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| Translated Alternity Megatron Story & Bio, & Takara-Tomy Staff Interview |
| Posted on 07-11-2009 at 09:59 PM by TM2 D-bot | Our great friend SydneyY has done it again! We bring you Alternity Megatron's story & bio, as well as an interview with Hironori Kobayashi of the "Domestic Product" team.
Click on the title for the full translations.
| | Credit: SydneyY of the 2005 Boards! | Views: 6,954 | 
Additional Images | | | | SydneyY:
Disclaimer: These translation are provided solely to help non-Japanese fans who are unable to read the contents of product they purchased.
BIG thanks to Sol Fury, who has done yet another lengthy revisions. Quote: Alternity A-02 Megatron
STORY:
"To Mega Therion"
It was the year 2009 when Super-dimensional lifeform Hytherion had begun its attack on Earth, and Alternity Convoy "Auto Avatars" had gathered from various worlds to launch the offence against it.
Megatron observed the battle from his battleship hidden inside trans-warp space, and his mind traced back the problems he had encountered.
He had been compromised to a frozen status during a battle in his original BT world, and when he awoke, he discovered that the balance of the power had changed completely and Destrons were near extermination.
While many Cybertrons were on the path to some supreme being called "Alternity", the Destrons were left behind. The difference of their technical advancement was already several hundred thousand years' worth.
Furious, Megatron embarked on a long journey over the time and space to find a way to reverse the situation.
In search of the power mighty enough to counter Alternity, he researched, refined his scientific technology and strengthened his mind. He gathered force with other Megatrons from different worlds, and finally came to one scheme after a long, long time.
The moment the Convoy Troop delivered the final shot to Hytherion, Megatron activated the gigantic Chaotiser machine inside his battleship. He turned into "Identity Code" and wrote himself onto the beast (Hytherion)'s nerve centre. It enabled Megatron to fuse with the Beast of Time and control its body.
"To achieve the fusion, Hytherion had to be in the state of apparent death. I have had an emitter giving out a time-signal which the beast favours, and it was drawn to this unprotected world. I lead it to a battle against Alternity, to turn it into a raw material I needed."
The gigantic form of Hytherion gradually shifted to something more human-like, then finally vanished to the higher world. Right at the same time, two sports cars which were parked on the street suddenly changed their forms to Megatrons! They were newly activated Megatron Auto Avatars which had been set up in advance.
"Hytherion is an Alternium-based lifeform like you Alternity beings, and now, we have the equal power to you!"
Megatron drew his swords and slashed at Convoy.
"This is the end of your peaceful reign. Now I will show you the devastation and destruction of the infinite galaxy, again and again."
(NOTE; "Hytherion" is a super-dimensional lifeform and a nartural enemy of Alternity. It feeds on time, and particulary favours epochal time periods for consumption. Because of this habit, Hytherion is also called "Origin Eater".)
TECH SPEC:
Strength: 10
Intelligence: 10
Speed: 9
Endurance: 10
Rank: 10
Courage: 10
Firepower: 8
Skill: 10
BIO:
A-02 Megatron/Fairlady Z
Emperor of Destruction/Master Therion
This Transformer has a god of war like appearance and the ability to transform into a sports car. He is an incarnation of Megatron, who has evolved to "Alternity", a higher level lifeform, and he has been sent to Earth to unleash his power.
These bodies are called "Auto Avatars" and are the embodiment of Megatron's supremacy as the divine being, and they in fact demonstrate extra-ordinary powers that defy imagination.
Like Convoy, Megatron Alternity also consists of collective body of Megatrons from various dimensions, and there are the same numbers of Auto Avatars as Megatrons. Known individuals include <Blue>, who is from the original "BT World" and his first ally <Silver>. They gather forces to their Megatron unity for more power, and are ambitious to defeat Cybertron Alternity to achieve their domination.
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(NOTE; The interview below is from Generation 2009 Vol.2. This translation is a bit over 1/3 of the whole interview, where the subjects cover Alternity line.) Quote: Hironori Kobayashi interview
Who is he?: Joined the company in 1999. The first Transformer he created was Speedbreaker in "Car Robot" (Sideburn in "Robots in Disguise"). After working on other toylines "Webdiver" (2001) and "Daigunder" (2002), he worked on Micron Legend (Armada) line and was responsible for figures such as Convoy Super Mode and Unicron. He was also responsible for non Transformer toys, such as Valga from "Zoids Reverse Century".
