Credulous
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 Hi ho Sideways! | ||||||
| "Credulous" (Manshin [Ogori]) "Self-Conceit (Extravagance)" | ||||||
| Production code | TF: A-16 | |||||
| Production company | TV Tokyo, NAS | |||||
| Airdate | December 27, 2002 (English) 25 April 2003 (Japanese) | |||||
| Writer | Shōji Tonoike | |||||
| Director | Shigeki Hatayama, Satoru Kusuda | |||||
| Animation studio | Actas Inc. | |||||
| Continuity | Unicron Trilogy | |||||
During a battle over a new Mini-Con, Hot Shot and Sideways are accidentally teleported to the Decepticon moonbase. Will they be able to survive by depending on each other?
- Polish title: "Podstęp"
Synopsis
At another battle for a precious Mini-Con, the Autobots and the Decepticons face each other, with Scavenger suspiciously absent. When Sideways and Hot Shot press forward, Starscream retreats, while Cyclonus and Demolishor also unenthusiastic about the notion of going against the Star Saber. With all the Decepticons literally running away (having apparently forgotten their alt modes), Prime and Smokescreen look for the Mini-Con.
At the battlefield, Sideways announces he's found the Mini-Con, causing him to be rushed by Megatron who sits on the bike. Megatron is able to grasp the Mini-Con, but Sideways in turn holds onto Megatron. And Hot Shot uses his hyperdrive to grab on to Sideways. Together, the three are all caught in Megatron's teleportation back to the Decepticon base. Scavenger, who was apparently passively monitoring the fight from a distance, considers the teleportation "An interesting turn of events." Prime and Smokescreen are left to look for their partner.
On the Moon, Megatron is unable to awaken the Mini-Con; finding the panel to be a fake, he crushes it into dust. Then Sideways reveals (via a retroactive foreshadowing flashback) to Hot Shot that this was all part of his plan to get Hot Shot inside of the Decepticon base so that he might eliminate the Decepticons. Cyclonus and Demolishor arrive and Megatron orders the battle to begin again.
Scavenger returns to the damaged Decepticon base. Sideways and Hot Shot take cover in a hallway and the Decepticons lead the two Autobots outside, revealing that the Decepticon base is on the moon. The duo follow the Decepticons knowing that they might be heading into a trap. Megatron's disembodied voice taunts Hot Shot. Soon, the couple are surrounded by shadowy figures, and when Hot Shot attempts to plow through one of them to get clear, he sees that one the shadows is Optimus Prime. Or is it?
After attempting to converse with a suspiciously hostile Optimus, Sideways points out that the Optimus Hot Shot is talking to isn't actually Optimus at all but actually a clever ruse. The two take cover in a Moon hole and the two agree to split up to defeat the holographic doppelgangers.
Megatron meanwhile announces that whomever can claim the Star Saber from Hot Shot is allowed to keep it. Hot Shot and Sideways finish off the holograms and Hot Shot briefly hops on Sideways' bike mode as the Decepticons begin their attack. Hot Shot leaps off of Sideways, cutting off Cyclonus's rotor, and knocking over Demolishor as he lands, ready to duel Starscream.
Starscream gains the upper hand against the exhausted Hot Shot, but Megatron reveals that he's taken Sideways prisoner and is ransoming him for the Star Saber. Hot Shot is conflicted, but concedes that it's his duty to save Sideways and gives up the sword. Megatron releases Sideways, but before he can claim the Star Saber, Hot Shot verbally commands the three Mini-Cons to separate and return.
At that moment, Sideways changes sides, knocking the Star Saber away from Hot Shot to Starscream. Sideways changes his head and logo, and Hot Shot emotionally laments how he was easily deceived. Cyclonus and Demolishor literally kick Hot Shot while he's down. Starscream is about to kill Hot Shot to earn the Star Saber, but Scavenger arrives and suggest that Hot Shot has had enough.
Back at the Autobot base, the Autobots and kids have been anxiously waiting. While Carlos, Billy, and Fred believed that Hot Shot would easily defeat the Decepticons, the rest of the Autobots weren't so optimistic. However they were forced in a passive position as they were unaware of the location of the Decepticon base. When Hot Shot arrives in brutal shape and falls offline, Red Alert rushes to provide aid.
Starscream celebrates his new sword, gloating that he is undeniably the most powerful warrior in the universe. This causes an enraged Megatron to destroy the monitor he was watching Starscream upon, eliciting a laugh from Sideways.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Mini-Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
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Quotes
Megatron: "Where is Scavenger when you need him?"
Demolishor: "There's no sign of him anywhere, Megatron sir!"
