I've had to watch some of the more recent Robotech stuff at some of the Anime conventions I work at, and it's just struck me over and over again as nothing less than the kind of crap I'd watch if I was stapled to the couch and surrounded by fire.
Can anyone direct me to a good Robotech forum?
- Thread starter darkwing_duck1
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If it comes out remember Harmony Gold's track record it took them 20 years after the "original 85" ended to release Shadow Chronicles and that itself took 7 years to make, while how many Macross sequels have there been? You were better off waiting for a new Wing Commander game or Duke Nuken Forever.FrighteningSVT said:Macross fans are going to be super pissed when the Robotech live action movie eventually gets made. Then again it may share as much in common with Robotech as it does with Macross by the time they get done with it. Expect them to boycott and go see it anyway.
Golion was relatively unsuccessful in Japan it only really had a following in the states and thus no sequels to block or fight over.Theonethatis said:
That's because Harmony Gold knows they can't compete in the toy business either so they try and shut out competition because they can't compete with shows like Marcoss Frontier and Bandai's toy offerings.Fer said:
You mean Shadow Chronicles? I feel sorry for Robotech fans some have been waiting 20 years for a continuation and to find out what happened to Rick Hunter only to find out he's still stuck in a black hole.barnacleapse said:
If it comes out remember Harmony Gold's track record it took them 20 years after the "original 85" ended to release Shadow Chronicles and that itself took 7 years to make, while how many Macross sequels have there been? You were better off waiting for a new Wing Commander game or Duke Nuken Forever.FrighteningSVT said:Macross fans are going to be super pissed when the Robotech live action movie eventually gets made. Then again it may share as much in common with Robotech as it does with Macross by the time they get done with it. Expect them to boycott and go see it anyway.
Except in this case, Harmony Gold's not actually making the movie, they just licensed it to... whatsisname. The guy who played Spider-Man.
Actually, I have to disagree here. The Toynami toys all sold about as well in our store as the Japanese imports. The Masterpiece Collections sold great for us, except for Ben's VF-1A.
Having collected lots of Veritechs/Valkyries for years, I found the Masterpiece Collection version to be the perfect combination between high detailing and playability. (That goes just for VF-1 toys; the Alpha Fighters, while beautiful, were a pain in the butt for me to try to transform.)
And I'm out of the business now, so that's my honest fanboy opinion and not a sales shill.
barnacleapse said:
Awww. And we were all getting along so nicely, too.
Hey, after 20 years of not knowing what happened to him at all, it was a step up!
If it comes out remember Harmony Gold's track record it took them 20 years after the "original 85" ended to release Shadow Chronicles and that itself took 7 years to make, while how many Macross sequels have there been? You were better off waiting for a new Wing Commander game or Duke Nuken Forever.FrighteningSVT said:Macross fans are going to be super pissed when the Robotech live action movie eventually gets made. Then again it may share as much in common with Robotech as it does with Macross by the time they get done with it. Expect them to boycott and go see it anyway.
Except in this case, Harmony Gold's not actually making the movie, they just licensed it to... whatsisname. The guy who played Spider-Man.
Actually, I have to disagree here. The Toynami toys all sold about as well in our store as the Japanese imports. The Masterpiece Collections sold great for us, except for Ben's VF-1A.
Having collected lots of Veritechs/Valkyries for years, I found the Masterpiece Collection version to be the perfect combination between high detailing and playability. (That goes just for VF-1 toys; the Alpha Fighters, while beautiful, were a pain in the butt for me to try to transform.)
And I'm out of the business now, so that's my honest fanboy opinion and not a sales shill.
barnacleapse said:
Awww. And we were all getting along so nicely, too.
Hey, after 20 years of not knowing what happened to him at all, it was a step up!
Well it kinda of depends, you know. The novels were a default canon for a large portion of the fanbase for years, so we (the novel-canonist) knew what happened to the SDF-3 and Co. And it flowed with Macek's original stated concepts for the franchise: Minmay goes back in time to be the mother of Zor, Rick and Co make it home, the mystery of the SDF-1 missing fold drives is explained-- having been pulled forward in time to help the SDF-3 make it home, and Lisa ends up commanding a new SDF with a mission to the Andromeda galaxy,. All that was in "End Of the Circle"
If Toby McGuire does make a movie and put himself as Rick Hunter I'm done with Robotech. If he has to be in the movie and a fairly major character I might be able to stand him as Max Sterling, given Max's geekiness but if he is Hunter...
I bought Rick's VF-1 and then Scott's Alpha and I have to say I was extremely disappointed in the Alpha. I found the design poor and unlike the VF-1 it had no sturdiness about it. The fingers in the right hand broke apart after a dozen transformations, its landing gear is hard to get out and it doesn't even sit on its landing gear but on the chest plate due to a slight curve in the design when its in fighter mode.
