Product Details

• Actors: Michael Bell, Peter Cullen, Casey Kasem, Chris Latta, Don Messick
• Directors: Al Kouzel, Andy Kim, Bob Kirk, Bob Matz, Bob Treat
• Format: Animated, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Rhino / WEA
• DVD Release Date: April 22, 2003
• Run Time: 675 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00008RH31
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #14,255 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Transformers - Season Two, Part 2" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Based on a line of robots from Takara that was licensed to Hasbro, Transformers sparked a craze for metamorphic toys in the mid-'80s. Each robot-character could be reconfigured to form a car, a tank, a plane, etc. The Transformers series (Tatakae Cho Robot Seimetai Transformers or Fight Super Living Robots Transformers) was written in America, but animated in Japan. The 24 episodes in this collection, which ran between October 1985 and January 1986, conclude the second season and lead up to Transformers 2006. Each episode forms a self-contained story, with little in the way of larger character arcs or plot developments tying them together. Although the cast has expanded, the Autobots remain the good guys who defeat the bad guy Decepticons, and no one expects anything else. Although the character designs and animation are Japanese, the direction is pure American Saturday morning: instead of creating effective transitions, the filmmakers just cut to a shot of the logo--a standard practice in Hanna-Barbera kidvid. Web sites, role-playing games, fan fiction, and a brisk commerce in the original toys have kept Transformers alive in the hearts of its fans. But like Robotech, Transformers will appeal most strongly to nostalgic adults who watched the show as kids. (Unrated: suitable for ages 6 and older: robot vs. robot violence) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still more than meets the eye, May 11, 2003

By	"hardcorekingpin" (Garland, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This is the third box set of the original Transformers series, and the third one I have purchased. Very happy with it.

This is, of course, for the second half of Season 2. I'd actually forgotten how good several of these episodes are until watching them again. Tons of new characters show up, the plotlines get more varied, and there is action at every turn.

There are a great many animation mistakes (voices out of the wrong mouths, Autobots appearing with Decepticons, incorrect coloring, etc) but each and every one of these was present originally, and I remember them well upon seeing them again.

The restoration process did another fine job this time, though a few episodes have a large amount of dirt and dust on the film. This is probably due to the sorry state of storage they had been subjected to over the years, as nobody expected that this series would be as lasting as it has turned out to be.

Keep in mind that the episodes are aired in Production Order, which is not neccessarily the same order they were aired in. This causes the Combaticons, for example, to appear in an episode before the episode where they are created is shown. It also sees several episodes air inbetween two episodes that are a continuation of each other. A minor thing, but enough to be noted.

We still need more special features. At least the interviews this time were with people who worked on the classic series, but I'd still love to see commercials for the old toys and perhaps scenes that got cut from episodes due to time constraints. Maybe even character profiles would be nice, and take up little disc space as well.

Overall, I loved this set, just as I have with the other ones. Some great stuff in this one, reminding me of how I got so into this stuff when it was new. This is lightyears better than ANY Transformers stuff that has followed it, even to the modern day series.

I suppose Season 3 will follow with a set or two, but they feature the post-movie characters, which lose a lot of the charm that the original series has with Optimus Prime and Megatron's almost respectful arch rivalry, and Starscream's desire to overthrow Megatron and gain power of his own. But it will still be a welcome edition, and allow Transformers fans to actually own the entire US series when all is said and done.

Thanks again, Rhino, for bringing one of my favorite things from my youth back to life yet again.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally!, March 28, 2003

By A Customer

Season 2 - Part 2 is hands down the best part of the Transformers series. Season 1 and Season 2 - Part 1 definitely have their highlights as well, but nothing compares to what came out in this one. We get the Stunticons, Aerielbots, Combaticons, Omega Supreme and a plethora of other new characters too extensive to name. The animation is brilliant and the storylines are much better. The is when TF Generation 1 really hit its peak.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great Rhino release of The Transformers, April 25, 2003

By	Garrett Aja (North Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The second half of The Transformers' second season is probably the oddest stretch of episodes of the entire series. From the environmentally themed "The Golden Lagoon" to space-faring episodes like "Child's Play" and the episodes with the gestalts (or combiners, if you will), there's a lot of variety here.

The episodes are again restored in fine fashion, although there's a few more moments in this set (as opposed to the last) where Rhino had to borrow from the broadcast masters due to re-takes. The commercial bumpers are now the "correct" Season 2 ones featuring newer characters like Cosmos and Thrust. The sound is also re-done like the other two sets, and is again excellent.

The Special Features, which consist of interviews with writer/associate producer/story editor Flint Dille and writer Buzz Dixon, are great, and both certainly deliniate the series' shift from the lighter episodes of Season 1 to the darker, more mature fare of Season 3, while providing further insight about how cartoons were made during the '80s, and how Sunbow helped to change that for the better.

Without doubt, this set is worth every penny, and Rhino should definitely consider releasing all of the Sunbow series (TF, G.I. Joe, Jem, The Inhumanoids, The Visionaries, and so on) on DVD ASAP.