The originals... ok, not exactly, but the original named "The TransFormers" anyway. Take THAT, Diaclone! Generation 1, Generation 2 - Removable fists? Check. Unlicensed vehicle modes? Check. Kickass tape deck robot with transforming cassette minions? DOUBLE CHECK!!!
Who are those two people in charge of the Decepticons though? Weird.
Ah ha ha ha you'll fucking see.
Oh sweet, someone who *hasn't* already spoiled who Mega and Giga are for themselves! This'll be fun.
Yeah, that was a rhetorical question. If I don't already know something about the series, I'm trying not to spoil it ahead of time and just wait until the series itself gives an answer. I don't care if the series is 15 years old, I don't know everything about it (despite Gomess probably thinking I should ).
If it doesn't spoil any plot points, is there any reason why Ginrai's transtector looks like Optimus Prime?
Not really. In fact, the series itself never directly addresses it--just a special that was, I think, originally only released on video or something like that. I'm not sure if the DVD includes it; it was mostly just a clip show with new dialogue.
It's very vaguely explained, too. At one point, they say the Transtector was created to serve as a "new body" for Optimus Prime, but then later they contradict that and say that the body was designed for someone from Planet Master (from Headmasters), and the language implies that it was intended to create a "new" Optimus Prime. (In other words, someone else would use the Transtector and "become" Optimus Prime...like the way Hot Rod "became" Rodimus Prime. He wouldn't be "the" Optimus Prime but he'd be named that and considered that. It's weird.)
But yeah, basically it never comes up in the show and is never mentioned by anyone. He's just a guy who looks like Optimus Prime, probably because he's an Autobot Leader Character, the same way LioConvoy and Optimus Primal and Fire Convoy all look like Optimus Prime.
BWprowl wrote:The internet having this many different words to describe nerdy folks is akin to the whole eskimos/ice situation, I would presume.
People spend so much time worrying about whether a figure is "mint" or not that they never stop to consider other flavours.
See, there’s interesting contrast: Anderson was talking about how it’s weird to see Powermaster Optimus Prime referred to as Ginrai, but here I was worried that that’s what the subs would go with, which would drive me crazy since I can’t think of the character as anything but Ginrai, and calling him ‘Optimus Prime’ would be blasphemy to me. Anyway, episodes:
12. A subplot-developing friendship: Ginrai gets Cancer
‘The search for the Godmasters’ has technically been the driving plot of the series since Ginrai first showed up, but his dream at the beginning of this episode firmly launches the Autobots on that story path as well, rather than just the Decepticons being the ones doing the looking. The Autobots get an advantage in Ginrai finding three more pairs of Master-Braces in the truck, which I guess he…missed earlier? Anyway, all this sets up for Hawk to invite him to come back to Japan and visit the Autobot base (turns out that, despite vowing to fight the Decepticons at every turn, Ginrai still hasn’t formally joined the Autobots). Despite his misgivings about the lack of ‘freedom’ in Japan, he obliges, and catches a boat over there (necessary rather than by plane so his Transtector could be shipped over as well, good catch guys!) The Decepticon Headmaster Juniors catch wind of this and decide to try to prove themselves by taking out Ginrai on his way to the base (also, holy crap they can do crazy ninja-ing-through-trees stuff IN THEIR TRANSTECTORS!). Of course, Ginrai walks all over them, and this is where the episode gets interesting, as Ginrai hits upon the idea of taking Cancer prisoner to get some information. He chains the kid up at the base and starts hassling him for information. Minerva (kind of out of nowhere, but let’s be honest, it’s because she’s a GIRL and has FEELINGS) thinks Ginrai’s just being too mean to poor little Cancer, so she sets about treating his wounds and trying to give him juice. He initially refuses, and they go into a fairly interesting bit where the humans are explicitly referred to as being ‘Autobots’ and ‘Decepticons’, reinforcing that these guys are actual, functioning members of the teams, as opposed to just being allies or mascots or whatever. Ginrai comes back in and really starts letting Cancer have it, with Minerva trying to get him to lay off, which results in the most unintended performing of Good Cop Bad Cop you’ve ever seen, and it *works*! Cancer relents and tells the Autobots (and us, for the first time) the story Mega and Giga told them of where the Godmasters came from: They’re offshoots of one ‘primary’ Godmaster that came from Cybertron ages ago. There are seven total, so four more left to find. I dig that here, Hawk is quick enough to realize that there were only three spare sets of Master-Braces in Ginrai’s Transtector, so that fourth, unaccounted-for one is the one that concerns him the most; the Autobots are *smart* in this episode. It continues with stuff like Ginrai putting a tracking beacon on Cancer when they let him go, although that gets crushed by Hydra once he hooks up with them. Holy crap, Ginrai just friggin’ lays into Hydra too, tackling him and beating the tar out of him, until Buster takes Minerva hostage to get him to quit, only to have Cancer and his newfound sympathizing with Minerva break that up and force the Decepticons to retreat in the disadvantageous confusion.
