Customer Reviews

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, Vol. 1

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors" was one of my favorite 80s animated series. It's right up there with "ThunderCats" -- that good! But "Jayce" was rather overlooked compared to the likes of "ThunderCats", "He-Man", "She-Ra", "Voltron" and many other good animated series of that decadent decade.
"Jayce" has very good storytelling for starters: the basic premise is about a scientist named Audric (Jayce's father) who nearly succeded with ending starvation and hunger in vast star systems with the creation of genetically-engineered vegetation. Out of the blue, a cosmic explosion occurs and causes Audric's creations to wildly mutate into creatures with evil brains (called Monster Minds). Audric had to flee his laboratory with one half of a magical relic called "The Root" (Jayce somehow has the other half) that, when fused, would revert the evil creations and their machinations back to harmless vegetation. Jayce, with the help of an old and wise wizard named Gillian, an empathic girl named Flora, and an intergalactic traveling merchant named Herc Stormsailor, sets out to search for his father before the Monster Minds take over the universe. And I can't forget Jayce's little companion, a robot squire named Oon who believes his lance is "magic" (which adds a degree of cuteness to what is otherwise dramatic and thrilling stories).
"Jayce" was among J. Michael Strasyncski's ("of "Babylon 5" fame) first major efforts at sci-fi storytelling and was also co-producer of this series. It also has great music by Shuki Levy and Haim Saban (some of the most talented musicians for animated fare), and is pretty nicely animated by DIC (the creators of "M.A.S.K.", "Inspector Gadget" and "Where On Earth is Carmen Sandiego?).
I think "Jayce" is a timeless series and is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, especially if you are a fan of 80s toons, or any 80s TV program for that matter.

The fact that the DVD release of the 2nd half of the episodes was canceled only hurt the existing Vol 1 release. It's very ironic. They should have released both at the same time and it would have done better. It really is sort of useless when it's only half of it, better than nothing, but sort of useless.

Well the title was my first reaction to seeing this:

Jayce And The Wheeled Warriors #2 - This item has been discontinued by the manufacturer.

Until I perused the Shout Factory (publisher) forum. It seems that another publisher (NCircle Entertainment) was about to do a second volume - again probably a 4 episode disc.....(bit dumb in my opinion as we have half of the 65 episodes on this DVD already).

Reason for the initial panic, was that shout factory will only publish the second half once the first half have enough sales....evil perhaps, but there you go.

I was overjoyed that they did the first half (I preordered) as I have collected bits on VHS awhile....until I got a 8 DVD full series of VHS copies (years ago - now not available) which unfortunately had a few episodes either missing, duplicated or not in order. Damn!
It's menues were good ..quality..hmmm. I still miss a few episodes from second half (wrrra! ...ahem).
The only other option was to get the complete thing in French...Doh!

Although the series never released/made the final movie tie in (aparently still on drawing board & written), it is truly an enjoyable & amazing work...well written, great characters & a theme tune that will have you happily pumped up!

That done, what about Jayce....well I'll try not to be biased, lol....BUT:

A friend recently lent me Thundercats to watch......it does get to be same all boring after a while (admittedly a long while). Ulysses 31 - another great from the time, which I own - just does not seem as good.

In Jayce & the wheeled warriors they created a great mix of story, fun, characters, music & lively animation, that for the era simply cannot be beat (even by battle of the planets). In aging it is still extreemly good & appropiate for all ages. Not tiresome at all.

This rates for me (incase you cannot guess my love & fond memory for it) as one of the top 2 series in the era (the other being Star Fleet - which I happily own in full with thanks - they really need to do this too - probably don't know what I mean, but do know it).

If you buy this (great price for ammount you get) & you like any of the series mentioned above - you will not go wrong.

Plus also you will help us all be one step closer to completing the series by getting the 2nd half released.....you never know - they may even be tempted someday to do the final movie. We can only hope.

Just posting this info for those that are worried that nothing was made after Volume 1. Mill Creek has picked up the line and is planning on finishing the series out:

Mill Creek Entertainment asked us to share with you that they're working on a pair of early 2012 releases for Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, currently scheduled - for the time being, anyway (they could move) - for a street date of February 14th. This sweetheart of a Valentine's Day gift will either be the low-cost 32-episode collection of Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors - Volume 1 on 3 DVDs, or you can instead get the even-lower-cost 10-episode "Best Of" title on a single disc. Word is to expect the second volume shortly afterward, hopefully with the rest of the show's 65-episode run!

Taken from: [...]

