Masterforce

[Jim]

Episode 25; not what I was expecting...

This is a big shift in tone from the end of 24, quite a lot of broad comedy in the hospital scenes and the big fight.

The Decepticon Pretenders have fallen a long way from the threat they seemed to present at the start of the series. They're practically comedy henchmen now. In this episode Minerva seems to have slid back from her earlier development, which is a shame.

Lightfoot gets to be the hero, and is pretty effective.

Black Zarak will be here soon! I'm not sure the series needed an additional threat just yet after Overlord making a grand entrance, but we'll see how it pans out.

This one was a bit of a disappointment to be honest.

[blueshift]

Ah, ep 25 is okay though the start is really jarring, starting with Ginrai with his arm in a sling going "oh well!!"

I like that it does follow on from the last episode. The Decepticons don't think they've killed Ginrai so go to put their feet up, they straight-up launch an assault on the Autobots. And they fail to stop Overlord from making it into space, the bad guys are two steps ahead at this point.

(Whilst the show never outright says it (apart from as part of a clip show which isn't on the dvd), Black Zarak's a rebuilt Scorponok)

[Jim]

Yeah, I'm not saying it was a bad episode as they go, but the shift is jarring and expectations were set high!

[Jim]

Episode 26; bless you Hawk!

This was a very good episode again, strong on both character and action. it also feels very "high budget", there's a lot of locations and a lot of detail from the Moonbase to the completion of Godbomber.

Ginrai's moment of crisis on reflecting on how badly Overlord beat him is very well done, and makes the previous episode better in retrospect as these things often don't hit home until some time after an event. That's some good writing.

The threat of Black Zarak is sold well, and I look forward to seeing Grand at some point.

The action here is very well done, with well choreographed fights (especially the Headmaster Jrs vs Ginrai in training), high quality animation and good use of music. I am still loving the incidental music to this show, from the bad-boy guitars to the Morriccone-via-Japan heroic stuff, it's all good.

Another great cliffhanger. And Hawk really did sneeze there, didn't he? Can't help but wonder what that's foreshadowing.

[Jim]

Episode 27 is why TR should have had a Titan class Scorponok for Takara to redeco.

It's pretty much one big fight, but a good one! God Ginrai separating from Godbomber, using it to attack Overlord from behind then jumping up and grabbing his gun to turn in midair and fire on Black Zarak was A++.

Lander does like a drink, doesn't he...

Ginrai communicating with the earth-bound Autobots and talking about how beautiful the Earth looked from up there was a nice moment.

I am left wondering about the fate of the scientists in the moonbase; I assumed Overlord's gun just froze them somehow and that Ginrai would come to the rescue, but there's no mention of them again so I guess that's it for them!

[blueshift]

Sept 14, 2017 17:41:25 GMT Jim said:

Episode 27 is why TR should have had a Titan class Scorponok for Takara to redeco.

I know right!!!

I love this episode. I think a clip from it was one of the first things I saw, back in the early days of the internet when a 2 min video took an hour to download.

Yeah it's a fight, but it's a great fight. Love the part where Ginrai has to pep himself up as he fights alone on the moon against the guy who nearly killed him the other week PLUS frickin' Scorponok. Great to see Grand Max again as well!


The Earth must be protected by its people!!!!

[blueshift]

Oh yeah, and Ginrai going GOD FIRE GUTS!!!!! against the background of the Earth at the end!!

[duffism1981]

Did you also rewatch the episode with Chris McFeely commentary? It also makes you wonder how Black Zarak can function without a head. Well the Scoponok headmaster Zarak in the West/Scoponok in Japan is hard wired into the main body, so this is how he can function without a head.

[blueshift]

Sept 14, 2017 19:42:07 GMT duffism1981 said:

Did you also rewatch the episode with Chris McFeely commentary? It also makes you wonder how Black Zarak can function without a head. Well the Scoponok headmaster Zarak in the West/Scoponok in Japan is hard wired into the main body, so this is how he can function without a head.

Only in Masterforce, he was a headmaster in Headmasters

[Jim]

Thought I would go back for the Mcfeely commentaries after finishing the series, but I had been wondering a bit about the nature of Black Zarak, yeah.

[Jim]

Episode 28 is heavy on the action again, but not quite as high-stakes dramatic as 27 (though I'm not complaining, it wouldn't be good if it were like that all the time).

Some more hints at fracturing within the Decepticons here, Hydra and Buster aren't happy with how they are being used and there is some good characterisation here for the brothers with the elder Hydra being a bit more wary early on compared to the gung-ho Buster, and his concern for his younger brother when he gets injured.

