As everyone wants to know, I'll pin this post: the final image seen in this video is the cover of the guidebook, "Takara SF Land Evolution." Some of the other characters you can see in the art include White Leo and Big Serow from "Beastformers," a TF-spinoff line Hasbro released as "Battle Beasts" (who'll get a video of their own one day!); Steel Jeeg, a 1970s anime super-robot created by Go Nagai, who Mego retooled and recoloured in black to create "Micronauts" villain Baron Karza; 1980s tokusatsu heroes Cybercop and Gridman, along with Gridman mecha God Zenon; and girl's action-figure/doll hybrid "Cool Girl."
Ok I need a little help here...many years ago, some of you were probably not even born, I've seen some pictures of a videogame(from Takara i think) on a videogame magazine on the japan exclusives...it was like Smash Bros.(maybe even BEFORE the first Smash), a brawler of TOYS characters basically...where you con play as Optimus Prime, Henshin Cyborg, Bomberman(yes), a sort of Barbie(maybe Cool Girl) and other japanese toys....IT BLOWS MY MIND and i still can't find it to these days! Did someone knows this? Maybe it was cancelled..I don't know! Help!
@@Overlord81 That was "DreamMix TV World Fighters ", released in Japan on PS2 and Gamecube by Hudson Soft in 2003. Here's a longplay: th-cam.com/video/qrAGvWCrSPI/w-d-xo.html and the TFWiki article to tell you more: tfwiki.net/wiki/DreamMix_TV_World_Fighters
Jesus! I got sucked into this channel and just spent a ridiculous amount of the past week listening to an Irish dude with a weirdly charismatic voice fill my brain with Transformers trivia... I regret nothing.
I remember when I first fell down this rabbit hole last year and now I NEVER miss a video of his and just became a patron. I'd recommend it if you want early access.
Cosmically powered Starcream did not offline diaclone or microman? I’m shocked! Congrats Chris. What an amazing series and lore archive that is exceptionally produced. Saturday mornings with Frosted Flakes and Transformers just like the 80s
This video is weirdly well-timed, given that Dennis O'Neil just passed away. I can't imagine Transformers without Optimus Prime, so it's good to know his legacy lives on in the Transformers franchise, as well as in other media.
Wait, what Denny died? Wow I did not know that. They should make a toy for Denny; to honor him something that everyone would like even Denny himself would have loved.
@@foldabotZ Which means G.I. Joe vs Transformers crossover stories is not something you can do on a whim or because of licensing. It is not mandatory for a crossover to happen.
This is basically the Toys that Made Us, but way more detailed and without the dumb skits lol Edit: Toys that Made Us does have many good interviews at least, so it wasn't all bad.
The toys that made us has to appeal to people who aren’t toy fans. They have to make this “nerdy stuff” interesting for a casual viewer. In there mind making it full of crap jokes and weird guest stars is how they get it done.
@@vassa1972 He was the comic writer who came up with the name Optimus Prime when Marvel were still putting ideas together for the Transformers comic. He also created the Batman villains Ra's Al Ghul and Talia Al Ghul, as well as the fourth Green Lantern John Stewart, while he was working at DC in the 70's.
In Dan Gilvezan's book Bumblebee and Me, he wrote that whoever came up with the idea of importing the Diaclone and Microchange lines and licensing them as Transformers should have a wing named after them at Hasbro HQ. So where do you think the Harry Orenstein wing is?
@@Therizinosaurus It goes full circle: Hasbro licensed G. I. Joe to Takara in Japan, which led to the creation of Microman, eventually spinning-off to Micro Change and Diaclone, which Hasbro imported those toys into US through their partnership with Takara.
I love how comic history intersects with toy history. If it wasn't for Jim Shooter's infamously hands-on approach to editing, Danny O'Neil could've replaced Budiansky.
I'm really glad Diaclone and Microman evolved into entities from Transformers. Takara not only made the best robot toys, they even revived the genre through their partnership with Sunrise! Never judge a toy by its size. It can be more than meets the eye...
If Takara is in good terms with Bandai then why do Transformers have never been in any SRW game? We even had a crossover manga between Transformers and Mazinger Z, but no Transformers in SRW.
Kinda appropriate that this episode lands so close to Denny ó Neil's passing. I'm surprised his naming of optimus prime wasn't lauded more in the press. Yes he's more known for his batman work but that acclaim is up there with naming captain America or the like in terms of pop cultural influence . Rip man. And great vid Chris. Well done on the sub count
I love how, in typical TF fashion, they used the Diaclone name a few ways in the TF lore itself. From TFWiki, there’s Diac the Titan Master, a human named Dia, and DAIAKURON, a living planet who is the creator of Primus & Unicron in the TF VS GI Joe comic series. On the subject of proto-Transformers itself, I first became aware of some of the basic details through Internet reviewer SFDebris and his miniseries “Rolling out the Transformers”. Also that one episode of the Toys that Made Us which seemed a little too disengenuois and tried too hard to act sarcastic & cool. Regardless though it’s still fascinating to watch the process of how Transformers came to be and that its story of its conception was more than meets the eye.
Fabian Rocha Would be cool if they made that official. I mean they don’t have to name The One outright, they can make it so that The One’s true name was lost to history and having multiple names in legend. One of them can be DAIAKURON.
There's also the Cymond cluster, which is the name of the part of the TF multiverse that encompasses all pre-Transformers toylines including Diaclone. The name of said cluster is an inversion of the combination of "diamond" and "cyclone" that made up the Diaclone name.
Chris, this is the absolute best Basics so far, and I've loved them all. You provided a much clearer and more coherent summary of the events that lead up to the franchise's creation than certain laugh-track-netflix shows. Thank you for all your hard work!
