I saw this topic and felt I had to respond because I just finished my own first viewing of Masterforce.

I will echo what a lot of people in the thread already said. Masterforce is a mixture of things I like and things I dislike.

The human focus is the "Big thing" with this series. If you can accept that the show is almost entirely human-centric, effectively a Transformers show where the Transformers are little but props and side characters, then you can probably get through it. It's not even just that you have humans becoming Transformers, it's the stated fact that in Masterforce, humans are the superior and most glorious lifeform of the cosmos, and earth is the most wonderful possible planet. They have vast untapped mystic powers, the spirit of warriors and that whole thing. That part got a bit tedious and hollow after a bit. It also makes the ending with the transtectors coming alive rather nonsensical. We're led to believe that being bonded with humans was some form of chrysalis state where the transtector evolved into a true cybertronian? Whatever. That part of the ending makes no sense.

However, with that being said, I found myself liking and caring about the humans on this show. Ginrai is a bit one-dimensional after his first few episodes (he seems to very quickly slot into the pre-determined "good guy leader" role), but I actually rather like the Headmaster Jr's on both sides, as well as the other Godmasters. I wish Ranger and Road King had been given more episodes to develop, as after their introductions they are basically just there while Lightfoot and the Jrs get more spotlight, but that's a minor problem. It's funny, because I actually found myself liking that the Autobot Jrs were a rescue team, and in most episodes saw to performing rescue operations primarily. I dunno why. Speaking of that, while Minerva isn't exactly the most dynamic female character, she's at least decently competent, isn't constantly taken hostage (it happens a few times that she needs a rescue). And hell, let's face it, she gets a lot better treatment than Arcee did in Headmasters.

The Decepticons had some good characters as well. I liked Cancer's very slow and gradual realization that the Decepticons were nasty, and I thought Giga and Mega were decent in the evil manipulator roles. Kind of a bum death they got there, but I guess it makes sense when you remember than in the manga, they both actually died and were reanimated by Devil Z, meaning when he withdrew his power they expired again.

The show also gets a plus from me for using a lot of toys I had as a kid like the Pretenders (I like Hawk, Diver and the Decepticon trio a lot), the Seacons and the Powermasters and small headmasters. It's just fun watching Bomb-Burst/Blood launch out of a pyramid like he's frickin' Mumm-Ra or the Seacons merging. If anything, I do wish that the Pretenders had been used more after the initial quarter of the episodes were done. After Hawk relinquishes command to Ginrai, the Pretenders just become side characters who only occasionally get to do anything. And the Decepticon pretenders were constantly slagged off for being "inferior" as soon as Buster and Hydra were introduced, which was a bit unfortunate, I think.

Devil Z is one of the big weaknesses of the show, I feel. He's entirely unexplained, even in the manga and in the "Shuta and Grand's Masterforce Super-Secrets" segment, which makes you wonder who or what he is, where he comes from and what his motivations are. I feel that the show wouldn't have suffered in the least had Devil Z simply not existed, and BlackZarak had been the ultimate villain on his own instead. Devil Z is also one of those nebulous evil energy creatures that pop up so often in anime and manga and make me wonder why they weren't comfortable making the Decepticons capable of ruling themselves. Apart from Devil Z, the Decepticons were also minions of evil energy beings from deep space in Zone and Return of Convoy, so I guess it's just one of those things that makes sense in Japan.

When it comes to plotting, I had a much easier time watching Masterforce than I did with Headmasters. Earlier in this thread someone described Headmasters as "plodding", and it really is. That show had like 3 very distinct storylines going off in all directions with tons of tedious filler episodes. Masterforce at least moves constantly towards an inexorable final confrontation, which is a lot more interesting than the half-hearted and half-assed ending of Headmasters. Sure, masterforce has its share of dull filler episodes too, and drags a bit sometimes, but generally it holds my interest well.

Of course, there's always the odd thing that annoys me. The extensive transformation sequences become a bit of a chore after a bit, as does the unnerving anime tradition to have someone CONSTANTLY repeat EVERY SENTENCE spoken. I'm not really annoyed by some other stuff as much as amused, such as the ability of the cast to move around the planet in less time than it takes to cross the street, or the ludicrous episode where Ginrai and Grand manage to hold BlackZarak off at the moon (despite the fact that the earth is frickin' huge and BZ could just have picked any unmonitored spot to land on).

Overall, it's a pretty good series. Not one of my favorites, but it has a distinct charm of its own and is a good watch.

 

I acknowledge he's flat-out Japanese. His mannerisms and easy tide flow are a nod to the American mannerisms emulated in WWII/also in the Empire of the Sun film. Think about this one. He's easy going to the end.

Let's go with the scenario that citizenship requirements changed overtime. Masterforce does take place between 2011 and 2025.

Where the hell he managed to get clear footage of the Autobots and Decepticons beating the living hell out of each other? We'll NEVER know..........

Let's just go with this for now, and assume citizenship requirements hasn't changed in the modern setting of Masterforce.

Right! Ranger's approximate home location is somewhere around the Rockies. So that means he lives in or near West Canada or Alberta. Making him a natural born Canadian of some long established generation. I was under the impression of another characteristic that he might have been of French lineage.

Road King assumed lineage was a mistake on my part. Even his toy's tech spec says he's the British Wolf. I'm well aware his mentor is NOT his father.

