Transformers: Armada | HD | Episode 2 | The Complete Series | Metamorphosis
1,038The two robots battle it out for the Mini-Cons while the kids and High Wire decide to make their escape. As they try to outrun the two Decepticons, Demolisher and Starscream materialize in front of them, while on their other side the two Autobots, Red Alert and Hot Shot appear. The children are led back to the cave by High Wire and Optimus manages to hit Megatron hard enough to send the Decepticons into retreat.
At the Moon base, Cyclonus takes snaps when the other 'Cons return empty-handed. He declares to Megatron that he can find the Mini-Cons and sets off at once to search.
Back on Earth the kids find a passage to the Mini-Cons' ancient spaceship, where Carlos and Alexis awaken their own Mini-Cons. Carlos' Grindor turns into a skateboard while Alexis' Sureshock becomes an electric scooter. After a while they decide to take them out for a spin.
On the Moon, Megatron finds his own old Mini-Con partner (named Leader-1) and demands why Cyclonus didn't see it. After giving him a lesson, he tells Leader-1 to show his power, and the Decepticons are astonished. Then Megatron demonstrates to his subordinates their new Earth vehicle modes. Starscream now can transform himself from robot to a supersonic jet-fighter, Demolisher can become a self-propelled gun, Cyclonus looks like a military helicopter. Megatron himself transforms into a tank. And now they leave for Earth.
As the kids come over a rise they find Megatron and his guys. They try to run away, but the Decepticons encircle them. It seems to be no escape for them. Unexpectedly Optimus Prime drives up to them, knocks Megatron and Demolisher down and takes the children and the Mini-Cons away. He and the other Autobots are disguised as the Earth cars. They are ready to fight the Decepticons.
Transformers: Armada, known in Japan as Super Robot Life-Form Transformers: Legends of the Microns (超ロボット生命体トランスフォーマー マイクロン伝説, Chō Robotto Seimeitai Toransufōmā Maikuron Densetsu), is an anime series. As the first series co-produced between the American toy company Hasbro and their Japanese counterpart Takara, Armada begins a new continuity/universe for Transformers, with no ties to any of the previous series, including the immediately prior Transformers: Robots in Disguise in 2001. It inspired two sequels, Transformers: Energon and Transformers: Cybertron. Hasbro handled the distribution of the English license, while Takara handled the distribution of the Japanese license. Transformers: Armada and both of its following series are all part of a saga known as the "Unicron Trilogy".
Transformers: Armada was written and produced in Japan, with creative input from America (the Japanese originally envisioned the series as set in the G1 continuity, but this idea was discarded by Hasbro, who also mandated the inclusion of Unicron, who had not been in the original story treatment for the series). However, the show premiered on Cartoon Network's Toonami in America before its original Japanese counterpart had aired - the result of an unreasonable production schedule set by the network, which caused the series to be rushed out of production. Consequently, Armada features a lot of unfinished animation (which would go on to be perfected for the completed Japanese episodes), and a hastily produced dub which features many errors in naming such as Sureshock being repeatedly called "Grindor" in multiple episodes, Hot Shot being called "Hot Rod", and Optimus's Mini-Con partner Sparkplug being called "Leader-1" (the same name as Megatron's Mini-Con), as well as transliteration and nonsensical dialogue which does not match the action onscreen.
When Armada was released on DVD in Japan, each of the thirteen volumes came with a four-page mini-manga and an exclusive repainted Mini-Con figure. The manga, titled Tales of the Microns: Linkage, feature these repaints in an original story which served to fill in many of the blank spots and plot holes in the animated series.
Despite Transformers: Armada being made by a Japanese studio, it premiered first in the United States. The series premiered on Cartoon Network on August 23, 2002 at 4 P.M. with a 90-minute movie special, consisting of the first three episodes. Following its premiere, new episodes started coming out on August 30, airing every Friday at 6:30 P.M.
In the December issue of Japanese magazine Animage, it was announced that the anime would start airing in Japan on January 10, 2003 on TV Tokyo, with new episodes coming out every Friday at 6 P.M.