Jungle
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 Gaze in awe at the majesty of the tropical jungle. *snrk* | ||||||
| "Jungle" (Mamori) "Protection" | ||||||
| Production code | TF: A-06 | |||||
| Production company | TV Tokyo, NAS | |||||
| Airdate | October 4, 2002 (English) 14 February 2003 (Japanese) | |||||
| Writer | Isao Shizuya | |||||
| Director | Shin'ichirō Aoki | |||||
| Animation studio | Actas Inc. | |||||
| Continuity | Unicron Trilogy | |||||
Another Mini-Con is located in a forest, where the battle causes a fire which threatens the local flora and fauna.
Synopsis
Starscream, Demolishor, and Cyclonus exchange fire with the Autobots in a rocky area, while discussing which tactics they should use. While the other two move around to the sides, Starscream takes to the air and attacks, but is promptly shot down by Optimus Prime and crashes into Demolishor. Dismissing it as a lucky shot, Starscream looks up to see Optimus towering over him. The Autobot prepares to make the final shot, right to his forehead... when Megatron halts the training simulator, haranguing his men, particularly his "right-hand man." The Decepticons begin blaming each other. Starscream promises Megatron to fight more effectively if the latter gives him a Mini-Con. The conversation is interrupted by the detection of a new Mini-Con; all the Decepticons leave for Earth.
Meanwhile, on a suburban street, Alexis and Carlos are waiting patiently for Rad to arrive. He turns up carrying three backpacks stuffed with camping supplies, and the trio continues to the Autobot base, where the Autobots are still trying to activate the Mini-Con panel they found in Antarctica. As Hot Shot notes with amusement the amount of equipment the kids have brought, the alarm goes off to notify them that another Mini-Con has been detected. The kids accompany the Autobots to a forest. Hot Shot sends Jolt up to take a look around, and the Mini-Con soon spots a glint of light in the distance. Optimus orders that they move out, and Hot Shot transforms to vehicle mode, but, as Red Alert points out, they're going to have to walk. Optimus leaves his trailer behind with Sparkplug in charge.
Soon the Autobots are trudging through the forest with Hot Shot complaining loudly. He breaks out a buzzsaw to cut his way through, which earns a scolding from his companions. Carlos alerts them to a path ahead and, sure enough, there's a wide path clear of trees. As they drive along, Rad tells the others that the trail was cut by illegal loggers and delivers a lecture on the importance of plants to Earth's biosphere.
Elsewhere, the Decepticons are also heading towards the Mini-Con, and, of course, bickering. Starscream is determined to get the Mini-Con himself, having missed out on the one in Antarctica.
The Autobots abruptly halt as a tree falls across their path, and they find themselves face-to-face with the Decepticons. Although the Decepticons open fire, Optimus is concerned for the trees' welfare and orders his men not to fire back unless they have a clear shot. Starscream and Cyclonus transform for an aerial attack and end up getting in each other's way. Cyclonus's missile then touches down amongst the trees, where it starts a fire. The alarmed kids begin shooing forest animals away from the blaze and are only saved from a falling tree by Optimus. At Rad's urging, Optimus orders the Autobots to fall back to contain the fire. The surprised Decepticons resume their search for the Mini-Con.
The Autobots fight the fire, but the kids observe that it's a losing battle, and they need water to put it out. Rad sends Laserbeak out, and the tiny Autobot soon locates a nearby lake. Red Alert says they can use Prime's trailer, so Optimus contacts Sparkplug and gets the Mini-Con to bring the trailer to them.
Meanwhile, the Decepticons have located the Mini-Con panel in a huge old tree. Although Starscream asks for it, Megatron denies his request and claims it himself. Starscream doesn't dare to argue further, but he has a plan of his own.
Having hooked up the pipes, the Mini-Cons begin putting out the fire, and Rad lets Optimus know the Autobots can go on and stop the Decepticons. The three Autobots interrupt their foe attempting to cut down the tree the Mini-Con is perched in, and both sides clash. Starscream winds up with no enemy to fight and seizes his chance. While the other three Decepticons are busy, Starscream slices the tree with his sword and snatches the Mini-Con panel. Hurrah! He has a partner at last! Megatron only grits his teeth as Starscream gloats over his acquisition, revealing the Mini-Con Swindle.
After zipping among the trees, Swindle merges with Starscream, unlocking two Null laser cannons on his shoulders. Starscream decides to demonstrate his new extraordinary power immediately. The single blast from the cannons sends both the Autobots and Decepticons flying and creates a vast crater. Promising Starscream will pay, a none-too-pleased Megatron orders a retreat. Before following his chief to warp gate, Starscream warns the 'Bots that they mustn't take their eyes off him from now on. Optimus Prime figures he's right.
