Amazon.com video review:
Although it helped to create an audience for Japanese animation in the United States, Robotech (1985) has always been an anomaly: an anime series that was never seen in Japan in its final form. Producers at Harmony Gold edited together footage from Super Dimension Fortress: Macross, Genesis Climber Mospeada, and Super-dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross, three similar-looking series from Tatsunoko Studios, to create an 85-episode sci-fi epic with a new story line. Toys, role-playing games, and novelizations have kept Robotech alive in the hearts of its fans, although it went off the air in the early '90s. In this fourth volume, three alien Zentraedi have been shrunk from their 50-foot height to human size and hidden aboard the space fortress SDF-1. Despite their presence and orders from the Zentraedi high command, the arrogant Khyron repeatedly attacks the ship. When the SDF returns to Earth, the government rejects the idea of peace negotiations and orders the ship back into space. As "Miss Macross," Minmei has become a pop idol and grown increasingly self-absorbed. The arrival of her peacenik cousin Lyle complicates the romantic polygons--both Minmei and Lisa are attracted to him, although he's more obnoxious than likable. The story progresses very slowly with lots of reused animation: episode 14 is a recap of the adventure to date and episode 17 consists of Rick's hallucinations after being injured in battle. Unrated; "contains mild animated violence" restricted to spaceship and robot battles; suitable for ages 8 and up. --Charles Solomon
Amazon.com video review:
Although it helped to create an audience for Japanese animation in the United States, Robotech (1985) has always been an anomaly: an anime series that was never seen in Japan in its final form. Producers at Harmony Gold edited together footage from Super Dimension Fortress: Macross, Genesis Climber Mospeada, and Super-dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross, three similar-looking series from Tatsunoko Studios, to create an 85-episode sci-fi epic with a new story line. Toys, role-playing games, and novelizations have kept Robotech alive in the hearts of its fans, although it went off the air in the early '90s. As the adventure continues, the crew of the SDF-1 space fortress tries out a new defense system, overtaxes it, and devastates 25 square miles of the Earth. Not surprisingly, the government orders the ship back into space; the Zentraedi believe they are facing a terrible new weapon and launch a series of assaults. Enchanted with the freer way of life they've found aboard the SDF, three Zentraedi spies defect. When Lisa discovers their two races are almost identical biochemically, she takes the information to Earth to try to persuade the government to open peace negotiations. While human-Zentraedi relations improve, interpersonal relations among humans grow increasingly complicated: the bond between Lisa and Rick intensifies, Minmei becomes more involved with Kyle, and Max is smitten with Miriya, another Zentraedi spy. The prints of several of these episodes have faded badly--some lines appear and disappear and the characters' faces have a weird, splotchy look. Unrated; "contains mild animated violence" restricted to spaceship and robot battles; suitable for ages 8 and up. --Charles Solomon
Amazon.com video review:
Although it helped to create an audience for Japanese animation in the United States, Robotech (1985) has always been an anomaly: an anime series that was never seen in Japan in its final form. Producers at Harmony Gold edited together footage from Super Dimension Fortress: Macross, Genesis Climber Mospeada, and Super-dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross, three similar-looking series from Tatsunoko Studios, to create an 85-episode sci-fi epic with a new story line. In addition to the second 12 episodes of the Macross adventure, this second three-disc set includes "Robotech Galaxy of Stars," a short promotional film from 1986, with unidentified voice actors signing photographs for children, and "Point of View," an interview that producer and story editor Carl Macek did with a Dallas talk show just before the local premiere of the feature. There are galleries of character model sheets and comic book covers, and "International Clips" offers two short sequences in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. Even more fun is a collection of TV commercials for the original Matchbox toys, although the action figures, play sets, and spaceships the long-haired little boys gleefully play with now sell for up to $600 in online auctions. Robotech occupies a special place in the hearts of the Generation Y's who grew up watching it, and the appearance of the series on DVD has been eagerly awaited. Unrated; "contains mild animated violence" restricted to spaceship and robot battles; suitable for ages 8 and up. --Charles Solomon
Amazon.com video review:
To create Robotech (1985), the early sci-fi epic that helped to foster an audience for Japanese animation in America, producers at Harmony Gold edited together three unrelated series: Super Dimension Fortress: Macross, Genesis Climber Mospeada, and Super-dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross.
