History Main / TransformersRobotsInDisguise

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* ''ComicBook/TransformersRobotsInDisguise'', the ''TransformersGeneration1''-based 2012 comicbook series by IDW Publishing.

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[[redirect:Anime/TransformersRobotsInDisguise]]

''Robots in Disguise'' was the first dubbed ''{{Transformers}}'' show ever broadcast for a US audience. (English dubs of Japan-exclusive [[TransformersGeneration1 G1]] cartoons like ''[[TransformersHeadmasters The Headmasters]]'' were produced in Asia for markets like Malaysia, but those never aired in the US because they were really, really bad.)

''Car Robots'', the original Japanese series from which it was adapted, premiered in Japan in 2000. Originally the series was not going to be imported from Japan, but when Hasbro scrapped the planned ''[[TransformersTransTech Transtech]]'' line at the eleventh hour the ''Car Robots'' line and its attendant cartoon were imported to fill the void until [[TransformersArmada a new replacement]] could be designed.

''Robots in Disguise'' was produced and dubbed by Saban Entertainment, and aired from September 2001 to March 2002. It was something of a return to roots for Transformers fiction, in the sense that many characters transformed into realistic, modern Earth vehicles instead of animals or abstract/futuristic vehicles, as was standard in the [[BeastWars Beast Era]]. It also marked the return of the Autobot faction and sigil for the good guys. The villains were initially called Predacons as they were in ''BeastWars'', but the Decepticons were added later as a sub-group. The show makes a contrast between the bumbling antics of the Predacons and the professional, sinister Decepticons.

Most of the voice actors were veterans of other Saban properties (basically, ''everyone'' from ''{{Digimon}}'') but had never worked on a Transformers series before. MichaelMcConnohie, one of the series' voice directors and the voice of Hot Shot, had voiced Cosmos and Tracks in [[Series/TheTransformers the original cartoon]].

All 39 episodes were scheduled to run during the afternoon Fox Kids programming block on the Fox television network. The third episode, "Bullet Train to the Rescue", was scheduled to air on September 11, 2001, but was not aired in most areas because of the terrorist attacks in America that day. Later episodes were edited to remove scenes that might be TooSoon for the viewers, such as buildings being blown up.

Popularity-wise, the series is seen as one of those "middle-of-the-road" shows. While it wasn't praised as the most revolutionary show like ''BeastWars'', it still didn't receive the enormous flack that the ''{{Unicron Trilogy}}'' had. For its all its action-packed adventures, there was an equal amount of emphasis on gags and humor. For all its emphasis on stand-out characterization, the plot could at times be equally as kiddy(Omega Prime powering his Matrix Blade with the happiness of children). However, attempts to compare ''Robots in Disguise'' to ''Beast Wars'' or ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'' may prove fruitless in the long run as the show was made in Japan for young children. But all in all, Robots in Disguise was ultimately meant to be a transitional/filler series from the end of Beast Machines to the start of Armada and it did its job quite well.

