The Transformers Season 1 DVD comparison

by Jeffrey M. Jacobson (2003 May 1). Updated 2003 May 5 (added index)

Transformers is ™ Hasbro and Takara. Transformers Program content: ©Sunbow Productions, Inc.

This page contains an analysis of The Transformers Season 1 sets from both Rhino (US Version) and Maverick (UK).

Index

1. The Original Transformers (Season 1 Boxed Set), R1 NTSC (USA) by Rhino
   1. Video
   2. Audio
   3. Extra Features
   4. Summary
2. Transformers Complete Original Series Deluxe Edition, R2 PAL (UK) by Maverick
   1. Video
   2. Audio
   3. Extra Features
   4. Misc
3. US vs. UK version Summary
4. Notes about The Transformers

The Original Transformers (Season 1 Boxed Set)

• Distributor: Rhino
• Region: 1 (US)
• Video System: NTSC

Video

"Zobovor" compiled a list of visual errors based on other newsgroup posts that he read and posted it to the newsgroup alt.toys.transformers. According to this post, he has also sent the list to Rhino.

Overall Video Score: 1/5

And if anyone thinks that is too harsh, just think about this: What if when Raiders of the Lost Ark came out on DVD, Indy was running away from nothing but a blue screen instead of a giant boulder? Would you say, "Wow, they sure did a good job restoring this! The colors are so vivid! Look how blue that blue screen looks!"? Or would you say, "What the ****? Where's the boulder?!"

Screenshot comparisons illustrating (only a few of many) errors in Rhino's DVD set

Rhino (US) version	Maverick (UK) version
All screenshots in this table are taken from the episode "Heavy Metal War" (#700-13) These screenshots are reduced to 50% of their original size. NTSC (used in USA) resolution is 720x480, and PAL (used in UK) is 720x576. Because of the differences in resolutions between the two television systems NTSC and PAL, the screenshots from the UK version appear stretched. Since the UK PAL version is about 4% faster than the US NTSC version (and since the bumpers are removed from the UK version), the time codes given for each image (in the alt attribute) do not match exactly. The screenshots in this table do not represent all of the errors in Rhino's set or even in this episode. I just picked a few that were easiest to display in a single screenshot. (For example, there is an scene where there is a camera pan that is "choppy" in Rhino's version, and "smooth" in the final version. An choppy camera pan would not be visible in a single screen capture, so it would have been pointless to include a screen shot of it.)
Apparently, the animators originally forgot to draw the piece of equipment in the back of Long Haul. This was fixed before the episode aired in the finished version of the episode. For some reason, instead of using the version of the scene from the broadcast master, Rhino did a really bad job trying to fix it themselves. That piece of equipment with a purple outline around it just appears in the back of Long Haul after he transforms.	This screenshot (taken from Maverick's version) is how the final version of the scene is supposed to look. This is how it aired on TV. Note that the piece of equipment can be seen in the back of Long Haul as he is transforming. It does not just magically appear there afterward with a big purple outline around it, as it does in Rhino's version. As you can see the piece of equipment in the back of the truck looks completely different in Rhino's version, as if Rhino never even looked at the final version when making their "fixed" version.
In this scene the animators mistakenly colored Cliffjumper like Bumblebee.	The scene was re-animated with the correct color scheme before it was broadcast. (If you look carefully at Cliffjumper's feet, you can see that the animation cel and the background and foreground elements are in slightly different positions in relationship to each other.)
The version of this scene that Rhino used did not have the glowing effect added in. Because of this, Starscream's "power chip rectifier" is missing in this scene.	The glowing "rectifier" was present in the version that aired.
Everyone in this scene (especially Chip) is drawn off-model.	In the final version, they look normal.

Audio

For all of the 5.1 audio tracks in the set, Rhino has taken it upon themselves to put in additional sound effects that weren't originally in the shows when they were originally broadcast. Nearly all of the scenes that contain lasers or explosions contain extra sound effects that were added in by Rhino. Quite frequently, these extra sounds drown out the original audio, including dialogue, making it very hard to hear.

If they would have included the original audio tracks in addition to these messed up ones for all of the episodes, then it really wouldn't have bothered me that much. I think that is what Rhino intended to do, because each episode also includes a 2.0 Audio track. (The series was originally broadcast in mono.) Unfortunately, the 2.0 audio tracks for seven of the 16 episodes also contain the same extra sound effects that were added to the 5.1 tracks! >:(

I've created a table below indicating which episodes have extra sound effects added to their 2.0 audio tracks. If you don't have this table handy when you are watching the episodes, it is pretty easy to tell which episodes have had their 2.0 tracks tampered with.

