Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

Every two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are my opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.


Top 10 Best Transformers Animated Toys


10. Transformers Animated Blurr

Right off the bat we start with probably the most stylysed toy of the entire line. It is nuts how they replicated the ultra slim cartoony proportions. What I love is how there is still some G1 in there, even in the transformation, where the front part is removed to form a shield. And it is simply awesome how the legs resurect the Transtech cheetor design.












9. Transformers Animated Optimus Prime

This guy is just solid and absolutely perfect. The transformation is a perfect homage to the g1 transformation revamped to fit the new style. I also love how the axe and gun fit perfectly in the back and fill out the cab.








8. Transformers Animated Jazz

It's great to see that while the entire line is ultra stylized, the designs, and thus toys, kept very traditional themes like having the front of the car be the chest, just like Jazz' g1 faux datsun self. He becomes this world's version of the prototypical autobot body and it's a great take on the classic transformation. Oh and before I forget, nunchuck exhaust pipes anyone?








7. Transformers Animated Ultra Magnus

Not since Beast wars did we get a Optimus character who wasn't leader of his faction. And now with Animated, it was the classic Optimus Prime character not being the leader of the Autobots (and voiced by Beast Wars Megatron ). The leader was Ultra magnus and it gave us a look at what Magnus as the main prime in G1 would have looked like (if the freaken Matrix was nice enough to activate for him) and it doesn't dissapoint. Firepower coming out of all sides, the beefiest posture possible and a hammer as his main signature weapon, which would become a staple to the character going forward. I really love all the hidden cannons and how the hammer's automorph gimmick. Plus, lest we forget, this was during the golden age of quality and value in Transformers toys and he came with electronics and just feels so hefty. The only problem I have with him and the other Animated Leader toy is how the limited ratchets on his hips don't give him the best standard standing pose.








6. Transformers Animated Megatron

Same nitpick as above with the legs but aside from that BLOODY AWESOME! I will always be impressed with how effective that simple transformation is. The helicopter looks like the animation model and he looks well disguised. But just do a few simple steps, and BAM! You get the master of Destruction in his glorious robot mode. With great homages to both G1 AND Super Megatron. For some reason, toy designers always have a problem with the cannon's proportions either being too big or too small, but they knock it out of the park here, he looks perfect. And the helicopter rotor becoming twin swords is genius too. I don't know if I will ever make a list of the best Leader Class toys, but he would surely be on it.








5. Transformers Animated Oil Slick

This awesome and distinctive design was loved so much, hasbro just had to give the fans what they wanted and include him on the show for a bit. And you can see why, you can't just create a design like this and not use it. It is eerie how humanoid this one looks, especially the head, but it works well with the evil scientist vibe. And that alt mode is something else. It is a combination of the Dodge Tomahawk concept motorcyle and a Big Dog motorcycle, so it's really the designers pulling all the stops to give us the most innovative and distinctivie design possible. And the best part is that it's a good toy too. The transformation is fun and he looks amazing and distinctive in both modes. I couldn't want more.








4. Transformers Animated Bulkhead (Ironhide) (Voyager)

I just love how neat a package this toy is. It does something I just adore where the pieces found in robot mode are right there in plain sight and yet the vehicle mode looks like it cannot transform. I once made a list of Robot modes which look like they can't transform and this is the opposite. Its just a cute army vehicle that any kid would love to just roll around. And yet it also turns into a robot. The transformation is really fun with springs and mechanisms for head revealing action, making it a distinctive robot that now utilizes those same vehicle mode parts for his hands and chest which look like that is what they were always meant to be.








3. Transformers Animated Lockdown

Now we are getting into the cream of the crop. If you want the best transforming toys the Transformers brand has to offer, you can't go wrong with collecting the Animated line (if you can handle the aesthetic) and now that we get into the top 3, we are getting into some of the best Transformers toys ever released. These are all better quality toys and more ingenious engineering designs than most of what has been available on the market since. We start with Lockdown, a true legend among Transformers toys. Excellent mean looking alt mode which turns into a monstrous voyager sized asymmetric beast. The transformation isn't the most elegant though, with bits that are easily detached, but it's still an incredible feat what this toy can pull off with such varied designs and mass shifting made reality.








2. Transformers Animated Prowl

He's the best motorcycle Transformer ever, and I doubt anyone would say otherwise. Almost no kibble in either mode, yet two distinctive modes, excellent articulation, full alt mode integration and yet the sleekest designs you could find. Oh and you can unhook transforming ninja stars from his wheels.