RIP Denny O'Neil, the man who named The Greatest Hero! This episode, The basics on the Invention of the Transformers, deserves an Oscar! Your very best episode! Everything was perfect. Til all are One!
This Episode was AWESOME! Most appreciated! This the episode in which I have learned the most! A Million thanks Chris! Definitely the BEST EPISODE! And the GO Bots was different and a good April Fools one!
This was amazing. It's almost like discovering the history of your culture. Thanks for making this, it was awesome to learn where the toys I grew up with came from and how they continue to evolve today.
I really hope more franchises that helped Transformers grow continue to show up like the Hasbroverse. Also the Diaclones that showed up in the Fun Pub stories are apparently from a universal cluster called "Cymond" though there's no Cybertron(thus Primus) or Transformers which is pretty interesting.
a lot of things from japan that can fit the mold of transformers are apparently a part of it, like the Brave series (which re used some designs from transformers in early works though sometimes reimagined like grimlock or Dino Geist as he was known in Brave Exkaiser had a jet form in addition) or I believe even the Zoids line, not sure why the latter though but the former influenced the transformers series from the unicron trilogy all the way to animated with most of the references I'm aware of going back to King of Braves:GaoGaiGar with things like Leobreaker in Cybertron referencing both the core unit for the main mech of the series as well as its most powerful weapon the Goldion Hammer meanwhile the Jet twins combination from animated was based on Symmetrical Docking, a combination that occurs between pairs of Ryu support robots to become Ryujins
Honestly, I have no words to express how magnificent this episode is. It's interesting, informative, and entertaining. I also love how the Transformers journey has gone back and forth between America and Japan. From G.I. Joe to Diaclone, you documented the creation of the franchise many of use cherish and gave it the respect it deserves. All I can say Chris is thank you and keep up the good work. And congragulations on 100,000 subscribers! Here's to 200k!!!
Randomly, my dad was a fan of the Micronauts comic when I was a kid, and when I was three or four, I had a Micronauts belt. Coolest thing ever at that age.
I had read about the creation of the Transformers in Toy Fair magazine. Thank you, Chris, for fleshing it out for me. I can tell you are a TRUE Transformers fan. I really enjoy your channel. Keep up the good work. 👏👍🤩
I say this so many times but THIS is one of my favorite episodes. I absolutely adore the history of the toys that became TFs. I love the homages we get in special repaints nowadays too
Your mention of the Muffler/Muffy character brought to mind a conversation that was had between Sam Witwicky and his father Ron in 2009's Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen: Sam: Oh, who could that be? (referring to someone calling his phone) Ron: Two weeks, it could be Muffy. I did not expect this video to bring to mind what could be an obscure reference within the script of a movie I hadn't thought about in years, but here we are.
Dude...this is my FAVORITE episode....soo cool to know how everything come together, truly your end quote is fitting here......Transformers is always had been...More than meet the eyes.
Best episode yet. I think I like creation and process stories more than lore as a rule (and TF lore is the only one I can bear to keep up with), and while I thought I knew everything, turns out I didn't. This was comprehensive and well told and edited. Like most successful properties, it's interesting to see how close we came to having something unrecognisable, or not having it at all. Imagine if the late Denny O'Neil hadn't been available. Prime could be called Big John. Congrats on 100k subs!
8:30 LOL When you said HASsenfield BROthers for the first time the first thing that came to my mind was "This name sounds like Hasbro for some reason" and I WAS RIGHT LOL!
I've loved transforming toys for 30 years now. This video made me seriously consider a career at hasbro to be close to these figures that have made such an impact on my life
Yeah, thank you Japan for making cool stuff like Gundam,(mecha genres) Transformers, Super sentai series, and timeless games like super Mario Zelda, Donkey Kong etc.. lol
This has got to be the most thorough explanation of how the Transformers came to be. I am fortunate to own pre-G1 versions of Sunstreaker, Shockwave and Perceptor -- all of whom are colored differently than their G1 counterparts. Pre-G1 and G1 Sunstreaker are both cast from the same mold, except pre-G1 is fire engine red and G1 is canary yellow. Credit where it's due also to Bob Budiansky for creating those amazing back stories to all the characters. I would spend endless amounts of time reading those tech specs on the back of the boxes and be in total awe of their titles, quotes, powers, abilities, weapons, rankings, etc. Having each robot ranked according to 8 categories with a 1-to-10 scale for each category was a novel idea. That toy line and corresponding cartoon and comic book will forever be linked to a very memorable time in my youth. I feel very blessed and grateful to have been a kid during that era.
I found some Diaclone commercials on TH-cam, and the six year old in me thinks they're amazing. Something about that stop-motion animation is so much better than American toy commercials of the time.
I believe that, despite the heavy restrictions mentioned here being lifted, there were still some rules in place on making sure the little kiddies won’t be confused. This is why the American commercials had the kids clearly playing with the toys. Compare with the Diaclone, Microman, Microchange, and Japanese Transformers commercials where the toys did move on their own and had absolutely wonderful stop motion.
Micronauts was my major obsessive toyline from the 70's, and as the 80's moved along, I kept my interest going through the comic series. The prices of those early Microman mechs must be insane.
I still stand by this. Chris should play a Cybertronian librarian in some future Transformers series. Maybe Rung, Orion Pax, Alpha Trion, or even a new character.
Could take it back even further: GI Joe was created to capitalize on the girl’s “fashion doll” concept, just adapted for the boy’s market. So in essence, Barbie is the Mother of Transformers 🤯
Ah yes, G.I. Joe, the toy that popularized the term action figure. Because the young boys who played with them didn't want admit they were playing with dolls.
This series is awesome. Transformers is the best thing ever created. My son is only just 4 and is all of a sudden the biggest G1 fan ever. All of the toys are out, the posters are up, the cartoons are on, the youtube videos are rocking, the battles between good and evil and raging, and as my son says, 'we love Transformers Robots in the Sky!'. Bless him. He is playing with toys that I got mid 80s and that my cousin got in 1984. Its incredible!
