Transformers

Transformers is the name of a line of toys produced largely by Takara and sold outside of Japan by Hasbro from 1984 onwards. more...

There have also been a number of spin-offs based on the toys including a Marvel comic book series, an animated television series that began airing in 1984 (Transformers series) and a feature-length movie, Transformers: The Movie. The original series was followed by a number of spin-offs with varying levels of popularity.

A Transformer is an intelligent machine that is able to "transform", reconfiguring itself into a common and innocuous form, such as a car, aircraft, or animal. The taglines "More Than Meets the Eye" and "Robots in Disguise" reflect this ability.

Transformers originally featured two main factions warring for control of their home planet, Cybertron. The heroic Autobots (Cybertrons in the Japanese version) were led by Optimus Prime, and their opponents, the Decepticons (Destrons in the Japanese version), were led by Megatron. The Autobots were mainly cars in warm colors while the Decepticons were planes in cool colors, with some exceptions.

The Transformers toyline was developed by Hasbro after they met up with Takara representatives at the 1983 Tokyo Toy Show and proposed to combine and re-brand Takara's Diaclone and Micro Change toylines into the Transformers for release in the United States. Thus began a long and successful collaboration between Takara and Hasbro on toy development for the Transformers line, a collaboration which has grown increasingly close. Currently, Hasbro does the vast majority of the concept work and character creation, while the actual manufacture of the toys continues to be controlled by Takara. Hasbro markets and sells the toys internationally, while Takara sells them in the Japanese market. The current design director for the Transformers brand is Aaron Archer.

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