العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
EspañolROBOTECH
'''Robotech''' is a science fiction franchise that was launched by an 85-episode adaptation of three different anime television series. Within the combined and edited story, ''Robotechnology'' refers to the scientific advances discovered in an alien starship that crashed on a South Pacific island. With this technology, Earth developed giant robotic machines or mecha (many of which were capable of transforming into vehicles) to fight three successive invasions.
The original television series (1985)
Main articles: Robotech (TV series)
''Robotech'' was one of the first anime series released in the United States which largely managed to preserve the complexity and drama of its original Japanese source material. Produced by Harmony Gold USA, Inc. in association with Tatsunoko Prod. Co., Ltd., ''Robotech'' is a story adapted with edited content and revised dialogue from the animation of three different mecha anime series: ''The Super Dimension Fortress Macross'', ''Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross'', and ''Genesis Climber Mospeada''. 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.
This combination resulted in a storyline that spans three generations, as mankind must fight three destructive Robotech Wars in succession over a powerful energy source called "Protoculture":
★ The First Robotech War (''The Macross Saga'') concerns humanity's battle against the Zentraedi, a race of giant warriors who are sent to earth to retrieve the flagship of the Robotech Master Zor. The ship contains the last known source of Protoculture in the universe.
★ The Second Robotech War (''The Masters'') begins when the creators of the Zentraedi, the Robotech Masters, attempt to take up where the Zentraedi left off, and capture the protoculture held within the remains of the SDF-1.
★ The Third Robotech War (''The New Generation'') occurs after the alien Invid have been alerted to the existence of Protoculture on Earth by events that transpired at the end of the Second Robotech War. The planet is conquered, then enslaved, and it is up to the Robotech Expeditionary Force to retake their ancestral homeland.
Home video
Following the original broadcast, the series enjoyed popularity on home video in VHS and DVD formats from the following distributors:
:''For more information, see Robotech (TV series): Home Video Releases''
★ 'Family Home Entertainment' (VHS) (First six-tape run of ''The Macross Saga'' was heavily edited, with roughly 38 minutes of footage cut from each six-episode tape.)
★ 'Palladium Books' (VHS)
★ 'Streamline Pictures' (VHS, Laserdisc)
★ 'ADV Films' (DVD Region 1 — North America)
★ 'Manga Entertainment' (DVD Region 2 — UK)
★ 'Madman Entertainment' (DVD Region 4 — Australia)
★ 'FUNimation Entertainment' (DVD Region 1 — USA) (''Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles'' — Release date: 02/06/2007)
Sequels and spinoffs
]]
Harmony Gold has attempted to produce several follow ups to the original series over the years, but with mixed success to this date.
''Robotech: The Movie'' (1986)
Main articles: Robotech: The Movie
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 1'' OVA (Original Video Animation, or made-for-video animated feature) spliced with ''Southern Cross'', and had only a tenuous link to the television series. The movie disappeared from the United States after a failed test run in Texas. Harmony Gold relinquished their license to ''Megazone 23'' after director Carl Macek washed his hands of the project, so any home video release is unlikely except for a few VHS tapes that had been in limited circulation in Europe and Latin America.
]]
''Robotech II: The Sentinels'' (1987, cancelled)
Main articles: Robotech II: The Sentinels
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 Robotech Masters'' and ''The New Generation''. The feature-length pilot is comprised 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.
According to director Carl Macek in ''Robotech Art 3: The Sentinels,'' the proposed 65-episode series was canceled after the crash of the dollar/yen exchange rate and lack of support by toy partner Matchbox. Efforts to petition the completion of this series have gone nowhere, but the pilot was released on VHS by Palladium Books and on DVD by ADV Films.
''Robotech III: The Odyssey'' (proposed)
Producer Carl Macek revealed ideas for another proposed series, ''Robotech III: The Odyssey'', which would have 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 have revealed Lynn Minmei to be the mother of Zor, making Minmei the focal point of Robotech.[1] After the failure of ''Sentinels'', ''Odyssey'' never went into development, though its ideas were worked into the Jack McKinney novel ''The End of the Circle''.
