Previously on First Impression Friday:
At the conclusion of it’s 4 season run, The Transformers series was continued in Japan thanks to Toei Animation, who helped animate the classic 80s action hit. These 3 psudeo sequels would take their own various directions with the story, beginning with the direct sequel- Transformers: The Headmasters and a the more Anime-esque Transformers: Super God Masterforce. We’ve now come to the last of these little ventures into the first Japanese Transformers series with Transformers: Victory. Does it get the beginning of the end of this lost legacy off to a good start? Let’s see.
Barely a couple minutes into the first episode of Transformers: Victory and I can see why this was the last of the original Japanese Transformers series for a long time (there was another try with Transformers: Zone but that series was never picked up and now only exists as a one episode OVA). And somehow I think the studio knew this was the case with Victory. The Transformers craze had died down considerably by this point and the decade was about to change. So why not go out with all barrels blazing? Someone clearly got that memo and it shows in Victory’s first episode, which feels so…extra.
According to multiple synopsis if found, there are not one, not two but FOUR different Autobot factions in Victory but the one we focus on most in the debut episode is the Brain Masters team. These are smaller Autobots inhabiting even larger Autobots that they use as their main battle form. Then you have multi combiner Decepticons, in particular their new, ridiculously named leader Deathsaurus; sentient Dinosaurs with Decepticons both riding them and their armor being transformable Decepticons as well. There’s even the important plot point that the Autobots are now part of an intergalactic council or something, trying to keep the peace and stop the Decepticons from taking over. Which means there are more, probably far more confusing Transformers out there…sigh, I miss the days when Giant Robots just turned into Cars, Jets or Cassette Tape Players.
If this was to be the last Japanese Transformers Anime, it does look pretty…when it comes to the Transformation sequences. There’s no simple switch in and out like before. Now most transformations are the most elaborate thing, bearing more of a resemblance to Voltron than Transformers. Still, these segments look pretty and Victory alone might be the best looking Transformers of the three shows. Even the Decepticon Dinoforce look pretty fierce…until you find out theyre really just a bunch of sniveling cowards who are pretty easily thwarted once the new big leader of the Autobots, Star Saber, shows up and quickly takes them all out. Like I said, pretty…but still unnecessarily complex and extra.
I can see why many were jumping off of Transformers by now. In Transformers: Victory it looks like it’s thrown the “Robots in Disgiuise” mantra into deep space in favor of a more grandiose Anime space epic with complex transformations, a complex cast list, complex setting and all with their own sixty step manuel as to how things work. Maybe I’m thinking too hard about it but again, just like Super God Masterforce, this could easily be rewritten into another generic 80s mecha Anime without having to change the animation. It might be worth checking out another episode or two…but nothing of what ive seen, no matter how grand will ever match Optimus Prime and Megatron duking it out in Autobot City to the epic sounds of Stan Bush’s The Touch in Transformers: The Movie.
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