Robotech
Encyclopedia
Robotech is an 85-episode science fiction
anime
adaptation produced by Harmony Gold USA
in association with Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd.
and first released in the United States
in 1985. It was adapted from three original Japan
ese television series.
In the series, Robotechnology refers to the scientific advances discovered in an alien starship
that crashed on a South Pacific island. With this technology, Earth developed robotic technologies, such as transformable mecha
, to fight three successive extraterrestrial invasions.
on their Robotech Defenders
line in the mid-1980s. The line consisted of mecha
model kits imported from Japan and featured in anime titles such as The Super Dimension Fortress Macross
, Super Dimension Century Orguss and Fang of the Sun Dougram
. The kits were originally intended to be a marketing tie-in to a similarly named comic book series by DC Comics
, which was cancelled after only two issues.
At the same time, Harmony Gold licensed the Macross TV series for direct-to-video
distribution in 1984, but their merchandising plans were compromised by Revell's prior distribution of the Macross kits. In the end, both parties signed into a co-licensing agreement and the Robotech name was adopted into the TV syndication of Macross combined with Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA
.
The Robotech chronology, according to Harmony Gold, is illustrated below:
Note: Asterisked works are now considered "secondary continuity
" — that is, that their events exist in the continuity of Robotech, but "don't count" when conflicts arise with the "main continuity" that are the three-part Robotech TV series (four, with the addition of 2006's Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
).
In 2002, with the publication of the Wildstorm (DC) comics, Harmony Gold officially decided to retcon
the Robotech Universe. The following Robotech material is now relegated to the status of secondary continuity
:
While these materials are not precisely "retired" or "removed" from the continuity, their events are subject to critical review, and are strictly subordinate to the "official" events of the 85-episode animated series. Although certain events in the new feature film (i.e., the final showdown at Reflex Point) proceed in a slightly different fashion from the original Robotech series, such disparities were intentionally introduced by the Harmony Gold producers, but are still considered canonical.
anime series:
Harmony Gold's cited reasoning for combining these unrelated series was its decision to market Macross for American weekday syndication television, which required a minimum of 65 episodes at the time (thirteen weeks at five episodes per week). Macross and the two other series each had fewer episodes than required, since they originally aired in Japan as weekly series. On some television stations, the syndicated run was preceded by the broadcast premiere of Codename: Robotech
, a feature-length pilot.
This combination resulted in a storyline that spans three generations, as mankind must fight three destructive Robotech Wars
in succession with various invading forces, each of which is motivated in one way or another by a desire for a powerful energy source called "protoculture." While each of the three animated series used for its footage informs its content, the Robotech storyline is distinct and separate from each of them.
See Robotech Wars
to find out how the gap between the series is filled.
OVA (Original Video Animation
, or made-for-video animated feature) combined with scenes from Southern Cross and additional original animation produced for the film. The American release of the film was canceled after a poor test run in Texas
, but saw limited success in Argentina
and Belgium
. Harmony Gold relinquished their license to Megazone 23
after director Carl Macek
washed his hands of the project.
In 2011, A&E Home video released, as a part of their Robotech: The Complete Series collection, a 29-minute version of Robotech The Movie containing only footage used from The Southern Cross.
In Robotech Art 3: The Sentinels, Macek blamed the cancellation of the series on the crash of the Yen/Dollar exchange rate
, which caused toy partner Matchbox to withdraw from the project due to the increased cost. Since Harmony Gold
lacked the funds to produce the series on its own, production ceased after only three episodes.
Efforts to petition the completion of this series failed, but much of the completed footage—re-edited and rewritten as a feature-length production—was released on VHS by Palladium Books
and on DVD by ADV Films
. The completed episodes have never been released in their original form.
In 2011, a "remastered" version was released on the A&E DVD set, ROBOTECH: THE COMPLETE ORIGINAL SERIES DVD. This version has opening titles resembling those found on the "Robotech Remastered" DVD's, as well as a new ending with text explaining the fate of the SDF-3. Also, all of the flashback footage used from "The Macross Saga" has been removed, along with re-used footage from the episode "Wedding Bells."
The End of the Circle, which wrapped up all of the outstanding plot threads left by the original series and the previous Robotech novels.
It should be noted that Macek himself has never mentioned Robotech IV or V in any interviews or writings, and taking the three different "generations" of the original series as separate parts, and the canceled Robotech II: The Sentinels
as the "fourth" part, Firth could have simply been referring to the proposed Robotech III: The Odyssey as Robotech 5, since it would technically be the fifth part of the overall saga.
. This all-CGI series would have been set a millennium in the future of the Robotech universe and feature none of the old series' characters. In the three-minute trailer, an expedition is sent to check on a non-responsive mining outpost and is attacked by "infected" Veritech mecha. Again, the idea was abandoned midway into production after negative reception within the company, negative fan reactions at the FanimeCon
anime convention in 2000, and financial difficulties within Netter Digital
who was animating the show. It now exists only in trailer form on the official Robotech website.
, featuring Scott Bernard and Ariel, was animated during the production of The Shadow Chronicles. Although it did not use the original voice actors and the dialogue was somewhat out-of-character, it nonetheless marked the first fully completed Robotech footage in many years.
announced development of a new sequel movie, which was untitled until 2004 as Robotech: Shadow Force. The storyline overlaps with and continues from the unresolved ending of the original series. The title of the story-arc was soon changed to Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
. The first trailers with finished animation were shown at Anime Expo
and Comic-Con International
in 2005. It was not until February 2006, when Kevin McKeever, operations coordinator at Harmony Gold, was able to confirm that the pilot movie had been completed. After a series of delays, FUNimation Entertainment
was finally announced as the home video, broadcast, and theatrical distributor at the 2006 Comic-Con International in San Diego. Harmony Gold premiered the movie at various film festivals in 2006, and it was first seen by a public audience at MechaCon
on August 9, 2006, where it was showcased as a charity screening to help raise funds for the ongoing Hurricane Katrina
and Hurricane Rita
recovery effort. A limited theatrical run followed in January 2007, and the film was released on DVD on February 6, 2007. A 2-disc collector's edition was released in November 2007.
, an anime fandub
bing group, produced the parodies "Robotech III: Not Necessarily the Sentinels" and "Robotech IV: Khyron's Counterattack," using footage from, respectively, Gunbuster/Aim For The Top!
and Gundam: Char's Counterattack
, continuing the tradition of the original Robotech's adaptation of unrelated anime series into a single continuity.
In 2010, a Chinese animated series
titled Astro Plan
was released. Fan-edited videos of the series were produced to make it look like a new Robotech title.
stated that Warner Bros.
had acquired the film rights to Robotech and would be producing a live-action film with an as-yet-unknown release date. Tobey Maguire
is producing the film through his Maguire Entertainment banner and is pursuing the lead role in what the studio plans on being a tentpole science fiction franchise.
In an interview, Harmony Gold representative Kevin McKeever said that Warner Brothers had approached Harmony Gold about the project, that Harmony Gold would have "a say" in its creative direction, and that it was not expected to affect the production schedule for Shadow Rising. He was unable to confirm any details of budget, casting, expected release date, or storyline, explaining that it was too early in the life of the project for these things to have been decided.
In June 2008, it was reported that Lawrence Kasdan
(Raiders of the Lost Ark
, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
, and The Bodyguard
) had been hired to write the film, with Charles Roven (Afro Samurai
, Get Smart
, The Dark Knight
) and Akiva Goldsman
joining Tobey Maguire as producers.
