The Energon Pub

I've been looking at various Japanese blogs and even they seem to be confused on who's piloting it (and that's saying something). One acknowledges both (by using MP-10's Spike and using Wheelie and MP Rodimus), another says it's Daniel, yet another sticks with Spike... I did spot that the more observant ones seem to favor Daniel however.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:I've been looking at various Japanese blogs and even they seem to be confused on who's piloting it (and that's saying something). One acknowledges both (by using MP-10's Spike and using Wheelie and MP Rodimus), another says it's Daniel, yet another sticks with Spike... I did spot that the more observant ones seem to favor Daniel however.

This all leads me back to my original theory that I think it's odd that Takara hasn't used imagery from the Animated movie in a while (at least not that I've noticed, someone please correct me if I'm wrong). It'll be interesting to see what cartoon images they use for Ultra Magnus since the "mouth opened" face should be the Matrix holding pose from the Animated Movie. If they refrain from using imagery from the Animated movie, I'm going to stick with my theory that for some reason they can't use imagery from that source currently (which I'm assuming ties back to Paramount absurdly preventing its release here in the US).

Remember when the crew crashed on Junkion the first time? Arcee made Daniel wear "Spike's" Exo suit. So I believe mystery is solved. This might be Exo suit ver. 1 when Spike was maybe up to late teens. He and B hung out a lot. Then when he couldn't fit, he and the Autobots built ver. 2 for a much larger body (adult Spike).

In the MP Magazine, the art used looks a lot like Daniel alright so I'm guessing this was Exo suit ver. 1 with Daniel being intended as the pilot. Kind of confusing and yet accurate(?). That or Tomy don't have fact checkers like Sabrblade and stovokor

As for major booboos, MP-01 and MP-08 had the "More than Meets TEH Eye" fonts so this isn't quite a surprise.

Seibertron wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:I've been looking at various Japanese blogs and even they seem to be confused on who's piloting it (and that's saying something). One acknowledges both (by using MP-10's Spike and using Wheelie and MP Rodimus), another says it's Daniel, yet another sticks with Spike... I did spot that the more observant ones seem to favor Daniel however.

This all leads me back to my original theory that I think it's odd that Takara hasn't used imagery from the Animated movie in a while (at least not that I've noticed, someone please correct me if I'm wrong). It'll be interesting to see what cartoon images they use for Ultra Magnus since the "mouth opened" face should be the Matrix holding pose from the Animated Movie. If they refrain from using imagery from the Animated movie, I'm going to stick with my theory that for some reason they can't use imagery from that source currently (which I'm assuming ties back to Paramount absurdly preventing its release here in the US).

The 1986 Movie can't released anymore in the US? Aside from the 2007 release, there won't be further releases anymore?

fenrir72 wrote:The 1986 Movie can't released anymore in the US? Aside from the 2007 release, there won't be further releases anymore?

I can't give a specific quote from anyone official, but apparently (or so I've been told) Paramount bought the rights to the Animated movie shortly after the 2006 Sony DVD release. Maybe someone can find some documents from all of these Sony hacks that sheds some light on this supposed transaction between Paramount and Sony for the rights to the 1986 Animated Transformers film. The story goes that Paramount felt that having the animated movie available at retail would cause confusion in the marketplace with their live-action Transformers films. That sounds absurd to me, but maybe big wigs at Paramount just see the title of the movies on paper and think that a cartoon and a live action movie could somehow be confusing. I dunno. Like I said, sounds absurd, but since we haven't seen the animated movie released on DVD in the US in 8 years it seems more and more plausible to me.

Does anyone know of a website where you can look up who owns the rights to a movie? Hasbro seemed to be able to air the animated movie (albeit the British or Canadian version) on television via the Hub Network so it seems that Paramount is not able to block that for some reason.

Shout! Factory's rights extend to non-feature length Transformers titles only (which means this would exclude the Animated movie).

It could be possible that the version of the story above that I was told about Paramount could be confused with whatever agreement Hasbro and Paramount made. Maybe Hasbro has the rights to it but their agreement with Paramount states that the animated movie can't be released on home media to avoid confusion (instead of Paramount buying the rights to it to block it).

Seibertron wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:The 1986 Movie can't released anymore in the US? Aside from the 2007 release, there won't be further releases anymore?

I can't give a specific quote from anyone official, but apparently (or so I've been told) Paramount bought the rights to the Animated movie shortly after the 2006 Sony DVD release. Maybe someone can find some documents from all of these Sony hacks that sheds some light on this supposed transaction between Paramount and Sony for the rights to the 1986 Animated Transformers film. The story goes that Paramount felt that having the animated movie available at retail would cause confusion in the marketplace with their live-action Transformers films. That sounds absurd to me, but maybe big wigs at Paramount just see the title of the movies on paper and think that a cartoon and a live action movie could somehow be confusing. I dunno. Like I said, sounds absurd, but since we haven't seen the animated movie released on DVD in the US in 8 years it seems more and more plausible to me.