Unlike other TakaraTomy staff whose interviews were previously translated, Mr. Kobayashi belongs to "Domestic Product" team. While "Overseas Product" team works on the international lines such as the Movie, Classics and Animated, "Domestic" team is responsible for (chiefly) Japan only merchandise such as Masterpiece and Hybrid Style series.
- Firstly, please tell us how Alternity Megatron has come to existence.
Kobayashi: As for the choice of the character, we decided on Megatron as the best choice to show our utmost respect to Nissan. It was the same reason why we picked Convoy, and we also expected that fans would like to line up Convoy and Megatron together.
As for the car model, we decided (on Fairlady Z) as we discussed the matter with Nissan. At that time we were not aware of the size of the new Fairlady Z model. I had no idea that it was that shorter (in length) than GT-R, so while I was working on the project I kept on thinking, "This short? Haven't I got the measurements wrong?". Fortunately the model had a enough width, and while it was challenging, I was able to fit the mechanism in.
I introduced Musha motif with katana because I wanted to add Japanese characteristic to the Japanese car. "Realistic Vehicle" and "Stylish Robot" are of course important factors, but I didn't want ("Alternity") to be a line in which you could collect nice looking robots and not much else. I hope to give some sort of theme to the future releases as well.
- Please tell us how your collaboration with Nissan came true.
Kobayashi: Actually, we would have liked to work with them during the time of Binaltechs, but we did not have the opportunity then. However, the situation surrounding the automobile market had changed, and they felt more strongly that their sports cars needed to appeal to the younger generations. Their needs finally met with what TakaraTomy had in mind.
As we developed products such as "CAUL" and "Choro-Q" (based on Nissan cars), we also suggested Transformers product strongly. It helped that the brand had become better known thanks to the 2007 movie. As Yamazaki explained (in an interview in Generations Vol.1), the talk went smoothly without us having to explain what Transformers were about. We were even encouraged that Nissan was looking forward to seeing the final product. We did not receive any particular suggestions about the robot design, but few things were pointed out to us concerning the the styling of the vehicle. They were to do with the details such as the emblem, how close the colours were (to the actual automobile paint) or some curves on the car body we didn't even notice, say, "This part needs to have more prominent edges".
As for the colours, the silver one was approved rather easily, but Vibrant Red was quite hard to receive the approval. It is a very delicate shade, somewhat bright yet dark at the same time. We asked the paint specialist to create the paint colour that matched the actual car's colour chip. But it was so difficult that he ended up telling us that it was impossible to create the shade with commercially available paints. We at last got an OK (from Nissan) with the colour mixed at our Chinese factory.
- Why did you pick Convoy as the first Alternity character?
Kobayashi: We had been hoping for the collaboration with Nissan for a long time, and to appreciate that it had finally come true, we thought of the way to show our respect.
We also considered how to differentiate (Alternity) from the first "Binaltech" character, Smokescreen. When we were producing "Binaltech" line, I was often asked why we chose that character. Another question was, "Why don't you create a new robot character to make the most of the original car features?". But we thought it best to use the well-known characters, and they (car manufacturers) saw our point of view.
As for Alternity Convoy, we wanted to create a robot more refined than Binaltechs. so we decided on the robot design before considering the transforming mechanism. This method is the same as the Movie toys are developed, and more time consuming.
To create a product with a quality level I myself couldn't even imagine, I ended up raising the hurdle so high.
Mr. Hirofumi Ichikawa was in charge of (the robot) design from the early rough sketch to the final design. By our request, he draw the first sketch without considering any transforming mechanism.
During the presentation stage, we chose Jazz temporally because it was easier to explain the concept to Hasbro, and at that stage there still was a possibility of a brand new character. We hadn't even decided on the series title, and it was tentatively called "Binaltech Mini".
- What were the difficulties you came across when scaling down from Binaltech 1/24 to (Alternity) 1/32?
Kobayashi: Even though the (figure) size became smaller, the size of shafts and screws are the same, and that limited the amount of the mechanism we could fit into it.
When we first made "Binaltech" Impreza prototype, the proto engineer told us that it would have been impossible to construct it if it was not 1/24 scale. In fact we seldom build working prototype during development stage. We only do so when the mechanism is so intricate that we don't know if we are on the right path, or when the structure is so complicated that no one can be sure how it should work.