There’s a lot of good stuff in this episode. Apart from the bits I mentioned above, we also see Wilder and Bullhorn searching for Cancer when they wake up to find him missing, actively worried about him. It’s cool to see that the Decepticon Juniors have grown into close friends/comrades; as with Hydra and Buster it’s nice to have bad guys that actually care about each other rather than just tolerating each other in contempt, it makes the sides feel more ‘real’, I guess? The other interesting thing about this episode is the way it establishes Ginrai’s ‘style’ of action. He’s proactive, jumping in as soon as he knows the Juniors are involved and flattening all of them, then coming up with the idea of capturing Cancer, grilling him for information, then releasing him with a tracking device stuck to him. Seeing the way his less-than-classy information-extracting techniques turn people off, particularly the kids, drives home the point that he’s different for an Autobot team member, and he’s definitely no Optimus Prime yet. This is a guy who has already learned to hate the Decepticons, and who is kind of high on his newfound power to do something to oppose them (he talks about this a bit at the beginning of the next episode). You can see that in the way he just lays into Hydra. Seeing Minerva as an opposite view, someone who hasn’t been personally hurt so much by the Decepticons, and can empathize with them a bit more provides an effective contrast to Ginrai’s actions, and they’ll actually go into this in the next episode.
Also, oh man, the subs on this episode! Aside from lots of awkward ‘Scrap you!’ from Cancer, we get this gem: The first time Minerva tries to serve him juice, Cancer kicks the glass, shattering it and cutting Minerva’s hand. Shuta and Cab rush in and see the wound, with Shuta exclaiming ‘Blood!’. The translators render this as ‘Bomb-Burst!’. Haha, oh wow. I’m now under the impression that the translation team just had a script they were going through and transliterating without even actually watching the show. This episode is also naturally loaded down with Cancer being referred to as ‘Squeezeplay’, and just…damn that’s an awkward name for the kid.
13. Trailer or Trailer!? The Trailer form of the Trailer!!
This episode has the best opening scene ever, with the Decepticon Headmaster Juniors trying to pick up chicks in their Transtectors! You can’t pick up chicks in a tank, and apparently you don’t have much luck in a giant, monstrous robot bull either. The Juniors are still smarting from their loss last episode and are trying to make up for it by tracking Ginrai down and/or finding the Autobot base, per any memories Cancer had of it from being captured. Buster and Hydra are doing the same, but that’s just because that’s their job. Ginrai’s still touring the Autobot base, and he learns about the Decepticons killing Shuta’s dad, giving the two an opportunity to bond over their shared grudges, and Ginrai gets to bond with Cab later when he finds out how his home island was attacked. This lets them turn to conversation to Minerva, and it brings up the interesting point that Minerva was able to empathize with Cancer better in the last episode since she has less personal reason to hate the Decepticons than the other Autobot humans do. Anyway, Ginrai realizes he may have been out of line, acknowledging that his anger and inability to control it when he gets going is one of his flaws (we’ve already seen this a few times) and he and Minerva make up, with Cab and Shuta worried that the two of them may be getting a little *too* chummy (Hey, Ginrai’s canonically only three years older than Minerva…). They decide to go out gallivanting in their Transtectors, when Ginrai’s suddenly develops a will of its own and takes him off in search of something. At first I figured it was going to track down one of the other Godmasters, but it’s instead heading towards this weird ominous black thing some miners came across in a different part of the episode. Spotting Ginrai and the kids on TV at the site, the Decepticon Juniors and Hydra and Buster head over to intercept, leading to a big brawl between the groups with the Godmasters all slinging liberal amounts of Chokon power around (seriously, between the brown, rocky landscape and all the chi blasts getting thrown around, this one practically came across like an episode of Dragon Bots Z), the excessive amount of which affects the black thing in the cave, which blasts out and reveals itself to be a…trailer. Well Hydra is TERRIFIED of trailers so he orders a retreat, and Ginrai realizes that this is the thing his Transtector was looking for. This kinda makes sense, since we’ll find out in a couple episodes that this trailer is definitely *part* of the Transtector, so I can see it wanting to ‘complete’ itself, and being in Japan finally means it was able to sense this other component and go after it.
