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Robotech (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Robotech is an 85-episode adaptation of three different
anime
television series made between 1982-1984 in Japan
, the adaptation was aired in 1985. Within the combined and edited story, Robotechnology refers to the scientific advances discovered in an alien starship that crashed on a South Pacific island. With this technology, Earth developed giant robotic machines or mecha
(many of which were capable of transforming into vehicles) to fight three successive extraterrestrial invasions.
televised in the United States
that attempted to include most of the complexity and drama of its original Japan
ese source material. Produced by Harmony Gold USA
, Inc. in association with Tatsunoko Productions Co. Ltd., Robotech is a story adapted with edited content and revised dialogue from the animation of three different mecha
anime series: The Super Dimension Fortress Macross
from 1982, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross from 1984, and Genesis Climber Mospeada
from 1983. Harmony Gold's cited reasoning for combining these unrelated series was its decision to market Macross for American weekday syndication television, which required a minimum of 65 episodes at the time (thirteen weeks at five episodes per week). Macross and the two other series each had fewer episodes than required since they originally aired in Japan as a weekly series.
, a pioneer of the anime industry in United States.
This combination resulted in a storyline that spans three generations as mankind must fight three destructive Robotech Wars
in succession over a powerful energy source called "Protoculture":
Since Robotech was a non-union project, many of the voice actors involved worked under pseudonyms to avoid trouble with their union. The voice actor list printed in Robotech Art One lists the pseudonyms rather than the real names of most of the actors.
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...
anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
television series made between 1982-1984 in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the adaptation was aired in 1985. Within the combined and edited story, Robotechnology refers to the scientific advances discovered in an alien starship that crashed on a South Pacific island. With this technology, Earth developed giant robotic machines or mecha
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
(many of which were capable of transforming into vehicles) to fight three successive extraterrestrial invasions.
Background
Robotech was one of the first animeAnime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
televised in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
that attempted to include most of the complexity and drama of its original Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese source material. Produced by Harmony Gold USA
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....
, Inc. in association with Tatsunoko Productions Co. Ltd., Robotech is a story adapted with edited content and revised dialogue from the animation of three different mecha
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
anime series: The Super Dimension Fortress Macross
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross
is an anime television series. According to story creator Shoji Kawamori, it depicts "a love triangle against the backdrop of great battles" during the first Human-alien war....
from 1982, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross from 1984, and Genesis Climber Mospeada
Genesis Climber Mospeada
is an anime science fiction series created by Shinji Aramaki and Hideki Kakinuma. The 25-episode television series ran from late 1983 to early 1984 in Japan...
from 1983. Harmony Gold's cited reasoning for combining these unrelated series was its decision to market Macross for American weekday syndication television, which required a minimum of 65 episodes at the time (thirteen weeks at five episodes per week). Macross and the two other series each had fewer episodes than required since they originally aired in Japan as a weekly series.
Production history
Harmony Gold hired American writers to adapt the scripts of the three Japanese series. This complicated process was supervised by producer 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:...
, a pioneer of the anime industry in United States.
This combination resulted in a storyline that spans three generations as mankind must fight three destructive Robotech Wars
Robotech Wars
In the fictional world of Robotech, the Robotech Wars are a series of four devastating wars that take place in the first half of the 21st century...
in succession over a powerful energy source called "Protoculture":
- The First Robotech War (The Macross Saga) concerns humanity's battle against the giant Zentraedi warriors who are sent to earth to retrieve the wrecked starship that contains the last known source of Protoculture in the universe. In the course of this chapter, Earth is nearly annihilated, but the Zentraedi are defeated. Humanity also learns of the Robotech Masters whose galactic empire the Zentraedi protected and patrolled.
- In the Second Robotech War (The Robotech Masters), the rulers of the Zentraedi, the Robotech Masters, attempt to take up where the Zentraedi left off The focus is on the arrival of the Robotech Masters into the orbit of Earth, as they arrive in search of what turns out to be the last sole means in the universe of producing protoculture. Through mistrust and arrogance, their attempts at retrieving protoculture are met with resistance from the humans. This mistrust unleashes a war that leaves the Masters defeated and Earth awash in the spores of a plant called the Flower of Life. The Flower of Life is the source of protoculture and acts as a beacon to the Invid who scrub the galaxy searching for its presence.
