[Androzani84]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

I actually remember learning about this show in passing ages ago!

It's a firm "maybe." I'm not exactly a Transformers buff, so I feel like someone else would be better qualified in talking about this one.

Thank you for bringing it up though!

By random coincidence, I just finished this show yesterday.

For a Transformers show, there’s some fairly unique concepts being put into play. Our Autobot protagonist, Ginrai/Super Ginrai/God Ginrai is just a normal dude who’d rather live a normal life for much of the show. It takes the Decepticons singling him out as their greatest threat and a battle with BlackZarak (who is the only returning character from a previous series on the main cast, Though you wouldn’t know it without clip shows or side media, he’s a rebuilt and brainwashed Scorponok). And we’ve got the Decepticons themselves, who are set up more as an evil family than an invading army, with the leaders being an older man and woman who serve as a parental guiding force.

In terms of premise, the idea that a human can become a transformer as well helps set the show apart from the entirely robotic transformers of its predecessor Headmasters and its follow-up Victory. And it ironically brings the whole “master” concept closer to the original concept (ie. an organic component being added to increase efficiency in combat).

Though all of this said, the shows isn’t without its downs. Like a lot of TF shows, as new characters appear, the older ones are pushed to the side. The most egregious being episode 33, featuring the destruction of the Autobot base. The Autobot Pretenders, who were the ones the base was intended for and started the conflict of the show, are nowhere to be seen during the chaos and neither are the thee Decepticon Pretenders, despite this supposedly being a full assault. And there’s the fact the Decepticons are taking orders from a giant glowing ball of weirdness (the TFWiki suggests you could use a plasma globe, or steam from a kettle to represent him) for barely explained reasons (even in the clip shows), who has a bunch of absurd powers, such as possessing BlackZarak and turning him into a “hydra” and separating the Deception Headmasters and Godmasters from their human component. About the best thing I can say about him is that he’s got a great voice (provided by Hidekatsu Shibata, who in the world of Tokusatsu, was a major villain in KR Stronger, Gaoranger and Gekiranger and the big bad for Sun Vulcan, Kakuranger and Gingaman).

Overall the show does have a lot of good ideas that it uses well, but it still has quite a few of the pitfalls of 80s shows with an edict “to sell toys”. Though on the plus side, it also gave the world this song.