Recap: And So it Begins

My From Humble Beginnings Marathon continues! Let's open up "And So it Begins" and keep this ball rolling.

I fully admit to being on the Pokémon side of the Pokémon and Digimon conflict, but as time has passed, I deem it a worthy opponent. Looking back at it, viewing it on hotel TVs during a road trip in 2000, I can say I'm much more receptive to it than I am to other new things that have come out lately.

Anyway, we get the theme song. It's another good one, a piece of scratchy electroclash that signaled the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s. I'm posting a link of it.

We open on a voice narrating, saying that his home is planet earth, but isn't sure that's where he is right now. I wonder if he's run into any female track stars and rebel princes with wings.

He tells of how the rainforests died, and deserts got flooded with chocolate sauce.
Also, people that can't spell/Japanese animators that don't write/speak very much English got assigned to do lettering on signs, such as this "Howerd Joonson" one. Thanks, but I prefer Donny's.

He goes onto say that he was at summer camp when all this was happening, then, it snowed in July! This Taichi Kamiya, or "Tai" for short. He is the first of a character type of Digidestined that fans often refer to as "goggle-heads", so named because of their goggles and headstrong shonen natures.

Next is Sora Takenouchi, Tai's special lady.

Next is Yamato Ishida, or "Matt" for short. He's what can charitably be called Tai's best friend; though this show is not afraid to show the rough patches of their friendship (I can only imagine how awkward the 02 distant finale made lunch for them afterward).

Next is Koushiro Izumi, or "Izzy". He has to be one of my favorite members of the Digidestined. The computer nerd; he's essentially the person I was at that age, and continue to be.

Someone claims Frontier is a better season than Tamers? We'll see about that!

Next is Mimi Tachikawa. Judging by the pink cowgirl outfit and Southern-isms, she's pretty much Hannah Montana's first cousin, once removed. In fact, she's a part-time lounge singer under the name "Hosannah Alabama."

Next is Takeru Takaishi, or "TK" for short. He is Matt's younger brother. Regarding their different surnames, their parents divorced before the series began. You'll notice in my recap of the Digimon movie that they were staying with their grandmother. By the way, I still don't care for the movie, I find the show to be much better.

Last but not least, my favorite Digidestined, Joe Kido. Tai claims he'd wet his pants if he got scared. Maybe, but not in the way that you think. With the exception of TK, the Digidestined are middle schoolers (high schoolers by the time of the divisive 02); so they're probably going through puberty right now. Well, since I made that joke at Tai's expense in my recap of the movie, now it's Joe's turn.

When I first set foot in the digital world I JIZZED IN MY PANTS.

Then, a huge blizzard kicked up and everybody took cover. Tai and the other Digidestined took cover in a shrine; with Tai snarking that the canoe races were canceled. About the script: Jeff Nimoy and others wrote the bulk of the English dub, using their previous work on Samurai Pizza Cats to make the dialogue feel natural. It's another instance of the gag dub, but in this case, it works because the leads are kids; and therefore, it would be just like real kids to crack jokes about their predicament to lighten the mood.

Naturally, they all want to play in the snow despite being outrageously underdressed for the situation. I plan to do more recaps of this anime next year; but for now, I'm booked solid and behind. Anyway, let's put on some tunes to mark this.

While the others are disappointed they didn't pack snow gear; Izzy is disappointed that his internet connection isn't working; much like mine often isn't working on these recaps.

Smeg! I was trying to complain about how much I was disappointed by The Phantom Menace!

He runs out with the others, and the Aurora Borealis is outside. This is like that great book and/or crappy movie with a golden compass. I forget what it's called.

Joe wants everyone to go back inside, and then, a hole appears in the sky! Meteors come down!

The meteors crash right by them!

Yet, everyone is OK. Yep, we're definitely in a Digimon anime. They remark at how weird it is to have snow in summer and the northern lights in Japan, but almost getting killed by meteors is nothing for your log.

Then, several small trinkets known as Digivices rise from the snow as the children pick them up.

Then, they're sucked into the Digital World by a huge wave! The imagery gets quite strange from there.

Tai then wakes up on the beach, with a Digimon in his face.

