Robotech is the critically acclaimed animated series about mankind's first contact with warring alien races, and the use of alien technology to defend Earth. The series was broken into three chapters, The Macross Saga, The Robotech Masters, and...
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The war with the Invid comes to a head, as Rick Hunter's returning expeditionary force presses the attack against the alien invaders to the very gates of Reflex Point! There is no margin for error in this final battle to free the planet from alien domination.
Carl Macek, who for all intents and purposes was the guiding force of Robotech, died recently. http://www.cartoonbrew.com/anime/carl-macek-1951-2010.html
Robotech is set to premiere on Space this January, airing weekdays with back-to-back episodes! Gonna be good, for those who live in Canada
For a long time, I enjoyed anime, but hadn't really gotten into a big series. I watched plenty of Astro Boy when I was younger, but Robotech is the first "epic" series, you might say, that I've watched. Due to a lack of cable for many years, or just being in school when it was on, I never saw it… More during its original North American run. Around a year ago, I saw some of the DVDs in a store for around $8 each and thought "wow, a great bargain for a show I've always wanted to see!" I was not disappointed. Soon after, I bought the entire 21-disc set and am currently building a collection for a friend, too. Needless to say, I found the series very impressive. I had actually seen many elements of it around 10 years ago because a friend had the RPG books. I liked the designs so much that I actually photocopied a ton of pages from those books and still have them today. I had no idea how deep and interesting the storyline was, though. Now I'm into an anime called Dai Guard and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a laugh! Hilarious tongue-in-cheek humor and lots of poking fun at bureaucracy and the headaches it involves. One of my favorite lines comes from the pilot of Dai Guard (a giant robot) after he makes it fall three times. He's sitting there, frustrated, and says "didn't they say that bipedal mecha were stable even on rough terrain in those old animes?" :P
I could say several different things about Robotech which have been said by many reviewers before me, mostly positive. But ya' know, even taking into account the controversial "anime butchering" aspect of this series, I've come to define the scope of this adaptation with one sometimes-overused word... EPIC! Here we have a story arc which quite literally covers a time span of 45 years, three generations of brave soldiers worth their salt in three wars, all fought over the same source of energy which makes up the technology namesake of this show; the core of Robotechnology, Protoculture, a fuel-type foodstuff that is (along with Earth) the central focus of this series.
Many props to Carl Macek and the many other writers of Robotech for managing to find a way to adapt a concept already in the original Macross series into something which could believably continue into two more anime series. And to think, in preparation for rewriting, Macek watched all 85 eps originally with no audio or subtitles. He was able to tie together main character from the first two sagas in profound and yet subtle ways, such as the fact that the battle fortress which crashes on Earth in the first Macross episode comes from the character Zor, whose clone we don't see until the Masters story.
Then of course there's other not-so-subtle stuff like the ominous references to what was to come in the third & final saga of the series, the Invid, whom get mentioned as early as some latter episodes in the Macross Saga. From my point of view, it's genuinly smart how certain things like excerpts of footage of the Masters in a couple/few Macross Saga eps and even the creation of "Dana's Story" further help with connecting everything together, especialy given how rushed a production Harmony Gold had. On that note, some of the acting can be truly excellent, even compared to this day and age of anime voice acting, my favorite being Greg Snegoff's Scott Bernard (though Iona Morris captured me more than any other emotionally during Roy Fokker's untimely demise).
In an odd twist, my favorite saga would have to be The Masters; though as for a favorite episode, it's a tie between The Macross Saga's "To The Stars" and The New Generation's "Symphony Of Light". My favorite character overall, definitely Scott Bernard, though I will argue to the end of time that Rick Hunter is the overall main character of Robotech; he was the main dude in The Macross Saga & The Sentinels feature, became something of a prominent offscreen character in New Generation, and even returned for a couple cameo spots in Shadow Chronicles. In that same respect, I'll also argue that the core family of the series was no doubt the Sterlings, given how important characters Max & Miriya were, as well as their daughter Dana taking up the mantle in The Masters (and even her younger sister Maia in Shadow Chronicles).
It's not just the series itself I greatly enjoy though, I also get much excitement out of seeing the few original movies Harmony Gold has managed to make through the past couple decades, which in themselves further help connect the three primarily separate sagas. Characters from all three wars meet, future battles are foreshadowed, closure you never thought you'd get is given (even if just a little bit), and tears will definitely be shed. These fantastic features come in the separate styled forms of Robotech II: The Sentinels, which is set between The Macross Saga & The Masters, and the incredible continuation from episode 85 that is Shadow Chronicles. There is also a very obscure movies often referred to as The Untold Story, though trust me when I say, that is so sloppily edited and put together that it's just about the only animated material I'd call non-canon.