Disney now owns the cartoon through their acquisition of Saban. [=DVD=]s for this show are only available in the UK, much to the annoyance of US fans.
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!!This cartoon provides examples of:
* AscendedExtra: Remember that bike-character, Sideways? No? [[TransformersArmada How about]] [[TransformersCybertron now?]]
* AntiHero: Ultra Magnus
* AntiVillain: Sky-Byte [[spoiler:and he's so sly and slippery that he's the only one of the Decepticons and Predacons that managed to escape being imprisoned forever, gloating about it in the ending]].
* {{Badass}}: Ultra Magnus, Scourge.
* BeyondTheImpossible: Megatron had six different forms (or, at least, his figure did); Bat, Jet, Claw, Car, and [[ScaledUp two-headed dragon]], as well as his normal robot mode. [[spoiler: After becoming Galvatron, he gets an extra four modes]].
** We get to see all of his modes during the show, though some are one-scene wonders.
* BigBad: Megatron.
* TheBumblebee: Wedge. He's small, enormously eager to prove himself, young, and towards the end of the series, its HIS courage that inspires Omega Prime to act and pull off a big feat. To top it all off, he's yellow orange.
** Most fans less familiar with the series generally associate Side Burn with the role, though... because out of the first bunch of protagonists, he's the sports car.
* ButtMonkey: Kelly, whose day is eternally ruined by either the Autobots or the Predacons
* ByTheBookCop: Prowl.
* CainAndAbel: Ultra Magnus and Optimus Prime.
* CallingYourAttacks
* CampGay: Gas Skunk, in the Japanese version. Played by the same guy that does Emporio Ivankov in ''OnePiece''.
* TheCity: Tokyo in ''Car Robots''; the city is named Metro City ''Robots In Disguise''
* ClipShow
* ContinuityReboot: This series seems to stand alone in continuity, WildMassGuessing aside.
* CoolTrain: About the only series to prominently feature a team of train-based Transformers- which due to the series also paying more attention to scale than usual, meant they were [[TheBigGuy much bigger than the other Transformers]]. In one episode, Midnight Express has become quite attached to a non-sentient steam engine. (Although that's a case of {{Woolseyism}} -- J4 of ''Car Robots'' treats said steam engine as one would treat a revered elder.)
* CombiningMecha: The Build Team forms Landfill, the Decepticons form Ruination, and Team Bullet Train form Rail Racer.
* DubNameChange: Almost everybody, but some Transformers were renamed in honour of G1 characters (Build Hurricane became Grimlock, Mach Alert became Prowl, Gigatron became Megatron, etc).
* EvilCounterpart: Scourge, the first of many black repaints of Prime to be popular in America.
* EvilLaugh
* EvilTwin: Scourge.
* FakeDefector: Mirage.
** And Ultra Magnus. Kind of.
* HeelFaceMole: The Decepticon subgroup tries this out in one episode, and ''almost'' succeeds.
* [[HeroesWantRedheads Heroes Want Red Sports Cars]]: Side Burn will always stop what he is doing and chase after a red sports car if he sees one. [[RuleOfFunny And it's almost always the same driver.]]
* [=~Hey, It's That Voice!~=]: Yes, that is indeed [[FatalFury Terry]] [[TheKingOfFighters Bogard]] you hear as the voice of Fire Convoy (Optimus Prime).
* IdiosyncraticWipes: This show marks the return of the classic Transformer style wipes.
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Sky-Byte.
* {{Jerkass}}: Ultra Magnus (and to a lesser degree Mirage).
* KansaiRegionalAccent: Gusher (a.k.a. Slapper).
* LimaSyndrome: Sky-Byte, who provides the page quote.
* LovableSexManiac: Side Burn's obsession with red sports cars. Disturbing implications arise when his SuperMode ''is'' a red sports car.
* MerchandiseDriven
* MinionWithAnFInEvil: Sky-Byte.
* MythologyGag: Many episodes of ''Robots in Disguise'' featured references to characters and events from earlier Transformers series. These were typically not written by the dub team but, rather, were added by Hasbro employee Andrew Frankel after the scripts were submitted to the company for broadcast approval.
** One of the strangest is that T-AI, the [=RiD=] Autobots' computer/holographic AI, is the ''daughter'' of Teletraan-1, the Generation One Ark's main computer.
* NoNameGiven: Kelly was never mentioned by name in the series but rather it was her name [[AllThereInTheManual according to the script]].
* ''[[AvertedTrope NOT]]'' BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler: Optimus Prime. Seriously, ''he doesn't die in RID'']].
** [[spoiler:This is, in fact, one of only two series within the entire Transformers franchise where he doesn't die to come back. And what's worse is that the other series that didn't do this was the dreaded '''''Kiss Players''''']].
** And Kiss Players takes place in G1 continuity, so it's the same incarnation of Prime that's [[spoiler: died ''twice'' in Japanese continuity. Until TransformersPrime came along - and the series is young - RID Optimus was indeed the ''only'' one never to dance with the Reaper.]]
* OrcusOnHisThrone: Megatron in many early episodes - although he is stronger than all of the Predacons combined, he often sent them into the field alone instead of accompanying them.
* ParentalBonus: Sky-Byte reads ''A Tale of Two Cities'' in one episode and doesn't think much of it.
* ThePoorMansSubstitute: Neil Kaplan does a pretty awesome Peter Cullen impersonation as Optimus Prime.
* PowerTrio: The Autobot Bros., Side Burn, X-Brawn, and Prowl. Railspike, Rapid Run, and Midnight Express -- who comprise Team Bullet Train -- also qualify.
* ProductPromotionParade: One infamous scene consisted of Scourge describing the abilities of the other Decepticons, for no reason whatsoever.
* RoboFamily: The Autobot Brothers: Prowl, X-Brawn and Sideburn.
* ShoulderCannon: Scourge.
* ShoutOut: In the dub, the city is named [[FinalFight Metro City]].
* TheStarscream: Scourge.
* TeamMom: T-AI.
* TerribleTrio: Slapper, Darkscream, and Gas Skunk.
* ThreeAmigos: Koji is often seen in the company of his friends Karl and Jenny.
* TokenLoli: T-AI (pronounced 'tie'). She ''is'' a computer generated hologram, but she certainly looks like a loli.
** And then the KT Figure Collection, designed by Yuki Oshima (who would later on create the [[{{Squick}} Kiss Players]] stories), firmly cemented her status of loli.
** I dunno, [[http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/0/00/T-AI-colorsheet.jpg that's a pretty old and developed loli]].
* VerbalTic: Guildor (the Japanese Dark Scream) ends sentences with "de gozaru".
* WackyRacing: The episode "Skid Z's Choice," in which most of the cast (including Megatron, Sky-Byte and Team Bullet Train) participating in a free-for-all to lure out a haunted Transformer...
* WarriorPoet: Sky-Byte.
* XtremeKoolLetterz: X-Brawn. Despite most people's belief that the X was added to the name because of legal trouble, it was really just added because it makes the name sound cooler. YMMV.
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<<|NoteworthyAnime|>>
<<|{{Transformers}}|>>

