Ranking EVERY Transformers show from worst to best: Part 1

PaperPlane makes everybody angry by talking about Transformers cartoons he doesn't like, again.
--PLEASE READ--
This video was originally created back in June of 2018, but was not finished/uploaded for several, quite personal reasons. Because of this, there are a few factual errors which were...well, correct at the time of recording. I will address these issues in part 2. Plz enjoy tho. :]
Twitter: / paperplanetf
Patreon: / paperplanetf
Discord: / discord
Thumbnail Art: / lyricabelachium
Additional art: / ssgallery

[@PaperPlaneTF]

Btw here's every KZbinr I listed in order: DiamondBolt: kzbin.info/door/aPGKhms7rUVjpBceeJUdUQ RodimusPrimal: kzbin.info Comodin Cam: kzbin.info JOHNNYFLASH: kzbin.info JobbyTheHong: kzbin.info Thew Adams: kzbin.info Vangelus: kzbin.info The Lazy Eyebrow Reviewer: kzbin.info Dr Lockdown: kzbin.info/door/5RcpBlMMzyC3WGgDATVIdg Dr Smoov: kzbin.info Crosshairs Productions: kzbin.info TFanPage101: kzbin.info ErinNyu: kzbin.info/door/4QP__4QHjv5HFReMZzGPfA PaperPlane: kzbin.info/door/pxkuCSJw5oF3ZuInb1TkRQ CardboardBots: kzbin.info/door/Qskf82AUEdkhy149j-oOhw Derivitiv Films: kzbin.info ChrisMcFeely: kzbin.info Optibotimus: kzbin.info Bobby Skullface L: kzbin.info Emgo316: kzbin.info ShartimusPrime: kzbin.info Last Prime Speculator: kzbin.info/door/3l__7jFPLlG3OaEDVkVPYg

[@thevampirecielphantomhive2342]

How dare you forgert our lord and savior Optimus Prime's name!

[@alignedlove6927]

paperplane out of thundercracker, skywarp and sunstorm who would you be?

[@demolet340]

More people to feed my addiction!

[@trilogy7one]

Ok

[@fireninja1972]

Can't forget bolt Matrix either

[@THEJOHNNYFLASH]

1:41 My big face reveal and it's not even on my channel LOL

[@TheGreatJeturk]

Top 10 Anime Betrayals

[@deathserpent9747]

He named himself too

[@justsomechapinatophat5517]

Oooh no he's cute!!!!!!

[@madmaddie1702]

Seriously!?!?

[@fabrizeantonio4425]

That's nice.

[@redreploid1713]

Well, you know the decepticons: They think they’re all hot n stuff

[@mano7636]

Some better meme that

[@jessicaperez1370]

I agge

[@bellastarr7063]

Knockout Transformers prime

[@NaTive219]

@@bellastarr7063 I was about to say that lol

[@giantrobotappreciator6048]

Well…. are they not?

[@ziljin]

They should make a show based on the quintesson era and show the revolution of the transformers and the beginning of war between decepticons and Autobots.

[@Brushed_Ranger]

(CLAPS) THATS WHAT YOU LIKE TO SEE

[@frostyspikes8651]

I wanna see them make a transformers fall of cybertron movie

[@ayaannazir7308]

@@frostyspikes8651 yeah, or even a war for cybertron movie

[@aaronhazemorne8975]

It would be sick

[@stephenquinn3447]

They kinda did something similar with Cyberverse season 3

[@THEJOHNNYFLASH]

I love these videos! Your sense of humor is impeccable and I can't wait for more!

[@Solongsocialmedia]

*WAT R U DOING HERE!!!* =D

[@rampagingrhinogaming3272]

Lol cammeos

[@Tomi-berry]

JOHNNY??!

[@joseluissifuentes8639]

The headmasters has a DragonBall Z intro

[@joseluissifuentes8639]

@UCnKyDxcQoOwft6PRE0Vdh5g Outta the way, Hot Rud

[@DylanSunkel]

In Energon's defense though, 1) Catchy theme song 2) Powerlinking was dope as a plot beat and toy gimmick 3) Drones allowed us to see bots get blown up weekly, instead of being tickled with lasers before retreating.