On the subject of the two much better and canon-friendly movies, Sentinels, being the in-betweener feature that it is, serves a few important functions beyond getting together characters from separate sagas. It serves as mostly an epilogue piece to the original characters from the Macross Saga, as aside from the obvious exception of Dana, a very hazy cameo of Max & Miriya in ep 60, and Rick's cameo-ish return in Shadow Chronicles, this is the final time we see said gang as they prepare for the REF's Pioneer Mission. It also serves as a very nifty bridging piece between the 15 year gap that is "To The Stars" & "Dana's Story", as we see the character of Dana getting to where she's at in The Masters (blonde and all), with even Bowie Grant as a childhood friend of hers, as well as a couple cool scenes General (soon to be known as Supreme-Commander) Leonard shares with Exedore and a cameo-spotted Rolf Emerson.
As Sentinels is also the chronological first time we see the Invid, I feel it helps further enforce how truly dangerous and threatening an enemy they with the many references made toward them, plus it's pretty neat getting to see a much less antagonistic side of the Robotech Masters' civilization back on Tirol. Aside from that and what I pointed out above, the definite highlight of this feature has gotta be the wedding of Rick Hunter and Lisa Hayes, an event that absolutely makes the Sentinels feature worth seeing. it's not just a beginning to a new and unseen chapter in their lives, but also a farewell to the characters' romantic legacy, as they finally reach the point they'd been destined for ever since that first innocent "sourpuss" comment of young Hunter's.
Now with Shadow Chronicles, what we have here is a combination of two factors; a retrospective of the final battle with the Invid, as shown in the final two episodes of the series, except this time from the perspectives of the returned REF forces. On top of that, we have a continuation that takes up right where episode 85 leaves off, as wee see what becomes of Scott Bernard (as well as his Invid love, Ariel/"Marlene") after heading off into space. In addition to Scott's continuing story, we get the return of other such legendary characters as Rick Hunter (okay, just a couple cameo instances, but awesome no less!) and even Louie Nichols, one of the few survivors of the vague 15th Squad genocide. Such moments as when we see Vince Grant talking with the older Admiral Hunter, Louie investigating with Maia Sterling (yep, little sister of Dana), or even when Scott and Louie shake hands, just oddly puts the biggest smile on my face.
But I digress, I can see this has turned into almost as much a review of the Robotech movies (the good ones anyway...) than the show itself. Thank you, Harmony Gold. thank you, Carl Macek. And thank you, Tommy Yune and all the other young fellas whom are currently working on getting the Shadow Rising continuation in gear. I have me the Protoculture and Two-Disc Collections of both the Robotech series and Shadow Chronicles, I'm ready for more! Bring it on~
Well, somebody can say that those anime were mutilated when they tried to mix these three stories only to be broadcasted in the tv daily on weekdays. Still if you were a child on the 80's you need to watch this series.
I was born early in the 90's but months ago I watched the remastered version in Retro TV channel and I loved it specially the Macross Saga that is the best. I don't understand why this show is not so popular after all, I mean at the early days of the cildren they still don't know anything about the genres of animation and that they were produced in japan, years after this they have internet and learn about what happend with the series.
I watched the original 1986 version and liked even when the effects at the beginning of the episode were like made on Windows Movie Maker I still liked all that specially the voices. Robotech is good still and even when I became a fan this year I had all: Robotech Remastered, The Shadow Chronicles, etc. I didn't waited so long only for this and they are going to make a live-action movie with toby McGuire and the sequel of the Shadow Chronicles. Robotech is still alive and I hope that everyone that doesn't know nothing about the existence of Robotech became fans because they need to.
Robotech was 'ground-breaking' when it came out. The continuing storyline, the actual 'death' of characters, one with graphic 'blood' (Roy) it gave many parents pause. After all, you have G I Joe where a car explodes with someone in it and they're thrown 100 feet away, but they're just 'shaken up.' Robotech added a little bit of realism. Then again, there was that monstrous fish head... so, it was a toss up.
I never really put much interest in Robotech: Masters (never could get over the fact that Dana Sterling's hair went from Blue/Green to BLONDE! How normal for a half Zentraedi child! How gauche! Robotech: Next Generation was another favorite of mine. Rook Bartley was a strong woman... a woman surviving in a war-torn country. The ideas of a planet coming together to prevent our own extinction, tiny humans shocking giant aliens with music and emotions... kissing! It was funny... it was campy... and it made my childhood a magic memory that helped inspire my love of fantasy.
Was a favourite when i was a kid. Watched it all again recently and still loved it, Though I admit you probably won't see the beauty of it if you re a recent 1st time watcher, but it was awesome for its time, and was a definite trend setter. I actually woke up at 6 AM to watch it (it ran on a weird time slot over here) and I'm definitely not a morning person :)
Back in the mid-1980's, Carl Macek and Harmony Gold acquired the rights to three Japanese anime programs ("Macross," "Southern Cross," and "Genesis Climber Mospeada") and wove a story to tie the three series together, thus creating the show that Americans have come to know as "Robotech." While the three series didn't necessarily combine together seamlessly, they still came together in such a way that the story seemed believable. Of the three series, I would have to say that "Macross" is my favorite part of the "Robotech" saga (I absolutely loved the character interactions and relationships in this section), followed by "Genesis Climber Mospeada" (I love how Harmony Gold was able to get away with having a cross-dressing character!), and then "Southern Cross" (the "Southern Cross" section takes a little while to get going and catch your interest... but once it got your interest, it kept it).
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