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors has a very simple plot. Father accidently ends up making a race of EVIL half-plant half-machines. Father escapes with half a magical root, giving the other half to his son. Now his son, with the rest of the Lightning League who, must find it, to combine the two halves and SAVE the universe. If they can find the Father. Who is also being chased by the EVIL plant-car-creatures. The EVIL plant-machines call themselves Monster Minds, which seems kind of a give away, and their leader is the EVIL Saw Boss. EVIL! Oops, lets move on.
The whole cartoon, like most cartoons, was made to sell something. In this case action figures with fighting Road Warrior kind of cars that fought alien Road Warrior kind of cars. Think cars with saws, guns, lasers and arms. While there is little to no character development and the story never gets past the quest phase, my young mind at the time just enjoyed the combat and, for the time, the advanced artwork. This is an American, kind of, cartoon yet the designs and artwork has the feel of an Japanese anime.
Magic, science fiction, rogue pilots, pirates, bounty hunters, and robotic cars. This had everything my young heart wanted. Herc Stormsailor is the character I liked the most - he is Hans Solo in cartoon form. Once he even responded to a insult by saying - Who are you calling scruffy? He loved money, his space barge Pride of the Skies II was always in need of repair, and he has a interesting background which is slowly revealed during the show. Seems he worked on BOTH sides of the law and knows some people in high places.
The music is great and the battles were fun. Some of the episodes, like Ghostship seem to have been thoughtfully plotted out, others were just shot-them-ups, bang-bang, which was great for a kid. Yet Steel Against Shadow, by J. Michael Straczynski, had a very heavy hand when dealing with the Good vs. EVIL theme, with little or no action. In other words - BOO! LAME! More explosions! Who wants themes and thoughtfully stuff - more mindless firing of weapons into the massed ranks of the EVIL enemy!
This set is the first part of the series and I plan to look for volume 2 when it comes out. Many of my memories seem to be from the latter episodes and I hope to enjoy them too!
Good for small kids or adults who like to watch cartoons with lots of explosions, lasers, war machines while eating pizza and thinking of high school. Think of it as a American-Canadian-French cartoon version of Robotech before Robotech came to the American TV.

I will admit a huge bias right off - I LOVED this show when I was a kid!!! Unfortunately Jayce came in at the end of the wave of the "toy" shows of the 80's, such as Transformers and He-Man, and got lost in the shuffle. The premise and characters are definitely borrowed from "Star Wars", but the writers also were able to come up with some cool original storylines. Wheeled Warriors showcases a lot of bonuses that may have been missed - good animation, laughable dialog, and an amazing cheesy soundtrack. Seriously, if you don't love the theme song, then you REALLY don't love the 80's! This series actually got me interested in anime - BEFORE anime was really known in the States. Now that anime is pretty much commonplace, the charm of this series seems lost and almost insignificant against the mass-produced and ubiquitous fare of now. If you're a Gen-Xer and are feeling nostalgic, definitely give Jayce a try!

I recently purchased the rag-tag collection of 3 episodes plus a "bonus" 4th, but that was a year ago and it was the only bit of Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors availible. Now finally we get to see the whole first season with all the characters we remembered in the 80's. I remember this being my favorite cartoon on TV at that time and aside from Transformers, nothing else mattered. Jayce is a Luke Skywalker rip-off but who cares? His unique land vehicle command is what makes him unigue. In additon to the Thundercats, this is the other animation DVD I have been waiting to purchase. Herc the Jerc is the likable character as in Han Solo clone, yet he is awesome as a horseback rider and has some other qualities Han Solo didn't. Odviously, Herc was voiced by a guy experienced in D.J. radio or a sports caster as his voice is that quality. Jayce's side-kick Oone is a miniture cavalier who is annoying more than funny. Flora is a young plant/human girl hybrid and the fish named Broc, is even weirder. The wizard utilises magic and science in equal measure proving they are one(as in ether I suppose). Other characters(NPCs) are more interesting in these tapes than in the mere foursome collction I was milked for, where mostly the regulars appeared. I assume the rest of the series will soon be out! Don't settle for "difinitive collections" but seasons.

I remember watching this show when I was ten years old and my enjoyment of it hasn't diminished at all. The main premise of this show is that the Lightning League is out to rid the universe of the monster minds. The monster minds are vehicle/plant hynrids that are out to destroy and take over other worlds. They were accidentally created by Jayce's father. Jayce and his crew travel the universe in a spaceship shaped like a pirate ship to search for his father to reunite two parts of a magic root in order to eliminate the monster minds once and for all. Jayce's crew consists of a centuries old wizard, a plant/girl hybrid, a mercenary, a walking suit of armor and a huge flying fish. They have a variety of vehicles equipped with a claw, a drill, a spiked wheel and various types of guns. The monster minds vehicles are equipped with saws, wrecking balls, bolos, snake heads and guns. The crew go to many different planets throughout the universe. The planets are alien but they are similar enough to Earth to relate to. They may be in a jungle, a desert, in an ocean or on a junkyard planet. There's plenty of variety but not to the point to make the show "schizophrenic". There's also plenty of comic relief. Very enjoyable show.

This cartoon brought back such memories of when i watched it originally!!!
Love it!!!!

I watched this show when it was first on it was a compelling dramatic war cartoon that you don't see anymore. It is in the same vein as the robotech saga but had more of a realistic war theme to it. They don't make them like this anymore. Instead today's cartoons are so dumbed down that they make the viewers stupid! Atleast cartoons like this prompted you to think and feel the struggle of the characters bring a sense of what being human is about. .
The cartoons of today have no substance or even anything educational. The children of this current generation are going to be the idiots of tomorrow.