Shoji Kawamori is a legend in the mecha world. Outside of designing many of the original Transformers, he also made the Macross series (aka the first season of Robotech), and various other mech designs for other anime like Escalflowne, and Eureka Seven.
The is no such thing as a former transformer fan. Only those who currently collect, and those who have taken a break from collecting. 'Til all are one! 😉😊
Hearty congrats both on the 100,000 subscribers - you deserve every one of 'em! - and on this particular episode, which may very well be the most fascinating one that you've done yet, yes? PS: Like many others have said already, Denny O'Neil RIP - he may be more famous for his DC Comics work, and his Batman stuff in particular; but it ain't everybody who gets to name a legend like Optimus Prime, yes...?
12:57 - So, basically Bumblebee (2018) take the idea of having a transformer living amog a family from this comic... I mean, we have a girl as the main protagonist (Charlie), her little brother (Otis), her stepfather (Ron), and even a dog too.
I loved this! Really fun to dig into that history. I maintain that Hasbro should give Bob a million-dollar check every year for basically getting their IP going over that one long weekend
You're a good man, Chris. Always quality content. I've been wanting to see this since you talked about pre-Transformers on the movie commentary you did.
This is a great history lesson of the true origins of the transformers toys. Thank you for your time and patience in putting this together for us. You are blowing other transformers history videos out of the water. I look forward to more videos from you.
I love the artwork towards the end of the video, personally I would love to see that at a botcon or for sale online. The reason I say this is because it proves transformers came from all of the various lines pictured. Also thank you for always telling me and others like me what you know cause some of the infor I knew and the rest well is new to me.
GI Joe was ported to Japan by Takara, who couldn't sell it, so they made about robots, made robots that changed itno things, and then partnered with Hasbro who made GI Joe, and relaunched it as GIJ as a team to basically to the same thing with their DIaclone and Microman lines, becoming the Transformers.
wow, talk about going back to my roots. Been watching TFs since I was a kid, started with G1 then Beast Wars and stopped after Prime had finished. In between those years I got into Kamen Rider AND Star Wars which were both influenced by TFs and I also ended up buying toys for the 2 lines. I may have came across your channel in the past few years but only really started to dig in within the past 4 months thanks to "lockdown", keep up the great work and 'll be waiting for more awesome content :D
My dad was always dismissive of these "half-hour commercials": Transformers, GI Joe, Go-Bots, Laser Tag, and so on. But the ones that stick with us, that we still care about today, were so much more than just "half-hour commercials." I think starting off with character profiles was the best decision Hasbro made for GI Joe and Transformers. With a solid basis for every character, not only could stories to draw out the characters be easily told, but the Transformers series especially could go back to that basic character profile and take it in a new direction for a new series. Like War for Cybertron choosing to explore an Optimus Prime who feels burdened by leadership and can't carry it effortlessly like Classic Optimus does. It means there's always new potential, at least, for every new iteration of the Transformers, and at its core are characters that audiences will connect with and get invested in.
Cracking show. Love the in depth look at the core concepts behind the line. Brought up a few names I wasn't familiar with. Brilliant selection of info. Keep it up!
It's cause 1993 Gridman was a Takara x Tsuburaya collab thing. Hence the anime having those TF references despite Takara not having anything to do with it anymore
12:46 Marvel Productions hated Marvel Comics. Marvel Productions started out as DePatie-Freleng Enterprises animation studio. It was bought by Marvel owner Cadence Industries and rebranded as Marvel Productions. They looked down on the "funny-book guys" at Marvel and treated Stan Lee like crap when he moved out west to be part of MP. So it's no surprise that Marvel Productions would propose their own idea. David DePatie probably blew a fuse when Hasbro took Marvel Comics idea over his, because in his mind comic books were only one step above porn in the entertainment industry.
That pitch sounds like it was going to be a Scooby Doo formula show, there were tons of cartoons like that after the success of Scooby Doo with the teen gang, the comedy sidekick(s) and comedic tone, at least one had a car charcter already. No real suprise they pitched it however weird it sounds now as it had become pretty much the go to formula for kids cartoons before the advertising restrictions lifted.
Indeed. That's how children's programming worked back then. Very rarely did they stray from the "Scooby Doo" formula. Even Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends had a dog sidekick. Aunt May's Pomeranian Ms. Lion. This was the same year Transformers premiered.
This is by far the most informative of the history of the transformers since it's inception that i've ever stumbled across. Must have been tedious gathering all that infos and crammed it all in one episode. Well written and good job Sir!
@@cureofcoronavirus6460 in kamen rider show, when Kamen rider says "henshin" it always followed by awesome poses in order to transform in to their Cyborg selves
@@anderson9244MLG The cyborg aspect was very much a Showa era thing. Nowadays it's just a young man putting on a belt and the suit/armour materializing around him (like with the current Zero-One).
Chris... This is the *_BEST_* Video you ever made! I mean its informative like all the other but... I dont know there is _something_ about it that just made me smile!
That last picture reminded me of something I only found out about this year - that _Battle Beasts_ were originally attached to the Transformers franchise as well! I remember those little figures being sold when I was in school, but there was never any indication that they had anything to do with Transformers (in fact I didn't even know at the time that they were Hasbro toys). Given that I was utterly obsessed with Transformers at the time that knowledge might've inspired more interest from me for the little 2" figures with the rubsigns. In a way, Battle Beasts always feel like a sort of ancestor of Pokémon - little fantasy beasties with powers derived from the elements, designed to be traded and pitted against each other in duels in the playground...