Also, because "Binaltech" series had no precedents, we didn't know the level of standards the car manufacturers would expect from us. That made us to put everything we could come up with into the line, "Full Quality", so to speak. This time we aimed for something even better, and some parts (of Alternity) have the mechanism squeezed in to the max. For example, the width of the chest is the minimum size to be able to fit the structure in. We could only achieve "Alternity" 1/32 scale because the prototype manufacturer had been through "Binaltech" and knew the how-to. The prototype manufacturer and we had a talk about what more interesting things we could try, and that lead to the development of the Movie toys and other later Transformers products.
- Please tell us again about "Alternity" concept.
Kobayashi: Personally, as a developer, I never considered "Binaltech" transformations difficult, but I have heard many comments such as, "The parts are hard to fit into their places", "Some bits get in the way of smooth transformation". I understand that not everyone is used to transforming toys like myself, and there are always customers who purchase a Transformer toy for the first time. To make Transformers appealing to those new fans, I thought the transformation needed to be simpler.
That brought on the themes of Alternity; "easier transformation" and "better proportion". As for "easier transformation", I tried to anticipate what one would do first when they first had the product in car mode. I imagined they would bend the car body to see where it opened up. It is based on such human engineering (*laughs*).
Unlike the robots who transform in CGI, the emphasis in on the transformation by human hands. I believe that it is how toys should be.
- Are there any other points you took special care of during development stage?
Kobayashi: I spent long time thinking which parts should be die-cast. I eventually decided on using die-cast mainly for the frames, and painted the whole exterior to impress on the weight and the texture.
Also, I took extra care for those nice clicking clutches in the leg joints. In my opinion, adding very toy-like details to a toy enhances the fun when handling it. Though I did not include them in the hip joints to make delicate posing easier.
Lastly, I considered the concept that the vehicle and the robot share the parts, For example, toes of the robot become car seats because of shock-absorbing function in those parts. Or the side view mirrors have sensors built in and provide the back view in robot mode, and such. The engine becoming the robot head/brain is the same concept.
We asked Mr.Ichikawa to come up with the story setup as well as the robot designs, and he also thought of the functions of various parts.
It was to present (Alternity) as a toy series with SF (science fiction) entertainment, not just a puzzle-like transformation.
- Please tell us how "Synchro-Tech" mechanism was born.
Kobayashi: The product has a transformation mechanism that the vehicle bonnet squeezes in to form the robot chest, and I'd had the idea since "Car Robot" (Robots in Disguise).
In previous "Binaltech" line, the concept was to have less parting lines, so the idea could not be tried, but I decided to go with it with this product. On top of that, I thought of interlocking it with the arm extending mechanism. That was the beginning of "Synchro-Tech".
Though at the designing stage, the bonnet and the roof did not fit in the right place and excessive shift of the parts seemed necessary. I feared that might make the transformation confusing to the customers, so I thought out of a structure that puts the parts in place before and after transformation without much manipulation. Connecting those parts with a double crank worked even better than I imagined and I named the whole mechanism "Synchro-Tech". I consider that this idea will still go further, and have expectations of its development in future products. Using this mechanism, I hope to ultimately develop "Transformers without instructions".
- The doors on the shoulders also have the set position, and I see the leg transformation is rather complicated?
Kobayashi: When the doors have ball-joints, occasionally they are left turned down and considered correctly transformed that way. Because of that, it happens sometimes that (The Transformers) do not look good in shop displays and spoil their chance to shine, or they can't be nice looking display pieces even if they are given a place in a room.
To prevent that, I hand-crafted a cardboard model and came up with that mechanism. When in robot mode they (the doors) stay in a wing-like angle by only turning them, and in vehicle mode they open parallel to the surface like a miniature car. My goal was to ensure everyone's Convoy figure would look its best, wherever it was displayed.
As for the legs, I tried for something which would defy expectations. By placing the tires in the centre of the shins, tire house spaces are made to look like calves. If the tires were thinner, the structure would have been much simpler, but I really wanted to avoid that. Using the space the tires occupied as legs made the most out of it, unlike hiding it elsewhere.
- Lastly, please tell us about the direction "Alternity" is going.