Looking into its eyes, it's hypnotic. Like a lava lamp.

 Tai chalks it up to the camp food. I know. That gruel is sometimes so old it has mushrooms growing on it.

Anyway the Digimon starts bouncing around and saying it wants to be Tai's friend. Tai is freaking out that this little thing just fell on his lap.

It introduces itself as Koromon, saying it's Tai's partner.

Izzy has a pink thing beside him, in his words. This is Motimon; a little pink ghost.

Izzy deduces that the Digivices spawned the Digimon.

This is highly logical, like that time I tried to include Sisko in a Kirk vs. Picard debate.

There are many plants there, but the soil is quite common. Also, there are palm trees beside pine trees.

Tai climbs a tree for another view, and can see the ocean on the horizon! And he also sees mountains!

Then, he sees a large Digimon through his telescope!

The beetle Digimon flies right at them and crashes through the trees!

This is Kuwagamon. He comes around again, and Koromon fights him with bubbles.

Tai admires Koromon's bravery, but says he's had better days. Wow, he's taking the whole "trapped in another world and surrounded by strange creatures" thing surprisingly well.

Kuwagamon makes another pass, and Tai and Izzy make a run for it. 

 Motimon then leads them inside a tree. The Digital World is prone to oddities like this. Just go with it, you'll enjoy it more.

You better fasten your seatbelt, Dorothy, because Kansas is going bye-bye!

 Then, it turns out the tree is a perfect hiding place. It's also good for baking cookies in.

Who should give the all-clear but Sora. What do you know. An angel in a blue hat said it's safe.

Sora also has a Digimon. This is Yokomon, a small plant-like Digimon.

This little white Digimon is Tokomon. Izzy points out these keep popping up!

TK comes out from behind the tree, as does Matt, holding another Digimon. This is Tsunomon. Much better than Monsuno, even if it does have a so bad it's good vibe to it.

oe has one as well, and is not happy with it. Just as well. He and his Digimon are polar opposites.

This little scamp is Bukamon, some sort of sea lion with a tuft of orange hair.

Joe is not taking this whole thing well. Perhaps this will help.


They all proclaim themselves to be Digimon: Digital Monsters. Lovely title drop there.

Everyone is in awe at what they're seeing.

The Digimon then start listing off some of their attributes. Tai is pleased to meet them. He then reintroduces Sora, Matt, Joe, Izzy, and TK.

Then, everyone wonders where Mimi is. It turns out she's being chased by Digimon number 7, and Kuwagamon!

Mimi rests, and Tanemon is by her side. It looks like a little flower bud.

Then, they're on the run again! I also notice there are music cues being used from Saban's work on the infamous Masked Rider; a disastrous attempt at adapting Kamen Rider for the US. Now I'm expecting Count Dregon and that stupid chicken-headed starship of his to show up (which is too bad, because the series it was based on, Kamen Rider Black RX is fairly decent, and has nowhere near as many detractors).

They come to a cliff, and a dead end. Kuwagamon makes another pass. Koromon tries to blow more bubbles, but is stricken down. The other Digimon join in and start blowing more bubbles, which takes Kuwagamon down.

All the Digimon are down, and the children ask why they have to be so brave?


Kuwagamon gets back up! That thing just won't let up!

Despite all our rage we are still all just rats in a cage!

The Digidestined won't stand for this, and decide to protect their friends!


The Digimon agree, and they shall stand and fight! The children aren't sure, but the Digimon are eager to get into battle!

The Digimon then bounce out of their tamers' hands and into battle!

I also notice Tokomon has some pretty gnarly teeth for such a little guy!

Impetuous boy! Oh well, who wants to live forever!

Tai races after Koromon, and then, the Digivice on his belt starts to glow!

All the Digivices start to glow on the kids' belts!

A mysterious energy field appears in the sky! The field comes over all the Digimon.

Will you light the sky on fire?

The time has come for Digivolution! Koromon becomes Agumon!

Yokomon becomes Biyomon!

Motimon becomes Tentomon!

Tsunomon becomes Gabumon!

Tokomon becomes Patamon!