I collected Battle Beasts as a kid, I didn't know of their actual connection to Transformers until years later when I was in college and had access to the internet. What's funny is that even though I didn't know they were connected at the time, I totally had a crossover storyline I played out with Transformers. In the US instead of the rubsigns being either Autobot or Decepticon, they were water/fire/wood, and you would fight ala rock/paper/scissors (water beats fire, fire beats wood, and wood beats water). The water beasts were good guys, the fire beasts were bad, and the wood beasts were neutral in my head canon.
17:28 I see Gridman~! Yooo~! It'd be cool to see a Basics episode on SSSS.Gridman, given how every character in that show is based off of a Transformer (the protagonist's design is based off of Shattered Glass Optimus Prime and her arc involves Prime's ascendance into Nova Prime). Nevertheless, this was an awesome episode! My heart yearns for the Henshin Cyborg toys, even though I'm *way* too young to have been around even for the Micronauts. Great stuff here!
You know I love how transformers and a lot of 80s cartoons were animated in Japan, so technically you could say that Transformers 1984 is your favorite anime, and with the toys originally being from Japan as well. it’s also interesting that a lot of the 1980s cartoons were animated by Toei animation, who does a lot of the animation for popular animes now
Thank you so much for this video. It has brought such a deeper appreciation for Transformers personally, for I had no idea of its deep history until now. Also happy 100k Subscribers Chris! You work so hard and are very dedicated. You deserve it :) !!
I just had my mind blown! This video is perfect when it comes to discribing the history of the Transformers. Very detailed. I can't start to tell you how much I love this video. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for this. I admire all the work you put in this video (all videos tbh!) I shared it with my Dutch Facebook group. Keep up the great work💝
As everyone wants to know, I'll pin this post: the final image seen in this video is the cover of the guidebook, "Takara SF Land Evolution." Some of the other characters you can see in the art include White Leo and Big Serow from "Beastformers," a TF-spinoff line Hasbro released as "Battle Beasts" (who'll get a video of their own one day!); Steel Jeeg, a 1970s anime super-robot created by Go Nagai, who Mego retooled and recoloured in black to create "Micronauts" villain Baron Karza; 1980s tokusatsu heroes Cybercop and Gridman, along with Gridman mecha God Zenon; and girl's action-figure/doll hybrid "Cool Girl."
can you do a basics of Kicker Jones
Ok I need a little help here...many years ago, some of you were probably not even born, I've seen some pictures of a videogame(from Takara i think) on a videogame magazine on the japan exclusives...it was like Smash Bros.(maybe even BEFORE the first Smash), a brawler of TOYS characters basically...where you con play as Optimus Prime, Henshin Cyborg, Bomberman(yes), a sort of Barbie(maybe Cool Girl) and other japanese toys....IT BLOWS MY MIND and i still can't find it to these days! Did someone knows this? Maybe it was cancelled..I don't know! Help!
@@Overlord81 That was "DreamMix TV World Fighters
", released in Japan on PS2 and Gamecube by Hudson Soft in 2003. Here's a longplay: th-cam.com/video/qrAGvWCrSPI/w-d-xo.html and the TFWiki article to tell you more: tfwiki.net/wiki/DreamMix_TV_World_Fighters
15:55 what footage for the Diaclone 2016 did you used from? A new show or commerical?
do a basics on chris mcfeely
Sadly, the toyline was discontinued by a cosmically-powered Starscream.
This is BAD COMEDY!
@@DonaldWWitt nein it's good comedy
@@themostbritishpersonalive868 a little heavy on the electrons (electrons)
I understand that reference.
@hypnochonk watch the movie
“Before time began... there was Diaclone.”
We know not where they come from only that they have the ability to imbued things.....with franchise roots.
Try even further back than diaclone
Before Action Figures were, G.I. Joe was!
Action man: “BEFORE DIACLONE WAS... I WAS”
Before time began... there was GI Joe
Jesus! I got sucked into this channel and just spent a ridiculous amount of the past week listening to an Irish dude with a weirdly charismatic voice fill my brain with Transformers trivia...
I regret nothing.
I remember when I first fell down this rabbit hole last year and now I NEVER miss a video of his and just became a patron. I'd recommend it if you want early access.
@Shield Liger Yes we are!!!😂🇮🇪🍀
H
@@omarsalem1219 I agree
I think you've been enriched.
Cosmically powered Starcream did not offline diaclone or microman? I’m shocked! Congrats Chris. What an amazing series and lore archive that is exceptionally produced. Saturday mornings with Frosted Flakes and Transformers just like the 80s
Dude this is before Transformers existed
E
@@changsiah2 bruh
@@changsiah2 you missed the joke
Lol
This video is weirdly well-timed, given that Dennis O'Neil just passed away.
I can't imagine Transformers without Optimus Prime, so it's good to know his legacy lives on in the Transformers franchise, as well as in other media.
Wait, what Denny died? Wow I did not know that.
They should make a toy for Denny; to honor him something that everyone would like even Denny himself would have loved.
@@Leobreaker1812 What would that be like, I wonder?
Who'd have thought that Transformers has roots all the way in the origin of action figures themselves
Much like how humanity itself existed first and created machines overtime.
It all traces back to G.I. Joe!
@@foldabotZ Which means G.I. Joe vs Transformers crossover stories is not something you can do on a whim or because of licensing. It is not mandatory for a crossover to happen.
On some deep shit
I may have to add some of these Micronaut Figures to my collection if I can find them, they look pretty cool.
This channel =
Every thing you need to know about transformers.
Rad must love this place
Isnt that all he does?
Honestly, maybe it isn't the BASICS anymore, it should be an advanced Diploma at least by now
This is basically the Toys that Made Us, but way more detailed and without the dumb skits lol
Edit: Toys that Made Us does have many good interviews at least, so it wasn't all bad.
