Rescue

« Transformers: Armada ep 35 »
"Rescue" 救出 (かいほう) (Kaihō) "Rescue: Liberation"
Production code	TF: A-35
Production company	TV Tokyo, NAS
Airdate	April 26, 2003 (English) 5 September 2003 (Japanese)
Writer	Ryō Motohira
Director	Ken'ichi Ishikura
Animation studio	Actas Inc.
Continuity	Unicron Trilogy

Autobots attack the Decepticon base on the Moon and make a discovery.

Synopsis

Hot Shot masters the Bumble Kick!!

By himself, Demolishor grumpily cleans up the Decepticons' base after Starscream's rampage. Turning around, he is surprised to see Starscream standing right behind him, and he drops some of the items he was carrying on his foot. Then Starscream introduces his new running crew: the Autobots. Naturally, Demolishor activates the alarm.

The Autobots and Decepticons meet in Megatron's throne room. Megatron fires the Requiem Blaster at Starscream, but Smokescreen blocks the shot with the Skyboom Shield. Bright light from the impact fills the room, blinding the Autobots long enough for Megatron to retreat, leaving his troops behind to finish the battle. The Autobots and Decepticons engage in combat with each other, with Side Swipe attempting to take on Tidal Wave on his own. While Starscream is blinded by his vengeance, Laserbeak and Hot Shot are assigned to locate Perceptor.

Good guys, bad guys, and explosions as far as the eye can see...

Perceptor plays Jerry, running away from Demolishor's Tom. When Demolishor backs Perceptor into a corner, Laserbeak flies into Demolishor's face just long enough to ruin the Decepticon's aim. While Demolishor stumbles about, Hot Shot arrives to punch him down. Perceptor runs ahead and finds himself in an encounter with Tidal Wave, and again Hot Shot comes to the Mini-Con's rescue. But because of Tidal Wave's power and size, Hot Shot has more difficulty taking the Decepticon down. Perceptor then leaves.

If this is the power of teamwork, leave everyone out.

Perceptor finds all his captured Mini-Con brethren in a hidden underground facility, where they're being put to work to assemble a gigantic spaceship. Perceptor has some blippy dialogue with the other Mini-Cons, during which Megatron attacks. When Megatron grabs Perceptor by the neck, the Mini-Cons begin one of their irregular chants, like the one played when the Requiem Blaster first formed. The Mini-Cons all stop working on the spaceship and surround an annoyed Megatron. When Megatron attempts to punish the insolent machines, Hot Shot attacks and covers the Mini-Cons' escape. Tidal Wave arrives just in time to watch Megatron and Hot Shot race out, but Smokescreen shows up to keep Tidal Wave company.

Side Swipe and Perceptor guide all the emancipated Mini-Cons through the Decepticons' warp gate to the Autobot base.

Megatron and Hot Shot continue to battle. Megatron is finally about to deactivate the Autobot, but Starscream slices Megatron's cannon off. Against both Hot Shot and Starscream, Megatron falls. With the Mini-Cons safe, Optimus Prime calls his forces to return to the Autobot base, but Starscream would rather stay to finish off Megatron. Starscream agrees to return with the Autobots but is left feeling upset about it.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans	Mini-Cons
Starscream (2) Optimus Prime (3) Jetfire (5) Hot Shot (6) Hoist (7) Laserbeak (13) Red Alert (19) Blurr (20) Side Swipe (21) Scavenger (22)	Demolishor (1) Megatron (8) Cyclonus (9) Thrust (10) Tidal Wave (11) Wheeljack (12)	Billy (14) Carlos Lopez (15) Rad White (16) Alexis (17) Fred (18)	Perceptor (4) High Wire (23) Grindor (24) Sureshock (25) Waterlog (26) Spiral (27) Backtrack (28) Gunbarrel (29) Oval (30) Thunderwing (31) Dualor (32) Buzzsaw (33) Leader-1 (34) Oceanglide (35) Stormcloud (36) Knock Out (37) Wreckage (38) Jolt (39)

Quotes

"Boy, what a showoff! So who died and put Mr. Conehead in charge?"
"Stop your whining, Cyclonus."

