I would think Macross should be high on transformers fan lists of anime to check out. Kawamori did a good amount of the designs in both Transformers and Macross. The toy for Jetfire was a recolored VF-1S with fastpacks from Macross as well. It’s not the same type of fast action pacing as Transformers since it’s more of a drama based around human characters rather than talking robots, but if you’re ok with that then the action scenes are awesome with the Vf-1 being a transforming fighter plane and even a gigantic transforming ship with a city inside. The Macross movie Do You Remember Love has some of the most beautiful 2d animation that pretty much blows away anything else, even though the movie just turned 40 this year. It’s truly an animated masterpiece even if the story is a little rushed
@@ThirteenPrimesI wish I had the cash for a lot of the dx line. The YF21 looks pretty neat, but on my budget I opted to preorder the little hg kit instead
Macross is so human-centric though. The bots aren't even in every episode. I like Macross, but for me it was more cause I was looking for something to watch after Mobile Suit Gundam and Armored Trooper Votoms. If I was wanting something closer to Transformers, I'd definitely watch the Braves series before I watched Macross. Or even Machine Robo.
@@JaceyMitchellit’s definitely a different kind of story, but the design aspect is so close with the transforming and when there is a battle, it’s pretty epic. I had never seen so many missiles in anything until Macross. I think it’s more for the transformers fans that have started to grow up a little and maybe want a bit more than a weekly situation.
Interesting video but I feel mobile suit gundam was what really changed mecha anime as a whole and alot of shows that came after it like transformers (my first love) wouldn't be here if it wasn't for what gundam dared to try
Transformers was only a game changer for the USA. It was huge in Japan at the time, and it was influential for its target audience, but it certainly didn't change the genre. Gundam was the game changer and that was an evolution of the direction mecha was heading with Getter Robo and Zambot 3. Gundam was popular with older audiences, as kids were growing less interested in diecast toys before Transformers, while Gunpla helped solidify Tominos older audience.
What Gundam helped with, because Macross came out at about the same time and is also considered to have helped usher in Real Robot as a genre, was expand what Mecha as a genre could be, rather than necessarily evolve the genre as a whole. Meanwhile the Brave series, as mentioned on this list, helped keep the Super Robot genre alive, and GaoGaiGar even helped to revitalize it for a short time(reportedly the creation Getter Robo OVAs were inspired by GaoGaiGar doing well) after Evangelion deconstructed it and spawned many attempted copycats.
@@aliesterus1.023I often see western mecha fans say GGG reconstructed mecha after NGE deconstructed it and I have to disagree because they were just running on the rails set by their predecessors (previous Yuusha series for GGG, and Zambot/Gundam/Ideon/Ultraman for NGE).
@@IronMysterian The thing is, GaoGaiGar was wildly more successful than what came before, and still gets random references in completely unrelated anime here and there. It kind of kicked off something of a Super Robot renaissance. On top of that, GaoGaiGar actually took the effort to try to inject a bit of realism here and there, as if to say "Super Robots could still be cool even if we were to make some of it realistic". And then there's the fact that every single piece of tech from GaoGaiGar that GGG has used has some sort of theoretical physics backing it. Even some phenomena have theoretical physics, like the Klein's Space being the shape of a Klein's Bottle. There's also some direct contrasts between GaoGaiGar and Evangelion that people have taken note on. On top of all of this, I keep seeing mentions of an interview speaking about how Evangelion had influenced the development process.
@@IronMysterian It's not completely impossible the reason some of us can't find the source is because it's in Japanese... Or the site is dead. It certainly wouldn't be the first time I've seen a claim with no source, then accidentally find a confirmation years down the line scrawling through some random Japanese site looking for something else entirely on Google Translate.