During the Robotech Panel at Anime Expo 2008, the involvement of Tobey Maguire and Lawrence Kasdan was confirmed, with Kasdan writing the script for the live action movie. Tommy Yune
also revealed that the movie is planned as a re-imagining of the original Robotech universe (with new updated mecha
and character designs) and will take place several years in the future, departing from the original cartoon's 2009 setting.
As of November 2008, Alfred Gough
and Miles Millar
(who both worked in Smallville
, Spider-Man 2
, Herbie: Fully Loaded
, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
) are the set writers for the film.
Due to undisclosed reasons, Roven is currently no longer working on the proposed film adaptation of the Robotech animated series. Roven also announced that he wishes the remaining producers, Akiva Goldsman and Tobey Maguire, "fantastic luck" on the project.
The Mania.com website reported recently that British television writer and novelist Tom Rob Smith "has taken over writing duties" for the proposed film adaptation of the Robotech animated series. Smith wrote for the British soaps Family Affairs and Bad Girls before writing a critically acclaimed crime suspense novel called Child 44. Smith will be the fourth writer or writing team to be reportedly attached to the upcoming film's pre-production.
published Robotech Art 1, a reference book containing artwork, Japanese production designs, and episode guides from the original television series. This was followed by Robotech Art 2, which was largely a collection of art by various American artists and fans. In 1988, Carl Macek collected much of the unused designs from Robotech II: The Sentinels into Robotech Art 3: The Sentinels, which also included his story outline for the rest of the unfinished series, with an explanation behind its cancellation. In 2007, Stone Bridge Press published The Art of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles.
The various comic publishers include:
was released in 2006 by Hero Factory, which had previously produced Robotech trading cards.
s, cassettes, and compact disc
s since 1988.
", a pseudonym for the team of James Luceno
and the late Brian Daley
, a pair of writers who had been working with Macek since they had collaborated on the animated series Galaxy Rangers. Using fictitious epigraph
s in the style of Dune
, McKinney's novels fleshed out the chronology (including adapting the incomplete Sentinels source material) in far greater detail than the original animation. Many Robotech fans consider the McKinney series to be an unofficial canon of its own, despite notable divergences in the writing from Harmony Gold's current official animation-based canon. Despite no longer being considered core-continuity by Harmony Gold, the novels have been recently re-issued by Del Rey Books
as Omnibus compilations.
published a role-playing game
based on the Robotech series. The successful run also included RPG books covering The Sentinels. Contractual issues in the wake of Harmony Gold's aborted Robotech 3000 project, as well as a general refocusing of the company on production of its flagship Rifts
line, caused Palladium to eventually forgo renewing the Robotech license. The Robotech RPG line went out of print as of June 30, 2001. In 2007, Harmony Gold and Palladium Books worked out a new agreement to produce a Robotech RPG supplement to The Shadow Chronicles. A press release from Palladium Books
addresses their recently (Sept 2007) renewed contract. Robotech The Shadow Chronicles RPG was released March 21, 2008.
(Lunk and Corg were only released by Matchbox and Lynn Minmei was only released by Harmony Gold). 6 inches (152.4 mm) figures were released in 1985 also by Matchbox. All of these figures were from the first generation and were of Zentraedi characters only. These figures were supposed to represent the size difference between the Humans and the giant Zentraedi forces, but to be correct these figures would had to have been made about 20 inches (508 mm) tall. None of the figures came with weapons but the Armored Zentraedi came with a removable helmet.
Also many toys depicting the vehicles and mecha
from the series were released by Matchbox in 1985, Harmony Gold in 1992 and Playmates
1994 (under the Exosquad line). There were major differences in packaging, toy stickers and colors between the different releases. The vehicles were designed to be used only with the 3 3/4 inch figures. The SDF-1 Playset
was only released under the Matchbox line in the 80s and could be used with both the 3 3/4 and 6 inch figures.
Harmony Gold and Matchbox were unable to sell the 1/55 VF-1 Valkyrie toy originally sold in Japan by Takatoku Toys
due to Hasbro
licensing it as Jetfire
in the Transformers
toy line. Because of this, they settled with manufacturing a non-transformable Veritech Fighter that could fit any of the 3 3/4 inch action figures, as well as importing the transformable super deformed
Veritech Fighters (originally manufactured in Japan by Bandai
as Macross VF-1 Valkyrie "Joke machines").
Since the late 1990s, there has been a resurgence of Robotech-related toys. In 2001, Toynami
released the Robotech Masterpiece Collection line, featuring replicas of the Veritech Fighters of The Macross Saga. Since then, Toynami has become the exclusive toy manufacturer of the Robotech franchise - having covered mecha from The Macross Saga, The New Generation and The Shadow Chronicles.
to the source material (Westernizing character names, editing for content and chiefly, forging a connection between previously unrelated series), while supporters of the adaptation have pointed out that the weaving of three unrelated series into a contiguous whole necessarily required reworking, and that it helped to maintain a slow but continuous rise in the consumption of anime in the US.
Series writer/actor Greg Snegoff said in an interview on the now-defunct Shadow Chronicles News fansite that, "afterward, we received compliments from the Japanese who thought our dialogue and stories were better than the original". However, Animag magazine (issue 11) and Animerica
magazine (issue 9, volume 4) reports that the staff of Macross
at Studio Nue
and Artland, such as the original story creator and mecha designer Shoji Kawamori
and chief director Noboru Ishiguro
, expressed their concern over the Robotech adaptation, and surprise at its differences.
In an effort to combine the storylines of three different Japanese series, certain characters underwent drastic role changes, with little explicit character development or plot exposition.
In addition, detractors of the show argue that the need for 65 episodes did not necessarily require a combined storyline, citing adaptations like Voltron
which coupled two unrelated Japanese series without directly combining the storylines. However a year after this show ended, 20 additional Voltron episodes and a crossover special were created for American audiences by Toei Animation
, after the first daily run of 104 episodes.
Shortly after completing Robotech, Macek would make the less-well-known Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years
in a similar fashion by combining two Leiji Matsumoto
series, Captain Harlock
and Queen Millennia, together and altering the storyline significantly. In this case, however, the two anime series were spliced together in a manner where the stories of the characters occurred simultaneously, not one after the other.
In 2009, IGN
ranked Robotech as the 34th greatest animated show of all time in their Top 100 list.
and DVD
formats from the following distributors:
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
adaptation produced by Harmony Gold USA
Harmony Gold USA
Harmony Gold is a television production and distribution company established in 1983. It is best known as the “creator” and main distributor of the anime series Robotech. It also partially dubbed the Dragon Ball series in the late 1980s....
in association with Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd.
Tatsunoko Production
, often shortened to , is a Japanese animation company. Founded in October 1962 by acclaimed anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshida along with his brothers Kenji and Toyoharu...
and first released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1985. It was adapted from three original Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese television series.
In the series, Robotechnology refers to the scientific advances discovered in an alien starship
SDF-1 Macross
The SDF-1 Macross is a fictional interstellar transforming spacecraft from The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, an anime science fiction series that aired in Japan in 1982–1983, and its American adaptation Robotech...
that crashed on a South Pacific island. With this technology, Earth developed robotic technologies, such as transformable mecha
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
, to fight three successive extraterrestrial invasions.
Name origin
Prior to the release of the TV series, the name Robotech was used by model kit manufacturer RevellRevell
Revell is the brand name today of two manufacturers of scale plastic models. The original US company merged with another, Monogram, but now trades only under the Revell name. European Revell Germany separated from the US company in 2006.-Early history:...
on their Robotech Defenders
Robotech Defenders
The Robotech Defenders are a line of scale model kits released by Revell during the early 1980s. Contrary to what their name seems to imply, the "'Robotech Defenders'" are not part of the Robotech Anime Universe adapted by Carl Macek and released by Harmony Gold USA.The "Robotech Defenders" were...
line in the mid-1980s. The line consisted of mecha
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
model kits imported from Japan and featured in anime titles such as The Super Dimension Fortress Macross
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross
is an anime television series. According to story creator Shoji Kawamori, it depicts "a love triangle against the backdrop of great battles" during the first Human-alien war....