—Cyclonus and Tidal Wave

"What kind of leader runs and leaves his men to fight alone?! You're a coward, Megatron!"

—Starscream raises a good point.

"This is the most beautiful sound I've ever heard in my life."

—Alexis on hearing the Mini-Cons sing

"Thank you, Tidal Wave appreciates."

—Tidal Wave after being helped out of a hole by Smokescreen.

Notes

Differences with Legends of the Microns

• Demolishor hopes Megatron will make Starscream pay for his "betrayal" rather than "stupidity." After surprising him, Starscream asks Demolishor what he was saying and asks if he's going to end up getting slagged. Then Starscream says he's "still alive and kicking!" In Armada, Starscream states that Demolishor should get it off his chest so that it doesn't eat away at him and settle things with him unless he doesn't have the guts.
• A snippet of "Charge!" plays as the Autobots infiltrate the Decepticon base. Demolishor says Optimus's name in surprise. Then Starscream reveals to Demolishor that he led the Autobots through the warp point, and Demolishor asks Starscream how he could betray the Decepticons. Armada has Demolishor stating the obvious about them coming through the warp gate.
• Hearing the alarm, Thrust wonders if there was an accident in the control room, and Cyclonus says the Autobots aren't bold enough to invade the base successfully.
• After Optimus orders the Autobots to spread out and attack, Jetfire replies, "Understood!" but Starscream speaks in his place in Armada.
• In Armada, Cyclonus admits to being wrong about the Autobots' inability to infiltrate the base. In Legends of the Microns, he says he never thought they'd get to this level of bravery. A moment later, Optimus doesn't address Megatron when entering the throne room, Thrust asks how the Autobots got in, and Megatron brags that he now has Prime "at his [my] fingertips."
• Armada gives Starscream an extra line before calling Megatron a coward, asking what kind of leader runs and leaves his soldiers to fight alone.
• In Legends of the Microns, Carlos says that he didn't think the Decepticons would use the Requiem Blaster rather than stating the Autobots don't stand a chance against it. Then Rad says it's not the time for Carlos to be saying that.
• As he leaps at Tidal Wave, Side Swipe says it's a move Hot Shot taught him called the "Giant Upper." Then Scavenger calls him an idiot for being a newbie getting carried away and tells him to take cover.
• Armada has Demolishor's line to Laserbeak said sooner.
• Alexis asks Perceptor if he's detected the Mini-Cons' signal, but in Armada she tells Hot Shot that Perceptor will lead him to the captive Mini-Cons.
• Instead of Rad being frustrated about not being able to be helpful enough, he wonders where the Mini-Cons could be.
• Legends of the Microns has Hot Shot asking the kids if the data Starscream provided could be helpful, leading to Alexis explaining the base's unmatching blueprints better than how Armada handles it with Hot Shot asking how Starscream is doing instead.
• Tidal Wave praises the Street Action Mini-Con Team's speed when they split apart. Then Hot Shot calls Tidal Wave a slowpoke, and Tidal Wave shouts back that he's not. The Japanese dub removes the transformation sound effect from the Mini-Con's recombining.
• After Perceptor goes ahead, Armada makes Hot Shot's following line an internal monologue as the Japanese dub animates his mouth.
• Armada adds Alexis calling the boys over to look at the monitor to remove the Japanese version's silence. Only Alexis speaks when later asking if Megatron is using the Mini-Cons to build a spaceship.
• Before Perceptor calls to the Mini-Cons, the scene is silent in Legends of the Microns, so Armada adds lines for Carlos, Rad, and Alexis.
• In Legends of the Microns, Megatron tells Perceptor the Mini-Cons follow his orders and claims to be impressed with Perceptor managing to make it this far. Then he says Perceptor won't escape before demanding him to stop. Armada has Megatron tell his Mini-Con slaves to keep up the excellent work, and he coldly welcomes Perceptor to his "hive of workers."
• When Perceptor loses his balance and falls, Armada adds Megatron's line saying he will pay for this.
• In Armada, Megatron telling Perceptor to scream is changed to telling him it's pointless for him to struggle.
• While the Mini-Cons sing, Megatron wonders why in Armada, though in Legends of the Microns he remembers the last time it happened in "Desperate," perfectly lining up with the flashback to Sky Blast. Rather than asking where the Mini-Con's chanting is coming from, Optimus also seemingly remembers it from before.
• Rad calls what's happening amazing instead of freaky. Then Carlos finishes Alexis's sentence, saying the Mini-Cons are responding to Perceptor's call. Alexis's flashback to Sky Blast is silent. Then instead of calling the Mini-Cons' song "the most beautiful thing she's ever heard," Alexis says it's like she is listening to their souls' voice.
• In Legends of the Microns, Megatron says he won't hesitate to shoot. Then after using Leader-1 to give the Mini-Cons warning shots, Armada adds Megatron's line of him threatening to dispose of any Mini-Con that chooses to disobey him to remove the Japanese dub's silence. Instead of challenging Megatron, Hot Shot expresses his outrage for Megatron firing at the Mini-Cons. Legends of the Microns plays "Cybertrons, Transform!" when Hot Shot appears while Armada plays different music.
• Megatron says Hot Shot can't escape before they transform, with the sound effect removed. He says the Autobot is merely annoying him in Armada.