Depending on the generation each fan is from, they have different series characters they are attached to. Some fans like "Victory", while for the others "Beast Wars" was the beginning. We concentrated on G1 characters more or less until now, but I would like to pick characters from various series to appeal to wider generations of fans in the future. This is not limited to Alternity.
| Solrac333:
More Alternities please!
blue death:
DAMN DUDE!! Megs knows how to whoop up on extradimensional beings now?! man thats almost as crazy and awesome a bio as the one for Super Black Convoy
IceConvoy:
Nice, thanks for the translation.
I like the mentions of Victory and Beast Wars at the end of the interview. "Not limited to Alternity" probably references Universe/Henkei (many characters I'd like to see in Henkei from them), but I'd like to see what the designers can do using characters pulled from various series into Alternity. Star Saber might look cool as a car, and it'd be nice to have another sword wielding figure to combat Megatron. Maybe from Beast Wars someone like Rampage might fit conceptually with the story.
I'd really like to see that concept of Jazz used to pitch Alternity produced before anything else though. When I saw the image I got really exited thinking it was going to be the next mold after Megatron. I'd hope.
SilverDragon:
According to the plans, he can change the direction of enemy attacks with his crotch.
This is awesome.
Seawing:
cool read. Thanks.  Waverider: Quote:
Originally Posted by SilverDragon  According to the plans, he can change the direction of enemy attacks with his crotch.
This is awesome. | Heck yeah!!! His head specs shows He can see beyond the 2nd and 3rd dimension. So depth perception isn’t enough for Megs?
thygriever:
So he can change the course of enemy attacks with his privates. And it's also a control mechanism. Sounds realistic to me :O
Chaos Muffin:
Thanks for the translation SydneyY & awesome job Sol Fury
Alternity Megatron has a manipulation device in his penis?, whoa
Dinobot Nuva:
Alternity characters seem to have the most batshit insane powers.
Gryph:
His swords can strike infinity distance, and he has arm blades that cut space and time. God I love Alternity.
ntsan:
So TFTM definetely put the brand back to spotlight..
MushroomPrime:
I love that his crotch controls inertia.
Tober:
My Alternity Megs arrived the other day. I actually like it alot more than I thought I would. Head is a bit annoying but otherwise a great figure.
Many thanks for the interview SydneyY and Sol Fury. Alot of work must have gome into that.  LightningZERO:
Real interesting interview. A lot of insights from how the team designing the Alternity line. Now I love them even more!
Thanks for the hardworks!
Bgrngod:
Again with the WTF? bio's for Alternity.
They allll go up to 11.
Bulkhide:
I hope they really do a lot with this line. I really hope to get Megs soon.
I wonder if we'll get any Stunticons or Prowl?
theestampede:
cool interview, I love hearing what the designers are thinking when making these toys. Also I want that prototype with no details on it
alpharon:
Thanks for the translation! BTW, I got your "Inertia Manipulation Device" right here!
shumworld:
He can control his own actions with his penis???
LMAO!!!
Rijie78:
Very impressed with both Alternitys so far. Hopefully there'll be others, and with varied bot modes (i.e. not always bonnet-for-chest, roof-for-back etc).
Blitz.:
I love how his swords cannot be stopped by any object and can hit at any distance plus his arm blades can hit you in any time at any place.
Also its interesting that the repaints seem to be the primary characters with silver convoy being the alternity the enlisted G1 prime and the Blue megatron being the one that evolved to the alternty plain of existence and then it seems brung what I assume is G1 Megatron into the fold.
Very interesting that they started with the cars and then gave theme characters and that Jazz was the first character they thought of since many people had seen the similarity's between the two.
Riceatron:
He could kill your parents before they were even born!
From the other side of the universe
he could cut you in half now, 15 years ago.
He can hold his sword
with his leg!
His crotch controls inertia
Also, arm blades that cut through time, space, and dimensions. He can not only cut you before he cuts you, but also cut you in multiple realities at the same time."
Bulkhide: Quote:
Originally Posted by Riceatron He could kill your parents before they were even born!
From the other side of the universe
he could cut you in half now, 15 years ago.
He can hold his sword
with his leg!
His crotch controls inertia
Also, arm blades that cut through time, space, and dimensions. He can not only cut you before he cuts you, but also cut you in multiple realities at the same time." | Holy Crap! When you put it like that, it's fucking scary!
