I'd be watching the sub anyway, so it doesn't bother me that there's no new dub. However, I'm confused as to the whole aspect of this debacle where the guy from Shout made it crystal clear that the other series would only be coming out if Headmasters sold well. We need some clarification on all this.

 

This. I definitely like Amazon free shipping. Looking forward to the boxset extras, I just may see something new.

 

Sweet! Now if only would release Beast Wars the Second and Neo dubbed or subbed I would be a happy camper!

 

Allright I was going to get Headmasters and then hope they release the others but now I will just get the three series altogether!!! Sweet!!!!

 

No Omni Dub= A lost purchase.  

 

does anyone know if you can cancel amazon preorders?

 

Indeed. Something is fishy here. Thanks to this announcement, I can almost guarantee Headmasters will not sell well. Makes me think Shout hasn't been as transparent as they like themselves to be.

 

Good thing I didn't preorder the Headmasters series yet. Definitely going to preorder this complete collection.

 

nevermind, you can definitely cancel preorders

 

will this be later release in stores?

 

Happy to get a properly subbed version of Headmasters. Hearing the names "Billly", "Wally" and "Phillip" over and over was more than I could handle, so I never finished the release dubbed by Omni. To also get official US releases of Masterforce and Victory is a nice bonus.

 

You mean no hilarious STAR TV dub? BOOOOOOOO!!!

 

Me too. Plus shipping for this is like $30 to Canada. Hopefully Amazon.ca gets this set as well like they did the Matrix of Leadership set.

 

Yeah, I'd probably get (individual releases of) these three series if they were dubbed. I don't have a huge interest in the Japanese G1 stuff, but would be willing to throw down some money to support more obscure TF stuff coming out on DVD if there was a dub, even if it was a bad one. I just can't follow the inflection of spoken Japanese and often have difficulty telling the different characters' voices apart, especially if I can't see the lip flaps. This means that, while I don't have a problem reading the subs, the Japanese vocal track is distracting because it sounds to me like one person speaking in a monotone. But I can understand that it's just not realistic for Shout to do a dub for such a niche product.

That said, I hope these do well so that all three series will get individual releases, for those who want them. And maybe lead to Shout releasing some more obscure or out-of-print TF series, like the Japanese BW stuff, which I'd be much more tempted to get, even with no dub.

 

Said this before and I think it needs to be stated again which is that to dub these is unfortunately unrealistic and prohibitively expensive. A typical anime dub costs between 8-10 grand per episode to produce and considering all three of these shows combine total a number of 109 episodes, that's over a million bucks to dub the whole thing. Transformers maybe a popular brand right now, however I highly doubt slapping a dub on these will increase sales enough to make that cost even close to worth it. Shout Factory is smart enough to know who their audience is for these set's which is mostly the hardcore Transformers fans and producing a dub would not be worth the cost by a longshot.

 

They have an existing dub. It's a dub that not everyone appreciates, but some people actually consider it a highlight. The only reason it's not being included is because Hasbro is in the non-appreciative camp. But yes, the people who want a NEW dub don't seem to get how things work.

 

There could be any number of reasons why that old (and hilariously comical) dub was not included, I highly doubt it's because Hasbro or Shout Factory is "in the non-appreciative camp" as you put it.

 

The DVD producer has said that Shout wanted to use the dubs but Hasbro wouldn't let them because they "don't approve of the way it presents the characters." It doesn't take much of a leap to figure Hasbro recognizes the dub as low quality, with its tendency to call the characters names that arent their own, and the fact that the Japanese mannerisms (such as reducing Arcee to a secretary) are sort of embarrassing and Hasbro doesn't approve of the characters acting that way, thus they won't condone a dub they had no hand in the making of when it endorses such behavior.

 

I don't know that seems to be a pretty logical explanation to me. Why I don't disagree that throwing those wacky dubs on these sets would have been an interesting bonus I don't think it's worth breaking out the torches and pitchforks over. Besides if people REALLY want to check those out the internet is always at your disposal.

Frankly I'm just grateful were getting these at all and that I'm finally able to legally purchase a high quality DVD version of these shows and not rely on fansubs.

 

I've never really seen the Japanese TF shows so I may just buy this.