''Robotech IV and V'' (planned)
Fan publication ''Macross Life'' interviewed Harmony Gold executive Richard Firth in 1986, where he revealed that ''Robotech'' creator Carl 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 Carl Macek himself has never mentioned ''Robotech IV'' or ''V'' in any interviews or writings.
''Robotech 3000'' (2000, cancelled)
Main articles: Robotech 3000
Carl Macek attempted another sequel with the development of ''Robotech 3000''. 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.
''Robotech UN Public Service Announcement'' (2005)
A sixty-second public service announcement for the 60th anniversary of the United Nations, 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)
Main articles: Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
In 2002, Tommy Yune announced development of a new sequel movie, which was not named 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 ''. 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 has premiered the movie at various film festivals in 2006, with a limited theatrical run in January 2007, and released the DVD on February 6, 2007.[2] A 2-disc collector's edition is being released in November 2007.[3]
''Robotech: Shadow Rising'' (2009)
On July 27, 2007, at their Comic-Con International panel, Harmony Gold and Robotech director Tommy Yune unveiled the second entry of the ''Shadow Chronicles'' production, titled ''Robotech: Shadow Rising''. Pre-production has begun, and a projected release date of sometime in 2009 is currently expected.[4]
''Robotech Live Action Movie Rights''
On September 7th, 2007, the Hollywood Reporter stated that Warner Brothers had acquired the film rights to Robotech, and would be producing a live-action film through Maguire Entertainment with an as-yet-unknown release date. Tobey Maguire "is eyeing the lead role." [1]
''Robotech'' (Harmony Gold) chronology
The ''Robotech'' chronology, according to Harmony Gold, is illustrated below:
:''For a more detailed timeline, see Robotech Wars''
| Year | Generation / Saga (release date) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 - 2014 | (1) | ''Robotech: The Macross Saga'' (1985) |
| 2022 | ''Robotech II: The Sentinels'' ★ (1987) | |
| 2027 | ''Robotech: The Movie'' ★ (1986) | |
| 2029 - 2030 | (2) | ''Robotech Masters'' (1985) |
| 2042 - 2044 | (3) | ''Robotech: The New Generation'' (1985) |
| 2044 - | ''Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles'' (2006) | |
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 '').
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:
★ '' in all its incarnations.
★ '' (which, in the strictest sense, never was canon)
★ ''Robotech'' comics published by Comico, Eternity, Academy, and Antarctic Press.
★ ''Robotech'' RPGs published by Palladium Books.
★ ''Robotech'' novels written by Jack McKinney, 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 ''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 ''The Sentinels'' storyline in print.
Robotech: The Graphic Novel
Robotech comics
Main articles: Robotech (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'' #2, which continued from the first ''Macross'' issue.
The various comic publishers include:
★ 'Comico' (1984-1989)
★ 'Eternity' (1988-1994)
★ 'Academy' (1994-1996)
★ 'Antarctic Press' (1997-1998)
★ 'Wildstorm' (DC) (2002-present)
''Robotech'' collectible card game
Main articles: Robotech Collectible Card Game
The first ''Robotech'' collectible card game was released in 2006 by Hero Factory, which had previously produced ''Robotech'' trading cards.
''Robotech'' music and soundtracks
Main articles: Robotech music
Various ''Robotech'' soundtracks have been released on records, cassettes, and compact discs since 1988.
★ '' (1988)
★ '' (1988)
★ '' (1996)
★ '' (2002)
★ '' (2004)
★ '' (2005)
Omnibus edition
''Robotech'' novelizations
Main articles: Robotech (novels)
Since 1987, ''Robotech'' was adapted into novel form by "Jack McKinney," 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 epigraphs 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.
''Robotech'' art books
Main articles: Robotech art books
In 1986, Starblaze Graphics 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''.
