Janice Em
Encyclopedia
Janice Em—an acronym alias for Junctioned Articifial Neuro-Intigrated Cybernetic Entity M1—is a fictional android from the universe of Robotech
. She would have been a major character in the storyline of the aborted animated sequel series Robotech II: The Sentinels
, which was later realized as both a series of a novels
and comic books
, and went on to play a key role in the animated feature, Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
.
as part of the expanded story he crafted for the series. Like fellow Sentinels character T.R. Edwards, Jance was originally intended to debut in 1986's Robotech: The Movie
; according to Macek's notes in the art book, Robotech Art 3
, she would have been an artificial intelligence brought to Earth
aboard the spaceship SDF-1
and used by the government of Earth for propaganda and cover-ups, subsequently rebuilt into an android by existing Robotech character, Emil Lang, during the time that passed between the movie and The Sentinels.
As Robotech: The Movie was an English dub of the direct-to-video Japanese feature, Megazone 23
, "Janice" was to be the English-language version of the artificial intelligence from that movie, Eve Tokimatsuri
. Per Macek's original vision, the movie would have taken place during the early stages of the Macross
portion of the Robotech storyline, in the early 2010s, but this intention was lost when film distributor Cannon Films requested major revisions to the story. In the final Canon-approved cut, the timeframe of the film was advanced to the year 2027—a point in time when Janice would not have been able to feature in the story. Consequently, the plan to make Eve and Janice the same character was discarded, but it was Eve who remained the artificial intelligence from the SDF-1; Janice was henceforth simply referred to as a creation of Lang and Lazlo Zand, built on Earth in 2013.
The withdrawal of partner Matchbox Toys ultimately caused The Sentinels to be cancelled after only approximately three episodes' worth of footage had been completed. This footage was cut together to form a "movie" of sorts that was released directly to video, and in which Janice briefly appeared, voiced by actress Wendee Lee
, and betraying no hint of her true robotic nature, save perhaps for what Lynn-Minmei calls "a very odd sense of humor". The remainder of the Sentinels storyline, including the revelation of Janice's true nature and her sacrifice in order to end the conflict, was subsequently told through a series of five novels penned by Jack McKinney
, based on Macek's outline for the unproduced cartoon. A comic book adaptation of the Sentinels storyline was also produced by Jason and John Waltrip from 1988 to 1996, across two publishers, but was cancelled before it could reach its conclusion.
Jance got a new lease on life when Harmony Gold
decided to reboot the Robotech universe for the 21st century. Intended to serve as a lead-in to the upcoming animated movie, Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, WildStorm
published a comic book mini-series, Robotech: Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles
, penned by returning creators Jason and John Waltrip. Although many of the specific details were different in the revised, post-reboot timeline, Prelude essentially allowed the Waltrips to finish their version of the Sentinels storyline, including a new ending in which Janice survived, so she could go on to star in the Shadow Chronicles film, in which she was voiced by Chase Masterson
.
' The Sentinels: Book I comic book. Introduced simply as the niece of Dr. Emil Lang, she is the new singing partner of starlet Lynn-Minmei, and together, they perform at the wedding of Rick Hunter
and Lisa Hayes
. Soon after, Minmei convinces Janice to pilot a shuttle to the SDF-3 so she can say goodbye to her friends before they depart on their diplomatic mission to the planet Tirol
, but their ship is caught up in the space fold when the SDF-3 teleports away. Brought on board the SDF-3 to recover, Janice's true robotic nature is revealed to the audience when her creator, Dr. Lang, downloads her recent memories to analyze her unexpected actions. Lang had installed her as Minmei's partner so that she could travel the world as a pop star, talking to the right people in the corridors of power, feeding the suspicious Lang information about the untrustworthy government while he was off-planet.
