With the news that a live-action adaptation of the classic cartoon is in the works, it might be time to revisit the beloved cartoon for the first time. It holds an important place in the history of American kids and the U.S. animation industry. You can find a guide to experiencing the wonder of Robotechnology here.
The most important part of the franchise is the original cartoon, which ran for 85 episodes. The Macross saga, the Masters saga, and the New Generation saga are the main arcs.
When a giant alien spaceship crashes on Earth, humanity uses its technology to protect itself from alien threats. Veritechs, jet fighters that can transform into humanoid mecha, and the reoutfitted spaceship are included. When giant aliens called the Zentraedi come to retrieve their property, stunt pilot Rick Hunter gets sucked into an interstellar war as well as a love triangle between a pop star and a police officer.
After the Zentraedi join forces with humanity, their Masters come to Earth with a new armada to seize the galaxy. The daughter of two Veritech stars from the Macross Saga defends the Earth from the Masters and meets a clone of the creator of Protoculture.
An alien species called the Invid invades and conquers the Earth in their attempt to take culture from themselves. Scott Bernard, a survivor, assembles a team of freedom fighters to stop the Invid after the Robotech Expeditionary Force is destroyed.
There are three different story arcs, each with new characters, plots, villains, and mecha. There were three different Japanese television series called Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber Mospeada. Why? Carl Macek wanted to be able to sell a kids cartoon that could be syndicated, like other shows such as Transformers, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, G.I.Joe, etc. Macek and his team rewrote the script, renamed the characters, and dubbed the three unique series to become one story.
Many attempts at a sequel were made, but they were hampered by a major rights issue between Robotech and Macross, which prevented them from gaining much traction. The original creation and sequel to The Macross Saga was considered horrible and only three episodes were ever aired.
The trailer for the movie was so bad that it was scrapped. The sequel movie to the show, titled Robotech: Shadow Chronicles, came out in 2007, but failed to impress fans. Love Live Alive was a sequel to New Generation that was released in 2013, but it was cobbled together from a 1985 Mospeada video title and wasn't received well.
The original Macross saga ran for 36 episodes, so if you have a limited amount of time, you should watch it. It's the beginning of the show, which means it will make the most sense, and it's also the most popular part of the show. The original Macross series has had multiple sequels, movies, and more over the last 40 years, even though Southern Cross and Mospeada have mostly been forgotten in Japan.
Not as much as you think. Many names were changed and Americanized. The main fighter jet/mecha were called Veritechs in Macross, while in Robotech they were called Valkyries. Blood, nudity, and characters getting drunk were edited out of the show in order to make it less offensive to young American audiences.
The Macross saga is a pretty accurate translation of the original Japanese series as New Generation was to Mospeada, although of course the flowers of life seen in the latter have nothing to do with protoculture. The main character in Southern Cross/Masters was turned into the daughter of two Macross characters in order to form the connective tissue between the two other series. The original Southern Cross was not set on Earth.
It is a classic. It is a classic example of how America used to adapt animation back then. At least in America, Robotech was a pioneer. It was one of the first animated series to tell a long story in the U.S. While the violence was toned down, the movie still showed the horrors of war and even had a main character die. Many viewers became obsessed with the show because it featured more mature stories than American cartoons.
The birth of the American anime industry could not have been accomplished without the help of Robotech. Many Japanese series had been imported prior to it, and while it wasn't as popular as its American counterparts, the kids who became fans often became obsessed with the show. The foreignness of the film was so striking. The rise of the American anime boom is due to the fact that kids were inspired to investigate its origin and discover the world of animation. It is not an overstatement to say that the world of pop culture would not be the same without Robotech.
The three sagas of the original Robotech cartoon, the few remnants of the justly maligned 1986 sequel, and the so-so 2007 movie are all available to stream on the Funimation streaming service. The series can be rented via Prime Video, Vudu, and the like, but nothing else.
It is difficult to watch the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber Mospeada. ADV Films imported Southern Cross and Mospeada after AnimEigo released the original Macross on DVD in 2002. They have all been out of print since then because of lack of interest and because of long-running rights disputes. Happy hunting if you want to find them.
It's possible that a new release of Super Dimension Fortress Macros is possible since the legal battles between the owners of the company were resolved last year. Stay up to date!
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