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Japanese Transformers: The Basics

Well, here's a file I typed up on the Japanese Transformers series that were not available to most fans in the U.S. If anything is incorrect, let me know. Corrections and additional information is welcome. I'm no expert, I'm just spouting out what I've seen and what I've been told. This is just the basic highlights and much more happens in each series I describe than can be said in one or two paragraph but here goes:

*SOME NOTES: The Transformers series we knew as 2006 (after the Five Faces of Darkness) was known as Transformers 2010 in Japan (this is for all of you chronology buffs out there). In Japan, Optimus Prime was known as Convoy (like you didn't know that already) and the Autobots were known as Cybertrons where as the Decepticons were known as Destrons.

SCRAMBLE CITY

This was a one shot cartoon made some time after the original series (I don't have an exact year). Scramble City was meant to be a two part mini series of sorts but to my knowledge part two was never produced. This cartoon was meant to serve as a 'bridge' between the original series and the Movie. It featured characters such as Ultra Magnus working side by side with Convoy and many of the 'classic' characters such as Jazz and Bumblebee. The story is pretty basic, it begins with the near completion of Metroplex's construction. A huge battle ensues with virtually every giant team up to that time being involved. These teams include the Aerialbots, Stunticons, Combaticons and Constructicons. When the tide of the battle turns against the Cybertrons, it is up to the newly built Metroplex to save the Cybertrons but at the end it is learned that the Destrons have also constructed their own 'city weapon', Trypticon. Now some people have said that this is wrong because it is not until the post movie episode 'Five Faces of Darkness' that Trypticon is built but most likely, the Japanese dub of Five Faces of Darkness showed Trypticon as being revived rather than just built.

HEADMASTERS

Following the The Return of Optimus Prime, this Headmasters series diverged from the American continuity. Instead of the three part "Rebirth" series, Japanese audiences dealt with a whole new series. Differences between the Japanese Headmasters and English Headmasters are worthy of note. First off, there was no Nebulos (or Nebulon whatever...) in Japan. The heads of the Headmaster Transformers were small robots who built the larger Transformer bodies to use in battle. Also, some of the Headmasters had different names. Scorponok was named Mega Zarak while the head's name 'Zarak' remained intact. The head of Fortress Maximus was not named Cerebros but just Fortress. The other Headmasters pretty much retained their names (Chromedome, Apeface, Snapdragon etc.). Another team which never appeared in the U.S. but was in Headmasters is the team that formed the giant Raiden. They were six trains and fairly sought after toys for some collectors.

Significant events include the destruction of Cybertron, the death (yet again) of Convoy. The death of Ultra Magnus (during a one on one with Sixshot). The two characters Broadcast (Blaster in U.S.) and Soundwave fight to the death but both are later recreated as Twincast (a blue red and yellow recolor of Blaster) and Soundblaster (a black and silver Soundwave). Galvatron is defeated in this series by the Headmasters and not seen for quite some time until after the series ends. Rodimus Prime takes the mantle of leadership once again after Convoy dies and eventually leaves Earth after Cybertron is destroyed to establish a new world for Transformers.

MASTERFORCE

This is the series most 'unTransformerish' in Japan but also one of the more popular ones. Masterforce takes place some time after the Headmasters series. Several Transformers have established themselves as humans on Earth. The Cybertrons manage to lead a quiet existence until the Destron threat appears again on Earth in the form of new Destron warriors known as Pretenders, Godmasters (Powermasters in America), Headmasters and Seacon Forces. The Cybertrons unlock their power by connecting two bracelets they wear around their wrists calling out the word "Masterforce!" hence the engines, Pretenders etc. In Japan, the Pretender 'shells' were not Outer shells but rather the 'human' form of the Pretender that he shifted to before becoming his 'robot' mode. The Seacons were not one team but a sort of Stormtrooper team. Think of them the way the Sharkticons were originally used. Instead of the six Seacons being totally unique warriors, there are hordes of them and they were quite easily destroyed so they tended to attack en masse.

Things to note are one, the character we knew as Powermaster Optimus Prime in America was not a Godmaster Convoy in Japan. Rather, he was a totally different character named Ginrai (spellings on this name vary, another common spelling is Jinrai). When combined with his rear trailer, Ginrai became Super Godmaster Ginrai. In Japan, an addition, smaller trailer was added to Godmaster Ginrai known as Godbomber. He basically acted as a drone under Ginrai's control and never spoke but did have intelligence. The three Decepticon Headmasters in America Squeezeplay, Horri-Bull and Fangry and the three Autobot Headmasters in America Siren, Night Beat and Hosehead released that year were different characters altogether in the Japanese series. The heads were humans who became the heads of the robots and they are often referred to as the Junior Headmasters because the Headmasters were so young. One of the Autobot Headmasters was actually a female making the toy in Japan one of the few female Transformers ever made into a toy. As a side note, when the three Cybertron junior Headmasters sat inside Godbomber and combined their 'mental' energies, Godbomber gained awareness and acted as an independent robot. Another 'Japanese exclusive' character would be Metalhawk, the Cybertron Pretender leader. The toy of him was the only Pretender made with a metal outer shell.

