Shaoshao Li
- Shaoshao Li is an Autobot-allied human from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Please Stop.
Love,
America.
Shaoshao Li (李 蛸燒 Lǐ Shāo-Shāo)[1] is an athletic Chinese kung-fu girl who hates bugs and ghosts and enjoys hot steamed buns. She is completely obsessed with Marissa Faireborn.
As a Kiss Player, she is partnered with Hot Rod, but doesn't like to kiss him after he's been fishing because of the smell. She also wishes he'd take her fishing with him once in a while. She speaks with a Chinese accent, which makes sense since her parents are from China. Her ethnic background is also the reason she has worn a collar secured with a padlock that reads "Fortune" since childhood and cannot remove it. This makes less sense.
Apparently, she's a decent singer as well.
Fiction
Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity
Kiss Players
- Voice actor: Yui Kano (Japanese)
When Shaoshao was a child in the 1990s, her parents ran a Chinese restaurant in New York City. It was there that she met Marissa Faireborn and the two became good friends; indeed, Shaoshao seemed to have more than platonic designs on Marissa. Unfortunately for Shaoshao, Marissa only had eyes for the Autobot leader Optimus Prime, and Shaoshao came to resent Prime for "stealing" Marissa away from her. Soon after, Shaoshao's parents closed their restaurant and the family returned to China, forcing Shaoshao to leave her issues with Marissa unresolved. Kiss Players radio drama #23
In 2005, the body of the Decepticon leader Galvatron collided with the Earth, decimating the city of Tokyo and utterly shattering Transformer-human relations. The Earth Defense Command reverse-engineered Galvatron's remains to create man-made Transformers named "Autoroopers", and forced all Transformers off of Earth, keeping them from returning to the planet by surrounding it with an anti-electron field. Having hated Transformers ever since losing Marissa to Prime, Shaoshao joined up with the E.D.C. to fight the robots, and quickly developed a reputation as a rising star within the organization.
The following year, however, a new threat soon emerged in the form of creatures known as Legions, monsters created by Galvatron's Unicron-empowered cells, which had been dispersed into the atmosphere upon his impact and had fused with other lifeforms and objects. Galvatron's cells also provided the solution to this crisis: when they came into contact with certain human beings, these humans gained the power to fuse with other entities containing Galvatron's cells by kissing them. Given that their Autoroopers were the perfect candidate for this "ParasiTech" fusion process, the E.D.C. began recruiting these "Kiss Players" and partnering them with the robots to battle Legions. Shaoshao was discovered to be a Kiss Player, and was not best pleased to be pulled away from her regular E.D.C. job and recruited into the E.D.C.'s Ne Squad, where she was forced to kiss the robots she so hated. She was easily the strongest member of the squad, able to boost her Autorooper's power to unheard of levels, and was greatly respected by her teammates, including the sociopathic Ringo Chikuma, who may have even had a crush on her.
In truth, there was a more sinister reason behind Shaoshao's enlistment: E.D.C. commander Hitoshizuku Amaō's daughter had died in Galvatron's impact, but she had discovered that her daughter's essence had somehow been infused into the Legions along with Galvatron's cells. Experimenting with Legions, Autoroopers and Kiss Players who had outlived their usefulness, Amaō conceived of a plan to resurrect her daughter in a Kiss Player's body...and as the most powerful Kiss Player she had yet discovered, Shaoshao was selected for the process. You, I and the Spinning Earth
Responding to a Legion attack in Tokyo, Shaoshao fused with her Autorooper and set off in pursuit of a Legion who had disguised itself as a car. Unfortunately, the chase took too long, and no sooner had Shaoshao found the Legion and kicked it through a wall than her fusion time limit ran out, and her Autorooper messily regurgitated her. As luck would have it, the Legion had been in the process of terrorizing a girl named Atari Hitotonari, who proved to have Kiss Player powers as well, and fused with Shaoshao's Autorooper to destroy the creature. Kiss Players #1 Observing the conflict, Commander Amaō realized that Atari was even more powerful than Shaoshao, and immediately decided that she would take her place for her resurrection project. Unfortunately for Shaoshao, this meant that she was now surplus to requirements, and she soon became fodder for Amaō's experiments.
