Macross / Robotech connection
 

Hey i am a little confused...what is the exact relation between Macross and Robotech?? yesterday i decided to pick up robotech volume 1...its the first 12 eps i think...anyway i was just wondering what i was watching in relation to the entire macross universe or whatnot...

Robotech is a patchwork of three different mecha shows (Macross, Southern Cross and something else I think).

the third part is "Mospaeda".

also anything with macross in the title can/does have a japanese audio track
Robotech, being a frankenstein-esque modification of 3 different series, cannot have a japanese audio track (or else it would make even less sense than it does already)

Not to mention that one of the biggest changes is Robotech changing of what Protoculture is. They made it into a energy source. Macross was very clear that it has to do with "The First Culture" i.e. Prototype and Culture combined. And the Earthlings had culture similar to the ancient one the Zentradi were created by. Macross 7 goes a lot further into it. :cool:

judging from the tone of some of the replies it seem that u don't think robotech is very good. is macross better to watch?

Super Dimensional Fortress: Macross, Super Dimensional Cavalry: Southern Corss, and MOSPEDA uncut versions are all much better. You get the real soundtracks, real story, and are allowed to come to your own conclusions.

I started long ago with Robotech and then learned he truth of the series. I enjoyed the originals much better.

Oh, and the actress who plays Minmay can actually sing in Macross. :) And the songs are different at times, not the repeat song :( they keep running in the Macross Saga version.

I have been a long time Robotech fan, but when i, years later, saw the original shows, i found the plot of those a lot better, especially the Macross part.
And as Heibi mentions, the music side of the japanese version if wastly superiour to the somewhat monotone english dub.

Question about Macross
 

I see Macross 7, 0, etc. and seems to be popular. From Animeinfo's description, it seems like it happens in the Robotech universe. I loved Robotech, very good plot and lots of action. Is it related to Robotech? And could anybody give so info to get a better understanding of plot and what order to see them in? Thank you for your time.

Robotech has nothing to do with Macross. Robotech was an american creation, by the bastard Carl Macek, formed by splicing together animation from 3 different unrelated anime - Macross, Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber Mospeada - and rewriting the story and dialogue to make it all fit. DO not confuse robotech with macross.

To start I'd say that Robotech takes place in the Macross universe and not the other way around. Robotech is an unholy bastardization of three completely different and unrelated series; Super Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross, Super Dimensional Fortress Macross and Genesis Climber Mospeada. The producers of Robotech chopped the three series apart then pieced them back together in a way that allowed them to make a 'new' longer series out of them so they could achieve syndication.

To watch Macross in chronological order follow the list below:

1. Super Dimensional Fortress Macross (TV)
2. Macross Zero (OVA)
3. Super Dimensional Fortress Macross - Flash Back 2012 (OVA)
4. Super Dimensional Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love? (Movie)
5. Macross Plus (OVA/Movie)
6. Macross 7 (TV)
7. Macross 7: The Galaxy's Calling Me! (Movie)
8. Macross Dynamite 7 (OVA)
9. Super Dimensional Fortress Macross II: Lovers Again (OVA - Released in US as Movie)

That's not entirely true. If you really want to watch everything in chronological order, you should start with Macross Zero, as that actually takes place before SDF Macross.
I wouldn't suggest doing that though, as the difference in animation-quality will be very, very large going from Macross Zero back to SDF Macross. Not that there's anything wrong with SDF Macross's animation, but the differences are somewhat obvious.
I'd actually suggest not watching it in chronological order at all, as that'd mean saving the worst shows for finals, meaning you'd end off with a bitter taste. I'd suggest just watching it in the order in which it was released.

Good to know, thanks all for the great info and suggestions.

SDF Macross starts on July 17 1999 and covers until some time in January 2012 while Macross Zero takes place in September 2008. If anything you'd have to stop watching SDF Macross around episode three, watch Macross Zero, then resume watching SDF Macross where you left off. For simplicity sake I listed it as to be watched after SDF Macross although you could watch it first if you wanted to.

Hehe, you've got a point there. I listed Macross Zero chronologically before SDF Macross as just about the entire series takes place after Macross Zero.
It ís indeed true that the first few episodes take place much earlier, though :)

It's kind of annoying, especially when trying to list the series chronologically, that the first 3 episodes of SDF Macross cover nearly an entire decade. ^^:

You'd actually have to STOP watching SDF Macross about 3 minutes in. The first ep. shows the ASS-1 (the macross' designation before it was rechristened; and no, im not kidding about the name) crashing in 1999; then in the next few minutes it shows the growth around the spaceship thoughout the years.

Okay, I just started to watch Super Dimensional Fortress Macross. Saw the first two episodes, and its exactly the same as Robotech Saga. Other the voice acting, and some names. Its exactly the same. Are there any differences later on? Or should I just jump to the other ones mentioned in the list above?