The only thing i can thank these shows for is reminding me that transforming robots aren't an original idea. I'd also like to add on to this with Dancouga, Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Mighty Orbots, Shinkalion and Tobots. Maybe even Denkou Choujin Gridman and Genesis Climber Mospeda to some extent. Anyways, I myself have my own idea for a transforming robot series with the only differences is that they're not aliens, not full sized vehicles, and it'll have a little more of a superhero aspect to it
:sigh: Robotech is NOT the 'English dub of Macross'. Its only the first third of the series, not the series itself. Its also Super Dimension Cavalry: Southern Cross and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA. Super Dimenion Fortress Macross doesn't have 'fantastic animation'. It has good animation in some places, but it has an assload of mediocre to outright godawfully terrible animation in a lot of others.
For brevity's sake, yes it quite literally is just the dub of Macross, as well as other shows. It's changes weren't NEARLY as extensive as something like Voltron for me to sit here and focus on why it's different or fixate on irrelevant details. It's much easier to say "Robotech is what they called Macross when they dubbed it". And of course I'm not talking about the other shows, so nothing I said is actually incorrect. In simple terms, Speed Racer is also the english dub of Macha Go Go Go despite also technically being a distinct franchise in the USA, but its in no way wrong to say it's the english dub when talking about that specific show. For a series from 1982, it was almost unrivaled for a mecha series in terms of animation at the time, and I've seen plenty of anime with far worse animation than you say Macross has.
The original Gundam series has remarkably similar animation to G1 Transformers, even though the tones of the story are wildly different. I even joke how Amuro Ray looks like Daniel Witwicky lol
@@IronMysterian That's cool. I would also say Voltron is a good pick. If I recall, Peter Cullen was the English dub Narrator for classic Voltron. That alone would entice Transformers fans.
@@ToyotaTacomaOfficial Absolutely, but there is a warning I must issue: buying Transformers figures *and* Gunpla is a slippery slope that could easily put a hole in your wallet. Like when I bought my MG Barbatos lol
I remember seeing G1 transformers on toy shelves, BEFORE they were known as Transformers. ( It WAS called Daikion/Diaclone) labelled in english. But the line up was ( from what I saw) only different color version of the non humanoid looking robots ( the ones that went from cars/vans to different bay settups. I bought one. And had a really good DOUGRAM steel/plastic mech. That thing cost me a whopping $40 of my christmas money. ( Which also shown up as a Robotech Defenders model as well) This was before any american heard what a nintendo was btw. :D The influx of unlicensed/poorly marketed toy robots on Toys R Us, was a great time, in the early 80s!
Great List. I've seen all of these, including the rest of the Brave series, and Machine Robo Battle Hackers ( which is just nuts 😂). Gold Lightan is on my list. I still love the game Tatsunoko vs Capcom for Wii which actually had Lightan as playable character 😂.
I got TvC as a gift back in high school and had no clue who so many of those Tatsunoko characters were! Then my dad saw me playing it one day and was like “is that the guy from G-Force?” That was the start of a very long rabbit hole for me, and I’m so glad to see somebody else mention that fantastic game!
Kageyama is a big name in general. He's sung for so many series that he has nicknames from the fans of each series such as Mr. Dragonball. In relation to M.D. Geist, I remember reading somewhere (maybe tvtropes) that he doesn't even remember that he sang songs for it. Actually, if you really wan to know more about Kageyama, you can check out his entry in tvtropes.
Fun reccs man, I've been meaning to get to watching Macross and Brave for a while now myself; am just still binging through the TF anime in the meanwhile, haha.
I personally still think J-decker is the best recommendation out of the brave series because the robots actually have a personality, where most Brave series, the robots don't really have any
@IronMysterian true, but J decker still manages to give all their characters personalities which is why I think it's the best to recommend, like in exkaiser, none of the hero robots have any personality, hell, three of them are literally called Sky max, turbo max and drill max
Yeah brave series had pretty generic names for combiner team members. Their first name is literally what they turn into, followed by the name of their respective team.