NotoriousBIC:
I love these Alternity bios! There so humongously over-the-top that it becomes funny again. We need an Anime made out of this  Waverider:
Holy crap!!! Like Convoy, Megatron does not need roads to travel. His chest can create a track that can take him anywhere through time and space....
† Sunstorm:
that megatron looks really badazz
Blitz.:
I guess this means their no such thing as spontaneous combustion its just alternity megs killing your counterpart in another dimension from across the galaxy in the future...
[Wing_Saber-X]:  To ALL the replies on this thread. WIN!!   Digilaut:
LMFAO, that Megatron bio is even worse than Convoy's! Seriously, were they on crack when they came up with this bs story?
Thanks for the translation!
Storm: Quote:
Originally Posted by SilverDragon According to the plans, he can change the direction of enemy attacks with his crotch.
This is awesome. | He must have observed Omega Spreem's pelvis first strategy.
Takara_destron:
Ridiculous OTT powers FTW
SPLIT LIP:
I wish I could deflect attacks with my crotch. And have blades that destroy time. (not that time exists per-se, it is merely a human concept, but still)
Also, is it me, or does it say he has invisible arms in his legs? WTF?
But what's his personality like?
Katamari Prime:
Pelvis First, Last, and Always!
Eric:
...Am I the only one who thinks these bios are downright silly? This is something that'd make Stephen Hawking facepalm.
Scourge_151:
Swords made from the fangs of an omnipitent evil monster and for whom distance is no object to cutting?
I gotta get me some of those!
honcho:
That is one of the most ridiculous and Sue-tastic things I've ever read. That was hilarious.
I'd love to see what other characters they'll do, since I'm not too fond of either design for Prime and Megs. I like that they're looking at other series, too.
Automorpher:
I welcome Jazz/Meister anytime...
...But hopefully not as GT-R AGAIN! 
Novelty, is a lost form of Art these days.  Goretex:
Many thanks for the translation. Hopefully this line expands and we see some other brands like Toyota and Honda get involved again.
Xaxis:
I've thought the Alternity figures looked interesting but didn't want to shell out the money to import them. After reading that interview, now I really want them. I've found that as I've gotten older and lines like Masterpiece and Binaltech/Alternators have come out, it's the engineering that really gets me interested in a figure.
Sounds like there's some pretty cool design approaches in this line!
Laser_Optimus:
Man, Convoy's not the only one that's omnipotent now.
I really love these bios for the Alternity line. It's so over the top that it's freakin' awesome when it comes back around. Really, I doubt it's meant to be taken seriously... if there were an anime of it it'd probably be real tongue in cheek like G Gundam.
ShockWave_AZ:
Who would of know that Megatron has the most powerful crotch in the Universe
Digilaut: Quote:
Originally Posted by Laser_Optimus Man, Convoy's not the only one that's omnipotent now.
I really love these bios for the Alternity line. It's so over the top that it's freakin' awesome when it comes back around. Really, I doubt it's meant to be taken seriously... if there were an anime of it it'd probably be real tongue in cheek like G Gundam. | Actually, that's what I think is the sad part. It's probably NOT meant tongue-in-cheek. Remember that these were produced in Japan and this outright hyperbole powers wackiness definitely has a market over there. It goes perfectly with products like anything Square-Enix puts out nowadays, just to give an example..Somebody DEFINITELY thought it would be a kick-ass idea, and they all ran with it.. and there really isn't a clue in the stories/bios so far that shows it's all sort of a joke...
Not complaining about the Alternity toys themselves though, they are AWESOME. WarMachine73:
Gotta love a line that employs theoretical/hypothetical forces and abilities beyond the scope and breadth of what the vast majority of people are capable of even wrapping their brains around. The awsomeness of these powers is only overshadowed by the potential menace that could be caused by the wicked minds that wield it. I'm sold! I say screw all the other lines, bring this to the US to fill the void left by TFA. Give us the toys, give us the cartoons, we'll eat this sh** up!
PoweredConvoy:
Alternity will probably never come out in the USA due to Nissan's exclusive/special deal with TakaraTomy. Hasbro has no such deal with Nissan.
Randy
frilly toothpick: Quote:
Originally Posted by Katamari Prime Pelvis First, Last, and Always! |  |
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