A lesson I learned the hard way about Anime

[Ian Keldon]

Never EVER bring up the subject of "Americanized" anime (also sometimes called "Japanimation") around hard-core anime fans w/o being willing to take a TON of heat.

When I was younger (and much more naive), a friend of mine asked me to go over to the table at a sci-fi convention we were for a local anime club and ask them if they had any information about the availability of Robotech on video.

Anyone who knows about the history of animosity of fans of the original Macross stories vs Robotech fans is probably cringing about now.

Suffice to say I had an "interesting" afternoon. First I was treated to a 5-minute lecture about the subject including words like "bastardizing" and "ruining" and the language went downhill from there. Even after I managed to get out of that argument, one or more of the anime club's members followed me around the rest of the afternoon, glaring at me.

A couple of years ago, I was looking for information about the transforming fighters used in the show. I'd exhausted all the reference I could find on Robotech oriented pages and someone suggested I try some of the Macross ones.

I did...unfortunately I slipped up and used the term "Veritech" to refer to the fighters instead of the Macross-appropriate designation "Valkyrie".

Oops...

Needless to say, my stay on that forum was short, painful, and full of flames.

Lesson: be certain who you are talking to when it comes to anime. It's less painful that way.

 

[scotpens]

And I thought Trek TOS fans were obsessive about other Trekkies using terms like “away team” instead of “landing party.”

 

[FalTorPan]

If reboots or revisions rape people's childhoods, as whacko fans often say, then do Americanizations rape people's animehoods?

 

[FordSVT]

If it wasn't for Robotech (not Macross), the entire history of anime in North America would be different. Carl Macek was a pioneer, and by "bastardizing" Macross and creating Robotech (and Streamline Pictures), he was largely responsible for popularizing anime in the western world. They owe that man their hobby.

 

[davejames]

And I thought Trek TOS fans were obsessive about other Trekkies using terms like “away team” instead of “landing party.”

Or the obnoxious people who insist on bringing up freakin Battle Royale in every Hunger Games thread you see right now.

I mean, seriously, we get it. There's a Japanese version with the same basic story. You can stop showing off already.

 

[Kelthaz]

Robotech is just the Power Rangers of the anime world. It's strange that anime fans get so bent out of shape over Robotech when Power Rangers is actually somewhat popular in Japan. Or do hardcore Super Sentai fans hate Power Rangers too? I wonder.

 

[Leroy]

Call me a purist I always prefer things in their uncut unaltered form it makes no sense nowadays to cling to stuff like Robotech, Star Blazers, etc. when you can get a hold of the uncut unaltered stuff.

The only time it does make a lot of sense is when the franchise you are talking about was never popular in Japan like with Golion (Voltron) or Mach Go Go Go (Speed Racer). In these cases the American versions give new life to something that would not be continued in the Japanese market.

 

[Ian Keldon]

If reboots or revisions rape people's childhoods, as whacko fans often say, then do Americanizations rape people's animehoods?

To hear the anime "purists", they do.

 

[JD]

I've never understood why people get so pissed over this kind of thing. I know it can be annoying when they change things, but I don't see where it's worth getting so pissed over when the original is still available to be enjoyed in it's unaltered form.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

And I thought Trek TOS fans were obsessive about other Trekkies using terms like “away team” instead of “landing party.”

Sounds about the same, actually.

 

[Aldo]

Or the obnoxious people who insist on bringing up freakin Battle Royale in every Hunger Games thread you see right now.

I mean, seriously, we get it. There's a Japanese version with the same basic story. You can stop showing off already.

To be fair when I found out about Hunger Games my first thought was Battle Royale, which incidentally, is a very good movie.

 

[Kaijima]

The primary reason to preserve Robotech over something like Starblazers is that Robotech is its own universe. It's not just a localization with names changed to sound western. Rather, it is an original fiction, with complex (very complex) backstory and post-story extending far in either direction of the actual on-screen animation. Hell, Robotech has its own tabletop RPG universe that is far bigger than the TV series.

