FIRRIB

Rumble and Frenzy. Or Frenzy and Rumble. Whatever.

FIBRIR stands for "Frenzy is blue, Rumble is red". Likewise, RIBFIR means "Rumble is blue, Frenzy is red". The forms FIRRIB and RIRFIB are also known.

The debate revolves around the colors of the Decepticon Mini-Cassettes, Rumble and Frenzy. It was Hasbro's intent that Rumble be black and red, and Frenzy be two shades of blue. These color schemes are used in the toyline, Marvel Comics and many storybooks and ancillary media from the early years of Generation 1, and naturally, it was intended for the cartoon series to render the characters in this manner as well (as proven by the show's production bible, which identifies Rumble as the "red robot"). However, as a result of some unspecified error somewhere in production, the two robots had their color schemes swapped, leaving the animated incarnation of Rumble blue, and Frenzy red.

Due to the widespread recognition the cartoon received, the concept of Rumble as the blue robot was ingrained into the minds of many viewers. As such, years later, fans would argue vehemently (though often tongue-in-cheek) over which coloration was "correct", based mainly on their personal preference for the cartoon or comic.

Notably, the Japanese dub of the Generation 1 cartoon rectified the error, making the animation match the toys by simply switching the characters' names around.

As later incarnations of the characters draw on both the cartoon and toys as influences, the waters have become muddier still:

	Frenzy	Rumble
Original toys	Blue	Red
Marvel comics	Blue	Red
US cartoon	Red	Blue
Japanese cartoon	Blue	Red
Generation 2 toys	Purple	Red and white (Unreleased)
Dreamwave comics	Blue	Red
Devil's Due comics	Red	Blue
Alternators toys	None	Red

Items are listed in release order. I.e., the original toys came first.

It is generally agreed that pointing out Rumble was actually kinda purple in the original cartoon is not helpful.