The first telltale sign common for each episode is the opening credits. When the camera zooms in on Optimus Prime's shoulder, there should not be a cheezy explosion sound effect there. On the tracks that Rhino has messed up, there is an added sound there, making it look as if Prime accidently ran into the camera or something. Also, about one second after that added sound, you hear a "click" noise. (Perhaps this click is from Rhino's sound guy pushing the stop button on his cheezy sound effects tape.)

Another way to tell if an audio track has been altered is to watch the bumpers. (The bumpers are the scenes between commercial breaks, telling you that the show will return, etc.) The only sounds that are supposed to be in the bumpers are the music and the narrator's voice. Any other sound effects (i.e., tires squeeling, whooshing, transforming noises) were added by Rhino. The transforming noises that Rhino has added don't even match the familiar noises actually used in the show!

5.1 Audio Score: 0 / 5

2.0 Audio Score: 2 / 5

Extra Features

The most prevalent problem with the extra features in this set is that they are labeled incorrectly.

• Restoration
  • Restoration Process

    A text-only description of the process used to restore these episodes. The text scrolls by just like the opening text in the Star Wars movies. It would have been a lot easier to read if they would have shown the information one page at a time. (That is, show one screen full of text. Then when I am done reading that screen, I push the "next" button to go to the next screen of text.)

    Some of the things that were mentioned needed more explanation. At one point during the discussion of the Audio restoration, it says, "Because of moisture, some tapes had to be baked." That's all it says about the baking. Are they literally baking these things in an oven, or is that some technical term I'm not familiar with? (I later saw on another DVD with a much better segment on restoration, that the soundtracks are literally baked.)

  • Frame By Frame Analysis

    This is the most worthless extra feature I've ever seen on a DVD. It is just a scene shown in slow motion.

  • Remastering Comparisons

    This is a comparison between the "Film Transfer Digital Betacam" and the "Original One-Inch Broadcast Master" tape. This goes on for 47 minutes and 54 seconds.

    Prior to this, instructions are shown on screen telling you to "Use your remote's 'AUDIO' button to toggle between Dolby Surround and original broadcast mono." But this does not work, because there is only one audio track.

    There are only a few interesting things to be seen and heard during this feature. First of all, during parts of the comparison they used background music from the series (without the dialogue and sound effects). This gives you a partial soundtrack for the series. But most of the music is cut up, so you don't get to hear the complete songs.

    The second interesting thing, which I mentioned earlier, is that you can see some mistakes that were missed by Rhino that should have been fixed but weren't.

• Bumpers
  • Domestic Bumpers

    These are bumpers from Season 3. The narration (e.g. "We now return to The Transformers") is absent from these versions.

  • Japanese Bumpers

    Masterforce bumpers, followed by a brief clip from a (VERY POORLY!) dubbed version of the episode 『ブラックザラック・宇宙からの破壊者』 <Black Zarak - Destroyer from Space>. Victory Bumpers.

• Outtakes and Anomalies
  • Outtakes and False Starts

    I'm not sure exactly what this is supposed to be, because there is no explanation given. There are some bumpers (with Rhino-added sound effects), seemingly random clips (possibly retakes of messed-up scenes?), some season 2 bumpers, season 3 bumpers, and some clips from season 3 that were shown during the ending credits.

  • Anomalies

    Very similar to the "Remastering Comparisons" feature. This section shows A/B comparisons of the Film transfer and the Broadcast master, focusing mainly on errors and missing animation and special effects. This shows a lot of the errors that were in the film transfer but were fixed before the show aired.

    Strangely, many of the errors shown here were left in the DVD versions of the episodes for some reason.

  • Easter Egg: "The Transformers Theme Song in Japanese".

    This feature is mis-labeled, and is actually the Ending Credits Theme from the series Transformers: Victory, and not from the original Transformers series. (When the original TF series was shown in Japan, it actually DID have completely different music for the opening and ending credits than the original American version. But those songs are not included in this DVD set.)

    If you are playing the DVD on a PC with a DVD-ROM drive, you can access this feature by moving your mouse cursor to the right of the word "Anomalies", then clicking on the Decepticon symbol that appears.

