Samurai and Shinobi Team
Transformers: Go! is an animated series direct-to-dvd and is set in the Transformers Aligned Universe (same as Transformers: Prime, Transformers: Rescue Bots and the War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron games).
The story takes place after the main team of Autobots have vanquished the Decepticons from earth, and follows the adventures of a team of Autobots who remain on the planet in order to fight off any remaining threats. Dragotron (Predaking) has stirred from his resting place, and Predacons have scattered around to find the Legend Discs to fully awaken him. Two have found their way to Japan's feudal era, while a pair of boys gained the remaining two. When the Predacons come after them, the Legend Discs each awaken a team of Autobots, the Samurai and Shinobi Swordbot Teams, to defend them.
Tropes:
- 2D Visuals, 3D Effects: The CGI used for the Transformer characters uses a different shading style from the hand-drawn animation and feature smoother movement.
- Alternate Continuity: The show itself. Isami and Tobio's stories are supposed to be happening simultaneously, but the final battle is fought as either DaiKenzan (formed by Kenzan, Gekisoumaru and Optimus Exprime with Kenzan on the top) or DaiGekisou (with Gekisoumaru on the top instead) depending on which one you followed first.
- Back for the Finale: Optimus Prime returns to Earth to aid the Swordbots in the finale.
- BFS: The sword of Go-Jinbu and weapon from Go-Gekisou.
- Combat Hand Fan: Hishoumaru's weapon of choice, which he uses for wind attacks.
- Combining Mecha: Each of the Swordbot teams can form into one. Like Getter Robo or Genesis of Aquarion, their abilities change depending on which is the chest, head and arms.
- Cool Car: Kenzan Police Car form.
- Cool Plane: Jinbu Jet form
- Continuity Snarl: It can't fit anywhere into the Aligned timeline and was quietly ignored when Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015) was released in Japan.
- Chromatic Arrangement: Both Swordbot teams with the Samurai team using blue, red, and yellow, and the Shinobi team using blue, purple, and orange.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: All fights except for the last one have the Swordbots win with ease.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Or rather, "Did You Just Cut The Eye from a Predacon?" in Samurai Episode 2 Miyamoto Musashi cuts Budora's eye.
- Dual Wielding: Kenzan and Go-Kenzan use two swords.
- Expy:
- Kenzan to Prowl (his vehicle mode also resembles Nitro Convoy).
- Gekisoumaru to Lio Convoy.
- Jinbu to Bumblebee and Jetfire.
- Ganoh to Ratchet and Bulkhead.
- Sadly averted with Sensuimaru, who doesn't behave anything like Sky-Byte.
- Eye Scream: Miyamoto Musashi stabs Budora in the eye to get him to drop the Legendisc.
- Four Is Death: The four Oni generals acting in Dragotron's slumber-absence.
- Giant Mook: The five Jaki are already out of scale with their toys. Then the Oni generals make them bigger.
- Historical Domain Character:
- Miyamoto Musashi in Samurai Episode 2.
- Nearly every episode has one - Japanese pioneer Sakamoto Ryoma and legendary ninja Sarutobi Sasuke, and logo-wise one can spot the Tokugawa army in the first ep.
- Hour of Power: Dragotron can give a power boost to the Jaki or Oni generals that... just makes them bigger. And not for very long.
- Humongous Mecha: Like most Transformers media, the Cybertronians are this.
- If It Swims, It Flies: Subverted. Sensuimaru's preferred mode of travel is swimming through land. Take that, Chuck Norris!
- Law of Chromatic Superiority: Dragotron turns red upon awakening.
- Lighter and Softer: Compared to Transformers: Prime, there are far fewer brutal deaths and horrifying circumstances.
- King of Beasts: Gekisoumaru
- MacGuffin Melee: The Legendiscs.
- Mechanical Lifeform: Like most Transformers media, the Cybertronians are this.
- Merchandise-Driven: There's a lot of repaints and remolds of Transformers: Prime toys to go with the few original ones in this line, plus recolored Arms Microns as exclusives - and still a bunch left over to fill out the 2015 Robots in Disguise adaptation!
- Mythology Gag: Transformers Film Series sound effects, and Legendiscs looking exactly like the "data disc" forms of the Generations cassetticon toys.
- Ninja: The Shinobi Team
- Power Trio: Both Swordbot teams consist of three members.
- Jack of All Stats: Kenzan, Gekisomaru
- Fragile Speedster: Jinbu, Hishoumaru
- Mighty Glacier: Ganoh, Sensuimaru
- Samurai: The Samurai-Team include combined forms.
- Shout-Out: Gekisoumaru in lion form is identical to Murasame Liger.
- As a nod to other shows with trains, Optimus Exprime's toy plays a jingle while flashing color-changing lights, and can also say "Shuppatsu Shinkou!"
- Stock Sound Effects: The sound effects are the same from Michael Bay's Transformers Film Series.
- Strictly Formula: All episodes for both volumes except for the first and last two follow the same basic formula of "the main heroes travel back in time to meet a Historical Domain Character who teaches them a lesson, the Predacons arrive to steal the Legendisc, the Swordbots combine and defeat the Predacons and everyone is sent back to the present with the Legendisc being sent to another pint in history".
- Suddenly Obvious Fakery: Tobio pulls a Wounded Gazelle Gambit to steal Kotaro Fuma's Legendisc and instead grabs an old plate. The shots before he finds out that it's a plate show him grabbing a silver disc and then holding up an orange circle for both of the Legendisc's sides, neither of which resemble the dull gray plate.
- Time Travel: Legendiscs have the power, if they aren't protected, they can change the past.
- Wutai: The whole show has a Japanese aesthetic in terms of characters, locations and historical figures.
