Just consider Robotech vs. Macross as alternate universes--Comics do it all the time. I don't really have a problem with the overarching saga of Robotech; I grew up with it like many of you did, and I read all the Jack McKinney novels multiple times. Didn't really care for Shadow Chronicles, since it diverged from McKinney canon. I've got the ADV set, though I do miss the old sound effects; esp. the thrum of the Cyclones. I agree Macross has the better overall saga; the evolution of the VFs and other machines of war make way more sense than the (obviously) haphazard jumps in Robotech. It's also still open-ended enough to allow for further tales to be told (not unlike the UC Gundam timeline); whereas Robotech sort of wrapped everything up. THough after Delta, I'm kind of tiring of the "reluctant pilot-Jpop idol-third wheel in the love triangle, lather/rinse/repeat" formula. I know that's the foundation; but I think Delta overdid the idol part. I will say after having watched the original Macross, I do like the Robotech background music better; I thought it conveyed a better sense of the mood of the scene.
Heh. I laughed. I don't think Macross has been very consistent about the "love triangle" part, though I do think it's an important element of the shows. And, as much as some fans wish it weren't so, Macross is a love story. Sometimes several love stories at once. For a love triangle to work, you've got to have evenly fleshed out characters and an actual chance at it swinging in either direction - the person in the middle has to have feelings for both. It also needs to be clearly resolved. SDF Macross, Macross II, Macross Plus and Macross Frontier* did that. Plus and Frontier had the best ones, IMO. Macross Seven, Zero and Delta, on the other hand - the "triangles" in these are really in name only. Basara wasn't interested in... anyone, I think, he just loved his music. Shin wasn't interested in Mao, she had a crush on him though. Hayate wasn't even aware of Mirage most of the time. That last one I guess they tried to play it up as a possibility, and maybe it could have been, if they hadn't spent the rest of the time showing how Hayate and Freyja were completely in love, and Mirage couldn't even decide if she had feelings for him until they were all stuck in the weird galaxy-wide mind-meld fold space. * I know opinions are split about this among fans for whatever reason, and I'm probably stepping into a minefield, but... Alto and Sheryl were together before the end of the show (just like Hikaru and Misa in SDF Macross). They have a whole conversation in the second to last episode where they dance around admitting their feelings, but it's all right there in the open anyways. Then, right at the very end, literally in the last 30 seconds of the last episode before the final credits roll, Ranka looks at Sheryl and says something to the effect of "I'm not going to lose to you in music... or love" which sounds a lot like "hey, I know you guys are together and all but I'm gonna try and steal your boyfriend from you." Which is... uh... what? (I suppose another interpretation of the line could be "I will also find someone who I can be happy with," but since we had a love triangle, and not a... quadrangle? Square? I don't see that really being the case.) Sheryl, graciously, tells her "Bring it on, girl" (paraphrasing). I assume that was because they didn't want the last scene of the show to be Sheryl slapping Ranka and being like "Please stop obsessing over my boyfriend and go find someone else."
Macross works after 1987 now open for release worldwide: Bigwest will do a global release of the MACROSS series. Bigwest／将在全世界发布超时空要塞系列。 “Bigwest Begins Global Release of Animation “Macross” Series from April 9 Bigwest Co., Ltd. has announced the release of all works that are part of the “Macross” franchise made after 1987 to a worldwide audience from April 9, 2021. This not only includes the “Macross Delta” film currently in production, but all new material that follows it as well. This is not limited to anime titles, but also includes games, toys, live performances and other content and merchandising as well. The company has prepared an official YouTube channel as well as a Twitter account for its fans. Twitter:：@MACROSS_BIGWEST YouTube：MACROSS ch ★“The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Flash Back 2012” Streaming for Limited Time★ （※For outside of Japan only） Bigwest has messages from members of the main creative staff behind “Macross,” Mr. Shoji Kawamori and Mr. Haruhiko Mikimoto, that the company would like to share with fans. Shoji Kawamori： For creators like me, our work only comes to life for when it is viewed by people. It seems that the time has just started to move, after years and years of stillness. I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to all the people involved who have helped bring Macross to the world. Last but not least, I am deeply thankful for all the support and understanding from the fans around the world. Together, aiming for further freedom, and a brand new deculture. TO THE WORLD, TO THE GALAXY, Listen to our MACROSS song!!!!!! Haruhiko Mikimoto： Back when I was living in uncertainty, unsure whether or not I should become a professional creator or not, Studio Nue invited me to participate in their project and while I’m sure I caused some consternation for them, I was a member of the original creative team for the project that eventually was realized as Super Dimension Fortress Macross. I was hesitant about making a career out of this field, but the Macross franchise was instrumental in compelling me hard to enter into this field of work that I do today, and for that it is a very special title to me. On a personal level, I was frustrated not only over the fact that the global reach of the anime titles were impeded, but so too were all the production design sheets, the illustrations and the comics that were created through the involvement of many people. I am very happy to hear that the situation has been sorted out enough that audiences around the world would be able to fully access all this material. I humbly ask fans to please celebrate not only the anime titles that continue to evolve and change with each new series, but also support other material that is created to help promote the core titles, such as illustrations and comics, all of which are realized through the hard work on the part of myself and other creators!!” DYRL? Remastered theatrical cut blu ray with subs please!
