To all japanese fans, what do you think of Transformer terminology being changed to the western names? (ex: Convoy - Optimus Prime Destron - Decepticon) Personally, I dislike it. I feel the magic in Transformers after Galaxy Force is fading. Transformers in Japan gave the whole thing a sense of style. One style in particular is Burning Justice. I should mention even though Animated was made in the west, Japan made a super awesome opening that really depicted Burning Justice.
Being an english speaking fan, I think its a good change. Although I do like seeing names originating from Japan making an appearance on Hasbro products. Powercore Combiners Destrons for example.
The hard truth is that while Diaclone and Microman were created in Japan, Transformers as a brand and concept were developed in North America, and then re-adapted in Japan. The erasure of Japanese local-divergences from that brand, especially in the accelerating manner we've seen post-movie franchise, is likely a side-effect of the globalization of the brand. As much as I love the spin that Japan has put on Transformers with their own shows, own toylines, and own media built into existing releases, this may be something of an inevitability, I'm afraid to say. Even as a firm supporter of Burning Justice and Blazing Spirit and Fire Guts in essentially all their forms, these are anime concepts that, frankly, didn't really have much of a place in Transformers (at least from the sense of a trope) outside of the parts of the brand produced independently by the Japanese, and even then it was less common than compared to the Super Robots genre or even Braves, which in some ways spun out of Transformers towards its own direction. As that independence becomes less apparent, those aspects will likely become less common as well in the face of a uniform global "face" for the brand.
I know. As much as how awesome the live movies are, I feel it "hurt Japanese values". There should have been "Autobots and Decepticons" a long time ago in Japan. Aernaroth, let me ask you this. Do you like the turn that Transformers is taking as of now? Specifically, all Japan is doing as of now is dubbing. Basically, its only taking action after North America. Heck, you probably think Predacons Rising in Prime wasn't ending enough. If it were in Takara's hands, it might have been better.
I don't see how the use of Convoy and Destron are a "Japanese value", especially considering the films were produced with effectively no Japanese involvement. Do I like the turn Transformers is taking currently? I'm of two minds. There have been long periods where there haven't been Japanese-produced series, and this may be the longest, but there are a lot of factors that are playing into that (changes in the global positioning of the brand, changes to how television and media alternatives are developing, etc.) Transformers is riding something of a high right now, but so long as there's sufficient value for the brand in Japan, there will likely be media support, and if Hasbro isn't producing it, TakaraTomy very possibly will. I will say that I very much like the variety we have in terms of what the brand is offering right now, there's multiple independent media streams ongoing right now, and that's something we haven't had to this degree before.
If theres something I like in this current era, its the "modernization" of classic figures. I'm talking about Transformers Legends. A certain one in the Legends line is Fortress Maximus. Did you see/hear the voice phrases of it? Heres a link to hear it. I just love how Takara makes an effort to revere its characters.
First up, Transformers terminology isn't being changed FROM Japanese to western names. Where it's being changed, it's reverting BACK to western names. Transformers is not a Japanese property. The Japanese are the ones who messed up all the real terminology in the first place, changing a planet name into a faction name, shortening a bunch of names so as to be meaningless (i.e. 'Mindwipe' into just plain 'Wipe', whatever that is supposed to mean to anyone), and so on. So, losing something? No. They're gaining a more authentic representation of a western franchise. And that's only going forward. They're still keeping all their old names and terminology for the old stuff (like G1) or anything that connects to it (the current Legends toyline being a great example). In anything continuing Japanese G1, they're still Cybertrons and Destrons, with the Cybertrons led by Convoy. As long as they never try to George Lucas the old Japanese stuff and redub it with western names or something, I don't see any reason to complain.
Kind of, but that wasn't Japan doing it. That was just some weird perversion by Singapore or whatever, and never aired or released in Japan.
What are you saying? Japan/Takara make Transformers great. If you've seen Masterforce, Car Robots, and Galaxy Force, you'll understand. But there is one point in what you're saying. Maybe the names shouldn't have changed at the start. On the other hand, how does one distinct which Optimus Prime is which? (ex: Prime in Energon, Prime in G1, Prime in Prime). Whereas Convoy can be identified more easily. (ex: Convoy in G1, Grand Convoy in Superlink, Galaxy Convoy in Galaxy Force)
I'm usually more of a fan of the Japanese names/terminology and I like it when Hasbro adopts it. English descriptions and names sound like marketing. Japanese descriptions and and names have a mystical/mythical tinge to it.
I would rather they just butcher the pronunciation of the right names, to make them less awkward to say in their language, than change the names entirely. It sucks to grow up and then find out that the name you had become so familiar with was invalid.
It depends on what we're talking about specifically. In terms of name changes, it's always a mixed bag for me. There are name changes that I like, and then name changes from the same group that I think are horrible. Name changes are usually made to appeal more to the culture or group it's being presented to (for example: Japanese Computron is called Computicon because "tron" is generally associated with the Destrons/Decepticons), but then there are times that just go too far or are just careless. You remember how Scorponok's head is named Zarak? Well in Japan, the head is Scorponok, and the transtector is called MegaZarak. What? Why is the scorpion-themed one not the version called Scorponok? Could someone please explain that to me? Though I tend to find that common belief that Japan makes everything better isn't always true. I do admit that Takara can tend to make pretty good shows. I think Masterforce and Victory are better than the G1 cartoon (which I honestly don't like very much), and very good in their own respects. And I really enjoy Hayato Sakamoto's work. But then you have shows like Energon and TF Go (the latter of which competes with CW for the title of "worst TF show in my books") that are just terrible, especially since the latter is somehow supposed to be connected to Prime, which is way way better in just about every way and one of my favorite TF shows. And even if the Japanese dubs of western TF shows have really cool openings, even Japanese fans complain about the dubs themselves with their extensive adlibbing for the sake of a few extra jokes and drastic personality changes. And I think we can all agree that Kiss Players is utter garbage.
I think I can explain the "Scorponok" part. In Headmasters, he debuted as Scorponok. After the completion of his transtector, he changed his name to Zarak/Megazarak.
I remember that. But it's pretty clear for a show like Headmasters that the merchandise wrote the fiction. So why did the merchandise choose to name him that way?
