Many cartoons inspired in toy-lines where made in the eighties, but not many of them resisted the test of time.
The original "Trasformers" cartoon is one of those shows, that despite all the flaws that could have (It was, after all, a product of its time) was highly entertaining and had an interesting cast of characters, which were the most appealing element of this franchise, and made it survive among the decades.
The backlash caused by the death of several characters done in the movie just serves to show how the viewers were attached to them: In that way, "Transformed" proved to be more than a simple cartoon done to promote a toy line. It had created (Probably in a unintentional way) several iconic characters, that were not only easily recognizable, but also have many likable traits that made this show to win the appreciation of the viewers. That's the main reason why new cartoon series based in the "Transformers" (Each one of them with different quality and entertainment value) are still being made until this day.
The spirit of the story and the characters remains among the different decades, because it was very appealing, with many potential to exploit. Some of the animations that came later gave this a more mature approach, such as "Beast Machines" or "Transformers Prime", while others gave the same story a more lighthearted approach (such as the animated series done in the year 2007) but all those shows always tried to achieve the same essence of the original, because that was the key of the success of this franchise. Some of those series were good, others bad (And others were very, very bad) but the original one will be always my favorite, the one that started all my love and interest for this franchise.
The original "Trasformers" cartoon is one of those shows, that despite all the flaws that could have (It was, after all, a product of its time) was highly entertaining and had an interesting cast of characters, which were the most appealing element of this franchise, and made it survive among the decades.
The backlash caused by the death of several characters done in the movie just serves to show how the viewers were attached to them: In that way, "Transformed" proved to be more than a simple cartoon done to promote a toy line. It had created (Probably in a unintentional way) several iconic characters, that were not only easily recognizable, but also have many likable traits that made this show to win the appreciation of the viewers. That's the main reason why new cartoon series based in the "Transformers" (Each one of them with different quality and entertainment value) are still being made until this day.
The spirit of the story and the characters remains among the different decades, because it was very appealing, with many potential to exploit. Some of the animations that came later gave this a more mature approach, such as "Beast Machines" or "Transformers Prime", while others gave the same story a more lighthearted approach (such as the animated series done in the year 2007) but all those shows always tried to achieve the same essence of the original, because that was the key of the success of this franchise. Some of those series were good, others bad (And others were very, very bad) but the original one will be always my favorite, the one that started all my love and interest for this franchise.