I am glad i can finally get Macross Frontier on Blu-ray. I think Frontier never had much of a love triangle myself. Just Sheryl. Too bad still no US release on Macross or DYRL on Blu ray. I will get Delta if the price is Ok, to show my support.
Well, at least this means I can get them on Blue Ray hopefully! I'll even buy M7... what? I'm a completionist!
Whether or not I’ll get them depends entirely on pricing. I’ve spent quite a bit on the Japanese Blu-Rays already. If they get a US release for typical US prices I might be onboard. If they try to do “special edition sets” for $200+ that’ll be a hard pass. all these press releases talking about Big West releasing the post-1987 stuff has me wondering if Harmony Gold is going to try and do a fresh release of original Macross, DYRL and Flashback 2012. I’m guessing it’s “post-1987” because HG has distribution rights to the things prior.
I’m hoping now that the sides seemed to hashed out a mutual understanding, that we see a collaborative release of SDFM and DYRL. Big West providing the remastered Blu-ray source for HG since they’re playing ball. It’s not the most ideal situation since HG still benefits, but it’d be a way to get a high quality rerelease with subs at a minimum.
I tried watching "Robotech Macross saga" again a few years ago and while I LOVED it as a kid and it was my gateway etc, all I can say that isn't highly flammable is that the intro theme and the score are still great (not the "songs") and it led me to Macross. SDF Macross with subtitles is it for me thank you very much...everything is much more palatable.
I know I'm in the minority, but I actually like Macross 7 the best out of all the sequel series. I appreciate Macross and Robotech in the same way that I also appreciate Car Robots and Robots in Disguise. I wish the ADV English Macross dub of the early 2000's had gotten all the Robotech voice actors back for the roles. Since so many die hard Macross fans hate that dub anyway, why not? That would have been great for guys like me who like both versions and who have nostalgia for the original Robotech voice actors. I'll see myself out now before I get tomatoes thrown at me.
If you're suggesting Macross 7 is superior to Macross Plus, that would put you in a minority of ONE. Robotech had a uniformly strong cast, better than any I've heard in the decades since. Reba West got a lot of flak for her singing, of course, but even her performance was above-average for anime dubs... and Dan Woren's Roy Fokker was on par (if not better) than Akira Kamiya's, even.
It got good after the 1st 10 episodes. I think it would’ve been better had it been shorter and had there been less recycled animation.
I'm not going to go on about anything being superior over another. My views are entirely subjective. I personally prefer Macross 7 because it feels the most to me like a direct sequel to the original Macross. The animation style, while slightly different, is closer to the original than the others IMO. It has some CGI but is mostly hand painted cell frame animation. It has some characters from the original series. And we also get some brief appearances of the original valkyries. The other series are all so removed from the original series that it sort of feels like it's own thing. It feels like an entirely different anime to me. The best analogy I can think of is to take Transformers as an example. Japanese G1 (Headmasters, Masterforce, Victory) feels more to me like a direct sequel to the G1 Sunbow cartoon than Beast Wars. And for that reason, I like it better. That says nothing about which is better. I personally prefer JG1 over BW because it feels like it directly follows G1 Sunbow. Beast Wars is so far removed from G1 Sunbow that it feels more like its own thing.
Both are better than the portray of Roy in the ADV dub for SDF. A surfer is not how I’d ever expect Roy to sound. Last Macross anime Mikimoto worked on
For anyone that has seen Robotech and original Japanese Macross series, which story is better and does Macross series have the song Ai Oboete Imasuka?
I haven't seen the 1st 36 episodes of Robotech in a few years but I have seen them a gazillion times. I just recently got done watching Macross subtitled. Honestly, the main basic plot feels pretty much the same. Macross feels a little grittier to me with more violence, cursing, and just in general adult topic conversations that were handled differently with the more made for kids Robotech dub. Basically, it feels like the same story with one version being the PG-13 version and the other being the PG version. It's that other 2 series of Robotech that come after the Macross saga that feel much further removed from the originals since they were trying to tie those series into the events of Macross.