While the Autobots are standing around shell-shocked, the kids run up with the news that they've put the fire out. Although Rad suggests perhaps they should have left the fire and helped the Autobots obtain the Mini-Con, Optimus assured him that they did the right thing.
Back on the Moon, the Decepticons try their training simulation again, and Starscream uses his new laser cannons to obliterate the Autobot forces. He begins to wonder if he's stronger than Megatron himself. Megatron has a somewhat different opinion on the matter.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Mini-Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"Megatron, please! I promise to do better if you let me have the next Mini-Con!"
"I think he's gonna start to cry! Hahahaha!"
- —Starscream and Cyclonus bickering like schoolchildren.
"You know, I really wish people would understand that the future of the human race depends on what we do to protect the environment today."
- —Rad auditions for a new series of Captain Planet.
"Nothing, I was just talking to myself."
"Keep talkin', cause no one else is listening to you anymore."
- —Starscream and Demolishor bickering like schoolchildren.
"We came for the Mini-Con."
"Not if you're going to use it for evil purposes!"
- —Demolishor and Optimus, raising the question, "What if the Decepticons promised to use it strictly for good purposes?"
"I'll show them how it's done!"
"Outta my way!"
"Cyclonus!"
"You're out of your league! Stand back and let a pro show you how to do some real destruction!"
"You're blocking my target!"
- —Starscream and Cyclonus still bickering.
"Oh my, it's so easy! I must be the most powerful Decepticon in the universe! Even more powerful than Megatron! Hahahahaha!"
"Oh, we'll just see about that, Starscream."
- —Starscream, with delusions of grandeur, and Megatron.
Notes
Differences with Legends of the Microns
- The strategy the Decepticons employ during their training exercise is described as "Megatron's orders" by Starscream in Armada. In Legends of the Microns, it's a pre-existing tactic out of the Decepticon playbook. Thus, when the exercise fails, Legends of the Microns has Starscream protest Megatron's criticisms of the strategy by explaining this. In Armada, he instead blames Demolishor and Cyclonus for not covering him (since he'd be pretty unwise to call Megatron out on a bad strategy to his face).
- In Legends of the Microns, Starscream doesn't say anything after being shot down during the training exercise.
- After Megatron cuts off Starscream's attempt to argue over the training exercise's outcome, Cyclonus's quip about Starscream's lack of a Mini-Con subtly differs between versions. In Legends of the Microns, he observes that Starscream's poor performance is why he hasn't yet obtained a Mini-Con for himself. In Armada, on the other hand, Cyclonus points out that it's Starscream's lack of a Mini-Con that results in his failures.
- Armada has Starscream beg Megatron to let him have the next Mini-Con they capture; instead of begging, Legends of the Microns has Starscream asks Megatron why the Decepticon leader hasn't given him a Mini-Con yet.
- As they're checking out the supplies Rad brought in Armada, Carlos is excited about possibly going on a camping trip while Alexis hopes that Rad packed bug spray. Legends of the Microns changes their lines to Carlos calling Rad's "outdoor-survival" supplies "nifty," and Alexis reminding the boys they are not playing around.
- Rad's introductory narration in Legends of the Microns is about how the kids are still gradually coming to understand the Autobots, with them being robots as the only thing the kids have begun to grasp at this point. Armada makes it more lighthearted as Rad says the kids are about to go on an unforgettable adventure, and that the camping gear he's gathered is "about to come in handy," foreshadowing the episode's "outdoorsy" nature.
- In Legend of the Microns, Red Alert says Jetstorm's Mini-Con panel is still dormant because a protective program locks it. In Armada, he says the data is protected instead.
- Armada adds Red Alert's line about locking into the panel's coordinates.
- In Armada, Alexis tells Carlos that one can't find tigers or panthers in a forest; Carlos says he already knows that and was testing her and Rad, and Optimus tells them to calm down before transforming into robot mode. The dialogue is slightly different in Legends of the Microns. Carlos says he doesn't imagine there being any leopards or tigers, and Alexis tells Carlos to pull himself together. Then Carlos says, "That why I said I didn't imagine there would be!" and instead, Optimus laughs before transforming.
- Instead of asking Optimus which way they should go and complaining about how the forest isn't a freeway, Hot Shot says to wait a sec and that he wants to go but can't race in the woods.
- Legends of the Microns changes the children's dialogue about Sparkplug tasked to watch Optimus's trailer. Rad relays how the Mini-Con says it's OK to leave the trailer with him, Carlos says Sparkplug seems ready for the job, and Alexis says they should get going.
