Transformers: Galaxy Force (manga)

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Revision as of 03:05, 5 August 2025 by Lonegamer78 (talk | contribs) (Adding Fukkan's release of the complete edition.)
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Unicron Trilogy continuity family
« Cybertron
Transformers Galaxy Force

Volume 1 of 1. Complete the set, kids!
Transformers Galaxy Force Volume 1
Publisher Kodansha (2005 printing);
Fukkan Dot Com (2025 printing)
First published August 5, 2005 (Kodansha);
August 2025 (Fukkan)
Written by Yoshihiro Iwamoto
Art by Yoshihiro Iwamoto
Continuity Unicron Trilogy
ISBN ISBN 4063320308 (Kodansha)

ISBN 978-4063320305 (Kodansha);
ISBN 4835459679 (Fukkan),
ISBN 978-4835459677 (Fukkan)

Page count 189 (Kodansha);
284 (Fukkan)
Price 390 yen (Kodansha);
2,970 yen (Fukkan)

The Transformers: Galaxy Force manga, written and drawn by Yoshihiro Iwamoto, ran for nine issues from February 2005 to October 2005 in the pages of Comic BomBom when the Galaxy Force cartoon was on air. The series is not drastically different from the cartoon, hitting all the same major storytelling beats, albeit in a more truncated form.

The series appears to have been intended to run to twelve issues, but with Galaxy Force not performing well in Japan, it was canceled after only nine installments. The manga ended with Optimus Prime and Wing Saber combining and defeating the super-powered Starscream, leaving the stories of Gigantion, Planet X and the concluding battle of the series untold. Iwamoto was, at least, given enough lead-in time for the final issue to end it with a double-page spread hinting at all the challenges that lay ahead, providing a dramatic "open" ending to the strip. BomBom itself did not have much life left in it thereafter, and the magazine was retired a scant two years later.[1]

The first six issues of the manga were collected in a graphic novel along with a whimsical "Mission 0" which acted as a "making of" extra. Alas, the collection was published only one month before the cancellation of the manga, meaning that the final three chapters were not included within its pages. Iwamoto later noted that too much of the pre-publishing work for the volume had been completed when the cancellation was announced, and the plans could not be changed.[2] Naturally, this made these last three uncollected chapters somewhat rare amongst Japanese collectors, and even rarer amongst Western ones.

On June 16, 2025, Japanese publisher Fukkan Dot Com announced that they will be releasing a complete edition of the manga in August 2025, which will include the last three chapters that were never included in the original tankōbon previously released in 2005.[3] Early copies will include a special colored illustration card exclusive to Fukkan showcasing all five Convoys - Galaxy Convoy, Flame Convoy, Nitro Convoy, Live Convoy, and Megalo Convoy.[4]

Chapters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Notes

  • The "Mission #" headers and the actual chapter titles were absent from the original Comic BomBom printings and retroactively added to the graphic novel collection. Because Missions 7-9 were never collected, they lack chapter titles. For the purposes of this wiki, the articles have been titled "Galaxy Force Mission 7-9".
  • Iwamoto specifically points out Megalo Convoy in the special Fukkan-exclusive illustration card for their manga version, whose only appearance was a silhouette in the final chapter due to the timing of the original serialization.[5]

References

  1. Ganken blog entry of July 17, 2007 checking from Yahoo!Japan News
  2. Blog entry of September 7, 2005 from Iwamoto's blog Ganken
  3. "#コミックボンボン に連載され、今年20周年を迎える『トランスフォーマー ギャラクシーフォース』。魂の少年マンガ家・ #岩本佳浩 の手による名作コミカライズを、単行本未収録だった最終3話まで収録したコンプリート仕様で刊行。先着で新装版のカバー用原画を基にした、特製イラストカードをプレゼント! お早めにお買い求めください!"—fukkan_com, Twitter, 2025/06/16
  4. "「復刊ドットコム」限定特典・特製イラストカードの絵柄はこちら! 5大コンボイ勢ぞろいのレアな構図に岩本先生のサインをあしらい、A5サイズのカードとしてお届けします。こちらは先着特典ですので、ぜひお早めのご確認をお願いします!!"—fukkan_editors, Twitter, 2025/08/04
  5. "その中でメガロコンボイだけは連載の都合で最終回最終ページにシルエット的に登場しただけでした。"—Iwamoto Yoshihiro, note, "『トラスフォーマーギャラクシーフォース』復刊近し!", 2025/08/04