While typing up all that, I was actually surprised at how brief the Animated series was. I had in my mind that since it was a 3-season cartoon, the series (and toys) was out for about 3 years as well... but no. The advance screening of the cartoon in America in December 2007 was misleading, as the toys didn't get released until middle of 2008. (there was an advance release in Cincinnati for the BotCon in April)
And since there were four US ToysRUs exclusive Deluxes released in 2010, plus the Japanese version starting by 2010, it all had me feeling like the series was indeed about 3 years long (2007 to 2010/2011).

But with the global release being June-ish of 2008, it really surprised me to realise that by June-ish 2009, just 12 months later, the Animated toyline was over, and all unreleased items were cancelled. (and some that must have just started production, were stopped, and their limited number appeared in just a couple of countries... or just on ebay)

It was only a few years ago, but I had totally forgotten that it was such a short series... and yet, it is one of the more popular ones in the fandom. Or at least, one of the few series that has inspired fans to want to see more from it (as in, cartoons/comics and/or toys).