Cyclonus: "Probably ran away with his tail between his legs."
Starscream: "I wouldn't put it past him."
Hot Shot: "Are you gonna have a tea party or fight?!?"
- —The Decepticons discuss Scavenger's absence from the battle.
Megatron: "I never issued any order to evacuate, you fool! Fire! Snap out of it, men! Strafe that Autobot!"
Demolishor: "We don't stand a chance against the same sword that inflicted so much damage on you!"
Cyclonus: "Ahh, give him a break. He's still licking his wounds from the last battle! Hee hee hee..."
Megatron: "Is absolutely everyone trying to undermine me? [laser blast from Sideways almost hits him] AHH!"
- —Megatron has leadership issues.
"I love that 'save the universe' stuff. Uh, I mean—way cool!"
- —Fred
"Meddling Matrix!"
- —Megatron, as he delivers a kick to Hot Shot's face
"Come on, Star Saber, it's time to shut down this user's past-due account!"
- —Lame computer metaphor courtesy of Hot Shot
"The sword's stayin' with me, pal. Now get your microprocessors out here!"
(laughs) "Want to play the hard way, do you? Well, suits me just fine. I'd love the chance to initialize your disc."
- —Hot Shot and Megatron compete with bad computer metaphors.
"Hyperdrive! Coming through! Drop or be dropped, scuzzy breath! [Charges at a hologram, which turns out to be Optimus. Laughs weakly.] Uh, Optimus! Heh heh, hope you didn't take it personally..."
- —Hot Shot
"This is officially gettin' freaky!"
- —Hot Shot, coming face to face with a hologram version of himself
"It was a trap. I can't believe I didn't realize it until now."
"Which is why you, of all bots, don't deserve to possess the sword."
- —Hot Shot and Megatron
Demolishor: "Still reeling from the shock of it all, are you, now? Why don't I help bring you back to reality!" [begins stomping and kicking Hot Shot]
Cyclonus: "I'd be glad to lend a hand!"
Megatron: "[laughs evilly] Give the Autobot some special Decepticon attention."
- —The Decepticons, after taking Hot Shot's sword away
Megatron: "...Do me a little favor: I need you to put that punk out of his misery!"
Starscream: "Yes, sir."
Scavenger: "Stop right there. There's no need to finish him off."
- —Scavenger hints at his true nature.
Notes
Differences with Micron Legend
Animation and/or technical glitches
- The quality of animation at the beginning of the episode is very poor, but suddenly improves after the scene at the Autobot base.
Continuity errors
- At the very beginning of the episode, the Decepticons diss Scavenger for not being in the battle, which is odd, given that he has been at the forefront of their battles in the past two episodes.
- Hot Shot reacts with surprise when finding that the Decepticon base is on the Moon, but the Autobots already worked that out back in "Metamorphosis".
- Despite his several references to getting the Star Saber "back," Starscream has never actually been shown to have possessed it at any point prior to this episode.
- After Hot Shot slices off Cyclonus's propeller, Cyclonus either reattaches it, grows a new one, or lucks into a continuity error.
Trivia
- Amazingly, the entire scene where Megatron and Sideways fight over the fake Mini-Con panel is animated with both characters in compromising positions, with both voice actors David Kaye and Paul Dobson making mostly grunting sounds, a dream come true to fangirls of both characters and actors.
- When Sideways reveals himself to Megatron, partially hidden by a cloud of dust, his dialogue is rather baffling. After Megatron claims that no-one humiliates him, Sideways says in his normal voice, "That's not what I've been hearing!" Immediately after, however, he repeats this line, in a higher-pitched, dumber-sounding voice, as if he was mockingly repeating the sentence (which would mean he was... mocking himself?). Immediately thereafter, Crosswise appears from off-screen and becomes his Decepticon head. Any significance this may have between Sideways and his Mini-Cons is unclear. The line was not present in the Japanese version of the episode. In another scene, Sideways in vehicle mode speaks normally even though his rider is absent.
- This episode showcases narration from Alexis, rather than the normal narration from Rad.
- Credulous is a big word for a children's show. It's good to see the English language pushed along with selling toys.
- Cyclonus uses his rotors to fly whilst on the Moon. HELICOPTERS DO NOT WORK THAT WAY.
Home video releases
- DVD
2003 — Transformers: Micron Legend — Volume 4 (Columbia Music Entertainment) — Japanese audio only.
2004 — Transformers: Armada — Season One: Part One (Rhino Entertainment)
2008 — Transformers: Armada — Volume One (New KSM) — English and German audio.