It's nice to see the Autobot Headmaster Jrs in action again, they had been pushed a bit to the background with the focus on Ginrai. Hope to see their Decepticon counterparts (and Browning!) again soon.

I was surprised to see Godbomber as a Transformer, I'd assumed the robot mode was a toy only thing with how it had been used so far.

[duffism1981]

That's what I meant Matt. I just worded it very badly as usual.

[blueshift]

I like godbombers robot mode

Bleep bleep bleep!!!

[duffism1981]

I love how from some angles it looks like he has Mikey mouse ears.

[Jim]

Episode 29 gives Godbomber (the "pushy jerk!") a starring role, and otherwise is fairly unremarkable?

It isn't bad, it's a shift in gear back down to a threat-of-the-week formula, Lightfoot gets the spotlight (and really wants to blow himself up to save Ginrai!). There are Seacons. shrug

[Jim]

Episode 30, "Feel the glorious wrath of the burned mother earth!"

Great image of Super Ginrai taking it easy to open.

Scale lovers must hate this, the way the Headmaster Jrs drive into Godbomber. He should be twice as wide as the road!

Nice to see the Decepticon Headmaster Jrs again. I like Cancer's concern about destroying the food supply, it's the kind of thing that should be a legitimate worry for any humans who side with the Decepticons.

The Autobots save the food from warehouse 69. Nice.

Not very often you see this much of a firefight in this series, and rare to see the Headmaster Jrs using weapons at all. Lots of old-fashioned western-style gun sound effects mixed in with the lasers here, and it's refreshing to see they can run out of ammo. Also surprised Shuta has enough firepower to knock Overlord down!

I was totally caught off guard by it being Sixknight who came to the rescue! That's kind of awesome. Buster and Hyrda's in-flight separation and shooting off in opposite directions while fighting him was neat, too

Good episode!

How has Takara resisted doing the Headmaster Jrs in Legends? Or Quickswitch as Sixknight?

[blueshift]

Sept 16, 2017 21:35:53 GMT Jim said:

I was totally caught off guard by it being Sixknight who came to the rescue! That's kind of awesome. Buster and Hyrda's in-flight separation and shooting off in opposite directions while fighting him was neat, too

Oh yeah, I remember watching that ep for the first time with a genuine sense of "how on EARTH are the Jrs going to get out of this?" and then BLAM, Sixknight!!

Takara did Shuta as one of those book mailaway exclusives, and have done little Titanmaster heads of the Jrs (have they done Wilder and Bullhorn yet? I can't recall!)

[Jim]

Sept 16, 2017 21:42:38 GMT blueshift said:

Sept 16, 2017 21:35:53 GMT Jim said:

I was totally caught off guard by it being Sixknight who came to the rescue! That's kind of awesome. Buster and Hyrda's in-flight separation and shooting off in opposite directions while fighting him was neat, too

Oh yeah, I remember watching that ep for the first time with a genuine sense of "how on EARTH are the Jrs going to get out of this?" and then BLAM, Sixknight!!

The fact the bolts came from the sky had me racking my brains for a moment (in retrospect, I could have thought of Metalhawk or Phoenix), and anyone else turning up would have been dramatically unsatisfying - it had to be the wildcard!

I've been deliberately stopping the episodes before the teaser for the next one to avoid spoilers especially since Sixknight was introduced, and it paid off here!

Takara did Shuta as one of those book mailaway exclusives, and have done little Titanmaster heads of the Jrs (have they done Wilder and Bullhorn yet? I can't recall!)

Yes, I had been coveting that Shuta even before I knew the series, but now I do know the series I demand all these characters get proper vehicle + headmaster releases!

[blueshift]

Sept 16, 2017 21:49:49 GMT Jim said:

I've been deliberately stopping the episodes before the teaser for the next one to avoid spoilers especially since Sixknight was introduced, and it paid off here!

That is a VERY good idea, especially as we are coming up to the most arc-heavy aspect of the show. Next ep!!

[Jim]

Episode 31, and I'm glad to have been proved wrong about Doubledealer/clouder!

I thought it odd at the time that there was the talk of the four missing Godmasters but they stopped at three and just assumed it was a bit misleading and Overlord was fourth, so it's great to see another of my childhood favourites on screen and another nice non-spoilered surprise.

It's a good intro too, with this unknown kid watching tapes of Transformer battles and having the fourth Godmaster hidden behind a waterfall. And there's that playing card motif again on the back of his jacket! Ace of Spades...

Overlord's base mode gets to play a part - like Godbomber's robot mode, I assumed this would be a toy-only thing so it's nice to see it on screen.

