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1) On page 19, Trailbreaker acts like he and the Autobots haven't seen the Stunticons and Menasor before. I thought all the G1 manga comics in Japan were in-continuity with our stuff Japanese-dubbed (except Rebirth), and Headmasters through Zone, not any separate continuity?

2) Why do some of the characters of stories pre-Headmasters have the face more looking like the toy's, than the American animation models?

3) On page 60, Kenji calls Tracks "Trucks". I'm guessing "Trucks" is the Japanese name? Why not just use "Tracks," as were using the other American names anyway. Was it a rights-issue currently with Hasbro of America?

4) On the story starting on page 77, how are Perceptor and Hound able to fly? It was established that the Autobots couldn't fly in the American cartoon, so how are they able to in Japan's stories?

5) The same story: could this still fit before Japan's Scramble City anime story?

6) On pages 80-82, why did Optimus not send Slingshot, and instead send First Aid?

7) On the story starting on page 90, could this fit with Megatron's Master Plan two-parter or Masquerade, or would it be after either of them as one kid has a Galvatron watch?

The story starting on page 125: I thought it was clear since the 2010 show that something turned Megatron into Galvatron, or was that not revealed until Headmasters, because I definitely saw it referenced there at the start on my subbed DVD set.

9) The story starting on page 135: Why call the Autobot City "Scramble City," like in Japan? It's always been Autobot City in America. Never cared for the Scramble City name.

10) The story starting on page 149: Was Gilthor a toy released in Japan during 2010? This is the first I ever heard of him.

11) Pages 170-173: How were the Omnibots able to be used? Were they also mail-order toys at the time of 2010, or sold in stores?

12) Page 186: Why isn't it referenced that Grimlock made the Technobots?

13) Finally, on page 244: Why is Blitzwing shown seeing Starscream's ghost instead of Octane? Did Japan make animation-alterations to their dub of "Starscream's Ghost"? I know it was originally to have been Blitzwing, but Hasbro of America wanted Octane instead, including in "Thief in the Night" before that, but that was shown to be Octane also.

Surprised no one's answered this. Well I'll give 'em a shot.

For the record, most of my info comes from my own conjecture, and tfwiki.net: https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Main_Page

Really good site, so many rabbit holes to fall down. So without further ado:

1. The Manga was another avenue for Takara to market their products. Instances like this were probably there to help uninformed kids know what was going on, in case they didn't follow it regularly or missed an episode. But a no-prize could be Trailbreaker had been off in a mission for a while and hadn't been debriefed on who or what the Stunticons were. After all, the wiki says he didn't appear in either "Key To Vector Sigma" episodes .

2. It's very possible the artist Ban Magami didn't have access to the animation models, or didn't have time to study the cartoon. So if all he had to go on was packaging art/actual toys that's what he used. Marvel comics and other smaller storybooks of the time also had a tendency to draw Transformers off-model, such as it is.

3. I read it as a translation error/typo. There are a one or two that pop up in each volume, but that's life.

4. I did check the wiki on this, and no explanation was given. Writer/artist continuity goof.

5. It could. G1 has loose, broad continuity post season 1 anyway.

6. Slingshot's a bit of a hothead, so maybe Prime didn't want any accidents? Or more likely it was an easy and fun way to showcase "Scramble Power!!!" That's why I really do like the manga, because of the inclusion of toy like features that rarely, if ever, made it into the shows.

7. Broad stroke continuity and product placement again. I'd put it somewhere between B.O.T. and The Movie myself though.

8. I don't know when this story was written or originally released in Japan, but it probably had to do with Hasbro wanting to keep Galvatron's true identity a secret. So Takara may not have been properly informed, thus a writer/artist lower on the totem pole may not have had all the info. Fun story, and it does neatly tie into continuity, because the Autotbots would only have rumors to go on. After all, Hot Rod's only clue to link them was Galvatron claiming to have killed Prime at the end of "The Movie", during which he was being throttled.

9. Viz may have wanted to be more literal with the translation, or may not have considered using
the American term.

10. Nope. Manga only creation, and he is awesome. And when I was first introduced to him, he was known as "Guiltor". When I see "Gilthor", I think of the Simpson's character Gil in a very poor Thor cosplay.

11. According to the wiki the Omnibots were mail-away in Japan as well.

12. It's entirely possible that "Grimlock's New Brain" had not been translated or even aired when the story was commissioned. Toys however are in production a lot earlier, so Takara knew the Technobots were coming, but not necessarily how the show was going to introduce them.

13. The wiki didn't have a direct answer either. Perhaps the episode tie-in art was commissioned with an early script?

I hope I at least helped a little bit. And hey if anyone see's I'm off on anything feel free to correct me!

Rodimus_2316 wrote:1) On page 19, Trailbreaker acts like he and the Autobots haven't seen the Stunticons and Menasor before. I thought all the G1 manga comics in Japan were in-continuity with our stuff Japanese-dubbed (except Rebirth), and Headmasters through Zone, not any separate continuity?