Bukamon becomes Gomamon!

Tanemon becomes Palmon!

So, now the Digimon have become bigger and stronger!

Palmon lashes out with Poison Ivy! She tries to snare Kuwagamon, while Patamon uses Boom Bubbles!

I knew I should have taken that job on Beast Wars! It pays well to be an Inferno double!

The Digimon now stand a fighting chance as Agumon unleashes Pepper Breath and Tentomon unleashes Boom Shocker!



They continue to whale on Kuwagamon while calling their attacks. Oh, to be a spry 8-year-old again.

All 7 Digimon then make their stand by each other's side!

Then, all the Digimon attack and once, and Kuwagamon is on fire! 

With this, Kuwagamon is finally down. Also, apparently Jetix ran this in the same block with Power Rangers; as part of Disney's requirements for buying up assets related to Fox Family and Fox Kids. This is part of what led to the franchise sputtering out with their run of Digimon Frontier. They tried to keep it hanging on with Digimon Data Squad (a dub of the well-received Digimon Savers); but the damage had been done. After that, it would be 5 years before Saban bought the rights to the franchise back; put reruns on Nicktoons, and started printing remastered DVDs; and 6 years before Digimon Fusion (the dub of Digimon Xros Wars) started airing on Nickelodeon and Vortexx. I haven't checked what kind of ratings Fusion is getting yet, but if it's anything like when this first aired on Fox Kids back in the day, it got a boost by airing after Power Rangers (and eventually overtook it by Fox pitting it against Pokémon. That's right. That whole rivalry was instigated by network executives at Fox. Many shows fell victim to that ratings battle as a result.).

Everyone is astounded at the Digimon's first victory. Izzy even makes a comment about Kuwagamon being reduced to vaporware. Feel free to make a joke about how Duke Nukem Forever took two console generations, three presidencies, and the entire lifetime of Miley Cyrus to develop (and that's the short version, by the way).

Agumon then runs over to Tai as they hug about their win.

Yet, Kuwagamon gets back up and cracks the cliff face down! And that's how it ends. On a cliffhanger in more ways than one.

So, that's "And So it Begins". It also has definitely aged. Given the looks of the fashions, dialogue, and Izzy's Apple Powerbook-like computer (this is in the days before owning a Mac was popular for ordinary people, or any Apple device for that matter); it wears its '90s origin on its sleeve. Still, it's clear the character dynamic of the series and its ilk works at this early stage. As it goes on, it touches on themes that are actually very deep for a children's anime. Toei also made sure the animation was high-quality for its time. It's another case where even if you're doing a merchandise-driven show like this; you have to treat your audience with respect and do your best to tell a memorable story. In that regard, they succeeded; and I consider it to hold up. With this, I have started to make good on my intent to binge on this anime as a reward for seeing the Endless 8 all the way through. Once again, this recap is a bit late. It's clear that this is going to spill into October, but even as school is starting again, I will have time to work on my Halloween marathon. For the rest of the year, I will be dialing back my output so I have more time for homework, tests, and possibly getting a job on the school paper. See you later!

Recap: The Shooting Star She Saw

 

Hello again. Earlier this year, I did a recap of an episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion; which then led to me doing more recaps of mecha anime. Now, the film Pacific Rim is coming

out this week; which is the first major attempt at a western mecha movie outside the Transformers films. Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) is directing, citing his massive love for the mecha genre as the reason why he made the film.

Despite the fact that it would seem like a movie that audiences would eat up, many

critics and analysts are wondering if audiences will accept this type of mecha movie; citing

the failure of the film adaptation of the board game Battleship and GDT's lack of experience

with big-budget films.

Still, the idea is admirable. I did mention in my recap of “Both of You, Dance Like You

Want to Win” that Mobile Suit Gundam is one of the most recognizable and popular franchises

among western and Japanese anime fans. The original series may have been canceled, but it proved popular enough in reruns that many sequel series were greenlit and it became a cultural

phenomenon; essentially the Japanese equivalent of Star Trek.

