On July 5th, 2011 Shout Factory will release the first part of the Japanese Transformers: Headmasters anime series.  The 4-DVD set, which has an MSRP of $29.93, will mark the U.S. home entertainment debut of the Japanese Transformers: Headmasters series, which was produced in Japan by Takara right after the end of the G1 Transformer series in the late 1980s.  The Shout Factory set will feature the original Japanese soundtrack with new English subtitles.  The release of the Transformers: Headmasters is perfectly timed to take advantage of the release of the new live-action blockbuster Transformers: Dark of the Moon on June 29th.

 

The Headmasters are a group of Transformers distinguished by their ability to detach their heads when transforming into their various modes, with the head then being able to transform into a humanoid form.  In the American version these Headmasters were Autobots and Decepticons that had partnered with a race of organic beings called Nebulons.  Notable Headmasters include the Autobots Fortress Maximus and Brainstorm, while Headmaster Decepticons include Scorponok and Mindwipe.

 

In the Japanese version, which was developed over the 35-episode Headmasters anime series, the Headmasters were formed when a group of smaller autobots fled Cybertron for the harsh environment of the planet Master.  In order to cope with the difficult conditions the smaller Transformers constructed larger lifeless bodies known as Transtectors, and then transformed into “heads” that fit on the Transtectors and controlled them.