- In Armada, after Rad stops Hot Shot from cutting down any trees, Hot Shot says the trees keep getting in his way, Red Alert tells him to be respectful since they're guests on Earth, and Alexis tells Hot Shot that walking will be worth it. Legends of the Microns changes it slightly so that the environmental message isn't the focal point. Hot Shot doesn't sound insensitive, but Red Alert now teases him for not being able to handle the forest, and Alexis says to Hot Shot that the kids understand how he feels.
- When the "path" Carlos happens upon turns out to be an area of forest cut down by loggers, Legends of the Microns has him realize he was wrong and that it's not a path. Armada treats it like he's right.
- Armada has Red Alert say the so-called "path" leads towards the Mini-Con panel. Legends of the Microns has him say how there seem to be no problems in its direction.
- After this, during the shot closing in on Rad, it's silent in Legends of the Microns while Armada adds a bit of music from the short version of the episode bumper.
- Once the kids are in Optimus's cab, and Rad explains to the others that the path is the product of illegal cutting, Armada speeds up the pan from Alexis and Carlos to Rad. The scene remains the same length, though, because Armada holds on a still frame of Rad after the pan, where Legends of the Microns doesn't and immediately cuts to the next scene.
- As the Decepticons search for the panel, Legends of the Microns has Demolishor assure Megatron that his Mini-Con, Blackout, has the best tracking ability of any of their partners and will easily find it. This claim leads to Starscream making a wisecrack about how Blackout is more competent than his master, and Demolishor calling Starscream a nitpicking coward. Armada warps this into Demolishor boastfully claiming to have "programmed the tracker" himself, removing all mention of Blackout, and turning Starscream's remark into a dig about Demolishor's overconfidence in his abilities. Then Demolishor tells Starscream to keep talking since no one is listening to him anymore.
- When Starscream and Demolishor snarl at one another after the above exchange, the angle switches to focus on Blackout as the Decepticons' voices quarrel off-screen. In Legends of the Microns, Cyclonus is heard egging the two on to fight before Megatron silences them. The English dub heinously misinterprets this scene; the scriptwriter failed to understand the exchange was coming from off-screen and wrote the English version as if Blackout was Cyclonus, his dialogue emanating from the Mini-Con and relating to his movements. Meanwhile, Megatron is silent in the Armada dub.
- Continuing from this, Armada has Blackout (er, "Cyclonus") detect the Mini-Con panel, but per Legends of the Microns, what he identifies is the Autobots' presence. The Decepticons' reactionary dialogue differs appropriately between versions, but Starscream's internal monologue about getting the Mini-Con first is the same.
- Before giving the order to open fire on the Autobots, Armada Megatron tells Optimus that what the Decepticons do with the Mini-Cons is none of his business. Legends of the Microns changes this to Megatron threatening to shut Prime's mouth for good, which is strange since Optimus doesn't have a mouth.
- Armada has Cyclonus telling Starscream to check if his warranty is expired while Starscream threatens to give Cyclonus "an overhaul he'll never forget." Legends of the Microns changes their lines to Cyclonus telling Starscream not to drag his feet, and Starscream demanding Cyclonus to stay out of his way.
- Rather than saying the safety of the forest wildlife taking priority, in Legends of the Microns, Optimus says that maintaining peace is about more than just fighting enemies, and dealing with the fire is simply another battle in itself.
- For some reason, the lake is referred to as a river in Legends of the Microns.
- Both versions play different music during the scene of the trailer opening.
- Megatron doesn't say his line about seeing the Mini-Con panel until the close-up shot of it in the tree in Legends of the Microns.
- Armada has Megatron declare he should have the new Mini-Con to further boost his power "for the benefit of the Decepticons," and Starscream reminds him that Megatron promised him the next Mini-Con. In Legends of the Microns, Megatron says he can use the Mini-Con to enhance his abilities better than Starscream can, and Starscream reminds Megatron that he said he could have the Mini-Con if he used his strength to get it.
- Megatron tells Optimus he will do whatever he wants with the Mini-Cons with Prime unable to stop him in Armada, but Legends of the Microns makes Megatron's answer more egotistical as he says, "All of the Microns exist only for me!"
- Armada removes Megatron cursing Starscream after the latter claims the Mini-Con.
- In Armada, after Starscream unleashes the Null Laser Cannon for the first time and revels in his increased power, Optimus says the Decepticon is "out of control." In Legends of the Microns, the Autobot leader instead remarks how Starscream is now powerful.
- Armada removes Cyclonus saying "Damn!" as the Decepticons retreat.
- The beginning of the ending dialogue between Rad and Optimus has some differences, but the overall conversation is the same. In Armada, Rad believes the Autobots would've gotten the Mini-Con if the kids left the fire and helped them instead, but Optimus says the kids made the right choice in taking over for the Autobots when it came to the fire. In Legends of the Microns, Rad attributes the Autobots' failure to what the children said earlier about the environment. Prime assures Rad the fire wasn't the boy's responsibility since the Autobots chose to put it out willingly.
