Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 TV series)

This article is on the 2001 TV series, as opposed to Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 TV series).
Transformers: Robots in Disguise

United Kingdom ultimate collection DVD cover
トランスフォーマー カーロボット
(Toransufōmā: Kā Robotto)
Genre Mecha, Action
Anime television series
Directed by Osamu Sekita
Produced by Hisashi Kato
Juro Sugimura
Makiko Iwata
Shigerou Sugimura
Studio Studio Gallop
Nihon Ad Systems
Licensed by
Saban Entertainment (2001–2002)
The Walt Disney Company (2002-2014)
Hasbro Studios (2014-present)
Network TV Tokyo (2000)
English network
Original run April 5, 2000 December 27, 2000
Episodes 39

Transformers: Robots in Disguise, first broadcast in Japan as Transformers: Car Robots (トランスフォーマー カーロボット Toransufōmā Kārobotto), is a Japanese anime television series created by Japanese companies Nihon Ad Systems and Studio Gallop in cooperation with Korean company Dongwoo Animation. It serves as a self-contained universe separate from any of the other existing Transformers universes.[1] The series was imported to the West as a "filler" line while production on the next series, Transformers: Armada began in 2002, to begin the Unicron Trilogy. The series episodes last 27 minutes each. The series was licensed in the United States by Saban Entertainment & it was one of Saban's last English dubbed anime projects, before the company had been sold to Disney in 2002.

Plot

Megatron captures Dr. Onishi, and the Autobots ally themselves with his son, Koji, vowing to safely recover him from Megatron's clutches. An assortment of plans by Megatron to steal the Earth's energy ensue, led by his subordinate, Sky-Byte, but are stopped by the Autobots, including the newly introduced teams, Team Bullet Train and the Spy Changers. Probing Doctor Onishi's mind, Megatron discovers the significance of an ancient cave system, in which the Autobots discover a coded microchip belonging to the Doctor. After scuffles involving the new Autobot troops Skid-Z and Tow-Line, the microchip leads the Autobots to the Cave of the Dragon, where they discover a mysterious artifact of Cybertronian origin.

Further information decoded from Dr. Onishi's microchip leads the Autobots to the site of a crashed Cybertronian spaceship containing six protoform Autobots. But Megatron has also learned of the ship through his mind-probes and attacks, capturing the Autobots and taking them to a nearby military base, where he scans vehicle modes for each of them and infuses them with his own Spark energy, creating the evil Decepticons. The final Autobot scans Optimus Prime in addition to the tanker truck that will be his alternate mode, creating Scourge, a twisted "evil twin" of Optimus. Several battles with the Decepticons ensue, as Sky-Byte grows steadily jealous of the attention Megatron heaps on his new warriors. Amidst battles between the Decepticons and the newly promoted Autobot subgroup, the Build Team, Sky-Byte attempts to prove his worth by holding a tower of humans hostage in exchange for the Autobots' O-Parts, one of which is the artifact from the Cave of the Dragon. The plan meets with failure, but when Sky-Byte saves his hostages' lives, Koji begins to think he might not be all bad. Subsequently, Ultra Magnus, the bitter brother of Optimus Prime, arrives on Earth to claim the Matrix in Prime's possession, leading to an injured Optimus Prime facing certain doom against the Decepticons on a desert island. Magnus offers him the hand of friendship, but it is a ruse to allow Magnus to take the power of the Matrix, with an unexpected side-effect – the two brothers merge into Omega Prime and defeat their foes.

The Predacons and Decepticons attempt to turn Ultra Magnus to their side, but he refuses and channeling the power of the Matrix he and Prime now share, he supercharges the Autobot Brothers, giving them new powered-up forms. The discovery of a mysterious energy field radiating from beneath the Earth's surface leads both sides to the discovery of Fortress Maximus, a colossal Transformer city hidden on the planet to protect it. In the ensuing battles to claim its power, Dr. Onishi is accidentally set free by Sky-Byte. Now with Dr. Onishi advising them, the Autobots begin to put all the pieces together and, under his guidance, quickly locate all the O-Parts, which are combined to form a map that leads to the Orb of Sigma. In a failed attempt to acquire the orb, Megatron is buried in the ruins of a mysterious pyramid, but is resurrected by its energy as Galvatron. The Orb of Sigma soon leads the Autobots to Cerebros, the power key of Fortress Maximus, but he is stolen by the Decepticons and used by Scourge to activate Fortress Maximus, who rampages through the city until Koji calls out to him, and he stops. Experimentation soon makes it obvious that Maximus responds to human bio-signatures, leading the Decepticons to attempt to capture Koji (but accidentally snatching his friend Carl instead). With Maximus active, Scourge makes his power play, attempting to use him to destroy Galvatron, but when the scheme fails, all the Decepticons have their brains wiped. Galvatron proceeds to drain Fortruss Maximus's energy, boosting his already-formidable strength and then releases a swarm of cyber-bats across the Earth, using them to hold the children of the world to ransom to stay Optimus Prime's hand. Believing he has destroyed the Autobots in a lava flow, Galvatron then recalls his bats, but finds that his foes are still alive, leading to a final confrontation with Omega Prime at the Earth's core. The children of the world re-energize Fortress Maximus, who transmits his energy to Optimus Prime, forming the gigantic Matrix Blade, with which Prime finally defeats Galvatron. At the end, the Predacons and Decepticons—all but Sky-Byte—are imprisoned aboard Fortress Maximus and escorted by Ultra Magnus to Cybertronian space, and the remaining Autobots prepare to leave Earth for good after some rest and relaxation.

