of course besides the obvious that one's in english and the other's in japanese. I know that they had to make changes in robotech to splice in southern cross and mospeada, but I was wondering if you just watch the first thirty six episodes of robotech, where the storyline would differ from sdf macross. I ask this because I've gotten my girlfriend into anime, but we mostly prefer to watch english dubbed shows, and while I have all of the subbed macross episodes, I haven't watched them, and so I'm not sure how the best way to go about showing this to her would be.

now as a disclaimer, I'm mostly looking for an objective answer here. I don't mind the voices of minmay and all of the other cast in robotech, nor do I mind if they changed the names of the various characters/alien races/mechs. thanks!

 

Why not just go ahead and watch what you have? Its not going to kill you guys to watch it subbed and you might find you prefer this series that way. They made more changes to Southern Cross and Mospeada than they did Super Spacefortress Macross anyway.

--Moony

 

The origins and motivation of the plot are changed, the timeframe of the series is compressed, bits are missing from episodes, a couple of important characters had thier personalities changed, the rewritten dialouge is frequently terrible and often doesen't resemble the original, the pacing of the soap opera is destroyed by the previous point, as is the subtlety of the show in general since everything is explained in minute detail by endless added exposition.

As far as the voices go, most of the performances are pretty duff and the replacement Minmay songs are earbleedingly awful. It doesen't help that they are repeated endlessly because they didn't make enougth to replace all of the originals. The generic saturday morning backround music isn't anywhere near as good as the original orchestral/jazz/guitar score either.

Avoid Robotech like the black death and if you really must watch SDFM dubbed, ADV did it relatively strait a few years ago. Not only are you getting a much better show, but it also gives you the right foundation for the awesomness to be had in other parts of the franchise.

 

As usual I agree with rabid yak. Robotech is good and it is what got me in to anime. But my first real taste of macross was the the movie do you remeber love. Which is great but very confusing if you have only seen robotech.

If you have to watch it dubbed go for the ADV dub of macross, which stays true to the animego sub and sounds quite good.

Just keep in mind robotech is a very watered down and kiddized version of macross.

 

my big thing is that I already own the adv legacy robotech collectons, as well as sdf macross fansubbed, so those are my two options. so apparently my adv set has different voice acting than what was broadcast in the 80's? interesting.

like I said, we prefer to watch dubbed versions, for the two following reasons: we usually watch an episode while winding down for bed, and reading while watching sometimes puts us to sleep before we can even finish the show, and it seems that we can just enjoy them a bit more by being able to concentrate on the visuals of the show instead of the subtitles.

what rabidyak said would've been the nail in the coffin, i.e. the entire first paragraph of his post. however does that also pertain to the adv dub? I haven't watched it since it first came out, 7 years ago.

as an aside note, I've also watched macross plus and zero, and am planning on getting into frontier once it's all out. I'm pretty much looking to revisit the show that started it all, but like with gundam wing, I initially watched it dubbed, and that's what I prefer for some strange reason  

 

They're different?!?! *hits self on head* I never even bother checking out SDF Macross, I thought Robotech was enough for me.

 

I'm going to be one of the dissenters...while the Minmay songs in Robotech arent that good, there's a few places where they were used to absolutely great effect. (We Will Win, during the climax battle was phenomenal) I also much prefer the background music from Robotech over the generic sounds from Macross, nevermind the symphonic bombat of the Robotech Theme over the mellow Macross OP.

 

No, anything with Robotech written on it is the same shit.

ADV released SDFM properly with a new dub a few years ago, totally seperate from its Robotech line. If you can't buy that, then go with your subs since your other option is a waste of time if your specifically out to watch Macross.

 

ahhh, so adv made both robotech and macross dubs, huh? that GREATLY explains my confusion. thanks!

 

No, they are simply releasing robotech on DVD. But ADV did aquire the licesne from animego for macross which they released a subbed only version(until the new dub the only way to buy it in the US). When ADV aquired the license they created a new dub for the series which is as close as you can come to the offical subs.

If you liked plus and zero (which is subbed only) you should watch Macross not robotech. Also it is illegal to have a fan sub of something if it has a american release(but that is a topic for another thread).

I know the new dub is on both blockbuster online and netflix. To me if you want to watch macross do your self a favor and watch the real thing.

 

Its worth mentioning that the AnimEigo set is the one to have if your serious about Macross since it has remastered original audio from the folks in Japan, which ADV were too cheap to get when they took over the licence.

 

HG's reboxed AnimEigo set is the only way to go. Best $40 I've ever spent.

 

I've got Madman's R4 release of the AnimEigo set personally. The box and case art sucks, but it comes on 6 dual layer discs instead of 9 singles and the linear notes are compiled into booklets.

Ironically, I think I paid less for that then I did for the original Japanese DVD release of DYRL.

 

Nice, i got all three of the original three disk packs for $60. I love macross but i'm so glad i didn't cough up $250 for these when they first came out.

 

So is Robotech worth watching in it's own right or does everyone generally snub it for Macross? I've never watched either but know i should eventually if i'm to call myself a mecha nerd.

 

I've asked a few questions similar to this over the years (yes it's taken me this long to figure out) and the replies can almost always can be summed up in two words: robotech sucks.

 

Robotech has it's molments but imo there all mostly outside of the tv show (i.e the RPG and the novels). As for the two shows SDF Macross is vastly supereor to Robotech Macross. If you get the chance watch both versions and draw your own conclusions.

 

Yeah, that animego box is awesome. I am not sure if I am glad to say that I was one the preorders for it. I paid alot for it, but at the time there was no garrentee it would see a wide release. So it was worth it, and the note cars that came with it are worth it alone.

To me saying robotech is bad is hard. Is it as good as macross? No way. But the first times we see something sometimes leave a mark with us. I am a huge UC Gundam fan and I lump robotech in the same place as gundam wing. They both opened my eyes to the series and allowed me to learn about something new and awesome. They may not have been the best, but they had a purpose.

Robotech is not bad, it was an amzing show in its day. But it was and always will be a kids show. If you want to watch it how it should have been watch macross.

 

Bah! I do not regret spending $250 one bit for that set. And that was back when I was jobless in college and didn't even OWN a DVD player.   Seeing the original, uncut Macross was a "grail" of mine for most of my life up until that point. And watching those episodes on my roommate's PS2 seriously changed me. I went from Macross fan to fanatic overnight. And my poor wallet hasn't been the same since...  

But to the original poster - if you want to watch original Macross in dub form, consider buying the ADV Macross set (like others have mentioned). They even managed to have Mari Iijima (the original voice of Minmay) to reprise her role, since she's fluent in English. My MAIN gripe with that dub, however, is how they butcher some pronunciations. Particularly the NAME OF THE FREAKING SHOW! If you can learn to not wince whenever a character says "Muh-cross", then you'll be all set.

But, honestly, I managed to have my wife overcome her distaste of subtitles by watching the Animeigo set with me before bed. She grew to love the characters so much that she "forgot she was reading." THAT's the set to get.

 

^^ hey, I've seen your sig pic before. what is it/what's it from?