[@Jetblast01]

After rewatching Energon...god the dubbing was obnoxious at times. But it does have some really good moments including one of the best Optimus characterizations. Also it kills nearly all the Decepticons and the Autobots are gassed en masse. And Kicker is one of the more useful humans in the franchise since he actually fights alongside the Autobots since Spike going 1v1 against Ravage on multiple accounts.

[@invidatauro8922]

Armada is the best example of the idea of the first half sucking but the second half is great. I feel like if the show wasn't as rushed, they could've been a fantastic show that could've been one of the best. But rewatching the early episodes of a show that I still think is the one that sticks with me the most because I grew up with it, is like actual fucking torture on par with getting my thumbs screwed.

[@dodge1515]

I disagree as I actually like most of the earlier Armada eps. Yes, it did have 2 or 3 bad eps, but overall I had a blast with Seasons 1 and 2.

[@chalkfourtyfive]

did soundwave seriously earrape AND t-pose in *2010?!*

[@intellectualt-posingkoopa9252]

Lmao cyber missions was ahead of its time.

[@V3r0nicle]

Truly that was one of the most powerful and based reincarnations of Soundwave to ever grace the earth

[@boobeary]

" *big blue and red truck man* " *me* : yeah i think i know that guy.

[@DominatorLegend]

1:09 And that is also a fact. 23:36 *DELETE EXISTENCE*

[@mano7636]

@Lord Starscream, True Leader of the Decepticons I love your name

[@mithmoonwalker]

armada is my 4th favorite transformers show

[@WolfyNeedsSleepYT]

WHY DO I SEE YOU EVERYWHERE

[@orion9026]

Yeah, Prime Wars sucked. But at least the models were nice. I need to know if there's a gif of that Soundwave Default dance meme.

[@megagizios7816]

The models are just more cartoonish ones from fall of cybertron

[@herbet3011]

how does Prime Wars suck

[@herbet3011]

@Lance Rodriguez Well thats your opinion but for me it isn't i liked the animation,the story,etc so if you excuse me can i go and play some military games ?

[@MongolianAutobot]

@@herbet3011 what

[@frozarburst6350]

FORTRESS MAXIMUS Has COME HIMSELF

[@crustypaladin]

NOT LIKELY

[@fabianrocha9924]

Okay! Then I shall get Fortress Maximus to fight me! Heh heh huh!

[@noonespecial9994]

Megatron was one of the few bright spots in the Combiner Wars/Titan's Return, Power of the Primes trilogy. And I agree with you about the Starscream prequel, It was actually good. I wanted to know more about Starscream's story arc ... And then they ruined it.

[@Lorelei98]

(Energon) "Begins each episode by telling kids to get away from the tv." Me: yeah... that's actually very common...

[@The_Exiled]

Armarda will always be my number 1 No one can change my mind... You can disagree but this is my fav

[@karlrudd8914]

I knew I couldn't be the only one

[@loftgaming5031]

It’s in my number 10

[@seanagulan9481]

Sorry, but G1 is vastly superior over other Transformers series.

[@The_Exiled]

@@seanagulan9481 well, that’s your opinion. Fair enough

[@tariffictypist7372]

Expectation: Last: Transformers Energon First: Transformers Prime

[@kren62]

I'm getting masterpiece megatron tomorrow 👌

[@abdel-azizs5720]

Quinton Review nice

[@insignia2737]

Now don't get yourself killed

[@Ilse446]

I know am late,but good luck transforming that

[@ToaChronix]

IIRC the characters in RID do develop in the form of weekly moral lessons of varying subtlety, but the problem is that they immediately reset to how they were at the start of the series by the next episode. Any kind of character development is forgotten within 20 minutes. But hey at least it's got them carrot-on-a-stick Prime characters as if to say "This is totally that other show you liked, *please watch me* ".

[@toalesovikk7168]

I'm also a Bionicle fan.

[@wolftooth6678]

Peh. RID should never have been born they should have just continued prime instead...

[@green_was_taken]

Thats mostly the first and second seasons. Season 3 was very good in terms of everyrhing.

