Leo Prime, the repaint/remold of Cybertron Leobreaker based on the Japanese Lio Convoy (that we never really saw in America so why even give us a homage?), and my love for Beast Wars has me wanting to Americanize the names of other Japanese characters. Also I mentioned not having toys for allot of these guys in another topic. That being said I think it should actually be Leo Primal. Apache already has an American toy called B'Boom. I've been told they're actually suppose to be different characters but they if they're not even going to recolor him so you can tell them apart I say they're the same guy. Bighorn Seems to be based on the same mold as Bonecrusher however Bighorn does actually have a different paint scheme having red robot bits not present on the American Bonecrusher toy. That being said I think Longhorn would be an appropriate name based on a Beast Machines toy who is a bull rather than a bison. Tasmania Kid we can just call Snarl because again, I can't see any difference in color. (Yeah I'm color blind but still they should be different enough so I can tell them apart if they're different characters.) Diver shares a mold with the original Spittor however I can see they're different colors plus they're on apposing teams. I wanna say Slapper but he was also a Predacon. Actually Diver really isn't a bad name as far as Japanese characters go lets keep it unless you can think of something better. Scuba and Claw Jaw actually look like different characters. Scuba's animation model is almost entirely red while Claw Jaw has splotches of blue on him. The wiki states that these are the same toy despite the color difference. That being said I think I'll stick with Scuba on this one. Squids don't have claws. Bigmos, OK now this is a confusing one because he looks the same as Transquito but one is a Maximal and the other is a Predacon. I'm just going to say the American version thought he was too scary looking to be a Maximal and swapped his faction. Plastic Addict victim, I mean Powerhug, I mean Retrax, I mean no wait I was right the first time... where was I going with this? Oh yeah Powerhug and Retrax are actually two entirely different characters on different teams with different color schemes. And sense Powerhug is the stupidest name ever this is a guy we really REALLY need a new name for. Tonbot is based on the same mold as BW Jetstorm but again different sides and different colors. Plus Jetstorm is a stupid name when you're not a jet. I'm not too crazy about the name Tonbot either so what can we call this guy? According to the wiki Mantis is a retool of Manterror but from what I can tell that retool is just replacing the Predacon spark crystal with a Maximal one. I'd like to again say that America just thought he was too scary to be a Maximal but having the word "terror" in the American name isn't helping for a character who's suppose to be a Maximal either. Mantis is actually fine for a name. Drill Nuts or Drill Bit... either way this sounds really painful. This is a Maximal? Oh well Drill Nuts is, Drill Bit is a Predacon... That still sounds wrong. OK obviously 2 different characters so what else can we call him that doesn't sound painful for men. Maybe this is the color blindness again but Scissor Boy and Powerpinch look like the exact same toy. And again they're on different teams. Wow all of the Maximal Insecticons are based off American Predacon toys. Anyway... Powerpinch it is! Now I'm confused about something... They have a different color scheme and they're Maximals so they're meant to be different characters but why call the combined form Tripledacus that sounds way too much like Tripredacus. So lets give this combined form a new name so they don't get confused for their Predacon look-a-likes. DJ (Based on Cicadacon) needs a new name because DJ is just way too human sounding for a robot. Motorarm (Based on Ram Horn) needs a new name despite the fact that Ram Horn should really be a Maximal name. (G1 Ram Horn was an Autobot.) And Gimlet (Based on Sea Clamp) needs a new name. Magnaboss confuses me because he actually got an American release but the Japanese version has a black and red face while the American one appears to be some shade of yellow/orange. I've spotted other differences in the individual characters that combine to form him so I don't think these are meant to be the same characters so why do they have the same name? That being said I think Prowl is a better name for Lio Junior and Ironhide is a better name for Santon. However Skywarp is already an American name and there's already another character named Silverbolt who actually appears in the American Beast Wars. Though it's odd that Skywarp is a Maximal and not a Predacon. Ikard who again is a repaint of Claw Jaw with an entirely new paint job and squids still don't have claws. Galvatron who I think we should continue to call Galvatron because he's that awesome! Megastorm/Gigastorm I think we should just call BW Tripdacon. Megastorm is actually based on G2 Megatron but we already have a BW Megatron and Gigastorm is based on G1 Tripdacon so I say that should be his name. Starscream/Hellscream I think should just be called Starscream even though Hellscream is a cool name. BB is the same mold as G2 Dreadwing. However Dreadwing doesn't quite fit Max-B. Max-B is a retool of the K-9/Wolfang mold. Though obviously a different character Wolfang is also a Predacon and it's a nice name. Wolfang doesn't really fit BB either. The wiki states that BB actually stands for Bom Bom so I guess to Americanize it we should call him Maximum Bomb? Dirge/Dirgegun should just be called Dirge Thrust/Thrustor I would say just call him Thrust but we already have G1 Thrust and BM Thrust running around in the same universe. Do we really need 3 Thrusts in the same continuity? I'm thinking Sunstorm based on his color scheme. Autostinger = Dirtbag