This is an alright episode held up by some good bits. I like the analysis of the Autobot –Masters and why they hate the Decepticons so much, with Minerva being the pointed exception, as well as Ginrai acknowledging his anger issues when fighting (He wasn’t dubbed the ‘God-On of Rage’ for nothing, it seems). There’s also a bit towards the end during the big Chokon Power duel with Hydra encouraging Buster’s growing use of it, being impressed by his improvement, a nice follow-up to that bit from their second episode; it’s good to see they haven’t forgotten about it. It’s also good to see the Decepticon Headmaster Juniors taking the initiative to make up for their mistakes, and even trying to use a screw-up (Cancer getting captured) to their advantage (finding the Autobot base). They don’t *succeed* but it’s good to see them try, nonetheless.
14. Ginrai got to be on TV, let’s kill him!
Devil Z finally speaks! We don’t really get any information on who or what he is, but it becomes clear that above Blood, above Mega and Giga, this…glowy…thing is the one calling the shots. Hydra and Buster are reiterated their mission to kill GInrai, and this time they really can’t fuck around.
Ginrai’s shipped his Transtector, with the trailer, back to America to show it to Diver and Lander. Between all the Transtector shipping and flights and such they take, what kind of expense account do the Autobots have? They seem to be quite comfortable handling all this stuff. Anyway, Ginrai and the others muse on the point of finding the other Godmasters, and Ginrai hits upon an idea: He appears on TV on what seems to be a write-in/call-in based Ripley’s-alike, and appeals to people who may have strange vehicles or be feeling particularly Godmaster-y to contact the show so he can find them. Seems like a good idea, the bad news is that it also tips off the Decepticons that he’s in that area and they set about hunting him down (the show makes a point of showing that Gilmer has been reduced to a measly scouting role, and he, like the other Decepticon Pretenders, is not happy about it). Hydra and Buster come up with another of their villainous schemes: Wait until Ginrai’s in a city, a populated area before they attack him, thus increasing human casualties and turning human sentiment against Autobots for their role in drawing destructive attention. These guys can be devious sometimes. So…they do that, their first hit being the stop where Ginrai’s job has taken him, with many of his old trucker friends, including the boss/owner, who’s comment about his kid made me certain he was the next of Ginrai’s buddies that was gonna get horribly, killed, but no, he’s just injured. Hydra and Buster’s plan works at first, with even Ginrai’s former friends yelling at him for bringing the battle into the city. Unfortunately, this just pisses Ginrai off, and we all know by now what happens when Ginrai gets pissed off. He Chokon-Powers the hell out of the brothers, the tide turning even more when Diver and Lander show up to help (and they totally Rider Kick some Lobclaws/Nautilators, awesome), and explain the situation offscreen to the humans afterwards, which curbs their sentiment somewhat. Ginrai’s not-dead boss does similar honors for Ginrai’s friends, meaning everything’s worked out in the end, said boss telling Ginrai that he believes Ginrai getting his powers to be something that was willed by God, and that he may have a higher purpose than just getting revenge on the Decepticons. Diver reinforces this a little later, telling Ginrai that he believes he could become a leader some day. Meanwhile, Mega and Giga are tired of Hydra and Buster getting their shit tossed by Ginrai, and decide that maybe a new approach is needed: They formally ask Tatra, leader of the Seacons to join the battle, and he obliges, demonstrating his ability to merge with them to form King Poseidon!