In the second act of The Sentinels, detailed in McKinney's Dark Powers and Eternity's The Sentinels: Book II, the titular Sentinels themselves enter the scene, a rag-tag group of aliens who are attempting to free their homeworlds from the clutches of the Invid
. When a contingent of REF personnel join them on their mission, Lang arranges for Janice to be part of the mission to serve as his eyes and ears, keeping particular watch on Rem, a clone of the Robotech Master Zor. The Sentinels' adventures leave them stranded on the dying planet of Praxis at the beginning of the story's third act, as seen in McKinney's Death Dance and Book III of the Sentinels comics, published by both Eternity and Academy Comics
. Janice teams with pilot Jonathan Wolfe to recover a drive module from orbital space that the team could use to escape the planet, but during in the process, they are hijacked by renegade Sentinel Burak and his Invid ally Tesla, who both seek to use the module to return to their homeworlds. Janice intervenes, using her robotic powers to interface with the module and lock in a course back to Tirol and SDF-3; upon their return, Dr. Lang supplies Wolfe and Janice with the SDF-7, which they use to save the Sentinels before Praxis destroys itself.
The fourth act of The Sentinels, told through McKinney's World Killers and Acadaemy's The Sentinels: Book IV, finally has Janice's true nature revealed to her comrades when she is forced to interface with the Awareness, the massive computer-mind of the artificial planet Haydon IV, in order to save her friends by turning the planet's defense system against the Invid. Despite some initial concern over the duplicity, everyone takes the revelation in stride, and Janice's standing in the group remains strong, especially after she revealed her robotically-enhanced combat proficiency in the final battle to free Haydon IV. Following the liberation of the remaining Sentinels' planets, the fifth and final act of The Sentinels, covered in McKinney's Rubicon, sees the heroes confront treacherous REF general T.R. Edwards on Optera. Edwards is planning to used the world's Genesis Pits to engineers a race of monsters, but Janice stops him by holographically disguising herself as Minmei, whom Edwards had become infatuated with. Using the disguise to get close to Edwards, Janice seizes him, sacrificing herself to topple him into the Genesis Pit, ending both their lives.
At the conclusion of Prelude, Janice participates in a test of the Hadyonites' dangerous Neutron-S Missiles, which badly damages the SDF-3 and its sister ship, the Deukalion. Janice survives the blast, and is recovered from the Deukaleon in the Shadow Chronicles feature itself. A strange romance seeming to bloom between Janice and her recoverer, Dr. Louie Nichols, and she serves as his assistant in analyzing Haydonite technology. Soon, however, it is discovered that the Haydonites actually seek to destroy all users of Protoculture
, and Vince Grant has Janice imprisoned on the belief that she is a traitor, given the Haydonite technology in her systems. The Haydonites soon arrive to take custody of Janice, but when she refuses to aid them, they attempt to destroy her. Realizing his mistake, Vince saves Janice and welcomes her back into the REF.
Robotech
Robotech is an 85-episode science fiction anime adaptation produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd. and first released in the United States in 1985...
. She would have been a major character in the storyline of the aborted animated sequel series Robotech II: The Sentinels
Robotech II: The Sentinels
Robotech II: The Sentinels was an attempt by Harmony Gold USA to continue the original 1985 Robotech television series. Only three episodes were ultimately animated before the project was canceled in 1986, and a feature-length film was released from footage taken from the completed episodes...
, which was later realized as both a series of a novels
Robotech (novels)
In 1987, the Robotech animated series was adapted into novel form by authors James Luceno and the late Brian Daley and published by Ballantine Books. Having previously collaborated on the animated series Galaxy Rangers, the pair's Robotech novels were released under the unified pseudonym of "Jack...
and comic books
Robotech (comics)
Robotech comics first officially appeared in print in 1985, though Comico published the first issue of its license from Harmony Gold USA under the Macross name....
, and went on to play a key role in the animated feature, Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles is the 2006 animated sequel to the 1985 Robotech television series. It was released on DVD on February 6, 2007.- Plot :...
.
