Rage!! Little Devils with No Need for Rules



Minerva is forced to overcome her fear of fighting when the Decepticon Headmaster Juniors cause chaos as they seek revenge on a motorcycle gang from Wilder's past.


 * English/Malay dub name: "The Troublemaking Little Monsters"
 * Also known as: "Little Demons Run Wild"

Detailed synopsis
Full of energy and enthusiasm since becoming a Headmaster Junior, Shūta is lambasted by his soccer coach for his grandstanding plays, and lectured on the importance of working as a member of the team. After school, the three Headmasters Juniors are called to the Autobot base by Metalhawk, although Cab is held up a little by a little show put on by his pets, when his parrot accompanies his armadillo's unrolling with a caw of "Armadillo, transform!" Once the trio are gathered, Cab is a bit taken aback by an unusual look that Minerva gives him - in reality, it's just a Japanese dance pose, since she has just come from a lesson, but the two boys failure to appreciate this fact does not impress her. At that point, Hawk enters, and explains to the Juniors that Diver has invited them to join him in America. Once arriving at the Ocean Research Institute, however, they find out that they have been duped - expecting a leisurely vacation, they are, in fact, here for some serious training with their new Headmaster powers. Shūta and Cab fare quite well against the battle drones that they wind up combating in holographic simulations, but when Minerva has to rescue a puppy from a raging river, her lack of confidence causes her to fail the task. Diver is called away to investigate a sub-sea volcano and leaves the centre in the Juniors' hands, consoling Minerva before he goes and reminding her that the Masterforce requires faith.

By unfortunate coincidence, the Decepticon Headmaster Juniors are also active in America, led by Wilder on a mission of personal revenge against the motorcycle gang known as the Cool Guys, who ran his group, the Jack Boys, out of their territory and caused them to break up. They challenge the Cool Guys to a confrontation, and their Headmaster powers make short work of the thugs, and Wilder makes the gang the Decepticons' lackies. The gang watches in rapt awe as the three boys proceed to tear through local police, and after some begging from the gang leader, Mac, Wilder allows them to join in the chaos.

While taking advantage of the institutes well-stocked cafeteria, the Autobot Headmaaster Juniors are alerted to the Decepticons' attack by a news report. Shūta races for the door, but Minerva holds him back, thinking that they should call on Diver or Hawk, so that they can stick to their usual rescue operations. Shūta refuses, and Cab follows his lead; Minerva tries to stop him too, but Cab brushes off her feeling as a product of her fear of fighting. Minerva knows he is not wrong - she lacks the courage necessary to join the fight, but when watching the coverage on television, she sees a little girl and her dog caught in an explosion, and races into the thick of the battle without even thinking. She arrives as Shūta is being pursued by the three Decepticon Juniors and Cab is attempting to put out fires; when the girl's dog, Pisu, appears barking frantically, Cab is able to translate, and they follow the dog into a collapsed underground parking garage, where the girl is trapped by rubble. Although they are able to free her and tend to her injuries, Cool Guys member Priest spots them and informs Wilder. Wilder calls out a Lobclaw to deal with Shūta while the Decepticon Juniors prove their immaturity by ganging up on Minerva, although Cab holds them off while Minerva watches the girl and her dog. Pisu, however, wriggles out his owner's arms and scampers up to the robot-mode Wilder, barking at him. Irritated, Wilder kicks the poor animal, killing it outright. As the distraught little girl tosses rocks at Wilder, an emotional, furious Minerva finds the will to fight and transforms to robot mode, paralyzing the Decepticons with her shock blaster and taking down Cancer in combat. With his two team-mates having fallen, Wilder spouts a line about how he "now knows the measure of the Autobots' power," and beats a hasty retreat. Cab and Minerva then go to Shūta's aid and are able to sever the Lobclaw's claw, but then a Kraken appears to worsen the odds. Diver arrives on the scene in time to take the Kraken out, allowing the three Juniors to deal with the Kraken - Minerva paralyzes it, Cab passes the severed claw to to Shūta, and Shūta kicks it home, spearing the Lobclaw with its own limb and destroying it.

After the battle, Minerva helps the little girl set up a cliffside memorial for Pisu, and tells her she will get her a new puppy just like him. Diver commends her for her courage, and tells the three Juniors that bravery and teamwork are their greatest powers.

Stats
Original airdate: 10th April 1988

Featured Characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Miscellaneous trivia

 * Wilder is a stone-cold bastard.