Transformers Articles and News
In June 1983 Hasbro’s scouts encountered Takara’s transforming toy lines at the Tokyo Toy Show; Hasbro licensed and rebranded these toys for the North American market as The Transformers. To sell them as something beyond a simple gimmick, Hasbro commissioned a backstory and constructed a multi-media launch — a Marvel Comics series and a syndicated cartoon, coordinating toy design, naming, and tie-in content…
When Transformers hit the U.S. market in late 1984, the public response was immediate and strongly positive — especially among children and toy collectors. Hasbro’s move to unify Takara’s transforming toys under a single brand, combined with a syndicated animated series and a Marvel-backed identity turned what might have been another niche import into a mass-market phenomenon….