- In the Third Robotech War (The New Generation), the alien Invid have been attracted to earth by the Flower of Life and rapidly conquer the planet. It is now up to returning elements of the Robotech Expeditionary Force to fight them off. Knowledge of the previous two chapters explain to viewers that many of the characters of the First Robotech War had left Earth to seek out the Robotech Masters. It is this Robotech Expeditionary Force, that from across the galaxy sends missions back to Earth in an attempt to liberate their homeworld. The Third Robotech War storyline follows this main group of freedom fighters as they gear up for battle with the Invid.
Television broadcast
- North American television debut: Robotech originally aired in 19851985 in televisionThe year 1985 involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1985.For the American TV schedule, see: 1985-86 United States network television schedule.-Events:*January 1 – VH1 launches in the United States....
in first-run syndication, meaning it was sold directly to local television stations without having been run on a network first—this was part of a trend in animation in the 1980s. Previously, local stations would rerun theatrical cartoons like Looney TunesLooney TunesLooney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
or shows that had previously aired on network TV on Saturday mornings. This changed after He-Man and the Masters of the UniverseHe-Man and the Masters of the UniverseHe-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's successful toy line Masters of the Universe...
introduced a new economic model: shows sold directly for first-run to stations, driving and funded by sales of related toys. Though the original Robotech series did well in ratings, the attempt to cash in on toys may have doomed Robotech II: The Sentinels as the original series attracted older viewers, not necessarily the children targeted by the toy line. The failure of the Matchbox toy line is cited as a primary reason for the cancellation of the Sentinels series.
- International broadcast: In Australia, Robotech was aired in 1980s and late 1990s by both the Seven and Ten networks in different states. Ten cut the series at episode 52, while Seven broadcast all 85 episodes. The Philippine network GMA-7 aired the Masters and New Generation episodes in the late 1980s, as part of the late-afternoon weekday animation block (together with Captain HarlockCaptain Harlockis a fictional character created by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto.Harlock is the archetypical romantic hero, a space pirate with an individualist philosophy of life. He is as noble as he is taciturn, rebellious, stoically fighting against totalitarian regimes, whether they be earthborn or alien...
). The Hong Kong cable television channel Star Plus (now Star WorldSTAR WorldSTAR World is an Asian English language cable and satellite television network owned by Star TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation. The channel is the successor of STAR Plus, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
) aired all 85 episodes, from May 1994 to January 1995, with changes in time-slots (May-early October 1994, 11:00 a.m. Sundays; October 1994-January 1995, 5:30 p.m. Weekdays). The series was broadcast in a number of European countries by the then Super ChannelNBC EuropeNBC Europe was a satellite television channel based in the United Kingdom that broadcast across Europe...
during the 1980s. In the UK, Robotech aired on The Children's ChannelThe Children's ChannelThe Children's Channel, also known as TCC, was a television station in the United Kingdom, Benelux and Scandinavia, which was owned by Flextech . It began broadcasting on 1 September 1984, and was closed on 3 April 1998...
in the mid to late 1980s, and it was transmitted on Prem1ere, the satellite movie channel, in the same period. In Spain, all Robotech episodes were aired, from August 1990 to April 1991, with changes in time slots, in TelecincoTelecincoTelecinco is a Spanish commercial television channel operated by Mediaset España. Launched in 1990 as Tele 5, it was the fifth of the national terrestrial television channels. In 1997, Tele 5 was rebranded as Telecinco, dropping the flower logo seen in other Mediaset channel...
channel. The series was aired again in the same channel from October 1993 to May 1994. At that time only The Macross Saga and The Robotech Masters Saga were aired, leaving the third part of the show unaired. In Russia, the entire series was shown in the beginning of 1990's on 2x22x22x2 may refer to:* two inch by two inch dimensional lumber* 2x2 , Russian television station* 2x2 , Ukraine web studio* 2 X 2, a Milli Vanilli album...