Awakening to find herself in a glass tube in the secret Genital System facility beneath E.D.C. headquarters, Shaoshao was horrified to see dismembered Legion heads consuming the remains of other Kiss Players all around her. She barely had any time to take this in before a Legion head above her own tube unleashed a tangle of tentacles on her, intending to eat her too. Shaoshao fought back, biting the tentacles, when suddenly, the Autobot Hot Rod came crashing through the roof of the facility. Kiss Players #2 The Legions all turned on Hot Rod and began trying to fuse with him, but Shaoshao saved him by kissing him, fusing with him and reformatting him into a new Ford GT body. Kiss Players #3 The pair proceeded to escape, although all Shaoshao could find to wear was a Chinese dress. Kiss Players radio drama #29
Shaoshao and Rodimus went on the run, battling the Legion and vowing to expose the mysterious evils at the heart of the E.D.C. Kiss Players radio drama #2 Shaoshao remained unhappy with the fact that she still had to kiss a robot, but admitted that she would swallow her pride for the foreseeable future...and that just maybe, she did get a little something out of it herself. Kiss Players radio drama #5 She hated Hot Rod's smugness and lack of martial arts skills, and so she resolved to teach him some skills, only for Hot Rod to point out she could share her own abilities just by kissing him. Kiss Players radio drama #8 Shaoshao schooled him in the use of his tonfa, and the pair embarked on a long-distance drive as a form of training. Kiss Players radio drama #11
Investigating a large swarm of Legions converging on E.D.C. headquarters, Shaoshao and Hot Rod were shocked to discover that the creatures were being led there by Optimus Prime! Hot Rod mistakenly came to the conclusion that this Prime was an impostor (given that the genuine article was supposed to be dead; he had, in actuality, been resurrected by Marissa Faireborn's Kiss Player powers) and Shaoshao urged him into battle, seeking to reclaim Marissa from her "rival". Atari soon arrived to stop the fight and turn the Legions back. Kiss Players #3 The whole experience left Shaoshao feeling very stressed; she believed she heard Marissa's voice coming from within Optimus Prime during the fight, and thought the stress was making her crack. Kiss Players radio drama #14
In the wake of this event, Shaoshao and Hot Rod returned to their fugitive lifestyle, with Shaoshao growing more and more irritated with Hot Rod's tendency to go fishing and come back smelling of raw fish. Kiss Players radio drama #17 Shaoshao couldn't believe it when he even wasted time making himself a new fishing rod, though it proved useful in battle when Hot Rod revealed it could transform into a set of blasters. Kiss Players radio drama #20 While the pair were fishing on Tokyo Bay Bridge, they were attacked by a mass of Legions, and Shaoshao refused to kiss the stinking Hot Rod until the situation absolutely demanded it. Through this latest mental fusion, however, a startling truth was unveiled: Shaoshao discovered that it was Hot Rod who had thrown Galvatron into space and inadvertently caused the devastation of Tokyo, and that he had given up the Matrix of Leadership to Ultra Magnus and come to Earth to try and redeem himself for his misdeeds. Shaoshao's anger at this discovery caused the pair's fusion to come an end, and Shaoshao was hurled into the river! A Big Catch Tonight?! Reflecting on what she had learned, Shaoshao concluded that she did not care about Hot Rod's guilt or pain: she was merely using his power to get Marissa back. Kiss Players radio drama #26 She did not expect him to steal Marissa's underwear for her, however! Kiss Players radio drama #29
When Shaoshao and Hot Rod spotted the figure of a young girl, dressed all in black and bleeding, riding on the shoulder of a Legion, they thought she might be a Kiss Player, until Hot Rod discovered she was giving off no body heat. Kiss Players radio drama #32 They saw the girl again as more and more Legions began to converge on Tokyo, and Hot Rod began to suffer from nightmares plagued by images of Megatron that gave him the urge to destroy. Shaoshao exploited this, whispering in the sleeping Hot Rod's ear for him to kill the "impostor" Optimus Prime for her. Kiss Players radio drama #35
