41 Years Ago, The U.S. Teamed Up With Japan to Create the Highest-Grossing Robot Franchise of All Time
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When it comes to mecha and giant robot franchises, most minds might immediately think of the Gundam brand. This is especially the case when it comes to specifically Japanese robots, with that particular property being immensely popular in its home country. Of course, there's still something to be said about Transformers, which is much more than meets the eye in terms of its national origins. Many do not realize that Transformers was a Japanese and American collaboration, making the franchise "half anime" since its inception. Of course, Hasbro and Takara both utilized competing source material in order to make the brand a continued success ever since 1984. A big part of that would be the movies, not to mention the various action figures and other forms of merchandise associated with the robots in disguise. As a result, Transformers represents the ultimate "East meets West" success story.
Marvel Comics & Japanese Anime Both Birthed Transformers
The Transformers franchise is handled by Hasbro in the West and Takara Tomy in Japan, with the latter using several of its previous toys to create the first versions of the robots in disguise. The majority of the first Transformers toys were merely repainted and repackaged toys from Takara's Diaclone franchise, with that toyline also featuring transforming robots. In its case, however, these robots were merely piloted mecha controlled by humans instead of sentient characters in their own right. In order to create a new mythology and map out how best to sell its new brand, Takara and Western company Hasbro sought the talent of a major pop culture icon: Marvel Comics. Then editor-in-chief Jim Shooter was approached about developing the brand, with him and legendary writers such as Denny O'Neil (known mostly for his work on DC Comics characters Batman and Green Arrow) eventually mapping out a general version of the mythology that would appear in both the classic Transformers cartoon and the actual comic books for the brand made by Marvel. Hasbro wasn't the only company in the transforming robot game when Transformers was being developed, and despite being now seen as a lackluster imitation, Tonka's Gobots line actually beat Transformers to the toy aisles. That series repackaged toys from the Japanese toyline Machine Robo, but Hasbro was intent on otherwise owning every other viable transforming robot toy to bolster its own series. This included the Takatoku Toys figure for the VF-1 Valkyrie, a transforming jet mecha from the Japanese anime Macross. This toy was used for the Autobot Jetfire, but due to licensing issues, his design and name were changed in the Generation 1 cartoon. Likewise, when Macross was localized as Robotech in the West, there was next to no merchandise for the Valkyrie due to Hasbro having the rights to the toy. Other toys were derived from anime such as Special Armored Battalion Dorvack, and it wasn't until The Transformers: The Movie that completely original designs for the characters and their toys became the norm for the brand.
Some of the First Transformers Cartoons Were Anime
Star Saber in robot mode from Transformers: Victory.Image via Takara
The original Transformers cartoon was as much a collab between East and West as the toyline, with this series also released in Japan. There, its third season was retitled Transformers 2010, but it's what happened after this season ended that really created a rift between how the franchise was handled in certain countries. Instead of having the truncated fourth season of The Transformers dubbed into Japanese, Takara instead chose to officially start a separate Japanese Generation 1 continuity. This treated the events of The Transformers Seasons 1 to 3 and the animated movie as canon, but instead of the fourth season, an entirely new anime was produced. Titled Transformers: The Headmasters, this radically altered the way in which certain characters and concepts were handled. For instance, in the Western cartoon and comic books, Headmasters and Targetmasters were alien "Nebulans" who bonded with larger Transformers robots. In Japan, however, the smaller Headmasters were the actual robots that became the heads for the lifeless, transforming "Transtector" bodies, with the Targetmaster gun Transformers being small robots similar to the Mini-Cons that would debut years later in the anime Transformers: Armada. Including The Headmasters, there were three full G1 Transformers anime, with the other two Transformers: Super-God Masterforce and Transformers: Victory. These continually "transformed" the franchise in a particularly Japanese way, making the brand feel more like a Super Robot mecha anime. This was notably seen in the designs of fan-favorite Japanese Autobots such as Star Saber, who was designed by Kunio Okawara (who also worked on the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise as a designer). As in the West, however, there would be an eventual downturn in popularity, with the planned anime Transformers: Zone being only a mere one-episode OVA. Nevertheless, there would later be several other anime in the franchise. For instance, the success of the once controversial Beast Wars: Transformers resulted in two Japanese-exclusive Beast Wars anime, with the anime Transformers: Car Robots later being dubbed into English as Transformers: Robots in Disguise. Likewise, the early 2000s were ruled by anime for the brand, with the Unicron Trilogy of Transformers: Armada, Transformers: Energon and Transformers: Cybertron all being anime. This has helped to cement the Japanese identity of the property, but the biggest reason for the success of the brand is arguably universal.