There are a few differences in the actual show, but the first 36 eps follow the storyline pretty well. However, THERE ARE NO ROBOTECH MASTERS AND PROTOCULTURE IS NOT AN ENERGY SOURCE. Macross 7 deals with the Protuculture origins after episode 28 sometime. After episode 36 stop watching Robotech if you want to follow Macross. Southern Cross doesn't even take place on Earth and in MOSPEDA the Earth was conquered and humanity is trying to take it back. And it isn't Protoculture in their mechs.

Picture for picture are Macross and the first part of robotech almost identical. But the story, the personalities and many connects are quite different in the two shows. One of the most dominent changes are the nature of protoculture and the more mature cast in the japanese version.
Also, i think the musical section of the Macross version outranks Robotech by by lightyears.

Well, the voice actress for Minmei in the Japanese version can ACTUALLY sing. :)

Just a question. I've NEVER EVER seen Robotech...but I've seen the Macross series (and believe its lost its magic long long time ago).

Is Robotech a good series overall? I mean is it worth watching? Did the American editors successfully piece them all together to make it make sense and interesting in a new way?

Also is Mospeada good? I checked out on it and found out that I've seen like a few episodes when I was 3 or so...and the mechas are VERY similar to Valkyries...they both have 3 forms...

Well I watched everything available for Robotech, Saga, Masters, New Generation, The Sentinels. I really like the show, but there are small differences between the seasons that show they're not fully connected properly. But the story works well overall in my opinion. I'd have to finish watching Macross first before I could really go you a proper opinion.

The Robotech dub rewrites several scenes, character motivations and changes the fates of certain characters through its own made-up narration, and redefines certain concepts into something entirely different and nonexistent in the original continuity. (For example, the definition of Protoculture in Macross has absolutely nothing to do with the Flower of Life). Other than that, it's mostly the same.

Robotech seems to have the emotions better!
 

I've watch the Japanese versions and to me Robotech outshines them in musical score, story, and voice acting.

The only exception would be the Macross Movie: Do You Remember Love? and the Sequel Flashback 2012. They both capture your emotions with the songs and voice acting!

The New Animated Robotech Movie was also quite impressive at the theaters tho I think they missed it on the songs that the original Robotech series had.

The up and coming Live-action Robotech movie should be awesome with Spiderman as Rick Hunter!

there's a live action robotech?

i hope they get their arse sued, if they feature any valkyries.

they can do any robotech they please, but it'll be an insult to all the hard work they did to build the reputation of the Macross Trademark, only for hollywood to knock them down again.

some people just don't realise the damage it does, it's like taking harry potter calling it "Potty Jerry" with heavy editing combined with works from Tolkien.

Market it, then when the original brings out lots of great sequels and more fans, go off to make a live "Potty Jerry" using the distinctive use of the favourite "Harry Potter" character in it.

it just mess people up. seriously.

anyway, this will be the last i comment in this thread, i don't trust myself to be civil. The mere thought of Robotech drives me into utter rage, if you have to find a reason for this, let's just say encounters with fanatic Robotech fans is not a pleasant experience. Well you could say they made me the Macross puritan that i'm today.

I thought they're making a Macross movie, not a Robotech movie. I could be wrong though.

That's a joke about the movie "Stealth", I think (which recycled the Macross Plus premise).

Actually, there really is a Robotech movie in the works:
While the description is about Macross, it's unknown if the movie is going to be about that part of the trilogy, but Maguire is planning to play Rick Hunter, so it's awfully likely. As far as the legal entanglements go, Harmony Gold seems to be within their rights to produce a Macross spin-off as long as they don't use any of the Macross mecha designs. Given Hollywood's propensity to make major design changes in their movie adaptations (see Transformers movie), this doesn't seem to be much of a hurdle.

Looking forward to it!
 

i think a Robotech live-action movie would be great! i was introduced to anime by watching Robotech, i think a lot of people could be introduced to anime this way, if it is done as a mainstream hollywood action movie.

i liked the ending battle song of Robotech a lot better than the Macross one, but to be fair, i haven't seen the whole japanese series. actually, i think a Robotech movie could spark interest in people to search out and view the original Macross.

i liked Robotech, if Macross is better, then i would like to watch that, too! subtitles only, please. :p

and Lisa Hayes is hot!

also, it would be interesting to see the new technology applied to the story. i'm really impressed by the new look of Macross Frontier.

just a question, would Robotech still be robotech without Valkyrie transforming fighters, manshaped spaceships, giant green aliens & etc?

because legally they can't show anything that can be positively identified as part of the Macross IP/Trademark rights.

If Harmony gold still have the same set of rights they appear to have to Mospaeda then thats not a problem. Cf. Robotech Shadow Chronicles.

Has HG's license changed recently?

Don't forget Megazone 23 Part 1 which became Robotech The Movie when spliced with scenes from Southern Cross. Having actually seen a fair bit of both Southern Cross and Mospeada I have to say that people aren't missing much. Mospeada is pretty good, but Southern Cross is kind of crummy. I don't really like the main lead Jeanne.

Wouldn't hold my breath, I'm sure they could probably squeeze (or even rip off :uhoh:) new designs.