That show is painful
Was thinking the same thing
Same here
The toys that made us has to appeal to people who aren’t toy fans. They have to make this “nerdy stuff” interesting for a casual viewer. In there mind making it full of crap jokes and weird guest stars is how they get it done.
...
"BONG~"
I’ve heard this story told a million times, but it will never fail to be interesting, especially when it’s narrated by you!
There is _something_ about this Video that just made me smile... I'm not sure what...
Wait, is that's a Gundam as your profile picture?
Rip denny o Neil you will be missed😢
Dang...had no idea he died. Been out of he comic realm for years.
sidearmsalpha died last week
I'm sorry for the lost? Who is that?
peter papadimitriou Denny ‘o’ Neil helped contribute to the transformer, marvel, and other important comics.
@@vassa1972 He was the comic writer who came up with the name Optimus Prime when Marvel were still putting ideas together for the Transformers comic. He also created the Batman villains Ra's Al Ghul and Talia Al Ghul, as well as the fourth Green Lantern John Stewart, while he was working at DC in the 70's.
In Dan Gilvezan's book Bumblebee and Me, he wrote that whoever came up with the idea of importing the Diaclone and Microchange lines and licensing them as Transformers should have a wing named after them at Hasbro HQ.
So where do you think the Harry Orenstein wing is?
Yeah, licensing Diaclone was the best decision ever. For without it we wouldn't have Transformer.
@@Therizinosaurus It goes full circle: Hasbro licensed G. I. Joe to Takara in Japan, which led to the creation of Microman, eventually spinning-off to Micro Change and Diaclone, which Hasbro imported those toys into US through their partnership with Takara.
Much better than The Toys That Made Us' explanation.
I love how comic history intersects with toy history. If it wasn't for Jim Shooter's infamously hands-on approach to editing, Danny O'Neil could've replaced Budiansky.
I'm really glad Diaclone and Microman evolved into entities from Transformers. Takara not only made the best robot toys, they even revived the genre through their partnership with Sunrise! Never judge a toy by its size. It can be more than meets the eye...
Sunrise a Bandai Visual company.
If Takara is in good terms with Bandai then why do Transformers have never been in any SRW game? We even had a crossover manga between Transformers and Mazinger Z, but no Transformers in SRW.
@@arx3516 Takara and Bandai are great rivals. Bandai didn't own Sunrise at the time of the Brave Saga and they don't own the Mazinger Z franchise.
@@arx3516 what about transformers and the power rangers
@@Ob1tuber Maybe possible in Hasbro markets, since they currently own the rights to make merch for those series.
Kinda appropriate that this episode lands so close to Denny ó Neil's passing.
I'm surprised his naming of optimus prime wasn't lauded more in the press. Yes he's more known for his batman work but that acclaim is up there with naming captain America or the like in terms of pop cultural influence .
Rip man.
And great vid Chris. Well done on the sub count
I love how, in typical TF fashion, they used the Diaclone name a few ways in the TF lore itself. From TFWiki, there’s Diac the Titan Master, a human named Dia, and DAIAKURON, a living planet who is the creator of Primus & Unicron in the TF VS GI Joe comic series.
On the subject of proto-Transformers itself, I first became aware of some of the basic details through Internet reviewer SFDebris and his miniseries “Rolling out the Transformers”. Also that one episode of the Toys that Made Us which seemed a little too disengenuois and tried too hard to act sarcastic & cool. Regardless though it’s still fascinating to watch the process of how Transformers came to be and that its story of its conception was more than meets the eye.
In my Personal Canon DAIAKURON is the real Name of The One
Fabian Rocha Would be cool if they made that official. I mean they don’t have to name The One outright, they can make it so that The One’s true name was lost to history and having multiple names in legend. One of them can be DAIAKURON.
And also there was the Diaclona Tribe which Alpha Trion once mentioned in the IDW Comics
There's also the Cymond cluster, which is the name of the part of the TF multiverse that encompasses all pre-Transformers toylines including Diaclone. The name of said cluster is an inversion of the combination of "diamond" and "cyclone" that made up the Diaclone name.
Chris, this is the absolute best Basics so far, and I've loved them all. You provided a much clearer and more coherent summary of the events that lead up to the franchise's creation than certain laugh-track-netflix shows. Thank you for all your hard work!
It still amazes me just how complex the history of “How the Transformers Toys Were Created” really is
RIP Denny O'Neil, the man who named The Greatest Hero!
This episode, The basics on the Invention of the Transformers, deserves an Oscar! Your very best episode! Everything was perfect.
Til all are One!
(Together)
_Till all are one_
You're officially an icon, now, mate. I sincerely hope someone at IDW or Hasbro/Takara takes notice and names a bot after you. You've earned it.
But they did he wrote Transformers historia guidebook by IDW
This Episode was AWESOME! Most appreciated! This the episode in which I have learned the most! A Million thanks Chris! Definitely the BEST EPISODE! And the GO Bots was different and a good April Fools one!
This was amazing. It's almost like discovering the history of your culture. Thanks for making this, it was awesome to learn where the toys I grew up with came from and how they continue to evolve today.
I never knew how much I needed to hear Chris say "Ultraman" until now
I gotta say that the relaunched Diaclone line is absolutely fantastic. I just wish it wasn't so expensive.
I know but there is a company that makes KOs. Not sure how good the quality is though. I think there are TH-cam reviews.
