Go! Go! issue 33
From MediaWiki
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| Publisher | Kodansha | ||||||||||||
| Published in | TV Magazine | ||||||||||||
| First published | January 15, 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Manga | Haruka Oda | ||||||||||||
| Editor | Minoko | ||||||||||||
The Autobots start the year off with a bang!
Synopsis
[edit]As the Autobots ring in the new year, Optimus Prime asks his troops if they have any New Year's resolutions while Wheeljack oversees the fireworks. Bumblebee pledges to continue growing stronger in body and mind to live up to the person he admires most (Prime himself! Daw.) Optimus renews his vow to safeguard peace across the universe, noting it's something he can only hope to accomplish with his friends. The mushy stuff sorted, Wheeljack moves to set off his largest firework of all. Before anyone can stop him, he vaporizes the roof of the Ark in an explosion visible for miles around!
Featured characters
[edit](Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
Notes
[edit]- This story was published as the January 2024 issue of the web comic and advertised the Studio Series Rise of the Beasts Optimus Prime and Bumblebee figures, as well as Studio Series Bumblebee Wheeljack and the first collected edition of Go! Go!.
Transformers references
[edit]- This issue gives us our first look at the complete exterior of the Autobot base. Unsurprisingly, it is the traditional Ark spaceship in which the Autobots travel to Earth in many a Generation 1 continuity, albeit parked perfectly intact (until today at least) as opposed to the usual crash landing.
- Also unsurprisingly, Oda maintains her penchant for toy accuracy here, rendering the Ark after its War for Cybertron: Kingdom figure as denoted by that toy's characteristic gunmetal accents. That said, don't expect the ship to stand up any time soon.
Real-world references
[edit]- Doubling as the 2024 New Year's special, this issue references a litany of Japanese and pan-Asian New Year's traditions:
- The title card depicts Bumblebee perched on a traditional Chinese dragon, reflecting 2024's placement on the Chinese zodiac.
- Optimus wields a type of culinary mallet known as a kine (杵) that is used with the mortar usu (臼) to tradionally prepare kagami mochi (鏡餅).
- Oda gets a little abstract on us as Bee, his hand fan, the dragon, and the big honkin' daidai the dragon is holding combine to approximate the shape of a kagami mochi decoration.
- Grimlock sports a lion dancer costume, a mainstay in celebrations of the Lunar New Year in China and East Asia at large.
- Jazz meanwhile plays the part of a taiko drummer, a musical tradition common to many a Japanese ceremony.
- The turtle and red-crowned crane are common symbols of longevity, immortality, and good luck in many East Asian countries, so their inclusion is wishing for a long and prosperous healthy life in the new year.
- In the panel of Wheeljack revealing his giant firecracker, Jazz is seen clapping his hands and a text box of "Rounding off!" above him. What Jazz is doing is a form of tejime 手締め, also known as teuchi (手打ち), a Japanese custom of rhythmic hand clapping — the original Japanese text in the box says 一丁締め iccho-jime, which is a one-clap version commonly used to close out special events.
