* AccidentalInnuendo: The dub offered the line "Fortress Maximus has come himself!!"
* AssPull: Galvatron's defeat. He has survived a planetary explosion at ''ground zero'', but when the Headmasters defeat him, they buried him in an avalanche. The [=TFWiki=] lampshades this in the Continuity Errors section of the episode.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Omca78NsypE The eponymous opening theme]]; also, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_WmlIULXwI&feature=related Destron Sanka (The Decepticon Anthem)]] which first plays during the introduction of the Two-in-Ones; it helps that [[Music/JAMProject Hironobu Kageyama]] sings both these songs....
* BadassDecay: Everybody, including citybots and massive combiners (eg: Predaking) are suddenly almost impotent (of course, Devastator had already been outclassed by the time Superion and Defensor were introduced in Season 2 of the original series, only being considered a threat in the movie because of ProductionLeadTime), and only the exalted Headmasters can save the day.
* BaseBreakingCharacter: Sixshot, especially with his prominence in the show and his HeelFaceTurn. He has a lot of fans being a genuinely cool antagonist (with a popular toy and gimmick) who got a lot of development that the more one-note Decepticons lacked. Others see him as overused and find his redemption cheap after the many people he killed in the series.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The Autobot karaoke scene mentioned below.
* CaptainObviousReveal:
** Sixshot being revealed as the blackmailer with six different forms, which would probably be more dramatic if he hadn't been making appearances since the first episode, and if he didn't have a recognisable shape and wasn't called, y'know, Sixshot.
** Fortress Maximus being a headmaster, given he appeared in his head form several episodes before and, y'know... leads the Headmasters.
* CharacterRerailment: Galvatron is much more like his personality in the movie, being a genuinely threating villain and a clever strategist, rather than the comic relief villain from Season 3.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: This is the reason why Sixshot (sixchanger toys) gets remolds/repaints and still get supporting roles in the Japanese G1 sequels after Headmasters, when compared to most of the flagship or main characters who disappeared after Headmasters. Having six forms and being re-written as a NobleDemon in the 2nd half of the show greatly distinguished Sixshot from the other characters, factoring into his popularity - by supporting characters' standards.
* EvilIsCool
** Galvatron, after having been made a punchline in the American G1 series third season and being too AxCrazy to be an effective leader, becomes an incredibly skillful strategist, having the deep voice of Seizo Kato, and is one of the few characters from the original series who actually stays a menacing threat in hand to hand combat.
** Scorponok, due to his incredible scheming abilities, his powerful Transtector, and one of the few villains who really comes close to winning on multiple times.
** Sixshot is well liked because of his complex personality, the fact that he is one of the few Decepticons not the BigBad who is a genuine threat, and his friendship with Daniel.
* {{Fanon}}: Many fans believe that Rodimus' quest to find a new planet lead him to Micro from ''Anime/TransformersVictory'', which would be made canon years later by ''Webcomic/TransformersLegends''.
* FridgeHorror: Remember how Mars has a human base in the original cartoon? In the anime, it got ''blown to pieces''.
* FountainOfMemes: The SoBadItsGood English dub.
%%* GoodBadTranslation:
%%** "Alright listen up, I'm the ninja consultant for the Decepticons, my name is Sixshot!"
%%** "I can feel the heat!"
%%** "Hahaha, Fortress Maximus has come himself. Okay then! I shall get Fortress Maximus to fight me!"
%%** "That's strange... how come a robot should feel sleepy?"
* HarsherInHindsight:
** It's common to joke about the fact that, despite losing his friends constantly, Chromedome [[ForgottenFallenFriend always seems to forget about them]]. In ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'' [[spoiler: Chromedome is revealed to have had multiple partners in his life... and deleted his memories of them when they die so he doesn't have to suffer.]] He is also forced at one point to MercyKill his friend Jack, [[spoiler: something he does to his lover Rewind in MTMTE.]]
** Galvatron attempting to scrap Sixshot and several of his soldiers to make himself more powerful gets much more harsher after Revenge of the Fallen had a Constructicon murdered to resurrect Megatron.
** Similarly, Scorponok blowing Mars up looks a bit more uneasy after the Moon was destroyed in ''Film/TransformersTheLastKnight''.
* HilariousInHindsight: At least for US viewers. "Head On! Apply directly to the forehead!"
** Back in the original American cartoon, Arcee said she is not a doctor. In this show, she seems to serve as a medic, as she is repeatedly seen attending to the wounded Autobots.
** In one episode Hardhead and Brainstorm joke around with Chromedome about how him and Pointblank seem to be friends now by [[HoYay making it out as if the two are a couple]]. Cut to ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'', where Chromedome got a lot of attention for having the first official gay relationship in ''Transformers'' fiction.
*** Even funnier, the only interaction that Chromedome has with Rewind (who is his lover in MTMTE) in this series is a scene where Chromedome insults Rewind as a coward for not wanting to fight. In MTMTE we learn that fighting is ''the exact opposite'' of what Chromedome wants Rewind to do and the two get into a bad fight when Rewind actually does take part in battles.