[@roadmaster9777]

​@@toalesovikk7168 what year

[@metalsonic3823]

beast wars is my favorite season of transformers

[@timprimetal5380]

Wow, ranking Armada above Cybertron? Bold move. And I agree, but before this video I thought that was just because it was my gateway drug to the franchise. Every point you brought up in this thing on shows that I've seen, I basically agree with. Very well done, and I'm super excited for part 2!

[@dodge1515]

The reason why Cybertron was a criminally underated show was because by the time it premiered back in summer of 2005, people were still left with a bad after taste in their mouth from Energon that had only ended just about a month prior...

[@TheNewYorker7899]

Yoooooo LMfaooooo i couldn't stop laughing at Soundwave 23:35 Is there a full version of that song btw?

[@mano7636]

I haven't been this excited for a part 2 in a long time!! Keep up the good work!! 😁👍

[@hammerman1758]

My thoughts: #23: Generation 2 is pretty much reruns of the original cartoon with annoying CG gimmicks, pretty much pointless after home video releases. #22: The main standout I saw from Titans Return was MatPat of all people voicing a combiner (Oh yeah, and Menasor's voice too). Oh well, at Overlord is back. Fortunately, Mark Hamill and Peter Cullen are in this one. #21: Transformers Go was definitely the least memorable of all the TF anime shows in my opinion, as I felt like it didn't have anything noteworthy, both good and bad aspects. Simply just generic, not much else. #20: Props for having Optimus Primal in, but not much else other than Megatron saying "shit" in the final episode. #19: I guess this more of an unpopular opinion but I found Combiner Wars worse than its two successor shows, mainly since some characters have odd characterizations and unjustified actions for the most part. Although I did like Jon Bailey as Optimus, Megatron's characterization, and one particularly goofy line from Menasor. #18: How have I not seen this show yet? It's like a combination of the Universe shorts, the Omni dubs, and some of the Bay movie products in one gloriously bad package. #17. Wow, Energon is higher than I thought it would be. While most say it's the epitome of bad TF shows, I kind of view it as a guilty pleasure thanks to its dubbing and dialogue (its Japanese counterpart Super Link is a bit better but not by much). However, it should be viewed in small doses. #16. I did prefer Masterforce over Headmasters since it had a more unique concept, acting like a mix between previous TF shows and Super Sentai shows. Ginrai himself starts off nice but ends up overpowered as the series goes on, but Overlord and King Poseidon (aka "Pirahnacon") are awesome. Depending on your tastes it may be aided by the English dub this show got. #15. I watch Headmasters with the infamous English dub it got, since at times it makes things more interesting (well a little bit) and ridiculous than they already are. Galvatron's dub voice and many line choices of it are spectacular for all the wrong reasons. Although the show itself doesn't have good pacing, and otherwise can be skippable. #16. Haven't watched too much of RiD 2015, so I'll probably have to watch more to get a more solid opinion. #15. I view Cybertron as a decent show: not quite as good as Armada but miles better than Energon. Some things about it like some of the dubbing are better but the CG feels dated by today's standards and stock footage ends up taking too much time away. The theme song of the show is really catchy though. #14. I think Armada is the best of the Unicron Trilogy shows, both animation and plot wise. The human characters didn't feel like an annoyance and were kind of cool, and the concept of power boosting Transformers is unique. I do like many of the character designs for the show, as well as its theme songs (both English and Japanese).

[@champion1859]

13 to 1?

[@Paccyd33]

@@champion1859 probably in the comments of part 2

[@hirathemedicbird523]

G1 will always be my favorite It's just a show I can chill with Like a show I can relax to Second is prime Pretty badass

[@Tumbercube]

TFP was part of my childhood next to mario, donkeykong, sonic, and netflix shows

[@ErisaFate]

Good and cool

[@chispychisp1690]

Been binge watching some of ur vids and my god editing and humor is amazing. U gained a sub!

[@DerivitivFilms]

Hey! I was included! Thanks! Man that G2 cartoon made me sooooo angry!

[@Novanim]

I find your videos highly entertaining man. I discovered you during the COVID-19 pandemic, where I draw Transformers for a living while listening to TF content creators like you. I love the musical choices you have also: Robotnik's theme, David Wise, Grant Kirkhope....keep up the good work!