One day I'll try and get my hands on a Skull 1. Also would love to get my hands on some Macross designs. A VF-11 and the VF-25 are at the top of my wish list.
Yeah, I was definitely a strong part of that fanbase at the time. I think I called myself an "expansionist" since the books were also done and the story was only being continued by the comics at that point, and I had no faith that HG would ever put out any new Robotech animation again.
I was pretty happy with "End of the Circle." I always think of the line in it about the RDF's mission patch should've been a fold drive with a ban symbol over it.
Now Carl Macek has definitely been known to say different things at different times, but here's what I remember him saying at a convention (I think it was at Robocon 10):
His original plan was for the SDF-3 to have defolded & been stranded on a harsh, barren planet. It was to be a survival story, with Rick Hunter & company having had to dig in and build themselves a new home. As time goes by we learn that the planet was in fact "pre-historic" Tirol, and that the descendants of the SDF-3's crew end up becoming the Robotech Masters. Thus we'd see Zor being born from Rem & Minmay, discovering Protoculture and driving the Invid off of Optera, and building the SDF-1.
He said the title would have been "Robotech III: The Odyssey," it would have run for 110 episodes, and the last episode would have ended with Zor sending the SDF-1 to Earth. This way the complete Robotech series, if run Monday-Friday, would run for one year in a giant mobius loop.
I think "End of the Circle" did a good job of using a lot of the basic concepts (the time loop is still there because of Minmay & Rem), but a lot of the rest was Daley & Luceno's wrapping up their whole "Shapings" storyline. Which again, I really enjoyed-- but it was a different fate for Rick & Lisa.
So when Robotech.com went online and announced their canon timeline, I figured, well, there goes my EU attitude. As far as any new projects are concerned, the SDF-3 is now officially still MIA.
Does anyone remember when the domain first went live? They had a looping mp3 of the Robotech theme song with a scratchy radio voice of Rick Hunter calling out a mayday from the SDF-3!
See one of the Academy (I think it was, could be wrong and the comics are in storage now) comics Macek gave a interview, and Odyssey was basically what we got in End of the Circle-- at least in nuts and bolts, SDF-1 fold drives moving through time, SDF-3 makes it home, Minmay going back in time to be the mother of protoculture (irc, he used the term interchangeably with mother of Zor in the interview) and Lisa commanding a new SDF battle fortress. It was very broad strokes but it was essentially End of the Circle.
Then again Macek, IMO, is like George Lucas with out the charm.
I was in the beta group (a handful of us, relatively speaking; maybe a couple hundred fans back in '98 before the "official" launch) for robotech.com. Actually some of the first content was the Robotech: 3000 stuff and concept art for the "new series"
Then again Macek, IMO, is like George Lucas with out the charm.
I was in the beta group (a handful of us, relatively speaking; maybe a couple hundred fans back in '98 before the "official" launch) for robotech.com. Actually some of the first content was the Robotech: 3000 stuff and concept art for the "new series"
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As far as I know there's been nothing Robotech released in a time frame I'd describe as "recent". It's been years since Shadow Chronicles and I'm starting to doubt whether we'll ever see that Shadow Rising sequel to it.
At the moment it's a dead horse, to which riding is not an option.
lol, I can't argue with that.
One of the most obvious examples I can think of is his write-up on "Robotech: The Movie" in the Robotech Art 3 book. Not once does it use the words "Megazone 23." He talks about it being storyboarded and the animation being completed... but doesn't mention that this was the additional animation made just to give the movie a different ending from Megazone 23.
So yeah, his stories tended to change depended on when you heard him...
I have a lot of the panels I went to at Robocon 10 on tape... I'll have to see if I can find the part I'm thinking of. I have the Academy comics too, but mine are buried right now as well.
Oh yeah, I remember that! (I wasn't in the beta group, I just remember being excited to see them when it went live.)
From what I remember, the time they had the SDF-3 message up, there wasn't even anything to click on yet, just a piece of artwork saying "Coming Soon" or something like that while it played the message. Perhaps this was what we were seeing while you were doing the beta testing?
Might have been. There really wasn't much to it, a few surveys about what we wanted to see, clicking links to see if pages were working, etc, etc. Then when the site went public a few weeks later we had to reregister
I think I end up getting the invite cause I belonged to some Anime site or the other that ended up getting mined for members or some such.I've actually got my old Sentinels Handbook out, with the-- then-- official 1992 HG timeline in it.
darkwing_duck1
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Macross fans are going to be super pissed when the Robotech live action movie eventually gets made. Then again it may share as much in common with Robotech as it does with Macross by the time they get done with it. Expect them to boycott and go see it anyway.
But really, Macross is good, I respect people who enjoy it and I can sympathise with people who feel Harmony Gold is actively trying to discourage Macross in North America.