- the first commercial Russian channel. The Dubai-based channel MBC 3MBC 3MBC 3 is a free-to-air children channel that hosts by Dania al-Shafii and Hassan al-Mula and belongs to the Middle East Broadcasting Center . It was launched on 8 December 2004...
began broadcasting an Arabic-language dubbed version in early 2010.
- Subsequent airings: Robotech appeared on the Sci-Fi ChannelSyfySyfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
in 1993, and on Cartoon NetworkCartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
's ToonamiToonamiToonami was a registered trademark of Cartoon Network, used initially for action-oriented programming blocks on Cartoon Network television channels worldwide, mostly showing American cartoons and Japanese anime, originating in the United States on March 17, 1997 and ended on September 20, 2008.The...
in 1998. Toonami aired only episodes 1 through 60, finishing the run at the end of the Robotech Masters story-line. ToonamiToonamiToonami was a registered trademark of Cartoon Network, used initially for action-oriented programming blocks on Cartoon Network television channels worldwide, mostly showing American cartoons and Japanese anime, originating in the United States on March 17, 1997 and ended on September 20, 2008.The...
reran 3 selected episodes of Robotech as part of the Giant Robot Week in 2003. KTEH, a public television station in San Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
aired the "Macross" and "New Generation" storylines, as well as the Robotech II: The Sentinels feature. Robotech currently airs daily on The Anime Network. As of January 7, 2007, the show also airs in Canada on Space and RetroRetro (TV channel)Retro was a Latin American cable television network with classic programming that included movies and popular classic TV Series. It was owned by Turner Broadcasting System Latin America/Time Warner. Its headquarters were located in Buenos Aires, Argentina...
.
Home video releases
- Family Home EntertainmentFamily Home EntertainmentFamily Home Entertainment was an American home video company founded in 1980 by Noel C. Bloom. It was a division of International Video Entertainment, which had its headquarters in Newbury Park, California.-General information:...
(FHE) first attempted to release one episode per VHSVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
tape, but only got through a handful of early episodes before abandoning this approach. In 1987, the company then heavily edited the 36-episode Macross Saga portion into six feature-length tapes, cutting out episode introductions and slower scenes, and ignoring the Southern Cross and New Generation series entirely. A third VHS run finally succeeded at releasing the entire series with two uncut episodes per tape, over a total of 42 volumes. The Macross Saga and The Masters were also released on LaserdiscLaserdiscLaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
in 1993 and 1994, respectively. Each Laserdisc contained four uncut episodes.
- Palladium BooksPalladium BooksPalladium Books is a publisher of role-playing games perhaps best known for its popular, expansive Rifts series . Palladium was founded April 1981 in Detroit, Michigan by current president and lead game designer Kevin Siembieda, and is presently based in Westland, Michigan...
, which once published a Robotech role-playing gameRole-playing gameA role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, was the first company to release Southern Cross, New Generation, and Robotech II: The Sentinels on VHS home video. These VHS videos were available via mail-order, as well as some direct-market game and hobby shops.
- Streamline PicturesStreamline PicturesStreamline Pictures was an American media company that was best known for its distribution of English dubbed Japanese animation. -Founding:Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1988, Streamline Pictures was one of the first North American companies that was created primarily for the intention of...
, founded by Macek after the end of Robotech, released Robotech II: The Sentinels on VHS and LaserdiscLaserdiscLaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
after the Palladium Books releases went out of print. In 1994, Streamline Pictures also released an incomplete series of "Perfect Collection" VHS videos. Each volume included two episodes of Robotech after their corresponding episodes of Macross, Southern Cross, or Mospeada, completely uncut but inaccurately subtitled. This series allowed English-speaking viewers to see many of the changes made.
- GameTek Cinema released the first episode of Robotech on CD-ROMCD-ROMA CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
in 1994. This uncut episode was encoded in QuickTimeQuickTimeQuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
2.0 format at a video resolution of 320x226. The episode contained a marginally different arrangement of background music.