[@AFCManUk]

Best thing about Transformers: Headmasters; in one episode, we got to meet the Battle Beasts from Planet Beast, and we all know how frikken AWESOME the toys were!

[@vulpesinculta1919]

Really enjoyed this. Looking forward to part 2. You could be the next Rodimus Primal or Chris McFeely mate

[@SkyStarNova]

Funny as hell! I love the old 3 Japanese series, but your commentary was awesome!

[@BovineDesigns]

It's nice to know other people get "I HATE YOU" comments. They are absolute gold.

[@bambiitree1673]

I can't WAIT to watch Titans Return and feel my eyes bleed out

[@toalesovikk7168]

23:36. I didn't expect Soundwave to do Fortnite dances!😂

[@gort3111]

tbh i think the only transformers media worth consuming is animated, prime,some of armada, wfc/foc and the bumblebee movie. The rest are only remembered because giant robots fighting is cool and some designs are nice, but were here for the figures not the writing lets be real

[@transformersfan-zx8ow]

Nice video my friend and keep up the good work

[@emory938]

10:08 soundwave t poses in the air while boombleebee fucking dies

[@davidpap5369]

Nice vid, man! You've earned a sub.

[@Koconuut]

I’m just laughing the whole way through. I’ve been trying to find out which series I should watch again or start watching and this overall helps 😂

[@swampwench]

Im really out here to try and find some more cool and fresh transformers content but number 23 on this list has me CRYING WHAT WHO WHO MADE THAT I CANT BREATH

[@Detectivemoore]

19:29 Me,as Fan of Starscream, when I watched RID

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

My ranking: 1. G1. 2. Beast Machines. 3. Animated. 4. Beast Wars. 5. Prime. Two and three switch around a lot. Comics would be REALLY high.

[@stonefree7973]

Why is Beast Machines so high?

[@WolfyNeedsSleepYT]

Why is prime so low?

[@ninjadanny628]

Can’t wait for part 2 to come out.

[@skrilllfury2120]

Six shot drinking an Energon Cocktail is absolutely hilarious

[@spoofedup1369]

You saved me! I literally didn’t remember the name of energon and it was stuck in the back of my mind for like 3 weeks ! I loved that show as a kid imma rewatch and see how it is now

[@quirkyeggmuffin]

Man I probably rewatched both parts of this video about a hundred times and it’s still fun :3

[@quirkyeggmuffin]

Brobot500 **snrk** Peepo? Lol

[@koolmckool7039]

Not only do we get a rankings list, we get a who's who of Transformers KZbinrs. you even included a pretty obscure one. I don't know if any knows him, but his name is PaperPlane.

[@fanb1536]

I watched the Japanese Armada with fansubs, I cannot recommend it enough over the dub. Not only are the voice actors actually good (unlike the dub where, despite having returning Beast Wars VAs, it seemed as if they had no direction whatsoever and all just read blankly off the script), not only is the sound mixing good with very little of the obnoxiousness found in the dub, but on top of having a few of the more egregious animation errors fixed, the WRITING is better. Armada's dub was rushed in every single facet, which included the dialogue translation. So many characters have, not just simplified dialogue, but for some like Demolishor, objectively ALTERED characterizations and motivations as a whole, just because it was such a rough, rushed job. I'd even say Starscream's entire arc gets undermined by this factor, ESPECIALLY his death scene: in the original his last words are very noble and understanding, while in the dub, he dies guilt-tripping Megatron like a twat. The dub has the subtlety of a baseball bat smashed against your elbow. Sadly this still doesn't do much in regards to the show's filler and pacing, being a victim of rushed production that can't really be fixed by a better dub. Ideally if I were to recommend the show, it would be with a truncated episode list that skips the boring parts, though I dunno if anybody's gotten around to making a generally-agreed-upon one.

[@drepuppets]

Well can you tell me yours?

