Robotech


Robotech is an American-Japanese science fiction franchise that began with an 85-episode anime television series produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production; it was first released in the United States in 1985.
The show was adapted from three original and distinct, though visually similar, Japanese anime television series to make a series suitable for syndication.
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.

Name origin

Prior to the release of the TV series, the name Robotech was used by model kit manufacturer Revell 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 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 ran for 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 a co-licensing agreement and the Robotech name was adopted for the TV syndication of Macross combined with Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber MOSPEADA.

Fictional chronology

The Robotech chronology, according to Harmony Gold, is illustrated below:
* 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 primary continuity that comprises the three-part Robotech TV series and 2006's Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles.
In 2002, with the publication of the WildStorm comics, Harmony Gold officially decided to retcon the Robotech Universe. The following Robotech material is now relegated to the status of secondary continuity:
  • The Sentinels in all its incarnations.
  • Robotech: The Movie
  • Robotech comics published by Comico, Eternity, Academy, Antarctic Press and Titan Comics.
  • 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.

Television and film

The original television series

Robotech is an original story adapted with edited content and revised dialogue from the animation of three different mecha anime series:
  1. Super Dimension Fortress Macross
  2. Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross
  3. 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. 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.
  • The First Robotech War 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 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 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.

    ''Robotech: The Movie''

Robotech: The Movie, also called Robotech: The Untold Story, is a feature film and was the first new Robotech adventure created after the premiere of the original series. It uses footage from the Megazone 23 – Part 1 OVA combined with scenes from "Southern Cross" and additional original animation produced for the film.
The original plan for the film was to have it set during the Macross Saga, parallel to the SDF-1's return to Earth from Pluto. The film would also have served as a prequel to the Sentinels, as both projects were initially meant to share many characters. Harmony Gold producer Carl Macek worked with the OVA's original creators to make the story and the new ending work. The film had to be changed again after the distributor of the film, Cannon Films, saw an incomplete rough cut of the film and were upset by it. They ordered Macek to remove multiple scenes from the film and to add more violence. Macek reluctantly did what they ordered, and created a new script and rough edit for the film in less than 24 hours. When the distributors saw Macek act out the new film, they were much more pleased with the new cut. The opening night in Texas received a positive response, but Cannon Films pulled out after noting that most attendants were adults; the bulk of the scheduled advertising for the series was targeted to children. The film had limited success in Argentina and Belgium.
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 "Southern Cross". There was no attempt to remaster the footage.

''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 Masters and The New Generation. The feature-length pilot is composed of the first three episodes that were produced. 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 a total of 65 episodes.
In Robotech Art 3: The Sentinels, Carl 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. Harmony Gold lacked the funds to produce the series on its own, and production ceased after only three episodes.
Robotech II: The Sentinels was released on VHS by Palladium Books. 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" DVDs, 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, including the re-used footage from the episode "Wedding Bells".

''Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles''

In 2002, Tommy Yune announced development of a new animated sequel. Originally announced as a television series with a planned 2004 release date, the project was revealed at Anime Expo 2004 as a feature-length film titled 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. In February 2006, Kevin McKeever, operations coordinator at Harmony Gold, confirmed that the pilot movie had been completed. After a series of delays, FUNimation Entertainment was announced as the home video, broadcast, and theatrical distributor at the 2006 Comic-Con International in San Diego with the possibility of producing further sequels. 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 two-disc collector's edition was released in November 2007.