Which brings me to the subject of my recap today: when I was younger, I often saw

advertisements on Cartoon Network for Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. While I never really watched it, it did seem interesting. From what I could gather, Gundam Wing is one of the more

popular entries in the franchise; being heavily praised for its animation and story. It also moved

a lot of toys and other merchandise (I have a Gundam Wing card binder). Given the release

of high-risk venture Pacific Rim; I suppose it's as good a time as any to take a look at this series

and start watching it. So let's open up the first episode of Gundam Wing, “The Shooting Star

That She Saw.”

We open on the theme song. It's pretty good. It has a nice '90s pop beat over imagery

of a world torn apart by war.

We then see a starbase, where several mecha are firing at a space shuttle. Can't let these

people go into space! They hit the shuttle and destroy it.

 

We then get imagery of how humanity left Earth for space; but the United Earth Sphere

Alliance became militaristic and power-hungry in their travels. The year is After Colony 195.

There is a rebellion that seeks to restore freedom to the galaxy by smuggling weapons back to

Earth as shooting stars. Even so, the Alliance catches on to this. Five pods are sent down as

we get our title over one of the titular Gundams.

A group of soldiers are tracking the pods as they descend upon Earth. They contact their

superiors to let them know about this development. We cut to a space shuttle as Lieutenant

Zechs is informed of the pods. He deduces they're related to Operation M. They can only catch

up to one of the pods: the one headed for Eastern Eurasia.

 

One of the pods has someone on it. He notices a civilian shuttle that is re-entering Earth's atmosphere. A young woman named Relena and her father are returning to Earth after

a very long time. Zechs' shuttle finds the pod and catches up to it. Zechs realizes the pilot of the

pod won't shoot down a shuttle just to increase his speed. He then decides to make his move.

The pilot realizes the Alliance is on to him; and exclaims “damn it” at the situation. Do

you know what the hell we have to do to get a damn TV-PG rating? It's not like the premise of

robotic civil war would have been enough? No, we always have to throw in some profanity

to make the teenagers want to watch! The pilot begins entering the atmosphere, and fires his

retro rockets. Zechs' shuttle goes after the pod at full throttle! Zechs is surprised that the pod

has increased speed. Relena looks out the window, and the pod deploys into a jet! Zechs

notices the jet is transforming. Zechs orders his men to open fire. The jet rights itself and

gets ready to face Zechs' shuttle.

Radar, radar, radar rider! Radar, radar, radar!

 

Zechs readies his Mobile Suit, Leo, to meet the pilot's challenge. Zechs shoots down the

jet, and his comrades suggest facing him in the Aries. The jet transforms into a Gundam, and

Zechs' comrades go after him. They hit the Gundam, and it returns fire, annihilating Zechs' comrades! Zechs tries to face the Gundam. He clashes with it and ejects from Leo. Zechs is

in awe at the Mobile Suit. The Mobile Suit lands in the ocean, near Japan.

The shuttle has landed and the man, Mr. Darlan, is being interviewed by the press about

what just happened above Earth's atmosphere. Two officers have a car waiting for Mr. Darlan,

but he declines saying he has things to do for his daughter's birthday. The officers have another

car for Relena, but she also refuses; saying she'll find her own way home. Relena walks along

the seaside; lamenting about father and how busy he is, when she finds the Mobile Suit pilot

on the shore.

A man in military garb is at the opera when he receives a call from Zechs about his Mobile Suit being shot down. The man says this isn't like Zechs. Zechs reveals that the Mobile

Suit was made of Gundanium, which surprises the man. I must also point out how primitive the

man's video phone looks. It's definitely a switch from landline handsets with holographs of the

speaker on the other end. It may have been an indicator of Voice Over Internet Protocol services

like Skype, but it looks like the Alliance buys their electronics at the same store Strong Bad does.

Still, the man and Zechs are surprised at this development, saying this would not have

happened if they were in charge 15 years ago. They know that Gundams are now on Earth. The

man decides to send out some squads to retrieve the suit from the ocean while Zechs sends out

a flotilla to inspect it. The man is named Colonel Tres. His superiors are not happy with Tres

wasting their resources. Then, they get to the next order of business, stopping the coalition of

colonies. Tres, however, has ulterior motives with his organization known as OZ.

