The depth of a cartoon’s story mythology should never be exceeded by its quality of animation. Optimally, the two should strike a balance so that an animated series or feature is both visually and thematically compelling. Not to beat a dead horse, but Pixar and Hayao Miyazaki mastered that dance long ago. For animated series, it’s usually less of a concern, and yet there are a few animation houses out there that devote time and energy to developing both halves of the equation. But that’s a modern fixation. Back in 1987, Transformers neglected that balance, but they chose to focus on the half that would give their series some longevity: the sci-fi mythology. It might not have been the prettiest looking cartoon nor the most competently crafted from one cel to the next, but the fact that it was bringing a gigantic Sci-Fi epic to life across three different arcs known as Headmasters, Super-God Masterforce, and Victory speaks volumes to the set as a whole.
Working in succession, Headmasters, Super-God Masterforce, and Victory plot out a shifting of the tides as the peace Optimus Prime fought so hard to secure crumbles in the face of a new threat: the Headmasters, ancient transformers who constructed gigantic robot bodies to survive the climate of a harsher planet. Though the bodies started as tools for survival, they quickly prove to be excellent weapons for conquering, and soon enough Prime and his allies are on the run. Soon enough the battle returns to Earth and the Transformers hiding among the humans must once again step up, but this time not as protectors, but allies. In Victory, the battle raging for Earth increases in intensity when both the forces of good and evil finding new leaders and weapons.
Filling out the framework of the story is a collection of characters so vast and a backstory so deep that the original American series seems like a mere footnote to or prologue created for nothing more than to be a brief intro for this more mature run.
The Japanese Collection, though more competent in its story, has all the scripting complexity of really bad Japanese cartoons. Characters will announce their intentions and emotions out loud, often multiple times, and those around them will often prompt them to restate it just for the sake of making sure the audience knows what’s happening. It’s not really necessary. The story may have depth, but that’s only relative to cartoons of a similar ilk. The Japanese Collection is still easy for a 12-year-old to follow along with, whether or not they have the patience to suffer the longwinded dialogue of the robots is another issue.
The set uses the original Japanese audio and thus has English subtitles.
DVD Bonus Features
Art galleries are the only extra.
Editor's Note: Amazon currently doesn't sell Transformers: The Japanese Collection, so the link above will take you to the Headmasters box set they do sell. To find the full Japanese Collection, you need to buy it directly from Shout Factory.
"Transformers: The Japanese Collection" is on sale January 10, 2012 and is not rated. Adventure, Animation, Sci-Fi. Directed by Tetsuo Imazawa, Yoshikata Arata, Katsutoshi Nakano.
