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DVD Shopping Bag: Transformers Japanese Collection: Headmasters
The Complete Series Arrives By
Robert T. Trate
July 05, 2011
Transformers The Head Masters The Complete Series now on DVD
© Shout Factory/Bob Trate
What I remember is that Optimus Prime died in a movie that my parents never took me to see. I had to hear this sad and tragic news from my best friend who apparently had much cooler parents. I still remember that day. How could Optimus Prime die? Thankfully, after a season or two of Rodimus Prime, Optimus Prime came back and all was right with the world. Now at this point my memory gets a bit hazy. See cartoons were being replaced by soccer practice, junior high school, and more importantly girls. There just wasn’t enough time for cartoons anymore. I do remember the Headmasters mini series featuring Spike becoming the head to Fortress Maximums. His son Daniel became the head to Arcee. It all took place on a distant planet and ended with Scorponok coming back to Cybertron. After this mini series The Transformers pretty much went off the air. Eventually they returned as Beasts and numerous other incarnations but none of that really interested me. When Shout! Factory offered Mania the chance the review their Transformers Japanese Collection: Headmasters discs I wondered was this that mini series or something else?
To begin with, these are the continuing adventures of The Transformers after they ended in the US. It doesn’t completely gel with the continuity of the show but being a fan of The Transformers I’ll take what I can get. Upon reading the box I instantly thought I would last all of ten minutes as the entire Headmasters Series is solely in Japanese. There are English subtitles but each and every Transformer sounds like an angry Samurai. Could I sit there and listen to different actors voice my heroic Autobots? I sat through a screening of 13 Assassins (also out today) recently and loved every minute in its subtitled glory, this was no different. In my head I could hear Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime), John Moschitta Jr. (Blurr), and Frank Welker (Galvatron) voice the characters. The story quickly sucked me in and before I knew it I was back with the Transformers.
The Decepticons attack Cybertron in the hopes to take over Vector Sigma. A power source so powerful that procession of it can swing the balance of power. While this battle is taking place, Galvatron is having his new Decepticon Headmasters prove their worth. Each has unique abilities and it seems as if the tide will turn in the Decepticons favor. In the midst of the battle a ship appears over Cybertron. Several new Transformers emerge and strike back at the Decepticons. The Autobot Headmasters have arrived to save the day.
The first several episodes were your usual race against time. The Yins and Yangs of the Transformers universe duel each other over several different planets. For every TrypticonandMetroplex fight there was a Superion andMenasor fight happening too. The best of which is Soundwave and Blaster, the reasoning being is that Blaster actually dies (which I’ll get to in a minute). This is all a set up and almost a restart to bring Hot Rod back under the guise of Rodimus Prime. Optimus Prime travels deep into Cybertron to find Vector Sigma and has some help from Alpha Trion. Optimus Prime is so deep into the heart of the planet that he is unable to communicate with the rest of the Autobots. Here in lies the dilemma because they discover that the Matrix of Leadership can, once again, save the day. Sadly Optimus hid it and they don’t know where to look for it.
When the first few episodes were over I barely noticed the Japanese voices anymore. I was now hooked into learning what would happen in the next 33 episodes. Up next is the rebirth of Blaster, which I knew was going to happen. When all is said an done these additional stories are the equivalent of Chris Claremont returning to the X-Men in X-Men Forever for this fan. Now there is a chance, and time, to see how it all ended.
Top 5 Picks of the Week:
2. Das Boot (Two-Disc Collector's Set) [Blu-ray]
3. Hobo with a Shotgun [Blu-ray]
4. 13 Assassins [Blu-ray]
5. Wall-E (Three-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo)
ACTION / ADVENTURE / KUNG FU/ THRILLERS / WESTERNS
13 Assassins [Blu-ray] Starring Koji Yakusho
13 Assassins
American Flyer Starring Danny Trejo and Douglas Spain
Damage [Blu-ray] Starring Steve Austin, Walton Goggins and Donnelly Rhodes
Das Boot (Two-Disc Collector's Set) [Blu-ray] Starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann
Empire of Assassins Starring Miu Tse and Li Yuan
Gettysburg / Gods and Generals (Limited Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray] Starring Jeff Daniels and Stephen Lang
Gettysburg / Gods and Generals (Limited Collector's Edition)
Hannie Caulder [Blu-ray] Starring Raquel Welch, Robert Culp, Ernest Borgnine
Hobo with a Shotgun [Blu-ray] Starring Rutger Hauer
