FAQ

[Q] Where can I see it?

I don't think Headmasters has even been officially released in the US yet. I can at least go in depth for people in the UK:

*In 2001, the first episode was put on Maverick's VHS re-release of The Transformers: The Movie. This version has the extended intro and next episode preview which are missing from the Metrodome release, but it's got the English dub. This was the first time this series was released officially outside Japan, I think.

*Maverick also released The Transformers: The Movie on DVD which had a few special features, including the first episode of Headmasters, It's the same version used as the above.

*Maverick then released another VHS in 2002 which contained the first six episodes of Headmasters. The video was called Transformers Takara and strangely featured Star Saber, a character from Transformers Victory, on the cover. Star Saber wasn't actually in the series at all though, but for whatever reason the English dubs for Headmasters and Super God Masterforce all use Victory's intro. And now you know. This was also later released on DVD.

*The first episode of Headmasters was re-used yet again in Metrodome's Transformers season 2 part 2 DVD box set as a fairly easy to access easter egg. The version here is identical to the one in the Maverick release.

*The first episode was then used AGAIN on Metrodome's The Transformers The Movie: Reconstructed DVD. However, this version had the original Japanese along with newly created subtitles and the proper intro and credits sequences for the series as a preview for their upcoming Headmasters box set.

*And finally, the entire series was released on DVD in a four disc box set in 2005 by Metrodome. This set is seen as the best way to get the entire series, and all the discs are region 0 meaning they can play on anyone's DVD player. Their are a few downers though. First off, the special intro and the next episode previews are all missing due to them not being on the master Metrodome used. The subtitles are generally good but have quite a few errors in them at certain points, although it's nothing major. The first three episodes have entertaining commentaries by Chris McFeely which are choc-a-bloc with information and are well worth listening to.


[Q] Are there any changed premises?

There are a few:

AUTOBOTS CAN FLY
 It's been made clear that in previous Transformer seasons, Decepticons can fly, Autobots cannot (although due to there being a consistency problem with writers this often got overlooked). However, in this series the Autobots now can fly.

WHEELIE
In Japan, Wheelie does not talk in rhyme making him a bit less annoying. A bit.

QUINTESSONS
The Quintessons are not in this series at all, see below for a bit more information on that.

GALVATRON
Galvatron is no longer completely insane, and only attacks his own troops if they really screw up (like when Cyclonus and Scourge do). Galvatron also seems to care for his own troops (well at least Soundwave) and can actually say things without yelling.

ATHENIA
The Autobots now have a new base on planet Athenia, which is shown to be quite close to Cybertron.

DECEPTICONS HAVE AN EARTH BASE
In the third season, it was never shown if the Decepticons have a permanent Earth base, but they have got one in Headmasters. It is empty when it is destroyed by the Autobot gestalts in The Miracle Warriors: The Targetmasters part 1", in a scene I decided not to cover in my review due to it being so short and really being out of place - it's lumped on near the end of the episode and is awkwardly placed between Pointblank's gang fighting Slugslinger's brigade just before the bomb goes off.

GENERIC AUTOBOTS
The Autobots now have several bases across the Earth and even on different planets, populated by these generic little Autobots who are usually seen being killed by the Decepticons. No great loss since the designs of these robots was pretty poor.

SOUNDWAVE'S CASSETTES CAN TALK
Well, we know that Rumble and Frenzy can talk already. But in the US, Ravage, Laserbeak, Ratbat and Buzzsaw could only make animal screeches and growls, but in Japan, they can all talk normally.
 

[Q] Why is the dub so wrong?

Because the people who did it had very little knowledge of Transformers (although they obviously knew some things, as they knew who Optimus Prime was (he's called Convoy in Japan but they got his correct English name in their dubbings)) and so just gave characters new names and messed everything up. Well worth watching for a quick laugh though. As for why it uses Victory's opening sequence, I have no idea. Also, the Japanese versions sometimes played two different vocal songs at various points throughout the series, these were removed from the dub version.


[Q] If Fortress has this technology to bring Blaster back to life, why on Earth didn't he use it to bring Optimus Prime back too?

Quite possibly the biggest question for this series. The answer is that the writers needed a way to bring Twincast in, but since Optimus didn't have any new toys out, there was no way he could come back like that.


[Q] Where are the Quintessons?

Whilst they were major villains in the third season of Transformers, the Quintessons are not in Headmasters at all and are not even mentioned by name. There are two reasons for this. The first is that the writers simply didn't want to use them, and just wanted the Decepticons to be the major bad guys again. The other reason is due to an argument between Quintesson designer Floro Dery and Hasbro, the Quintesson's couldn't be used any more (read more about that here, scroll down a bit).


[Q] Why do characters who died in the movie appear in this series?

The movie was released in Japan in 1990, meaning that the writers didn't know who was dead and who wasn't, but I think there's more to it than that. For a start, you'd think someone would have shown the writers the movie at some point before work on Headmasters began - after all, the Japanese intro for season 3 (Transformers 2010 in Japan) contained footage from the movie. Also, the Japanese writers had to have some knowledge about events in the movie, since Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker, etc. don't appear in Headmasters.


[Q] How good is the animation?

It's streets ahead of the US series and looks great. However, it does have obvious animation mistakes now and then, although I believe that these were done just to mimic the US cartoons which were full of mistakes. Super God Masterforce and Victory, in comparison, didn't have any noticeable errors when I watched them.


[Q] Is their a manga for this series?

There was, although I've never read it, although it sounds awesome from what I've heard about it:

*One plot involves Galvatron creating an army of Megatron clones and sending them to attack the Autobots, although this plan is eventually foiled when Galvatron's control device is destroyed.

*Another plot has Galvatron making a hybrid clone of Optimus Prime and Megatron, but it ends up going rogue and the Decepticons are forced to join up with the Autobots to destroy it.

*The end of the manga series had Rodimus Prime returning and telling all the Autobots that they must head into space to fight the Decepticons. No sign of Kup or Blurr though.


[Q] If this is the Japanese continuity, where does The Rebirth fit in?

It doesn't. The Rebirth (season 4 to most of us) is not part of the Japanese G1 continuity at all.


[Q] Where is Cerebros?

For those of you that don't know, Cerebros was seen in The Rebirth and in that series, he formed the head of Fortress Maximus. In this series though, Cerebros does not exist and instead, there is just the idea of a smaller Fortress Maximus who can merge with his ship into a giant version.


[Q] Who'd you like to thank?

Ragey for still putting all of my stuff on his site after all this time, Chris McFeely, Raymond T. and Synapse for answering the many questions I had about the series, and Flying Omelette who made that awesome little Galvatron head GIF animation you see on this page. The maker of this page also needs some hefty credit as it helped a lot in identifying many characters I couldn't remember the names of. And also this article which has nothing to do with Headmasters, but it made me laugh, even though Ironhide rules. I just like the build-up with Bobby and the movie.