• Alternate Sequences
  • Textless Opening

    Another mislabeled feature. This is not the opening sequence, but a clip from the first episode. The clip starts with the narration, "Many millions of years ago..." and ends shortly before Wheeljack first appears.

    As far as I know, this scene has never had any text, so I don't know why Rhino thought this was so exciting.

  • Textless End Credits

    Textless end credits for Season 2.

  • Textless Opening Episode 1

    Another mislabeled feature. This is actually the textless end credits for Season 1.

  • Opening Credits Domestic

    Main Title for the season 3 episodes "Five Faces of Darkness" (parts 1-5).

  • Opening Credits Domestic - Season 3

    This is what it says it is, the main title for Season 3.

  • Alternate Opening Sequence

    This is the main title for season 2 (animation and sound effects), with the season 3 theme song. During Season 3, this was used as the opening for reruns of episodes from seasons 1 and 2.

  • Japanese Opening

    Mislabeled. This is not the Japanese opening for the original TF series. It is a modified version of the opening credits of the Japanese series Transformers Victory. It has been modified from the original version by replacing the title of the show written in Japanese with a blank screen with "Transformers V" written in English. Apparently this is from an English-dubbed version of Victory.

  • Japanese Opening with Slate

    Slate translation

    Program Title	Transformers: Choujin <Super-God> Masterforce #310
    Sub Title	選べたヒーロー・その名はジンライ [Chosen Hero - His name is Jinrai]
    O/A date & time
    Sound	Mono [v] Stereo [ ] Dual language [ ]
    Production Company Name	Cosmo Production
    Production Date	63rd year [of Emperor Shouwa (aka 1988)], May 23

    First the "slate" is shown (translation of text in table above), showing that this is an episode of Transformers: Choujin Masterforce.

    Following the slate is the modified Transformers: Victory opening (contained in the "Japanese Opening" feature). (Since this is an episode of Masterforce, why is the Victory opening here?)

    After the Victory opening is the correct title card for the Masterforce episode indicated in the slate, but with a guy saying "The Appointed Hero" in English dubbed in. The episode continues for a few seconds before being interupted with a Masterforce bumper (featuring the Metalhawk character).

  • Japanese Recap

    This appears to actually be a preview for the Headmasters episode "Black Zarak - Destroyer from Space". Again, this is from an English-dubbed version and not the original Japanese version. It just shows the episode title while some guy talks about what's going to happen, and pronounces everything strangely. (E.g., when he says "headquarters", he puts the emphasis on the "-quarters" part.)

  • Japanese Scene Clip

    This is a clip from an English-dubbed version of Masterforce. Since most of the dialogue is just screaming, there's no reason they couldn't have used the original Japanese version.

• Original Transformers Script: Episode 4: "Transport to Oblivion"

  Unlike the "scripts" on the UK set, this is an actual script! This is one of the few worthwile extras in this set.

• A Taste of Botcon 2001
  • Botcon: Above and Beyond
  • Interview with Glen Hallit, Botcon Organizer
• Physical Items
• Booklet
• "Classic Collectable Cels"

  These are reproduction cels. They were not actually used in the creation of the show. One is of Rumble, the other is of Starscream and Skywarp carrying energon cubes.

• Ad for Action Figure Xpress

Summary

The remastered video showed a lot of promise. It looked very sharp and had good color detail. But the errors that were introduced by Rhino (that weren't in the final versions of the episodes that aired on TV) were very disappointing.

The sound was also a major disappointment due to the extra sound effects that Rhino added in that weren't there originally. The few episodes that had unaltered 2.0 tracks sounded fine.

Rhino, here are some things you can do to improve future releases.

• Stop adding in extra sound effects!

  I just don't understand why these extra sounds were added in the first place. Adding in sound effects is a waste of time and money. If you must continue this annoying practice, at least leave the unaltered tracks as an option.

• Spend more time and money on quality control.

  The number of errors that slipped by on this release just isn't funny. The resources that you are using adding in extra sound effects would be better utilized on quality control.

  Go to one of those "BotCon" conventions and find some people who have seen every episode hundreds of times. Have these people watch your DVD before it is released, then fix all of the mistakes that they find. (These people will be pointing out all of your mistakes anyway on the Internet; you might as well hire them to point out all of your mistakes before the DVDs are released.) Delay the release date of the DVDs if necessary but ensure that all of the episodes are free of errors that weren't present when they were originally shown on TV. Also ensure that the 2.0 audio tracks are free of extra sound effects.

