Ginrai (human)
| This article is about the American trucker. For the Nebulan scientist who is sometimes called Hi-Q, see Hi-Q. |
- Ginrai is a human and Autobot Godmaster in the Masterforce portion of Generation 1 continuity family.
"Hair this perfect doesn't just happen!"
Born in Nagano, Japan, Ginrai found the country's atmosphere stifling for most his early life, and left for the United States at age seventeen to find himself. He took a job as a long-haul truck driver for Union Transportation, which offered him the freedom and solitude of the open road. His easy-going personality earned him many friends amongst his "brothers" in the trucker fraternity.
RTM dub name: Optimus Prime
Fiction
Masterforce animated series
- Voice actor: Hiroshi Takemura (Japanese)
The story that would bring Ginrai into contact with the Transformers began an indeterminate number of years ago, when the super-energy alien being and self-styled "Decepticon god" Devil Z stole several Transtectors - including one intended to be used by the legendary Autobot leader [[Optimus Prime - from an area of space known as the G Nebula. Already filled with the Tenchokon of the nebula, the Transtectors were then scattered across the Earth by Devil Z, that they might absorb the planet's Chichokon. Devil Z planned to have human beings bond to the Transtectors, adding their inherent Jinchokon to the equation, thereby creating a new super-robotic lifeform - Godmasters.
Through undivulged circumstances, the Transtector intended for Prime assumed the form of a red tractor trailer cab, and came to rest in a small garage in California. The unwitting garage owner rented the cab to several truckers, but always found it returned early, with complaints of unusual, even supernatural, incidents.
Two years after coming to America, Ginrai happened to be transporting an ill dolphin to the Ocean Research Institue of California, run - unbeknownst to him - by the Autobot Pretender Diver. Destiny stepped in when Ginrai's truck broke down on the way, and he pulled in at this very garage, where the owner rented him the Transtector to complete his delivery. In the glove box of the cab, he discovered a pair of Master-Braces and slipped them on his wrists, only to discover that he was unable to remove them. When Diver laid eyes upon the bracelets, he recognised the basic design of them, and insisted that Ginrai take him back to the garage where he had found the truck. On the way, however, they were attacked by the Decepticon Godmaster brothers Hydra and Buster, who forced the truck off a cliff. Accidentally touching the bracelets as he attempted to escape the crushed cab, Ginrai was infused with the Masterforce and a suit of armor materialised around him, healing both himself and the Transtector, as they combined and transformed. Now a Godmaster himself, Ginrai saw the shocked Decepticon off. MF ep 10
Ginrai was at first unsure of what to make of his new powers, and was not entirely keen on joining the Autobots, as the notion of operating as part of a command structure, and being tied down to a specific place ran directly counter to his desire for freedom in his life. Although he promised to aid them when necessary "for the sake of the world" - a mantra that he admitted he had a weakness for - he soon bore witness to the true evil of the Decepticons when Hydra and Buster killed several of his fellow truckers while searching for him. Ginrai was still, however, not entirely willing to join the Autobots, but fate kept on pushing him to do so - he soon suffered a prophetic dream, after which he discovered three more pairs of Master-Braces in his Transtector, indicating the presence of more Godmasters on Earth.
When Ginrai brought the bracelets to Japan for study at the Autobot base, events began to escalate as Transtector activated on its own, transporting Ginrai to his birthplace of Nagano, or more specifically, a construction site at the base of Mount Yatsugatake there. Blasting for a tunnel through the mountain had been blocked by a mysterious object, which proved to be a trailer for Ginrai's truck, which burst from the tunnel during another battle with Buster and Hydra. Later still, the two brothers lured Ginrai into a public battle that they might blame the conflict on him, and turn public opinion against the Autobots; the plan was failed, but a friend of Ginrai's offered the suggestion that his becoming a Godmaster was the will of God himself.
Not long thereafter, in a battle with King Poseidon, Ginrai discovered that his cab and trailer were capable of performing a "Double On," merging together to create the super-robot, "Super Ginrai." Additionally, after appearing on TV in hopes of locating the remaining three Godmasters, to whom he would give the Master-Braces, Ginrai successfully located Lightfoot, Ranger and Road King, and recruited them to the Autobot side. With this success, the Autobot leader Metalhawk stepped down as commander and requested that Ginrai take his place. After some deliberation, and much hassling from the other Autobot Pretenders, who wouldn't let him say no, Ginrai accepted.
When Grand Maximus arrived on Earth to inform Ginrai's Autobots of the impending arrival of the Decepticon super-weapon, BlackZarak, he provided them with the schematics necessary to create the drone, Godbomber. Metalhawk and the Pretenders raced to finish the construction of Godbomber, but as the so-called "Bomber Project" neared completion, Ginrai was lured into the desert by a disguised Buster and Hydra (under the auspices of performing some stunt driving for a movie), and was attacked and resoundingly defeated by the Decepticon Ambassador of Destruction, Overlord. Following a failed attack on the Bomber Project facility, the barely-healed Ginrai insisted upon taking the fight to the Decepticons, combining with the completed Godbomber to form "God Ginrai." In his new form, Ginrai confroned Overlord and BlackZarak on the moon, where he fully embraced his role as protector of Earth, and defeated the Decepticons with the aid of Grand Maximus.