Popularity-wise, the series is seen as one of those "middle-of-the-road" shows. While it wasn't praised as the most revolutionary show like ''BeastWars'', it still didn't receive the enormous flack that the ''{{Unicron Trilogy}}'' had. For its all its action-packed adventures, there was an equal amount of emphasis on gags and humor. For all its emphasis on stand-out characterization, the plot could at times be equally as kiddy(Omega Prime powering his Matrix Blade with the happiness of children). However, attempts to compare ''Robots in Disguise'' to ''Beast Wars'' or ''BeastMachines'' may prove fruitless in the long run as the show was made in Japan for young children. But all in all, Robots in Disguise was ultimately meant to be a transitional/filler series from the end of Beast Machines to the start of Armada and it did its job quite well.

* [[HeroesWantRedheads Heroes Want Red Sports Cars]]: Side Burn will always stop what he is doing and chase after a red sports car if he sees one.

* JerkAss: Ultra Magnus (and to a lesser degree Mirage).

* BeyondTheImpossible: Megatron had six different forms (or, at least, his figure did); Bat, Jet, Claw, Car, and [[ScaledUp two-headed dragon]], as well as his normal robot mode. [[spoiler: after becoming Galvatron, he gets an extra four modes]].

''Robots in Disguise'' was the first dubbed {{Transformers}} show ever broadcast for a US audience. (English dubs of Japan-exclusive [[TransformersGeneration1 G1]] cartoons like ''[[TransformersHeadmasters The Headmasters]]'' were produced in Asia for markets like Malaysia, but those never aired in the US because they were really, really bad.)

Most of the voice actors were veterans of other Saban properties (basically, ''everyone'' from ''{{Digimon}}'') but had never worked on a Transformers series before. MichaelMcConnohie, one of the series' voice directors and the voice of Hot Shot, had voiced Cosmos and Tracks in the original ''[[TransformersGeneration1 Generation One]]'' cartoon.

Popularity-wise, the series is seen as one of those "middle-of-the-road" shows. While it wasn't praised as the most revolutionary show like ''Beast Wars'', it still didn't receive the enormous flack that the Unicron Trilogy had. For its all its action-packed adventures, there was an equal amount of emphasis on gags and humor. For all its emphasis on stand-out characterization, the plot could at times be equally as kiddy(Omega Prime powering his Matrix Blade with the happiness of children). However, attempts to compare Robots in Disguise to Beast Wars or Beast Machines may prove fruitless in the long run as the show was made in Japan for young children. But all in all, Robots in Disguise was ultimately meant to be a transitional/filler series from the end of Beast Machines to the start of Armada and it did its job quite well.

!Transformers: Robots In Disguise has examples of:

* AntiVillain: Sky-Byte [[spoiler:and he's so sly and slippery that he's the only one of the Decepticons and Predacons that managed to escape being imprisoned forever, gloating about it in the ending.]]
* BadAss: Ultra Magnus, Scourge
* BeyondTheImpossible: Megatron had six different forms (or, at least, his figure did); Bat, Jet, Claw, Car, and [[ScaledUp two-headed dragon]], as well as his normal robot mode. [[spoiler: after becoming Galvatron, he gets an extra four modes.]]