The 'bad guys' of the series were led by Overlord, a giant twin engine Godmaster. He transformed into a tank, plane and city. The engines of Overlord were a man and a woman (so Overlord was androgynous eh? Sorry, my own silliness). The Destrons were composed of the Decepticon Pretenders, three junior Headmasters and the Seacon forces.

A couple of characters who had ambiguous loyalties included Doubledealer, the Godmaster mercenary (who actually had only one God- master engine who became both the robot and the bat) and SixKnight, who we knew as Quickswitch in the American toy line. Also, one of the junior Headmasters on the Destron side (who we knew as Squeezeplay in America) had failing loyalties here and there, along with him was his small side kick Browning, a small Transformer that became a gun.

Toward the end of the series, two new characters came about in the last climactic struggle for Earth. They were Black Zarak and Grand Maximus. Black Zarak is a recolor of Mega Zarak with a new head. His new color scheme was black, red and gold and he is sometimes referred to as the Destron Emperor. Grand Maximus was a robot constructed by Fortress Maximus and sent to Earth to aid them in their struggle. Physically he is virtually identical to Fortress Maximus except for a blue, red and gray color scheme. Also, he had a Pretender shell for the Headmaster (who we called Cerebros in America). In the end, the Cybertrons win and there are a couple of surprises (let's not give everything away now!).

VICTORY SAGA

Transformers Victory takes place some time after Masterforce. The series focuses on a whole new group of Cybertrons under the leadership of Star Saber. By this time, the Cybertrons have established a sort of 'Galactic alliance' with other races to defend against the Destron threat. Other major players on the Cybertron side include Road Caesar (a giant composed of three different Cybertron car Transformers), Land Cross (made up of six members who each could transform into a robot and vehicle AND merge with another member of the team). One 'carry over' character from Masterforce is Ginrai who is 'partially' reincarnated as Victory Leo, a Transformer that could merge with Star Saber. Star Saber and the Road Caesar team were members of a new type of Transformer in the Japanese line known as Brainmasters who basically had little robots who formed the face of the robot but not the entire 'head' as a Headmaster would. It was actually sort of neat, the little robot would be in the robot's chest and then move up into the 'facial' area. Another important Transformer in this series was Galaxy Shuttle who was basically a big space shuttle and robot. The toy could be used along with the Countdown battle station (Micromaster). Another interesting character introduced was Goodshot. He was basically a recolor of Sixshot with a new face and a different head for the 'winged animal' mode (a rhino instead of a wolf).

The Destrons were led by Deathsaurus, a giant BreastMaster (okay, stop laughing now). A Breastmaster was basically a Transformer whose chest transformed into some sort of partner (Deathsaurus had a feline like creature). There were also Pretenders in this series known as the DinoForce. They were basically the Transformers we knew as the Monstercons in America. However, instead of the weird neon creature shells we got, in Japan, they each had outer shells that resembled dinosaurs. The inner robot color schemes were also different primarily being black and white. They merged into the giant DinoKing.

TRANSFORMERS MICROZONE

This series actually only had one animated episode. The rest of the series was chronicled in a magazine called TV Magazine. MicroZone centered around a sort of "David vs. Goliath" type storyline. The primary good guys were the Micromasters, a race of small transforming robots from the planet Miklos (spellings vary on the planet's name but it's not hard to see how the name could easily have been 'Micros'). The fought alongside with the original 'Cybertronian' Transformers. The three main Cybertrons featured in this series were Diatrus, the leader of the PoweredMasters, a team whose members (all three) could each transform into a vehicle, Micro- Master base and then combine with the other two to form a huge Micromaster base. Diatrus actually had four modes, robot, Micromaster base and a drill vehicle. Sonic Bomber was the 'young punk' of the group. He transformed into a black stealth jet (very cool), a Micromaster base and robot. The third member of the team did not appear in the episode but was later introduced. His name was Roadfire (there is some confusion here because there was another Transformer named Fireroad). Anyway, he trans formed from a tank, to robot to Micromaster base.

All three PoweredMasters could combine into either one large Micromaster base or a large vehicle.

The Destrons were led by a giant three headed being known as Violenjiger (spellings vary on that too). He led the Destron 'Generals', a team of some of the most Powerful Destron warriors including Devastator, Trypticon, Motormaster (Menasor in America), King Poseidon (Piranacon in America), Overlord, Predaking and Black Zarak. Each of these giants were retooled slightly and had capes, shields and hand held weapons such as clubs, swords, staffs etc.