Japanese dub-exclusive shots.

• Instead of quoting the Energizer Bunny (see below), Hoist offers to show off his new body's power before getting Tidal Wave unstuck. As Hoist lifts his arm and grabs Tidal Wave, Armada uses a stock footage background (see below), but the Japanese dub doesn't.
• Side Swipe tells the Mini-Cons to stay in line and hurry rather than translating for Perceptor.
• Armada omits Thrust's line about needing to stop the Autobots.
• As he and Megatron fight outside, the shots from Hot Shot's gun are yellow in Armada but red in Legends of the Microns.
• Legends of the Microns extends the scene of Hot Shot at gunpoint by panning to the left to show Megatron. Then the scene pans up to show Megatron's face and cuts to the first-person shot of Megatron looking at Hot Shot. Armada starts with a low-quality still image of Hot Shot and cuts to the POV shot of Megatron looking at Hot Shot before the pan-up shot of Megatron and repeating the previous point of view shot. Megatron asks who's there after his tank turret gets sliced off.
• When Starscream reappears, some of "Cybertrons, Transform!" plays instead of the Transformers theme. Instead of saying Megatron doesn't scare him anymore, Starscream announces himself to Megatron after saving Hot Shot. In Armada, Starscream declares to Megatron that he is now fighting evil, and Megatron says Starscream doesn't know what evil is. In Legends of the Microns, Starscream says he's waited a long time for this, and Megatron says he doesn't know what Starscream wants.
• Instead of the prior close-up of Hot Shot, Legends of the Microns shows a new shot of him and Starscream descending upon Megatron as he shoots at them. Then after Megatron gets kicked in the face, there's another added wide shot of Hot Shot, Starscream, and a falling Megatron, all in mid-air (see right).
• Armada adds a slow-motion effect to the scene of Megatron falling to extend it. Legends of the Microns removes the effect, and Megatron is silent as he falls.
• As Megatron gets up in Armada, Hot Shot asks Starscream if he heard something, and Starscream says it was probably the wind and tells Hot Shot to get going. Wind in outer space? In Legends of the Microns, Hot Shot addresses Starscream before the latter tells Hot Shot to go and says that he's staying behind.
• After Starscream initially refuses Optimus's command to retreat, Armada has Optimus giving Starscream an ultimatum: Show he's now an Autobot by retreating with the others or show his true colors by staying behind. Then Optimus gives Starscream a long lecture insisting he chooses between fighting with either the Autobots or Decepticons, which plays over the last couple of scenes showing the rescued Mini-Cons teleporting into the Autobot base. After that, Starscream yells that there isn't a right decision before storming off, with Optimus calmly telling him to take his time. In Legends of the Microns, Optimus doesn't talk to Starscream again until the panning shot, telling him he's now an Autobot and their comrade, and they should pull back now that they've saved the Mini-Cons. Optimus's dialogue stops before Starscream lowers the Star Saber, with the rest of the episode being silent except for Starscream declaring this mission wasn't a victory.

