One of the Inserts that was included in the Japanese single boxes which clearly shows the presence of the two factions.
As briefly mentioned in the introduction about the Battle Beasts the Japanese Beastformers were divided into the two factions known from the Transformers; Cybertron (Autobots) and Destron (Decepticons). Please scroll down for the actual division of the various series of Beasts over the two factions. Firstly shown and explained is the origin of this division.
Origin of the division
For the origin of the division of the Battle Beasts into Autobots and Decepticons it is impossible to ignore the connection that this line has with the Transformers. Since TAKARA launched the Battle Beasts line in Japan as a spin-off from the Transformers line the presence of the two famous Transformer factions amongst the Beasts is not so strange. But where did it originate from and who decided to place one Beast in the Autobot faction while the other ended up on the Decepticon side…
¨I see, so it´s the reptiles, fish and amphibians
from your planet that have joined sides
with the Decepticons¨
This very important and crucial line for the origin of the actual division comes from the Transformers The Headmasters Episode 5: Rebellion on Planet Beasts. At 9.55 min these famous words are spoken by one of the Autobot Transformers arriving on Planet Beast to support the remaining Beasts, who automatically join the Autobot faction, in their Battle against the Beasts who have joined sides with the Decepticons. Here are the stills out of the episode from the actual sentence (English subtitled since Transformers The Headmasters series was fully in Japanese):
Rebellion on Planet Beast still (at 9.56 min)
Rebellion on Planet Beast still (at 10.02 min)
While this explains the large majority of the division, namely that ALL the reptiles, fish and amphibians from Planet Beast are Decepticons it does not explain everything knowing there are a couple of exceptions. But looking into the storyline of this episode again those exceptions can be explained relatively easy. With the Spider having its own order within the animal kingdom it is not very strange to find him amongst the Decepticons as well knowing the Autobots are mainly composed out of endothermic vertebrates. The Bat is a more clear exception that might need a bit more clarification. Most likely the Bat joined the Decepticons as well in order to have a flying Battle opponent in both factions with Colonel Bird on the Autobot side and Blitzkrieg Bat on the Decepticon side. This division of the flying Beasts seems to have continued amongst the Series 2 and 3 Beasts as well both having an equal amount of flying Beasts. This still does not explain why Beasts such as the Armadillo, Anteater and Pangolin for instance have joined sides with the Decepticons so that is a blank that remains. A possible explanation for those type of animals might be that they are known for digging holes and that within the storyline of the episode the Decepticons seem to operate from an underground factory.
Unequal division, 51 Autobots vs 25 Decepticons…
Also in order to clarify this unfair division the storyline of the Rebellion on Planet Beasts cannot be ignored. Looking at the episode it is directly clear that from the large majority of various Autobot Beasts appearing within this episode only a few are present as duplicates while on the Decepticon side there are larger groups of Bats, Carps, Toad, etc. are found. This might explain the reason for the division as is since the Decepticon army consists out of a multiple amount of the same Beast while on the Autobot side there is a bigger variety of Beasts that occur only in smaller numbers balancing the whole division idea.
Transformers success used to advertise the Beastformers
It is clear that with the appearance of the Beastformers in the Transformers The Headmasters episode TAKARA had created an even wider platform for the launch of the Beasts within Japan. As explained in the Battle Beasts introduction the connection of the Japanese Beasts with the Transformers was much more obvious compared to the Battle Beasts released by HASBRO where the reference or connection to the Transformers line was completely absent. In Japan the symbols of the Autobots and Decepticons even appeared on some of the Beastformers packaging and cards as explained below. And also on the Japanese Beastformers Poster the division of the Beasts was clearly shown.
Autobot and Decepticon Boxes (JP only)
Japanese Autobot Box.
Japanese Decepticon Box.
As shown above the symbol of one of the factions is clearly shown on the Japanese boxes explaining to which faction the figure inside the box belongs. The color of the box is not a guiding element here since there are also Green boxes out there with a Autobot symbol and an Autobot Beast inside mostly likely this is also the case for the Decepticons. The symbols were only present on the early Japanese single box packaging and these disappeared from the packaging during the release of the other Battle Beasts Series in Japan, also the type/style of the boxes changed. (A more detailed description of the various type of Battle Beasts boxes will be discussed on another page in the future, once we have looked into that we´ll probably also be able to get more specific when it comes to the Autobot and Decepticon relation of the boxes)
Autobot and Decepticon Character Cards (JP only)
Included in most, NOT ALL (some contain another type of card), of the Japanese Autobot/Decepticon marked boxes were the Individual Character cards which were also clearly inspired and in the same theme.
