Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Head On!

TFWiki.net

So I just got the Japanese Headmasters cartoon on DVD from Shout! Factory.  Yeah, I'm just a little late on this.  I've had other things going on for the past few years.  Anyway, I've watched the first disc, and I have some random thoughts that I'd like to share.  I would've waited until I watched the entire series, but this all ties into the series of articles I have coming down the pipeline.  Just trust me.

I had a two minute conversation with myself about whether or not I should do an episode by episode breakdown/synopsis, but I ultimately opted against it.  That just sounded tedious.  Anyway, where was I?  Right, my thoughts on the Japanese Headmasters cartoon.

That Theme Song


TFWiki.net
The theme song is really catchy.  I've been walking around the house just saying "Head on!"  It's ridiculous how catchy that thing is.

It's Really Japanese


TFWiki.net
When I started watching the first disc, I wondered why it wasn't imported over to the States by Hasbro.  Then we started getting the static shots that made me wonder if I was watching old Dragonball or Dragonball Z episodes.  Couple that with a very subservient Arcee, there's really no way this would have worked in the U.S. in 1987 or 1988.  But that's just me.


Isn't He Dead?

I love the fact that, so far, characters like Prowl, Hound, and Sunstreaker have been featured in this series.  Hound even has a speaking part!  Throw in Jazz having things to do, and I know have a very good reason to love this series.

 Combiners!

TFWiki.net
I don't think I've viewed an episode yet that hasn't featured at least one gestalt.  And the battle in the first few episodes where all the gestalts (including Devastator!) fighting was epic.  It's something that I've always wanted to see animated.

Blurr is More Annoying Than Wheelie

Blurr's double talking is just downright idiotic.  Sure, Wheelie is still pretty annoying, but not to the point that Blurr is.  Plus, Blurr is a coward?  That's the way he seems through the first disc.  And I'm kind of annoyed at how Kup, Blurr and Arcee are essentially office workers.  The one time they've ventured out of the confines of the base on Athenia was to watch Rodimus get rubble knocked on him by Galvatron.  Eh.

Talk About a Commercial!


This is the most fascinating thing to me.  When a new character appears, his name is displayed.  That makes it easier for kids to tell their parents which toy they want.  People complain about U.S. cartoons from the 80's being glorified commercials, but Headmasters takes it to a whole new level.

Well that's it for this article.  I'll have more of a review once I finish watching the entire series, but I really wanted to get these thoughts out as they tie together with what I'm working on at the moment.

7 comments:

  1. hmmm... you really are getting in late on the Jap espisodes huh? Whilst I loved the Jap episodes when i was young because there is a lot more fighting and cool characters, I found that I just could not sit through more than 1 or 2 espisodes in a row today.

    The stories are just so.... bad. They make little sense and is really like episodes of Dragonball (as you have mentioned) - more and more powerful characters appear, making the characters that appeared first seem exceedingly weak.

    HM was somewhat enjoyable cos it featured some early G1 characters...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, the stories are bad. The animation is better, but not by much.

      Delete
    2. So what's the best Japanese G1 series to watch?

      Delete
  2. I'll be honest, I tried watching this series and just could not get through it. It was so hard to get through just one episode, I think I made it about 10 or 12 in. So I just read the synopses online, but it is cool seeing more animation of the season three guys.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've only managed to watch the first disc and that took almost two weeks. I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth watching the rest?

      Delete
  3. I'm with Arkvander; I maybe got through the first disc, and that was haaaaarrrrrd. Whatever sort of epic story I was expecting was minimized (or at least nonexistent) due to the almost random introduction of characters. And then the Battlebeasts. What the hell was that about? I think the only thing that makes any sense about this series is the Headmasters themselves. I never liked the Nebulons. They looked weird in the US cartoon (but everyone looks weird when animated by Akom, I guess). And just sort of pairing up with a biological humanoid...um, TIME is not on your side. What if the Nebulon has a heart attack? Then you have no head. Was there a contingency plan for the Transformers to deal with that? "Oh, my headmaster partner died of old age? I guess I can have someone rebuild my head pre-Nebulon partner OR I'M STUCK IN VEHICLE MODE FOREVER."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha! I never thought about the Nebulons dying! For some reason it just never occurred to me. Now it's all I can think about...

      Delete