 

Back on the beach, Relena takes off the pilot's helmet and notices he's still alive, and

very young. The pilot is surprised, and asks Relena if she saw anything. Some paramedics

get to the beach, but the pilot pushes a button on his suit. In a puff of smoke, he beats up

the paramedics and makes a break for it- by stealing the ambulance! 

We then get a montage of the other Mobile Suit pilots of this series. We have Duo,

wrecking up an Alliance military base.

We see another Mobile Suit with a lot of firepower destroying Nova Base. The pilot's

name is Trowa.

 

We see yet another Mobile Suit attacking Alliance forces in the desert. The pilot's name

is Quatre.

On the sea, we see one more Mobile Suit attacking the alliance flotilla. The pilot's name

is Wu Fei.

 

Back with Zechs, his men are wondering about the search troops. He tells them not to

get so flustered. He then shows them photographs of another Mobile Suit, the last one we saw

in the montage. Zechs says their forces have been depleted, and there are now five Gundams.

 

At school, the students are wondering where Relena is. The girls at one table are jealous

of the fact that she went to space; and notice that it's her birthday tomorrow.

The school has a new student, Hiro Yun. He is the pilot of the Gundam that crashed. Sure enough, he's given the seat next to Relena's. The plot thickens.

 

Relena then invites Hiro to her birthday party, but he declines. Hiro then threatens to kill

her. Relena then wonders what kind of person Hiro is.

I blame the rap music.

“The Shooting Star She Saw” is a great start to Gundam Wing. With a franchise as large

as Gundam, this is indeed a good series to start with. It may have been that I just wasn't ready

for it when I was younger (I was in the Pokémon/Dragon Ball Z crowd). Just as well, the story

is very good, treating its viewers like adults. The animation has held up very well over time.

The characters all have distinct personalities. The villains have clear motivations and are

charismatic in their portrayals. All in all, I am now in the process of watching Gundam Wing

(I try to finish any anime series I'm on before I start new ones). As for my next recap; it will

be on an anime that I dread whenever I press play, but has consistently provided material for

this blog. See you later!

Recap: Four Warriors Come Out of the Sky

Hello again. By the time you read this, I will have most likely moved into my new

home. This recap will probably be late as well, as my family and I have been working very

hard to get packed and moved over these last few days. Nevertheless, it's time for the next

mecha recap.

For this one, I thought I'd do it on one of the many anime adaptations of Transformers.

Transformers is a very well-known franchise. A series about robots that turn into all sorts of

vehicles that was based on a toyline of the same name has endured for a very long time, with

hundreds of action figures, many television series, and at least four movies (one animated one

from 1986, and three live-action ones with a fourth planned for 2014).

It originally began when Hasbro went to a toy fair in Japan in the early 1980s to look

at potential licenses to secure. They found two transforming robot toylines from the company

Takara (which has since merged with former rival Tomy): Microman, which consists of everyday objects transforming to protect humanity, and Diaclone, which is a line of piloted

mecha. The lines were combined and the toys renamed to create the first iteration of Transformers action figures; with an animated TV show being produced in September 1984. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fOpPXk_7mw

The franchise has captured the imagination of children and the young at heart for almost

30 years. Even so, as it went on, the US and Japan had very different ideas about how to portray

the franchise in media (though the toys remain consistent, barring some paint redecorations

and modifications for safety concerns). The US, as influenced by series such as Beast Wars

and Transformers Prime (the latter being in its third season as of this writing); which examine

the conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons at its core: essentially a robotic civil war

that outlasted the planet it started on. Japan, however, believes that robots that aren't piloted

are childish, and series such as Transformers: Robots In Disguise and the Unicron Trilogy

(consisting of Transformers Armada, Transformers Energon, and Transformers Cybertron);

tend to be filled with more slapstick comedy and over-the-top action. Moreover, the

Japanese franchise holders took it a step further and gave Beast Wars and Transformers Prime

gag dubs. Inversely, they also attempted to turn the highly-stylized Transformers Animated into

a prequel for the live-action movies. For frame of reference, Transformers Animated is a relatively light-hearted take on the franchise (at least until season 3); and the live-action films

are notorious for intense violence, coarse language, sexual innuendo, and having some of

the biggest amounts of product placement tied to a movie franchise.

