Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy the original Transformers show. However, the way this show is remembered by its fans will make you think that this is one of the best animated shows of all time or even still the best Transformers show. The show had plenty of problems with the animation, with inconsistent scaling, proportions, lots of incorrect coloring throughout the show (season 3's intro even has a miscolored character at the end), and backgrounds sometimes changing between day and night all in a single scene. A much rarer mistake that occasionally crops up is voices being swapped for characters, I remember this mistake with Optimus and Megatron in the first episode as well as this mistake occurring with Rodimus and Springer in season 3. There is also the fact that the show's continuity is all over the place with an example being that the Constructicons were built on Earth, then in a later episode they were shows on pre-war Cybertron with Omega Supreme, and in season 3 it is show that the Constructicons built Megatron in an even earlier time period. This is because the show's scripts and animation were rushed to meet a fast deadline, so the script's continuity and the animation quality suffered. Also, as much flack as later shows got for human characters, G1 had plenty of human characters with Spike, Sparkplug, Chip, Carly, and Daniel occasionally taking the center stage in many episodes. I especially find Ironic is that later shows in the franchise such as Armada, Energon, Cybertron, Animated, and Prime were criticized all the issues previously mentioned, yet G1 generally gets a pass. There is also the fact that this show was designed to sell toys. This doesn't bother me since the show actually managed to write mostly entertaining stories as well as likeable and engaging characters.
The thing is that I'm generally someone who is willing to older shows a pass, or at least a certain amount of leeway because of the change in standards. Many cartoons back in the day were rushed, and these mistakes are present. However, I still enjoy this show, despite its many issues. As I said earlier, the writing for the characters is really quite good with everyone having a unique and fun personality, which is impressive considering how many characters this show has. The voice acting has actually aged pretty well with many of these voice actors still considered to be the definitive version of these characters, I mean there's still a reason that Peter Cullen and Frank Welker have continued to Play Prime and Megatron for as long as they have along with Corey Burton Chris Latta, Casey Kasem, and Dan Gilvezan putting is memorable performances has Spike/Shockwave, Starscream, Cliffjumper, and Bumblebee respectively.
For me, the show's best season was its first were the Autobots and Decepticons attempting to find energy to revitalize their home world Cybertron. I found that the stories to be at their best and the smaller cast, compared to how large it will get in later seasons, made for a more focused narrative. Season 2 isn't bad by any means; it expanded the cast of characters as well as having more variety to the stories other than fighting for energy. I also kind of liked the format of making an anothology-esq episode everyone once and a while for a new character. Some of these I liked such as "The Secret of Omega Supreme" which focused on Omega's rivalry with the Constructicons, "The Golden Lagoon" about Beachcomber, and "Microbots" which focused on Perceptor. However, episodes such as "Prime Target", "Auto-bop", "Child's Play", and "Kremzeek!" leave a lot to be desired.
Transformers: The Movie came out after season 2 and brought a whole new cast of characters with Rodimus Prime and Galvatron taking over from Optimus and Megatron. Despite the animation and scripts not being as good, I don't mind season 3 as much as most people. I appreciated the larger scope of the show with fewer Earth-bound episodes and more episodes taking place in space. I also liked Hot Rod/Rodimus struggling with being the new Autobot leader, a character arc that I oddly find very relatable now that I'm older. All that being said, there are aspects that drag season 3 for me. The animation looks dire at points and the episodes are 50/50 in quality, this is the season of the show that brought us "Carnage In C-Minor" after all. That said, I thought The Return of Optimus Prime was a good way to end the season as well as the show. However season 4, which is only a 3-parter called "The Rebirth," was a rushed conclusion which attempted to wrap up several elements of the show, introduced the Headmaster gimmick, and allude to future stories which never happened. A pretty lame and unsatisfying way to end the show.
Oddly enough if I had to compare the G1 Transformers show to anything it would be the original Star Trek show from the 1960s. Both had inconsistent continuity, and both shows started off great but got progressively weaker as they went on. However, like the original Star Trek I do recommend The Transformers. It may not be for everyone with the issues I previously mentioned, but I still find G1 to be a fun show and I can see why it appealed to so many during the 1980s. Also, if it weren't for the success of G1, Transformers would definitely not be around today to bring us the arguably better shows we have now.
The thing is that I'm generally someone who is willing to older shows a pass, or at least a certain amount of leeway because of the change in standards. Many cartoons back in the day were rushed, and these mistakes are present. However, I still enjoy this show, despite its many issues. As I said earlier, the writing for the characters is really quite good with everyone having a unique and fun personality, which is impressive considering how many characters this show has. The voice acting has actually aged pretty well with many of these voice actors still considered to be the definitive version of these characters, I mean there's still a reason that Peter Cullen and Frank Welker have continued to Play Prime and Megatron for as long as they have along with Corey Burton Chris Latta, Casey Kasem, and Dan Gilvezan putting is memorable performances has Spike/Shockwave, Starscream, Cliffjumper, and Bumblebee respectively.
For me, the show's best season was its first were the Autobots and Decepticons attempting to find energy to revitalize their home world Cybertron. I found that the stories to be at their best and the smaller cast, compared to how large it will get in later seasons, made for a more focused narrative. Season 2 isn't bad by any means; it expanded the cast of characters as well as having more variety to the stories other than fighting for energy. I also kind of liked the format of making an anothology-esq episode everyone once and a while for a new character. Some of these I liked such as "The Secret of Omega Supreme" which focused on Omega's rivalry with the Constructicons, "The Golden Lagoon" about Beachcomber, and "Microbots" which focused on Perceptor. However, episodes such as "Prime Target", "Auto-bop", "Child's Play", and "Kremzeek!" leave a lot to be desired.
Transformers: The Movie came out after season 2 and brought a whole new cast of characters with Rodimus Prime and Galvatron taking over from Optimus and Megatron. Despite the animation and scripts not being as good, I don't mind season 3 as much as most people. I appreciated the larger scope of the show with fewer Earth-bound episodes and more episodes taking place in space. I also liked Hot Rod/Rodimus struggling with being the new Autobot leader, a character arc that I oddly find very relatable now that I'm older. All that being said, there are aspects that drag season 3 for me. The animation looks dire at points and the episodes are 50/50 in quality, this is the season of the show that brought us "Carnage In C-Minor" after all. That said, I thought The Return of Optimus Prime was a good way to end the season as well as the show. However season 4, which is only a 3-parter called "The Rebirth," was a rushed conclusion which attempted to wrap up several elements of the show, introduced the Headmaster gimmick, and allude to future stories which never happened. A pretty lame and unsatisfying way to end the show.
Oddly enough if I had to compare the G1 Transformers show to anything it would be the original Star Trek show from the 1960s. Both had inconsistent continuity, and both shows started off great but got progressively weaker as they went on. However, like the original Star Trek I do recommend The Transformers. It may not be for everyone with the issues I previously mentioned, but I still find G1 to be a fun show and I can see why it appealed to so many during the 1980s. Also, if it weren't for the success of G1, Transformers would definitely not be around today to bring us the arguably better shows we have now.