Animation and technical errors

• After Demolishor pushes the alarm button, for a shot, the Star Saber is drawn in the distinct shape of Starscream's regular wing-blade. Legends of the Microns corrects it.
• Optimus tells Hot Shot the Autobots will "regroup and attack again," but the others proceed to split up instead. Prime correctly orders everyone to "spread out and attack" in the Japanese dub.
• After Megatron fires the Requiem Blaster, Thrust suggests that Megatron fall back "with" his men, but only Megatron leaves. Legends of the Microns fixes the mistake by having Thrust tell only Megatron to escape.
• As Starscream demands Megatron to show himself, the Star Saber's blade is colored yellow rather than blue.
• Wheeljack looks slightly scared as he blocks Hot Shot's path.
• When Demolishor's lasers fire after Laserbeak attacks him, they suddenly turn yellow in Armada. They stay purple in Legends of the Microns.
• As Megatrons grabs Perceptor, his hand looks more like Tidal Wave's, especially the color.
• Tidal Wave's size in robot mode is incredibly inconsistent from shot to shot, ranging from huge to only just larger than the other Decepticons (to fit indoors).
• Tidal Wave's mouth often doesn't move when he talks.
• As everyone listens to the Mini-Cons' song, it looks like Starscream's wings doubled in size.
• Megatron's face is miscolored dark gray like his head when the Mini-Cons surround him.

Do we really want to know what's happening?

• When Smokescreen hits the stuck Tidal Wave, the latter is briefly miscolored.
• Lots of animation shortcuts are used to depict the Mini-Con hordes, including:
  • Looped sequences, making it appear as though the same Mini-Cons are running past repeatedly.
  • In one shot, as Perceptor guides the Mini-Cons out of the construction facility, they're all depicted as horribly miscolored models of High Wire, Grindor, and Sureshock.
  • In one shot of Mini-Cons teleporting into the Autobot base, most of them have the same upper body with some sharing the same leg colors.
  • In the shot following, the kids and four Spirals are on-screen together. Legends of the Microns fixes this mistake as there's only one Spiral and the other three Mini-Cons are all different models (see below).
• The scene of the three Mini-Cons arriving at the Autobot base recycles the background for the Decepticons' warp gate in Armada. Legends of the Microns corrects this error as the background of the Autobot's launch gate is used instead.
• Megatron calls Perceptor "Preceptor" when they first encounter each other in the base's Mini-Con construction zone.
• When the Mini-Cons start freaking out, as Megatron and Hot Shot begin fighting each other, a black generic Mini-Con using Oval's model is missing his head.
• When Megatron starts shooting at Hot Shot, his lasers go from red to purple and then yellow. In Legends of the Microns, they begin as red, but they stay purple once they turn that color.
• After Hot Shot sends Jolt after Megatron, the Mini-Con disappears and never goes after Megatron. Hot Shot also suddenly gets a gun that comes flying out of nowhere in the next scene. It appears again when he and Megatron continue their brawl outside but disappears in the following scene when Hot Shot is under fire from Megatron. In Legends of the Microns, Hot Shot only calls Jolt and doesn't tell him to get Megatron.
• As Side Swipe has the Mini-Cons line up, Starscream is positioned as turned to his left, but he is in the same stance in his next scene, making his former position incorrect. He's also wielding an orange pistol that came from who knows where.
• After Hot Shot and Starscream take him down, Megatron has Tidal Wave's Dark Fleet Armor components on his arms while he falls and lands. Legends of the Microns removes them.
• In one scene, Starscream has purple miscolored spots on his arms.
• In a shot of Optimus, Starscream, and Hot Shot outside the base, Starscream's wings are miscolored.