Some time later, BlackZarak was able to return to Earth and merge with Devil Z, forcing the Autobots into a series of battle to protect countries all around the Earth. Tracking the villains to the Matterhorn, God Ginrai was forced into a final battle with the hybrid entity atop the mountain and succeeded in decapitating the villain, but BlackZarak then assumed a new hydra alternate mode, which God Ginrai destroyed with his God Fire Guts attack. His powers boosted by the Headmaster Juniors God Ginrai then executed the almighty Final Fire Guts attack, destroying Devil Z.
With Devil Z's death, the bonding between Transtector and human that he had engineered ceased to exist, and Ginrai and the other humans were separated from their Transtectors. The Transtectors, however, had been evolved through their partnership with the humans, and continued to exist as true super-robot life forms. Having imprinted his human partner's personality, Ginrai's Transtector departed for space to pursue the surviving Decepticons and rejoin the greater war.
Masterforce manga
The Masterforce manga forgoes re-telling Ginrai's origins, simply indicating that he exists, then introducing him in the midst of a battle with Buster and Hydra. Similarly, the other Autobot Godmasters are introduced in such a manner, although here, their creation comes before Ginrai's acquisition of his trailer, and they present it to him at an opportune moment. The most notable moment for Ginrai in the manga comes when he and the Autobots are taken to the planet Athenia by the Trainbots, and Ginrai succeeds Fortress as Supreme Commander of the Autobots, a rank there is no indication he attains in the anime.
Victory animated series
The Ginrai Transtector - now having taken its human partner's name as its own, becoming known as Ginrai itself - joined with the Autobot forces in space, where he became good friends with Star Saber and his adopted human son, Jan Minakaze. Before long, Star Saber was appointed Supreme Commander of the Autobots, while Ginrai became commander of the Defense Force for Space Sector Two. Operating out of a base in the G Nebula, Ginrai's time was occupied battling the Decepticon forces under Overlord's control, so much so that Star Saber occasionally had to respond to emergencies in Sector Two, such as a Breastforce attack on planet Micro.
Feeling guilty over taking up Star Saber's time in such a manner, Ginrai was quick to come to his aid when he was lured into a trap on Earth by Decepticon Emperor of Destruction Deathsaurus. Confronting Deathsaurus in battle, Ginrai was struck by a blast from the villain's Living-Metal-Destroying Cannon and badly damaged. Despite the best medical efforts of Perceptor and Wheeljack, Ginrai's body was left useless and immobile. Due to a slip by Perceptor, however, he learned of the existence of a reconstruction process conceived by Star Saber that would allow him to become a power-up for the Autobot leader. Star Saber refused to allow him to submit to the process, revolted at the notion of using his close friend's body in such a way, but Ginrai insisted. Perceptor and Wheeljack brought his life functions to an end, and then restored him to Star Saber's specifications as Victory Leo.
An unfortunate side-effect of the process left Victory Leo's mind and body unbalanced - immediately after his transformation, he began to run wild in his lion mode, displaying a more wild, feral nature than God Ginrai ever had, leaving Jan dismayed at the apparent loss of the being he had considered his friend. When Jan was trapped in a collapsed building as Victory Leo battled the Breastforce, however, his pleas for help reached Victory Leo, and some measure of balance returned to his mind, leading him to rescue Jan.
When Dearthsaurus threatened the Earth with orbital missile strikes if the Autobots interfered in the Decepticons' energy-gathering raids, Victory Leo had to be forcibly held back by the Brainmasters to prevent him from attacking their enemies and dooming the planet. Star Saber came to the rescue with a new unification circuit implanted within his body - with this new component, he and Victory Leo could combine their bodies into Victory Saber. In the form of a combined jet, Victory Saber soared into space at a faster rate than Deszaras had predicted, and then in their combined robot form, destroyed the satellite controlling the missiles.
Despite his proven battle prowess, Victory Leo was still not entirely the being Ginrai had been, retaining a more violent, short-tempered personality which sometimes brought him into conflict with the other Autobots, who, in turn, did not trust him as much as they had Ginrai. When Breastforce member Leozack impersonated Star Saber, Victory Leo realized that something was wrong, but none of his team-mates believed him. Even when Victory Leo tried to stop Leozack from taking Victory Saber's combination information, the Autobots thought he was a traitor, until the real Star Saber showed up and Leozack was exposed, gaining Victory Leo his comrades trust.