''Robotech'' role-playing games
Main articles: Robotech (role-playing game)
In 1986, Palladium Books 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. According to a report from the February New York Comic-Con, a new ''Robotech'' RPG license deal is in the works.
'' for PS2]]
''Robotech'' video games
''Robotech'' spawned five video game licenses, of which the most recent three were released:
★ '''' for the Nintendo 64 game system. This was aborted when its publisher, Gametek, went under in 1998. The game would have taken place during the period between the SDF-1's destruction and the launch of the SDF-3. A continuity nightmare, the game had a Zentraedi invasion during what was scripted in the series as a period of peace.
★ '''' (2002) for the Microsoft Xbox, Sony PlayStation 2, and Nintendo GameCube. 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.
★ '''' (2002) for the Game Boy Advance, a side-scrolling shooter that resembles the Japanese Super Famicom game ''.
★ '''' (2004) for the Microsoft Xbox and the Sony PlayStation 2. 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.
★ '''' (2007) for mobile phones. A top-down scrolling shooter that covers the ''New Generation'' part of the story, leading up to the ''. 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.
Effect
While anime shows were brought to the US as early as the 1960s, such as ''Astro Boy'', ''Speed Racer'', and ''Kimba the White Lion'', most were heavily bowdlerized for American audiences, with violence, deaths of major characters, sexual references, ''et cetera'', completely edited out for what was assumed to be an audience of young children. ''Robotech'', along with the earlier ''Star Blazers'' (1974), broke with this tradition by leaving in some of those elements, and they are frequently credited as the series that helped spur a greater American interest in Japanese animation, leading to the current anime industry in North America. ''Robotech'' was frequently among the top-ten anime lists of American anime magazines such as ''Anime Insider'', ''Animerica'', ''Newtype USA'', and others. Cascadia Con gave Harmony Gold an award for ''Robotech's contribution to the science-fiction genre.
''Robotech'' had a similar effect in other places of the world, including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Greece, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and the Philippines. In China, during the summer of 2004, it was awarded "Best Robot-themed Anime of all time" by the Cartoon Channel of China Education Television. It is highly likely that someone growing up in any of those countries during the 1980s watched at least some of its episodes. (''Robotech'' did not start its broadcast in China until 1991.) As in the US, it helped continue a slow but continuous rise in the consumption of anime.
That said, ''Robotech'' is often an extremely polarizing subject amongst anime fans. Some critics consider the show to be an abomination that runs roughshod over its original sources by Westernizing character names, making some censor-appeasing edits, and changing the stories of three wholly-unrelated series (some compare it to Woody Allen's camp Japanese movie re-dub ''What's Up, Tiger Lily?'') to pass them off as a cohesive whole. Series writer/actor Greg Snegoff did say in an interview on the now-defunct ''Shadow Chronicles News'' fansite that, "afterwards, we received compliments from the Japanese who thought our dialogue and stories were better than the original," and ''Protoculture Addicts'' magazine reports in a ''Robotech'' fifth-anniversary article that those compliments came from the production company Tatsunoko. However, ''Animag'' magazine (issue 11) and ''Animerica'' magazine (issue 9, volume 4) reports that the original ''Macross'' creators at Studio Nue and Artland, such as story creator Shoji Kawamori and chief director Noboru Ishiguro, expressed their concern over the ''Robotech'' adaptation, and surprise on 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. Notably, Rick Hunter (one of the main characters of the ''Macross'' segment) was changed — by a line of dialogue — from an ordinary-yet-pivotal fighter-unit commander into an unseen admiral, who is said to have ordered the destruction of Earth under the controversial rationale of saving it from the enemy. The line by an unnamed commander on the SDF-4 in the episode "Dark Finale" was, "''I've been ordered by Admiral Hunter himself to obliterate the planet completely.''"
In addition, the 65-episode minimum guideline cited as the reason to combine the episodes applied specifically to 'weekday' syndication. Contemporary series such as ''Star Blazers'' and ''Transformers'' were initially syndicated weekly before reaching the 65-episode mark. The guideline also did not necessarily require a combined storyline; adaptations like ''Voltron'' coupled two unrelated Japanese series without directly combining the storylines. (A year later, 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'', Carl 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.
