters is anime because it was scripted by the Japanese. To be anime, the script must be Japanese as well, & G1 is not.

Additionally:
The Unicron Trilogy is 1/2 & 1/2, being a collaboration. Robots in Disguise/ Car Robots IS straight Anime. The Beast Era is not anime.

As to why Skyfire is more so, Hasbro used a Macross/ Robotech Valkyrie for his toy.

 

I think I get it. Maybe the stuff Im noticing is more a sign of the era the stuff was made. Im surprised the Beast cartoons arent as well.

And you're right about Wizards, I noticed that on the Drizzt book Im reading, it says Wizards Headquarters is in Hasbro UK. That made me think Drift could actually be based on Drizzt more than I initially thought. I know people dont want to hear or even care about that, but I think its possible....

To get back on topic:

I always loved the Quints, always loved Roddy an crew. I think its perfectly logical to think they landed on the planet which was Primus' form. A-3 drives them off, etc. The Senators take over and all that, then choose your War Within or what have you.

But there's simply no way to cram everything together without some stuff falling or poppin out of the sandwhich ya know? Like if you want to just say "Beast Machines ending sucks, theres no plant life" Well.....I guess we can all just rewrite it however we feel? RID Magnus was so badass beefin with his brother. But it went against everything G1 Magnus was. So...........
just gotta enjoy it for entertainment.

Like are they switchin the whole 13 thing around? Is it still Leige Maximo, The Fallen, Vector Prime, etc? Or are they changing that around too.