Transformers: The Headmasters

Transformers: The Headmasters
	File:TFheadmasterstitle.jpg
Genre	Adventure, Mecha
Anime
Directed by	Katsutoshi Nakano, Shoji Tajima
Studio	Toei Animation
Released	1987-07-03 – 1988-03-28

Transformers: The Headmasters (トランスフォーマーザ★ヘッドマスターズ, Toransufōmā za Heddomasutāzu) is a Japanese anime television series.

Development

Rather than import The Rebirth as a conclusion, Takara, the Japanese producers of the Transformers toyline, opted instead to continue the Generation 1 universe by creating the full-length 35-episode series, Transformers: The Headmasters (two additional clips episodes were produced after the fact for direct-to-video release). Supplanting The Rebirth's position in Japanese continuity, The Headmasters occurred one year after The Return of Optimus Prime, introducing the titular characters to the Transformers universe in a wildly different way. Whereas in western fiction, the Headmasters result from the merging of a Transformer with an organic alien being from the planet Nebulos, the Headmasters of the Japanese series are a group of small Cybertronians who departed the planet millions of years ago and crash landed on the inhospitable planet Master. To survive its harsh climate, a select few of the most-highly trained constructed larger bodies called "Transtectors," to which they connected as heads.

Story

When a group of rebellious Headmasters led by Weirdwolf joined with Galvatron's Decepticons in an attack on Cybertron, the Autobot Headmasters, led by Fortress returned to their home planet to aid in its defense. The situation soon went from bad to worse when it was revealed that Vector Sigma, the mega-computer at the planet's heart, was destabilizing, and Optimus Prime again sacrificed his life to save Cybertron. This soon proved to be only delaying the inevitable, however, when a bomb attack instigated by Scorponok turned Cybertron into a burnt-out, inhospitable husk. Rodimus Prime departed to search for a new planet for the Transformers to live on, leaving Fortress in command, operating from the planet Athenia. Meanwhile, Scorponok replaced Galvatron - who had vanished in the explosion - as Decepticon leader, constructing a personal Transtector so that he could battle Fortress's own giant form, Fortress Maximus, and redubbing himself MegaZarak.

Although populated mainly with new characters, The Headmasters did continue to feature characters from all previous seasons, including new versions of Soundwave and Blaster, rebuilt after a duel that destroyed them both as Soundblaster and Twincast. Human Daniel Witwicky and his young Autobot friend Wheelie also played major roles in the series, serving as the youthful characters for the audience to identify with. More new characters continued to pour in when Galvatron returned to leadership and the Decepticons embarked on a space voyage, ransacking planets in a chain of stories that introduced the Horrorcons and Autobot and Decepticon Clones. The return to Earth was no less momentous, as the Decepticon ninja six-changer Sixshot killed Ultra Magnus, and the Autobot Headmasters finished off Galvatron. When the Decepticons then returned to Master, refugees from the planet were caught in a plasma bomb accident that fused them to the arms of several Autobots and Decepticons, creating the Targetmasters, and in a final move, Scorponok attempted the destruction of Earth, only to be foiled, thanks in part to a traitorous Sixshot.

Adaptations

Never professionally released in the United States, The Headmasters was dubbed into English in Hong Kong for broadcast on the Malaysian TV channel, RTM1, and later the Singapore satellite station, StarTV, where it attained greater fame, leading it to often be referred to as the "StarTV dub." The dub is, however, infamous for its poor quality, full of mistranslations and incorrect names (Blaster becomes "Billy", Blurr becomes known as "Wally", Hot Rod is "Rodimus Prime" (pronounced "Roadimus Prime"), the Matrix becomes "the Power Pack", Spike is "Sparkle", Soundblaster is "New Soundwave", Metroplex is called "Phillip", and Fortress Maximus is known as "Spaceship Bruce".), to infamous quotes such as "I'll send you express to hell", and "Fortress Maximus has come himself". The dubs were clearly the work of a small group of individuals (literally, less than half-a-dozen actors fill every role) with little knowledge of the material and less talent. This dub has seen some DVD releases in the United Kingdom, and the entire series was released in a dual-language format on 26th September 2005. The Series was broadcasted on the British Television channel AnimeCentral from September 13, 2007.

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