King Poseidon attacking Doubleclouder is a nice sequence.

This time the passenger ship makes it!

Shame to see Minerva in the damsel-in-distress role again.

[blueshift]

Eeeey Clouder!

The odd thing is that he's clearly drawn as a kid but works for the US military? Does he just look young or does America recruit young??

[Jim]

Yeah, I wasn't sure what that was about - in the end I interpreted him as a teenage hacker-type who somehow got classified US military tapes. Or maybe a prodigy who was drafted into some military R&D branch?

[Jim]

Episode 32 is going with an ominous Hitchcock homage...

This episode is doing a lot to sell me on the Autobot Base, for obvious reasons! I really like the effort put here into defining the base.

Clouder has a bum-bag! I thought this was more a 90s thing than late 80s, and in looking it up I found out they are back in fashion this year. Good grief.

Interesting conversation on Transtectors and how they are alive and not just vehicles, something that hasn't really been addressed here.

Some new interstitials for the first time in ages!

I really thought Hawk was going to buy it when he confronted Clouder, I'm not totally confident he will make it through the next episode either.

The start of the previous episode made me think of the start of season 2 of Lost (when it was good) with a previously unknown character in his high tech base, this episode does it again with Clouder bringing to mind Ben at the end of the season.

Great stuff again.

[blueshift]

There's definitely a map of the base in one of the guidebooks

I like that rather than being idiots, the Autobots work out Clouder is a traitor pretty quickly and catch him

It's also nice to see Overlord's base mode, I keep forgetting about that

[Jim]

Sept 19, 2017 6:13:33 GMT blueshift said:

There's definitely a map of the base in one of the guidebooks

Oh, I love that kind of thing. Which guidebooks? The Ark II one you linked in the fanzine thread?

I like that rather than being idiots, the Autobots work out Clouder is a traitor pretty quickly and catch him

Yes, that is nice; I always hate it when a character is obviously a traitor and they drag it on too long making the heroes look like fools. It looked like they might be falling into that trap but Minerva's action makes sense in the context that he saved her life and Ginrai's disbelief of Hawk works in that he is a rookie leader with lessons to learn. It really does speak to the quality of the writing.

[Jim]

Episode 33 - boom

Well, that's quite a spectacular and very, very conclusive end to the Autobot base.

Otherwise this wasn't quite as good as the previous episode; not sure I have a lot to say about it really, it was mostly action. Clouder's conversion seems a bit too easy, as does Ginrai's acceptance of it?

[blueshift]

Man, I love episode 33. Mostly for the seacon attack and the song at the end. WE BELIEVE TOMORROW!!!!!

I have no problem with Clouders change of heart. The asshole seacons left him to die and the Autobots rescued him. But yeah, ginrai probably should have said "yeah, no" as Clouder walked off.

Your earlier comments made me wonder if Hawk was supposed to die in this episode. Something to think about! (I like Hawk so glad he didn't, but the Pretenders don't really get a lot to do in the show anymore)

[Jim]

I didn't find it bad as such, but as an action episode not as interesting as the previous. The Seacon attack was definitely good, and I like that this time King Poseidon splitting into component parts was the threat - with combiners it's usually written the opposite way.

Clouder being accidentally freed by falling rubble only to be buried by more falling rubble a second later was darkly funny.

I have felt for a while that Hawk was being set up to be killed off in the traditional mentor-has-to-die kind of trope, but I'm glad he hasn't - I'd miss him too. I've seen him made fun of before as just being a guy in a suit but having seen this now I think he's actually really well characterised, it's just subtle. The restrained, experienced leader. Not unlike Picard in a way, I guess.

[Jim]

I got curious about Hawk's sneeze in ep. 26 with respect to this, and it turns out to be a common superstition (which is especially used in Manga and Anime) that when someone sneezes they are being talked about. It doesn't really fit with that episode though, unless something got edited out.

I have been tip-toeing around potential spoilers though, so haven't looked for any Transformers-related pages that might mention it!

[Jim]

Episode 34, more booms!

Now we get to see Super Ginrai in base mode to stand in for Autobot base while waiting for Grand Maximus; I like how the base modes are used in this series.

Lots of property damage here as New York, Tokyo and the Arc de Triomphe are trashed by Blackzarak and Overlord. The plan (M1!) that was outlined at the beginning of the episode seemed to get forgotten as they just went on a destructive spree combined with blackmailing Earth governments into surrendering, unless I missed something, but it's not a big problem.

Nice to see the Autobot Pretenders in actual action again after so long, even if it isn't very effective against Overlord.