, Super Dimension Century Orguss and Fang of the Sun Dougram
Fang of the Sun Dougram
is a 75-episode anime television series, created by Ryosuke Takahashi and Sunrise, and aired in Japan from October 23, 1981 to March 25, 1983 on TV Tokyo...
. The kits were originally intended to be a marketing tie-in to a similarly named comic book series by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, which was cancelled after only two issues.
At the same time, Harmony Gold licensed the Macross TV series for direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
distribution in 1984, but their merchandising plans were compromised by Revell's prior distribution of the Macross kits. In the end, both parties signed into a co-licensing agreement and the Robotech name was adopted into the TV syndication of Macross combined with Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA
Genesis Climber Mospeada
is an anime science fiction series created by Shinji Aramaki and Hideki Kakinuma. The 25-episode television series ran from late 1983 to early 1984 in Japan...
.
Chronology
- For a more detailed timeline, see Robotech WarsRobotech WarsIn the fictional world of Robotech, the Robotech Wars are a series of four devastating wars that take place in the first half of the 21st century...
The Robotech chronology, according to Harmony Gold, is illustrated below:
| Year | Generation / Saga (release date) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 (2009) - 2014 | (1) | Robotech: The Macross Saga (1985) |
| 2022 | Robotech II: The Sentinels * (1987) | |
| 2027 | Robotech: The Movie * (1986) | |
| 2029 - 2030 | (2) | Robotech: The Masters (1985) |
| 2031 (2042) - 2044 | (3) | Robotech: The New Generation (1985) |
| 2044 - | Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles (2006) | |
Note: Asterisked works are now considered "secondary continuity
Expanded Universe
The term Expanded Universe is generally used to denote the 'extension' of a media franchise with other media...
" — that is, that their events exist in the continuity of Robotech, but "don't count" when conflicts arise with the "main continuity" that are the three-part Robotech TV series (four, with the addition of 2006's Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles is the 2006 animated sequel to the 1985 Robotech television series. It was released on DVD on February 6, 2007.- Plot :...
).
In 2002, with the publication of the Wildstorm (DC) comics, Harmony Gold officially decided to retcon
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
the Robotech Universe. The following Robotech material is now relegated to the status of secondary continuity
Expanded Universe
The term Expanded Universe is generally used to denote the 'extension' of a media franchise with other media...
:
- The SentinelsRobotech II: The SentinelsRobotech II: The Sentinels was an attempt by Harmony Gold USA to continue the original 1985 Robotech television series. Only three episodes were ultimately animated before the project was canceled in 1986, and a feature-length film was released from footage taken from the completed episodes...
in all its incarnations. - Robotech: The MovieRobotech: The MovieRobotech: The Movie is a 1986 American-Japanese science fiction animated film based on the Robotech TV series and Robotech franchise created by Harmony Gold USA...
(which, in the strictest sense, never was canonCanon (fiction)In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
) - Robotech comicsRobotech (comics)Robotech comics first officially appeared in print in 1985, though Comico published the first issue of its license from Harmony Gold USA under the Macross name....
published by ComicoComico ComicsComico: The Comic Company was an American comic book publisher, headquartered in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Its best-known comics include the Robotech adaptations, the Jonny Quest continuation written by co-creator Doug Wildey, and Matt Wagner's Mage: The Hero Discovered and Grendel...
, Eternity, Academy, and Antarctic PressAntarctic PressAntarctic Press is a San Antonio-based comic book publishing company which publishes "American Manga" style comic books.Founded by Ben Dunn in 1984, Antarctic Press has produced over 850 titles with a total circulation of over 5 million...
. - Robotech RPGs published by Palladium BooksPalladium BooksPalladium Books is a publisher of role-playing games perhaps best known for its popular, expansive Rifts series . Palladium was founded April 1981 in Detroit, Michigan by current president and lead game designer Kevin Siembieda, and is presently based in Westland, Michigan...
. - Robotech novelsRobotech (novels)In 1987, the Robotech animated series was adapted into novel form by authors James Luceno and the late Brian Daley and published by Ballantine Books. Having previously collaborated on the animated series Galaxy Rangers, the pair's Robotech novels were released under the unified pseudonym of "Jack...
written by Jack McKinneyJack McKinney (writer)Jack McKinney was a pseudonym used by American authors James Luceno and Brian Daley before the latter's death.As well as adapting Robotech into novel form, they were also responsible for the Sentinels series which continued to expand the Robotech Universe...
, most notably The End of the Circle.
While these materials are not precisely "retired" or "removed" from the continuity, their events are subject to critical review, and are strictly subordinate to the "official" events of the 85-episode animated series. Although certain events in the new feature film (i.e., the final showdown at Reflex Point) proceed in a slightly different fashion from the original Robotech series, such disparities were intentionally introduced by the Harmony Gold producers, but are still considered canonical.
The original television series (1985)
Robotech is a story adapted with edited content and revised dialogue from the animation of three different mechaMecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
anime series:
- The Super Dimension Fortress MacrossThe Super Dimension Fortress Macrossis an anime television series. According to story creator Shoji Kawamori, it depicts "a love triangle against the backdrop of great battles" during the first Human-alien war....
- Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross
- Genesis Climber MOSPEADAGenesis Climber Mospeadais an anime science fiction series created by Shinji Aramaki and Hideki Kakinuma. The 25-episode television series ran from late 1983 to early 1984 in Japan...
.
Harmony Gold's cited reasoning for combining these unrelated series was its decision to market Macross for American weekday syndication television, which required a minimum of 65 episodes at the time (thirteen weeks at five episodes per week). Macross and the two other series each had fewer episodes than required, since they originally aired in Japan as weekly series. On some television stations, the syndicated run was preceded by the broadcast premiere of Codename: Robotech
Codename: Robotech
Codename: Robotech is an animated pilot that preceded the original 1985 Robotech television series. It is set within the events of the First Robotech War.-Broadcast:...
, a feature-length pilot.
This combination resulted in a storyline that spans three generations, as mankind must fight three destructive Robotech Wars
Robotech Wars
In the fictional world of Robotech, the Robotech Wars are a series of four devastating wars that take place in the first half of the 21st century...
in succession with various invading forces, each of which is motivated in one way or another by a desire for a powerful energy source called "protoculture." While each of the three animated series used for its footage informs its content, the Robotech storyline is distinct and separate from each of them.
- The First Robotech War (The Macross Saga) concerns humanity's discovery of a crashed alien ship and subsequent battle against a race of giant warriors called the Zentraedi, who have been sent to retrieve the ship for reasons unknown. In the course of this chapter, Earth is nearly annihilated, the Zentraedi are defeated, and humans gain knowledge of the energy source called protoculture. Humanity also learns of the Robotech Masters whose galactic empire the Zentraedi protected and patrolled.
- The Second Robotech War (The Masters) focuses on the arrival in Earth orbit of the Robotech Masters, who have come seeking what turns out to be the sole means in the universe of producing protoculture. Through a combination of mistrust and arrogance, their attempts at retrieving this meet with opposition from the humans and unleash a war that leaves the Masters defeated and Earth awash in the spores of a plant called the Flower of Life -- the source of protoculture and a beacon to the mysterious Invid who scour the galaxy for its presence.
