The Transformers is an American-Japanese animated television series that originally aired from September 17, 1984. Western toy maker Hasbro decided to import several toylines from Japanese company Takara – mainly from Diaclone and Microchange, which featured robots piloted by humans which could also turn into vehicles. Utilizing their prior relationship with the comic book publisher, Hasbro turned to Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter to create an overall story for one unified toyline, and editor Bob Budiansky created names and character descriptions for the characters (supposedly over one weekend).
A direct result of Ronald Reagan’s deregulation of advertising to children in the 1980s, Transformers is arguably the most successful of the cartoons primarily created to sell toys, above shows like He-Man, My Little Pony, Rainbow Brite, Care Bears, and even G.I. Joe. Only Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles might be a rival in terms of popularity.
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