Hobo With a Shotgun 2-Disc Collector's Edition
Hobo With a Shotgun
Illegal Starring Anne Coesens
Memoirs of a Lady Ninja 2
Passion of Darkly Noon Starring Brendan Fraser and Viggo Mortensen
Rider on the Rain & farewell Friend Starring Charles Bronson, Alain Delon, Brigitte Fossey
Strangers Online Starring Noel Palomaria, Tara Killian and Eva Frajko
Tsotsi Starring Presley Chweneyagae and Terry Pheto
ANIME
Girl Who Leapt Through Space 2
Kite Liberator
K-On! Vol.2 [Blu-ray]
K-On! Vol. 2
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 the Movie: A Wakening of the Trailblazer [Blu-ray]
Mobile Suit Gundam 00 the Movie: A Wakening of the Trailblazer
Tales of the Abyss Part 1
CARTOONS
Ratatouille (Two-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo)
Transformers Japanese Collection: Headmasters Starring Hiroko Emori, Ikuya Sawaki and Hideyuki Hori
Up (Three-disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo)
Wall-E (Three-Disc Blu-ray / DVD Combo)
CLASSICS
Miranda Starring Glynis Johns, Griffith Jones, Googie Withers
COMEDY AND LOVE Mania Style
Be Cool [Blu-ray] Starring John Travolta, Vince Vaughn, Cedric The Entertainer
HORROR
2 Starring C.James Roberts, Molly W.B Roberts, Diane Dupris
Anniversary at Shallow Creek Starring Eric Mark Fischer, Brianna Lee Johnson, Brick Patrick
Bloodlust Zombies Starring Alexis Texas, Janice Marie and Adam Danoff
BloodRayne: The Third Reich - Director's Cut (Unrated) [Blu-Ray] Starring Natassia Malthe, Clint Howard, Michael Pare
BloodRayne: The Third Reich - Director's Cut (Unrated) with Digital Copy
Drivein Horrorshow Starring Ethan Zohn, Jenna Morasca and Nick Anastasi
Ferocious Planet Starring Joe Flanigan and John Rhys-Davies
The Frankenstein Syndrome Starring Tiffany Shepis, Louis Mandylor, Patti Tindall and Ed Lauter
From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter [Blu-ray] Starring Danny Trejo, Marco Leonardi, Michael Parks
Millenium Meltdown
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film Starring Lance Henriksen, John Carpenter, Mick Garris and Joe Dante
Wake Wood [Blu-ray] Starring Eva Birthistle and Ella Connolly (see column)
Wake Wood
Wisconsin Project X Starring Christian Ackerman and Jesse Head
Witchmaker: Legend of Witch Hollow Starring Alvy Moore, Thordis Brandt, John Lodge and Anthony Eisley
Witchville Starring Luke Goss, Ed Speleers, Andrew Pleavin and Simon Thorp
MODERN CLASSICS on BLU-RAY
Cutting Edge [Blu-ray] Starring D.B. Sweeney, Roy Dotrice, Terry O'Quinn and Chris Benson
Four Weddings & A Funeral [Blu-ray] Starring Hugh Grant, James Fleet, Simon Callow and John Hannah
Honeymoon in Vegas [Blu-ray] Starring James Caan, Nicolas Cage, Pat Morita and Johnny Williams
Overboard [Blu-ray] Starring Kurt Russell, Edward Herrmann and Mike Hagerty
SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY
Crack in the World [Blu-ray] Starring Dana Andrews, Janette Scott, Kieron Moore
Oblivion Starring Richard Joseph Paul, Jackie Swanson, Andrew Divoff
TV LAND
According to Jim: The Complete Fourth Season Starring James Belushi, Courtney Thorne-Smith
Aqua Teen Hunger Force 1-7 & Movie
Boy Meets World: The Complete Sixth Season Starring Ben Savage, Rider Strong, Will Friedle and Danielle Fishel
The Cape: Complete Series Starring David Lyons, Keith David, Summer Glau and James Frain
Dynasty: Season Five V.1 Starring John Forsythe, Gordon Thomson, John James and Michael Nader
Dynasty: Season Five V.2 Starring John Forsythe, Gordon Thomson, John James and Michael Nader
Dynasty: Season Five Two Pack Starring John Forsythe, Gordon Thomson, John James and Michael Nader
Eureka: Season One Starring Colin Ferguson and Joe Morton
Eureka: Season Two Starring Colin Ferguson and Joe Morton
Eureka: Season 4.0 Starring Colin Ferguson, Salli Richardson-Whitfield and Joe Morton
The FBI: Season One, Part 1 Starring Efrem Jr. Zimbalist, Philip Abbott, Stephen Brooks
Mannix: Fifth Season Starring Mike Connors, Gail Fisher, Lonny Chapman and Robert Colbert
Mcmillan & Wife: Season 4 Starring Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James
McMillan & Wife: Season 5 Starring Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James
Metalocalypse: Seasons 1-3
The PJ's: Season Two Starring Eddie Murphy, Loretta Devine, James Black
Southland: The Complete Second Season (Uncensored) (2 Disc) Starring Kevin Alejandro, Michael Cudlitz, Shawn Hatosy
Squidbillies 1-4
Venture Bros: Seasons 1-4
Victorious: Season One, Volume One Starring Matthew Bennett
Transformers Japanese Collection: Headmasters Character Art Slideshow-
Robert Trate writes two weekly columns for Mania the DVD Shopping Bag and the Toy Maniac. Robert also participates in a pod cast that reviews movies, comics and celebrates all things geek. Check it out at You’ve Got Geek on You.com. Follow Robert on Twitter for his for Geek ramblings and criticisms.
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Crack in the World on Bluray? Wow!!!! Seriously, this is one of the all-time great disaster movies, and classic British '60's scifi to boot!