Autocrasher = Roadblock Autojetter = ??? Autolauncher = Crankcase I figure sense God Neptune is a repaint of Piranacon that he could just as easily be an upgrade of the original Piranacon. (Except for one member apparently being female but I'm getting lazy with names.) Halfshell = Snaptrap Sea Phantom = Overbite Terrormander = Seawing Coelagon = Skalor Scylla = Tentakil Majin Zarak who only appeared in the BWII movie, is suppose to come from the past even though he's a character never seen before and isn't based off any previously existing toys and in fact doesn't even seem to have a toy. Based on his name I wanna call him Scorpinok but he's not a scorpion and there's already a BW Scorpinok so I'm thinking based on his size and alt mode he should be Tidal Wave. Artemis and Moon could very well have the same names in the U.S. Big Convoy would need a new name. Convoy would obviously translate to Primal but what about Big. Can't just call him Big Primal, we don't do that in the states. No one is named Big. Longrack actually has an American retool of Armada Hoist. (Again why do we have a toy playing homage to a character we've never seen before?) Cohrada who BTW is a Japanese figure I really wish had an American release, should be named Night Viper after a Beast Machines toy with the same beast mode. Stampy... I have no idea... Break kinda sounds like it would translate into Beak, kind of a stupid name. Heinrad who apparently is an actually working Alarm Clock in japan is another toy I could of really used to wake up in the morning because you can apparently only turn off the alarm in one mode. This means if you set the alarm and transform it before you go to bed then you'll have to transform it again in the morning in order to shut it off. No chance of hitting snooze. That thing is sure to wake you up. Not sure what to call him but he does cameo in RID. Mach Kick... actually it's a better name than Battle Unicorn... lets Japanese the American horse toy. Great Convoy... Optimus Prime what an amazing cape you have on? Rockbuster who claims he is not Razorclaw even though they look exactly alike. What is up with the American toys we do have being on the wrong team as their Japanese counterparts? They have different paint but damn it I refuse to call a robot Randy. His name is Razorbeast! Sharp Edge who seeing as how Cybershark can't make his mind what type of shark he is anyway this should be another Cybershark. Bump is going to be Armordillo because I said so... Survive and True One I actually think should be Soundwave and Ratbat despite the fact that they're suppose to be Maximals and the coloring is all wrong. Magmatron is actually still called Magmatron in the U.S. so lets skip that one. Guiledart should be Slag or Triceradon. Saberback should be Striker (Because I already gave Snarl to someone else.) Sling Sludge wait I mean Sling should be Sludge. Dead End is already an American name. Archadis is Airraptor Hydra claims he isn't Lasorbeak but he is. Crazybolt is a recolored Iguanus. Hardhead could be Dinotron Bazooka could be Slapper even though he's not a frog. Killer Punch should be Slag or Triceradon. Plastic Addict Vitim number 2 on this list, I mean Rartorata is Injector or Waspinator with a fish on his head. Elephorca is Torca Drancron is Sky Shadow. And finally BW Neo Unicron... well... he's freaking Unicron. OK so aside from the parts where I'm just being weird I seriously want to know what you think their names should be if they were in America... at least the ones who's names aren't already American.
Well the point of this is that allot of the toys never had an American release and the book still uses their Japanese names. That's probably the only thing in America that has Transformers named Convoy in it. I think Convoy should remain a Japanese name and the American ones should be Prime or Primal. Officially it's Leo Prime but I feel like Autobots are Primes Maximals are Primals and that Leo Prime toy is actually an Autobot.
In my own personal canon, the western hemisphere of Cybertron has Autobots and Primes. The eastern hemisphere of Cybertron has Cybertrons and Convoys. Same things, different words. Who says all of Cybertron has to have one culture?
Since 2007 and the movie. Every new series that's come out since then in Japan has used Autobots, Decepticons and Optimus Prime - all the movies, Animated, even the United toyline. The only thing that's stuck to the old Japanese names have been reissues and adult collector-targeted pieces.
I was under the impression that they were still being called Cybertrons and Destrons in Japan. I figured Optimus would have a new "Convoy" name as unlike the American versions he always has a new name in Japan. And I thought Bumblebee would just be called Bumble like his G1 name sake... and Armada Sparkplug who kinda looks like him. I looked it up on the wiki though and sure enough they have American names. They have different names in other countries though. One of them even had his name as Optimus Prima which I thought was kinda funny because Prima is a different character in America.
Nope. At the end of the first episode of Animated there was even a gag about his name not being Convoy, and Bumblebee trying to come up with a nickname for him, because "Oputimasu Puraimu" was too long. The movie is what did it. In Japan, imported theatrical movies are seldom dubbed while they're in the theater. They don't get dubbed until they're shown on TV. Because of this, Takara decided to start using the US names, to tie the new stuff in with the movie.
I miss the Convoy tradition. I wonder what Optimus's name would have been. I bet something along the lines of Maverick Convoy.
I don't see the point in trying to "Americanize" the names. The names work as they are (Though I wouldn't be offended if Big Convoy became Mammoth Prime). Movie Prime should be Psycho Convoy.
