I'm wondering why Hirohito's death made an impact such as that...that and the fact these shows would have been done in advance the year before.

 

I also don't see what it has to do with anything, especially as it relates to Transformers, which was super-kid friendly and nonviolent (especially by Japanese standards) since day one. G1 seasons 1-3 is like Mister Rogers' Neighborhood compared with Japanese-originated robot shows.

Also, Japanese kids' programming goes through phases of lighter moods all the time anyway. Look at various Kamen Rider or Ultraman series that have been lighter and more comedic than the ones around them. More emperor deaths? No. It's just that everything is cyclical, like here. Look at how nearly all adventure cartoons have disappeared from US television at the moment. Young Justice => Teen Titans Go, etc.

 

I LOVE Masterforce. It's a really unique take on Transformers that blends sentai series with elements more out of a traditional 'mecha' series (or Diaclone, if you want to get involved), the characters are all fun and memorable, it has a great sense of humor but still has stakes as opposed to my beloved Car Robots, which is hilarious and fun to watch but you never feel like anyone's in real danger - Masterforce is pretty close to TFA in that regard, really - and the designs and concepts are all totally awesome, even if they get a little too "magical realism" at times. I've watched the entire series and I still don't understand exactly what Devil Z is supposed to be, but I love it and accept it as Transformers all the same.

Victory to me was good but...kinda bland. The first episode hinted at a lot of elements we really wouldn't see too much after that, the Micromasters were handled kind of oddly (even though they have a mayor/governor/whatever, which is adorable), and I never really felt like you got to know the characters too well. Masterforce devoted a lot of time to fleshing out at least the Autobots so you got to know everyone's abilities and personalities, shallow as they were. Victory constantly felt like The Star Saber and Friends Adventure Hour where Star Saber was this indestructible noble champion of light who couldn't screw up or get seriously hurt (kinda like how Optimus has been written recently), and you never really get to know the Brainmasters or anything. On the flipside, if you're more into the Decepticons, the series spends a LOT of time with them, at least compared to other TF series.

Sorry that went long. Masterforce to me is the absolute peak of the Japanese G1 fiction, and I'd have a hard time choosing between it, Car Robots, and TFA if someone asked me what my favorite-ever TF cartoon was.

 

I started with Masterforce and later moved onto Victory. Masterforce does characterize better, but the second-half of the show turns into a typical "Evil-Plot-Of-The-Week" thing real quick. And the more impressive enemies (like the Seacon Combiner or Overlord) don't even get a big introduction. You'd think Overlord at least would be a huge deal...and it's not.

Victory is very, very typical of the japanese superhero thing, but it's got a really wide cast. Also Star Saber. Like, I'm biased because I enjoy his design, but Star Saber as the Best Alien Robot Dad Ever was a big warm-n-fuzzy moment for me.

I'd have to say Victory. If only because Star Saber, as predictable as he was, was so cool.

(It's part of why his MTMTE portrayal hurts so much)

 

i prefer victory. i like the characters better. star saber was cool and i really dug all the new combiners. also, jean wasn't as annoying as almost everyone was for me in masterforce. they one thing i don't like is a bad human cast and masterforce was nothing but a human cast....most annoyed the shit outta me.

my only real complaint about victory is that episodes got formulaic for me since it was all "destrons try to get energy star saber kicks their ass they go home with no energy" every episode.

 

Masterforce was better the better series to me. Much better story, and stronger more interesting characters.

Victory, like others have said, feels a lot more like the original cartoon but the characters are extremely boring, outside of Hellbat, Goryu and Kakuryu. Liozack was alright but just filled the role of Starscream. And yeah, way too many recap episodes.

All the Japanese series have silliness about them, but IMO Masterforce did a better part of blending it in with the story.

 

I'm one minute in to watching Super-God Masterforce and it's awesome.

I have no idea why a guy's glasses break when the Pretender shows up!

 

i like victory best, master force is great and probably has the more interesting overall story but i just love victory

star saber is awesome, hellbat's reaction to the whole deathcobra thing is great, i love liokaiser, leozak, gaihawk and deszaras. the last episode is epic. also living metal destroying cannon haha so cool.

 

Are you watching the original-Japanese-language-with-subtitles version or the English dub?

 

Japanese with subtitles, Shout factory version. And despite the switching of Japanese names for English ones (I.e. subtitles say Getaway rather than Lightfoot, and such), it's a fairly good job.


I'm on episode 17, and overall quite enjoying it. Some episodes are less strong than others, but then they hit me with something cool to get me back in  

 

Who gives a shit? Minerva and the rest of the jrs suck!!! Man you guys are crazy headmasters is waaaaaaay better. It has sixshot kicking all kind of ass. The other 2 series don't compare

 

Actually I was pretty surprised at just how effective Minerva was on the occasions she does fight. Her two specialties are dance, which translates into 'dodge machine,' and a stun-gun that freezes enemies for 60 seconds, which almost always wins the fight. Shuta's specialty, on the other hand, seems to be 'is really good... at taking a beating.' Seriously, I feel bad for that kid, the Decepticon Headmaster Jrs really do outmatch him... ^^;


Villain wise, I like the Destron Pretenders- even if it's already clear their role is minimized, early on they start out pretty scary. The Headmaster Jrs I also kinda like for their 'punks who got in it for the power' thing. The Godmaster Brothers start out dangerous when only fighting Pretenders, but as soon as Ginrei shows up and they have someone to compete against them, their elite schtick doesn't work as well, and it'd really benefit them to bring the Pretenders as backup more, since, well, there's just two of them!

 

But how is any of that better than the epic headmasters??

 

For me Masterforce was a bit more drawn out- it got better towards the end for me. The human involvement in Transformers used to irritate me, but in Masterforce it comes off as a true partnership and less of a troubling babysitting. Victory is better because the Decepticons had huge advantages of skill and power over the Autobots. Star Saber and his team had to really pull it together (aside from the fact that- if not for Victory Leo; they'd all be defeated). Victory also moves at a quicker pace. Most of the main characters are already there. They're were surprise characters in Victory that I liked better (ie: Greatshot, Black Shadow, Deathcobra{LOL}) in contrast to Masterforce (ie: Quickswitch {yawn}).

Both were excellent series. I would just prefer to watch Victory first- then Masterforce. Headmasters should be HEAVILY EDITED- then put out for viewing.

All in my honest opinion.

 

don't want to go into depth, but Im surprised the results are neck and neck. MF is as close to a realistic interpretation of events if alien robots invaded Earth. The serious tone of the show mixed with the human emotions make for interesting and engaging characters. The show had a good progression and pace. The action scenes were well done. It had themes such as super natural powers and many new elements not previously explored in past series. Nothing has come close to it since, true masterpiece in my books  

 

I can sort of understand why they changed the name though Getaway does not at all sound like a human name...then again neither does Lightfoot.

 

Cool, my wife and I are watching it together, both for the first time, and that's right about where we are. She's more just a casual Transformers fan, but she loves anime, and I had a feeling Masterforce might draw her in. I was more worried that I wouldn't get into it, but so far I think it's great. Still refraining from voting in the poll, since I haven't seen any of Victory.

 

I still say headmasters just because of sixshot's awesomeness. Most awesome transformer evah!! BTW does anyone else think Galvatron is still alive buried in the ice? Cybertron blowing up couldn't kill him why would ice lol

 

So I'm debating with myself writhed I should get a Japanese DVD set but I'm still torn.

Which one has the more serious tone?

 

Masterforce made good use of Humans with the Jrs they rescued people and put out the fires and damage caused by the ongoing battles the more powerful members were too busy fighting.