However, you've got to give Carl Macek credit where credit is due. Robotech was one of the first popular North American anime and a lot of current anime-lovers owe their hobbies to him and a few people like him. I also think he (his company) did a remarkable job of taking all that footage and re-writing and assembling it into what is essentially a new story with some common plot elements.
Agreed, and a pretty darn good job with the follow ups as well, but don't say that in front of a Macross uber-fan like Seto...he'll rip your head off...
As far as I know there's been nothing Robotech released in a time frame I'd describe as "recent". It's been years since Shadow Chronicles and I'm starting to doubt whether we'll ever see that Shadow Rising sequel to it.
At the moment it's a dead horse, to which riding is not an option.
How many years are we talking?
Because I swear to God there was new Robotech as recently as three years ago. I could certainly be wrong.
As far as I know there's been nothing Robotech released in a time frame I'd describe as "recent". It's been years since Shadow Chronicles and I'm starting to doubt whether we'll ever see that Shadow Rising sequel to it.
At the moment it's a dead horse, to which riding is not an option.
How many years are we talking?
Because I swear to God there was new Robotech as recently as three years ago. I could certainly be wrong.
2006, yeah it was. And if HG goes true to from it'll be 20 more years before Shadow Rising is ready for release.
Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but I'd like to pipe in with my recent Robotech experience.
I watched Robotech when I was 12 year old, and besides Voltron and Speed Racer, it was one of my first experiences with Japanese anime dubbed into English. I loved Robotech and Voltron, but being 12 at the time, I just assumed that they were direct translations of the original Japanese.
Boy, was I wrong.
After Transformers II came out, I did some internet research on Peter Cullen's voiceover history, and remembered that he worked on Voltron too. Imagine my surprise when I read that Voltron was basically an edited-for-kids version of the original Japanese series "GoLion," which was essentially a completely different story. And I was even more surprised to learn that the "Vehicle Voltron" series was also different in the original version, and wasn't even related to GoLion in any way!
I found the original GoLion DVD's (with English subtitles) on eBay, and have been enjoying them immensely. But then I did some more research into Robotech, and guess what? Same rules applied. Different story in Japanese than in English; all three series were originally unrelated to each other; Macross had sequels that had nothing to do with Robotech; Harmony Gold are a bunch of jerks; etc.
So I shelled out 75 bucks for the Robotech "Protoculture Collection" and am currently watching them. But I've also lurked on eBay and found Genesis Climber Mospeada for $5, Southern Cross for $18, and, after quite a bit of searching, the Animeigo 9-disc set of Super Dimension Fortress Macross for $80. I plan to watch the Japanese versions once I'm done with Robotech, but I did watch the first episode of Macross (just to make sure my used DVDs would play correctly).
The first thing I noticed is how much better the episode was without the music beds and the Robotech narrator talking. The guy just talks and talks, he explains every little detail (which I guess for a 12 year old kid that's what was necessary), but in the Japanese there's hardly any narration at all, save for a woman speaking at the beginning. I also noticed that Roy Focker has a drinking problem, which Roy Fokker obviously didn't have.
I also ordered "Macross: Do You Remember Love?" I saw some of it online and thought it was excellent.
I watched Robotech when I was 12 year old, and besides Voltron and Speed Racer, it was one of my first experiences with Japanese anime dubbed into English. I loved Robotech and Voltron, but being 12 at the time, I just assumed that they were direct translations of the original Japanese.
Boy, was I wrong.
After Transformers II came out, I did some internet research on Peter Cullen's voiceover history, and remembered that he worked on Voltron too. Imagine my surprise when I read that Voltron was basically an edited-for-kids version of the original Japanese series "GoLion," which was essentially a completely different story. And I was even more surprised to learn that the "Vehicle Voltron" series was also different in the original version, and wasn't even related to GoLion in any way!
I found the original GoLion DVD's (with English subtitles) on eBay, and have been enjoying them immensely. But then I did some more research into Robotech, and guess what? Same rules applied. Different story in Japanese than in English; all three series were originally unrelated to each other; Macross had sequels that had nothing to do with Robotech; Harmony Gold are a bunch of jerks; etc.
So I shelled out 75 bucks for the Robotech "Protoculture Collection" and am currently watching them. But I've also lurked on eBay and found Genesis Climber Mospeada for $5, Southern Cross for $18, and, after quite a bit of searching, the Animeigo 9-disc set of Super Dimension Fortress Macross for $80. I plan to watch the Japanese versions once I'm done with Robotech, but I did watch the first episode of Macross (just to make sure my used DVDs would play correctly).
The first thing I noticed is how much better the episode was without the music beds and the Robotech narrator talking. The guy just talks and talks, he explains every little detail (which I guess for a 12 year old kid that's what was necessary), but in the Japanese there's hardly any narration at all, save for a woman speaking at the beginning. I also noticed that Roy Focker has a drinking problem, which Roy Fokker obviously didn't have.
I also ordered "Macross: Do You Remember Love?" I saw some of it online and thought it was excellent.
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