Transformers - Takara [DVD] [1986]

One strong impression is that at both the dubbing stage and the release stage these episodes were handled by people with limited knowledge of Transformers, with the results that many fans find inconsistencies on the release. As with several other Maverick Transformer DVDs the episodes used don't use the title sequence from when they were originally released but instead have one from a later season, suggesting that little care was taken to check that the episodes were the original versions. However as these are dubbed episodes, the versions available may have been beyond Maverick's control. The dubbing dates back some years from before Maverick's involvement and it is all too clear that it was not done with the American-European-Australian audience in mind. Many of the names are different (Spike become Sparkle, Blaster becomes Billy etc...) whilst the continuity is subtly different from the US cartoon series, even when "The Rebirth" is ignored. Also many of the voices sound different from the US cartoons and often this results in characters coming across very different from before.

Despite all this the DVD is nevertheless highly welcome. Once the viewer gets over the differences in both names and storytelling style the episodes become highly watchable and offer many wonderful moments such as the Soundwave-Billy (Blaster) fight. Although there are no special features, this is a DVD that stands up well alongside other Maverick releases and is probably the best release of these episodes that will ever take place.

As it was never released officially in the US, it was never dubbed into English properly. The group who created the English language versions of the episodes that are on this disc are quite appalling - the voices and acting do heavy damage to a fairly entertaining story, and they also mess up several of the characters' names, and skew plot points due to their lack of actual Transformers knowledge. Also, all the episodes have the incorrect opening sequence, which comes from another Japanese series, "Transformers: Victory," rather than Headmasters - but it's a VERY catchy tune. V! V! Victory!

You should note that these dubs were created several years ago, and aren't Maverick's work.

The end result is something that's so bad, it's hilarious, and well worth watching. If you can get past the bad dubbing, it's a fun show, too. I consider this to be one of the best discs Maverick has put out so far, even if it doesn't contain any extra features, but that's just Maverick's way. I think it's great that these episodes are finally on widespread release, for the first time in the UK (the first episode, "Four Soldiers from the Sky," was previously available on Maverick's Transformers: The Movie DVD), even if they ARE bad dubs, and I sincerely hope that Maverick will release all the remaining episodes.