Transformers Japanese Collection: Headmastersgood
List Price : $29.93 Price : $19.68
Product Description
A year has passed since the events of Sunbow’s third season, and the war between Convoy’s (a/k/a Optimus Prime) Cybertrons and the Destrons has finally come to its conclusion. Peace once again reigns supreme over the galaxy: but the game quickly changes with the emergence of a new breed of Transformers . . . the Headmasters!
Now you can finally watch the rarely seen Japanese series that’s had Transformers and anime fans talking for over 20 years! Includes the original Japanese audio with brand-new English subtitles!
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In 1987, the toy company Takara and the Toei studio began producing an alternate version of the popular product-based Transformers series featuring characters and story lines geared to the Japanese market. For decades, American mecha fans could only watch Headmasters in dim conversions from other formats and/or bootleg copies. Shout Factory is releasing the series for the first time in the United States. During this first season, the familiar Autobots and Decepticons are replaced by a new corps of robots who turn into tanks, helicopters, and other mechanical devices designed to please the core audience of elementary-school boys. However, the basic components of the story line remain the same: friendships are forged, battles are fought, allegiances shift, threats appear, situations grow dire, and good robots triumph over bad ones. For viewers who grew up on the original Transformers, Headmasters offers an enticing blend of nostalgia and new adventures. However, anyone who lacks those childhood memories may wonder what all the excitement is about. The animation is extremely limited, the Japanese voice actors chew the painted scenery endlessly, and the direction repeats many of the clichés of '80s Saturday morning kidvid. (Instead of creating transitions between scenes, the directors simply cut to a spinning logo, as their counterparts at Hanna-Barbera and Filmation did.) The designs of the robots, including the central cadre of Fortress Maximus, Brain Storm, Chromedome, Hardhead, and Highbrow, lack the dynamic sophistication of Yoshiyuki Tomino's Gundam, which debuted in 1979. When Transformers premiered, children's advocates and parents' groups denounced it as a thinly disguised commercial, created to sell toys to boys. Those boys have grown up, and men who want to revisit that part of their childhood will revel in the struggles of Fortress Maximus and his fellow warriors against their evil counterparts. (Not rated; suitable for ages 6 and older: cartoon robot vs. robot violence) --Charles Solomon
(1. Four Warriors from Outer Space, 2. The Mystery of Planet Master, 3. Behold the Birth of Double Prime, 4. The Autobot Cassette Operation, 5. Rebellion on Planet Beast, 6. Approach of the Demon Meteorite, 7. The Four-Million-Year-Old Veil of Mystery, 8. Terror of the Six Shadows, 9. Planet Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1, 10. Planet Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2, 11. Zarak--The Shadow Emperor, 12. The Dormant Volcano Mysteriously Erupts, 13. Head On, Fortress Maximus! 14. Explosion on Mars! Maximus Is in Danger! 15. Explosion on Mars! Scorponok Appears! 16. Return of the Immortal Emperor, 17. SOS from Planet Sandra, 18. Daniel Faces his Biggest Crisis Ever, 19. Fight to the Death on Planet Beehive, 20. Battle for Defense of the False Planet, 21. Find Scorponok's Weak Spot, 22. Head Formation of Friendship, 23. Mystery of the Space Pirate Ship, 24. The Death of Ultra Magnus, 25. The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg, 26. I Risk My Life for Earth, 27. The Miracle Warriors--The Target Masters, Part 1, 28. The Miracle Warriors--The Target Masters, Part 2, 29. The Master Is in Danger, 30. The Zarak Shield Turns the Tide, 31. Operation: Destroy the Decepticons, 32. My Friend, Sixshot! 33. Duel on the Asteroid, 34. The Final Showdown on Earth, Part 1, 35. The Final Showdown on Earth, Part 2)
Transformers Japanese Collection: Headmasters Reviews
Transformers Japanese Collection: Headmasters Reviews
| 11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:  Loved It, But Your Mileage May Vary, This review is from: Transformers Japanese Collection: Headmasters (DVD) Transformers: Headmasters is the first of a loose "trilogy" of Japanese-exclusive Transformers cartoons produced after the demise of the American "G1" cartoon. I was introduced to this show (and its successors, Transformers: Masterforce and Transformers: Victory) by way of badly-converted (PAL-to-NTSC) VHS bootlegs and an English dub by way of Singapore. I was able to get into Masterforce and Victory, since the characters were mostly "all-new" and had few, if any, connections to the original series, but I could never get more than five or six episodes into Headmasters because of the glaringly horrible way they dealt with the names (Blurr is called "Wally," Blaster is called "Billy," Spike is "Sparkle," the Matrix of Leadership is called "The Power Pack," etc.). It was laughingly bad and still a subject of much derision today (there's a line in Masterforce about "going to headQUARters to have some keBABS" that still makes me chuckle years later).Shout! Factory's official... Read more 38 of 47 people found the following review helpful:  Fanfare has its privileges..., By DJ Skeletal "Skel" (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews This review is from: Transformers Japanese Collection: Headmasters (DVD) At long last, after nearly two decades of having to suffer through overpriced bootlegs and imports, the U.S. 'Transformers' fan base finally gets a proper release of the Japanese series!As any online summary will tell you, the Japanese 'Headmasters' ignores the 'Rebirth' mini-series and follows its own take following the events of 'The Return of Optimus Prime' (or Convoy, as he is called in the Japanese series). Parents of younger 'Transformers' fans may want to be aware that the tone of the series is a tad darker than the U.S. episodes mainly due to character deaths throughout the series (a certain character sacrifices himself AGAIN), and by U.S. standards, there is a substantial amount of profanity. My major gripe with 'Headmasters' is that in general, the writing is very weak and often seems as if it is trying too hard to mimic the previous U.S. 'Generation One' (G1) series. Even the 'lip syncing' of the characters in early episodes seems as if it is trying... Read more 8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:  Japanified, By Amazon Verified Purchase This review is from: Transformers Japanese Collection: Headmasters (DVD) I have to rate this release as a 5-Star for several reasons:1. The great price and for the fact that it's not a bootleg. 2. If this is the 'weakest' series of the Japanese "trilogy", then I hope Shout Factory releases the other two sets (Headmasters; Super God Masterforce; Victory), the storytelling and action is excellent. 3. Even for an 80's 'toon, and not remastered from its original film, it has held up brilliantly; much moreso than the U.S. counterparts in my opinion. 4. It doesn't belittle: adult wars - check; actual robot destruction/dismemberment and 'game over' - check; extremely mild language (I wouldn't even consider it profanity) - check. It's basically what you wanted to see as a kid. I was hesitant to watch the release at first. It sat on my player for over a month. Not because it's a Japanese release and has no English Dubs -- I watch all of my anime with Subs, but because it's from the 80's. Don't get me... Read more |
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