On the Left you see the Autobot Card design for Pirate Lion (White Leo) who is the leader of the Autobot Beasts. On the front side you notice directly that the design of the card matches with the color of the box but as mentioned this is not a guidline, as far as the boxes go, since these red colored Autobot cards are also found in the Green boxes with a Autobot logo on it!
Image courtesy of LittleRubberGuys.com
Same goes for the Decepticon Style cards as shown on the Right with the leader of the Decepticon Beasts on it; Gruesome Gator (Alligatoron). Also here the background color of the front cards as well as the purple color on the back is a returning element for the Decepticon cards whereas the color of the box seems to be a variable factor.
Just like the Autobot Cards the symbol of the Decepticons is clearly shown in the left top corner on the back of the card making more than clear this is a Decepticon Beast!
Image courtesy of LittleRubberGuys.com
Japanese ビーストフォーマー (Beastformers) Poster
The whole division into Autbots and Decepticons is best shown on this poster where a crack is showing the tension between the two factions perfectly. And even though the Autobot and Decepticon symbols are not visible on this poster it clearly mentions: サイバトロン ビースト VS デストロン ビースト (Cybertron Beast VS Destron Beast)
Poster Scan and Digital Restoration courtesy of FormingTheBeasts
__________________________________________
THE DIVISION OF BATTLE BEASTS
INTO AUTBOT AND DECEPTICON
__________________________________________
A Autobot (サイバトロン) D Decepticon (デストロン)
SERIES 1
A Pirate Lion (#1)* D Killer Carp (#5)
A Deer Stalker (#2) D Triple Threat Snake (#6)
A Ferocious Tiger (#3) D Horny Toad (#7)
A Colonel Bird (#4) D Blitzkrieg Bat (#12)
A Sledgehammer Elephant (#8) D Gruesome Gator (#15)**
A Rocky Rhino (#9) D Hardtop Tortoise (#17)
A Roamin’ Buffalo (#10) D Sawtooth Shark (#20)
A Grizzly Bear (#11) D Webslinger Spider (#27)
A Gargantuan Gorilla (#13) D Crusty Crab (#28)
A Swiny Boar (#14)
A Sly Fox (#16)
A Rubberneck Giraffe (#18)
A Prickly Porcupine (#19)
A Danger Dog (#21)
A Hare Razing Rabbit (#22)
A Sir Sire Horse (#23)
A War Weasel (#24)
A Bloodthirsty Bison (#25)
A Bighorn Sheep (#26)
* Leader of the Autobot Beasts
** Leader of the Decepticon Beasts
SERIES 2
A Jaded Jaguar (#31) D Icky Iguana (#29)
A Humongous Hippo (#32) D Armored Armadillo (#30)
A Major Moose (#33) D Delta Chameleon (#34)
A Kickback Kangaroo (#35) D Octillion Octopus (#36)
A Wolfgang Walrus (#37) D Powerhouse Mouse (#38)
A Dragoon Raccoon (#39) D Antic Anteater (#40)
A Run Amuck Duck (#41) D Cutthroat Cuttlefish (#43)
A Miner Mole (#42) D Slasher Seahorse (#45)
A Eager Beaver (#44) D Knight Owl (#46)
A Hunchback Camel (#47) D Pew-Trid Skunk (#52)
A Pillaging Polar Bear (#48)
A Squirely Squirrel (#49)
A Sabre Sword Tiger (#50)
A Bludgeonly Bulldog (#51)
SERIES 3
A Panzer Panda (#53) D Leapin´ Lizard (#54)
A Killer Koala (#55) D Tarsier Tyrant (#56)
D Black Panther (#57)
A Torrential Tapir (#58) D King Cobra (#59)
A Manic Mandrill (#60) D Tanglin´ Pangolin (#65)
A Pixilated Pointer (#61) D Harrier Hawk (#70)
A Pillager Pig (#62) D Crooked Crow (#72)
A Rowdy Rooster (#63)
A Musky Ox (#64)
A Slowpoke Sloth (#66)
A Aardent Aardvark (#67)
A Bodacious Bovine (#68)
A Zealot Zebra (#69)
A Diving Duckbill (#71)
A Frenzied Flamingo (#73)
A Fleet-Footed Antelope (#74)
A Pugnacious Penguin (#75)
A Ossified Orangutan (#76)
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