Release

Episodes

The three clip shows of Robots in Disguise differ between the English and Japanese versions. Both are listed at the appropriate numbers.

#TitleJapanese titleWriterDirectorUS airdateJapanese Airdate
1""Battle Protocol!""初出動! ファイヤーコンボイ
First Deployment! Fire Convoy
Junki Takegami (JP)
Tom Wyner (US)
Yoshiaki Tsutsui,
Akira Katō
September 8, 2001April 5, 2000
Predacons have come! The Autobots must defeat a gigantic hand!
2""An Explosive Situation""高速バトル! ゲルシャーク
High Speed Battle! Gelshark
Junki Takegami (JP)
Tom Wyner (US)
Yoshiaki Tsutsui,
Akira Katō
September 10, 2001April 12, 2000
3""Bullet Train to the Rescue""合体せよ! 新幹線ロボ
Unite! Bullet Train Robo
Yukiyoshi Ōhashi (JP)
Steve Kramer (US)
Akira KatōSeptember 12, 2001April 19, 2000
4""Spychangers to the Rescue""忍者ロボ! スパイチェンジャー参上
Ninja Robo! Enter the Spychangers
Kazuhiko Gōdo (JP)
Richard Epcar (US)
Yoshiaki TsutsuiSeptember 13, 2001April 26, 2000
5""The Hunt for Black Pyramid""決死のジャンプ! マッハアラート
Resolute Jump! Mach Alert
Tadashi Hayakawa (JP)
Marc Handler (US)
Akira KatōSeptember 14, 2001May 3, 2000
6""The Secret of the Ruins""ギガトロンの襲撃!
Gigatron's Raid!
Junki Takegami (JP)
Tom Wyner (US)
Yoshiaki TsutsuiOctober 11, 2001May 10, 2000
7""Sideburn's Obsession""スピードブレイカーの危機!
Speedbreaker's Crisis!
Yukiyoshi Ōhashi (JP)
Richard Epcar (US)
Akira KatōSeptember 15, 2001May 17, 2000
8""Secret Weapon: D-5""謎の兵器! D5
Mysterious Weapon! D5
Kazuhiko Gōdo (JP)
Marc Handler (US)
Yoshiaki TsutsuiSeptember 17, 2001May 24, 2000
9""Mirage's Betrayal""カウンターアローの裏切り!?
Counterarrow's Betrayal!?
Tadashi Hayakawa (JP)
Richard Epcar (US)
Akira KatōSeptember 18, 2001May 31, 2000
10""Skid Z's Choice""爆走! インディーヒート!!
Out of Control! Indy Heat!!
Junki Takegami (JP)
Tom Wyner (US)
Yoshiaki TsutsuiSeptember 19, 2001June 7, 2000
11""Tow-Line Goes Haywire""駐車違反だ! レッカーフック
Parking Violation! Wrecker Hook
Yukiyoshi Ōhashi (JP)
Matthew V. Lewis (US)
Akira KatōSeptember 20, 2001June 14, 2000
12""The Ultimate Robot Warrior""究極! 大仏トランスフォーマー
The Ultimate Extreme! The Large Buddha Statue Transformer
Kazuhiko Gōdo (JP)
Richard Epcar (US)
Yoshiaki TsutsuiSeptember 21, 2001June 21, 2000
13""Hope for the Future""ギガトロンの野望を暴け!
Gigatron's Ambitions Revealed!
Junki Takegami (JP)
Tom Wyner (US)
Osamu SekitaOctober 26, 2001June 28, 2000
14""The Decepticons""敵? 味方!? ブラックコンボイ
Friend? Foe!? Black Convoy
Junki Takegami (JP)
Tom Wyner (US)
Akira KatōSeptember 22, 2001July 5, 2000
15""Commandos""5体合体! バルディガス
Quintuple Merge! Baldigus
Yukiyoshi Ōhashi (JP)
Marc Handler (US)
Yoshiaki TsutsuiSeptember 24, 2001July 12, 2000
16""Volcano""対決! ふたりのコンボイ!
En Garde! Two Convoys!
Tadashi Hayakawa (JP)
Tom Wyner (US)
Akira KatōSeptember 25, 2001July 19, 2000
17""Attack from Outer Space""宇宙から狙え! シャトラー!!
Aiming from Space! Shuttler!!
Kazuhiko Gōdo (JP)
Matthew V. Lewis (US)
Yoshiaki TsutsuiJanuary 12, 2002July 26, 2000
18""The Test""正義に目覚めよ! ブラックコンボイ
Awaken to Righteousness! Black Convoy
Junki Takegami (JP)
Tom Wyner (US)
Akira KatōSeptember 26, 2001August 2, 2000
19""The Fish Test""秘密作戦! ゲルシャーク
Secret Strategy! Gelshark
Yukiyoshi Ōhashi (JP)
Marc Handler (US)
Yoshiaki TsutsuiSeptember 27, 2001August 9, 2000
20""Wedge's Short Fuse""熱血戦士! ビルドマスター