While I admit there is material in the Unicron Trilogy, that's a matter for another day.

Generally, I find Armada to be all right, though I concede there is a lot to make fun of.

Energon is easily the worst of the trilogy, which makes it a contender for the worst piece of

Transformers animation in the entire franchise (barring the infamous Kiss Players, which I

will not be covering). Cybertron is a bit better than Energon from what I've seen, though there

is material for a recap or two (I just need to see some full episodes to determine which ones

I can work with).

For this recap, however, I decided to go back to 1987 to check out the very first

Transformers anime. You may or may not be aware, but anime production company Toei (Dragon Ball, Digimon, One Piece) animated a good chunk of the first two seasons of

The Transformers as well as all of 1986's The Transformers: The Movie. Even though AKOM

took over for season 3 and The Rebirth (a 3-episode season 4); this had the effect of giving

the show an anime-infused animation style in terms of the action scenes, how the characters

moved and were shaded, and the size and shape of the eyes on the human characters. However,

after season 3, the Japanese canon of G1 ignored The Rebirth and began a new continuation

of G1. It began with Transformers Headmasters, which would not be officially released in

America until nostalgic media distributor Shout! Factory secured the DVD rights. Even so,

the rise of YouTube and other video-sharing sides helped the subtitled and dubbed versions

reach fans. As you can imagine, it's not very good; and I have a lot to say about it. So, let's

open up “Four Warriors Come Out of the Sky”, transform, and roll out!

We're starting off with that awesome theme song, arranged by Vince Dicola, who composed the soundtrack to The Transformers: The Movie. It follows the same blend of heavy

metal and synthesizer sound the movie did. I'm posting a link of it so you can hear it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGAxrksCTos&list=PLD2980AEA5850CF8F&index=27

 

We open on a narrator explaining the history of Cybertron and the Transformers, set to

some stock footage of the original show. Unfortunately, it looks like a bad quality VHS or how

Kid Rhino fouled-up the footage for their DVD sets. Shout! Factory has the license now, and

while their sets have some animation errors here and there, they do look OK. Then, it transitions

to footage of The Transformers: The Movie, which had not come out in Japan yet when

Headmasters was in production.

We're getting our first pieces of original footage now, and it's not too good. The narrator

mentions that Optimus Prime put up a base on Athenia. The year is then far-off 2007. A strange

man named Michael Bay had this crazy idea about Bumblebee urinating on John Turturro.

We are on a war-torn Cybertron, with lights flickering and humming in a laboratory.

Galvatron enters the room, and the voice does at least resemble Leonard Nimoy. During seasons

3 and 4 of the show, I never thought Frank Welker's high-pitched Megatron voice fit for Galvatron. Just as well, as depictions of Megatron and Galvatron in more recent adaptations

are now more commonly deep-voiced, starting with David Kaye's portrayal in Beast Wars,

yes.

 

He addresses his new minions, and new toys. He tells them to attack the Autobots, and

the titular Headmasters volunteer. The Headmasters and Terrorcons are off to fight the Autobots.

We cut to the Autobot capital city of Iacon. Spike and Carly Witwicky are having tea

when an earthquake rocks the base. It's a meteor shower!

Kup and Wreck-Gar are observing a monitor while Blur paces the floor. Sadly, the show's voice actor for Blur is nowhere near as fast talking as John Moschitta, though I admit

hiring the world's fastest-talking actor would have been too expensive (this is part of the reason

the Transformers Animated version of the character was killed off after only a few episodes).

 

Wreck-Gar's voice is all right, and I also admit that Eric Idle would have been too

expensive to hire. (During Animated, they were willing to hire him, but Idle had a schedule

conflict and they settled on parody musician Weird Al Yankovic.) So, as you can tell, the voice

acting and animation are less than stellar.

Spike and Carly call Athenia for help. The Autobot Headmasters/toys call in to help.

We cut to Athenia, where we see Optimus Prime.