I really hope more franchises that helped Transformers grow continue to show up like the Hasbroverse. Also the Diaclones that showed up in the Fun Pub stories are apparently from a universal cluster called "Cymond" though there's no Cybertron(thus Primus) or Transformers which is pretty interesting.
a lot of things from japan that can fit the mold of transformers are apparently a part of it, like the Brave series (which re used some designs from transformers in early works though sometimes reimagined like grimlock or Dino Geist as he was known in Brave Exkaiser had a jet form in addition) or I believe even the Zoids line, not sure why the latter though but the former influenced the transformers series from the unicron trilogy all the way to animated with most of the references I'm aware of going back to King of Braves:GaoGaiGar with things like Leobreaker in Cybertron referencing both the core unit for the main mech of the series as well as its most powerful weapon the Goldion Hammer meanwhile the Jet twins combination from animated was based on Symmetrical Docking, a combination that occurs between pairs of Ryu support robots to become Ryujins
@Shield Liger nice... hopefully that cockpit is clean
@@Xeno-The-Wanderer didn't Vector Prime imply the Brave Exkaiser is part of the TF multiverse?
@@livium9149 since they are a part of the Cymond universe, yes
DIAmond cyCLONE
CYclone diaMOND
Heh
Honestly, I have no words to express how magnificent this episode is. It's interesting, informative, and entertaining. I also love how the Transformers journey has gone back and forth between America and Japan. From G.I. Joe to Diaclone, you documented the creation of the franchise many of use cherish and gave it the respect it deserves. All I can say Chris is thank you and keep up the good work.
And congragulations on 100,000 subscribers! Here's to 200k!!!
04:14 Shoji Kawamori designed Diaclone!!!! The Father of Macross producing more transforming mecha....so cool.
Randomly, my dad was a fan of the Micronauts comic when I was a kid, and when I was three or four, I had a Micronauts belt. Coolest thing ever at that age.
Chris your voice is so soft and gentle
Just when I thought I knew it all, this absolute legend hits us with Muffler.
Things like that are why I watch your channel.
I had read about the creation of the Transformers in Toy Fair magazine. Thank you, Chris, for fleshing it out for me. I can tell you are a TRUE Transformers fan. I really enjoy your channel. Keep up the good work. 👏👍🤩
“Hold on to your dreams, the future is built on dreams”
So bob is basically the original vector sigma?
I say this so many times but THIS is one of my favorite episodes. I absolutely adore the history of the toys that became TFs. I love the homages we get in special repaints nowadays too
Your mention of the Muffler/Muffy character brought to mind a conversation that was had between Sam Witwicky and his father Ron in 2009's Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:
Sam: Oh, who could that be? (referring to someone calling his phone)
Ron: Two weeks, it could be Muffy.
I did not expect this video to bring to mind what could be an obscure reference within the script of a movie I hadn't thought about in years, but here we are.
Dude...this is my FAVORITE episode....soo cool to know how everything come together, truly your end quote is fitting here......Transformers is always had been...More than meet the eyes.
Wow, you actually mentioned GIG! Incredible!
Best episode yet. I think I like creation and process stories more than lore as a rule (and TF lore is the only one I can bear to keep up with), and while I thought I knew everything, turns out I didn't. This was comprehensive and well told and edited.
Like most successful properties, it's interesting to see how close we came to having something unrecognisable, or not having it at all. Imagine if the late Denny O'Neil hadn't been available. Prime could be called Big John.
Congrats on 100k subs!
8:30 LOL When you said HASsenfield BROthers for the first time the first thing that came to my mind was "This name sounds like Hasbro for some reason" and I WAS RIGHT LOL!
Yeah me too lol.
2:05 Mazin Go! Mazinger Z as well as a Brave Raideen cameo in a Transformers Basics video. But in seriousness, it can be all traced back to G.I. Joe.
don't forget Kotetsu Jeeg and even Devilman making cameos
Dangit, I really want one of those Kamen Rider Henshin Cyborgs now.
Because your a kamen rider fan. Im too a kamen rider fan.
@@bartmuljono872 Me too, as evident by my Zi-O profile pic.
Such an in depth episode! Today I learned the original comic launched on the date of my birth! It's like it was meant to be...
I've loved transforming toys for 30 years now. This video made me seriously consider a career at hasbro to be close to these figures that have made such an impact on my life
It's really great seeing all the names and faces who've contributed to the creation of the Transformers. Thanks for another wonderful video.
God bless you, Japan.
Damn they got made talent/creativity over there
Yeah, thank you Japan for making cool stuff like Gundam,(mecha genres) Transformers, Super sentai series, and timeless games like super Mario Zelda, Donkey Kong etc.. lol
This has got to be the most thorough explanation of how the Transformers came to be. I am fortunate to own pre-G1 versions of Sunstreaker, Shockwave and Perceptor -- all of whom are colored differently than their G1 counterparts. Pre-G1 and G1 Sunstreaker are both cast from the same mold, except pre-G1 is fire engine red and G1 is canary yellow. Credit where it's due also to Bob Budiansky for creating those amazing back stories to all the characters. I would spend endless amounts of time reading those tech specs on the back of the boxes and be in total awe of their titles, quotes, powers, abilities, weapons, rankings, etc. Having each robot ranked according to 8 categories with a 1-to-10 scale for each category was a novel idea. That toy line and corresponding cartoon and comic book will forever be linked to a very memorable time in my youth. I feel very blessed and grateful to have been a kid during that era.
I just had a brilliant idea to relaunch the original G1 both Transformers and GI Joe franchise is to revisit this franchise of the Microman series 😊
I found some Diaclone commercials on TH-cam, and the six year old in me thinks they're amazing. Something about that stop-motion animation is so much better than American toy commercials of the time.
I believe that, despite the heavy restrictions mentioned here being lifted, there were still some rules in place on making sure the little kiddies won’t be confused. This is why the American commercials had the kids clearly playing with the toys.
Compare with the Diaclone, Microman, Microchange, and Japanese Transformers commercials where the toys did move on their own and had absolutely wonderful stop motion.
Congratulations on 100,000. May your growth continue
This Channel has really helped me with understanding the qualites of the large amout of characters in the franchise hope this never ends
Micronauts was my major obsessive toyline from the 70's, and as the 80's moved along, I kept my interest going through the comic series. The prices of those early Microman mechs must be insane.