But I'm pretty sure that those unaware of Macross or know much about what Robotech really is would be confused without "Trademark" things that were a staple within the series.

If anything... expecting to see Giant Motorcycles with large canons that can turn into giant robots. :heh:

Sorta have to agree, especially since both series are rather short. But I gotta admit they sorta took a chainsaw with Southern Cross to try to fit the series with each other.

i watched SDF 15 years ago, i dont remember shit from it other than crazy airplane robot fight, i do have blurry memory about the 3rd one with the bikes or quad.

it's good. classic stuff. if you're in your 30's or so you remember it for being a heck of a lot better than the other cartoon junk that was on after-school TV. the series is pieced together by words and names (not by scenes), and the character design is noticeably different between each series (mikimoto's designs stand out so much) so it's not super seamless. but as with totoro i think macek did a good job with robotech.

if you think macross has lost it's magic, you should keep up with robotech he he he. at last year's anime expo if you saw both the robotech panel and the gundam panel that took place right after, you'd wonder how can robotech possibly still be alive (the average age of the crowd in the robotech panel was probably 35-40 and it was dull as hell, the average age of the crowd in the gundam panel was probably close to 25 and they were loud and having a great time). the transition between the two panels was like attending a funeral and then going to a party. if one of the earlier posters thinks macek is a bastard, i don't want to know what he thinks of tommy yune ha ha ha.

Posts in this thread obviously illustrates why people hate Robotech and Carl Macek.

I'm not going to flame people who likes Robotech or prefers it over Macross.

The reason being folks who had their "exposure" 1st with Robotech won't be able to adjust or accept Macross easily.

I've watched DYRL 1st, never seen the Macross TV series, then I watched Robotech, which I was a fan of, I always thought DYRL was some type alternate world.

Later on I watched Macross, Southern Cross, and Mospaeda and finally understood the difference. I think the biggest difference is that Robotech became this Lord of the Ring trilogy. People felt it was more complete and made more sense because it spanned 3 different series, where as Macross it felt empty at the end.

For folks that don't like J-pop or subtitles, then obviously Robotech is preferred. Folks who prefer Macross are usually the purists.

You are right, at the end of Macross you do feel incomplete....

but that's why you have flashback, DYRL, VFX-1, VFX-2, Macross Plus, Macross Zero, Macross 7, Macross 7 Trash, and finally, Macross Frontier.

That "incomplete" feeling, in the end spawned a more complete and fulfilling Saga then that pitiful excuse of a "trilogy". Well, i guess that is what you get when you look for a "quick fix".

Mind you, i don't hate Robotech fans, mainly because i still get a kick whenever i see one wander into a topic discussing some of the later series, looking bewildered, and muttering to themselves why it says "Macross" on the topic title yet none of it fits into their known universe.
muwahaha.
:rolleyes:


okay. i'll stop now.

Actually it is confirmed that the 'movie' will be "based on the first 36 episodes of the Macross Saga". Although I am hoping this movie never airs, unless the studio pays heed to the original creators of the franchise!

I remember watching 'Robotech' only several years ago, when a friend showed me a recording from a dusty VHS tape. But I cannot but to feel insulted after viewing. This negative feeling was reinforced after I learned what Harmony Gold is doing with the 'Macross' license. Keep in mind that I grew up with Macross, and it has a special place in my childhood memories. Its my favorite series of all time, and I feel extremely uncomfortable to see it being scrambled like stir-fry in a sub-par production.

How you can slice n' dice existing productions, glue them with other productions and call it a 'complete series' is beyond me. Thats like taking Star Wars, mix it with footage from Star Trek, and dub it 'Star Crap'.

Even worse is the way they treat original characters. HG had to force a connection even though characters from a previous saga had absolutely NOTHING with the following saga. I mean, did HG really, REALLY have to create a 'DANA STERLING'? What the HELL was that all about? Then, since the original Macross characters could not appear in a universe that does not belong to them, HG had them relegate into totally different characters with completely unrecognizable personalities.

I mean, Admiral 'Rick Hunter'? What-the-f**k?

There were so many things wrong with Robotech to the point that it now reaches a state beyond repair and redemption.

- Tak

Was anything ever confirmed? I haven't been able to find any substantial information aside from the movie's initial press release, which was hopelessly sparse on information. The only thing that we know for sure is that it's based on the Robotech series, and that Maguire was eying the lead role (which sort of rules out the possibility that it's about Southern Cross ;)).

It's also highly unlikely that Warner Brothers is going to pay much attention to Big West or Studio Nue since they already seem to have secured whatever rights they feel they needed.

That happened an awful long time ago, and Harmony Gold's current position is vastly different from what it was before. On watching Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, it's readily apparent that all of the references in that show were to Mospeada. It feels like Harmony Gold is trying to avoid as much references to, and imagery of SDF Macross as possible. I don't find this too surprising given how shaky their legal position is on the IP.


Off-topic:
What the heck happened to your username?