Does anyone know of a website where you can look up who owns the rights to a movie? Hasbro seemed to be able to air the animated movie (albeit the British or Canadian version) on television via the Hub Network so it seems that Paramount is not able to block that for some reason.

Shout! Factory's rights extend to non-feature length Transformers titles only (which means this would exclude the Animated movie).

It could be possible that the version of the story above that I was told about Paramount could be confused with whatever agreement Hasbro and Paramount made. Maybe Hasbro has the rights to it but their agreement with Paramount states that the animated movie can't be released on home media to avoid confusion (instead of Paramount buying the rights to it to block it).

That's crazy alright! No wonder I haven't heard a peep on any BD versions of it.

fenrir72 wrote: That's crazy alright! No wonder I haven't heard a peep on any BD versions of it.

Madman (Australia) released it on Blu-Ray a while back. I have a copy of it. The movie plays fine on my regular Sony Blu-Ray player but the special bonus features won't play, but they will play on my hacked Philips Blu-Ray player.

Seibertron wrote:

fenrir72 wrote: That's crazy alright! No wonder I haven't heard a peep on any BD versions of it.

Madman (Australia) released it on Blu-Ray a while back. I have a copy of it. The movie plays fine on my regular Sony Blu-Ray player but the special bonus features won't play, but they will play on my hacked Philips Blu-Ray player.

Metrodome likewise released it on Blu-Ray in the UK back in October 2007.

Yah. Waaaaay back in 2007. I only have the USA version DVD (2 disc set). The one with the narrated Scramble City.

I'd say the likeness of the head in the exosuit is arguable. The hairstyle for instance is more consistent with both MP-10 & 22 Spike figures, than MP-22 Daniel (pictured on the left.) Neither Spike seems to have a square jaw.



The sculpt is so small, and as kin, the characters share some likeness in the first place, so it can be used as either, really.

Does anyone know what the Japanese text next to the lineart actually says? Because the ocr + translate sites are messy:

エクセルス一ツg中に
はスパイクが描き込まれ
ているg バレブルにサイ
ズを合わせているので
極めてミ二サイズだが丶
変形ギミックも当初から
想定されていた。

Google:
Is extremely mini-size because in Excel scan Ichitsu g are combined size to g Bareburu that spike has been incorporated draw had been assumed from the outset also 丶変 type gimmick.

Babylon:
Because g that spikes drew it in one Excel g, and it was crowded came out and added size and a bulldog, it was extremely two ミ size, but the 丶変形 gimmick was assumed from the first.

Babelfish:
Excels one Spike and submarine during the g has to be g bare BL Sai that fit the size so it is quite ミ二 size is 丶 deformation gimmick was expected from the outset.


Maybe it was originally designed for Daniel but was later reworked for Spike when they decided to release Bee?
Not all the artwork in the book is finalised btw. I noticed that with Optimus Prime.

Q: did Spike ever transform in the Headmasters series?

To me it's Spike. He and Bumblebee were together at Moon Base 2 and I think of Spike being with Bee rather than Daniel. I'd expect Danny boy to come with Arcee or Wheelie. I've always thought that an MP Arcee should come with a Daniel that transforms into a oversized Headmaster. It would not attach of course. That would be the best of both worlds to me.

Cyberpath wrote:Q: did Spike ever transform in the Headmasters series?

Nope.

And between the two, Spike only wore it once in that series (in the same episode as Daniel wore his), while Daniel wore one five times in that show (including the time mentioned above).

Needless to say, between the movie and The Headmasters cartoon, Daniel has worn it more times than his father and, evidently, has become more associated with it in Japan than his father.

Thanks! I suspected as much. Spike didn't transform in the movie either. So perhaps that's why they used a pic of Daniel in the instructions, showcasing the transformation mode.

(Kind of like how they used a screen capture of Bluestreak-coloured-as-Prowl to illustrate the shoulder canons feature in Prowl's instructions.)

Personally, I'd have used a screen cap of Spike to avoid confusion. (But pretty cool that it can be used as either.)

has the great spike/daniel debacle of 2014 come to an end?

shajaki wrote:has the great spike/daniel debacle of 2014 come to an end?

As far as the packaging is concerned, the toy's official identity is "Exo-Suit".

shajaki wrote:has the great spike/daniel debacle of 2014 come to an end?

On my end it has. Daniel it is until takara releases something that contradicts this (ie release an official daniel Exo suit with another toy) or publishes something official to the contrary.

shajaki wrote:has the great spike/daniel debacle of 2014 come to an end?

Aw, wish I had Takara's Arcee now, there's a photo that I would have liked to do:

"Exosuit" in the middle, with Bumblebee and Arcee to his sides, each pulling on one of his arms possessively, with the caption: "He's Spike! No, he's Daniel!"