- In his ending narration, Rad explains how this adventure led the kids to realize the Autobots are, like humans, beings capable of compassion for other living creatures and aren't just machines. In Armada, Rad's narration is similar to the Japanese dub's; however, he only refers to himself. It also mostly connects to the episode's overall environmental message, so the English version doesn't tie into the first narration at all.
- In the closing Decepticon training exercise, the music used differs between versions, and Legends of the Microns replaces Starscream saying the Armada stock phrase "Transform and combine!" with Starscream calling for Swindle.
- Megatron curses Starscream while watching him laugh maniacally on the monitor.
- In a general sense, the Armada version of this episode comes off as being somewhat at odds with the previous episodes, in which Megatron berated Starscream for still not acquiring his own Mini-Con, only for him to spend this episode attempting to take the Mini-Con that Starscream wants, and being angry when Starscream gets it. This isn't so conflicting in Legends of the Microns, since rather than merely criticizing him, previous episodes have shown Megatron encouraging Starscream to acquire a Mini-Con using his own strength, rather than settling for having one handed to him. It seems part of that encouragement is that Megatron is not going to stand aside for Starscream.
Animation and technical errors
- The Armada version of this episode has the Autobots awkwardly refer to Prime's trailer as a "container." This error is a product of some careless transliteration; in Japan, the English word "container" (コンテナ kontena) refers to truck trailers, and the Armada dub carried this word over from Legends of the Microns without thinking to change it for better cultural context.
- In the shot of Optimus in truck mode just before Rad tells the others about the dangers of deforestation, Prime's forearms are colored red instead of blue.
- In some scenes, the whites of Carlos's eyes are visible.
- In a few shots, the raised spots on Starscream's arms have the Decepticon symbol.
- In the shot of Hot Show driving into the tree, the area around his headlights is miscolored yellow instead of light gray.
Continuity errors
- It would've made sense for this episode to be named "Forest" instead.
- In his opening narration, Rad says the camping gear would become useful during the mission, but it ends up serving no purpose in the episode at all. Plus, he says the kids are going on an adventure they'd never forget; however, anyone can easily apply this sentiment to the previous two episodes. Maybe he's generally speaking, but if not, then what makes this one so unique in comparison?
- In the original broadcast version of this episode, when Optimus orders Sparkplug to remain with his trailer, the error from "Comrade" is repeated as he refers to his Mini-Con as "Leader-1." This error was corrected by the time the episode was released on DVD, but the second instance of the mistake, delivered by Red Alert when Sparkplug brings Optimus's trailer, goes unfixed. Throughout the rest of the episode, characters refer to Sparkplug with the correct name.
- Red Alert says the fire continues to spread fast, but they will be fine when Sparkplug arrives, mistakenly referring to him as Leader-1. Legends of the Microns removes the reference to Sparkplug, and instead, Red Alert says the open space is ready for the trailer's arrival.
Trivia
- The kanji 保護 could be pronounced as either "hogo" or "hougo," while "mamori" is used for the kanji 守り or 護り (the former kanji is seen more often).
- According to Carlos in the Japanese dub, "outdoor life" is Rad's hobby.
Foreign localization
German
- Title: "Feuer im Dschungel" ("Fire in the Jungle")
- Original airdate: 8 December 2003
Hungarian
- Title: "Erdőtűz" ("Forest Fire")
- In the scene in which Prime calls for his trailer, Prime once refers to Sparkplug by Grindor's name (Daráló).
Polish
- Title: "Dżungla" ("Jungle")
French
- Title: "La forêt en feu" ("The Burning Forest")
Korean
- Title: "수호자 옵티머스" ("Guardian Optimus")
Portuguese
- Title: "Selva" ("Jungle")
Home video releases
- DVD
2003 — Transformers: Legends of the Microns — Volume 2 (Columbia Music Entertainment) — Japanese audio only.
2003 — Transformers: Armada — Vol:02 (Universal)
2003 — Transformers: Armada — Vol:02 (Warner Music Video)
2004 — Transformers: Armada — Power of the Mini-Cons (Rhino Entertainment)
2004 — Transformers: Armada — Season One: Part One (Rhino Entertainment)
2004 — Transformers: Armada — Volume 2 (TFou Vidéo) — French audio only.
2005 — Transformers: Armada — Triple Collection (Universal)
2008 — Transformers: Armada — Bumper Double DVD Collection (Universal)
2008 — Transformers: Armada — Volume One (New KSM) — English and German audio.
2014 — Transformers: Armada — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)
2014 — Transformers: Armada — Volume One (Shout! Factory)
