Robotech anyone?

[The Doctor]

Ok. I might as well be more truthful about myself. I'm the member of another anime site. It's Robotech.com.

It's the official website for fans of the 80's anime show, Robotech. Run by Harmony Gold, us RT fans get together to talk about the show, other anime, and other stuff. We've had alot to talk about lately though. What you might ask? Well, Harmony Gold has announced that they are currently working on a new addition to the RT saga: Robotech The Shadow Chronicles.
Tatsunoko Productions is doing some of the drawing, and official word is that the show will be about 70% anime and 30% CGI.

HG isn't talking too much about what the show will be about, but it appears that it will be picking up where the New Generation left off, that is it will be about Scott Bernard's search for Admiral Rick Hunter and the missing SDF-3.

If you guys are interested, go ahead and go. I will be honest that I'm a BIT worried about the show, mainly because HG recently released a remastered/unedited version of the original series, and they put back in some rather....tasteless scenes involving the fairer sex. -_-

I'm hoping they'll show restraint though and focus more on story rather than on cheap Hugh Hefner eye catching.

Oh well, if you guys are fans of the original show and just want to come on and join the rest of us, http://www.robotech.com

I'll warn you that the server can suck at times, and DO read the Terms of Use. The mods on RT.com can be very strict and there are rules that YOU NEED TO READ. One of the most important is NO DEBATING serious issues, like politics. No flaming, no flamebait, etc.

If you want to know more, I probably can help.

Also, if you go there, look me up and talk with me. I usually check the place alot. My name there is True Grit1.

See ya soon!

[youngWilliam]

I have a few of the new Robotech comic books. are the older ones any good? I'v been thinking about getting a few

[The Doctor]

I've read some of the old RT comic books, which were rereleased awhile ago. They're pretty cool.

[Nate]

I like Robotech!

I'm buying the Remastered box sets. I don't mind the English voices, honestly. Well, the only thing that REALLY bothers me is Minmei's English voice. When the whole first season revolves around singing, and her singing voice makes me wanna barf, that's not a good thing.

I've TRIED watching the Masters saga, but I can't get into it. I don't care about the characters, the storyline is kinda blah, and there's no Veritechs. I REALLY wanted to watch it, but I just don't like it as much as the Macross saga...

[youngWilliam]

I used to have Robotech Battlecry for PS2, but as soon as I tried to best the Catscan level (or whatever it was called) about a billion times and failing each time, I sold it

[Mave]

I grew up watching Robotech although I cannot confidently identify the sagas well. I watched it with the American voices and opening theme so it would be kinda awkward for me to listen to the original Japanese version.

This is how I understand the series (pls correct me if I'm wrong).

1st generation: Rick Hunter, Lisa Hayes, SDF1, Minmei and her "Stagefright, Go away" song (haha), Zentraedi and all
2nd generation: Dana Sterling and ehh...what's his name? Rem? Oh well...I just know there's Musica, Bowie and the likes
3rd generation: Invid Invasion with Scott Bernard, Randy and Marlene etc.etc.

I heard there was this Robotech Sentinels series, which never got completed. It was about an older Rick, Lisa etc, who went off to the galaxy to search for..........something. The Robotech Masters? >_<;; My memory is kinda poor. It's been about 7-8 years since I've watched this.

My fav. series was the 3rd series, there's something about the Invid, which I was quite fascinated with. I love the mecha designs such as the Enforcers, Krugers and that crabby thingy. XD;;;

I read the novels randomly and thought they were great.

I would be interested in this new series you mentioned .....but hope there wouldn't be the fanservice as you report. -_-;;

Robotech, yeah...lotsa good childhood memories.

[The Doctor]

Heh. I WOULDN'T recommend buying the Remastered box sets since many of the "shower" scenes removed from the series due to FCC rules are now back in the Remastered version.

As for the Sentinels, it was about an Admiral Rick and Lisa (now married) going on an expedition in the SDF-3 to find the homeworld of the Robotech Masters (mentioned in To The Stars). It was Harmony Gold's first of four attempts to extend the RT saga. Unfortunately, as with the latter 2 attempts, money ran out and stopped the rather promising project (there are still ALOT of Rt fans who want to see The Sentinels extended). The other two attempts were "Robotech The Movie: The Untold Story" Limited release in Texas. Then there was the most recent "Robotech 3000" which as with the Sentinels, was stopped due to running out of money (actually, the series was going to be all CGI [UGH], but the company doing the animating, Netter Digital, went bankrupt). The last project is the current one "Robotech The Shadow Chronicles".

