Kaneda Masumi is hardly representative of all Japanese animation writers. Criticise Kaneda all you want, but I think it's a tad unfair to blanketly blame all Japanese anime writers based on just his work. :/Originally Posted by griffin
Magical swords are a staple of mythology as they're a more personal and romantic weapon compared to range weapons (e.g. guns) - Excalibur, Kusanagi, Hrunting, He-Man's Power Sword, Narsil/Andúril - one may argue that it seems strange in a "science fiction" setting, but even light sabres in Star Wars were portrayed as 'magical' weapons, like the scene where Obi-Wan Kenobi gives Luke Skywalker his father's light sabre.
I suppose swords are more revered in Japanese pop culture, possibly because Bushido revered swords above guns as a more noble and honourable weapon (at least in theory - in reality the Samurai did use guns, particularly during the Sengoku and even early Tokugawa periods, although firearms were forbidden during most of the Bakumatsu and saw a revival toward the end of that period as the Meiji Revolution came in).
"Not as clumsy or random as a blaster; an elegant weapon for a more civilised age." - Obi-Wan Kenobi
But in reality guns totally pwn swords, as wonderfully demonstrated in this scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
We do see the smaller head of Fortress ("Spike") detach independently, but not often (spoiler pic)
He's a ninj--yeah okay, that is definitely just ridiculous. He should at least remain in a dark corner.
Also you guys are looking at it as adults whereas the show was intended for children who wouldn't have necessarily picked up on all these things at the time. If we plowed through the US cartoon we'd easily find all kinds of flaws there too... if nothing else, at least the continuity within Headmasters itself is relatively more consistent than that of the US series. Kaneda Masumi may not be a prolific anime writer (like say, Miyazaki Hayao), but at least having a single lead writer helps to ensure relatively more consistent continuity within the series itself (I know the continuity does conflict with G1 continuity elements written outside of the series, e.g. TFTM).
Looks like sitting through these eps is becoming more strenuous than you had initially hoped Griff
I gave up after about 10 mins skipping through one episode. Found it too irritating and difficult to watch. I suppose the japanese series wasn't made for a US G1 worshipping audience though?
Having said that, The Headmasters is widely considered even by Japanese fans to be the weakest of the JP G1 series. Masterforce and Victory are much better written and are more widely favoured by fans. Zone, even as a single episode OVA is not widely liked amongst Japanese fans. It does suffer from the "Rebirth" effect of shoving in a whole bunch of toys in a short span to advertise them, but Dai Atlas just really rubbed Japanese G1 fans the wrong way (similar to how a lot of fans have criticised ROTF Optimus Prime of just being too ruthless for an Autobot leader).
I personally think The Headmasters is worth watching to completion as I quite like its ending despite its lacklustre beginning. I find it a far more endurable watch than say, Beast Wars Neo - which I found utterly brain-numbingly dull, but I pushed on - and the final Angolmois quest and Unicron arc at the end was pretty good, but having to watch the rest of the series to get up to that point was just painful.
But then again, it's probably relatively easier for me to sit through these series compared to non-Japanese speakers... <vague.shrug>
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