- The Third Robotech War (The New Generation) begins with the arrival on Earth of the Invid, who are lured by the Flower of Life and rapidly conquer the planet. References in the previous two chapters explain to viewers that many of the heroes of the First Robotech War had left Earth to seek out the Robotech Masters on a preemptive mission, and it is this Robotech Expeditionary Force that sends missions back from across the galaxy to attempt a liberation of their homeworld. The storyline follows one group of freedom fighters as they work their way towards the final battle with the Invid.
See Robotech Wars
Robotech Wars
In the fictional world of Robotech, the Robotech Wars are a series of four devastating wars that take place in the first half of the 21st century...
to find out how the gap between the series is filled.
Animated sequels and spinoffs
Harmony Gold attempted to produce several follow ups to the original series with limited success.Robotech: The Movie (1986, canceled in U.S.)
Also called Robotech: The Untold Story, this theatrical film was the first new Robotech adventure created after the premiere of the original series. It used footage from the Megazone 23 Part 1Megazone 23
is a four-part original video animation created by AIC, written by Hiroyuki Hoshiyama, and directed by Noboru Ishiguro, Ichiro Itano, Kenichi Yatagai and Shinji Aramaki. The series was originally titled but the title was changed just before release....
OVA (Original Video Animation
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
, or made-for-video animated feature) combined with scenes from Southern Cross and additional original animation produced for the film. The American release of the film was canceled after a poor test run in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, but saw limited success in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. Harmony Gold relinquished their license to Megazone 23
Megazone 23
is a four-part original video animation created by AIC, written by Hiroyuki Hoshiyama, and directed by Noboru Ishiguro, Ichiro Itano, Kenichi Yatagai and Shinji Aramaki. The series was originally titled but the title was changed just before release....
after director Carl Macek
Carl Macek
Carl F. Macek was an American writer and controversial anime pioneer and producer of the 1980s and 1990s.-Robotech and Harmony Gold USA:...
washed his hands of the project.
In 2011, A&E Home video released, as a part of their Robotech: The Complete Series collection, a 29-minute version of Robotech The Movie containing only footage used from The Southern Cross.
Robotech Wars (1986)
A promotional VHS video created by Matchbox included with the "Robotech Wars" playset. This video includes two episodes entirely from various re-used clips of The Macross Saga. Titled "To the End of the Universe" and "Battle Royale," these episodes contain no new footage, and are not meant to follow any continuity established in the TV series.Robotech II: The Sentinels (1987, canceled)
This aborted American-produced series would have followed the continuing adventures of Rick and Lisa Hunter and the Robotech Expedition during the events of The Masters and The New Generation. The feature-length pilot is composed of the first three (and only) episodes that were produced. Being a sequel/spinoff to the combined series, The Sentinels featured characters from all three Robotech sagas and introduced the SDF-3 along with an overview of their new mission. The series was planned to have total of 65 episodes.In Robotech Art 3: The Sentinels, Macek blamed the cancellation of the series on the crash of the Yen/Dollar exchange rate
Exchange rate
In finance, an exchange rate between two currencies is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another. It is also regarded as the value of one country’s currency in terms of another currency...
, which caused toy partner Matchbox to withdraw from the project due to the increased cost. Since Harmony Gold
Harmony Gold USA
Harmony Gold is a television production and distribution company established in 1983. It is best known as the “creator” and main distributor of the anime series Robotech. It also partially dubbed the Dragon Ball series in the late 1980s....
lacked the funds to produce the series on its own, production ceased after only three episodes.
Efforts to petition the completion of this series failed, but much of the completed footage—re-edited and rewritten as a feature-length production—was released on VHS by Palladium Books
Palladium Books
Palladium Books is a publisher of role-playing games perhaps best known for its popular, expansive Rifts series . Palladium was founded April 1981 in Detroit, Michigan by current president and lead game designer Kevin Siembieda, and is presently based in Westland, Michigan...
and on DVD by ADV Films
A.D. Vision
A.D. Vision was an American international multimedia entertainment company headquartered in Houston, Texas, prior to its collapse and distress sale to four other Houston-based companies in 2009...
. The completed episodes have never been released in their original form.
In 2011, a "remastered" version was released on the A&E DVD set, ROBOTECH: THE COMPLETE ORIGINAL SERIES DVD. This version has opening titles resembling those found on the "Robotech Remastered" DVD's, as well as a new ending with text explaining the fate of the SDF-3. Also, all of the flashback footage used from "The Macross Saga" has been removed, along with re-used footage from the episode "Wedding Bells."
Robotech III: The Odyssey (proposed)
Macek revealed ideas for another proposed series, Robotech III: The Odyssey, which would have picked up where The New Generation and end of Robotech II: The Sentinels left off, and eventually created a circular storyline that would end where the original Robotech began in a giant 260-episode cycle to fill up all the weekdays in a year. According to Macek, The Odyssey would involved the SDF-3 travelling back into the past to the days before the birth of Zor (as well as Scott Bernard's search for the SDF-3). The SDF-3's crew would become citizens of the Robotech Masters' homeworld and change time by becoming a part of its history. Ultimately, it would be revealed that Lynn Minmei was the mother of Zor, making Minmei the focal point of Robotech. The final episode of the Odyssey would be of Zor dying and his Super Dimension Fortress (the SDF-1) being launched into space, and eventually crash landing on Earth in 1999. The next episode after that would be "Boobytrap", episode 1 of the original series which in turn will create an endless loop within the Robotech universe. After the failure of Sentinels, Odyssey never went into development, although some of its ideas were worked into the final Jack McKinney novelRobotech (novels)
In 1987, the Robotech animated series was adapted into novel form by authors James Luceno and the late Brian Daley and published by Ballantine Books. Having previously collaborated on the animated series Galaxy Rangers, the pair's Robotech novels were released under the unified pseudonym of "Jack...
The End of the Circle, which wrapped up all of the outstanding plot threads left by the original series and the previous Robotech novels.
Robotech IV and V (planned)
Fan publication Macross Life interviewed Harmony Gold executive Richard Firth in 1986, where he revealed that Macek had "plans through ROBOTECH 5, which would give us an episode for each day of the year for a year and a half." He also said that these two installments would have brought the series to 285 episodes. Regarding the plot, Firth mentioned a "retired Commodore Hunter, whom ever that may be, could very well be speaking at the graduation of the later day cadets or whatever, and they ask him to tell them the story all over again: it comes back [to the first episode of the series]."It should be noted that Macek himself has never mentioned Robotech IV or V in any interviews or writings, and taking the three different "generations" of the original series as separate parts, and the canceled Robotech II: The Sentinels
Robotech II: The Sentinels
Robotech II: The Sentinels was an attempt by Harmony Gold USA to continue the original 1985 Robotech television series. Only three episodes were ultimately animated before the project was canceled in 1986, and a feature-length film was released from footage taken from the completed episodes...
as the "fourth" part, Firth could have simply been referring to the proposed Robotech III: The Odyssey as Robotech 5, since it would technically be the fifth part of the overall saga.
Robotech 3000 (2000, canceled)
Macek attempted another sequel with the development of Robotech 3000Robotech 3000
Robotech 3000 was Harmony Gold's attempt to reboot the Robotech franchise before the turn of the millennium. After the relative success of Voltron: The Third Dimension and Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, a new Robotech sequel was proposed that would use 3D CG visuals, with producer Jason...