Another good episode, though it takes a bit to get going (things are strong once the fight in the city breaks out). More of Ginrai’s more pragmatic personality appears here, the televised appeal to the remaining Godmasters being a unique element. The Decepticons being able to exploit that does a good job of showing that he didn’t really think it through, a nice touch. Good to see them hinting at his growing into a future role as leader though, it keeps us interested in Ginrai’s growth as a character rather than just his more static, standout elements. There are some weird bits: The Decepticon Headmaster Juniors are now back in America for some reason. It’s possible they were dispatched there in anticipation of Ginrai going back, but it’s not made clear and they don’t really do anything in this episode anyway. The big question though, is why did Mega and Giga wait until NOW to have Tatra/King Poseidon join the fray, if he’s apparently been around the whole time? Best explanation I can think of is that their robo-racism factored into the decision, and their strong belief in the superiority of Human/Transformer hybrids kept them from wanting to ask an ‘inferior’ pure Cybertronian for help. But whatever, this was a decent episode anyway, we got more well-done evil stuff from Hydra and Buster (and they got around to using their guns here too!), and Lander and Diver got to keep being cool (I’m increasingly liking both of them, and Lander’s toy is not too hard/expensive to come by on eBay, hm…).
15. Advertising!! The debut of more toy functionality!
More fun with the Decepticon Headmaster Juniors at the beginning of this episode, this time we see them surfing on these totally bitchin’ Decepticon-branded surfboards. Their attempt at using their Headmaster suits to impress their peers is cut short though, as Blood and the other Pretenders show up and deign to take the kids hostage as yet another plan to lure out Ginrai for a beating. Well I’m sure this is just another goofy plan by the downtrodden Pretenders and it’ll turn out-OH GOD they totally murdered some Coast Guard guys in front of the kids’ parents in town and now they’re calling for Ginrai’s head on a pike before they let anyone go! The Autobots work on assembling at Diver’s base in America (Lander acting seriously callous, people having been murdered by his enemies and he’s butthurt because he had to cancel a date) while Diver heads out ahead to the island to scout the situation, only he ends up getting captured by the Decepticons, who were apparently ready for Pretenders since they fit Diver with a brace that prevents him from hitting the button that lets him Suit On. The other Autobots start to think something’s wrong when Diver hasn’t contacted them for a while, but they don’t actually get that maybe they should go check on him until he sends an ultrasonic signal to his dolphins to let everyone know that something really REALLY is wrong. Yeesh. So the Autobots some up with a plan that involves the requisitioning of a couple of small carrier ships (seriously, where do they get their funding?) to keep the Decepticons’ attention while Ginrai sneaks onto the island. This includes an epic bit where Ginrai changes into his Godmaster suit, summons his Transtector from the sinking ship, and transforms with the full sequence of music and sound effects…only to reveal that he was actually doing this all *very quietly* because he gently lands behind Wilder and gets the drop on him. I laughed, I have no idea how intentional the goofiness of that segment was, but it was entertaining as hell regardless. Ginrai saves Diver, but things get dicey when Tatra reveals himself and combines into King Poseidon. But a fit of episode-ending Chokon Power gives Ginrai the boost he needs to combine with his trailer into Super Ginrai, and he dispatches King Poseidon almost comically quickly.
Good to see the Decepticon Pretenders are still being proactive and can still come across as a credible threat. Their quickly-shown murder of the Coast Guard guys reminds you that these guys are no Predastooges, they do not fuck around. They were even prepared for Diver with that anti-Pretender brace thing! On the other hand, we also get to see all the Autobots working together in this one, which is always nice. Diver and Lander continue to have visible roles, showing that they won’t yet be phased out just because Ginrai and other human-robot hybrids are encroaching as the focus (poor Phoenix though, they just can’t really shoehorn in anything for him to do, though he does get a decent aerial battle with Blood in this episode). They also sneak in some quick character development between Cancer and Minerva, calling back to their interaction a few episodes ago. King Poseidon’s formal debut and Ginrai’s Super-transformation and fight with him at the end is *really* rushed, however, and does a poor job of highlighting these new toys/features that should be a Big Deal when they appear, rather than a sudden thing at the end with hardly any time afterwards to reflect on it. On the other hand, I really like the design for Super Ginrai as it appears in this show. Christ, I really need that toy.