The episode focused on the search for the 'Zodiac', an energy source similar to the original Cybertron Matrix of Leadership. The Destrons want it for their own gain and a lot of Micromaster and Powered Master vs. Destron General battling occurs. By the end of the episode, Trypticon and King Poseidon are apparently destroyed by the PoweredMasters and their combined power, Devastator is melted into scrap and Predaking is sliced in half. They really didn't hold back with this one!

In Japan, about 90% of the Micromasters were Cybertrons and very few were Destrons. The patrol we knew as the Race Track patrol in the U.S. was a Destron team. As was the Decepticon we in America knew as Skystalker. Another interesting character that came on to the scene later in TV magazine was Metrotitan, a recolored Destron version of Metroplex.

As a side note, the animation in MicroZone was excellent and above the 'average' quality of a lot of the episodes of the Headmasters, Master force or Victory (not that those series did not have great animation). Some have even said the animation in MicroZone was comparable to the movie, I tend to agree, the animation is done in true Anime style and is slick and very well done.

TRANSFORMERS: THE RETURN OF CONVOY

This series very much resembled MicroZone in its premise but introduced a whole new batch of Cybertrons. The story of the Return of Convoy was written up in TV Magazine but not done in Anime form. The story begins with the resurrection of Galvatron by Unicron (who I have been told was known as Dark Star in Japan). Unicron restores Galvatron's original Megatron

identity but outfits him with a newer, larger and more powerful body. He now transforms into a giant space gun and heads out to destroy the Cybertrons.

Meanwhile, the Cybertron warriors Grandus (Micromaster battle station/robot/air craft carrier) and Skygarry (cargo air vehicle/robot/ Micromaster tower) seek out the body of the old fallen hero, Convoy. They find him intact and begin working on his body to repair him. Instead of his old form, they give him a larger and newer body (robot/futuristic truck mode and Micromaster battle station). Also supplementing the Cybertron warriors in this storyline are the Micromaster combiner teams and a team of six Micromaster trains who combine to form SixLiner (this is NOT a repaint of Raiden from Headmasters, he's a whole new character). The team of Convoy (now known as Star Convoy), Grandus, Skygarry and SixLiner comprise the BattleStars team.

In their initial struggle with Megatron, he is defeated. When he returns to Unicron, the two merge and form the more powerful Super Megatron who is the size of Unicron and has the mind of Megatron. The BattleStars wind up combining their powers (yes, Star Convoy, Skygarry AND Grandus can combine into a large base or vehicle) destroy Super Megatron and his head winds up orbiting a planet much like Unicron's at the end of the Transformers movie.

TRANSFORMERS (Name unknown)

Once again, the Transformers invaded TV Magazine's pages but this time, the series was losing popularity and the series was very short. I have little details but basically, a new group of Micromasters and some other Transformers were introduced and some old models were brought back.

Following on the heels of the SixLiner team came a whole new group of Micromaster giant teams. First was a recolor of SixLiner called SixTrain who was meant to be the twin brother of SixLiner. There was also SixTurbo, a team of six rescue vehicles that merged into a giant, SixWing, a team of six jets who merged and SixBuilder, a team of six construction vehicles who could combine. In addition to this team were four average sized Transformers who were only released in Japan and Europe that year as toys. In Europe they were called the Turbomasters. They were four Cybertrons, three futuristic cars and a pickup truck. They transformed into robots and each had a fat, dangerous looking missile launcher. This Cybertron team was led by City Guardian (a.k.a. City Guard or Guard City) who was basically a recolor of the Protectobot Defensor team. The interesting thing about the giants that I've heard in his series was that unlike the original giants where the many minds of the team would form one mind (Devastator, Superion etc.), the one mind was the giant and each member of the team were smaller 'non-independent' robots. As an interesting trivia piece, a knock off of City Guardian was created recently and found its way into some toy stores. He is made in the City Guardian colors instead of the Defensor colors and is made of VERY cheap plastic but it's cute to have (hey, it only cost me $8). Anyway...

On the Destron side, there were four jets (the counters to the four Cybertron car team). They were also released only in Japan and Europe. In Europe they were known as the Predators. They were jets who each transformed to robots and had missile firing weapons. The Cybertron and Destron jets and cars actually came in two packs, each having one Destron and one Cybertron in it. They were known as 'vs.' packs. Leading these forces was the giant known as Battle Gaia. He was a repaint of (guess who?), the Combaticons. He came in a gift set and the colors were very similar to the recolors of the Combaticons released for Generation 2 in America. Once again, as a side note, there was a knock off of Battle Gaia made as well. This knock off however is about twice the size of Bruticus as we knew him and is quite impressive that big. His height rivals that of Predaking.

Anyway, that was that series which pretty much made up the final series for the Transformers Japan until recently. A lot of the toys we recently got in the U.S. are also being released in Japan including Laser Optimus Prime, Combat Hero Optimus Prime, Cyberjets, Laser Cycles etc. Well, that's it. Hope this helped. Take care folks!

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