*** It's been commented about him that "It's not even one joke; Chromedome is just so gay in this series. So extremely gay that I could not bring myself to be surprised ''at all'' when he was dating Rewind in the comic. Not camp-gay but, y'know... "Yeah, I dig guys. I am the top half in a man-shagging relationship. I'm gonna tell my parents next week, honest"."
** One of the name changes in the BlindIdiotTranslation was changing Blurr's name to ''Wally'' of all things. [[WesternAnimation/WallE A robot named Wally, how ridiculous]]!
** The {{narm}}y line "This is Unicorn. The Earth will soon be a part of me," after [[spoiler:''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' and ''Film/TransformersTheLastKnight'' both reveal that the Earth is Unicron in their continuities.]]
** Galvatron [[spoiler:meets his end the exact same way he does in the ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel'' continuity, buried in ice. And neither side knew what the other was doing, so it was a complete coincidence!]]
** What seems like a ShoutOut to the movie becomes this, as Japan hadn't gotten the movie yet. In the beginning of the movie, we see a tray of beakers filled with liquid get overturned and spill due to the earthquakes that Unicron's approach is causing. In this series, we see Spike and Carly sharing some tea or coffee early in the first episode, and the pot is overturned and spills due to the building shaking, this time from the Decepticons attacking.
* ItWasHisSled: Given the popularity of the form in the fandom, it's easy to be spoiled about the existence of [[spoiler:Sixshot's Wingwolf]] mode.
* MemeticMutation:
** "Darn that Soundwave. '''EYUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAGH'''" It was a roar of anger in the original, but in the dub, it sounds more like Galvatron is yawning and stretching. This has become so popular amongst Transfans that when a common joke among Transfans is to yell "Darn that x, EYUUUUAAAGGH" whenever any character dies.
** "Let me use my [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot magic spell]] then. ''Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..."'' "That's funny... why would a robot feel sleepy? *falls asleep*"
** "Billy, are you okay?" "Not really... find the Power Pack!" (For context, "Billy" is Blaster and the "Power Pack" is the Matrix. These are his last words before he dies and is rebuilt as Twincast.)
** "Galvatron has reused some of Soundwave's parts, along with some other new parts, [[WeCanRebuildHim and has reconstructed another Soundwave]], and [[BlindIdiotTranslation renamed him NEW Soundwave!]]"
** "What's happened to the Headmasters? Can't they fight without Chromedome? [[ThatCameOutWrong Fortress Maximus has come himself]]. Okay, then I shall get Fortress Maximus to fight me!!"
** Narrator: "Something strange has happened. Now there are two Optimus Primes!" (The correct translation would be ''Now there are two Primes'', meaning Optimus and Rodimus).
* {{Narm}}:
** Galvatron's proposed super mode [[https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Grand_Galvatron Grand Galvatron]] is meant to be his ultimate power fantasy, but the stubby limbs attached to a comparatively much larger body just makes him look fat and ridiculous. The English dub also tries unsuccessfully to link it to Unicron by calling the form "Unicorn", a common typo involving the character's name that would get used as a joke years later in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''. Even more hilarious is Sixshot's reaction to the form in the dub, where his exaggerated "Whoa" makes him sound less like he's in awe and more like he's having an orgasm.
** [[spoiler:Galvatron]]'s death. There's already something funny about a character who survived being point-blank at a planet-destroying explosion being able to be killed by being buried under ice, but the dub makes the scene even funnier as the blatant use of GoshDangItToHeck and how bored the voice actor sounds make it seem like [[spoiler:Galvatron]] is just mildly inconvenienced by being crushed to death under ice.
--->"Darn, my dream is ruined! Come and help me somebody quicklyyyyyyahhhhhhhhhhhh!"
** Since the film had yet to reach Japan when the series was being made, the animators pretty much had to guess how Optimus Prime died in battle. Let's just say that they guessed wrong; he's in a barely-animated crowd of various Autobots firing at unseen enemies, gets hit by a random blaster bolt from off-screen, and turns gray without moving at all. [=TFwiki=] jokes that not only do the other Autobots not seem to notice/care about their leader perishing, but the scene manages to give the impression of ''Optimus himself'' not realizing he died.
%% ** The infamous English dub is almost nothing ''but'' narm.
%% -->"You're such a coward Wally!"
* NeverLiveItDown: No matter how good the original series was, it will never escape the image of the Narm-tastic english dub.
* OlderThanTheyThink: Despite Galvatron's Grand Galvatron design looking rather... ridiculous, you know who else had a rounded body, stubby long arms and legs? Unicron, when his prototype toy was made in 1986 after the movie, and that version of the toy was never released due to cost concerns, faulty arms and microphone. [=Super7=] would actually release their version of the (non-transforming) prototype toy years later.