This last chunk of episodes has been okay all together, but I have a feeling they’d seem more tedious if I was watching on a regular weekly tv schedule or whatever, since they’ve all been some slightly remixed spin on “The Decepticons really really want to kill Ginrai! No, seriously this time!”. Fortunately, the new major plot developments are about to come in:
16. Lightfoot: A Traumatic Encounter
This episode begins by making us feel funny, with extended scenes of Shuta and Cab (in a speedo!) at swim practice, then following them as they check out the girls’ side practice, trying to catch a glimpse of Minerva in her suit. The positions they get views in while doing this, hunched down, in the bushes, over each other, in swim suits…huh. Anyway, after a bunch of HILARIOUS shenanigans with Minerva being upset with them and them apologizing, the kids come up with the idea of going on a cross-Japan tour for their Summer vacation. Presumably this’ll get used as a driving plot point in later episodes since it’s kinda dropped after that and the kids NEVER SHOW UP AGAIN in this episode. Instead we switch to Ginrai, checking out the latest mail he’s received from that show he did a while back, and gets an actual lead as someone sends him a picture of what seems to clearly be a Cybertronian. So he leaves to meet the guy, who apparently lives in Canada. Hydra and Buster show up after being absent for a while, revealing that they’re still on the search for Godmasters too, and go straight to the source, hitting up the studio not long after Ginrai leaves and finding out that he’s on his way to a lead. They tell the Pretenders about this, which encourages them to track Ginrai down themselves so they can regain the standing they once had in the Decepticon group. Ginrai meets up with the guy who wrote the letter, an Amuro-looking heir to a high-end car company named Lightfoot who’s been getting weird reactions from his family’s prized original car. Ginrai figures that this must be the Godmaster, and goes out in it with Lightfoot, and prompts him to put on some Master-Braces and transform, revealing that he is indeed the Godmaster they’re looking for. Blood and the others decide they’ve seen enough, and attack the two of them, Lightfoot proving utterly useless in battle due to his lack of experience, meaning Ginrai has to take on all of them by himself (not after nailing Gilmer in the crotch with Lightfoot’s car, though), and even as Super Ginrai he has trouble, things getting trickier once King Poseidon shows up. Fortunately Lightfoot transforms again and is able to help out a bit, his speed being an advantage. They drive the Decepticons off (Ginrai just tearing through King Poseidon, with his own sword at one point, even), and Lightfoot agrees to stick with the Autobots and learn from Ginrai.
The debut episode for the next Godmaster, and a strong one. The bit with the kids wanting to take their vacation at the beginning feels a bit out of place, though I get the feeling it’s setting up for a larger arc (also nice to see Hawk being smart and realizing that them touring around will be a good way to keep them from rushing into battle stupidly every time, which might a large factor in him letting them go). After that, Ginrai meeting up with Lightfoot has its own interesting points. At first it seemed odd that Ginrai, who has expressed dissatisfaction with more or less being forced to become an Autobot to be pushing so hard to have Lightfoot to become a Godmaster. However, remember that he’s now thinking there might be higher purpose to becoming one, and his elation when Lightfoot was truly revealed and transformed revealed even more clearly what was going on here: Ginrai’s feeling alienated on a team that’s otherwise flesh-suited aliens and kids, and he wants a true comrade, a friend even, who he can connect with on the team. It’s a good way of showing his assimilation into the situation, as well as setting up how he’ll truly grow into his role in the Autobots. With Lightfoot wanting to learn from him, Ginrai now has a subordinate of sorts, someone to work under him who has to act as a mentor or leader for. I hope this pattern of growth continues with the introduction of the other Godmasters. I was also impressed by Lightfoot not being an instant combat expert as soon as he transformed, turning out to be more of a liability instead, due to his inexperience. The fact that his first pass at actually fighting towards the end of the episode swung more towards his abilities as a driver and his speed made it work as well. It lends credence to the idea that there’s a reason the Transtectors choose the people they do as their Godmasters.
I do think that Lightfoot’s name is extremely goofy, by the way. I mean, apparently his dad’s name was Leftfoot (Lightfoot’s subtitle-name of Getaway completely demolishing that joke), but that really just raises further questions. Now that stuff like Wilder, Cancer, and Bullhorn is any better, mind you, but I can at least pretend those are their ‘gang’ names, not a formal name of ‘Lightfoot’ the way this guy seems to go by. Such is one of the pratfalls of toy-based media, I suppose, but even the American toy releases had the idea to give the –Master components and the Transtectors different names, some reason Masterforce couldn’t do the same for these guys? It’s just…a little weird. Not that this show is trying terribly hard to be ‘realistic’ or anything (we had sonic-signaled dolphin rescues a couple episodes ago!), and it’s definitely enjoyable for that.