 

Hot Rod and Hound cut in about the situation on Cybertron. While it's not the exact

actors, the voices for Optimus, Hound, and Hot Rod are at least decent. Optimus receives

Spike and Carly's distress call, and sends help. He tells Hot Rod to take command in his

absence, while Jazz looks on.

We get our first ad bumper, which displays the Decepticon sharpshooter Sixshot, who

boasts six unique alternate modes.

 

Back on Cybertron, the Autobots face off against the Decepticons, with the Dinobot

Grimlock being hypnotized by a Predacon's wave.

Kup says they have to go. Spike remarks about Vector Sigma while Carly looks on.

Once again, the voice acting sounds like the water in the recording studio was full of Valium.

This anime has even worse voice acting than GI Joe Sigma Six. I know that's hard to imagine,

but it is possible.

Wreck-Gar enters the room, and says one of Hot Rod's quips from the movie: “We

can't hold out forever, Kup, but we can give them one humongous repair bill!” Sadly, the

awesome power of this line is diminished. Not because of being said by Wreck-Gar (who

is one of my favorite Autobots), but because the voice acting is so anemic. Just as well

that's not Eric Idle or even the regulars from the show, but some people in Hungary who

have never heard of Transformers. Seriously, some episodes refer to Blaster as “Billy”and

get the names of the other robots wrong. The problem is, Hasbro actually bought the rights

to this dub, making it an official unofficial dub.

Meanwhile, some Autobots are fighting the Decepticons. Autobots that stick out at me

are Ultra Magnus and Sideswipe. I do take the time to learn the Transformers' names, unlike

the people who dubbed this anime.

We then get our entrance of Sixshot, a Decepticon city commander from the 1987-1988

wave of toys. Available now at fine retailers everywhere! Sixshot shoots Ultra Magnus down.

Ultra Magnus returns fire, and we get one of the many sound effects borrowed from the

Star Wars movies when he fires his gun. Laser blasts and lightsaber sounds are the most common, with clashes when something is shot and the Millennium Falcon and TIE fighters in

flight being next. It was the 1980s, it was simpler to get these then.

 

Now, (sighs), we get our first glimpses of Daniel Witwicky and Wheelie. They are by

far some of the most annoying characters in the Transformers multiverse not named Mudflap,

Skids, or Kicker Jones. Daniel is a whiny kid, even more so than Spike was; and Wheelie tries

to be R2D2, but he comes off more as Jar Jar Binks. Even so, he's slightly more tolerable than

the Wheelie in the live action movies.

Anyway, they decide to head off to get to the Railbots, despite Daniel's objections.

This is a running theme in many post-movie Transformers G1 media: Daniel and Wheelie

tend to get into trouble by going places they're not supposed to. What do you know, they run

into city robot/dinosaur Trypticon. Another bit is that Wheelie speaks in rhyme, but the Hungarian voice actors don't have the time!

They actually tricked Trypticon into falling in a pit. This must be a new low for the

Decepticons. Yes, even lower than giving Devastator wrecking ball testicles. I'm honestly

running out of things to say about the voice acting. Not only is it shite, but most of the time,

it doesn't even match the lip flaps of the Japanese version! Vince Dicola's music cues still

enthrall, though.

 

We then get a battle that is as boring as it is badly-animated. We're talking Rhino

“Heavy Metal War” and “City of Steel” bad. We're talking Energon bad here. Ultra Magnus

and Sixshot are now clashing face to face, eye to eye.

In come the Railbots. Then, in comes the Autobot city, Metroplex, an Autobot who

is making a return for the 30^th anniversary of the franchise next year. Wow, there are a lot of

toys in this line.

 

Wheelie helps Daniel into his exo-suit as they decide to hop the Railbots and head to

Cybertron.

When the night has come, and the land is dark, and the moon is the only light we see...

 

Back on Cybertron, Optimus Prime and Jazz are having a heck of a time trying to ward

off the Decepticons. This is a scene I play in my mind and with my action figures all the time;

with Optimus and Jazz up against the odds... I am such a nerd.

Hot Rod and Kup arrive on Athenia, only to find that Optimus has gone to Cybertron.