I think it's easier for fans of newer TF installments to get into J-Decker because of how much emphasis they put on the Braves' personalities - whereas in most other titles some if not all mecha are put on the sidelines when it comes to character development or showing personality because many other Brave shows focus more on the human cast which can be off-putting for some fans who came for the sentient robots. If someone likes older TF entries, I recommend checking out Exkaiser and Fighbird first and if they like it, they can (but don't have to) watch the rest in chronological order. Goldran is also a good pick for people who are more interested in the Braves and I can't recommend starting with Dagwon because it's like the outlier of the series. Might Gaine and Gaogaigar also stray a bit from the core of the previous shows but they are good in their own way. Da Garn may be my personal favorite but I wouldn't recommend it as a starter either for different reasons. (That's just my opinion, don't take it at face value and I don't mean to disrespect any of these shows - each one is great in its own way)
As transformers fan gone general mecha fan I can drop a few more recs: from the big rival franchise Gundam: Movie adaptation of original series, to get a proper context for awesome trio of OVAs - 08th MS Team, War in the Pocket and Stardust Memory - those all four are part of Gundam universal Century timeline, Gundams G1 if you will. From the same - Zeta Gundam, where transforming mecha became somewhat widespread. And for something very different - G Gundam - martial arts drama with giant robots and awesomely on point cheesiest English dub;Gundam Wing for all the yaoi fangirl bait and Gundam X for Fallout with giant robots. Armored Trooper VOTOMS franchise - if you liked 08th MS Team but still want even more gritty realistic approach to mecha that is for you. No transforming mecha here, and you'll have to watch the original TV series with it's dated looks, as it serves as a core around which plots of most OVAs and sidestories is built. For introduction into classic Super Robot franchises there is a bunch of OVAs made by Dynamic Production, that would introduce as short and visually pleasing introductions to the heroes and concepts - Mazinkaiser OVA+movie, New Getter Robo and Getter Robo Armageddon, Kotetsushin Jeeg, Getter robo is notable for being first transforming and combining mecha in particular. And finally, crossing a bit with Brave franchise and Machine Robo recomendations - anything mecha with Masami Obari attached to it's animation.
I can highly recommend The King of Braves GaoGaiGar. The 50ish episode TV series is pretty good, but the 8 episode FINAL OVA series is absolutely incredible and should be experienced by any fans of animated mecha action.
Nevermind that I have the Gundam itself and yes, many combinations from Lion form to all combined. There's a train, a spy jet and driller too and they're all detachable.
Adding Choujuu Kishin Dancouga to the list of anime recommendations for Transformers fans, considering the individual mechs can transform into different mechanical animals, and can combine to form a bad-ass mecha with laser cannons and a wicked sword that can slice the heavens.
My first Transformers were the Robotech Jetfire, Shockwave, Hoffer,which to my incredible sadness I was ungrateful and told my mom that she got the wrong one. I asked for Optimus and thought Huffer was a Go-bot...😢 looking back and realizing how hard my mom worked to give me pretty awesome stuff. She was around 21 years old and I was around 5. Kids PLLLEEASSE be kind to your mother figures whomever it is. Grandma, uncle, your Dad's life partner/husband, big brother or sister etc. Please show them that you see what they do for you and you are around grateful. ( hadn't heard of Robotech and had some knock down drag out arguments that looking back..ohh I am FEELING THE CRINGE 😢 Few things worse than a person who CLEARLY hasn't got some of the chapters insisting LOUDLY that his understanding of the story is THE understanding of the story 😢
Interesting piece of trivia regarding MD Geist. He’s actually the mascot for the US licensing company US manga Corp. And another piece of anime trivia, the mascot that Toei anime studio, well that cat mascot it’s from a Puss and boots Japanese film that they produced. Which I believe was one of their early animated works.