I think this series could’ve been cool had it been given a decent dub and aired on Cartoon Network/Toonami back in the day. Maybe as a Midnight Run thing, or as a side-promotional thing to when they were running Armada. I know I would’ve been ecstatic to see it on TV. Ah well, I just have to imagine what a really properly translated/dubbed Masterforce might sound like…
It's interesting to watch the explanation of the Godmasters and realize just how much the spheres look like sparks, several years before Beast Wars would invent the concept. So Mega and Giga are Godmasters who have bonded with humans? Did I understand that correctly? And there are others out there that we have yet to see, presumably Slapdash, Getaway and Joyride, or whatever their names are in Japan. If nothing else, some sort of Transformers lifeforce is bonding with humans, producing the Godmasters, so it's a fusion of human and Transformer life.
I'm continuing to enjoy this series. It seems to move along at a good pace, constantly introducing new characters or new mysteries, or an explanation or two.
Oh, and this has to be my favorite episode title so far: "Rage!! Little Devils with No Need for Rules".
It's odd how the English and Japanese character names continue to be mixed throughout the translated subtitles. So Getaway continues to be Getaway, but Joyride will apparently be called Ranger? Maybe changes in color scheme have a lot to do with it. If the colors match Hasbro's product, the characters get the Hasbro name. If they don't, they get the Japanese name, with the exception of major characters like Cab or Ginrai.
I say that because a little research reveals that Ranger and Joyride are colored quite differently, while Getaway and LIghtfoot are pretty close to being identical. So maybe deco is the determining factor for naming the minor characters.
I love this exchange:
Getaway rams Submarauder in the crotch.
Getaway: "Do you think I overdid it?"
Ginrai: "You should just put some disinfectant on the hood..."
Anyway, I streamed some eps for some friends over the weekend. I'd type up my thoughts iiiiif I wasn't in a complete fit of crippling depression right now.
BWprowl wrote:The internet having this many different words to describe nerdy folks is akin to the whole eskimos/ice situation, I would presume.
People spend so much time worrying about whether a figure is "mint" or not that they never stop to consider other flavours.
17. An Enemy? Go Go Powermaster Ranger!
I need to cut down the event recaps. Anyway, this episode introduces Ranger, who get to keep his Japanese name because Joyride was actually colored differently. At first Minerva is suspicious of him because he saw him talking to Bullhorn (it’s implied the latter was just getting directions or something from Ranger), but after he’s revealed to be a latent Godmaster (and not even one with a personal vehicle at the time, the jettisoned-off space rock he found just up and morphs into his dune buggy!) and vows to fight against the Decepticons Minerva realizes she was probably wrong about all that. Ranger comes off as a decently cool dude, preferring his quiet life of semi-isolation patrolling the Canadian countryside and living in his cabin (which he built himself, putting even Cab’s ballin’ treehouse to shame), which makes him a nice natural kindred spirit to the likewise freedom-loving Ginrai. He does really like his horse though, to the point that it being injured in an attack by the Decepticon Headmaster Juniors is what sends him over the edge in terms of swearing to fight the Decepticons. Oddly though, it’s really vague what happens to the horse. It gets injured, and Minerva says it looks bad, so Ranger gets pissed and runs off to fight, and then…it’s never seen or heard from again. Piss the puppy was explicitly killed and buried, so it’s not like the show has any qualms about offing animals onscreen, but the horse just disappears and we never find out if it recovered or died or what. Huh. There’s also some unintentionally funny/creepy bits with Ranger approaching the kids while they’re fishing alone, getting friendly with them, then inviting them back to hang out in his cabin in the woods. Huh. Seriously though, this is a fine little episode, and a solid introduction to the new Godmaster.
I find it funny that even when he goes camping, Hawk is still wearing his full suit. Dude doesn’t take off his swag for anything. Lightfoot on the other hand has switched to some sort of loud, layered, jazzercise looking thing. 80’s cartoon fashion sense!