[@PabloLewis-ve6ud]

0:42 ah yes the big red blue truck man

[@elijahhaynes216]

As someone who watched through Super God Masterforce and Headmasters(the subbed version, mind you), their stories were amazing in my own opinion! Headmasters was a better sequel to the original G1 show, and everything else after that could be like with Star Wars’ EU continuity, where other stories would take place and fan’s OC’s could fit in. But for real both stories are tons of fun. Headmasters is really dark and is one of my favorite Transformers shows, and SGM is, like you said, basically a Super-Hero show, but with Transformers… And it’s glorious! Still, if you can I’d recommend being patient and watching these series’ subbed versions. Especially to G-1 fans.

[@diegodankquixote-wry3242]

OH MY GAWD! Nice, was not expecting this.

[@EricTron]

When you look at transformer KZbin roll call anticipating you’d make an appearance, but to find out you’re not in it.

[@ryen0262]

"if you like this show ill glue you to a lamb shade" ppppffffttt hahahah XD

[@Arutax]

6:08 You'd be right, because it needs an Anime Perspective to Understand the Intro Music.

[@nexusprime4136]

I loved this and now it’s saved for watch later

[@TunaCasseroleytp]

The transformers go theme sounds fine to me. The vocalist is singing, not screaming. Have you ever heard someone scream before?

[@bfryar4471]

23:37 I didn't know soundwave had the moves

[@vibespidersstudios8895]

I know this is kinda late on my comment to answer your question on why Convoy in Energon/Superlink tells kids to not be close to the screen and in a well lit room. Is mostly because that banned Pokémon with the porygon episode and children we’re getting reports of seizures and after that episode Japan is just like putting that in all of the beginning of children cartoons. I watched detective Conan/case closed all the time in Japanese and they do that too. Anyways great video and cheers 🍻

[@robots_are_cool]

Ayy thanks for the name drop

[@crustypaladin]

Lol

[@vergil4418]

Anyone else remember that one scene in the movie whenever the constructicons were playing the trumpet during the bad comedy

[@garbagedayfilms7153]

best advice ever given 20:07 thank you plane for spreading this message to the world

[@madmaddie1702]

It's honestly no surprise that G2 ends up being the worst and in my opinion I would prefer to see Kicker and Ironhide scream each others names in their faces for hours than deal with G2

[@blueeyeddrago3540]

11:11 BAHAAHAHAHA!!!! Wtf?! Bludgeon is in an A pose while falling!

[@KeyanCarlile]

I love this so much!

[@lamardavis9567]

After transformers prime I just stopped watching transformers to be honest that was the last great show in my opinion

[@brandonandcharlene9527]

I've never counted G2 as an actual show, because it is just the original series with annoying distractions. Voltron tried the same thing in the late 90s prior to Voltron the 3rd dimensions release. Additionally I guess the definition of what constitutes a show is changing since the length of episodes are shortening, and choosing to premier online instead of on TV had changed as well

[@robertnewman4854]

My biggest issue with the Prime Wars shows was the frame rate. How is 12 fps acceptable. It was literally unwatchable for me without getting ill.

[@muhonen2]

23:29 where did you find that song?

[@pavma7]

Aw really, I loved Cybertron. Such a great show.

[@dcb99filmz]

where's Diamondbolt's Energon review? was it taken down?

[@invidatauro8922]

The fact that Energon hasn't appeared yet (I'm at 6:54) terrifies me beyond my capacity for rational thought.

[@scorp33n12]

I like it when the voice man says "Big Sex"

[@JacobHillSBD]

Transformers Headmasters: Head On! Me: *Apply Directly to Forehead*

[@Gio_my_hero]

23:37 where on primus did you get that default dancing soundwave

[@PaperPlaneTF]

I made it lol

[@kingkurok3149]

I love this, also I don't entirely disagree with this list, but I also understand that the placement of of some of these series is based on your opinion which I can respect, people are allowed to like what they like (except when they aren't, looking at bayformers fans, stop defending the film's their trash) this also applies to Part 2

[@mel_0642]

I love the thumbnail!