I often link your series to my friend who isnt really a transformers fan like me but finds it a good way to understand what im talking about.
I still stand by this. Chris should play a Cybertronian librarian in some future Transformers series. Maybe Rung, Orion Pax, Alpha Trion, or even a new character.
History of Transformers
Starts with G.I. Joe
kamenriderreaper like what the two are so tightly linked
even GI Joe related to henshin heroes in japan, thats unexpected X'D
And knowing is half the battle!
Could take it back even further: GI Joe was created to capitalize on the girl’s “fashion doll” concept, just adapted for the boy’s market. So in essence, Barbie is the Mother of Transformers 🤯
Ah yes, G.I. Joe, the toy that popularized the term action figure. Because the young boys who played with them didn't want admit they were playing with dolls.
Those henshin Cyborg Kamen rider toys looks great
This series is awesome. Transformers is the best thing ever created. My son is only just 4 and is all of a sudden the biggest G1 fan ever. All of the toys are out, the posters are up, the cartoons are on, the youtube videos are rocking, the battles between good and evil and raging, and as my son says, 'we love Transformers Robots in the Sky!'. Bless him. He is playing with toys that I got mid 80s and that my cousin got in 1984. Its incredible!
Shoji Kawamori is a legend in the mecha world. Outside of designing many of the original Transformers, he also made the Macross series (aka the first season of Robotech), and various other mech designs for other anime like Escalflowne, and Eureka Seven.
this channel is somthing i subed to 3 years ago and i still dont regret it cheers Chris
Great stuff Chris and THANK YOU for keeping up this amazing series!
As a Diaclone fan, this basics episode makes me extremely happy!
Most comprehensive account of the origins if the franchise I've seen yet. Way better than Toy That Made Us' narrative-driven telling.
The origins to the original toy line is so engrossing. Keep up the great work man.
Amazing episode! So well done!
And RIP Denny. He was a great man!
Wow, so many origins explored here! Far more than I initially expected. Truly a perfect means of celebrating 100,000 subscribers. :)
Excited
As a former Transformers fan, this brought nostalgia to my heart. Thanks for the video and congrats on 100k subs 😊
The is no such thing as a former transformer fan. Only those who currently collect, and those who have taken a break from collecting. 'Til all are one!
😉😊
@@iBeamer well, guess that's true. Planning on collecting the smaller figures like the headmasters or prime emblem things.
Hearty congrats both on the 100,000 subscribers - you deserve every one of 'em! - and on this particular episode, which may very well be the most fascinating one that you've done yet, yes?
PS: Like many others have said already, Denny O'Neil RIP - he may be more famous for his DC Comics work, and his Batman stuff in particular; but it ain't everybody who gets to name a legend like Optimus Prime, yes...?
Any time Kamen Rider gets mentioned anywhere do any reason my heart just soars.
No mention of how Diaclone colors are often used for Shattered Glass versions of characters like Ultra Magnus?
12:57 - So, basically Bumblebee (2018) take the idea of having a transformer living amog a family from this comic... I mean, we have a girl as the main protagonist (Charlie), her little brother (Otis), her stepfather (Ron), and even a dog too.
100k, episode 0, and the invention of the nameless characters that I command that die all the time
I loved this! Really fun to dig into that history. I maintain that Hasbro should give Bob a million-dollar check every year for basically getting their IP going over that one long weekend
You covered more than The toys that made us did! Congrats to you, Chris, for outdoing a Netflix show!
You're a good man, Chris. Always quality content. I've been wanting to see this since you talked about pre-Transformers on the movie commentary you did.
ACTION MAN THE GREATEST HERO OF THEM ALL!!!
This is a great history lesson of the true origins of the transformers toys. Thank you for your time and patience in putting this together for us. You are blowing other transformers history videos out of the water. I look forward to more videos from you.
I love the artwork towards the end of the video, personally I would love to see that at a botcon or for sale online.
The reason I say this is because it proves transformers came from all of the various lines pictured.
Also thank you for always telling me and others like me what you know cause some of the infor I knew and the rest well is new to me.
Congrats on 100k subs!
GI Joe was ported to Japan by Takara, who couldn't sell it, so they made about robots, made robots that changed itno things, and then partnered with Hasbro who made GI Joe, and relaunched it as GIJ as a team to basically to the same thing with their DIaclone and Microman lines, becoming the Transformers.
Marvelous episode, Chris, and grats on 100k! I never tire of hearing about the origins of the Transformers, and the stories of Diaclone and the like.
wow, talk about going back to my roots. Been watching TFs since I was a kid, started with G1 then Beast Wars and stopped after Prime had finished. In between those years I got into Kamen Rider AND Star Wars which were both influenced by TFs and I also ended up buying toys for the 2 lines. I may have came across your channel in the past few years but only really started to dig in within the past 4 months thanks to "lockdown", keep up the great work and 'll be waiting for more awesome content :D
My dad was always dismissive of these "half-hour commercials": Transformers, GI Joe, Go-Bots, Laser Tag, and so on. But the ones that stick with us, that we still care about today, were so much more than just "half-hour commercials." I think starting off with character profiles was the best decision Hasbro made for GI Joe and Transformers. With a solid basis for every character, not only could stories to draw out the characters be easily told, but the Transformers series especially could go back to that basic character profile and take it in a new direction for a new series. Like War for Cybertron choosing to explore an Optimus Prime who feels burdened by leadership and can't carry it effortlessly like Classic Optimus does. It means there's always new potential, at least, for every new iteration of the Transformers, and at its core are characters that audiences will connect with and get invested in.
Imagine if Marvel and Hasbro made that third pitch a spinoff of Transformers.