1. Transformers Animated Rodimus Minor (Rodimus)

This toy should be really examined whenever Hasbro or Takara think of making a new Hot Rod because it still reigns supreme as the best toy out there to give the theme justice with the right proportions and all. The bot mode and alt mod are just as sleek with minimal kibble, even though a lot of the vehicle mode is not seen in robot mode. That always results in crazy huge backpacks but not with this guy. Everything is smooth. Plus, I love how he hides the front wheels, which effectively hides more alt mode kibble and gives a sleeker robot mode. I also love how they design the separate exhaust port pieces to align in vehicle mode, giving the illusion that they are a continuous design. And he is the only sleek Hot Rod toy to not have the silhouette with the spoiler obstructed by anything. The pics below will show what I mean. In the end, Hot Rod will always be a hard design to pull off simply because the robot and vehicle share so little parts. But this guy pulls it off better than any toy before or since and is a true joy to play with and transform. it,s the best Hot Rod figure, the best figure of cybertronian vehicle and the best figure from the Animated line, making the year he came out, 2010, my favourite year for toys.







Honourable Mentions

The whole line is really good. When it comes to the quality and inventiveness of the toys, I would even say this is the very best line to complete and fully explore. There are certainly more amazing toys than there are duds and I can't really think of one terrible toy, at least in the more collector oriented classes. All that to say that I like most toys in the line and the ones I didn't mention could still be very much enjoyed. The one toy I would like to bring to your attention most is Shockwave. I do stand by the notion that every toy in this list is better than him, but that's only because none of them (or no other toy ever) was as ambitious as Animated Shockwave. Animated Shockwave has 2 distinct robot modes which each have their own alt mode. For a toy to accomplish so much, something had to give, and in this case it's the two alt modes which are not much to write home about. It's basically the robot lying down on his belly and face with a tank cannon that automorphs into a crane. But the transformation of one robot into the other, especially the face changing, is something to behold and I do still recommend anyone to experience this toy.


Transformers Animated Shockwave Gallery

Great list Will I have nothing to argue about this one!

I loved Animated once I got over the art style it was so original while also homaging the older stuff from the past and it's a shame we will never get a show or toyline with as much love and effort put into it again.

I sold all my Animated figures years ago and GOD DAMMIT WILL YOURE JUST URGING ME TO SPEND AN ARM AND A LEG TO TO GET IT ALL AGAIN ON EBAY!

Animated was one of the best lines and best way to close out the 2000s. I miss my collection so much.

I agree with this list completely and only wish you could have done a top 20 because 90% of the line is so great it's hard to think of a figure that wouldn't be on it or honorably mentioned.

Shockwave is my number one but I agree comeplety that Hasbro should keep that Rodimus in mind when making a new one but they should revisit a lot of the engineering for Animated because most of the toys had good engineering.

I'm still not a fan of any of them. I do admit there's some clever transformations in there though as I discovered from buying a large batch of them cheap some time ago (and sold off seperately for muchos profit) including most of the ones in the list. So yeah I find the aesthetic and style mostly off-putting but kudos to hasbro for being able to make fully functioning TF figures out of those characters designed in that awful (in my opinion) 'art-style' that looks like it was a child with only basic drawing skills.

Really don't like the proportions on that Rodimus. The torso looks way too big to me and looks jarrying above that tiny crotch. Plus his face creeps me out. Also the car mode looks empty on the sides and cluttered around the spoiler thanks to them lumping the exhausts up there. Nope, not a fan.

Oh I did like Lockdown's car mode but the robot mode was too ugly. And I did keep Blackarachnia for a while. Cos reasons.

Deadput wrote:Great list Will I have nothing to argue about this one!

I loved Animated once I got over the art style it was so original while also homaging the older stuff from the past and it's a shame we will never get a show or toyline with as much love and effort put into it again.

It certainly was a show made by fans for fans. Personally it's my favorite.

Randomhero wrote:
It certainly was a show made by fans for fans.

Not all fans.

Carnivius_Prime wrote:

Randomhero wrote:
It certainly was a show made by fans for fans.

Not all fans.

Unless Jesus himself comes down to create a Transformers show not everyone will be pleased because this is reality.

God I need to get stuff from this toyline; Animated is always tussling with Beast Wars for the spot of my favourite TF show. I think the most off-putting thing about the line for me would be scale issues; there's the infamous thing with Lugnut and then it's apparently a bit difficult to get everyone in the correct size class with each other... bleh.

