Remembering The Death Of Optimus Prime As A Child

This was among the many scenes that I thought really made me cry as a child. One of the many deaths that I could remember was the death of Mika Koizumi (dubbed as Casey) in Bioman. The other was the death of Optimus Prime in the Generation 1 Continuity. Sometimes, I just think to myself how this scene was probably one of the saddest scenes -- yet it also taught an important lesson to children about the casualties of war and that even the greatest hero can die in battle!

One of the best scenes ever in the movie is the duel to the death with Megatron. I also think about the scene why I had a love/hate relationship with Hot Rod or Rodimus Prime. Some people want to blame Hot Rod for the death of Rodimus Prime. Yet, there's one detail we fail to see -- it's a desperate battle and it's not easy to think properly in a desperate moment. Megatron was trying to grab the gun and Optimus Prime had no idea about it. Hot Rod stepped in and tried to prevent it but to no avail. He could have verbally warned Optimus Prime -- yet who can think properly in such a bad situation?

So what's the whole thing with Optimus' death and why was Ultra Magnus fixed? Ultra Magnus' parts were still intact for re-assembly while Optimus Prime was well -- badly damaged which just made it weird how he suddenly came back to life in Season 3! I can't really understand why did Hasbro want to end Optimus Prime so soon. It's almost like the decision to kill Goku off during the Cell Saga so his son Gohan can become the new main character. The problem was that both Rodimus Prime and Gohan weren't as well-received as their predecessors. This backlash caused the G.I.Joe movie to rewrite Duke's death into a coma -- though there's reason to still cry over Duke because said coma could have still killed him at the end of the movie!

Then this also exposed the problem of the U.S. today -- it's all about soccer moms! It just reminds me of how I'd still like Burai over Tommy. Sure, Burai freaking died later in Zyuranger but he had a glorious life. Tommy was just an overrated prick who ends up like Hercule in Dragon Ball Z. The death of Optimus Prime did make me cry, the death of Little Foot's mother in Land Before Time did make me cry but it also this -- my late paternal grandmother comforted me and told me that death is part of life. The death of Optimus Prime was no different. I saw myself as Hot Rod -- an impulsive, rash person who had lots to learn. I thought about just how tragedy is inevitable.

Sadly, scenes like this are getting more and more banned from American children's programming. I guess it's no wonder why more and more Americans are now trying to escape harsh realities more than ever. Sure, this death was somewhat traumatizing but this should at least teach children about the harsh reality of life.