18. Here comes a new challenger!
This episode concerns the arrival of Sixknight, an independent but obstinately Decepticon-aligned robot martial artist who has come to Earth because he feels like he could help their cause there, and because he’s looking for strong opponents to fight. The enduring theme of robo-racism in the Decepticon ranks gets revisited here, with Mega and Giga telling Sixknight to get stuffed, since even though he’s a pure Cybertronian who can actually control one of the elements of Chokon Power, they still don’t think he’s as apt for their purposes as their human-bonded comrades are. This leads to Blood and the other Pretenders confiding in him that they don’t like the setup either, and they decide to send Sixknight out to take out Ginrai to prove his worth to Mega and Giga. I like this continuing schism growing in the Decepticon ranks between the –Masters and the pure Cybertronians, I really wonder how far the rift will be by the time the series is heading for its end. Sixknight’s enjoyable, being a confident Decepticon warrior who has that faith in himself shattered when a Decepticon force tells him they don’t need him, and even further when he’s beaten by Ginrai and is shocked to discover the one who defeated him was a human! You get a real sense that he’s a warrior who’s always strived to improve himself and his abilities, and when the standards for such things get switched around by what he sees on this planet, you see him starting to re-evaluate how he’s going to continue growing. He does stick to his principles though, getting mad at Blood and the others when they take Minerva hostage to force Ginrai to stop putting up a fight. He’s left as a wild card in the conflict, and it’ll be interesting to see where he ends up.
I dig that Sixknight incorporates his six-mode transformation into a ‘Special Move’ of sorts. It does a good job of showcasing the character’s features and abilities, and plays up the ‘legendary martial artist’ motif.
I also like this episode here because it breaks up the ‘find a Godmaster every episode’ plot that it could’ve fallen into, but don’t worry, we get back to that next episode.
19. Collect all four Godmasters!
This one has the final owner of Ginrai’s spare Master-Braces being introduced, and surprisingly, the Decepticon Headmaster Juniors are the first ones to figure out where he might be, Wilder doing some decent research into the matter (Cancer was just playing Pole Position). Unfortunately for them, Lightfoot and the kids just happen to be in the relevant place watching the future Godmaster race, as he’s a driver named Road King. Okay, come on, they render his name in subtitles as ‘Slapdash’, but you can *hear* ‘Road King’, and at one point he signs an autograph for Shuta and it says ‘Road King’, in English, right there! For the record, in a medium that gave us a race car driver named ‘Speed Racer’, I can accept ‘Road King’ as a person’s name, even if I imagine he would go by ‘King’ for short, that being a more respectably moniker than ‘Road’. Anyway, his motivation comes in the form of the Headmaster Juniors really throwing a tantrum this time, when a bartender owns their shit and kicks them out for being disrespectful brats, and they come back and start tearing up the town with their Transtectors in retaliation. The bartender, Road King’s mentor and the original owner of the Transtector, actually doesn’t die, or even get injured, but the attempted destruction of his hometown is enough to get Road King pissed off at the Decepticons and join the Autobot cause.
I really like how they’ve been trying to give the Godmasters real motivation for joining the Autobots and fighting the Decepticons, stuff like Ginrai’s friends getting killed, Ranger’s house getting burned down, and Road King’s town getting wrecked, rather than just ‘Okay, Autobots found me first, guess I’ll work with them’ as a reasoning. Lightfoot’s the one exception, not having a real personal beef with the ‘Cons, but he seems to have a mild man-crush on Ginrai anyway, so there you go. But yeah, giving most of the characters a personal stake in the war (Shuta’s dead dad being another example) helps define them and make them more memorable, not to mention more believable. Not only have we seen the Decepticons do some despicable stuff to make them clearly ‘that bad’ to us (Wilder and co’s petty destruction of the town in Road King’s debut ep being the latest example of such things) but we get why the characters personally hate these guys so much, and it fuels the conflict, rather than just guys fighting because the toyline dictates it.
Looks like Sixknight’s coming back next ep, and may be switching sides to boot, since that’s what Six-Changers do, apparently!
My favorite episodes of masterforce is when super ginrai battles overlord for the first time. then when godginrai battles overlord in a revenge battle. masterforce I felt had one of the most awesome final battle arcs episodes.
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