- AnimEigoAnimEigoAnimEigo is an American entertainment company that licenses and distributes anime, samurai films and Japanese cinema. The company was founded in 1988 in Ithaca, New York by Robert Woodhead and Roe R. Adams, III. It is now based in Wilmington, North Carolina, and run by Natsumi Ueki, Robert's wife...
, a specialty anime company, released the original Japanese Super Dimension Fortress MacrossMacrossis 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...
TV series on DVD in 2001 with subtitles and unedited in its pre-Robotech form. The footage was extensively restored from the original film stock by Shin Kurokawa, making this the most pristine release of Super Dimension Fortress Macross outside of Japan. The final DVD of the series also contains commentary by chief director Noburo Ishiguro.
- ADV Films, an American distributor of anime, began releasing the entire series on DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in 2001, typically with six episodes per disc. The first box sets of the series (dubbed the Robotech Legacy Collection) included extra discs with special features ranging from Robotech II: The Sentinels to pre-Robotech dubs of the first Macross and Mospeada episodes. Complete collection box-sets were also released, containing all the episodes of each of the three Robotech sagas, minus the extras discs.- The restoration of the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross TV series led to speculation among fans that the remastered footage could also be used to create a similarly-remastered version of Robotech. However, Carl Macek stated that a remaster would be impossible at the time because they lacked the necessary source materials, including edit-decision lists, unmixed audio elements, and restored video elements for Southern Cross and Mospeada, as well as for Macross. Some of this (the audio elements and edit-lists) had been destroyed in a flood in the early 1990s; some of it (remastered footage for the other two series) had never been available to begin with. But in 2002, a set of off-site audio backup tapes was discovered to include the missing audio elements, and in 2003 ADV delayed its release of the subtitled Super Dimension Cavalry Southern CrossThe Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Crosswas the third Japanese animated series released under the "Super Dimension" moniker by the sponsor Big West. This 1984 science fiction robotic mecha series followed Super Dimension Fortress Macross created by Studio Nue with Artland and produced by Tatsunoko, and Super Dimension Century Orguss ,...
and Genesis Climber MospeadaGenesis Climber Mospeadais an anime science fiction series created by Shinji Aramaki and Hideki Kakinuma. The 25-episode television series ran from late 1983 to early 1984 in Japan...
series by several months in order to remaster them, as well. With the remastered footage and audio elements available, ADV were able to forego needing the edit-decision lists by commissioning the same video production company that had originally edited Robotech to create a new edit of the show. Robotech: Remastered included the restoration of some scenes previously cut from the original Robotech release to conform to broadcast standards and broadcast length requirements, new opening/ending sequences, 5.1 Dolby surround sound with rerecorded sound effects, and new eyecatch sequences. - Robotech: Remastered is not without its share of controversy. Some fans were upset by the reversal of ADV's position on a remastered Robotech, feeling betrayed because they purchased the expensive Legacy Collection during the time ADV was insisting that there would be no remaster, and that this would be the best way Robotech would ever be seen on DVD. Other fans feel that the new 5.1 mix is overly loud and lacks subtlety; they prefer the unremastered version of the series, because it represents the Robotech that they love and remember as it first aired on television without the distraction of new sound effects. Also, the extent of the new footage is limited to sequences that did not require newly-recorded dialogue (though other cut scenes are included, in the original Japanese, on one of the Legacy Collection extras discs). The video quality suffers slightly by comparison to AnimEigo's Macross DVDs: ADV includes six episodes per Robotech disc to AnimEigo's four per disc of Macross, meaning that more compression is necessary, and therefore more compression artifacts appear. However, there is little question that the audio and video quality are substantially improved over the prior Robotech DVD release, and Robotech fans would likely prefer having had two different DVD versions released than none at all.