''Robotech'' has been the subject of two parodies by the fandub group Seishun Shitemasu: ''Robotech 3: Not Necessarily the Sentinels'', and ''Robotech 4: Khyron's Counterattack'' (using footage from, respectively, ''Gunbuster'' and ''Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack'').
References
1. Interview with Carl Macek
2. The Shadow Chronicles DVD in stores from Funimation on Feb. 6, 2007
3. Anime Expo 2007: Funimation Entertainment
4. Comic-Con International 2007: Harmony Gold/Tommy Yune Panel
External links
'Official Sites:'
★ 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.
★ ADV Films - The current distributor of Robotech DVDs.
★ Hero Factory Games - Maker of the upcoming Robotech collectible card game (CCG).
★ Manga Entertainment UKs Robotech section
'Fan Sites: (English)'
★ Robotech: Zentradi War - Side scrolling Robotech arcade game]
★ The Invid Connection (Beyond Reflex Point) - Information on Robotech and Macross
★ The UN Navy Web-Site - Includes information about military organization in Robotech
★ Roboblog III: The Odyssey - Detailed blog covering the Shadow Chronicles DVD and comic prequel
★ Robotech Shadow Chronicles Group - New group for the upcoming sequel, Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
★ Robotech Companion News Central - The Central Source for Daily Robotech News and Fandom Activities.
★ The Unofficial Robotech Reporter - 100% Unauthorized. 65% Cynical. (Retired)
★ Space Station Liberty - TalkShoe talk radio/podcast with frequent interviews and roundtables
★ Robotech Museum - A historical archive of Robotech collectibles.
★ Robotech MMO - A fan built MMORPG based on the Robotech Universe.
★ The Robotech Companion - Extensive Robotech episode and background information.
★ Robotech Reference Guide - Unofficial Encyclopedia of Robotech.
★ Steelfalcon.com- Loads of info on Robotech/Macross mecha and ships
★ Robotech Research - Extensive Robotech Role-Playing (RPG) site.
★ ROBOTECH: The Role-Playing Game - Extensive Robotech Role-Playing Game based heavily on Palladium Robotech RPG.
★ Armies of The Southern Cross Recruitment Manual - Extensive Robotech Role-Playing (RPG) covering Southern Cross Armies.
★ Visions of Robotech - Essays about Robotech, especially military ranks & organization
★ Robotech: Attention on Deck! - First-person fan novel about a Robotech Naval Aviator.
★ Chronology Central's Robotech page - Chronologically integrated listing of the cartoon and comic storylines.
★ U.E.Group - Dedicated to Robotech 3D fan film projects.
★ Seishun Shitemasu - Creators of Robotech 3: Not Necessarily the Sentinels and Robotech 4: Khyron's Counterattack (unofficial spinoffs)
★ RDF Underground - Home of the other Robotech Podcast, the RDF Underground. Life. Protoculture. Everything.
'Fan Sites: (International)'
★ Sitio para fanaticos de Robotech, con información muy completa, descargas y cuenta con un Mini-Shop propio(en español)
★ Super Dimensional Site - French fansite about the Robotech universe.
★ Robotech Union @ China - Chinese language fansite dedicated to Robotech.
★ Robotech Espanol - Spanish language fansite with the latest news and rumors
★ РОБОТЕК - All about Robotech in Russian.
★ Macross-City Russia - Russian language fansite with the latest news and external subtitles.
★ Robotech Mordecai Youth Inertia - Japanese language fan site of the Robotech Clone comics.
★ STEEL FALCON.COM – Extensive fan Mecha info.
★ The New ROBOTECH - RPG fan material.
★ Robotech, con información muy completa, foro propio y cuenta con un Mini-Shop para america latina.
'Video Games:'
★ Robotech: The New Generation – Preview video of the upcoming '' mobile game.
This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.
psst.. try this: add to faves