* OnceOriginalNowCommon: If you're a modern Transformers fan seeing the series for the first time, you'll probably be unimpressed with how goofy things are (it ''was'' the 80s, after all) or the glacial pacing of the series. However, The Headmasters is also the first TV Transformers series with actual depictions of death (the Movie was only released in theatres, and Japan didn't receive it until well after Anime/TransformersVictory was airing). Furthermore, the Destrons actually won in several episodes, something that was expressly forbidden by US TV of the time.
* TheScrappy: Wheelie, although he doesn't talk in rhyme here and his voice is arguably less annoying, he can still be irritating and his prominence throughout the series doesn't help.
** Likewise with Daniel. ''Any'' goodwill he could have had in the cartoon is utterly wasted in the anime due to him acting younger than whatever his real age is. Him and Wheelie helping out in the finale to take out Scorponok only made things worse to many.
* SignatureScene:
** Cybertron's destruction is one of the most infamous events in ''Transformers'' history. In the Japanese G2 storyline, both Autobots and Decepticons decide to make peace by rebuilding the planet.
** In regards to the English dub, the scene where Galvatron shows off Grand Galvatron, calling the form Unicorn while saying the Earth will become a part of him followed by Sixshot's exaggerated "Whoa", is one of the most circulated and well-known scenes.
* SoBadItsGood: The Omni Productions dub is fairly infamous in the fandom for this. None of the voice actors are even close to trying (Aside from Chromedome who emotes when it's necessary, and Sixshot who's hilariously hammy and kinda menacing at times despite the dub's drawbacks.) and there seems to be about six of them for the show's whole cast. The dialogue ranges from stiff to incoherent. Half the characters [[AerithAndBob have regular human names]] for some reason. And whenever it does flub up, it tends to do so disastrously. And for all these reasons and more, a lot of people were ''disappointed'' that the eventual North American DVD release didn't have the Omni dub on it.
* SoBadItWasBetter: Many fans consider the hilariously-bad English dub to be the only reason to watch what they otherwise see as a dull and repetitive show, so numerous DVD releases lacking the dub tends to be seen as a flaw.
* SoOkayItsAverage: It's generally seen as the weakest of the Japan-exclusive G1 shows, but not really a bad show at the end of the day.
* SpecialEffectFailure:
** The animation quality is around the same as what Toei did for the first two seasons of the original cartoon. That is to say, pretty prone to OffModel and low-quality artwork (even if not to the level of AKOM) and choppier and more [[LimitedAnimation limited]] animation.
*** One scene has the Aerialbots charge into battle alongside Superion, their ''combined form''.
*** In one episode an animation foul up results in the image of noted pacifist First Aid ''roundhouse kicking Tracks in the face'' (it should be noted that Tracks is a ''fellow Autobot'').
*** Coloring errors are pretty frequent, resulting in a moment where [[https://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/3/3e/HM11_Cyclonus_Scourge_Animation_error.jpg Cyclonus and Scourge have the space between their eyes and eyebrows colored instead of their actual eyes]], making it look like they're squinting.
*** Later episodes of the series has many details of the Cybertronian characters look caved in and muddy, not helped at all when the designs suddenly get more dynamically stylized and they still draw them incredibly detailed.
** Compared to how the animators at least ''try'' to show most of the characters transforming with mixed results (i.e. parts visibly morphing into different shapes on screen or tucking away for an identical version of flip out elsewhere instead of being the same part moving to its new location; just like the cartoon before it), the Duocons simply disappear into light and reappear in their other form. For reference, a commercial that was used in the Season 4 opening of the original cartoon at least attempted to show Flywheels actually transforming. The closest instance of this happening in the cartoon is in "Webworld" with one of the Sweeps, though even that was animated to some extent.
** The {{Scene Transition}}s in the series are poorly traced versions of the team logos animated choppily.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: After his dramatic return at the end of the original cartoon's third season, Optimus Prime dies ''again'' only three episodes in, and Rodimus Prime is PutOnABus (for a quest that is never followed up on, only concluded in the manga) only a few episodes later for Fortress to take over as the new leader. While obviously done [[MerchandiseDriven to put a bigger focus on the newer toys]], it feels like more could have been done with the two most important good guys of the original cartoon.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: The cast fails to stop Mars from being destroyed, something that was previously established to surely cause catastrophic effects on the Earth... that never happen for some reason.
* ValuesDissonance:
** Arcee's sudden change from fighter who does not hesistate to get into a fight into serving as the secretary of the Autobots would stun people who know her from the American cartoon, as women are rarely depicted in Japanese media of the era as intentionally looking for a fight.
** The show features plenty of alcohol references, with the Transformer characters frequently being shown consuming energon in what are clearly wine glasses and outright say "energon wine" at one point to defy the GRatedDrug trope. While not a problem in Japan, it would be considered inappropriate for children's media in the West.
* VindicatedByHistory: The original show is now actually getting decent reviews, with many people acknowledging that even if the dub was bad, the original show is actually quite alright. Watching it in Japanese with subtitles instead of the dub helps give a better idea of what the show was going for.
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