>>11210997He's not, lol. In the cases of shows he is a proper protag in, like Primal in BW/BM, Convoy in the first two UT shows, or Prime in TFA, sure he's a protag, but he's an equal one to the rest of the cast; he's the leader, but he doesn't get special focus.
As for the rest, it really varies:
>G1 S1-S2Autobot leader, but each episode is a spotlight for a different character, with Optimus acting more as the wholesome funny uncle for characters to be supported by. He's much more of a protag in Marvel though, being more burdened and contemplative bc of the war.
>G1 Movie and S3Mostly about Rodimus and the Autobots trying to go on in his absence, first time I can call an Autobot leader actually being a "protag" on-screen.
>JP-G1Cycles between several new leaders from Fort Max to Dai Atlas, but haven't seen them in full enough to know to what extent they were "protags" yet. I know Chromedome is considered a bit of a protag in The Headmasters, though.
>JP-BW & Car RobotsLio Convoy wasn't much of a protag but just there to be cool (except when Lio Junior appeared and he spent episodes trying to escape paying child support); while Big Convoy had more of a character arc, but the focus was still more on his cadets and how they related to him. Fire Convoy's like G1 S1-2 OP, but instead more comedically righteous-good and naive sometimes.
>Galaxy Force, and Bay TrilogyHe had the best action scenes and badass characterization, but the humans were the real protags.
>TF Prime, CyberverseHe was a cardboard standee.
>Rescue BotsHe was an occasional cameo that the cast looked up to; honestly I enjoyed him here though, dude had a professional but respectable vibe and still wasn't afraid to get shit done with the very blue-collar cast.
Can't comment on RiD15, RB Academy, or ES.
But yeah, I can never really think of a show where he truly was the "Main" character. TF is very much an ensemble cast sorta thing.