Following the Legions to the E.D.C. headquarters, Shaoshao and Hot Rod discovered that they were once again being led there by Optimus Prime and Marissa. And once again, consumed by the destructive impulses of their Galvatron cells, Prime and Hot Rod began to battle. The pair are able to settle their differences, and together with Atari, they ventured into the depths of the E.D.C. building to discover the truth. Kiss Players radio drama #38 Back in the Genital System once more, Shaoshao and the others discovered the remains of Galvatron, before a door suddenly came slamming down and separated Atari from the rest of the group. Commander Amaō appeared and explained to Atari her plan to resurrect her daughter (the ghost girl Shaoshao and Hot Rod had seen), beginning the process just as the others burst into the room. Atari fought back against the process, however, and was able to thwart it, causing all the Legions, Autroroopers and other Galvatron cells to be absorbed back into the Decepticon leader's body, which she then hurled back into space. With this action, Shaoshao and the others lost their Kiss Player powers, Hot Rod reverted to normal, and Optimus Prime slipped back into death once more. You, I and the Spinning Earth
Kiss Players Position
Following the deactivation of the anti-electron field, the Autobots returned to Earth in early 2007, but Transformer-human relations were still in tatters. Ultra Magnus came up with the idea of a Transformer-human singing group to try and repair relations and spread goodwill between the two races, and to that end, Shaoshao joined with Marissa, Atari and cassette Transformers Glit, Sundor, and Rosanna to form this group, the "Kiss Players".
While on their world goodwill tour, the Kiss Players arrived in North America to perform at Brave Maximus, but just before the concert began, three mysterious glowing orbs appeared before the Kiss Players, and telepathically spoke to them. Introducing themselves as the Sparkbots, Star Dust, Angela, and Zangetsu, they instructed the three girls to kiss them. When they did so, the girls and Brave Maximus were suddenly whisked off through time, rematerializing at Sherman Dam in the year 1985, where they witnessed Optimus Prime's historic battle with Megatron atop the structure. Kiss Players radio drama #39 The Sparkbots explained to Kiss Players' that the "Allspark" had been scattered throughout space and time, and that their mission was to recover its fragments by kissing Autobot leaders from different time periods, starting with Optimus Prime. Kiss Players radio drama #40
Shaoshao was selected for the next mission, and travelled with the Sparkbot Zangetsu to 2005 to witness her old partner Hot Rod transforming into Rodimus Prime and throwing Galvatron into space. Time then shifted to the year 2010, and Shaoshao kissed Rodimus at the Galactic Olympics on Athenia to recover the second Allspark fragment. Kiss Players radio drama #41
The Kiss Players adventures through the timestream soon led them to the year 2011, where they fell into the clutches of the Quintessons. Even the power of Moe, despite transforming Shaoshao into a catgirl in a maid's outfit, was not enough to spare them from the Quintesson judge's verdict of "not guilty." Fortunately, Optimus Prime and Goldbug came to their accidental rescue, and the Kiss Players' voyage continued. Tokyo Toy Festival live performance
Shaoshao's next challenge was a tough one: She went on a marathon kissing session through time, obtaining fragments from Star Saber, Dai Atlas, and four different incarnations of Optimus Prime, which particularly disgusted her. Kiss Players radio drama #44 Things continued to proceed smoothly until the Kiss Players began obtaining Allspark fragments from Transformers participating in the Beast Wars. At the point of the Allspark fragments' emergence, an enigmatic, invisible force began appearing to steal the fragments away, culminating with the fragment Shaoshao recovered from Fire Convoy. The Kiss Players gave chase across the timestream, but Brave Maximus wound up crashing into the "Wall of Time", Kiss Players radio drama #47 and the team was scattered across the multiverse. Kiss Players radio drama #48