So the correct version of each one of the Godmasters goes:

Ginrai: Japanese-American (toy bio and cartoon bio). Trucker.
Lightfoot: British-Canadian. (Future) CEO of British Motors.
Ranger: Canadian. Forest Patrolman.
Road King: British. F-1 World Racing Champion.

Hydra: East German-American. Crime Lord.
Buster: East German-American. Radio DJ.

Clouder: Unknown/American. Dep. of Defense.

 

I'm not even really ready to accept that, despite the fact it should take place then for Japanese TF continuity to make sense. But Japanese TF continuity doesn't make sense, for a list of reasons it would take an entire other thread to count. Watching the Japanese shows now, it's easy to see they are only tied together tenuously, and only by nods that seem to have been added after the fact, late in production. There is more in US season 3, Headmasters, and Masterforce that make each feel like their own separate continuities than there is stuff that makes them feel in any way related. Masterforce in particular has their own origin story that seems to disregard the idea that Transformers have ever previously existed on Earth or made themselves known to anyone.

 

Just finished Masterforce today and wanted to add my thoughts.

Seems to me you could pretty easily fit this into the animated G1 mythos, some time after Headmasters. Devil Z, who I assume is Zarak, developed a way to deactivate Cybertronians. Then maybe in hopes of controlling them adapted the Headmaster/Powermaster technology for humans. The unpredictable nature of the humans, and maybe some lingering identity in the bots, lead him not being able to control the Autobots as he'd planned. By the end of the series everything is back to normal; Ginrai is now back to being Optimus Prime proper.

Either way, I liked it. I made my way through a lot faster than I did with Headmasters. Now on to Victory...

 

I figured that aspect of the ending had something to do with a common Japanese idea, especially in fiction, that tools and inanimate objects can achieve some level of sentience (and possess some kind of soul). It varies from account to account, in some cases they've always had some sort of soul, which is somewhat common in many local folklore and traditional Shinto beliefs, in others, they can gain or build up to a soul over time, such as in the Tsukumogami (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukumogami), and in others, which I think Masterforce is trying to parallel, tools can gain some measure of a soul invested to them by the close, constant work of the people who use them. As in the metaphorical sense, where a craftsman invests a part of himself into his work, so in a literal sense he invests a part of his soul into his tools. In Masterforce, the transcendental power of humans, channelled through the Transtectors, has the additional effect of animating them over time.

As for the idea of humans being a superior life form in Masterforce, I sort of liked that metaphor in the show. They juxtapose the Cybertronians, these nearly immortal mechanical beings with immense physical and technological power, with the seemingly small and fragile humans. But at the same time, their timelessness is also reflected in their war, a conflict which consumes the entirety of their cultural identity, and which they seem powerless to escape or truly stop, in the end. Even the newly animated transtectors are driven to join this greater conflict in space, rather than remain in peace on earth, and, as with the Pretenders who lived for (presumably) centuries on earth among humans, it is the conflict with the Destrons that defines the greatest part of their identity. But the humans, for all their ability to marshall the three powers in combat, are defined by a power less literal: the ability to transform themselves into something greater through enlightenment and self-improvement. The headmaster Jrs. grow into mature, confident Cybertron operatives, and their Destron counterparts are able to see the error of their ways and devote themselves to something better (even if Wilder is reluctant to admit it). They are able to reach out to eachother and find peace and redemption, even if they only represent in a small part of the overall conflict. That, to me, was a really powerful symbol of what humanity is capable of aspiring to in it's future.

That's pretty much what they were going for, it's important to remember that in Japan (up until very recently and it's still somewhat murky) everything was one continuity. Even Car Robots/RiD fit into the G1 mythos, essentially occurring between seasons 2 and 3 of G1, with time-travelling Transformers from the future Beast Wars Style. In this case, I figured Devil Z was just some malevolent space force with evil intentions, and the Destrons were just a conveniently available tool for him to use, sort of like the Quintessons but with a less direct relationship.

Supposedly Masterforce happens shortly after (or during) Headmasters, and before Victory. But don't try and pick at the numerous loose threads continuity-wise, or the whole fabric will turn into a net for you.

 

Oh cool, so I'm not crazy. Seems like everything I'd read about the series going in was that it was a completely separate continuity.

 

The only thing i didn't get about the ending is the pretenders also split. How can they do that? They are not real humans. They are autobots taking the form of humans! Dreadwing even brings that up in an early episode that "you are not even from earth".

So are the humans that split from the pretenders at the end clones are something? Autobots can make human clones?

That part didn't add up!

 

I think they're artificial life forms, shells for the Cybertronians that for all intents and purposes resemble humans enough to blend in for centuries unnoticed. Maybe exposure to the Masterforce gave them a life of their own, in the same way it affected the Transtectors.

Wouldn't surprise me that the Cybertronians could make human clones though, given their manipulation of human bodies and corpses early in the series.

 

But, uh, the Pretenders' human and robot selves don't separate. They're not even there when it happens, only Metalhawk is. And his robot self is not among those that leaves, while he stays behind on Earth and watches all the robotic Godmasters and HM Jrs leaving.

 

Oh, I thought he was talking about how their pretender disguises work.

 

Masterforce is quite a Masterpiece.
See what I did there?

 

They didn't? Sorry last time i saw the last episode was about 6 years ago. Guess i remembered it wrong.

 

I just...can't.. I MAY try. But I just do not like japanese anime, and to see what they felt is transformers, i'm just not interested. Im glad you enjoyed it though

 

Masterforce is definitely anime. If you like Power Rangers you might find you can get into it a little easier though.