Concept and creation
Janice was created by Robotech producer and writer Carl MacekCarl Macek
Carl F. Macek was an American writer and controversial anime pioneer and producer of the 1980s and 1990s.-Robotech and Harmony Gold USA:...
as part of the expanded story he crafted for the series. Like fellow Sentinels character T.R. Edwards, Jance was originally intended to debut in 1986's Robotech: The Movie
Robotech: The Movie
Robotech: The Movie is a 1986 American-Japanese science fiction animated film based on the Robotech TV series and Robotech franchise created by Harmony Gold USA...
; according to Macek's notes in the art book, Robotech Art 3
Robotech art books
Robotech art books are a series of publications made up of the artwork, designs, and sometimes the production background of the Robotech television series and its spinoffs. Robotech Art 1 through Robotech Art 3: The Sentinels were published by Starblaze Graphics, an imprint of The Donning Company...
, she would have been an artificial intelligence brought to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
aboard the spaceship SDF-1
SDF-1 Macross
The SDF-1 Macross is a fictional interstellar transforming spacecraft from The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, an anime science fiction series that aired in Japan in 1982–1983, and its American adaptation Robotech...
and used by the government of Earth for propaganda and cover-ups, subsequently rebuilt into an android by existing Robotech character, Emil Lang, during the time that passed between the movie and The Sentinels.
As Robotech: The Movie was an English dub of the direct-to-video Japanese feature, Megazone 23
Megazone 23
is a four-part original video animation created by AIC, written by Hiroyuki Hoshiyama, and directed by Noboru Ishiguro, Ichiro Itano, Kenichi Yatagai and Shinji Aramaki. The series was originally titled but the title was changed just before release....
, "Janice" was to be the English-language version of the artificial intelligence from that movie, Eve Tokimatsuri
Eve Tokimatsuri
is a recurring character in the Megazone 23 animated series. She was designed by animator Haruhiko Mikimoto.-Backstory:The original Eve Tokimatsuri was born in the 24th Century on Earth. She was the personal assistant of the polymath Professor Ferdinand F. Heinkel. Prof. Heinkel and Eve were...
. Per Macek's original vision, the movie would have taken place during the early stages of the Macross
Macross
is a series of science fiction mecha anime, directed by Shōji Kawamori of Studio Nue in 1982. The franchise features a fictional history of Earth/Humanity after the year 1999. It consists of three TV series, four movies, six OVAs, one light novel and five manga series, all sponsored by Big West...
portion of the Robotech storyline, in the early 2010s, but this intention was lost when film distributor Cannon Films requested major revisions to the story. In the final Canon-approved cut, the timeframe of the film was advanced to the year 2027—a point in time when Janice would not have been able to feature in the story. Consequently, the plan to make Eve and Janice the same character was discarded, but it was Eve who remained the artificial intelligence from the SDF-1; Janice was henceforth simply referred to as a creation of Lang and Lazlo Zand, built on Earth in 2013.
The withdrawal of partner Matchbox Toys ultimately caused The Sentinels to be cancelled after only approximately three episodes' worth of footage had been completed. This footage was cut together to form a "movie" of sorts that was released directly to video, and in which Janice briefly appeared, voiced by actress Wendee Lee
Wendee Lee
Wendee Lee is an American voice actress. While she has done voice work for many video games as well as several episodes in the Power Rangers franchise, she is particularly prolific in the dubbing of anime. As of April 2009, with 223 credits to her name, she has more credits in this medium than any...
, and betraying no hint of her true robotic nature, save perhaps for what Lynn-Minmei calls "a very odd sense of humor". The remainder of the Sentinels storyline, including the revelation of Janice's true nature and her sacrifice in order to end the conflict, was subsequently told through a series of five novels penned by Jack McKinney
Jack McKinney (writer)
Jack McKinney was a pseudonym used by American authors James Luceno and Brian Daley before the latter's death.As well as adapting Robotech into novel form, they were also responsible for the Sentinels series which continued to expand the Robotech Universe...