* BigBad: Megatron

* ByTheBookCop: Prowl

* CampGay: Gas Skunk, in the Japanese version. Played by the same guy that does Emporio Ivankov in OnePiece.

* CoolTrain: About the only series to prominently feature a team of train-based Transformers- which due to the series also paying more attention to scale than usual, meant they were [[TheBigGuy much bigger than the other Transformers]]. In one episode, Midnight Express has become quite attached to a non-sentient steam engine. (Although that's a case of {{Woolseyism}} - J4 of ''Car Robots'' treats said steam engine as one would treat a revered elder.)

* {{Ensemble Darkhorse}}s: Sky-Byte and Scourge. Sky-Byte proved so popular, he has counterparts in the ''[[TransformersAnimated Animated]]'' and ''[[TransformersGeneration1 G1]]'' universes.

* EvilTwin: Scourge
* FakeDefector: Mirage

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: ''Robots in Disguise'' is more popular in the USA than ''Car Robots'' is in Japan, probably due to the {{Woolseyism}}s, {{Mythology Gag}}s, and the heavy fan backlash against [[TransformersArmada the Unicron Trilogy]].

* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Sky-Byte
* JerkAss: Ultra Magnus (and to a lesser degree Mirage)
* KansaiRegionalAccent: Gusher (AKA Slapper)

* MinionWithAnFInEvil: Sky-Byte

** One of the strangest is that T-AI, the RiD Autobots' computer/holographic AI, is the ''daughter'' of Teletraan-1, the Generation One Ark's main computer.
* NoNameGiven: Kelly was never mentioned by name in the series but rather it was her name [[AllThereInTheManual according to the script.]]
* ''[[AvertedTrope NOT]]'' BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler: Optimus Prime. Seriously, ''he doesn't die in RID''.]]
** [[spoiler:This is, in fact, one of only two series within the entire Transformers franchise where he doesn't die to come back. And what's wrose is that the other series that didn't do this was the dreaded '''''Kiss Players'''''.]]

* PowerTrio: The Autobot Bros., Side Burn, X-Brawn, and Prowl. Railspike, Rapid Run, and Midnight Express - who comprise Team Bullet Train - also qualify.

* ShoulderCannon: Scourge

* TheStarscream: Scourge
* TeamMom: T-AI
* TerribleTrio: Slapper, Darkscream, and Gas Skunk

* WarriorPoet: Sky-Byte
* TheWoobie: Sky-Byte
* {{Woolseyism}}: Plenty.

<<|{{Transformers}}|>>

* CainAndAbel: Ultra Magnus and Optimus Prime

* AntiVillain: Sky-Byte

* {{Ensemble Darkhorse}}s: Sky-Byte and Scourge.
* EvilCounterpart: Scourge, the first of many black repaints of Prime.
** Not by a long shot. He's just the first to be popular in America.

* NoNameGiven: Kelly was never mentioned by name in the series but rather it was her name according to the script.

* ThePoorMansSubstitute: Neil Kaplan does a pretty awesome Peter Cullen impersonation as Optimus Prime

* AscendedExtra: Remember that bike-character, Sideways? No? [[TransformersArmada How about]][[TransformersCybertron now?]]

Popularity-wise, the series is seen as one of those "middle-of-the-road" shows. While it wasn't praised as the most revolutionary or deep show like ''Beast Wars'', it still didn't receive the enormous flack that the Unicron Trilogy had. For its intense action and firepower, there was an equal amount of emphasis on gags and humor. For all its emphasis on stand-out characterization for the Transformers, the plot could get downright kiddy at times (Omega Prime powering his Matrix Blade with the happiness of children). The show was made, in Japan, for very young children; attempts to compare it to ''Beast Wars'' or ''BeastMachines'', made for older audiences, are hence doomed from the start. But all in all, Robots in Disguise was ultimately meant to be a transitional/filler series from the end of Beast Machines to the start of Armada and it did its job quite well.

* We get to see all of his modes during the show, though some are one-scene wonders.

*CoolTrain: About the only series to prominently feature a team of train-based Transformers- which due to the series also paying more attention to scale than usual, meant they were [[TheBigGuy much bigger than the other Transformers]]. In one episode they also become quite attached to a non-sentient steam engine.

*TerribleTrio - Slapper, Darkscream, and Gas Skunk
*ThreeAmigos - Koji is often seen in the company of his friends Karl and Jenny.