Hasbro & Takara's Transformers Toys Give Gundam a Run for Its Money
Beyond cartoons, comic books, movies and video games, the biggest manifestation of the Transformers franchise would be the toys. As mentioned, these were originally repaints of Takara's Diaclone and Microchange action figures, along with toys from unrelated brands. Using the culture of the 1980s to push merchandise like never before, Hasbro used these converting plastic toys to ensure that even when the show was over and the comic book was read, kids could continue the adventure. In fact, the toyline went on far after the original cartoon, and since then, the brand has been in the toy aisle consistently. There were small noticeable gaps, including the breaks between G1 and Transformers: Generation 2 and Generation 2 and Beast Wars. For the most part, however, there's been a new Transformers toyline launched every few years or so, with each generation having multiple takes on the characters to call their own. The current "main" Transformers toyline is Transformers: Age of the Primes, with this series pulling characters from across different Transformers continuities. These include some of the brand's anime, with a new toy version of Sideways from Transformers: Armada recently revealed. Both modern and classic toys for the franchise sometimes command massive dollars, with retro figures in pristine condition usually going for a fortune when sold.
Thus, it's no surprise that Transformers has made several billions of dollars in revenue over the past 41 years. This makes it easily one of the most successful and profitable "mecha" franchises of all time, with its revenue being neck and neck with the iconic anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. That largely more adult-oriented anime has seen most of its success due to Japanese pachinko machines and gambling, and while it's definitely recognizable in its own right, it lacks the global influence of Transformers.
The Cast of G GundamImage via Sunrise
There's only one true rival to Transformers' success, and that would be the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise. This property has been around since 1979, and it's largely seen as the Japanese equivalent to both Star Wars and Star Trek. Beyond the many anime that have been produced, its biggest claim to fame would easily be the many Gundam plastic model kits, and in some circles, these toys and their designs are erroneously compared to Transformers. It doesn't help that there are quite a few mobile suits that transform into different modes, though, as piloted mecha, Gundam are closer to Takara's original Diaclone concept. In the late 2010s, Takara also brought Diaclone back in Japan, allowing it to coexist alongside Transformers. This rebooted series included a new take on "Battle Convoy," the transforming truck robot that was used to create Generation 1 Optimus Prime. When counted with other properties such as the aforementioned Macross and its Western interpretation as Robotech, this means that Diaclone is just one of the many franchises that are eternally connected to Transformers in one way or another. Movies and comic books in the West still define Transformers, and the monetary success of the Transformers movie series in the past two decades has added billions to the franchise's revenue. These have all made far more money than the many Gundam anime movies while putting the brand on the map at the global box office. Even if the movies are currently on a hiatus, their success in previous years can't be taken away, and the same goes for the overall strides the Hasbro/Takara collaboration has made as a whole. In terms of American comic books, Transformers is just as game-changing, with the original Marvel Comics run going from an intended four-issue miniseries into a series with 80 issues in the US and over 300 in the UK. The Kickstarter campaign for the compendium collection of these comics broke records in 2024 for how quickly it was funded, with two of these collections released so far. Now, the Energon Universe comic books are some of the most successful in the industry, with this popularity also helping to elevate fellow Hasbro brand G.I. Joe. It's almost hard to believe that a commercialized mish-mash of different toy lines from 1984 ended up taking off in such a timeless fashion, but it's clear that the Transformers will be rolling out for several years to come.
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