My problem with Exkaiser as a recommendation is that you're making an assumption that a large majority of the transformers fanbase are primarily G1 fans, which kust isnt the case. As somebody who has watched _all_ of Exkaiser, I cannot in good faith recommend it as an introduction series to Brave as a whole, not without you already being a huge kecha fan(and even then that can be a huge ask), or without an episode guide on what to skip. One big problem with Exkaiser, I've found, is that among the Brave robots, character differences are... Barely there. Instead most of the characterization seems to have gone to the humans and the Geisters instead, with Kouta and Exkaiser receiving all of the character development. This is a huge problem for anyone who cares about characterization, of which there will be in the Transformers community. It's also impossible to take the Geisters seriously if you were to watch every episode, which will be a problem for the TF fans who care about story or setting. They steal the most random things. For example, why in the world would an advanced alien species capable of interstellar travel buy the fastest car Earth can produce? I imagine that there's much better out there. And then, even if it's episodic in nature, the Geisters are kinda just... All a bunch of idiots of varying degrees(even Ptera Geist, for all their self-proclaimed genius) who keep getting in each other's way. The only one ever came across as a credible threat was Dino Geist, who the showrunners did not make efficient use of(something they learned how to do better with Draias in Fighbird, who, whenever they do lose while on screen, it never quite feels like it's Draias' fault), and eventually doesn't feel quite enough to carry the show. This is a big problem for people who care about having a good villain or antagonist. Altogether, Exkaiser feels very dated in comparison to all Brave shows that came after it, which is especially incredible when you consider that Fighbird, which came immediately after it, feels like it has similar or equal quality to the later installment. The only reason I could ever tell a person to watch Exkaiser first is because it carries many of the prototypes of many character types that come in later shows, and that it appears all later installments have at least one Exkaiser easter egg, but only after telling them all of these negatives beforehand sp they know exactly what they're getting into. The better thing to do is to point to Brave as a franchise, then pick out about three to five shows to serve as an introduction point, and point out their pros and cons based on a viewer's potential preferences.
Obviously, every fan is going to like different shows for different reasons, and I wanted this to be an easy introductory video for people to watch without intimidating them by being overly technical. If I did then this would have been easily dominated by just Yuusha shows, which isn't the video topic. I said in the intro that I don't think all of these shows are exceptional, and I picked Exkaiser simply because it's premise is the most similar and has the most obvious connections to it's predecessor. I didn't say it was the best of its franchise. I'm *very* well aware that Transformers isn't just G1, I'm just speaking to a wide audience with very broad criteria in the hopes they become more interested in a niche hobby.
@@IronMysterian Fair enough I, I just feel like Exkaiser as a starter has potential to backfire as an introduction considering how many cons it can have, and felt the need to speak about them
@@aliesterus1.023A lot of transformers fans are already familiar with victory and the format of the japanese series so if they can stomach that then I feel exkaiser is a safe start.
My anime recommendations for TF fans are pretty simple: Transformers the Headmasters Transformers Super-God Masterforce Transformers Victory Transformers Zone Beast Wars II Beast Wars Neo Transformers Go Might as well indulge in the anime the franchise has already given us 🤷
@@IronMysterian well with gundam there isn’t much else, I would never tell someone to start a franchise with its cameo in Ready Player One just because they’re American. With transformers, I just feel it’s logical to inform American fans about the Japanese shows. I’m sorry if I came across as just flatly stating the obvious, I have nothing against Gundam or Brave or the like.
Machine Robo: Revenge of Chronos took my attention because of robot-girl, to be honest. And for some reason (probably because of robo designs) it reminded me Mega Man instead of Transformers. But still looks good.
That basically was the whole movie, some artists just put their personal style in some scenes that exaggerated things a bit more (which is usual for anime at the time too).
G1 is anime. Transformers Headmasters is anime. Transformers V is anime. Transformers SGM is anime. Beast Wars II is anime. Beast Wars Neo is anime. Transformers Robots in Disguise is anime. Transformers armada is anime. Start there.