Continuity notes

• The Skyboom Shield reappears for the first time since being knocked out of Optimus's hands in "Desperate."
• Scavenger, Blurr, and Side Swipe are barely seen during the battle. Blurr, in particular, is only shown in a few panning shots of the Autobots firing.
• This episode shows more Mini-Cons than any other, which begs the question: where did the Decepticons gain all these Mini-Cons? The only logical reason is either off-screen collecting (which isn't uncommon) or they happen to be Mini-Cons that remained in the half of the Exodus that the Decepticons are currently using as a base.
• In the final clip in the Autobot base, an entirely original generic Mini-Con is shown (see right).
• Gadgets and weapons:
  • Tidal wave fires lasers from his fist.
  • The Mini-Con port in Smokescreen's hand is capable of firing lasers.
  • Scavenger fires lasers from his fingers.
  • Smokescreen also appears to Powerlinx with the Skyboom Shield using the port in his hand, something that using the Mini-Con port on Dirt Boss's back can replicate.
  • Thrust uses Inferno's back cannon, something that the toy is capable of doing.
  • Wheeljack dual-wields his guns.
  • Leader-1 is Powerlinxed on Megatron's left forearm.
  • Jolt hands Hot Shot the double-barreled blaster, something that hasn't been shown on-screen before. Usually, the blaster is attached to Jolt's vehicle mode, or it's in Hot Shot's hand; it's never been shown given to him beforehand.
  • Megatron uses his Full Blast Mode without Powerlinxing with Leader-1. Simultaneously, Megatron uses Leader-1 as a pistol.

Continuity errors

• Starscream says that Demolishor is why he changed sides, but how's it Demolishor's fault anyway? Was it because Megatron ordered him to take the Star Saber Mini-Cons from Starscream in the prior episode, or some other reason? Legends of the Microns fixes this glaring error as Starscream explains his defection by telling Demolishor they aren't comrades anymore, so why wouldn't he join their enemies? After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
• Due to the recycling of animation models, some Autobot-aligned Mini-Cons are seen in Megatron's construction facility, most glaring examples being Mirage and Dirt Boss, two components of the Skyboom Shield. At one point, even Sonar can be seen in the crowd of Mini-Cons standing up to Megatron.

Transformers references

• Thrust is called a "conehead", a term occasionally used for group of Generation 1 Seekers his namesake was part of; though in Legends of the Microns, his nickname is "squid-head".
• Side Swipe is nicknamed "Swiper," a possible reference to Andrew Frankel.

Real-world references

• As he attacks Tidal Wave, Side Swipe says, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall."
• Smokescreen says with his new armor that he keeps going and going, just like a certain pink, sandal-wearing, drumming bunny.

Trivia

• The kanji 救出 would be kyūshutsu, while kaihō would be used for 解放 in this context.
• The green Oval generic is briefly seen several times this episode. The red Spiral generic can also be seen briefly.
• Demolishor calls Laserbeak a vulture, however his Japanese name "Cyberhawk" says that he's, well... a hawk.
• This episode is one of the few lacking an opening and ending narration.

Foreign localization

German

• Title: "Die Befreiung der Mini-Cons" ("The Liberation of the Mini-Cons")
• Original airdate: This episode was never shown on TV but was dubbed in 2003. The dub premiered in 2009 with the German DVD release of the show.

Hungarian

• Title: "Mentőakció, 1. rész" ("Rescue Mission, Part 1")

Italian

• Title: "Il salvataggio" ("The Rescue")

Korean

• Title: "마이크론 구출작전" ("Micron Rescue Operation")

Portuguese

• Title: "Salvamento" ("Salvage")

Home video releases

All releases listed are in English audio unless otherwise noted.

DVD

2003 — Transformers: Legends of the Microns — Volume 9 (Columbia Music Entertainment) — Japanese audio only.
2004 — Transformers: Armada — Battle for the Mini-Cons (Rhino Entertainment)
2006 — Transformers: Armada — Season One: Part Two (Rhino Entertainment)
2009 — Transformers: Armada — Volume Two (New KSM) — English and German audio.
2014 — Transformers: Armada — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)