[@Tf_hazbin]

I'm going to get some hate but screw it robots in Disguise is my favorite not the 2015 one the glorious 2001 of one also I love Transformers Prime I watch that with my dad every time it came on I had every single toy oh my God Transformers Prime was impeccable

[@vaggos2003]

Nice ranking Paperplane. Here is mine (this is part 1 of that ranking that covers the spot 28-12, also by the time of this comment Transformers WFC: Kingdom is the last Transformets show that had come out so I'm including the War for Cybertron Trilogy as well): 28. Transformers Generation 2 27. Transformers: Titans Return 26. Transformers: Combiner Wars 25. Transformers Energon 24. Transformers Cyber Missions 23. Transformers: Power of the Primes 22. Transformers Headmasters 21. Transformers Robots in Disguise 2015 20. Transformers: GO! 19. Transformers WFC: Siege 18. Transformers: Super God Masterforce 18. Transformers: Zone/ Transformers: Scramble City (ok, those are just OVAs, but I'm still including them) 17. Transformers WFC: Earthrise 16. Q Transformers: Mystery of Convoy Returns/ Transformers: Saranaru Ninki Mono e no Michi 15. Beast Machines: Transformets 14. Transformers WFC: Kingdom 13. Transformers: Robots in Disguise 2001 12. Transformers Rescue Bots: Academy

[@person14876]

You gonna do another review of lost light now that it’s over

[@pilotraptor64]

I too love to see the big red and blue truck man beat up the big evil silver and purple man

[@StrangeSunset7]

Did you slow down the footage or does Titans return actually look like that?

[@Spinelli__]

I only saw like 3 or 4 mins of the new Machinima ones and i thought they looked amazing. The art-style, G1 character designs, the "mood," it all looked awesome. I'll have to watch them and see why they got rated terribly here.

[@tritonk1759]

I think they're all OK with some truly fantastic moments scattered throughout. Placing them under Energon is heresy to me.

[@JomasterTheSecond]

dude remember in combiner wars when matpat died, dude that was unironically awesome

[@esatacikgoz2016]

There is no argument whatsoever on which show is number one. Simply put, it’s transformers prime. Like literally no show can put up with all the elements in that one, it is number one

[@BushidoBrownSama]

1:00 what is that song? I know it's from g1 but what is the name?

[@jessebrucepinkman9834]

I'm more of a movie person so I've not watched that much. 4. War for Cybertron. 2020. 3. Transformers Armada. Have the most nostalgia for 2. G1 Transformers. 1. Transformers Prime.

[@giopalacios4434]

I love cyber missions 10:01 it heart worming story it’s attention to detail is amazing it’s voice actors put love into what they are playing the animation and cgi designs are awesome it’s care about the fan base is unreal definitely beats prime and animated

[@CowboyNoob870]

Insignificant buzzing bumblebee

[@astrotanker3887]

Imagine getting mad about someones opinion Also great vid

[@SharpieSkunk]

Okay where the fuck did you find a clean rip of the alternate armada theme I've been looking for it for about a year now

[@PabloLewis-ve6ud]

11:25 this was just funny for no reason

[@isuckatusernames4297]

I don't beleive how high placed energon is

[@fireninja1972]

Good list and there's only one thing I remember from Titans return hot rod looked awesome as a car that's it

[@chrisvellner3922]

Nostalgia, is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, brushing it off, painting over the ugly parts, and recycling it for more than it is worth. (per The Sun-screen speech)

[@jonathanplooij3666]

thanks for the video

[@MrKaji010]

what's the name of the song from the beginning of the video

[@BobBob-qg4lo]

14:17 so we’re just going to ignore Optimus saying bastard

[@BobBob-qg4lo]

@Jordan Taylor no the fuck I don't

[@ghaniKSW2]

@@BobBob-qg4lo that's Ginrai tho

[@WolfyNeedsSleepYT]

@@BobBob-qg4lo yes you do, in that series he's called Ginrai

[@Noaher256]

20:01 Why is Killer Queen playing in the background and why is it not playing in the rest of the video because Killer Queen is my 4th favorite Queen song

[@Al-ce6ur]

Killa qween daisana bakudan, BITES ZA DUSTO

[@SwedishSeacon]

Armada was the first thing that brought me into the whole fandom...just wish the animation wasn't so rushed comparing it to the Japanese sub where it kind of was rushed there too but not so often

[@blackcatleader2459]

Transformers Go's theme song is good for 10 seconds then it gets old