Today is Ninja Day, my friends. I celebrate it every year. It’s one of my passions. So, in the spirit of the scene by scene movie reviews I did for Revenge of the Ninja and Ninja III: The Domination, today I’m going to do a scene by scene review of the Transformers episode “Enter the Nightbird”. You know, the one with the female robot ninja.
This is Season 2, episode 6. Here are the opening titles and title card.
In the beginning of the episode, we see the Autobots installing new sensor pads on their floors. Wheeljack tests them by saying, “Look how they react to metal”, he touches the surface and then the sensor pad lights up. So the Autobots are putting metal detecting sensor pads in their headquarters? METAL DETECTING SENSOR PADS IN A HEADQUARTERS FILLED WITH ROBOTS. That makes sense.
This is Dr Fujiyama, “the famous scientist” (all the explanation we are given). He calls the Autobots because he needs their help guarding his newest invention, an advanced form of robot. Optimus Prime is talking to Fujiyama on a standard two way video communicator you see in TV shows and cartoons all the time. However, they way it’s drawn, it looks like that’s a window and Fujiyama is in the next room.
What is Fujiyama’s secret robot? Fujiyama introduces it as “The world’s first female ninja robot”. He actually says that. Not sure why the sex needs to be addressed since it is, you know, a f**king robot. And maybe in this universe a MALE ninja robot has already been created.
This is the moment in the cartoon in which Optimus Prime awesomely says, “What is a ninja?” Prime, you’re adorable. Jazz actually explains it to him. Not one of the human characters.
During the Q&A, this guy stands up and asks, “Why build a robot ninja, doctor?” He is then promptly escorted from the premises and beaten amongst the head and shoulders with heavy clubs.
Here’s the full pan up of the ninja robot. Thought this was a cool shot. The robot is christened Nightbird. The Autobots are here to protect Nightbird from being stolen by the Decepticons. How the Decepticons know about this robot or why they would even care when their own robotics are light years ahead of anything even in this robot is never really explained. But it is a ninja, so, I can’t blame them for wanting it.