. This all-CGI series would have been set a millennium in the future of the Robotech universe and feature none of the old series' characters. In the three-minute trailer, an expedition is sent to check on a non-responsive mining outpost and is attacked by "infected" Veritech mecha. Again, the idea was abandoned midway into production after negative reception within the company, negative fan reactions at the FanimeCon
FanimeCon
FanimeCon is an annual anime convention run by the Anime Resource Group . It is the largest anime convention in Northern California and one of the ten largest anime conventions in North America...
anime convention in 2000, and financial difficulties within Netter Digital
Netter Digital
'Netter Digital Entertainment was a company created by Douglas Netter in 1995. The company produced the show Hypernauts before moving to digital EFX work and replacing Foundation Imaging in the final two seasons of Babylon 5 as the sole producer of CGI special effects for that series as well as...
who was animating the show. It now exists only in trailer form on the official Robotech website.
Robotech UN Public Service Announcement (2005)
A sixty-second public service announcement for the 60th anniversary of the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, featuring Scott Bernard and Ariel, was animated during the production of The Shadow Chronicles. Although it did not use the original voice actors and the dialogue was somewhat out-of-character, it nonetheless marked the first fully completed Robotech footage in many years.
Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles (2006)
In 2002, director Tommy YuneTommy Yune
Tommy Yune is a Korean comic book author who became known for his manga-style work on Speed Racer, which was followed by a comic industry revival of classic anime shows such as Transformers, Battle of the Planets and Robotech...
announced development of a new sequel movie, which was untitled until 2004 as Robotech: Shadow Force. The storyline overlaps with and continues from the unresolved ending of the original series. The title of the story-arc was soon changed to Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles is the 2006 animated sequel to the 1985 Robotech television series. It was released on DVD on February 6, 2007.- Plot :...
. The first trailers with finished animation were shown at Anime Expo
Anime Expo
Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation . With rare exceptions, the convention is traditionally held on the July 4th weekend and lasts for four days...
and Comic-Con International
Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
in 2005. It was not until February 2006, when Kevin McKeever, operations coordinator at Harmony Gold, was able to confirm that the pilot movie had been completed. After a series of delays, FUNimation Entertainment
FUNimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
was finally announced as the home video, broadcast, and theatrical distributor at the 2006 Comic-Con International in San Diego. Harmony Gold premiered the movie at various film festivals in 2006, and it was first seen by a public audience at MechaCon
MechaCon
MechaCon is an annual three day anime convention in Lafayette, Louisiana and New Orleans, Louisiana and held on a weekend sometime during July or August...
on August 9, 2006, where it was showcased as a charity screening to help raise funds for the ongoing Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
and Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...
recovery effort. A limited theatrical run followed in January 2007, and the film was released on DVD on February 6, 2007. A 2-disc collector's edition was released in November 2007.
Robotech: Shadow Rising (planned, delayed)
On July 27, 2007, at their Comic-Con International panel, Harmony Gold and Yune unveiled the second entry of the Shadow Chronicles production, titled Robotech: Shadow Rising which will be another feature movie. Pre-production reportedly began and a projected release date of sometime in 2009 was originally expected. However, subsequent announcements in mid-2008 have made it clear that little-or-no progress has been made on the film, and it has been indefinitely postponed, pending developments with the live-action film, which itself has been mired in development problems for nearly half a decade.Unofficial and parody productions
In the 1990s, Seishun ShitemasuJ-List
J-List is an online seller of Japanese goods to consumers outside of Japan, with a concentration on otaku goods and Japanese pornography, including live action, anime, and manga...
, an anime fandub
Fandub
A fandub is a fan-made dub or redub of a production, typically completely altering dialogues, story plots and personalities of protagonists in a funny way...
bing group, produced the parodies "Robotech III: Not Necessarily the Sentinels" and "Robotech IV: Khyron's Counterattack," using footage from, respectively, Gunbuster/Aim For The Top!
Gunbuster
Gunbuster, known in Japan as is a six episode anime OVA series created by Gainax in 1988. It was the directorial debut of Hideaki Anno, best known as the director of Neon Genesis Evangelion. The title is a combination of the titles of classic tennis anime Aim for the Ace!, whose plot inspired...
and Gundam: Char's Counterattack
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack
is a 1988 anime film set in Gundam's Universal Century timeline of Gundam, specifically U.C. 0093.Making its theatrical debut on March 12, 1988, Char's Counterattack is the culmination of the original saga begun in Mobile Suit Gundam and continued through Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and Mobile Suit...
, continuing the tradition of the original Robotech's adaptation of unrelated anime series into a single continuity.
In 2010, a Chinese animated series
Chinese animation
Chinese animation or Manhua Anime, in narrow sense, refers to animations that are made in China. In broad sense, it may refers to animations that are made in any Chinese speaking countries such as People's Republic of China , Republic of China , Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, etc.- History :The...
titled Astro Plan
Astro Plan
Astro Plan, known in Mainland China as Space Adventures and informally in Japan as , is a science fiction mecha animated series created by Guangzhou-based toy firm Xing Yuan. Hailed as "China's first sci-fi animation", the series premiered on Chinese television on January 16, 2010 through Hunan...
was released. Fan-edited videos of the series were produced to make it look like a new Robotech title.
Proposed live-action film
On September 7, 2007, The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
stated that Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
had acquired the film rights to Robotech and would be producing a live-action film with an as-yet-unknown release date. Tobey Maguire
Tobey Maguire
Tobias Vincent "Tobey" Maguire is an American actor and producer. He began his career in the 1980s, and has achieved his greatest fame for his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films.-Early life:...
is producing the film through his Maguire Entertainment banner and is pursuing the lead role in what the studio plans on being a tentpole science fiction franchise.
In an interview, Harmony Gold representative Kevin McKeever said that Warner Brothers had approached Harmony Gold about the project, that Harmony Gold would have "a say" in its creative direction, and that it was not expected to affect the production schedule for Shadow Rising. He was unable to confirm any details of budget, casting, expected release date, or storyline, explaining that it was too early in the life of the project for these things to have been decided.
In June 2008, it was reported that Lawrence Kasdan
Lawrence Kasdan
Lawrence Edward "Larry" Kasdan is an American film producer, director and screenwriter.-Life and career:Kasdan was born in Miami, Florida, the son of Sylvia Sarah , an employment counselor, and Clarence Norman Kasdan, who managed retail electronics stores.His Brother is the writer/producer Mark...
(Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise...
, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan...
, and The Bodyguard
The Bodyguard
The Bodyguard is a 1992 American romantic-thriller film starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. Costner stars as a former Secret Service Agent turned bodyguard who is hired to protect Houston's character, a music star, from an unknown stalker. Lawrence Kasdan wrote the film in the 1970s,...
) had been hired to write the film, with Charles Roven (Afro Samurai
Afro Samurai
, also written AFRO SAMURAI, is a Japanese seinen dōjinshi manga series written and illustrated by manga artist Takashi Okazaki. It was originally serialized irregularly in the avant-garde dōjinshi manga magazine Nou Nou Hau from September 1999 to May 2000...
, Get Smart
Get Smart (film)
Get Smart is a 2008 American spy-fi comedy film based on Mel Brooks and Buck Henry's 1960s spy parody television series of the same name. The film stars Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart and Anne Hathaway as Agent 99...
, The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight (film)
The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins...
) and Akiva Goldsman
Akiva Goldsman
Akiva J. Goldsman from Walker Valley, New York is an American screenwriter and film producer. He received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the 2001 film, A Beautiful Mind, which also won the Oscar for Best Picture....
joining Tobey Maguire as producers.
