Awaken! Victory Leo
From Transformers Wiki
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 AWAKEN, AWAKEN!!! TAKE THE LAND LIKE IT MUST BE TAKEN!!! | ||||||
| "Awaken! Victory Leo" (Mezameyo! Victory Leo) | ||||||
| Production company | Takara, Toei | |||||
| Airdate | October 3, 1989 | |||||
| Writer | Toyohiro Andō | |||||
| Director | Yoshikata Nitta | |||||
| Animation studio | Toei | |||||
| Continuity | Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity | |||||
If Jan cannot awaken the soul of God Ginrai within the bestial Victory Leo, it's the end for him and Holi!
Contents |
Synopsis
With word coming in of Decepticon attacks in the Orient, the Autobots move the Shuttle Base to Japan. As Galaxy Shuttle departs on patrol, the watching Jan, Holi, Wingwaver and Dashtacker are distracted by the roars and shouts of Victory Leo, who is crashing and blasting his way through a nearby rocky outcrop. Wingwaver tells him that training is one thing, but to be careful not to destroy the base... only to be immediately silenced by the icy glare the feral Autobot shoots him. Dashtacker sighs that he can't think of Victory Leo as God Ginrai reborn, and Jan grows depressed again as he is reminded of this fact. The two Multiforcers head inside to rejoin Machtackle, who has just intercepted a coded Decepticon message. Decrypting the communiqué, they deduce that the Decepticons are targeting the geothermal power plant on Mount Asama and inform Star Saber that they are going to head out. The Supreme Commander (currently undergoing a mysterious procedure at the hands of Wheeljack, Perceptor and Minerva) orders them to stay, and instead dispatches Victory Leo, Holi and Jan, much to the Multiforce's chagrin.
On the slopes of Mount Asama, Guyhawk and Hellbat await the arrival of their Breastforce teammates. Spotting Victory Leo's aerial approach, Guyhawk immediately takes to the skies and attacks him, only to be quickly blasted out of the sky. With this obstacle removed, Victory Leo heads on to the power plant, where Jan and Holi have been surrounded by Killbison, Jallguar and Drillhorn. Victory Leo tears into the three Decepticons as the two youths take up defensive positions at the rear of the plant, at which point Leozack arrives and has Killbison and Drillhorn go after the plant's energy while he takes over the fight. Unsurprisingly, Jan and Holi aren't much of a match for the two Breastforcers, and the villains force their way into the plant. Holi gives chase, planning to shut the whole plant down, but winds up cornered by Drillhorn and buried under a huge pile of rubble. Things aren't going much better for Jan, who is being chased through the plant by Hellbat, and manages to trip and knocks himself out. Hellbat locks him in the room where he falls, but when Jan comes to, he realizes he's in the same collapsed room as Holi is buried in, and starts to dig his friend out. He can't get Holi dug all the way out, however, and Holi is unable to activate his communicator to call for help.
Back in the Shuttle Base, Perceptor and Star Saber discuss the installation of a special circuit in Star Saber's head, and Star Saber sadly notes that it will all be for naught if God Ginrai's heart does not reawaken within Victory Leo. It was in the hope that this might occur, Perceptor correctly guesses, that Star Saber sent Jan and Holi with Victory Leo on this mission. At this point, Wingwaver arrives to report that they have not heard from Jan or Holi for several hours. Star Saber immediately contacts Victory Leo, but he ignores the transmission to carry on fighting Leozack. Wingwaver doubts that Victory Leo will save his comrades, but Star Saber insists that God Ginrai's heart will shine through. Perceptor announces that they are about to begin the circuit installation, and has Wingwaver leave.
On Mount Asama, Victory Leo dodges his way through a hail of Jallguar's missiles, leaping into the air and crashing down on Leozack. With Victory Leo's rifle pointed right at his head, Leozack is immobilized, and Jallguar can do nothing to help. Behind the combatants, however, the power plant begins to tremble as explosions go off within it. The voice of Jan, crying for help, drifts out of the building, and Leozack grins, expecting Victory Leo to leave him and save the boy... only to be shocked when Victory Leo inquires why he should care! As the cries continue to ring out, however, Victory Leo begins to recognise, and remember, until finally, Jan cries out for Ginrai, and his soul is at last truly reawakened. Jallguar uses this distraction to blindside Victory Leo, but he quickly disposes of the two Decepticons and tears his way into the base, flattening the other Breastforcers as he smashes through wall after wall in order to find Jan. He recovers Jan and Holi and carries them outside, where Leozack and Jallguar are waiting, but a volley from Victory Leo's cannons does enough damage to send them packing.