, based on Macek's outline for the unproduced cartoon. A comic book adaptation of the Sentinels storyline was also produced by Jason and John Waltrip from 1988 to 1996, across two publishers, but was cancelled before it could reach its conclusion.
Jance got a new lease on life when Harmony Gold
Harmony Gold USA
Harmony Gold is a television production and distribution company established in 1983. It is best known as the “creator” and main distributor of the anime series Robotech. It also partially dubbed the Dragon Ball series in the late 1980s....
decided to reboot the Robotech universe for the 21st century. Intended to serve as a lead-in to the upcoming animated movie, Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, WildStorm
WildStorm
WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
published a comic book mini-series, Robotech: Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles
Robotech: Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles
Robotech: Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles is a five-part comic book mini-series written by Tommy Yune along with the Waltrip brothers, who were previously the art-and-writing team of the Robotech II: The Sentinels comic series. It was published under DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint...
, penned by returning creators Jason and John Waltrip. Although many of the specific details were different in the revised, post-reboot timeline, Prelude essentially allowed the Waltrips to finish their version of the Sentinels storyline, including a new ending in which Janice survived, so she could go on to star in the Shadow Chronicles film, in which she was voiced by Chase Masterson
Chase Masterson
Chase Masterson, born Christianne Carafano on February 26, 1963 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is an American actress and singer.-Career:...
.
Robotech II: The Sentinels
Janice Em debuts at the beginning of the first "act" of the Sentinels storyline, covered by Jack McKinney's first novel, The Devil's Hand, and Eternity ComicsEternity Comics
Eternity Comics was a California-based comic book publisher active from 1986 to 1994, first as an independent publisher, then as an imprint of Malibu Comics. Eternity published creator-owned comics of an offbeat, independent flavor, as well as some licensed properties...
' The Sentinels: Book I comic book. Introduced simply as the niece of Dr. Emil Lang, she is the new singing partner of starlet Lynn-Minmei, and together, they perform at the wedding of Rick Hunter
Rick Hunter
Rick Hunter, voiced by veteran voice actor Tony Oliver, is one of the fictional characters in the Robotech anime television series. He begins the series as a naive and headstrong nineteen-year-old civilian pilot, having flown for his father "Pops" Hunter's world-class flying circus...
and Lisa Hayes
Lisa Hayes
Lisa Hayes is one of the fictional characters in the first Robotech anime television series. She is known as Misa Hayase in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, the series which was adapted into the first saga of Robotech.- Biography :...
. Soon after, Minmei convinces Janice to pilot a shuttle to the SDF-3 so she can say goodbye to her friends before they depart on their diplomatic mission to the planet Tirol
Tirol (fictional planet)
In the fictional Robotech universe, Tirol is the homeworld of the Robotech Masters, who are the leaders of their race - the Tirolians, and their bioengineered Zentraedi troops. Tirol is the third moon distant from the blue-green, Jupiter-sized planet Fantoma, whose large ring system is extremely...
, but their ship is caught up in the space fold when the SDF-3 teleports away. Brought on board the SDF-3 to recover, Janice's true robotic nature is revealed to the audience when her creator, Dr. Lang, downloads her recent memories to analyze her unexpected actions. Lang had installed her as Minmei's partner so that she could travel the world as a pop star, talking to the right people in the corridors of power, feeding the suspicious Lang information about the untrustworthy government while he was off-planet.
In the second act of The Sentinels, detailed in McKinney's Dark Powers and Eternity's The Sentinels: Book II, the titular Sentinels themselves enter the scene, a rag-tag group of aliens who are attempting to free their homeworlds from the clutches of the Invid
Invid (Robotech)
The Invid are a fictional alien race in the Robotech storyline. They appear in the New Generation portion of the series, which uses the animation of the unrelated Japanese series Genesis Climber MOSPEADA, so their on-screen behavior and appearance matches the antagonists of that series, called the...