During the Robotech Panel at Anime Expo 2008, the involvement of Tobey Maguire and Lawrence Kasdan was confirmed, with Kasdan writing the script for the live action movie. Tommy Yune
Tommy Yune
Tommy Yune is a Korean comic book author who became known for his manga-style work on Speed Racer, which was followed by a comic industry revival of classic anime shows such as Transformers, Battle of the Planets and Robotech...
also revealed that the movie is planned as a re-imagining of the original Robotech universe (with new updated mecha
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
and character designs) and will take place several years in the future, departing from the original cartoon's 2009 setting.
As of November 2008, Alfred Gough
Alfred Gough
Alfred Gough III is an American screenwriter and producer.-Early life and career:Born in Leonardtown, Maryland, Gough graduated from St. Mary's Ryken High School and The Catholic University of America...
and Miles Millar
Miles Millar
-Early life and Career:Millar was educated at Claremont Fan Court School, and is a graduate of Christ's College, Cambridge, where he was Chairman of Cambridge University Conservative Association.....
(who both worked in Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
, Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2 is a 2004 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi, written by Alvin Sargent and developed by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Michael Chabon. It is the second film in the Spider-Man film franchise based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man...
, Herbie: Fully Loaded
Herbie: Fully Loaded
Herbie: Fully Loaded is a 2005 American comedy film directed by Angela Robinson and produced by Robert Simonds for Walt Disney Pictures. It stars Lindsay Lohan as the youngest member of an automobile-racing family, Michael Keaton as her father, Matt Dillon as a competing racer, Breckin Meyer as...
, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is a 2008 American action adventure film and sequel to The Mummy and The Mummy Returns . The film stars Brendan Fraser, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Luke Ford, and Jet Li, and was released on August 1, 2008 in the United States...
) are the set writers for the film.
Due to undisclosed reasons, Roven is currently no longer working on the proposed film adaptation of the Robotech animated series. Roven also announced that he wishes the remaining producers, Akiva Goldsman and Tobey Maguire, "fantastic luck" on the project.
The Mania.com website reported recently that British television writer and novelist Tom Rob Smith "has taken over writing duties" for the proposed film adaptation of the Robotech animated series. Smith wrote for the British soaps Family Affairs and Bad Girls before writing a critically acclaimed crime suspense novel called Child 44. Smith will be the fourth writer or writing team to be reportedly attached to the upcoming film's pre-production.
The Robotech franchise
At the time of its broadcast, Harmony Gold also launched Robotech through a popular line of comics to be followed by novels, role-playing games, toys, and other consumer products. With the cancellation of Robotech II: The Sentinels, many of these licensed products were discontinued, and led to a drought of Robotech product through much of the 1990s, except for publishers who continued The Sentinels storyline in print.Art books
In 1986, Starblaze GraphicsStarblaze Graphics
Starblaze Graphics was an imprint of The Donning Company, a publishing company established in 1978 to publish illustrated books. Notable Starblaze publications include Robert Asprin's MythAdventures series, as well as a graphic novel based on the first book...
published Robotech Art 1, a reference book containing artwork, Japanese production designs, and episode guides from the original television series. This was followed by Robotech Art 2, which was largely a collection of art by various American artists and fans. In 1988, Carl Macek collected much of the unused designs from Robotech II: The Sentinels into Robotech Art 3: The Sentinels, which also included his story outline for the rest of the unfinished series, with an explanation behind its cancellation. In 2007, Stone Bridge Press published The Art of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles.
Comics
Robotech comics were first published in 1984 with DC Comics' short-lived Robotech Defenders and Comico's adaptation of the first episode of the Japanese version of Macross. However, the first adaptation of the Robotech television series did not arrive until 1985 with Comico's Robotech: The Macross Saga Number 2, which continued from the first Macross issue.The various comic publishers include:
- ComicoComico ComicsComico: The Comic Company was an American comic book publisher, headquartered in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Its best-known comics include the Robotech adaptations, the Jonny Quest continuation written by co-creator Doug Wildey, and Matt Wagner's Mage: The Hero Discovered and Grendel...
(1984–1989) - Eternity ComicsEternity ComicsEternity Comics was a California-based comic book publisher active from 1986 to 1994, first as an independent publisher, then as an imprint of Malibu Comics. Eternity published creator-owned comics of an offbeat, independent flavor, as well as some licensed properties...
(1988–1994) - Academy ComicsAcademy ComicsAcademy Comics was an independent comic book publisher based in Indiana and founded by Mark Paniccia . It was originally founded as Pyramid Publishing in 1986, and transitioned to New Century Comics by 1990, which served primarily as a vehicle to publish Paniccia's own sword and sorcery comics...
(1994–1996) - Antarctic PressAntarctic PressAntarctic Press is a San Antonio-based comic book publishing company which publishes "American Manga" style comic books.Founded by Ben Dunn in 1984, Antarctic Press has produced over 850 titles with a total circulation of over 5 million...
(1997–1998) - WildstormWildstormWildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
(DC) (2002–present)
Collectible card game
The first Robotech collectible card gameCollectible card game
thumb|Players and their decksA collectible card game , also called a trading card game or customizable card game, is a game played using specially designed sets of playing cards...
was released in 2006 by Hero Factory, which had previously produced Robotech trading cards.
Music and soundtracks
Various Robotech soundtracks have been released on recordGramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
s, cassettes, and compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
s since 1988.
- Robotech: BGM Collection, Vol.1 (1988)
- Robotech: Perfect Collection (1988)
- Robotech: Perfect Soundtrack Album (1996)
- Robotech: Battlecry Soundtrack (2002)
- Robotech: Invasion Soundtrack (2004)
- Robotech: The Original Soundtrack (2005)
- Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles Soundtrack (2007)
Novelizations
Since 1987, Robotech was adapted into novel form by "Jack McKinneyJack McKinney (writer)
Jack McKinney was a pseudonym used by American authors James Luceno and Brian Daley before the latter's death.As well as adapting Robotech into novel form, they were also responsible for the Sentinels series which continued to expand the Robotech Universe...
", a pseudonym for the team of James Luceno
James Luceno
James Luceno is The New York Times bestselling author of three Star Wars: The New Jedi Order novels, Agents of Chaos: Hero's Trial, Agents of Chaos: Jedi Eclipse and The Unifying Force....
and the late Brian Daley
Brian Daley
Brian Daley was an American science fiction novelist. He also adapted for radio the Star Wars radio dramas and wrote all of its episodes.-Biography:...
, a pair of writers who had been working with Macek since they had collaborated on the animated series Galaxy Rangers. Using fictitious epigraph
Epigraph (literature)
In literature, an epigraph is a phrase, quotation, or poem that is set at the beginning of a document or component. The epigraph may serve as a preface, as a summary, as a counter-example, or to link the work to a wider literary canon, either to invite comparison or to enlist a conventional...
s in the style of Dune
Dune (novel)
Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert, published in 1965. It won the Hugo Award in 1966, and the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel...
, McKinney's novels fleshed out the chronology (including adapting the incomplete Sentinels source material) in far greater detail than the original animation. Many Robotech fans consider the McKinney series to be an unofficial canon of its own, despite notable divergences in the writing from Harmony Gold's current official animation-based canon. Despite no longer being considered core-continuity by Harmony Gold, the novels have been recently re-issued by Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn since 1998, by Bertelsmann AG. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It specializes in science fiction and fantasy...
as Omnibus compilations.
