Transformers: Scramble City

This 1986 OVA only released in Japan is incredibly nostalgic to me, yet completely strange and unfamiliar. Opening with footage from early G1 episodes, after about 7 or so minutes gets into the original OVA story. This is about where things get odd to me. While it largely features Transformers I recall from childhood, the whole Scramble City plot (which is unique to Japanese Transformers continuity) is peculiar. Add to that I saw this raw (which is better than fan commentary like on the Transformers: The Movie 20th Anniversary dvd), and it made for interesting viewing. Nevermind my confusion of when in the timeline this takes place.

The art and animation style is what one would expect of Transformers tv circa 1986. Don't expect to be blown away by a Transformers: The Movie level presentation, but it's decent all things considered. This exists to advertise the Scramble City toy line after all. The story moves fast, trying to get as many action figures on screen as possible for the many battles that take place in this brief 23 minute video. They definitely don't want the viewer to get bored. There are a few surprises I guess, and it ends on a cliffhanger that I believe was never resolved. But I'm guessing kids were supposed to get their grubby mitts on Scramble City toys, and play out the conclusion themselves.

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Is there "more than meets the eye" to this "Transformers" OVA? The answer is no; what you see is what you get.

Everything happens so fast in this show that you're not given time to digest what is occurring. There's a recap that lasts about a third of the OVA's runtime where the narrator rushes through a quick history of the robots' home planet, their arrival on Earth, and why they're fighting each other. The rest of it deals with the titular "Scramble City," which is a fortress the Autobots are constructing to aid them in their eternal (?) struggle against the Decepticons. Robot after robot gets introduced by the narrator and joins the fray, and then there is a cliffhanger at the end that apparently never gets resolved, because this is just one episode.

I was left feeling mentally out of breath once it was over, and confused as to what I just watched. There wasn't much of a plot; it just had robots that transformed and fought each other in a desert-like setting. Also,there wasn't much dialogue among the characters (just a few short lines exchanged here and there), and most of the heavy lifting was done by the narrator. There were also scene transitions using the Transformers logo and stinger music seemingly every couple of minutes -- they got used way too often and were annoying.

The animation was actually OK, considering the time this was made and what this was made for (to advertise toys). While it's simple and some scenes get reused, the transformation and fight scenes are fluid.

The voice acting is OK, but as mentioned earlier, there isn't that much dialogue in the show. The narrator speaks too fast sometimes.

As for sound, also as mentioned earlier, the stinger music during the scene transitions gets old fast. The other music is OK, though. The opening and ending themes are nice to listen to, though a bit melodramatic for something about Transformers.

Overall, this isn't terrible, but it's not very good, either. The fast-paced nature, as well as the paper-thin plot, lack of much dialogue, and the too-frequent scene transitions make this OVA hard to follow and not particularly enjoyable to watch. Unless you're a "Transformers" fan, I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to watch it.

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