That story was actually published before Menasor's debut in the cartoon first aired in Japan, so this was Menasor's first appearance in Japanese media. Thus, it was treated as such, giving Trailbreaker a startled reaction to his appearance here.

Though, since it would have have take place chronologically after Menasor's debut in the cartoon, this is only odd in hindsight. Call it another continuity goof (the cartoon itself was full of them, after all).

Rodimus_2316 wrote:2) Why do some of the characters of stories pre-Headmasters have the face more looking like the toy's, than the American animation models?

In most cases, the artist likely did not have access to the finalized cartoon models at the time and had to base them off the toys (or more toy-accurate early cartoon models) instead.

Rodimus_2316 wrote:3) On page 60, Kenji calls Tracks "Trucks". I'm guessing "Trucks" is the Japanese name? Why not just use "Tracks," as were using the other American names anyway. Was it a rights-issue currently with Hasbro of America?

That's a translation error on Viz Media's part. His name is "Tracks" in Japanese, too. But the way the word "Tracks" is spelled in Katakana can also approximate the English world "Trucks", so the translator goofed on that one.

Rodimus_2316 wrote:4) On the story starting on page 77, how are Perceptor and Hound able to fly? It was established that the Autobots couldn't fly in the American cartoon, so how are they able to in Japan's stories?

It's an inconsistency. Several Autobots are seen flying in these stories at many points, so the author and artist likely either forgot or weren't aware of the Autobots' lacking the power of flight that the Decepticons had in the cartoon.

Though, since these stories take place after Season 2 of the cartoon, and since Season 3 had Autobots inconsistently flying in its episodes, we could say that the Autobots must have eventually developed the technology of their own at some point.

Rodimus_2316 wrote:5) The same story: could this still fit before Japan's Scramble City anime story?

Yes. This series built up to the Scramble City episode.

Rodimus_2316 wrote:6) On pages 80-82, why did Optimus not send Slingshot, and instead send First Aid?

Because he said that the animals on the island might get injured and First Aid is a medic who can treat their wounds if needed.

Rodimus_2316 wrote:7) On the story starting on page 90, could this fit with Megatron's Master Plan two-parter or Masquerade, or would it be after either of them as one kid has a Galvatron watch?

It's after. Humanity is just that dumb in the G1 cartoon universe.

As for the Galvatron watch, that and Kenji's Ultra Magnus watch were a bit of product placement for the real-world watches being sold in Japan at the time (there was also a Superion watch). The story came out before Season 3 started airing in Japan, so it's just another case of early Galvatron advertisement in Japan depicting him as a separate individual from Megatron before the big reveal of Megatron being Galvatron was made known at the time.

Rodimus_2316 wrote:8) The story starting on page 125: I thought it was clear since the 2010 show that something turned Megatron into Galvatron, or was that not revealed until Headmasters, because I definitely saw it referenced there at the start on my subbed DVD set.

As alluded to above, there was an initial uncertainty in Japan about Galvatron being Megatron since The Movie didn't reach Japan until 1989. But, this story tries to make it clear that the two are the same person. The Autobots' confusion is over the fact that Megatron is seemingly back when he should be Galvatron by this point. Galvatron wanted this confusion so it worked, until the Autobots discover that the Megatrons are all fakes merely controlled by Galvatron.

Rodimus_2316 wrote:9) The story starting on page 135: Why call the Autobot City "Scramble City," like in Japan? It's always been Autobot City in America. Never cared for the Scramble City name.

"Scramble City" is just the name of Metroplex's city mode. Autobot City (called "Cybertron City" in Japan) is the whole entire complex that Metroplex is just a small portion of.

Rodimus_2316 wrote:10) The story starting on page 149: Was Gilthor a toy released in Japan during 2010? This is the first I ever heard of him.

No. No toy. He's an original creation.

Rodimus_2316 wrote:11) Pages 170-173: How were the Omnibots able to be used? Were they also mail-order toys at the time of 2010, or sold in stores?

The Omnibots were Robot Point mail-order toys in Japan, too.

Rodimus_2316 wrote:12) Page 186: Why isn't it referenced that Grimlock made the Technobots?

"Grimlock's New Brain" didn't air in Japan until May 1987, the same month that this story was first published. Thus, it would have been written before the episode reached Japan, so the knowledge of Grimlock creating the Technobots may not have been known at the time.

Thus, the next story retcons the previous one by instead saying that Doctor Dalton "upgraded" the Technobots instead of "creating" them like the first story implied. And Grimlock is put in there to strengthen the connection with the Technobots' cartoon origin.

Rodimus_2316 wrote:13) Finally, on page 244: Why is Blitzwing shown seeing Starscream's ghost instead of Octane? Did Japan make animation-alterations to their dub of "Starscream's Ghost"? I know it was originally to have been Blitzwing, but Hasbro of America wanted Octane instead, including in "Thief in the Night" before that, but that was shown to be Octane also.

The artwork advertising the episode was going off of the original plan to have Blitzwing in the episode instead of Octane, and was produced before the switch to Octane was made.