Aside from that I cannot hear enough praises about this line, there's so much ingenuity going on here and I really wanna get the main five to represent one of my favourite TF shows. Glad to know three out of five are up there on the best toys of the line

Carnivius_Prime wrote:

Randomhero wrote:
It certainly was a show made by fans for fans.

Not all fans.

Fans with an imagination and open mind.

Surprised that Samurai Prowl and Wingblade Prime aren't on here, given that they're basically two of the figures on this list, but with more stuff.

Other than that I'd have included Swindle for all his fun features and overall solidness and Blitzwing for being the first really accomplished triple-changer in quite some time. Also Arcee if her thumbs weren't so fragile.

Diem wrote:Other than that I'd have included Swindle for all his fun features and overall solidness and Blitzwing for being the first really accomplished triple-changer in quite some time. Also Arcee if her thumbs weren't so fragile.

I'd have included Blitzwing as well... except Classics Astrotrain was released two years prior, and Universe Tankor around the same time as Blitzwing.

Shoulda done a top 20 Will lol

In my opinion Leader class Bulkhead should have made it into the list. It is far better than the Voyager class version.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

Diem wrote:Other than that I'd have included Swindle for all his fun features and overall solidness and Blitzwing for being the first really accomplished triple-changer in quite some time. Also Arcee if her thumbs weren't so fragile.

I'd have included Blitzwing as well... except Classics Astrotrain was released two years prior, and Universe Tankor around the same time as Blitzwing.

It's just my take but I feel that Blitzwing was a lot more exciting for me and for the fandom at the time as a sophisticated figure. Universe Tankor didn't seem to get good feedback, at least from what I saw, and Astrotrain was liked but wasn't especially sophisticated.

Deluxe bee wasn't very good. It was the ball joints on the ankles and sholders, they were too thin and craked easily, I had a Bee and it broke, replaced it and that broke as well. But hey next year is animated's 10th aniversery, the 07 movie is getting MP toys could this Primal and Cheetor begin the concept of HasTak expanding the MP line out of just G1 and looking at other series as well?
Could there be a TFA masterpice on the horizon? Dare we dream? Who knows. If they do then the way to exceed vouger optimus, beyond the whole mask just filling out his neck, is to give him a transforming trailer based on the abandoned powermaster toy, think about it Hasbro, masterpice is for the adult collectors, the small peices, delicate complexities and high price remove it from kid fans. Animated became a huge hit and think about it.
We are making a masterpice Animated optimus = Big TFA fans going awsome must have, other fans going meh, Voyger was good enough.
We're doing TFA MP optimus with powermaster trailer= All TFA fans going; like from the allspark almanac? OMG! Must have!
Pretty please?

The only animated figure I got during the lifespan of the show made it onto the list! Oilslick is quite the beaut and I'm glad they had it at the local Walgreens a few years back. I found a Blurr at a local toy shop, along with a plethora of G1 figures, and got a Safeguard that is missing a hip guard and a Shockwave with a scratched . My animated collection is abysmal, but half these figures on the list were in an auction a few months ago and I lost it by 2 seconds.

Sari for the rant and pun, I'll go into the 4th season if you'll excuse me.

animated was one of my favorites i just wish they had went on for another season

Agent 53 wrote:Deluxe bee wasn't very good. It was the ball joints on the ankles and sholders, they were too thin and craked easily, I had a Bee and it broke, replaced it and that broke as well. But hey next year is animated's 10th aniversery, the 07 movie is getting MP toys could this Primal and Cheetor begin the concept of HasTak expanding the MP line out of just G1 and looking at other series as well?
Could there be a TFA masterpice on the horizon? Dare we dream? Who knows. If they do then the way to exceed vouger optimus, beyond the whole mask just filling out his neck, is to give him a transforming trailer based on the abandoned powermaster toy, think about it Hasbro, masterpice is for the adult collectors, the small peices, delicate complexities and high price remove it from kid fans. Animated became a huge hit and think about it.
We are making a masterpice Animated optimus = Big TFA fans going awsome must have, other fans going meh, Voyger was good enough.
We're doing TFA MP optimus with powermaster trailer= All TFA fans going; like from the allspark almanac? OMG! Must have!
Pretty please?