• If you release any of the series or episodes that originated in Japan (i.e., "Scramble City", Transformers: The Headmasters, Transformers: Choujin Masterforce, Transformers: Victory, Transformers: Zone) use the original Japanese versions, not the English dubbed versions!

  Just use the original Japanese versions and add an English subtitle track. The dubbed clips in your extras section sound horrible!

• Some extras you should include:
  • Transformers Toy Commercials

    Of most interest are commercials for the classic characters (such as Optimus and Megatron) and all commercials with animation in them (such as the Jetfire / Shockwave and Minispies)

  • "Trade Trailer" for Transformers: The Movie

    The same one that was on included as an extra on the UK DVD set, but use the original version without the burned-in Japanese subtitles. The source clips that made up the trailer would be great too.

  • Japanese opening and ending credits for the original series.

    The Japanese credits and songs you've included are not from the original series, but from the spin-offs. When the original series (the one imported from the US) was shown in Japan, it had different opening and ending credits sequences and songs. (There is at least one set of opening/ending credits for season 1 & 2, and the "Transformers 2010" set for season 3.)

Transformers Complete Original Series Deluxe Edition

• Distributor: Sony/Wonder, Maverick
• Region: 2 (UK)
• Video System: PAL
• Disc: DVD 5

Video

The video seems to be from a different source than that used by Rhino. My guess is that they just used an old video transfer for the source instead of the unfinished film version that Rhino used. This means that the picture doesn't look quite as good as Rhino's set, but the episodes are as they were shown on TV originally, with no missing special effects.

However, many of the episodes on this set have the video for the Season 2 opening (instead of the correct Season 1 opening). For most of the episodes that have the correct Season 1 opening, the text for the end credits is missing. (So, the opening and/or closing credits for almost all of the episodes in this set is wrong in some way.)

Since this error with the credits was not in the Rhino version, this further leads me to believe that an older video transfer was used.

Also note that the bumpers (the scenes between the commercial breaks) are missing.

James Reader (of the UK) offers an explanation for the missing bumpers:

"None of the 'bumpers' were included in the original UK showings (or to my knowledge any UK showing). Sometimes the episodes were shown without any adverts in the middle, and when they were shown with adverts it would only be one set halfway through the running time (with the TV station creating it's own (semi)'Branded' bumper. There would never be multiple advertising breaks in an episode. There is strict control over the amount of advertising time that can be shown per hour in the UK (although this has been relaxed in the last couple of years)."

Score: 3/5

Audio

This DVD set uses the same 5.1 audio tracks that were created for Rhox, followed by my own comments.

• All sixteen original episodes with 5.1 audio

  Technically, I don't consider this an "extra feature".

• Bonus episodes: "Five Faces of Darkness (part one)" and "The Rebirth (part one)"

Why include the first parts of two multi-part episodes? Why not one two-parter or two one-part episodes?

James Reader in the UK has a theory: "I think this is because both multi-part stories are available from Maverick, and they want to entice people into watching the first episodes, then buying the discs to find out what happens next!"

• Character Profiles

  Some information about different characters in the series.

• Bumpers and Adverts
  • Bumpers

    Bumpers from this season (which were removed from the actual episodes on this set for some reason) and other seasons. (Bumpers are the scenes before and after the commercials that say things like, "The Transformers will return after these messages." and "We now return to The Transformers")

    Bumpers included:

    • Original Series Bumpers

      These are some of the bumpers from Season 1.

    • Generation 2 Bumpers
    • Takara Bumpers

      These are actually bumpers from the Japanese series "The Headmasters", dubbed into English. (Takara is the company that makes the Transformer toys in Japan. There is no series called "Takara Transformers".) The original Japanese versions had a Japanese guy saying "Head On!" in English. For these bumpers, they've dubbed over the Japanese guy and replaced him with some lame guy saying the exact same thing: "Head On!". And when the dubbed part starts, all of the music and sound effects immediately stop. It's really lame!

    • Five Faces of Darkness Bumpers
    • The Rebirth Bumpers
  • Adverts

    Advertising for different Transformers toys. Not included are the original American ads for any of the classic characters, such as Optimus Prime. There are some Japanese commercials for some of these toys, most of which are Japanese dubbed versions of the American ads.