Victory Leo, Jan and Holi return to the Shuttle Base, where Jan joyfully announces that Victory Leo is truly God Ginrai reborn after all. As Star Saber's circuit installation procedure is completed, the Supreme Commander rises from the operating table and apologizes for worrying Jan, crediting Ginrai's rebirth entirely to him. As the sun sets over the Shuttle Base, Star Saber meets with Victory Leo out on the deck, and tells him that from now on, they will be able to fight together. Victory Leo smiles and nods, and shakes Star Saber's outstretched hand.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Breast Animals |
|---|---|---|---|
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Quotes
Drillhorn: Well, if it isn't the runts.
Jallguar: What lacking opponents.
Killbison: This is some comedy!
- —The Breastforce mock Holi and Jan, shortly before Victory Leo kicks their arses.
"The sight of you lurking around makes me sick!"
- —Drillhorn
"After being revived as an unrelenting, justice-loving hero, an intense fighting spirit to defeat the Decepticons was burning like an inferno within Victory Leo's heart."
- —The Narrator lets us know Victory Leo's an Autobot.
"The Autobots have discovered that the Decepticons are active in the north-west part of the globe, so they have set up an observation point in Japan."
- —The Narrator, making perfect sense if you consider that Japan is north-west of Malaysia, but out of context...
Notes
Animation or technical errors
- After a shot of Victory Leo firing the cannons on top of his jet mode, there's a shot of two artillery shells flying through the air, and then Guyhawk is instead hit by what looks like some sort of lightning. Huhwha?
- As he tears through the power plant, the head-on shot of Victory Leo colors his fangs golden instead of white (as seen in the title card at the head of this article).
- Waver can apparently cross the ground in boat mode. Right.
Continuity errors
- It's never even explained why the power plant's turbines explode!
Transformers references
- God Ginrai was rebuilt as Victory Leo in "Fight!! Victory Leo".
- Images of God Ginrai are briefly seen
Real-world references
- Mount Asama is a real location in Japan.
Trivia
- Hilariously, the "coded message" is actually just English text, printed upside down, and mirrored. It reads: "Next Target Get up your -- ASAMA." Up your Asama too, buddy.
- Just before the coded message appears, there is a notice on the screen helpfully informing us that the Transformers brand is a trademark of Hasbro!
- Killbison's transformation footage is recycled from "Mach and Tackle", which is not really notable in and of itself, but mostly because it's a shot of him flipping the bird again.
- The pink flowers which appear throughout the episode — Victory Leo crushes one carelessly underfoot during his rage-on, and another flashes on the screen as he's remembering his friendship with Jan — are probably pink carnations, which symbolically mean "I will never forget you".
- Bizarrely, the animation of Wingwaver leaving the medical bay as Star Saber's procedure begins is of him walking backward, as if the animators merely reversed unused animation of him walking into the room. You moonwalk on outta there, Wingwaver!
Foreign localization
English
- Title: "Wake Up, Victory Leo" (Omni Productions dub)
- Original airdate: December 8, 1991
- Mount Asama is renamed "Hinobe", possibly a misspelling of Hinode.
- Star Saber pronounces the operation a success before it has even begun.
- Holi and Jan's discussion in which Holi seems to be telling Jan to go in and turn off the main switch, becomes Holi saying he's going to do it himself, which makes more sense since Holi himself then gets up and runs inside.
- When Leozack asks Victory Leo why he doesn't help Holi and Jan, Victory Leo responds that it's his decision to make rather than the slightly more blunt "Why should I care" in the original Japanese.
Spanish
- Title: "Despierta, Victory Leo!" ("Awaken, Victory Leo")
Home video releases
- DVD
2003 — Transformers: Victory — DVD Box 02 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
2006 — The Takara Collection Vol 3 — Transformers: Victory (Metrodome)
2007 — Transformers — The Complete Takara Collection (Metrodome)
2008 — The Transformers: Victory (Madman Entertainment) — Optional Omni dub.
2009 — The Transformers: Japan Generation 1 — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) — Optional Omni dub.
2012 — Transformers: The Japanese Collection (Shout! Factory)
2012 — Transformers Japanese Collection: Victory (Shout! Factory)