- In 2003, the original Super Dimension Cavalry Southern CrossThe Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Crosswas the third Japanese animated series released under the "Super Dimension" moniker by the sponsor Big West. This 1984 science fiction robotic mecha series followed Super Dimension Fortress Macross created by Studio Nue with Artland and produced by Tatsunoko, and Super Dimension Century Orguss ,...
and Genesis Climber MospeadaGenesis Climber Mospeadais an anime science fiction series created by Shinji Aramaki and Hideki Kakinuma. The 25-episode television series ran from late 1983 to early 1984 in Japan...
series were released subtitled on DVD in their original Japanese language by ADV Films. - Finally, in 2005, ADV released yet another box set, Robotech: The Protoculture Collection, containing all the Robotech: Remastered DVDs plus the seven extras discs from the Legacy Collection in one thin-pack box. Detractors criticize these DVD re-releases as part of an industry trend to entice buyers to "double-dip", or buy more than one edition of the same DVD.
- Nevertheless, ADV Films announced at Anime ExpoAnime ExpoAnime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation . With rare exceptions, the convention is traditionally held on the July 4th weekend and lasts for four days...
2005 that they would be creating an uncut dub for Macross, with the original Japanese voice actress Mari IijimaMari Iijimais a Japanese singer-songwriter who has released over 20 original albums to date. She writes and produces most of her own music, is a multi-instrumentalist, and is an accomplished piano player. After being signed to JVC Victor in 1982, Mari first became known for her voice-acting role as Lynn...
reprising her role as Minmei. This release has been completed, with the first volume being released on January 10, 2006, and the final volume being released on December 19, 2006. However, this dub did not utilize the same voice actors used in RobotechRobotechRobotech 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...
.
- The restoration of the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross TV series led to speculation among fans that the remastered footage could also be used to create a similarly-remastered version of Robotech. However, Carl Macek stated that a remaster would be impossible at the time because they lacked the necessary source materials, including edit-decision lists, unmixed audio elements, and restored video elements for Southern Cross and Mospeada, as well as for Macross. Some of this (the audio elements and edit-lists) had been destroyed in a flood in the early 1990s; some of it (remastered footage for the other two series) had never been available to begin with. But in 2002, a set of off-site audio backup tapes was discovered to include the missing audio elements, and in 2003 ADV delayed its release of the subtitled Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross
- A&E Networks Home EntertainmentA&E Television NetworksA&E Television Networks is a U.S. media company that owns a group of television channels available via cable & satellite in the US and abroad...
picked up the video distribution rights to Robotech and re-released the series on DVD in 2011. Their release includes an edited version of Robotech II: The Sentinels (which omits the Macross flashback scenes) and a 29-minute version of Robotech: The Movie (which does not include the Megazone 23Megazone 23is 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....
footage, as Harmony Gold USA no longer has the rights to that series).
- Manga EntertainmentManga EntertainmentManga Entertainment is a producer, licensor and distributor of Japanese animation in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand...
started to release Robotech on DVD as two-disc sets in the UK in late 2005. These sets are essentially the same as the Robotech: Remastered release from the US, but in different packaging.
- Madman EntertainmentMadman EntertainmentMadman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
released an Australian Region 4 version of the Robotech Legacy Collection boxed sets starting in November 2002 with Volume One, and ending with Volume Seven in May 2003; the Australian version almost identical to the original US release, except for not repeating the "gold box" mistake.- Claiming for a long time there wasn't enough demand for subtitled-only DVD releases, Madman eventually chose to test the waters with the release of the Japanese Macross series in March 2004. It was successful enough to secure the release of Southern Cross in July and Genesis Climber Mospeada in October of the same year. All three series are released in their own Madman-designed box, and bear little resemblance to the US releases; many fans preferring the Madman Macross box design over the various US versions.
- When initially asked about the possibility of an Australian release of Robotech: Remastered, Madman claimed that it would not be cost-effective or profitable with the Legacy Collection already in the market, only to change their tune and release the Robotech 20th Anniversary Remastered Extended Edition, a single box with all 14 discs, in June 2005. The recommended retail price for this box was only a little more than that of two of Madman Legacy Collection boxes.
- Continuing to follow the ADV Films trend, Madman announced the release of an Australian version of Robotech: The Protoculture Collection in November 2007, again with an RRP only a little more than the preceding 20th Anniversary set.