Thus, I can't really call Robotech a "bastardization" or consider the original anime series that it drew from "the real versions". What was done to create Robotech was nearly unique, at least in the world of animation.

Though speaking of western anime fans in general... yeesh. Otaku do tend to try hard, sometimes too hard. Sadly it can lead some fans to not see the forest for the trees. The contempt that many self-styled anime "experts" have for the history of Japanese animation in the west is silly. And it disrespects what is actually a colorful and interesting story that lead to eastern animation becoming understood by more westerners.

 

[nightwind1]

And I thought Trek TOS fans were obsessive about other Trekkies using terms like “away team” instead of “landing party.”

Well, in TOS the WERE landing parties.

 

[Leroy]

The primary reason to preserve Robotech over something like Starblazers is that Robotech is its own universe. It's not just a localization with names changed to sound western. Rather, it is an original fiction, with complex (very complex) backstory and post-story extending far in either direction of the actual on-screen animation. Hell, Robotech has its own tabletop RPG universe that is far bigger than the TV series.

That's kind of my point take a look at Voltron for example it now has a new show on TV, comic books being published, and new toys being produced none of which would be happening if it weren't for the localized version.

Robotech has none of these since it is a very different franchise it suffers from the problem of Macross being what everyone wants but unfortunately HG can't deliver due to rights issues, they can however give us a continuation of Southern Cross and MOSPEADA but nobody is as interested in those properties.

 

[Saul]

It seems that some anime fans are EXTREMELY sensitive. I usually avoid boards that are dedicated to anime as they are sometimes full of screaming 14 year olds with a God complex. However I should be careful not to mention which anime boards as I did that on another BBS a few years ago and fans from said anime board suddenly started posting there and telling me to go to their site and say it to them directly.

 

[Kaijima]

The primary reason to preserve Robotech over something like Starblazers is that Robotech is its own universe. It's not just a localization with names changed to sound western. Rather, it is an original fiction, with complex (very complex) backstory and post-story extending far in either direction of the actual on-screen animation. Hell, Robotech has its own tabletop RPG universe that is far bigger than the TV series.

That's kind of my point take a look at Voltron for example it now has a new show on TV, comic books being published, and new toys being produced none of which would be happening if it weren't for the localized version.

Robotech has none of these since it is a very different franchise it suffers from the problem of Macross being what everyone wants but unfortunately HG can't deliver due to rights issues, they can however give us a continuation of Southern Cross and MOSPEADA but nobody is as interested in those properties.

Actually, HG started to capitalize on the expanded Robotech universe with the Shadow Chronicles movie a few years ago. That would have been a great launch pad for the return of Robotech. The sequel was generally conceived and in pre-production.

What really went wrong is that HG made a very bad call. They shelved a second animated Shadow Chronicles movie in favor of exploring the development of a live action Robotech movie trilogy. But that project seems to have done nothing but sink into development hell because it was timed with the crash of the economy and movie studios bleeding money from a series of huge bombs.

Sadly, the window to easily fund an animated continuation of Robotech's universe may have passed.

 

[JD]

So was Shadow Chronicles a completely original movie, or was it also an alteration/adaptation/whatever of a Japanese movie?

 

[Leroy]

Shadow Chronicles was a HG "original" I use the term loosely as the movie was full of cliches.

 

[Kaijima]

So was Shadow Chronicles a completely original movie, or was it also an alteration/adaptation/whatever of a Japanese movie?

It was original animation. Essentially it's the story of what happens after episode 85 of Robotech with the remains of the REF armada after the Invid depart. It was an attempt to canonize (in on-screen footage) story elements from Robotech II: The Sentinels.

Its basic story may not have been very original, but it was only meant as a bridge between Robotech and more animation / tv shows / expanded universe fiction that moved the story universe forward a number of years. It pretty much ends on a cliffhanger unfortunately.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

I think some anime purists have forgotten that, in the end, we love the same thing, but in different forms. Without the original we wouldn't have the localized version, and without the localized, some anime would never have been known. So we all, as fans of whatever version, need to put down the weapons or the flaming keyboards or whatever, and come together as fans.