Simplest solution: Take the human head out of the figure to let it embrace its true identity to the fullest.

Seibertron wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:I've been looking at various Japanese blogs and even they seem to be confused on who's piloting it (and that's saying something). One acknowledges both (by using MP-10's Spike and using Wheelie and MP Rodimus), another says it's Daniel, yet another sticks with Spike... I did spot that the more observant ones seem to favor Daniel however.

This all leads me back to my original theory that I think it's odd that Takara hasn't used imagery from the Animated movie in a while (at least not that I've noticed, someone please correct me if I'm wrong). It'll be interesting to see what cartoon images they use for Ultra Magnus since the "mouth opened" face should be the Matrix holding pose from the Animated Movie. If they refrain from using imagery from the Animated movie, I'm going to stick with my theory that for some reason they can't use imagery from that source currently (which I'm assuming ties back to Paramount absurdly preventing its release here in the US).

Just found another instance where imagery from the Animated film should have been used but was oddly absent. The 30th anniversary book from Japan's Transformers Expo, which was earlier this past summer, mentions the movie in the book in passing but doesn't show any images from it whereas it does show images of every other Transformers cartoon series and films from the first year of Transformers cartoons in 1985 to AOE in 2014. The images of characters like Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus and Galvatron are all from 2010.

This is the book I'm talking about:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TRANSFORMERS-EX ... 43d3c5ac6d

Edit: Upon further inspection, I found an image in the book of the Animated Movie, but not from the Movie. The only image I can find in the book is a photo of the Japanese release of the movie on VHS, which uses the alternate movie artwork. No screenshots from the actual movie are in the book, which you have to admit is really odd since screenshots from everything else is present. Something is amiss!

Last time, Seibertron.com brought you Masterpiece Bumblebee. But can you deal with Takara Tomy's next Transformers Masterpiece figure, MP-22 Ultra Magnus? The leader of the Autobots (albeit briefly) comes with two human sidekicks Daniel and Spike Witwicky, the cab can be detached from the trailer and is pretty much identical to MP-10 Optimus Prime's, the trailer is compatible with all Masterpiece cars released so far, and even most of their G1 predecessors! Also included are storable weapons and an additional face for expression changes, also capable of being stored in the figure itself, and a matrix chamber in its chest. Head below for a sample of the extensive gallery for this addition to the collector's line of transforming robots, and click on any of the images to view the full works.

Transformers Masterpiece Ultra Magnus
























Transformers Masterpiece Spike Witwicky






Transformers Masterpiece Daniel Witwicky

Hi Ryan, nice MP Magnus Gallery. Do you think you could you add a pic of MP02 in cab mode with MP22, G1, WST & CHUG cabs?

Seibertron wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:I've been looking at various Japanese blogs and even they seem to be confused on who's piloting it (and that's saying something). One acknowledges both (by using MP-10's Spike and using Wheelie and MP Rodimus), another says it's Daniel, yet another sticks with Spike... I did spot that the more observant ones seem to favor Daniel however.

This all leads me back to my original theory that I think it's odd that Takara hasn't used imagery from the Animated movie in a while (at least not that I've noticed, someone please correct me if I'm wrong). It'll be interesting to see what cartoon images they use for Ultra Magnus since the "mouth opened" face should be the Matrix holding pose from the Animated Movie. If they refrain from using imagery from the Animated movie, I'm going to stick with my theory that for some reason they can't use imagery from that source currently (which I'm assuming ties back to Paramount absurdly preventing its release here in the US).

To continue that something is odd with Takara's lack of usage of the animated Transformers movie, the instructions for Ultra Magnus do not show an image of Ultra Magnus holding the matrix from the animated movie. The one image it does use from the animated movie has a Hasbro copyright over it. Something is definitely up with it!





So maybe Hasbro owns the rights to the Animated movie but is in agreement with Paramount that it won't be released at this time to avoid market confusion? Or maybe Hasbro owns the rights to still images from the Animated movie but Takara doesn't? Something is definitely odd.

I also don't understand why it says MP-10 on that page. Another oddity!

As for this image, I just couldn't resist doing something fun

I thought the "History of Ultra Magnus" page was a little lacking.



Titanium Ultra Magnus, the 1st all-in-one transforming Magnus, should have been included on this page, but I wonder if it was neglected because Takara never got the Titanium series. Also, Beast Hunters Ultra Magnus should have been on there and Universe Ultra Magnus. It must have to do with which ones Japan got because they didn't get any of those. Hm, Classics and/or United Ultra Magnus should have been on there as well ... and Japan definitely got Takara Ultra Magnus.

Seibertron wrote:

I also don't understand why it says MP-10 on that page. Another oddity!

It probably says that Magnus can store the MP-10 Matrix.