Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An overly americanised release of a truly classic animé, 29 Mar 2008
Robotech the macross saga was originally titled "macross" overseas,
but as per usual an american company took over the reigns of the
western release, changed the characters names, situations and the
main plot of the show to create the first installment of the Robotech
saga.
This was subsequently done with two other stand alone anime called
"southern cross" (The masters) and "mospoeada" (The New Generation) which
make up the rest of the Robotech saga.
The main reason for this was because a well know toy company had already
released a range of transforming toys under the title of robotech, so
obviously when the toy company caught wind of a TV series following the
same themes, they bought up the distribution rights for the series
(Macross)and also the other works by the same team (SC and Mospoeada)
edited them together and pretty much created one large scale advertisement.
But it really isnt all that bad, Although the three anime were in a way
butchered to make Robotech it is still a very good, if not great series.
But if like me you're a fan of the original versions then you may find
the new additions to the dubbing and credits incredibly american,
for example each episode is narrated in the first and last 3mins and at
key junctures by a cliché american voice actor, spouting phrases like
"STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT AAMAAZZZINGGG EPISODE OF ROBOTECH!".
These issues aside Robotech still contains most of what made it great
to watch in the first place, Furious space battles and a involving,and
incrediby deep(at times) plot.
Mainly centered around a small cast of characters thrown into increasingly
desperate situations each episode of robotech follows a simple formula
of drama, action and humour which never completely overwhelms you and
always keeps you gripped waiting for the "NEXT EXCITING DEVELOPMENT IN THE
ROBOTECH SAGA".
Onto the animation,
The actual animation in robotech varies depending on which series youre
watching,
The macross saga's animation is detailed and very gritty closer to a
tech noir style, whereas the last two parts of the saga take a bit of
a drop in quality (mainly due to the fact of being small budget series
and because of the editing I mentioned at the begining of this review)
Nevertheless it never drops to the low quality seen in such anime as
M.D geist which are from a similar period.
The actual release quality is not to great, as with most manga releases
they have only really remastered the sound and only removed a minimal amount
of interference that was on the vhs masters meaning at times that some
episodes can have a below dvd quality picture.
Furthermore there is little in the way of special features on
any of the disks, mainly consisting of trailers that include mangas
up and coming releases.
Editing and release shortcomings aside, Robotech is every bit of a landmark
anime as akira, if you havent seen it in its original incarnations as
"Macross", "southern cross" and "mospoeada" then you will probably
find it one of the most original and brilliant anime ever to grace your
television.
A must buy for any Otaku or even a first timer looking to sink their fangs
into the anime medium.
I give it 4 stars on the plot alone, because thats all that matters in the end.
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Remasterd?, 24 Oct 2008
The remastered Robotech saga's in one box!
What a joy I had when I heard that the Americanised version of Macross would undergo a positive facelift. This remastered edition included a new English vocal cast and the original voice of Lyn Minmei "Mari Iijima" as well as her Japanese songs are used. The original Japanese intro makes your hard beat faster Macross, Macross!
Also the original Japanese character names have been restored in honour and replaced the American ones, a good thing!:
Rick hunter - Hikaru Ichijyo
Lisa ??? - Misa Hayase
Lynn Kyle - Lynn Kaifun
After recieving the complete saga box set I Emediatly unwrapped the foil and put the first "remastered" dvd in my dvd-player. After pressing the play button I was ready the let this masterpiece of Japanse Anime conquer my hart again, but then it happend.....
Instead of the original Japanese intro the American one with the happy tune appeared, shocked as I was I skipped to the next chapter discovering that all the characters used the old vocal cast as well as their Americanised names...
Robotech - Complete Saga Box Set
Dissapointed I am still wandering why the words "remastered" are put on the box containing the non-remastered edition of Robotech. Because I unwraped the foil it is unpossible to send back this item.
I am still looking for the remastered edition.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Loving it so far!, 11 Jul 2009
As I write this I have almost finished the Macross saga but felt I had to share my views so far!
My "affair" with Robotech began in the late 80s as a kid (7 or 8) when I rented (several times as I recall) the movie "Codename: Robotech" which I learned in later years was cut together using various episodes. In the early 90s I saw it again on the UK Sci-Fi Channel together with Robotech II: The Sentinels. I had only ever seen a handful of the regualr series episodes and was never able to follow it as I missed episodes and found that unusually for a supposed kids cartoon it had a fairly complex, serialised and ongoing storyline.
Now years later as a 26 year old and chancing accross this set, nostalgia got the better of me and I HAD to order it. I am not disappointed, in one sense I am discovering it fully for the first time having only seen the compilation movies and I have to say that it is far more involved than the average kids cartoon of its era. Strangely as I get drawn deeper into the story I find myself gripped by the epic storyline and actually care about the characters, the relationships are well written and feel just as "real" as a live action show.
Whilst the action (some of the battles even leave you in awe) and the Transformer-esque Veritech fighters appeal to the big kid inside, there is plenty to enjoy as an adult. As I've mentioned above, you actually care about the characters as you see how the tragedies of war affect them (people die and are not simply forgotten by the next episode)...and it drives you crazy when you just want Rick and Lisa to get together! Its all very strange as even though its animated you get lost in it just as you would a live action tv series!
I am looking forward to checking out "the Masters" and "New Generation" sagas although I feel it probably won't be the same without the Macross characters (hence four stars overall at this stage - I've learned that the show's 85 episodes are split into three sagas, all taken and re-scripted from three unrelated anime series).
Its worth it for the Macross saga alone. I've read that there's a live action movie in development - judging by what's been accomplished with the Transformers movies, Robotech, with its rich epic-scale storyline and well defined characters, surely has even greater potential!
A msut for any sci-fi/animation fan of any age!
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