Original series cast & crew
English cast
| Executive & creative staff
Production crew
Music staff
|
Since Robotech was a non-union project, many of the voice actors involved worked under pseudonyms to avoid trouble with their union. The voice actor list printed in Robotech Art One lists the pseudonyms rather than the real names of most of the actors.
Continuing after the original series
- Harmony Gold attempted to produce several follow ups (see Robotech: Animated sequels and spinoffs) to the original series, most notably Robotech II: The SentinelsRobotech II: The SentinelsRobotech 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...
, but only enough footage for a single feature was completed. The project fell through due to problems with toy licensing and changes in the Japanese yen-US Dollar exchange rateExchange rateIn finance, an exchange rate between two currencies is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another. It is also regarded as the value of one country’s currency in terms of another currency...
, among other reasons. The Sentinels saga continued to be chronicled in the novelizationsRobotech (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...
by Jack McKinneyJack 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...
and comic book adaptationsRobotech (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....
by the Waltrip brothersWaltrip brothersJason Waltrip and John Waltrip are identical twins who comprise a comic book art and writing team, known for their work on Robotech comics and in webcomics.-Comics career:...
.
- A terrible reception by the fans to the Robotech: The MovieRobotech: The MovieRobotech: 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...
screening in Texas led to Cannon Films pulling the feature from release in 1986. Director Carl MacekCarl MacekCarl F. Macek was an American writer and controversial anime pioneer and producer of the 1980s and 1990s.-Robotech and Harmony Gold USA:...
has gone on record as disowning it.
- A disastrous reception by the fans to the Robotech 3000Robotech 3000Robotech 3000 was Harmony Gold's attempt to reboot the Robotech franchise before the turn of the millennium. After the relative success of Voltron: The Third Dimension and Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, a new Robotech sequel was proposed that would use 3D CG visuals, with producer Jason...
trailer in 2000 prompted Harmony Gold to cancel the project before any more footage was completed. In addition, Netter DigitalNetter Digital'Netter Digital Entertainment was a company created by Douglas Netter in 1995. The company produced the show Hypernauts before moving to digital EFX work and replacing Foundation Imaging in the final two seasons of Babylon 5 as the sole producer of CGI special effects for that series as well as...
, the animation producers of the trailer, went bankrupt shortly afterward.
- Robotech: The Shadow ChroniclesRobotech: The Shadow ChroniclesRobotech: The Shadow Chronicles is the 2006 animated sequel to the 1985 Robotech television series. It was released on DVD on February 6, 2007.- Plot :...
was first announced at Anime ExpoAnime ExpoAnime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation . With rare exceptions, the convention is traditionally held on the July 4th weekend and lasts for four days...
2004 as the latest incarnation of the Robotech saga. Unlike previous attempts, the movie was a direct continuation of the original series' last episode. The first teaser trailer debuted one year later at Anime Expo 2005 for the 20th anniversary of Robotech. The 88-minute movie premiered at various film festivals in 20062006 in film- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
and a limited theatrical run in January 20072007 in filmThis is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
, but the DVD release was delayed until February 6, 2007.
- Robotech: Shadow Rising is a proposed sequel to the Shadow Chronicles that was originally intended to be released in 2009. However, subsequent announcements in mid-2008 have made it clear that little or no progress has been made on the film, and it has been indefinitely postponed, pending developments with the live-action film.
- Warner Bros.Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
and Maguire Entertainment have licensed the film rights to Robotech and are reportedly considering the production of a live-action adaptation. Tobey MaguireTobey MaguireTobias Vincent "Tobey" Maguire is an American actor and producer. He began his career in the 1980s, and has achieved his greatest fame for his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films.-Early life:...
(Spider-ManSpider-Man (film)Spider-Man is a 2002 American superhero film, the first in the Spider-Man film series based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi and written by David Koepp...
and SeabiscuitSeabiscuit (film)Seabiscuit is a 2003 American biographical film based on the best-selling non-fiction book Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand...
) "is eyeing the lead role" and will also serve as the film's producer.
External links
- ROBOTECH.COM - Harmony Gold's official Robotech website.
- Robotech Macross Saga at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- Robotech Masters at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- Robotech: The New Generation at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....