You know, this whole thing was played a lot better in the movie. We've essentially gone from

Beast Wars and Animated to “BOT” and “The Girl Who Loved Powerglide” in terms of

writing. It's mentioned that Optimus doesn't have the Matrix of Leadership, meaning he won't

be at full strength. Kup and Hot Rod notice a strange glare in the sky.

After the battle, Cybertron is ablaze. Daniel and Wheelie head to Iacon, despite Wheelie's objections. Wheelie kicks a piece of debris, and it hits something, with Daniel

presumably filling his monogrammed tracksuit with fudge.

Zoinks!

 

He's being chased by one of the Predacons, a group of animal-based Decepticons who

who would later be the main villains of Beast Wars; the first Transformers show I ever watched.

The Railbots hit the Predacon, and Wheelie starts pounding it. One of the Railbots talks

to Daniel about what he did, but Daniel wants to stay on Cybertron. It can't be worse than

when he was in that firefight on Junk. I can say that I've surpassed my record of Transformers:

The Movie references from my recap Gray and the Blues.

Kup then says he remembers something from 4 million years in the past. I always liked

how Kup's characterization as a grizzled veteran of the Cybertron wars came through like this.

We cut to a flashback of the earlier days of the Cybertron wars, with Megatron, Starscream,

and Soundwave shooting up the place.

 

They notice the light outside is a ship. Blur thinks it's a Decepticon ship; but Carly

suggests it could be one for the Autobots. Hot Rod runs off, leaving Kup in command.

Kids these days and their ball joints and Aligned continuities! In my day, we had flying bricks for toys, and we liked it!

 

We then start seeing the combiners in action. The Aerialbots combine into Superion.

Superion and what I think is Bruticus (it could be Menasor) then charge at each other.

Then, we get the original Devastator in action. Optimus Prime has a dynamic entry-

dropkicking Devastator. Oh yeah! Optimus Prime just dropkicked Devastator! I think this

calls for “The Touch!”

YOU'VE GOT THE TOUCH! YOU'VE GOT THE POWER! YEAH!

Jazz tells Optimus that he doesn't have the strength to deal with Galvatron, but Optimus

continues to fight!

Grimlock points out that he doesn't recognize these Decepticons. The Decepticon

Headmasters introduce themselves as Weirdwolf, Skullcruncher, and Mindwipe. Only $19.95

each! Visa, Master Card, and American Express accepted!

 

Slag charges in. Regarding the Dinobots, Grimlock is my favorite, but Slag comes in

second. Mindwipe uses his ability on Slag, and he slows down and falls asleep. The Dinobots

were originally based on earlier stages of paleontology where dinosaurs were seen as slow,

dimwitted beasts. The advances that were made in each decade now depict them as more agile,

much like birds. This made it in when the Dinobots were brought back in Transformers Animated.

All the Autobots in the pit get hit with the beam, which include Grimlock and Sunstreaker. With the Autobots down, Galvatron proclaims that Cybertron is now his. A voice

then proclaims that Cybertron will never belong to Galvatron. It's Fortress Maximus, the largest

Transformer ever!

 

In come the Autobot Headmasters: Chromedome, Hardhead, Highbrow, and Brainstorm.

We end on the Autobot and Decepticon Headmasters staring each other down.

“Four Warriors Come Out of the Sky” is as uneven as you can imagine for the first

episode of the first Transformers anime. It's clear the fact that Japan had not yet gotten The

Transformers: The Movie led to continuity problems, not the least of which the memetic

recreation of Optimus Prime's death (which I had to omit from this recap for pacing). The

animation is incredibly poor; and the voice acting is some of the worst I've ever heard.

Even so, it does have a certain amount of camp value to it in how cheesy it is. That can be

said for other Transformers anime I'll be covering. There is definitely material for more

recaps of Headmasters, but the next Transformers-related recap will probably be on one of

the series of the Unicron Trilogy (I'm leaning towards Energon). For now, Iron Man 3 just

opened to uniformly positive press and a huge box office take; so I intend to get started on

the recap of the first episode of the Iron Man anime as I promised in my recap of Traffic Light

Chaos. See you space cowboy!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBXGUYRne1I