. When a contingent of REF personnel join them on their mission, Lang arranges for Janice to be part of the mission to serve as his eyes and ears, keeping particular watch on Rem, a clone of the Robotech Master Zor. The Sentinels' adventures leave them stranded on the dying planet of Praxis at the beginning of the story's third act, as seen in McKinney's Death Dance and Book III of the Sentinels comics, published by both Eternity and Academy Comics
Academy Comics
Academy Comics was an independent comic book publisher based in Indiana and founded by Mark Paniccia . It was originally founded as Pyramid Publishing in 1986, and transitioned to New Century Comics by 1990, which served primarily as a vehicle to publish Paniccia's own sword and sorcery comics...
. Janice teams with pilot Jonathan Wolfe to recover a drive module from orbital space that the team could use to escape the planet, but during in the process, they are hijacked by renegade Sentinel Burak and his Invid ally Tesla, who both seek to use the module to return to their homeworlds. Janice intervenes, using her robotic powers to interface with the module and lock in a course back to Tirol and SDF-3; upon their return, Dr. Lang supplies Wolfe and Janice with the SDF-7, which they use to save the Sentinels before Praxis destroys itself.
The fourth act of The Sentinels, told through McKinney's World Killers and Acadaemy's The Sentinels: Book IV, finally has Janice's true nature revealed to her comrades when she is forced to interface with the Awareness, the massive computer-mind of the artificial planet Haydon IV, in order to save her friends by turning the planet's defense system against the Invid. Despite some initial concern over the duplicity, everyone takes the revelation in stride, and Janice's standing in the group remains strong, especially after she revealed her robotically-enhanced combat proficiency in the final battle to free Haydon IV. Following the liberation of the remaining Sentinels' planets, the fifth and final act of The Sentinels, covered in McKinney's Rubicon, sees the heroes confront treacherous REF general T.R. Edwards on Optera. Edwards is planning to used the world's Genesis Pits to engineers a race of monsters, but Janice stops him by holographically disguising herself as Minmei, whom Edwards had become infatuated with. Using the disguise to get close to Edwards, Janice seizes him, sacrificing herself to topple him into the Genesis Pit, ending both their lives.
The Shadow Chronicles
Janice played a large role in the rebooted Robotech universe of the 21st century. WildStorm Comics' mini-series, Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles, served as an alternate ending to the Sentinels storyline, in which Janice helps Dr. Lang and the Haydonites unravel the mysteries of the cloaking "Shadow Technology" used by Edwards in his flight to Optera. Using the revelations gained from these studies, Lang begins constructing a new body incorporating Haydonite technology for Janice while she departs to join the final battle against Edwards. This conflict plays out as in Rubicon, with Janice disguising herself as Minmei to hurl Edwards into the Genesis Pit, but the Waltrips effected an alternate ending they had planned for their original adaptation, in which Edwards emerges from the pit as a mutated horror. Janice, too, survives the plunge, and clings to Edwards's back, serving as a homing beacon for the SDF-3 to target its synchro-cannons upon. Moments before the blast is fired, obliterating Edwards, Janice transfers her mind into the new body Lang had created for her.At the conclusion of Prelude, Janice participates in a test of the Hadyonites' dangerous Neutron-S Missiles, which badly damages the SDF-3 and its sister ship, the Deukalion. Janice survives the blast, and is recovered from the Deukaleon in the Shadow Chronicles feature itself. A strange romance seeming to bloom between Janice and her recoverer, Dr. Louie Nichols, and she serves as his assistant in analyzing Haydonite technology. Soon, however, it is discovered that the Haydonites actually seek to destroy all users of Protoculture
Protoculture
In physical anthropology, protoculture is the passing of behaviours from one generation to another among non-human primates. These cultures are very rudimentary, and do not exhibit complex cultural technology....
, and Vince Grant has Janice imprisoned on the belief that she is a traitor, given the Haydonite technology in her systems. The Haydonites soon arrive to take custody of Janice, but when she refuses to aid them, they attempt to destroy her. Realizing his mistake, Vince saves Janice and welcomes her back into the REF.