RT fans are very excited about it, but there are some fans who doubt if whether or not HG will actually be able to see this one through. Who could blame them? HG is currently 0-3 in trying to add to the series.

[Retten]

Ah yes I love Robotech its was an awsome Mecha show and still continues to be so. *needs to finish Macross Zero still -_-* Not to mention its got a huge fanbase and lots of merchandise. Allot like Gundam really.

[CDLviking]

I liked the Macross Saga, but couldn't get into the rest. I'm considering purchasing the original Japanese version SDF Macross when my finances stablize.

[Roy Mustang]

I would like to see a full Macross saga set that is sub and dub, then see another Robotech anime.

Wingzero22

[termyt]

I'm really excited about the OVA series.

The shower scenes were extremely common in anime of that generation. More had a scene like that than didn't. More likely, they tossed them back in the remastered versions because they were there more than because of what they were. Hopefully, there won't be too much fan service in the new series.

[shooraijin]

They were in the original Macross as well (they appear in my AnimEigo version).

Why does Remastered look so terrible, btw? Allegedly it's sourced from the same transfer that AnimEigo used for their release of SDF Macross. However, it looks much grainer and oversaturated than the AE transfer, and if this is indeed simply DVD compression artifact, it's disappointing they would ruin good material by bad encoding. AnimEigo's master for Macross looks so much better than ADV's Remastered Robotech.

[The Doctor]

Shooraijin.

You can go to the site's website and find out about the system they used if you wish. Part of the answer may be that the original series source films, that they created when they put the series together back in the 80's, was destroyed in the 90's by a flood. So when they did the remastered series, they literally had to start from scratch. They had to get old tapes to get the English voice overs put back in with the film. That may be part of the problem, that they were pretty much starting from square one when they did this thing.

[termyt]

I've not bothered with "remastered." I went through the trouble of collecting the entire Robotech series on DVD and the original series it was spawned from. I figured that that should cover the all the bases. From what I'm hearing, I'm glad I did.

[CDLviking]

They were in the original Macross as well (they appear in my AnimEigo version).

Why does Remastered look so terrible, btw? Allegedly it's sourced from the same transfer that AnimEigo used for their release of SDF Macross. However, it looks much grainer and oversaturated than the AE transfer, and if this is indeed simply DVD compression artifact, it's disappointing they would ruin good material by bad encoding. AnimEigo's master for Macross looks so much better than ADV's Remastered Robotech.

So are the differences between AnimEigo's Macross and Harmony Gold's Robotech very great, or are they still essentially the same show?

[agasfas]

Robotech!?
Actually was the very first anime I've watched. Actually it was the earlier american versions so perhaps that doesn't cout. Seen only a few episodes but it looks good. Also I saw Macross II moive.... that was..... err... so-so.

[The Doctor]

Ok.

Here's a short history. Harmony Gold got the rights to distribute Macross in the U.S. and they wanted to put the series on U.S. tv. However, at the time many U.S. stations require for there to be a minimum of thirty-five episodes to air a series, and Macross only had twenty-five. So Carl Macek, the producer hired by HG to manage the series' translation, decided to splice together two different series with Macross (Army of the Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber Mospeada) into one tv series with the same plot line. So, Carl and his writing staff tweaked the scripts up, did some editing and bammo, we have 96 episode series titled "Robotech". There are, at times some major differences between Robotech and Macross, and other times there aren't. Like with Protoculture, in Robotech it's a power source while in Macross it was the name for the species that fathered the Zentradi.

Hope it helps.

Oh yeah, and if anyone's wondering, Carl Macek is NOT the producer, nor as far as we can tell, having anything to do with the upcoming new Robotech series. Mr. Macek left Harmony Gold in the mid-90's (I think it was) to join ADV Films as an original series creator/developer. The last Robotech projects Mr. Macek was a part of was the cancelled Robotech 3000 series and being the dvd producer of the first Robotech DVD release. After that, Carl Macek has officially bid Robotech farewell and moved on.