Role-playing games
In 1986, Palladium BooksPalladium Books
Palladium Books is a publisher of role-playing games perhaps best known for its popular, expansive Rifts series . Palladium was founded April 1981 in Detroit, Michigan by current president and lead game designer Kevin Siembieda, and is presently based in Westland, Michigan...
published a role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
based on the Robotech series. The successful run also included RPG books covering The Sentinels. Contractual issues in the wake of Harmony Gold's aborted Robotech 3000 project, as well as a general refocusing of the company on production of its flagship Rifts
Rifts (role-playing game)
Rifts is a multi-genre role-playing game created by Kevin Siembieda in 1990 and published continuously by Palladium Books since then. Rifts takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, deriving elements from cyberpunk, science fiction, fantasy, horror, western, mythology and many other genres.Rifts...
line, caused Palladium to eventually forgo renewing the Robotech license. The Robotech RPG line went out of print as of June 30, 2001. In 2007, Harmony Gold and Palladium Books worked out a new agreement to produce a Robotech RPG supplement to The Shadow Chronicles. A press release from Palladium Books
Palladium Books
Palladium Books is a publisher of role-playing games perhaps best known for its popular, expansive Rifts series . Palladium was founded April 1981 in Detroit, Michigan by current president and lead game designer Kevin Siembieda, and is presently based in Westland, Michigan...
addresses their recently (Sept 2007) renewed contract. Robotech The Shadow Chronicles RPG was released March 21, 2008.
Toys
3+3/4 in action figures of the three Robotech generations were initially released in 1985 by Matchbox toy company, but then reissued in 1992 by Harmony GoldHarmony Gold USA
Harmony Gold is a television production and distribution company established in 1983. It is best known as the “creator” and main distributor of the anime series Robotech. It also partially dubbed the Dragon Ball series in the late 1980s....
(Lunk and Corg were only released by Matchbox and Lynn Minmei was only released by Harmony Gold). 6 inches (152.4 mm) figures were released in 1985 also by Matchbox. All of these figures were from the first generation and were of Zentraedi characters only. These figures were supposed to represent the size difference between the Humans and the giant Zentraedi forces, but to be correct these figures would had to have been made about 20 inches (508 mm) tall. None of the figures came with weapons but the Armored Zentraedi came with a removable helmet.
Also many toys depicting the vehicles and mecha
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
from the series were released by Matchbox in 1985, Harmony Gold in 1992 and Playmates
Playmates Toys
Playmates Toys is a Costa Mesa, California toy manufacturer and a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Playmates Holdings Ltd , which was founded in 1966.-Proprietary brands:*Amazing Dolls*Amazing Pets*Kinder-Garden Babies*R.E.V.s*Waterbabies*WOW Pals...
1994 (under the Exosquad line). There were major differences in packaging, toy stickers and colors between the different releases. The vehicles were designed to be used only with the 3 3/4 inch figures. The SDF-1 Playset
SDF-1 Macross
The SDF-1 Macross is a fictional interstellar transforming spacecraft from The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, an anime science fiction series that aired in Japan in 1982–1983, and its American adaptation Robotech...
was only released under the Matchbox line in the 80s and could be used with both the 3 3/4 and 6 inch figures.
Harmony Gold and Matchbox were unable to sell the 1/55 VF-1 Valkyrie toy originally sold in Japan by Takatoku Toys
Takatoku Toys
Takatoku toys was a Japanese toy company active during the 1970s and 1980s. While responsible for many robots, action-figures and vehicles, they are today mainly known for making the original Macross toys....
due to Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
licensing it as Jetfire
Jetfire
Jetfire is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers universes. He is nearly always depicted as an Autobot with jet or space shuttle alternate mode.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
in the Transformers
Transformers (toy line)
The is a line of toys produced by the American toy company Hasbro. The Transformers toyline was created from toy molds mostly produced by Japanese company Takara in the toylines Diaclone and Microman. Other toy molds from other companies such as Bandai were used as well...
toy line. Because of this, they settled with manufacturing a non-transformable Veritech Fighter that could fit any of the 3 3/4 inch action figures, as well as importing the transformable super deformed
Super deformed
Super deformed or SD is a specific style of Japanese caricature where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby, with stubby limbs and oversized heads, to make them resemble small children...
Veritech Fighters (originally manufactured in Japan by Bandai
Bandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
as Macross VF-1 Valkyrie "Joke machines").
Since the late 1990s, there has been a resurgence of Robotech-related toys. In 2001, Toynami
Toynami
Toynami is an American toy company based in Van Nuys, California. Founded in 2000 by George Sohn, Toynami is primarily focused on anime licenses for specialty retailers and collectors in the North American market...
released the Robotech Masterpiece Collection line, featuring replicas of the Veritech Fighters of The Macross Saga. Since then, Toynami has become the exclusive toy manufacturer of the Robotech franchise - having covered mecha from The Macross Saga, The New Generation and The Shadow Chronicles.
Video games
Robotech spawned five video game licenses, of which the most recent three were released:- Robotech: Crystal DreamsRobotech: Crystal DreamsRobotech: Crystal Dreams was a canceled Robotech video game for the Nintendo 64. The developer, GameTek filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy before the game could be completed, and was subsequently liquidated...
was a cancelled release for the Nintendo 64Nintendo 64The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
game system. This was aborted when its publisher, GameTekGameTekGameTek was a video game publisher based in North Miami Beach, Florida well known for publishing video game adaptations of game shows in the early 1990s. GameTek was a trade name for IJE, the owner of electronic publishing rights to Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune...
, went under in 1998. The game would have taken place during the period between the SDF-1SDF-1 MacrossThe SDF-1 Macross is a fictional interstellar transforming spacecraft from The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, an anime science fiction series that aired in Japan in 1982–1983, and its American adaptation Robotech...
's destruction and the launch of the SDF-3. The game had a Zentraedi invasion during what was scripted in the series as a period of peace.
- Robotech: BattlecryRobotech: BattlecryRobotech: Battlecry received mostly positive reviews upon its release. Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game an 8 out of 10, saying, "It does an incredible job of re-creating the show's fast-paced mech combat by combining slick animation and spot-on controls." GameSpy gave it a 3.0 out of 5 and...
(2002) for the Microsoft XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, Sony PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, and Nintendo Nintendo GameCubeNintendo GameCubeThe , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
. The gameplay takes place in the Macross era, and features a storyline running exactly concurrent with that era's historical events. Multiplayer support is limited to one-on-one. Several of the voice actors from the original series, including Tony Oliver, Melanie MacQueen, Dan Woren, and Cam Clarke, reprised their original roles, or voiced new characters in this game. The game was a relative success, even though many fans complained of the over-cartoonified look of the game.
- Robotech: The Macross SagaRobotech: The Macross SagaRobotech: The Macross Saga is a side-scrolling shoot 'em up for the Game Boy Advance handheld system, developed by Lucky Chicken Games and published by TDK Mediactive...
(2002) for the Game Boy AdvanceGame Boy AdvanceThe is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
, a side-scrolling shooter that resembles the Japanese Super FamicomSuper Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
game Macross: Scrambled ValkyrieThe Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Scrambled Valkyriewas a 16-megabit, 2D shooter released on the Nintendo Super Famicom in 1993 based on the 1984 animated movie The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?. The story took place after the movie's ending but before the launch of the SDF-2 Megaroad-01. It is infamous in the US for its...
.
- Robotech: InvasionRobotech: InvasionRobotech: Invasion is a first-person shooter video game set in the Invid Invasion era of the Robotech saga. Developed by Vicious Cycle Software and published by Global Star , Invasion was the last Robotech game to be released on home video...
(2004) for the Microsoft XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and the Sony PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
. First/third person shooter. The gameplay covers the New Generation part of the story, with support for single player missions and multiplayer online matches. Features Cyclones, transformable body armor/motorcycles. As with Battlecry, several of the original voice actors reprised their roles.