"Dana's Story," which begins the Robotech Masters (Southern Cross) adventure, opens 15 years after the previous episode ended. The daughter of Earthling Max Sterling and Zentraedi pilot Miriya (who married in episode 25), spunky Dana Sterling quickly becomes a squadron commander during the Second Robotech War. Serving with her are brooding musician Bowie Grant, corps Casanova Sean Philips, and no-nonsense Marie Crystal. The Robotech Masters attack Earth, hoping to recapture the mysterious Protoculture factory, which was hidden in the flying fortress SDF-1 centuries earlier: they need the Protoculture to maintain control over their oligarchic civilization. But the Masters cannot control Zor Prime, a clone of the inventor of Protoculture, whom Dana captures. This interplanetary struggle is complicated by the mutual attraction between Bowie and the alien Musica, "the Mistress of the Cosmic Harp." The Robotech Masters story line is as convoluted as the Macross continuity, the pacing as slow and the dialogue as wooden. American viewers either love or hate Robotech, with little middle ground. The supplementary disc offers less material than the previous three: openings and closings of the component series, galleries of model sheets and comic book covers, and two clips in five languages. Unrated; suitable for ages 8 and up: Mild violence restricted to spaceship and robot battles. --Charles Solomon
Amazon.com video review:
As the Macross segment builds to its climax, Max shocks everyone by marrying Zentraedi pilot Miriya. Recent events give Captain Gloval's wedding speech about forgiveness, understanding, and tolerance a new poignancy. Fearing "Micronian" contamination, the Zentraedi launch an assault on Earth with 4.8 million vessels. Minmei's singing becomes a key element in the conflict, as the Zentraedi consider her bubblegum pop performances a form of "psychological assault." (They have a point.) Although the Earthlings emerge victorious, much of the planet is devastated, and the efforts of the survivors to live in peace soon founder. A new threat appears in the form of the Robotech Masters, who are attempting to resurrect Zor, the creator of the mysterious Protoculture. Unrated; suitable for ages 8 and up: Mild violence restricted to spaceship and robot battles. --Charles Solomon
Amazon.com video review:
The Lisa-Rick-Minmei romantic triangle plays out against the threat of rebel Zentraedi captain Khyron and the distant menace of the Robotech Masters, who created the Protoculture. The climactic battle pits the SDF-1 and the new SDF-2 commanded by Lisa against Khyron. Lisa and Rick discover their true feelings for each other in the aftermath of the disaster. Members of Gen-X who grew up on Robotech will delight in retracing the affections and battles; viewers accustomed to the faster pacing and more dramatic conflicts of recent anime will grow impatient with the endless shilly-shallying. It's a classic of sorts. Unrated; suitable for ages 8 and up: Mild violence restricted to spaceship and robot battles. --Charles Solomon
Amazon.com video review:
Producers at Harmony Gold edited together Super Dimension Fortress: Macross, Genesis Climber Mospeada, and Super-dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross to create Robotech (1985), a landmark sci-fi adventure that helped to establish an audience for Japanese animation in America. In the final episodes of the Macross segment, the Lisa-Rick-Minmei romantic triangle plays out against the ongoing Earth-Zentraedi conflict and the machinations of rebel Zentraedi captain Khyron, which devastate much of the planet.
Intimations of a new threat posed by the distant Robotech Masters serve as a lead-in to the second part of the epic. A planned 65-episode fourth installment in the saga was never completed, but the first four episodes and some additional footage were combined into the feature Robotech II: The Sentinels, the final installment in the Robotech continuity. The supplemental "Elements of Robotechnology III" disc includes The Sentinels, a trailer for it prepared for the 1987 Toy Fair, and a rather self-serving commentary by writer-director Carl Macek. Members of Gen-X who grew up on Robotech will delight in retracing these romances and battles; it's a classic, of sorts. Viewers accustomed to the more rapid pacing, dynamic action, and sophisticated direction of recent anime will tire of the endless shilly-shallying. Unrated; suitable for ages 8 and up: Mild violence restricted to spaceship and robot battles. --Charles Solomon
Amazon.com video review:
The fifth collection in the series concludes the Robotech Masters story line (originally Super-Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross). Like the previous story, this adventure centers on a conflict pitting the freedom of thought and action that humans enjoy against the repressive civilization of the Robotech Masters. The endless spaceship and mecha battles ultimately prove less significant than the actions of the rebel clone Zor Prime. Having tasted freedom and love, he defies the Masters and destroys what amounts to a high-tech slave culture, where masses of clones and mecha labor to support a ruling elite. But the Second Robotech War ends as the first did, in a bittersweet Pyrrhic victory. The Robotech Masters have been destroyed, but much of the Earth has been devastated. And the spores of Flowers of Life ("the Three Who Act As One") have been dispersed to summon the alien Invid, setting the stage for the final episodes. The Elements of Robotechnology V disc includes portfolios of pre-production designs for "The Sentinels," unproduced "Southern Cross" designs, and the pilot episode of "Space Fortress Macross" (which would become "Booby Trap," the first installment in the Macross Saga). Unrated; suitable for ages 8 and up: Mild violence restricted to spaceship and robot battles. --Charles Solomon