    Ads included are:
    • Classic Pretenders
    • Monster Pretenders
    • Action Masters
    • Micro-Master Patrols
    • Micro-Master Combiners
    • G2: Autobots / Decepticons
    • G2: Constructicons / Dinobots
    • G2: Optimus Prime
    • G2 Colour Change Transformers
    • G2: Megatron
    • G2: Combat Optimus Prime / Combat Megatron
    • G2: Dreadwing
    • Japanese Toys
    • Japanese Toys - Soundwave
    • Japanese Toys - Shockwave
    • Japanese Toys - Scramble City

    Many of these same ads are on the Japanese 超神マスターフォース (Choujin Masterforce) DVD set, with superior video quality.

• Classic Quotes

  Contains various clips from the series with characters saying different things. This is pretty pointless. (But not quite as pointless as Rhino's "Frame-by-frame Analysis".) My guess is that this was included just so they could have another "extra feature" to add to the list on the back of the box.

• Fan Art Gallery

  If you want to see a bunch of fan drawings (most of which are of a black Powermaster Optimus Prime called "Nucleon Quest Optimus Prime"), then this extra feature is for you.

• Original Synopsis

  This is some kind of print ad for the series. No information is given on the disc indicating exactly what this is.

• Quiz with special bonuses

  Answer five questions correctly and you get access to three video clips. The first is a CG VW New Beetle transforming into a robot. The other two are information about characters and events in the Transformers universe, which were originally shown at the end of Season 3 episodes.

• Original Episode Scripts

  These aren't the actual scripts. They contain only transcribed dialogue. These are only viewable with a computer with a DVD-ROM drive. If you don't have a DVD-ROM drive, don't worry. This feature isn't tactly what this is.

• Quiz with special bonuses

  Answer five questions correctly and you get access to three video clips. The first is a CG VW New Beetle transforming into a robot. The other two are information about characters and events in the Transformers universe, which were originally shown at the end of Season 3 episodes.

• Original Episode Scripts

  These aren't the actual scripts. They contain only transcribed dialogue. These are only viewable with a computer with a DVD-ROM drive. If you don't have a DVD-ROM drive, don't worry. This feature isn't that exciting.

• Complete Episode Guide

  When you select an individual episode (as opposed to "Play All"), you will be shown a summary of that episode. You then have to select the picture from the episode in order to actually start playing it.

• Transformers The Movie- Japanese Trailer

  This is actually a trailer made by the producers of Transformers: The Movie in order to get funding for the movie. All of the dialogue is in English, with non-removable Japanese subtitles. Unfortunaely, the video quality is horrible. It would have been nice if they would have gotten a hold of the original version without the Japanese subtitles.

  This trailer (without the Japanese text and with better quality video) is something that Rhino should have included on their The Transformers: The Movie DVD, or on one of their season sets.

Misc. notes

• There are no Chapter Breaks within the individual episodes.
• Unlike the US version, each disc in the UK set has a list of the episodes contained on it, making it easy to tell which episodes are on a disc just by looking at it.

The Transformers and all related elements ©Takara / Hasbro.

US (Rhino) vs. UK (Maverick) Version Summary

Video

It is difficult to decide which version (US or UK) is superior in the video category. Both versions have their strengths and weaknesses.

While Rhino's attempted restoration has better colors and a sharper image, many scenes have missing or incomplete animation or special effects, which is unacceptable.

Maverick's image quality may not be quite as good, but the episodes are complete, with no missing animation or effects. However, the opening sequence and/or end credits on nearly all of the episodes is incorrect in some way. Also, there are interlacing artifacts, probably due to the conversion from NTSC to PAL.

Audio

Since both the US and UK DVDs use Rhino's butchered 5.1 soundtrack, and only Rhino's set includes the original sound in the 2.0 tracks of some (but not all) of the episodes, Rhino wins in the audio department.

Notes about The Transformers

This section contains some notes about the series in general based on various sources. (Some familiarity with the events and characters of the series is assumed.) Much more detailed information can be found elsewhere on the internet.

Although the toys originated in Japan as different toy lines called "Diaclone" and "Microman", The Transformers TV series originated in America. The scripts were written and dialogue recorded in America, and then animation was done in Japan by Toei. (A few episodes of Season 2 and most of Season 3 were animated in Korea by AKOM.) The animation was done after the dialogue was recorded, so that the characters' mouth movements match the dialogue.