Shaoshao found herself in the parallel reality of the "Unicron Trilogy", on the deserted Cybertron during the Transformers' search for the Cyber Planet Keys. Pursued by a swarm of Scrapmetal, she was rescued by Vector Prime, who opened a portal with the intention of helping her to return to her home dimension. From the portal, however, a giant golden hand emerged, which seized Shaoshao and dragged her off through time. Kiss Players radio drama #50 The hand, it transpired, belonged to Primus, god of the Transformers, who had gathered the other Kiss Players, and who had also been responsible for stealing the Allspark fragments away—because the Sparkbots were in fact, servants of his nemesis, Unicron! The "Allspark" that the Kiss Players had been gathering was, in fact, Unicron's shattered lifeforce, and the Sparkbots were attempting to resurrect their deceased master. Thankfully, Primus was able to trap Unicron's lifeforce within the Earth, but he would not answer Shaoshao when she asked what the Kiss Players' future would be. As his last act before he transformed into a golden sphere, Primus returned the Kiss Players to the present day 2007, mere moments after they had left on their adventure. Realizing that her future was not defined by Primus or any god, Shaoshao vowed to make her own future, at last accepting Marissa and Optimus Prime's relationship and moving forward. Kiss Players radio drama #51
Transformers Legends comic
While explaining what Transformers series he liked to Rattrap, Tigatron used Shaoshao and Ai as examples, causing Rattrap to realize he was only into Transformers when cute girls were involved. The Bishōjo Fan Gap
The actual Shaoshao was one of the many women brought to the Legends World by Tigatron using the ultra-drill in an attempt to get women who liked him better than Springer. It did not work out, as all of the women brought over eventually swooned over Springer. Bonus Edition Vol. 19
In her own world, Shaoshao eventually left Earth Defense Command and became an agent for the Galactic Peace Alliance. In her duties she was equipped with Master-Braces that let her use Masterforce to transform into a Targetmaster form and fire blasts of Jinchōkon Power. Bonus Edition Vol. 45 In 2021, she was given a mission by Spike Witwicky to covertly travel to the Legends World and recover six mutated Targetmasters before Megatron learned of them. Mutant Targetmaster Birth Chapter Being in need of a partner, Shaosho contacted Hot Rod who joined her on the mission, Bonus Edition Vol. 45 though she was annoyed that his new Headmaster form actually made him weaker since he didn't have a transtector. Targetmaster Chapter Prologue
After happening upon a Sharkticon, Shaoshao and Hot Rod concluded that it had been cloned using a Targetmaster and followed it back to its creators, Scourge and the Sweeps, who were in possession of Blowpipe. Their successful capture of the Sweeps netted the duo jobs with the local police force. Bonus Edition Vol. 44 With Hot Rod granted a transtector by the police, the two then confronted Scourge and used Shaoshao's Targetmaster form to defeat him and recover Blowpipe. Unfortunately, they also learned from the battle that firing Shaoshao's gun mode would convert her clothes into energy and leave her in the nude... again. Bonus Edition Vol. 45 Blowpipe was then stolen by Kickback, but he was defeated and Shaoshao and Hot Rod reclaimed the Targetmaster. Bonus Edition Vol. 47 When Blowpipe started vaporizing inorganic material with plasma energy bursts, Shaoshao was upset that said inorganic material included her clothes and doubly upset that Hot Rod used her as a human shield. To keep Blowpipe under control, the duo was forced to induct Triggerhappy into the police force. Bonus Edition Vol. 49
Kre-O online manga
Shaoshao and Atari were among the humans who witnessed Megatron's demand for all the blocks of Earth. Defend the Blocks! Autobots, Dispatch!
Renegade Rhetoric
Toys
Kiss Players
- Hot Rodimus X Syaosyao (Kiss Players, 2006)
- Accessories: Bamboo steamer
- Shaoshao's only toy is a 1:24-scale PVC figurine of her in her Chinese red dress. Unlike the other two Kiss Players girls, Shaoshao did not come with any interchangeable limbs, and consequently, she is permanently in a seated position, munching on a meat-filled steamed bun. This does not, however, prohibit her from either perching on the shoulder or sitting in the driver's seat of her Autobot partner, Hot Rod, with whom she comes packaged, though she can do little else. The set also includes a small bamboo steamer accessory, as well as a CD containing episodes 11-20 of the Kiss Players radio drama and the exclusive 10-minute story, "A Big Catch Tonight?!"
Legends
- Legends Firebolt is included with Targetmaster Hot Rodimus, transforming into a double-barreled gun based on the original Firebolt toy.
References
- ↑ "Shāoshāo" is written as "蛸焼", meaning "octopus dumplings". On the toy packaging, her name is rendered in Latin characters as "Syaosyao".