Amazon.com video review:
This early anime series that helped introduce the genre to the United States in the mid-1980s is a curious hybrid. Harmony Gold bought the rights to the 36-episode Super Dimension Fortress: Macross, in which an alien invasion was held at bay by the voice of a girl pop star, but executives felt that American viewers wouldn't accept that plot. Producer-story editor Carl Macek intercut sequences from Macross with two similar-looking sci-fi series from Tatsunoko Studios, Genesis Climber Mospeada and Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross, creating a sprawling 85-episode space opera with a completely new story line. The story begins in 1999, when a gigantic spaceship strikes the Earth at Macross Island in the Pacific. After a decade of analysis, repair, and study, the Earth forces are ready to relaunch the gargantuan flying fortress, now called the SDF-1--just as the alien Zentraedi attack, hoping to capture it. The first six installments in the 85-episode series introduce the main characters during the initial battles, ambushes, feints, and counterattacks: ace pilot Rick Hunter; his best friend, dashing fighter commander Roy Fokker; SDF-1 captain Gloval; his straight-laced assistant Lisa Hayes; and aspiring singer Minmei. In retrospect, the circa-1980s series has a rather camp appeal: the stilted romance between Rick and Minmei unfolds as coyly as a prolonged episode of The Brady Bunch. Technically, the show looks very primitive, and the crudely drawn space battles and explosions reveal just how much computer animation has contributed to the look of contemporary anime. Contains the first six episodes: 1. "Booby Trap," 2. "Countdown," 3. "Space Fold," 4. "The Long Wait," 5. "Transformation," 6. "Blitzkrieg." Unrated; "contains mild animated violence." Suitable for ages 8 and up: violence is restricted to spaceship and robot battles. --Charles Solomon
Amazon.com video review:
This early anime series that helped introduce the genre to the United States in the mid-1980s is a curious hybrid. Harmony Gold bought the rights to the 36-episode Super Dimension Fortress: Macross, in which an alien invasion was held at bay by the voice of a girl pop star, but executives felt that American viewers wouldn't accept that plot. Producer-story editor Carl Macek intercut sequences from Macross with two similar-looking sci-fi series from Tatsunoko Studios, Genesis Climber Mospeada and Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross, creating a sprawling 85-episode space opera with a completely new story line. This second collection of episodes from the Macross adventure continues the very tame romance between Rick and Minmei alongside the war waged by the human crew of the gargantuan space ship SDF-1 against the alien Zentraedi. Complications ensue when Minmei wins the title of "Miss Macross" and becomes a shipboard celebrity. Rick is promoted to lieutenant and put in charge of training corporals Ben and Max. All three pilots and Lisa Hayes are captured by the Zentraedi, who have somehow lost the secret of biological reproduction, but believe the knowledge is hidden within the SDF-1. For its legions of loyal fans, Robotech is a landmark in animation history with potent nostalgic ties. Younger fans seeing Robotech for the first time may be surprised at the leisurely pacing, tame action sequences, and sloppy execution--Rick's hair often changes color from scene to scene. Contains these episodes: 7. "Bye Bye Mars," 8. "Sweet Sixteen," 9. "Miss Macross," 10. "Blind Game," 11. "First Contact," 12. "The Big Escape." Unrated; "contains mild animated violence." Suitable for ages 8 and up: violence is restricted to spaceship and robot battles. --Charles Solomon
Amazon.com video review:
This early anime series that helped introduce the genre to the United States in the mid-1980s is a curious hybrid. Harmony Gold bought the rights to the 36-episode Super Dimension Fortress: Macross, in which an alien invasion was held at bay by the voice of a girl pop star, but executives felt that American viewers wouldn't accept that plot. Producer-story editor Carl Macek intercut sequences from Macross with two similar-looking sci-fi series from Tatsunoko Studios, Genesis Climber Mospeada and Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross, creating a sprawling 85-episode space opera with a completely new story line. A gigantic spaceship crashes into the Earth in 1999; after 10 years of analysis and repairs, the Earth forces relaunch the gargantuan flying fortress--just as the 50-foot alien Zentraedi attack hoping to capture it--precipitating an interstellar war. In addition to two discs (12 episodes) of the Macross adventure, this first collection includes the first video release of Codename: Robotech. Made to promote interest in the series before its debut, Codename consists of the first 13 episodes recut as a feature. Captain Gloval's reminiscences about the characters' adventures ties together the rather choppy film. The supplemental disc also offers a commentary by Macek, describing the origins of the Robotech project and the making of the Codename feature; a portfolio of character model sheets; and selected scenes in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. A must-have for Robotech fans. Unrated; "contains mild animated violence." Suitable for ages 8 and up: violence is restricted to spaceship and robot battles. --Charles Solomon