When Deathsaurus finally succeeded in reactivating his colossal planet-destroying battle fortress, Victory Leo and Star Saber combined into Victory Saber took to space to try and stop the deadly craft, only to be knocked out by its weapons and crashed, unonsciousness, on its surface. Recovering as it transformed into its "Destroyer Mode," Victory Saber attacked again but was confronted by Breastforce combiner Liokaiser. At the same time, Jan arrived in his mobile mech with information that could destroy the fortress, and Victory Saber separated so that Star Saber could follow him into the fortress; Victory Leo took on Liokaiser and defeated him by hurling him into the fortress's cannon barrel. Jan then succeeded in beginning the fortress's destruction, and Deszaras, defeated by Star Saber, set the craft on collision course with Earth. Forming Victory Saber once again, the two heroes successfully destroyed the fortress and saved the planet.
Victory manga
Decidedly far removed from the anime, the Victory manga offers no connection between Victory Leo and Ginrai, presenting Victory Leo as having been created by Jan's parents from the element grunium. Just as Star Saber had taken care of Jan, Victory Leo had been occupied in another part of the galaxy taking care of Jan's sister Patty.
Toys
Generation 1
- Super Ginrai (1988)
- Japanese ID number: C-307
- A remoulded version of the American Powermaster Optimus Prime figure, Ginrai is a red, blue and grey tractor trailer, only able to transform into robot mode when the small Ginrai human figure is put into engine mode and snapped into place in the truck's grill, unlocking the clasp that holds the legs in place. When the cab is in robot mode, the trailer can become a battle station; either robot or station can be armed with any of the toy's weapons, including two black guns and two grey double-barrelled "cannon craft," which can be piloted by the small Godmaster figures. The two components can be merged into "Super Ginrai", whose head is a separate piece, and could go on to combine with the separately-sold Godbomber to become God Ginrai.
- Differences between Powermaster Optimus Prime and Ginrai include a die-cast metal cab with translucent blue plastic windows, shortened smokestacks, a more metallic grey plastic, chrome on the Godmaster Ginrai engine, blue eyes for the small Ginrai robot and silver paint rather than stickers for the small robot's upper legs.
- God Ginrai (1988)
- Japanese ID number: C-310
- Super Ginrai was also sold in a giftset with Godbomber, who could disassemble his parts and combine with Super Ginrai to form God Ginrai. Godbomber's legs became boots, to which the Ginrai's grey cannons attached, his chest and wings formed a backpack, while his arms clipped over the top of Ginrai's own, and his back became a chromed chestplate, to the top of which the his spring-loaded "God Cannon" plugged.
- Victory Leo (1989)
- Japanese ID number: C-327
- Victory Leo transforms into a black, yellow and white winged lion robot, and also into a flying mode that's basically a block with wings sticking out of it. All three modes are dominated by the missile-firing V-Lock Rifle that rises from his back between his wings in alternate mode, or plugs into his hip in robot mode. The toy combines with Star Saber, sold separately, to become Victory Saber.
- Victory Saber (1989)
- Japanese ID number: C-328
- Victory Leo was also available into a giftset with Star Saber. Their individual flight modes could be combined by plugging Victory Leo into the rear of Star Saber, and Victory Leo could then be disassembled and connected to Star Saber's robot. His legs and chest compressed into a pair of "platform boots" that connected to the base of Star Saber's feet, which his other components formed a winged backpack that aimed his twin cannons over Star Saber's shoulders. In this mode, Victory Saber could also wield the V-Lock Rifle.
- God Ginrai (reissue) (2002)
- The God Ginrai giftset was reissued in Japan in 2002 with no notable changes. It was, however, notoriously over-produced, and retailers were still selling it some time later at greatly reduced prices.
- Fire Guts God Ginrai (eHobby exclusive, 2002)
- Released to coincide with the 2002 reissue, this redeco of the God Ginrai gifset cast the Autobot leader in reds and oranges, representing Ginrai using his "God Fire Guts" attack from the animated series. It was limited to 1600 pieces.
Robot Masters
- Victory Leo (2004)
- Japanese ID number: RM-16
- A smaller, simplified version of the Victory Leo toy, the Robot Masters version of the figure cuts out the flight mode and arms Victory Leo with a new yellow gun. It has stupid floppy legs.
- Victory Saber (2004)
- Japanese ID number: RM-17
- Victory Leo was also available into a two-pack with the Robot Masters version of Star Saber, with whom he could still combine to form Victory Saber, both jet and robot modes. The two figures in this pack featured a more metallic paint job than their standard releases.
- Victory Saber (eHobby exclusive, 2005)
- An "evil recolor" of the Victory Saber two-pack completed with Decepticon symbols, this black, purple, teal and bronze redeco represents the two heroes in "optical camouflage" paintjobs for use on an undercover mission to investigate Decepticon dealings in the Middle East black market.
Trivia
- The human Ginrai's appearance is designed after screen actor Ishihara Yūjirō.