- Robotech: The New GenerationRobotech: The New GenerationRobotech: The New Generation is a mobile video game developed by Big Blue Bubble and released by Airborne Entertainment for mobile phones.- Overview :Robotech: The New Generation is a top down scrolling shooter...
(2007) for mobile phones. A top-down scrolling shooter that covers the New Generation part of the story, leading up to the Shadow ChroniclesRobotech: The Shadow ChroniclesRobotech: The Shadow Chronicles is the 2006 animated sequel to the 1985 Robotech television series. It was released on DVD on February 6, 2007.- Plot :...
. The player can play as one of three characters (Scott, Rook and Rand), each with their own special weapons. The player also has the ability to change into "Battloid Mode" through the collection of Protoculture. Robotech: The New Generation features famous music from the TV series, as well as the most evil of all the villains.
Criticism of adaptation
Robotech is often an extremely polarizing subject amongst anime fans. Some critics look down upon the show for its extensive editsEditing of anime in American distribution
Editing of anime in American distribution describes the process of altering anime to prepare it to be distributed in the United States and forms part of the process of localization. This process is generally applied only to series intended for broadcast on American television; series released...
to the source material (Westernizing character names, editing for content and chiefly, forging a connection between previously unrelated series), while supporters of the adaptation have pointed out that the weaving of three unrelated series into a contiguous whole necessarily required reworking, and that it helped to maintain a slow but continuous rise in the consumption of anime in the US.
Series writer/actor Greg Snegoff said in an interview on the now-defunct Shadow Chronicles News fansite that, "afterward, we received compliments from the Japanese who thought our dialogue and stories were better than the original". However, Animag magazine (issue 11) and Animerica
Animerica
Animerica is a quarterly digest published by Viz Media. It initially started as a monthly magazine featuring reviews of anime and manga titles, as well as related works. After a preview issue was released in November 1992, the magazine's first issue was released in February 1993 with a March 1993...
magazine (issue 9, volume 4) reports that the staff of Macross
Macross
is a series of science fiction mecha anime, directed by Shōji Kawamori of Studio Nue in 1982. The franchise features a fictional history of Earth/Humanity after the year 1999. It consists of three TV series, four movies, six OVAs, one light novel and five manga series, all sponsored by Big West...
at Studio Nue
Studio Nue
Studio Nue is a Japanese design studio formed in 1972 by Naoyuki Kato, Kenichi Matsuzaki, Kazutaka Miyatake, and Haruka Takachiho...
and Artland, such as the original story creator and mecha designer Shoji Kawamori
Shoji Kawamori
is a Japanese anime creator, screenwriter and mechanical designer, having created or co-created such notable series as The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, The Vision of Escaflowne, Earth Maiden Arjuna, Genesis of Aquarion, Macross 7, and Macross Frontier. He is currently executive director at the...
and chief director Noboru Ishiguro
Noboru Ishiguro
is a Japanese animator who is noteworthy for directing the anime series The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, The Super Dimension Century Orguss, Yōkai Ningen Bem, Megazone 23, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Noozles, and the 2008 completed series Tytania.He was in a hawaiian style music band in his...
, expressed their concern over the Robotech adaptation, and surprise at its differences.
In an effort to combine the storylines of three different Japanese series, certain characters underwent drastic role changes, with little explicit character development or plot exposition.
In addition, detractors of the show argue that the need for 65 episodes did not necessarily require a combined storyline, citing adaptations like Voltron
Voltron
Voltron is the titular super robot of an anime series that features a team of young pilots, known as the Voltron Force. The team’s individual vehicles join together to form the giant super robot, with which they defend the galaxy from evil...
which coupled two unrelated Japanese series without directly combining the storylines. However a year after this show ended, 20 additional Voltron episodes and a crossover special were created for American audiences by Toei Animation
Toei Animation
Toei Animation Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films . In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name...
, after the first daily run of 104 episodes.
Shortly after completing Robotech, Macek would make the less-well-known Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years
Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years
Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years is an animated science fiction television series produced by Harmony Gold USA. The series was created by Carl Macek by combining footage from Leiji Matsumoto’s Captain Harlock and Queen Millennia anime series.This is the second time the 1978 Captain...
in a similar fashion by combining two Leiji Matsumoto
Leiji Matsumoto
is a well-known creator of several anime and manga series. His wife is also known as a manga artist.-Space opera:Matsumoto is famous for his space operas such as Space Battleship Yamato...
series, Captain Harlock
Captain Harlock
is a fictional character created by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto.Harlock is the archetypical romantic hero, a space pirate with an individualist philosophy of life. He is as noble as he is taciturn, rebellious, stoically fighting against totalitarian regimes, whether they be earthborn or alien...
and Queen Millennia, together and altering the storyline significantly. In this case, however, the two anime series were spliced together in a manner where the stories of the characters occurred simultaneously, not one after the other.
In 2009, IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
ranked Robotech as the 34th greatest animated show of all time in their Top 100 list.
Distribution
Following the original broadcast, the series enjoyed popularity on home video in VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
formats from the following distributors:
- For more information, see Robotech (TV series): Home Video Release
- Family Home EntertainmentFamily Home EntertainmentFamily Home Entertainment was an American home video company founded in 1980 by Noel C. Bloom. It was a division of International Video Entertainment, which had its headquarters in Newbury Park, California.-General information:...
(VHS, LaserdiscLaserdiscLaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
) (First six-tape run of The Macross Saga was heavily edited, with roughly 38 minutes of footage cut from each six-episode tape. The episode "Private Time" was almost entirely removed, with only a few minutes of the beginning and end being shown.) - Palladium BooksPalladium BooksPalladium Books is a publisher of role-playing games perhaps best known for its popular, expansive Rifts series . Palladium was founded April 1981 in Detroit, Michigan by current president and lead game designer Kevin Siembieda, and is presently based in Westland, Michigan...
(VHS) - Streamline PicturesStreamline PicturesStreamline Pictures was an American media company that was best known for its distribution of English dubbed Japanese animation. -Founding:Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1988, Streamline Pictures was one of the first North American companies that was created primarily for the intention of...
(VHS, LaserdiscLaserdiscLaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
) - ADV FilmsA.D. VisionA.D. Vision was an American international multimedia entertainment company headquartered in Houston, Texas, prior to its collapse and distress sale to four other Houston-based companies in 2009...
(DVD Region 1 — North America) - A&E Networks Home EntertainmentA&E Television NetworksA&E Television Networks is a U.S. media company that owns a group of television channels available via cable & satellite in the US and abroad...
(DVD Region 1 — North America) - Manga EntertainmentManga EntertainmentManga Entertainment is a producer, licensor and distributor of Japanese animation in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand...
(DVD Region 2 — UK) - Madman EntertainmentMadman EntertainmentMadman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
(DVD Region 4 — Australia) - FUNimation EntertainmentFUNimation EntertainmentFunimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
(DVD Region 1 — USA) (Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles — Release date: 02/06/2007) - Revelation FilmsRevelation FilmsRevelation Films is a British distributor of entertainment programmes on DVD.It was perhaps most well known as the company through which as of November 2006, the American anime company FUNimation Entertainment has launched its titles in the United Kingdom on region 2 DVD...
(DVD Region 2 — UK) (Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles — Release date: 07/23/2007) - Guangdong Qianhe Audio & Video (DVD Region 6 — China) (Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles — Release date: 08/20/2007)
- Family Home Entertainment
External links
- ROBOTECH.COM - Harmony Gold's official Robotech website.
- ROBOTECH Bibliography - Comprehensive listings of books in and out of print.
- ROBOTECH: Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles - Official site of the new comic series.