I've heard the history of the origin of the Transformers before, but is by far the best presentation of that info.
Awesome video.
17:31 Gridman? *[BABY DAN DAN INTENSIFIES]*
Who?
@@fabianrocha9924 It's a Tokusatsu series from Japan about a super hero. Baby Dan Dan is a reference to the beautiful opening for it.
Ah yes the Gridiron man
I saw him too. Wonder why he’s here.
@shadowshinobi06 No, Gridman is his own thing.
Cracking show. Love the in depth look at the core concepts behind the line. Brought up a few names I wasn't familiar with. Brilliant selection of info. Keep it up!
did I spot GRIDMAN at the end there?
BABY DAN DAN INTENSIFIES
Makes sense since Gridman has a lot of Transformers references
@@Mike_Ka-Chowski Especially the most recent Gridman anime series. It had references to both the dinobots from the 4th movie and shattered glass.
It's cause 1993 Gridman was a Takara x Tsuburaya collab thing. Hence the anime having those TF references despite Takara not having anything to do with it anymore
God I love that song
@@beaudavis3808 And then TakaraTomy did a crossover between Gridman and Diaclone.
Thanks!
12:46 Marvel Productions hated Marvel Comics. Marvel Productions started out as DePatie-Freleng Enterprises animation studio. It was bought by Marvel owner Cadence Industries and rebranded as Marvel Productions. They looked down on the "funny-book guys" at Marvel and treated Stan Lee like crap when he moved out west to be part of MP. So it's no surprise that Marvel Productions would propose their own idea. David DePatie probably blew a fuse when Hasbro took Marvel Comics idea over his, because in his mind comic books were only one step above porn in the entertainment industry.
That pitch sounds like it was going to be a Scooby Doo formula show, there were tons of cartoons like that after the success of Scooby Doo with the teen gang, the comedy sidekick(s) and comedic tone, at least one had a car charcter already. No real suprise they pitched it however weird it sounds now as it had become pretty much the go to formula for kids cartoons before the advertising restrictions lifted.
Indeed. That's how children's programming worked back then. Very rarely did they stray from the "Scooby Doo" formula. Even Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends had a dog sidekick. Aunt May's Pomeranian Ms. Lion. This was the same year Transformers premiered.
This is by far the most informative of the history of the transformers since it's inception that i've ever stumbled across. Must have been tedious gathering all that infos and crammed it all in one episode. Well written and good job Sir!
Hear the word "Henshin",
kamen rider henshin poses intensify.....
SAME!
What ?
@@cureofcoronavirus6460 in kamen rider show, when Kamen rider says "henshin" it always followed by awesome poses in order to transform in to their Cyborg selves
@@anderson9244MLG The cyborg aspect was very much a Showa era thing. Nowadays it's just a young man putting on a belt and the suit/armour materializing around him (like with the current Zero-One).
@@Combaticon PROGRISE!
Chris... This is the *_BEST_* Video you ever made!
I mean its informative like all the other but... I dont know there is _something_ about it that just made me smile!
That last picture reminded me of something I only found out about this year - that _Battle Beasts_ were originally attached to the Transformers franchise as well! I remember those little figures being sold when I was in school, but there was never any indication that they had anything to do with Transformers (in fact I didn't even know at the time that they were Hasbro toys). Given that I was utterly obsessed with Transformers at the time that knowledge might've inspired more interest from me for the little 2" figures with the rubsigns. In a way, Battle Beasts always feel like a sort of ancestor of Pokémon - little fantasy beasties with powers derived from the elements, designed to be traded and pitted against each other in duels in the playground...
There was an episode of the Headmasters anime with the Battle Beasts.
What no mention of Gridman
I collected Battle Beasts as a kid, I didn't know of their actual connection to Transformers until years later when I was in college and had access to the internet. What's funny is that even though I didn't know they were connected at the time, I totally had a crossover storyline I played out with Transformers. In the US instead of the rubsigns being either Autobot or Decepticon, they were water/fire/wood, and you would fight ala rock/paper/scissors (water beats fire, fire beats wood, and wood beats water). The water beasts were good guys, the fire beasts were bad, and the wood beasts were neutral in my head canon.
17:28
I see Gridman~! Yooo~!
It'd be cool to see a Basics episode on SSSS.Gridman, given how every character in that show is based off of a Transformer (the protagonist's design is based off of Shattered Glass Optimus Prime and her arc involves Prime's ascendance into Nova Prime). Nevertheless, this was an awesome episode! My heart yearns for the Henshin Cyborg toys, even though I'm *way* too young to have been around even for the Micronauts. Great stuff here!
You know I love how transformers and a lot of 80s cartoons were animated in Japan, so technically you could say that Transformers 1984 is your favorite anime, and with the toys originally being from Japan as well. it’s also interesting that a lot of the 1980s cartoons were animated by Toei animation, who does a lot of the animation for popular animes now
Transformers is also my favorite Aeni because it was animated by a Korean animation (AKOM) :)
Thank you so much for this video. It has brought such a deeper appreciation for Transformers personally, for I had no idea of its deep history until now. Also happy 100k Subscribers Chris! You work so hard and are very dedicated. You deserve it :) !!
Aww shucks, Kicker some how weasels his way into more things. 15:45
@Laltluangliana Sailop Are you talking about Kre-O Kicker?
Diamondbolt: "NO GOD, PLEASE NO!"
I think we all hate Kicker Jones because he is (dear lord) just so annoying
I just had my mind blown! This video is perfect when it comes to discribing the history of the Transformers. Very detailed. I can't start to tell you how much I love this video. Thank you so much.
It would be interesting to see you cover Battle Beasts and their part in Transformers.
Thank you so much for this. I admire all the work you put in this video (all videos tbh!) I shared it with my Dutch Facebook group. Keep up the great work💝