Rescue Jan!!

« Transformers: Victory ep 14 »
Jean, Jean, you're young and alive/Which beats being old and dead...
"Rescue Jan!!" ジャンを救出せよ!! () (Jan o Kyūshutsuseyo!!)
Production company	Takara, Toei
Airdate	4 July 1989
Writer	Hajime Suzuki
Director	Michihiro Kanayama
Animation studio	Toei
Continuity	Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Hellbat invades the Shuttle Base and kidnaps Jan and Holi.

Synopsis

Is there anywhere Drillhorn won't stick his head?

The Decepticons attack a fleet of tankers on the open ocean, destroying their gunship escorts, but Leozack is furious that Hellbat has not turned up for the mission, as he is the only one who knows which tanker contains the energy they are after. News of the attack quickly reaches the Autobots, and Star Saber takes off to help, accompanied by Galaxy Shuttle, carrying the Brainmasters. The whole thing is missed by Jan and Holi, who arrive just as the heroes are leaving, with Jan planning to use the Shuttle Base's computers to do his summer vacation homework quickly, for which Holi chastises him. Their arrival, however, is observed by Hellbat...

Star Saber and his team arrive at the scene just as Leozack is tearing through the ships to try and find the energy, and as the battle breaks out, Star Saber orders Galaxy Shuttle to return to the Shuttle Base to aid the Multiforce in protecting it.

Meanwhile, back at the Shuttle Base, Jan and Holi are out taking a break from work when Hellbat, who has staged the whole tanker ploy to leave the Shuttle Base undermanned, chooses to strike. He sneaks into the base from beneath and manages to avoid laser sensors and security cameras, but eventually trips an alarm when he attempts to access the computer databank for information on Star Saber. He snatches a data disk from the computer in hopes of getting away with something, but as he opens an access hatch to escape through, he finds his way blocked by the gigantic frame of Galaxy Shuttle, who has returned just in time. Galaxy Shuttle reaches his massive arm into the hatch to try and grab Hellbat, but can't quite reach. Holi and Jan return to the strange sight of Galaxy Shuttle grappling with the Shuttle Base and use the teleporter to travel up to the floor in question to ask him what he's doing... only to be immediately seized by Hellbat. With two hostages in his grasp, Hellbat forces the Autobots to stay back, and makes good his escape.

Back on the tankers, Star Saber defeats Leozack, and the Breastforce leader calls retreat. As the Decepticons pull out, Star Saber receives a communication from the Shuttle Base, alerting him to Jan and Holi's capture.

Either Jan or one of the animators is bad at fractions.

Hellbat brings Jan and Holi to a secret base he has constructed for himself within a cave network, to which he has also summoned the Dinoforce. Hellbat explains to Goryu that he plans to discredit Leozack, and offers him the chance to join him in claiming some glory in the eyes of Deathsaurus by presenting the emperor with Star Saber's secrets. Unfortunately for the villains, Jan is able to resist Hellbat's hypnosis waves, and Goryu only winds up hurting himself when he starts waving his mace around threateningly, so Hellbat has them tossed back into their pit-cell and goes off to study the data disk he took from the Shuttle Base. While Hellbat is trying to fathom the mathematical code the disk appears to be written in, however, Jan quickly comes up with a plan: using the art class supplies in his backpack, he hastily fabricates a "testcard" pattern, which he slips in front of the security camera watching them. This distracts Kakuryu long enough for them to get out of the pit, but when Hellbat and Goryu uncover the deception, the pair is quickly found scurrying around in the pipes and ducts overhead. Jan manages to reclaim his communicator and radios Star Saber for help as he and Holi flee from Goryu through the caves.

The pair stumbles into an underground stream, which washes them clear out of the cave and falling through the air, but at the last moment, Galaxy Shuttle and Star Saber swoop in to safely catch them. The cliff face then explodes as Dinoking emerges from within it, and Star Saber transforms to battle the giant Decepticon. Using his Saber Blade attack, Star Saber collapses the mountain on Dinoking, and when Galaxy Shuttle transforms, Dinoking cuts his losses and flees, disengaging and diving back into the water. Jan thanks Star Saber for saving them, but Jan is still worried that Hellbat might have stolen something important. As it turns out, the disk the villain stole was simply the program that Jan was using to do his homework! Jan's not very happy about this, but Holi laughs and says he should have done it himself in the first place.

Back on the Thunder Arrow, Hellbat grovels before Deathsaurus and blames both Leozack and Goryu for the day's failures, before presenting his emperor with the "valuable data" he has stolen. He inserts the disk into the Thunder Arrow's computer, and Jan's math homework flashes up on the screen, followed by a bunch of doodles, including Jan shooting Deathsaurus himself. Deathsaurus screams to the high heavens, and Hellbat drops to his knees in terror.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Those who live by the computer will die by the computer!"
"Who said that?"
"I did!"

—Holi and Jan

"Nyah-hah! If you can't fit, go on a diet!"

—Hellbat cruelly taunts Galaxy Shuttle.

(under his breath) "Convincing an idiot sure is tiring."
"What was that?!"
"Ha ha, it's all for glory and for getting Leozack"

—Hellbat and Goryu

"I wish there was a computer that could do the homework for me!"

—Jan, always looking for the easy way out.

Notes

Animation and technical errors

• As Galaxy Shuttle's passengers disembark above the tankers, Wingwaver is animated in place of Blacker.

Continuity errors

• In his previous speaking appearance back in "Sneak Attack! Dinoking", Galaxy Shuttle had a really high-pitched, heavily-modulated "computerized" voice. In this episode, his voice has become a booming, echo-y one.

Real world references

• When Hellbat grabs Holi and Jan and thanks the Autobots for these "gifts", Holi cries out for the Decepticon not to treat them like "manjū". Manjū is a kind of Japanese pastry, with many varieties that are unique to specific regions of Japan. As such, a region's specific type of manjū is like a souvenir for that area. To sidestep confusion, the Metrodome DVD release of the episode just replaces the term with "souvenir".

Trivia

• Closed circuit cameras in 2025 are conveniently like those of the late 80s, with analogue error screens.
• Star Saber tells Galaxy Shuttle not to get involved in the fight for the tanker because apparently he's less effective over water. As opposed to previous instances of Galaxy Shuttle not being involved, where there was no explanation whatsoever.

Foreign localization

English

• Title: "Rescue Meekon" (Omni Productions dub)
• Original airdate: August 11, 1991

• Jan wishes that there was a computer that could do his homework, while in the Japanese audio, he's intent on using the base computer.
• Machtackle and Dashtacker's conversation about cleaning their guns turns into complaining about Jan having messed up the computer. After saying it'll take a while to fix, they... leave the room for no apparent reason.
• Hellbat is after all of the Autobots' secrets, rather than just the secret of Star Saber's powers.
• It's Goryu's turn to have a different voice actor in the English dub.
• Though the English soundtrack on the R4 DVDs usually stops before the next episode preview, this one has the English narration of preview included.

Spanish

• Title: "Hay que rescatar a Marcos" ("We must rescue Marcos")

Home video releases

DVD

2003 — Transformers: Victory — DVD Box 01 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
2006 — The Takara Collection Vol 3 — Transformers: Victory (Metrodome)
2007 — Transformers — The Complete Takara Collection (Metrodome)
2008 — The Transformers: Victory (Madman Entertainment) — Optional Omni dub.
2009 — The Transformers: Japan Generation 1 — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) — Optional Omni dub.
2012 — Transformers: The Japanese Collection (Shout! Factory)
2012 — Transformers Japanese Collection: Victory (Shout! Factory)