Pretty much anything from the Brave series by Sunrise from the 90's, created by Takara which included: Brave ExKaiser The Brave Fighter Sun Fighbird The Brave Fighter Legend of Dai-Garn Brave Express Might Gaine Brave Police J-Decker The Brave of Gold Goldran Brave Command Dagwon The King of Braves GaoGaiGar And its spinoff: Betterman. The Brave franchise was created by Takara to serve as a replacement for Transformers when Transformers started to not do so well in Japan I'ma the early 90s. Incidentally, there were three crossover strategy based video games primarily based on the Brave series. they were:😢⁷ Brave Saga 1 & 2 for PS1 Shinseiki Yuusha Taisen for PS2 (New Century Brave Wars) Outside of those, also: Mighty Orbots Six God Combination GodMars Gold Lightan Video Warrior Laserion Shippuu! Iron Leaguer
Surprisingly what got me into Transformers was actually the Shogun Warriors toy line from Mattel that came out in 1979. Just like GI I think they were taken from different anime.
My favorite part of the aesthetic from transformers & adjacent anime isn't the robots - it's the consoles! My favorite episodes from g1 were almost always the ones set on cybertron or featuring lots of computers. Macross definitely helped fill that need but im alwayd looking for more.
You criminally missed all the following history of Takara and Sunrise teaming up to create the sequel of the Transformers series called "the Brave" series which are : Brave Exkaiser (Japanese: 勇者エクスカイザー, Hepburn: Yūsha Ekusukaizā) had 48 episodes The Brave Fighter of Sun Fighbird (Japanese: 太陽の勇者ファイバード, Hepburn: Taiyō no Yūsha Faibādo) had 48 episodes The Brave Fighter of Legend Da-Garn (Japanese: 伝説の勇者ダ・ガーン, Hepburn: Densetsu no Yūsha Da Gān) had 46 episodes The Brave Express Might Gaine (Japanese: 勇者特急マイトガイン, Hepburn: Yūsha Toukyū Maitogain) had 47 episodes Brave Police J-Decker (Japanese: 勇者警察ジェイデッカー, Hepburn: Yūsha Keisatsu Jeidekkā) had 48 episodes The Brave of Gold Goldran (Japanese: 黄金勇者ゴルドラン, Hepburn: Ōgon Yūsha Gorudoran) had 48 episodes Brave Command Dagwon (Japanese: 勇者指令ダグオン, Hepburn: Yūsha Shirei Daguon) had 48 episodes plus 2 OVAs The King of Braves GaoGaiGar (Japanese: 勇者王ガオガイガー, Hepburn: Yūsha Ō GaoGaiGā) had 49 episodes Betterman (Japanese: ベターマン, Hepburn: Betāman) was a spin-off of GaoGaiGar with 26 episodes The King of Braves GaoGaiGar Final (Japanese: 勇者王ガオガイガー FINAL, Hepburn: Yūshaō Gaogaigā Fainaru) (OVA series) had 8 episodes The King of Braves GaoGaiGar Final Grand Glorious Gathering had 12 episodes King of Kings: GaoGaiGar VS Betterman (Japanese: 覇界王～ガオガイガー対ベターマン～, Hepburn: Hakaiō ~Gaogaigā tai Betāman ~) (Novel series) had 33 chapters
Hmm I didn't think about it but now I do I have seen transformers fans particularly mentioning J-Decker, as someone who's seen both Exkaiser and J-Decker I do see why but Exkaiser to me as someone who doesn't consider themself a transformers fan, a more pure encapsulation of early transformers with how silly episode plots can get.
Exkaiser in particular reminded me a lot of Car Robots (better known as RiD) which I saw episodes of as a kid. And even more striking is that it predates the latter by 10 years on the dot.
Kidou Senshi Gundam, Chou Jikuu Yosai Macross, Tetsujin, and Tatake Chou Seimeitai Robot Transformer fan. Most of these animations were from japan. Very recommended of Gold Lightan, UFO Grendeizer, Top wo Nerae Gunbuster, Seisenshi Dunbine, Juusenki L-Gaim for depth great story and characters.