Hot-Blooded Warriors! Buildmasters
Junki Takegami (JP)
Richard Epcar (US)
Akira KatōSeptember 28, 2001August 16, 2000
21""Landfill""四体合体! ビルドキング
Quadruple Merge! Build King
Yukiyoshi Ōhashi (JP)
Richard Epcar (US)
Yoshiaki TsutsuiJune 22, 2002August 23, 2000
22""Sky-Byte Saves the Day""正義の味方? ゲルシャーク
Friend of Righteousness? Gelshark
Tadashi Hayakawa (JP)
Matthew V. Lewis (US)
Akira KatōJune 23, 2002August 30, 2000
23""A Test of Metal""狙われたビルドマスター
Targeted Buildmasters
Kazuhiko Gōdo (JP)
Richard Epcar (US)
Yoshiaki TsutsuiSeptember 29, 2001September 6, 2000
24""Ultra Magnus""登場! ゴッドマグナス
Enter! God Magnus
Junki Takegami (JP)
Tom Wyner (US)
Akira KatōOctober 6, 2001September 13, 2000
25""Ultra Magnus: Forced Fusion!""強制合体! ゴッドファイヤーコンボイ
Forced Fusion! God Fire Convoy
Junki Takegami (JP)
Matthew V. Lewis (US)
Yoshiaki TsutsuiOctober 13, 2001September 20, 2000
26""Lessons of the Past""集結せよ! 新戦士たち
Assemble! New Troops
Junki Takegami (JP)
Tom Wyner (US)
Osamu SekitaDecember 14, 2001September 27, 2000
27""The Two Faces of Ultra Magnus""絶体絶命! カーロボ3兄弟
Stalemate! 3 Car Robo Brothers
Yukiyoshi Ōhashi (JP)
Michael McConnohie (US)
Akira KatōOctober 20, 2001October 4, 2000
28""Power to Burn!""発動! ダブルマトリクス
Invoke! Double Matrix
Tadashi Hayakawa (JP)
Tom Wyner (US)
Yoshiaki TsutsuiOctober 19, 2001October 11, 2000
29""Fortress Maximus""浮上! サイバトロンシティ
Arise! Cybertron City
Kazuhiko Gōdo (JP)
Richard Epcar (US)
Akira KatōOctober 27, 2001October 18, 2000
30""Koji Gets His Wish""JRX 対 バルディガス
JRX versus Baldigus
Junki Takegami (JP)
Richard Epcar (US)
Yoshiaki TsutsuiNovember 3, 2001October 25, 2000
31""A Friendly Contest""ゲルシャークの罠
Gelshark's Trap
Yukiyoshi Ōhashi (JP)
Matthew V. Lewis (US)
Akira KatōNovember 10, 2001November 1, 2000
32""Peril from the Past""最後の鍵? さよならアイ
The Final Key? Farewell, Ai
Tadashi Hayakawa (JP)
Michael McConnohie (US)
Yoshiaki TsutsuiNovember 17, 2001November 8, 2000
33""Maximus Emerges""奪われたプラズマ
Stolen Plasma
Kazuhiko Gōdo (JP)
Tom Wyner (US)
Akira KatōFebruary 16, 2002November 15, 2000
34""The Human Element""ブレイブマキシマスの謎
The Mystery of Brave Maximus
Junki Takegami (JP)
Tom Wyner (US)
Yoshiaki TsutsuiFebruary 23, 2002November 22, 2000
35""Mystery of the Ultra Magnus""ゲルシャークの憂鬱
Gelshark's Blues
Junki Takegami (JP)
Tom Wyner (US)
Osamu SekitaMarch 30, 2002November 29, 2000
36""Mistaken Identity""ブラックコンボイの野望
Black Convoy's Ambition
Yukiyoshi Ōhashi (JP)
Michael McConnohie (US)
Akira KatōMarch 2, 2002December 6, 2000
37""Surprise Attack!""ブレイブマキシマスの起動!
Brave Maximus's Rise!
Tadashi Hayakawa (JP)
Tom Wyner (US)
Yoshiaki TsutsuiMarch 9, 2002December 13, 2000
38""Galvatron's Revenge""逆襲! デビルギガトロン!
Counterattack! Devil Gigatron!
Junki Takegami (JP)
Richard Epcar (US)
Akira KatōMarch 16, 2002December 20, 2000
39""The Final Battle""最後の戦い! ファイヤーコンボイ
Final Battle! Fire Convoy
Junki Takegami (JP)
Tom Wyner (US)
Yoshiaki TsutsuiMarch 23, 2002December 27, 2000

References

  1. TRANSFORMERS ROBOTS IN DISGUISE Returns! Hasbro Launches Product Line Based on Original '80s Theme; Fox Kids Series to Debut September 8th. Business Wire September 5, 2001

External links

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