*Not quite Transformers* in other Anime Series
Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 12:31 pm
Greetings All,
If like, me you may not seem too excited on the prospects of the upcoming Botbots, or Earthspark Transformers cartoons (not saying they are inherently bad, but they may just not be desirable to everyone). You may want to take a dive into anime history with a few shows that were influenced by (or in turn influenced) Transformers.
Of course I being a fan of the Mecha/Super Robot/Real robot genres could suggest literally dozens of shows. However there are a few that have soem direct ties to Transformers in some odd ways.
1. Special Armored Battalion Dorvack https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_A ... on_Dorvack
I am especially excited to finally delve into this series as Discotek just announced last week that they will be releasing this series as SD on BRD later in 2022. Basically this was the show/toyline that the original Roadbuster & Whirl came from, and while they are piloted mecha in the series, it is nice to see their visage in animated form.
2. Machine Robo: Revenge of Cronos
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_R ... _of_Cronos
Technically this may speak more to GoBots fans than Transformers, however I still think it is worth a watch now that Disctotek has also released it as SD on BRD as of last month (I'm personally about 2/3 of the way through the series). This series is unique however in that like Transformers, these are living robots, not piloted mecha. Their designs are all based on the Bandai Machine Robo toyline which Tonka imported as Gobots (and later Rock Lords), so you will see many familiar faces especially as the series goes on. Just know these are not "our" Go Bots. Characters like Faclcon Robo (Leader 1) are tertiary at best. Blue Jet (Fitor),and Drill (Screw Head) are part of the main cast along with the humanoid Rom Stol and his sister. Definitely a fun watch.
3. Brave Series
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_series
The Brave series was created by Sunrise Animation, and the toys by Takara. They were designed as replacements for the ending Transformers series for the better part of the 1990's. IN all 8 series were produced (most independent without any overall connectivity) with a few OVA and Manga follow ups. Sadly to date the only official release on DVD in North America is the last series King of Braves GaoGaiGar. Whose DVD is long OOP from Media Blasters. However it, along with most of the other Brace Series can be found online with varying levels of fan sub translation.
The Brave series are fun in that you can definitely see the Transformers influence. Many animation designs are taken from past Transformers (for example the enemies of the first series Brave Exkaiser (The Geisters), are clearly heavy revamps of the original Dinobots, sadly never being realized in Toy form).
However some other Brave Series (Might Gaine, J-Decker etc...) had Transformers retools that did appear as toys. There is a long list that you can look up on other sites, too many to name. But if you have a keen eye, it is so fun to watch these series, and see perhaps one of your favorite Transformers characters show up completely redesigned . Lastly I should probably mention the fact that since Sunrise Animaiton was purchased by Bandai (a direct competitor of TakaraTomy), that means TT unfortunately no longer has the rights to reissue older versions of its Brae series toys, making them extremely expensive on the secondary market. Bandai has issued a few high end Brave series toys in Soul of Chogokin and other toylines, but again, very expensive.
Of course there are others, but these are the ones that are most directly connected to Transformers in one way or another. At the very least, I hope this has given some ideas of alternatives fans can watch while they wait for Transformers itself to come around to developing something we can enjoy.
feel free to add your comments, suggestions etc. Have you watched these shows? What are other Mecha/Robot shows that you enjoy?
If like, me you may not seem too excited on the prospects of the upcoming Botbots, or Earthspark Transformers cartoons (not saying they are inherently bad, but they may just not be desirable to everyone). You may want to take a dive into anime history with a few shows that were influenced by (or in turn influenced) Transformers.
Of course I being a fan of the Mecha/Super Robot/Real robot genres could suggest literally dozens of shows. However there are a few that have soem direct ties to Transformers in some odd ways.
1. Special Armored Battalion Dorvack https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_A ... on_Dorvack
I am especially excited to finally delve into this series as Discotek just announced last week that they will be releasing this series as SD on BRD later in 2022. Basically this was the show/toyline that the original Roadbuster & Whirl came from, and while they are piloted mecha in the series, it is nice to see their visage in animated form.
2. Machine Robo: Revenge of Cronos
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_R ... _of_Cronos
Technically this may speak more to GoBots fans than Transformers, however I still think it is worth a watch now that Disctotek has also released it as SD on BRD as of last month (I'm personally about 2/3 of the way through the series). This series is unique however in that like Transformers, these are living robots, not piloted mecha. Their designs are all based on the Bandai Machine Robo toyline which Tonka imported as Gobots (and later Rock Lords), so you will see many familiar faces especially as the series goes on. Just know these are not "our" Go Bots. Characters like Faclcon Robo (Leader 1) are tertiary at best. Blue Jet (Fitor),and Drill (Screw Head) are part of the main cast along with the humanoid Rom Stol and his sister. Definitely a fun watch.
3. Brave Series
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_series
The Brave series was created by Sunrise Animation, and the toys by Takara. They were designed as replacements for the ending Transformers series for the better part of the 1990's. IN all 8 series were produced (most independent without any overall connectivity) with a few OVA and Manga follow ups. Sadly to date the only official release on DVD in North America is the last series King of Braves GaoGaiGar. Whose DVD is long OOP from Media Blasters. However it, along with most of the other Brace Series can be found online with varying levels of fan sub translation.
The Brave series are fun in that you can definitely see the Transformers influence. Many animation designs are taken from past Transformers (for example the enemies of the first series Brave Exkaiser (The Geisters), are clearly heavy revamps of the original Dinobots, sadly never being realized in Toy form).
However some other Brave Series (Might Gaine, J-Decker etc...) had Transformers retools that did appear as toys. There is a long list that you can look up on other sites, too many to name. But if you have a keen eye, it is so fun to watch these series, and see perhaps one of your favorite Transformers characters show up completely redesigned . Lastly I should probably mention the fact that since Sunrise Animaiton was purchased by Bandai (a direct competitor of TakaraTomy), that means TT unfortunately no longer has the rights to reissue older versions of its Brae series toys, making them extremely expensive on the secondary market. Bandai has issued a few high end Brave series toys in Soul of Chogokin and other toylines, but again, very expensive.
Of course there are others, but these are the ones that are most directly connected to Transformers in one way or another. At the very least, I hope this has given some ideas of alternatives fans can watch while they wait for Transformers itself to come around to developing something we can enjoy.
feel free to add your comments, suggestions etc. Have you watched these shows? What are other Mecha/Robot shows that you enjoy?