Technically this is year is the tenth anniversary. Animated launched December 26th 2007. And yeah yeah toys didn't come out till 2008 but 2017 is the tenth anniversary of animated and don't hold out for Takara they didn't do anything with animated till 2010

william-james88 wrote:Every two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are my opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.


Top 10 Best Transformers Animated Toys

10. Transformers Animated Blurr
...
And it is simply awesome how the legs resurect the Transtech cheetor design.

Funny you should mention Transtech Cheetor, since the club gave us this:



I always regretted not picking up Blurr and Ultra Magnus, but specially Magnus. He ended up being really cool.

Prime is great, and I love Megatron. That helicopter mode is excellent and his robot mode is everything his deluxe and voyager versions were not.

And of course Rodimus is fantastic, and Lockdown is just so different and with a very interesting transformation for a deluxe class figure.


I am surprised there's no mention of Swoop and Grimlock. At least Swoop has a lot of style.





Blitzwing on the other hands is super weak. Yes, he does 3 modes, and the 3 faced gimmick, but his jet mode simply does not look good from any angle. The only reason I still own Blitzy is because his robot mode is great and I love Blitzwing as a character.

Randomhero wrote:

Carnivius_Prime wrote:

Randomhero wrote:
It certainly was a show made by fans for fans.

Not all fans.

Fans with an imagination and open mind.

So that makes me unimaginative and closed minded then?

How about you keep such comments to yourself next time. Or, disagree without resorting to pathetic insults.

Overcracker wrote:
I am surprised there's no mention of Swoop and Grimlock. At least Swoop has a lot of style.

I can't comment on Grimlock since it's one of the few Animated molds I never owned. Swoop's a good figure but definitely has too many flaws to be great; robot head just won't stay on, neutered weapon gimmick, incredibly simple transformation, and not particularly great alt mode.

Blitzwing though, I'll salute. His robot mode is great and full of personality. His artillery mode is unusual-looking, but is solid and unique, and certainly doesn't hint at the jet mode at all. And the jet mode looks great from above; it has a wonky undercarriage, but that's hardly unusual in this franchise, nor is a triple-changer with two good modes and one okay-ish one.

Diem wrote:Surprised that Samurai Prowl and Wingblade Prime aren't on here, given that they're basically two of the figures on this list, but with more stuff.

Do you own Samurai Prowl? I thought he would be as good as the deluxe but with more stuff so I gave away the standard deluxe and got the samurai version. But I then discovered that they are slightly different. The head on the samurai one is made more narrow and looks more odd, he doesn't fit as nicely together as the standard deluxe neither and he loses that super cool gimmick of having the inside of his wheels become ninja stars. So I would recommend the standard deluxe over the Samurai version if you want to experience the best version of the mold.
As for the Winged Prime, I decided to go with the standard simply because thats the mold I felt most of us could identify with and, more importantly, I wanted to show how the toys were sich a great match to the cartoon models and the standard version worked best for that.

Randomhero wrote:Shoulda done a top 20 Will lol

Of course, but then we wouldnt have the pleasure of discussing other toys I didnt mention amongst eachother. And thats whats most important to me, starting a discussion about toys we all love and havent talked about lately.

Other animated figures I adore would be:

Arcee
Ironhide
Swoop
Blackarachnia
Sentinel Prime

The ones I am not too fond of are Bumblebee (pieces fall off), Starscream (pieces fall off and he has an awkward transformation), Grimlock (not innovative enough for my liking) and Blitzwing (he doesnt peg in well in tank mode and I am not fond of the jet mode).

Samurai Prowl was also well known to be a little loose and hard to pose.

I own Samurai Prowl, Bumblebee, and Shockwave. I love all 3 and really wish I had more animated figures. It was my first TV series and a really good one, right there with Prime for my favorite series period. All 3 figures are pretty great, though I do say Prowl is the best. I love that figure and the samurai armor is incredibly awesome!!!

Cool list. Thanks WJ. Animated was so different and had some really nice toys.

I also really enjoyed the three Dinobots. Grimlock was fun and worked well. Swoop was definitely a swoop, but so unique and interesting.

I love Transformers and I love Swoop, so naturally I had Swoop out on display where I could see him everyday, even when my other Transformers were in a different room or boxed up. What was interesting, was that Swoop by himself, looked liked a Transformer, but I also like fantasy and had a dragon or two in my room as well, and with that around, Swoop would look like a life size, tough little male fairy. Stylized for sure, but very fantasy like. Odd, but fun.