After the first two seasons of The Transformers came The Transformers: The Movie, which was set in the year 2005 and killed off many of the classic characters, including Optimus Prime. The third season continues where the movie left off in the year 2006.

After the episode "The Return of Optimus Prime", came a very short fourth season, which contained one multi-part episode called "The Rebirth". This episode dealt with characters teaming up with an alien race called the "Nebulons" to become Headmasters and Targetmasters, and also introduced various other characters.

The series was also imported into Japan (in a Japanese dubbed version) and became popular. In Japan, the third season was shown under the title Transformers: 2010, long before the movie had come out there. The year the third season takes place in was changed from 2006 to 2010 for some reason in Japan. (Some of the characters that were killed in the movie show up again breifly in some of the Japanese spin-off series, probably due to the fact that Transformers: The Movie had not come out there yet.)

After the third season was shown in Japan, they did not show "The Rebirth" there. Instead they started creating their own spin-off series, the first of which was called トランスフォーマー　ザ☆ヘッドマースターズ (Transformers: The Headmasters). Unlike the American storyline, there were no "Nebulons", and none of the previous characters (e.g., Hot Rod, Arcee) become Head- or Targetmasters. The Headmasters are little robots from the planet Master, who build themselves larger bodies that transform into vehicles. The little robots then transform into the heads of the larger robots. This series also briefly features characters called "Beast Formers", the toys of which are known in America as "Battle Beasts".

After Headmasters came トランスフォーマー　超神マスターフォース (Transformers: Choujin <Super-god> Masterforce). This series featured the Pretenders, Seacons, Headmaster Jrs., and Godmasters (Powermasters). This series is strange because most of the characters are humans who control robots (Headmaster Jrs., Godmasters), and some are robots pretending to be humans (Pretenders). The character based on the toy known in America as "Powermaster Optimus Prime" is not Optimus Prime at all in Masterforce, but is named Jinrai.

Next came トランスフォーマーＶビクトリー (Transformers Victory). In this series, the Autobots are commanded by Starsaber who, along with a lot of the other characters, were never released in America as toys.

Finally came トランスフォーマーＺゾーン (Transformers Zone). There is only one episode of this series, which (I think) was made for video (instead of being broadcast on TV). This show featured a lot of Micromasters (who are all Autobots, unlike in America). Some of the old giant Decepticon villains (including Devastator, Trypticon, Predaking, and others) return (dressed in strange armor and capes) and work for some evil entity.

Much later (in America again) came Transformers: Generation 2, which was just the old series with annoying computer-generated transitions and effects added in.

Then came the Canadian computer-animated Beast Wars: Transformers. This series was about a group of Transformers that crash their ships on a planet, and are forced to take on the forms of animals to protect themselves from energon surges or something. The decendants of the Autobots are called Maximals, and those of the Decepticons are called Predacons. The Maximals are led by Optimus Primal, and the Predacons by Megatron. Although some of characters share the same names as classic characters (such as Megatron), they are not intended to be the same characters; they are merely named after them.

Then in Japan they started making more (2D) spin-offs. First was 超生命体トランスフォーマー　ビーストウォーズⅡ(セカンド) (Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars IISecond). This was made in between the first and second seasons of the North American Beast Wars series. There was also a BWII movie that was shown in theaters along with (for some reason) an episode of (the Canadian CG) Beast Wars. Then came another series called 超生命体トランスフォーマー　ビーストウォーズ　ネオ (Beast Wars Neo).

Back in North America, another series called Beast Machines picked up where Beast Wars left off, with the Maximals and Predacons returning to Cybertron. As far as I know, this series was never aired in Japan.

Another Japanese Transformers series called カーロボット (Car Robot) was then released in Japan. An heavily-edited, English-dubbed version of this series called Robots in Disguise was released in America. In this version, most of the characters were renamed and given the names of classic G1 Transformers. The people doing the translation weren't very accurate. They tried to make it seem as if these were the same characters as in the original series, when they weren't intended to be in the original Japanese version. The music and sound effects are also completely different from the Japanese version.

The latest Transformers series is called 超ロボット生命体トランスフォーマー　マイクロン伝説 (Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Micron Legend) in Japan, and Transformers: Armada in America. From what I have heard, this series was created in Japan, but came out in America slightly before it did in Japan.