Out of all the "sci-fi" character types, I find giant robots to be amongst the most impressive. However, one particular show really stuck out to me as a child...for obvious reasons, as well as some "not so obvious" ones:
Transformers. Here's the list:
Giant robots with guns? Check.
Giant robots that could turn into cars, trucks, tanks, and jets (as well as other things)? Check.
Giant robots beating the s*** out of each other? Check.
Giant robots with a toy line? Check.
But as awesome as these things are, they are not what made me fall in love with the show. I found I could identify with the Transformers, who had to assume one form in public to "hide" and another form in front of their allies, or to fight. As a trans-to-be when I was a kid, there was something inside me that could really relate to their "hiding in plain sight" situation...especially with the newest films.
I played this out in my head once or twice as a child: when I went out in public, I had to disguise myself as a tough truck as to not get shot at by the crazy humans. But when I got home inside my spaceship, I took the form of a "fem-bot" instead and engaged myself in some activity I loved. Both were equally me, but the fact that I had to hide even one form was frustrating.
My favorite character in Beast Wars was Tigerhawk, who was a combination of a male and female in one body...even though the character didn't last long, he/she really stuck out...even more so than Arcee, Black Arachnia, or Air Razor. I never really identified with male or female...more so feminine/androgynous...so Tigerhawk was "the one" I felt most attuned with in all TF history.
As I grew older with the power of hindsight, I realized that the reason I identified with the show was what I viewed as its "trans" theme, even more so than the "giant robot" theme it ran on the surface of things. I suppose even non trans-people can also identify with the show, as even "normal" people have to hide a part of them when out and about and assume the form of what their boss wants them to present at work.