As a 50y man who grew up on really anime like Macross/Robotech, Gundam, Speed Racer, Gatchaman/G-Force, I was pulled into the Transformers universe. because i an such a huge anime fan. That's why [ to me] G1 is the real and only Transformers line o matters to me
This was nice. I also recommend the anime gyrozetter it's about some kids using cars that they drive and control and can turn into robot mechs, and another anime called turning mecard, which is about kids using these little cars that can turn into different robotic creatures.
I grew up watching Gold Lightan in 1987, I always find it having a bit more "creepy" atmosphere or storyline. There was one episode that basically scared the shit out of me when the MC went to a small village just to search for his favorite teacher as he been away for a long while. While he found him in the village, something was not right with him, all the villagers try to kill the kid and Lightan. Turns out the whole village was androids being replaced by the real humans. Machine Robo made the Go Bots look cool by "Animufy" them. There was an anime that I forgot the name, but it has three transforming robots being controlled by human characters. There is a Battle Tank that is blue, controlled by a blonde guy. Then there is a Brown Military Jeep car controlled by the obligatory Japanese protagonist and finally a military helicopter controlled by a female pilot. Forgot the name of this anime but it sort of set in a militaristic planet
You're thinking of Special Armored Battalion Dorvack. Both the helicopter and "jeep" you're thinking of became Whirl and Roadbuster in the Transformers!
Zeta Gundam is by far the best in Gundam Universe that Transformers fans would love. Same with the likes of Voltron, Gundam Wing, Evangelion, Big-O, Zoids, Full Metal Picnic, Gurren Lagann, Code Geass, Gundam 00, & SSSS.Gridman.
Fun fact: Gold Lightan actually descended from a design by Popy's Katsushi Murakami that he originally did for fun, because he was a heavy smoker and had a collection of novelty lighters.
I remember Macross but not from tv. There was a game on NES I think? (It was Pegasus where I live, a bootleg clone console) it was a side view space shoot em up. When I saw that jet transform in the video, it instantly reminded me about that game :D
You could sell replica german weapons to kids but you couldn't use a sword as a weapon in a cartoon! Guess what, in the 80's we beat on each other with plastic Masters of the Universe Swords all afternoon AND WE LIKED IT!
I actually didn't like Exkaiser, but I disliked it largely for the same reasons as Transformers Victory. In fact, I think the reasons I disliked Victory are even more pronounced in Exkaiser, but pretty much entirely absent in Fighbird, which is funny considering how similar those two shows are otherwise.
Nice list. MD Geist was on a lot of lists back in the day and I never watched it. I'll check this out for the robot designs alone if nothing else. Ive been trying to think of what halonix maximus ( Giganticus) from G1 would transform into and someone said it was based on diaclone the great, but when I look at the toy commercials, I couldnt see it. Looking at the sketch you showed I completely see it now. I wish some of these had made it to US shores rather than the shonen jump stuff.
Man, I don't wanna watch anime like Transformers because then I'm probably gonna get into it and buy their toys too. And I already have bad spending habits with TFs...
M.D. Geist is the cat's pajamas. This is the first video I've seen that mentions this hidden gem. I highly recommend watching it as it's among the best in the genre.
well IronMysterian tell me did the Mysterians have an Iron Mysterian?? *grins* that's right I do know of them never watched the show and only in a tertiary way just hearing of them and the show but I know of the Mysterians this was a very good video,I am just wondering how any transformer fan doesn't know about or of Robotech it's the reason Jetfire/Skyfire was put back in the ice at the end of the episode.
Transformers got lots of OVAs and anime back then. They were by the same studio, Toei and were part of the Japanese G1 continuity no different from the first cartoon, with a new entry/sequel every year done with the same drawing style. See Scramble City, Headmasters, Super God Masterforce, Victory, and Zone. But dark and edgy they were not.
Please keep making videos, you have become one of my favorite channels. Maybe some deep dives on Brave/diaclone/microman series? Thanks for the great videos.