Some of us fans are kind of sad that the "father" of such an epic isn't apart of it's latest installment.

The producers (and chief writers and directors, I think) of the new series is Tommy Yune and Tom Bateman.

[Yojimbo]

I grew up on Robotech. I own the Macross Saga on DVD and I still love it. I'll deffinetly check this out.

[shooraijin]

You can go to the site's website and find out about the system they used if you wish. Part of the answer may be that the original series source films, that they created when they put the series together back in the 80's, was destroyed in the 90's by a flood. So when they did the remastered series, they literally had to start from scratch. They had to get old tapes to get the English voice overs put back in with the film. That may be part of the problem, that they were pretty much starting from square one when they did this thing.

Yes, I know all that. AnimEigo had to do the same thing, and if you look in the credits for Remastered, ADV used AnimEigo's footage from AnimEigo's reissue of Macross. They're listed right there in the middle]So are the differences between AnimEigo's Macross and Harmony Gold's Robotech very great, or are they still essentially the same show?[/quote]

There aren't many, although as The Doctor mentioned, the (admittedly mild in comparison to today's) fanservice was removed for FCC reasons. There's a little more language in Macross, and Roy's skirtchasing is played up quite a bit more, but the basic plot wasn't much altered. Note, however, that Robotech Macross has a much greater emphasis on the concept of Protoculture since that was to be Macek's unifying theme, and some portions of Southern Cross were cut into Macross Saga to give continuity into the Masters Saga so that Zor was already a (small) part of the story before the actual transition into the second generation.

[Yahshua]

I love Robotech.

[The Doctor]

Shooraijin,

I'm not sure. Maybe money is a part of it (that being that Harmony Gold isn't filthy rich like other media companies). But I'm only guessing. I can say that the odds are against you getting a straight answer from HG.

What I can say is that the fanservice was enough to keep me from buying the "Remastered" version, and if the visual quality is as bad as you say, then forget it. I have no reason to buy it now. I'll stick with the original DVD's that I bought and the others that I got for Christmas.

[shooraijin]

See, that's what doesn't make any sense to me. Even if Harmony Gold doesn't have the bucks, ADV surely has enough money to do it right, especially since they out-and-out bought footage from AnimEigo which is comparatively small-time compared to the larger import conglomerates like Viz and, well, ADV.

Anyway, I was disappointed in it. If you're still curious, ADV makes it cheap to find out if you'll like it -- buy the Remastered Animini, which is just Boobytrap on a 3" DVD. You can then see the film quality and the new eyecatch and titles, and it was only around $5. If you have a little more cash to burn, spend the $20-$25 and pick up the first volume of Macross from AnimEigo, and compare them. It's shameful.

[wolfs_rain_hige]

ive played robotech battlecry on Xbox. the story is lame but the graphics and sound and fighting are sweet!!!

[Gypsy]

Yes, it is a fun (but hard!) game. I really liked the way the characters and voice actors were the same from the series - it was a nice touch.

[termyt]

I hate the escort missions, but it's very cool to pilot a veritech. That makes it all worth while.

I've played Invasion as well, but that's just not as cool.

[Yojimbo]

Yeah I noticed when I bought the regular ADV DVD set the footage was the exact same it was in the 80's. There's really no excuse for that and I felt a little cheated. But I got the Macross Saga for $45 and ya can't beat that price.

[shooraijin]

Well, which set did you buy, Remastered, or the "black box" series, or Legacy? There's actually three that ADV released, at varying times. The "black box" and Remastered series are still widely available.

[Roy Mustang]

Time out. I been reading this and now I'm lost.

Is the "black box" one the one to get if you want your real Macross?


Wingzero22

[shooraijin]

No -- the Macross series isn't released by ADV, it's released by AnimEigo and is labeled "Super Dimensional Fortress Macross."

"Black box" is just what I call the ADV Robotech sets released in the generic black plastic multi-DVD cases (the ones without individual DVD cases inside). The Macross Saga "black box" ISBN, just for comparison, is 1 57813 392 0 (look on the UPC). I don't know if there's an official name for this release or not.

[The Doctor]

LOL, I watched a game review show on tv and they TRASHED Robotech:Invasion.

WOO HOO! I'VE REACHED 100 POSTS!!! Is this a record for such a short time of membership?