Transformers Generations (guidebook)
| The name or term "Generations" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Generations (disambiguation). |
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| Transformers Generations Transformers Generations Deluxe | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Keibunsha (first printing) Million Publishing (Deluxe) | ||||||||||||
| First published | July 2001 (first printing) March 25 2004 (Deluxe) | ||||||||||||
| ISBN | ISBN 4766938003 ISBN 978-4766938005 (first printing) ISBN 4813010946 ISBN 978-4813010944 (Deluxe) | ||||||||||||
| Page count | 143 (first printing) 159 (Deluxe) | ||||||||||||
Published in July 2001, Transformers Generations (トランスフォーマー ジェネレーション) is a Japanese-exclusive book featuring a wealth of information on Generation 1, Generation 2 and Machine Wars, including product photos of all Transformers toys released in Japan, Europe, and the United States during the original releases of these generations.
Content
The main selling point is the book's exhaustive photography of the entire Generation 1 and Generation 2 toylines. Including not only all American releases (which were mostly all also released in Japan), the guide includes all Japanese-exclusive toys from Japanese-only lines such as Super-God Masterforce, Victory, and Zone.
In fact, the book is somewhat American-centric, despite being created for the Japanese market. Product lines are listed by year, and present American assortments with Japanese exclusive characters in separate "Japan" sections by year. The only English texts in the book are character names and designated function titles, subtitled below the Japanese heading. European/Australasian-exclusive releases are also featured in similarly separate "EU" sections, by year.
Small sections on additional items are dotted randomly throughout the book, covering oddities, rarities, unreleased items, and unused concepts, such as:
- Bumper
- "Dropshot"
- An unreleased Godbomber prototype
- Block Town
- The Super Hybrid Models
- The unreleased Generation 2 ATB Megatron and Laser Cycles
- Promo items like Mini-Spies, Powerdashers, and Decoys
- The BotCon exclusives from the period, such as Generation 2 Breakdown and Nightracer
...and lots more. Separating the sections on 1986 and 1987 is a page of unused design concepts, featuring items such as a fire-truck version of Rodimus Prime in the style of Powermaster Optimus Prime, a Scramble City-style dinosaur combiner, and the famous Chromedome-as-Headmaster-Arcee repaint.
Were it not entirely in Japanese, this book would surely be the definitive toy guide to pre-Beast Era toys. Even so, it's a contender, being far more exhaustive (albeit less detail-oriented) than the next best English-language equivalent, Antarctic Press's Cybertronian: The Unofficial Transformers Recognition Guide.
After the toy guide section of the book ends, the book includes a gallery of Japanese-market promotional art, including images from sources such as TV Magazine. Following this, the paper stock switches from glossy color-printed to uncoated black and white for the remainder of the book; the black-and-white section begins with a gallery of character model sheets featuring most of the model fronts from the Transformers cartoon, including the Japanese-exclusive anime series Headmasters, Masterforce, Victory, and the Zone OVA. Most of the Studio OX model sheets are also featured, as well as designs for manga such as "The Battlestars".
Finally, the book closes with a selection of primarily-text features (Japanese, of course); features on Beastformers and Transformers PD Type, an interview with Masumi Kaneda, an article on the TV Magazine manga, a full listing (with English titles and artist credits) for the American and British Generation 1 and Generation 2 comics, a multi-page table listing the various Japanese ID numbers of all the Generation 1 and Generation 2 toys, and finally, a complete episode listing for all the Generation 1 animated shows (with English titles where appropriate).
Editions
The preceding text refers to the original release of the book. An update, entitled Transformers Generations Deluxe (トランスフォーマー ジェネレーション デラックス) (pictured at the head of this article), released in March 2004, added an extra eighteen pages to the book, consisting of a massive gallery of design sketches and various unused concepts for the Transformers toyline.
Among the scores of images, some of the most notable include:
- A proposed "Vintage Horror Movie Series" of Transformers based on famous movie monsters, such as the Fly, Dracula, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon
- A fifteen-figure Micromaster combiner
- A figure that worked with an interactive video game, including "Duck Hunt" style light-gun antics
- Concepts for Action Master versions of Ultra Magnus, Superion, Predaking, Bruticus, Metroplex, Perceptor, and a tricked-out Galvatron
- Designs for Battlestars characters Super Megatron, Ultra Megatron, and Dark Nova (who would have transformed into Star Giant).
There are also numerous unused designs for city-bots, Six Changers, and Pretenders.
Both editions are out of print, making them very hard to find. The Deluxe edition is particularly sought after by fans (even by those that owned the original edition) because of the massive amount of additional unused concept designs.
Primus Contest
Although it's probably unknown to most English-language fans, the first official Primus toy was not the Supreme-class figure that debuted in the Cybertron/Galaxy Force line. It was a gold-chrome vacuum-metallised reissue of the G1 Rodimus Prime mold. Dubbed "Primus", it no doubt was created based on the god's rather Rodimus-esque astral form shown in "Primal Scream". This Lucky Draw figure was a contest prize given away to 100 winners through the Deluxe edition of Generations.
Notes
- There were a lot more Generation 1 Transformers than you ever owned as a kid.
- There were a lot more Generation 1 Transformers than you even knew existed as a kid.
